Heart swap

I've been taking part in the handmade heart swap - brilliantly organised by Noodlebubble (thanks!!).

Well I tried a few bits and bobs, but just couldn't get anything to work properly, so in the end I went with a sterling silver heart. My first go with my saw and a sheet of silver.

I cut out a little heart, and after days of filing and polishing (crikey that takes longer than I thought - must be doing something wrong?!?) I attached a little freshwater pearl, and hung it from a silver chain. And lo...

I had to rush to post it, so sorry for the poor quality picture. Luckily, Sam aka Incy Wincy Stitches takes better pics than me....(click on the pic to see her blog post about the swap).

 

 And what did I get? 

Well, Jackie from Jacksknits sent me a lovely package in the post, which arrived today....

 Look at this little fella - how cute is he?

 

 

I tried knitting when my girls were born, I really wanted to knit them a little outfit, a jacket, or at least some bootees, but I'm rubbish at knitting. I could never get the tension right.

So Jackie, thanks so much - he's a beauty and will brighten up my work space!

Almost wordless Wednesday

Sorry not jewellery related, but love this video - found it quite hypnotic and a rather lovely song too. What do you think?

Sunshine Award

Yay, I got an award....the Sunshine Award was passed on to me by Kristen of KS Jewellery Designs. 

You might have heard of this already, but basically the Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world. So a huge Thank You! to Kristen for nominating me.

There are some rules that come with the award which are as follows:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers
- Link the nominees within your post
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So here goes... drum roll please...

 Joy Funnel 

Clair Wolfe Jewellery 

Incy Wincy Stitches 

Life of Cattoo 

 Sewing is for girls 

Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics 

Bugs and Fishes by Lupin 

Boo's Jewellery 

Ali Bali Jewellery 

The Peach Tree 

Blue Forest Jewellery 

Silver Moss Jewellery


Go check them out - I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I do!

Playing with fire

My soldering kit arrived last week, and so on Monday, when littlest girl was at pre-school I decided to go for it.

Must admit I was just a little scared of this thing...

And it's only a little one. People use bigger ones on creme brulee. Why did it scare me so much? A few goes of turning it on and off, and I felt lots happier.

And who'd have thought you need so much stuff? I unpacked and unwrapped all my bits and bobs, read the instructions on the pickle, and made some up. Checked out the flux, filled the torch, and then it was......time!!

Oops - with all my excitment I'd (ahem)  forgotten to put any thought into what I would actually be soldering. Silly me!

A few little wire rings formed and filed later, and I was ready to go. I know the join is supposed to be super clean and fitted.

Wow - such fun. I'm addicted. Watching the solder flow was great.

 

Anyway, hammered and textured the rings and linked them all together and hey presto...

I'm keeping this one for me, but no doubt will be making something similar for the shop soon.

Can't wait to learn more, and get practising. Onwards and upwards. 

My first ever treasury....

I managed to nab myself a treasury on Etsy... my first ever.

Feel free to have a click on the pic above and leave a comment. (ah go on, go on) - I'd love to know what you think!

Oh and make sure you're standing to attention and saluting while you do.

Snowflakes

Well it seems to have stopped snowing, and yes, I know it was a pain, and yes, getting anywhere was difficult BUT I am kind of missing it a bit. So here are my snowy etsy finds....

Love this gorgeous snowglobe effect bead.

Yum!

These flakes of silver in resin look just like snowflakes.

Click on the links to take you through to the etsy shops!

Featured Etsy Seller - Nico Designs

My first featured etsy seller of 2010 is Erika - aka Nico Designs.

Erika is a stay at home mum who sews for sanity, and she makes some lovely stuff which she sells on etsy and via her own website.

Her makes are eco-friendy too; items combine new, repurposed, recycled or upcycled materials, and any scrap or remnants are used in other projects or donated to keep them from a landfill.

She also has a fab blog - with some really nice tutorials. I love this upcycled hat - how cute is that? Go take a look!