Moving on

Well the summer is over for us (I know for some it's been over for a while) but the girls went back to pre-school and school on Wednesday *sniff*

I have to admit to being a little sad, its been a fun summer, and the first one that I haven't been working and stressed, or dealing with a teeny baby. But half term is just around the corner, and it's not like we haven't got quite a lot on in the next few weeks.

We put our house on the market in the first week of the summer holidays, and we exchanged yesterday! EEEEEeeeeeeep. Now we just need to pack, move and sort our selves out in the new place. The big day is in 2 weeks time. Best get cracking! OOOh and look at that lavender - must harvest some of that before we go.

It's good to move on, I know that its the right thing, but I do love "our" little house, where the kids have been babies, and grown up.

In the meantime Red Bird Jewellery is on a back burner whilst I pack, sort, organise, change address details on a million things, etc... you know the routine.

I'm hoping to be back with a vengence at the beginning of October in time for the Christmas rush!

UK Handmade Autumn Edition

You probably already know that there is a fantastic online magazine especially written for the ever growing community of UK artisans and makers

But did you know that the Autumn edition was out right now?

And that it had LOADS of fantastic stuff in it - including (amongst other brilliantness);

Aa tutorial for elegantly carved butterbut squash, which I'm definitely going to have a go at this year.

A fantastic tutorial in how to write a press release.

A "meet" article with paper cutting artists  (I LOVE papercutting at the moment!)

And an interview with Suzanne from Gorjuss, by Becky from Red Bird Jewellery.... ooh that's me.



Seriously, I would highly recommend you get a cuppa, and have a flick through this seasons issue. Click on the front cover above and enjoy!

Have you seen Creative Boom yet? They did a guest blog on Folksy earlier in the week Basically Creative Boom is an online magazine and network community that aims to celebrate, inspire and support the creative industries.

And look - I got featured in their "Look Book" a showcase for new design talent. Yay - I'm famous.
Click on the picture to go through to my little feature!

Early autumn Folksy Friday

Listen, I'm just thinking ahead, I know it's not really autumn yet - hell no, still August and all that .... BUT... the weather has been a little...., you know, and the kids are back to school soon, and I do really like Autumn....(sorry did I tell you that before?).

Anyway - here's some rather lovely folksy autumn picks for the coming season...






Please click on the pics to go through to the shop..

Late Summer Pallete

One of the  things I love about the end of summer is the colours. The pale golds and pinky browns of the summer plants as they fade; the pale blue of the sky on those still warm  (but not very...) afternoons.

Blue Brown and Bokeh Fine Art Photograph by AbbyBlaine

This is a real transition, the palette moves from summers bold, bright and fresh hues, to a more muted collection. The sun still feels warm, but the soft glow of dusk is noticably earlier. This is the week or two before the autumn show arrives with it's deeper reds, browns and ambers.

I am so sad that summer is nearly gone, it's been such fun and has gone way to quickly, but then again...I'm looking forward to cosying up for autumn

My Etsyversary - One Year On (FREE JEWELLERY ALERT!!!)

FREE JEWELLERY ALERT..... read on........

Crikey I've been selling my jewellery for a year on Etsy. A whole bloomin' year! Where's that time gone?

On 24th August 2009 my little shop opened and what a journey it's been. I've learned so much both in terms of making jewellery and selling it.

My photos have come on a bit... here's one of my first..

and this one is a bit more recent....

I've moved from only doing basic beading and linking to tackling wire wrapping, silversmithing, and playing with silver and copper clay. I've also started doing fingerprint and personalised jewellery, which is a joy to do!

I have my own personal hallmark, like a proper grown up jeweller, a dinky new kiln, a tumbler and a cupboard full of jewellery making "stuff".

People who know me, know I love to try all sorts of crafty things, I get bored easily and am always on the look out for my latest fad - but I have definitely been bitten by the jewellery making bug and will be doing this for a long time to come.

There's just so much to learn, so much to experiement with. I have projects and plans to keep me going for years to come.

I'm planning so many exciting things for my 2nd year. I've ordered a ring mandrel, and am going to get cracking on some new ring designs - keep a look out for them. I've been playing around with stamping, on bangles, and pendants. Another great way to make jewellery a bit more personal. And I've got lots of new ideas for the blog.

So as a celebration of my first year on Etsy, I'm offering for one day only a special sale on my store.

Buy 3 items and get the cheapest item for FREE!!! Yes you heard. Zilch. Zip. Nothing. How's that for a deal? The cost of the third item will be refunded via Paypal as soon as I see your order.

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell everyone! Get your Christmas shopping started early this year, like you always promise yourself you will! and enjoy!

Dublin - was brill!

Back again, and what a lovely lovely time we all had.

I must admit I was a little unsure what to expect. Anyone we'd asked about Dublin said it was brilliant, and they'd had an amazing time, "but oh... you're taking the kids... oh no we went pre-kids...., it was a hen do/ romantic weekend away etc..."

BUT we had a fantastic time. We had stayed in the south dock area, near Bono's recording studio apparently...

Here the old Dublin of dock workers and canal trade meets the new trendy Dublin of state-of-the-art theatres, offices and restaurants. The architecture is stunning!!

 
There's just an amazing mix of old and new all around.

We were only there for 2 full days so we didn't get a chance to do too much sight seeing - just the National Gallery and the Zoo, as well as a wander around the city centre. Unfortunately littlest is still a little young for too much wandering (we didn't take a buggy).

Hmmmmm looking at those fantastic markings on the giraffes gives me some jewellery ideas..
 
We took the girls out for dinner and lunch both days. On Richards birthday we went to a fab Thai restaurant Saba which was very grown up, but which catered for kids brilliantly, with colouring in, and a fab kids menu (fish tempura went down a treat!)

And did it rain?

Who cares!