Handmade Monday: Tree of life

This week I've mostly been experimenting with tree of life pendants.  I've not tried them before, but I know they are popular, so thought I'd have a go.

My first attempt with lapis lazuli chips and bronze wire.

Hubby pointed out, after admiring it, that there aren't many bright blue-leafed trees around.  I think that is now it's unique selling point!  I just like blue and brown myself...

Then this one is a little more experimental

I wanted to set the glass beads in a sort of bezel of wire, which kind of half-worked.  The finished piece is very delicate, and I had to add lots of scaffolding at the back to reinforce it.  I need to work on the idea, so watch this space for more mutant trees in weird and wonderful colours!

Just as a PS: A few crafty folk and blog readers have bought this bag charm in the past, and it sold again last night.  I have more of the beads on order, so it will be back, but is just available for pre-order at the moment, with an estimated mid-May delivery. 

Here's a link to see what others have been doing this week for Handmade Monday. 

Alison x

Handmade Monday: Kumihimo again

So, I've been playing with the Kumihimo disc again.  This time I thought I would have a go at seed beads, as I've never tried that before.  Some hours later, with my eyesight probably deteriorated considerably, and the air blue with my swearing at the cord and the beads, and after I'd managed to unstick the underside of my finger nail from the skin underneath, here's the result.

I now have 'total respect' for the seed beaders, as the young folk say!  It will be a long while, if not never, until I try this technique again.  The bracelet has some gaps where the little beads weren't placed properly, even though I really really tried my best!  Oh well, I always like a new experience.

 Decided to stick to the cords instead and made a couple on the drive up to see relatives over Easter weekend.  Hubby was at the wheel so there was no risk of accident.  The intention is to turn all these into tassel necklaces like this one...

 I love a long necklace, but often find that a chain irritates the back of my neck.  The cord is perfect as it's so soft and smooth, and I luuurve the cobalt blue with the antique bronze findings, it's my favourite colour combination (today!)  Front fastening toggles are easy to do when you're in a rush too.

The little glass flower beads are new.  Pretty, aren't they?

Here's a link to see what others have been doing this week for Handmade Monday. 

Alison x

Handmade Monday: Fame for my little blog and dog pictures

This week I'm excited to report that this little blog was reviewed in the April edition of Making Jewellery and Handmade Monday was mentioned!  Just pardon me a moment while I quote the whole review in full, and my head swells to the size of a football!

"Alison is a self-confessed jewellery addict, and she shares this with us at her blog.  This down-to-earth, funny and creative blog is all about making jewellery, dogs, literature, travel and other interesting stuff.  With the regular feature Handmade Monday, Alison shares with us what she's been making, and her thoughts on these.  The blog is full of inspiration and interesting titbits, such as Wordless Wednesday, which often involves photos of dogs!"

How cool is that?  And I have to add I didn't pay for it, or submit the blog to anything or bribe the editor or anything like that. 

Anyway, better show some makes otherwise I won't be fulfilling my remit.  I haven't made much, and you'll see why in a minute.

Here's a little bag charm covering dogs, jewellery and my new attempts at stamping.  I do love these little doggie charms - I think they are supposed to be spaniels but it could be a Labrador with short legs if you squint a bit in a low light.

My own real life dog had an exciting day last week.  The poor boy has been limping for a while and our vet has been trying 'conservative' methods of managing what he diagnosed as elbow dysplasia.  Nothing seemed to be working, and although Lucca was still as keen as mustard to go out walking, we felt we couldn't go on like that with him in pain, and us worrying ourselves silly about him.  The vet referred us to a specialist orthopaedic hospital, and to cut a long story short, Lucca had a consultation, scan and operation there all in the same day. 

He is recovering well, and fingers crossed, hasn't limped since the op.  The short walks he needs for the next month are quite frustrating for him, so he's having lots of extra stimulation to tire him out, including drives in the car, frozen kongs and lots of training - all of which is exhausting the humans! 

Here he is falling out of his bed with exhaustion at the end of a busy day.  Check out that shaved patch - it looks like a baboon's backside.  I hope it grows back soon.

 Hope everyone in the UK is wrapping up warm against the cold and snow and reading lovely blogs.  Here's a link to see what others have been doing this week for Handmade Monday. 

Alison x

Handmade Monday: Thank you blog readers!

I wanted to thank everyone for the feedback you gave me the other week on the bag charms 'with or without beads' issue.

Most people said they liked the non-beaded flower version best so I've been busy putting together some non-beaded examples and should be able to show you some more soon.  Just to add to the consensus, I had a custom request on Etsy for five bag charms without the beads.  So there we go.  The jury has spoken. 

I guess that the colours and combinations of the beads won't always appeal to everyone, and just having the charms it will be easier to appeal to more people.  So I'll list, sit back and wait for the rush!  (Well, I can live in hope ;-)

In the meantime, here are some new beaded bag charms and a couple of other pieces listed this week - see what you think.

Two little owls with hematite stars and crystals

Deco style dragonfly with glass beads

Filigree peacock with crystals

Steam punk style bi plane earrings

Sari silk and heart charm bracelet

Bird cage charm necklace with pearl

Hope everyone in the UK is wrapping up warm against the cold and reading lovely blogs.  Here's a link to see what others have been doing this week for Handmade Monday. 

Alison x

Handmade Monday: February?

Well, I'm not quite sure what happened to January - it must have passed in a blur of being busy, but here we are early at Valentine's Day so I'm saying an early 'I love you' to my blog as apology for neglecting it for a month!

One lovely bit of news is that Pearl from The Beading Gem's Journal contacted me to ask if it was OK to feature one of the beading tutorials on the site.  As I keep a permanent bookmark on that site and worship at the feet of its bloggers, this made me a happy bunny!  In March I'll be shouting even more about it.

I was lucky that my sales continued into January and folks again voted with their pockets for cord bracelets and bag charms.  These will be the focus of all my shops in the coming months, so naturally I've made more, and found some beautiful charms on the way.  I've also been improving my stamping skills, so expect more personalised and hand stamped items on the way.

Here are some new additions.

These two have already been popular, with a couple of sales on each from Folksy and Etsy. 

I love the love birds on this bag charm - they are a nice antique gold colour too.

This one's an experiment with no beads, just charms.  What do you think?

And a bit of wire work, not yet listed, with bronzite and white and yellow howlite.

Here's a link to see what others have been doing this week for Handmade Monday. 

Alison x

Handmade Monday: end of the year

Well, Christmas has really crept up this year.  It seemed to be November for ages, then December has flown by in a flurry of sales and busy-ness. I can't complain, and the thought of literally hundreds of people opening Blue Forest Jewellery handmade presents on Christmas Day all over the world really makes me proud and happy.  Sometimes selling online seems like such a slog, but at times like this it all seems worth it.

For me, creating something beautiful (hopefully!) that lasts and has meaning for the person giving it as a gift and for the person receiving it, is very satisfying.  I always remember listening to a radio programme where people were phoning in to talk about the objects which meant the most to them, and for the women ringing in, it was almost unanimously pieces of jewellery that people had given them or they had bought for themselves to mark significant events which were talked about.  Jewellery is more than something pretty - it's a little shared luxury that says something about the taste and personality of the person wearing it.  And it has the permanence that a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates can't compete with.

When I was a child, jewellery was much more of a luxury.  Women saved for items like 9ct gold gate bracelets, or waiting until significant events or anniversaries for them, and cherished the relatively few pieces they had bought or been given.  Nowadays you can easily buy a pretty pair of earrings with your weekly supermarket shop, and the relatively low cost of pieces means that far more people can treat themselves more often.  I love that.  Little luxury treats make difficult times more bearable, whether it's the effects of a world recession, or a personal or family crisis, there is meaning in people, especially women, stopping amidst their busy and difficult lives to say 'I want to get myself a little something to wear that looks good and makes me feel good.'

Enough of the philosophising, I hear you cry.  What have you made this week?

Well, there is a bag charm from beautifully carved tigers eye Lily beads and freshwater pearls.  Very delicate!

More earrings with drawbench glass beads.

A lucky lady will be receiving this statement leaf charm necklace for Christmas.

And these birds nest bracelets were listed and started to sell.

Very please to appear in the January edition of Bead Trends too with my field of flowers pendant

Happy holidays to all my blog readers and especially folks who take the time to leave comments, to customers, fellow sellers and even the spammers!

Hope to see you all again in the New Year - although if the spammers want to target someone else, I don't mind that at all!

Here's the link to what other crafty people have been making this week.

Alison x

Handmade Monday: Busy, busy, busy flowers

What a busy week!  Record sales in my Folksy shop this week, and the little cord charm bracelets are still proving popular everywhere.  There's not been time to do a tutorial, and at one point in the week, I was literally selling faster than I could make.  Long may it continue, and if I can get to 100 sales on Etsy (I'm at 97 at the moment!) then that will make me a really happy crafty bunny.

Every sale just encourages me in my obsessional, charm-buying habit and this week was no exception.  These beautiful flower connectors arrived in time for me to make and list cord bracelets in pink, coffee brown, red and lilac.

Aren't they pretty?  One has sold today, so later I'll be making a replacement.

I thought they would also make nice bold but light earrings too and combined them with some of my favourite drawbench glass beads in deep blue with red and gold drizzled paint.

Drawbench glass beads, this time in red with green, blue and gold drizzles, also found their way into a flower themed bag charm...

... and into these 'bubble' rings...

...

 ...which were a bit of an experiment but might well get repeated.  I thought they looked quite Christmassy - what do you think?

Talking of which, I have custom orders to do in time for Christmas, and presents to make for the family.  And someone said it was only a couple of weeks away, now that can't be true, can it?!

Here's the link to see what other crafty folk have been up to this week.

Alison