New Beginnings!

Well I've been a very bad blogger in 2011, I can't believe March was my last post! Seems that real life took over somewhat and my virtual reality took a back seat. Building work at home meant having to pack all my crafty treasures away for what seemed like a lifetime! But the up side of it is that I now have a brand new shiny office/craft room! It is still a work in progress, the week before christmas was spent mainly up a ladder painting, and everything is still in boxes, but next weekend the floor and storage should be finished and then I can start creating once more. I've also decided this year to take a photo a day which will hopefully give me the incentive to blog more as well as improving my photography skills. So today's photo is of my new office and as you can see there's still so much to do!

Finally finished

Well I've finally got round to making my mother in laws christmas present!! Only 2 and a bit months late. She had requested some earrings for going out in the only specification was for them to be black. This week I decided I had procrastinated enough, I sketch out some rough ideas and ordered the required beads. As usual, for me, when the beads arrived they weren't quite what I'd imagined but with an array of beads in front of me I set about experimenting. In the end this is what I created, made from swarovski crystals I have hung them on sterling silver leverback ear wires which I think gives them quite a 1920s feel. I'm thinking Downton Abbey.

The Call of Spring - Folksy Friday

I can always tell when spring is round the corner, the sun starts to make an
occasional appearance,I get a sudden urge to visit garden centres and even venture outside without my woolly hat and scarf. The other noticeable change is the garden suddenly becomes very noisy, not with the screams of the kids, but with I wonderful sound of bird song. Although not that wonderful at 5 o'clock in the morning!!
So this weeks Folksy Friday is all about our beautiful feathered friends, I hope you enjoy my choices.






1. paper Goldfinch by Rae Welch 2. Bird Brooch by Buttercup Boutique
3. Ceramic bird by Dottery Pottery 4.Fine art print by Lauriepunzzle land
5.Bird fascinator by Talulahblue 6. silver bird by Ali Bali Jewellery
7. Bird note cards by Clairenobledesign 8. needle felted lovebird by The Felt Menagerie Handmade Needle Felted Gifts

Folksy Friday - Stunning Semi-precious

I love semi-precious stones and quite a lot of my jewellery incorporates them. The range of stones is vast from agate through to vesuvianite. There are stones of all colours of the rainbow and many more inbetween. Semi-precious jewellery is a key trend this year and looking on folksy you can see why it is so popular. This week I asked the sellers of folksy to show me their favourite pieces of semi-precious jewellery I think you will agree that semi-precious stones are simply stunning. As usual if anything catches your eye just click on the picture for more details











1. Botswana agate by Trinket box 2. Red aventurine by Nithria
3. Coral and turquoise by Lisa-Maries jewellery 4.Blue banded agate by Unique Beaded Gems 5. Pink amethyst by Coco Stone Jewellery 6.Rose Quartz by Laurafaye crafts
7. Turquoise By Priti jewellery 8. Red coral by Spirit of the Woods
9.Blue Goldstone by Hollybird Beads 10. Lavender chalcedony by Cosmic Eden
11. Mixed gemstones by rainbow Rocks 12. Amazonite by NOfkantscurios
13. carnelian by jcu designs 14. Aquamarine by Red Moon
15. Mixed gemstones by Jewels of isis 16. amethyst and malachite by Blue Forest jewellery

Brightening up the day.

Well it's a bit dull and not very warm here so i thought i'd brighten up the day by listing some pretty hairclips.


They are simple to make and look beutiful. They are made from satin which is hand cut into a rough circular shape and then the edges are singed. They are layered together and then hand sewn with additional bead embelishments.

Check out some other cheery items listed on Folksy today


Cheerful earrings by Milliebeads


A gorgeous bracelet from shooglybeads


And this sweet bag by polka dots and posies

Must Do Better!!

Well it's the start of another year and rather than making new years resolutions I am instead setting myself hopefully realistic targets for the next year. I have purchased a note book so I can make "To Do" lists in the attempt of preventing idle surfing and twittering! Once the husband and children are back in their righful places on Wednesday I will begin!!

First Treasury

After being included in a few Etsy treasuries in the last few weeks I decided to take the plunge and create one myself. I wanted a theme that was a bit different from the usual, there are a lot of pretty things out there but I wanted something that would stand out.
So I decided to base my first treasury around my life BK(before kids). My career was in hospital laboratories. I worked in histology the place were the bits you have removed during operations are cut up for diagnosis, so I've seen a lot!
I started looking at all the lovely items on Etsy and was quite surprised at the number of items that fitted into my theme, and was surprised at how body parts and internal organs can be artist and beautiful in their own way!

Please check it out, there are some great items included.

The Anatomy of Etsy