SLCDesigns.co.uk

The story of the cat and the mouse at two in the morning..

2012-02-08T02:30:00.000Z

Clearly, Harley cat is feeling better....because I have just woken up to a nightmare scenario (at least for one of the parties, a mouse) where Harley cat was encouraging his new friend to do acrobatics for his Mummy on her bed. I woke up thinking...ugh...is Harley feeling better then? Only to have this confirmed by his having caught me a live present and bringing it to me to play with. Sadly, by the time I had gained control of the situation, I had a dead mouse and a still very very excited cat. Dealt with the mouse, spoke to the cat, reminded him I am a vegetarian, changed the bed, hoovered the carpet - lots of groaning from the other occupants of the house, explained the severity of the situation. Nodded. Quite normal. Back to bed.

Mia, Harry and Harley

2012-02-07T15:48:00.002Z

Well, I've been tending to three poorly pussycats this past week - Mia started with calicivirus, shortly followed by Harley and now by Harry - imagine a bad dose of flu - the worst you've ever had, and you're close to how they've been feeling. The boys seem to have recovered much faster than Mia who is a little delicate girl who had a terrible hard life before she came to us. So, its been feline painkillers and warm spots for them to sleep in, and for once they have all enjoyed being wrapped up in old towels and snuggled up all warm - not that I blame them with all this cold weather.

I drove down to Birmingham to see some of my suppliers - I like Birmingham very much anyway, and know it much better than I do Manchester, though the weather was not good and I drove back in a horrible scary fog on the motorway; ever since a petrol tanker drove over the side of my car several years ago I've been a bit of a scary mary with big vehicles next to the drivers side of my car; somehow it just scares me to death, which is a shame becuase other than that I am a brave driver.

I've just taken delivery of some fab new silver components and some gorgeous delicate blue zircon drops in a swiss blue topaz colour which I can't wait to use, and having horrid weather outside makes me want to be cozy and creative inside. Sooo...off to work and back to nursing the kitty cats, I am sure they will be up and about causing havoc again soon!

Mia-Cat, and More New Stuff...

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000Z

I thought I'd do a new post about more new work to find Blogger have changed everything around in terms of posting so - um - aaaaargh, I hope I don't make a total mess of this.

Anyyywayyyy...I'm just endlesly editing photos right now both for the website and my Etsy shop, and I am sitting with my pussycat Mia who seems quite unwell tonight - she has a chest infection, Mark took her to the vets for her annual check-up and injections and the vet said she needed antibiotics, but I've been giving them to her (its only me who can do this, because she's a very sensitive girl) and tonight, she really does not seem well at all - I am taking her back to the vets tomorrow morning. She's limping quite badly and is very grumpy and I am wondering if she has a dose of feline calicivirus because Bailey, who we lost to an accident at christmas, was a carrier, and although we had done everything we could to try and isolate him whilst he was infectious (weeks and weeks of him being at Mark's Mum's house), it seems the main cat family still got it in the end - I had not noticed Mia showing any signs though, but she is really not herself tonight, so I am going to sit up with her a while and take care of her.

In any case, I will update the blog tomorrow about what happens, but in the meantime, here is some new jewellery, shortly to go on the site...

These little 'Gifted' earrings have been so popular, I made some more..

Earrings made using my new Murano glass in a beautiful deep shade of purple...

Again, these beads above are the only ones I have left of these - gemstone inlaid beads with sterling silver, the earrings also feature Lapis Lazuli and Turquoise - they remind me so much of much of the jewellery I saw in Arizona.

Gorgeous Zircon hearts, from my trip to Arizona last year...this is a rare and beautiful colour.

I'm having a bit of a love affair with my Murano glass cubes right now, which to be honest, I have been hoarding for years...then I thought - hmmm, what am I actually saving these for? So I made some jewellery with them, which is very liberating suddenly!

This beautiful sterling silver enamelled bead came from a trip to Minnesota several years ago - again, something I have been hoarding for no other good reason other than it's the only one I have - now a pretty necklace in sterling silver and Swarovski crystal.

Murano glass heart pendants - simple, beautiful, practical and gorgeous.

Italian Jewellery Collection

2012-01-29T00:53:00.000Z

I've just launched my new Italian jewellery section on the website, not to fly in the face of the rest of my jewellery being hand-made, but to complement it - I went through a lot of prospective supplies before I found this company who makes the most beautiful crystal-encrusted jewellery in Italy; it's lovely quality with excellent credentials - hypo allergenic, with Swarovski crystal elements, the metals are either rhodium plated or high carat gold plated, and normally I'd shy away from plated jewellery but I am convinced of the quality of this collection - so - intially a relatively small selection, just to see how it goes, but hopefully this will be something that will grow as people get to know about it (fingers crossed)...and here's a link to take you to it....

http://www.slcdesigns.co.uk/italian-bracelet1.htm

New (and Green)...

2012-01-05T22:51:00.000Z

Just made this...

Murano glass cubes, Swarovski crystal beads and sterling silver...

Cake - "Always Have Back-Up Butterflies".....

2012-01-01T21:56:00.001Z

I'm really into making cakes right now...and this one is a special one.   It was Mum's birthday today (it was a 'special' one but we won't mention which one) and my brothers and I had organised a surprise birthday meal for her.   All well and good, and then I said I'd make a cake, because a shop bought one just wouldn't do.

When Mum and I were in NY last year, on my birthday we had Red Velvet cake, and it was scrumptious. I've made it a few times since we got back, so I decided on a four layer red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting.   The cakes came out beautifully, just popped out of the oven, no trouble at all, and they looked fab. I made the icing and then the trouble started, because you know, (and I didn't at the time) when you try and put four cakes together like a skyscraper with cream cheese frosting in between, then the layers start to move apart like techtonic plates gearing up for a major upheaval.   Quite a lot of cursing later we got to stabbing the entire four layers right the way through with skewers, and the layers stayed put.

Now we've got the icing, and when I think of hell now, it involves icing/frosting. No way could I get that stuff to stick to the outside of that cake. It just slid downwards, like a river washing over the cake.   There was no way it was going to stay put. I nearly threw the lot through the kitchen window - but seeing as it was New Year's Eve and there were now no shops open to save my life, I took a step back and put the entire lot, cake and all into the fridge. I really couldn't stop myself tinkering every half hour to see if it made any difference, to which the answer was 'not a blind bit'.

I decided I'd add half a ton of icing sugar to the frosting to try and get it to be thicker. It didn't work.
Mark came into the kitchen and he thought I'd turned into the devil.

I went to bed and obsessed all night.   Got up at four and somehow managed to get the stuff to stick. Must have been the superglue.

Next morning, never mind feeding the cats, getting dressed or having breakfast, straight off to that fridge to sit and sob in front of it.   Got the cake out, didn't drop it.   Plastered some icing that was melting off and then....the genius stroke.   I'd bought these fab rice paper edible butterflies for this very cake...sprinkled the thing with anything pretty I could find out of my cake decoration drawer...and stuck the butterflies on.   Topped off with the pretty candles I'd found in Waitrose...and Mark came down the stairs, saw the cake and said 'wow'.

Life saved. One lovely, lovely cake, only leaning about 30 degrees (like the tower of Pisa) and it got a rapturous recption at the party.

Lesssons Learned
1. Don't be a smarty pants...don't do four layers when you could have done two, you banana.
2. Always anchor the cakes with skewers.
3. Don't make up your own recipe for frosting.
4. Don't make your cake up on New Years Eve for New Years Day.
5. If it can go wrong, it probably will.
6. Always have a back up plan.
7. Always have back up butterflies.

The cake...

New Jewellery

2011-12-29T22:46:00.000Z

New jewellery for the site!

A Terrible Day

2011-12-26T14:38:00.006Z

Christmas has never been my favourite time of year, but this year it has outdone itself. We'd had a nice Christmas day with the family and my good friend Yvonne round; I'd cooked dinner which was enjoyed by all when my parents decided they'd go home around 10pm, to find beautiful Bailey cat having a fit underneath their car. We rushed him inside, inspected him and he gave a shuddering breath and died. He'd been hit by a car; he was only just a year old, and its another blow to our small cat family.

I think I can be excused for being a bit off christmas once again - there are so many 'if only's' - if only we hadn't brought him over from Mark's Mums' house where he'd been keeping her company for a week, if only we hadn't let him out, if only the weather had been colder he wouldn't have even gone out, oh so many - it has left me feeling desperately sad and I can't seem to stop leaking tears - this is the second untimely, young cat death this year, the first was Aston in April who died of asthma - and the waste of such a beautiful, loved feline has upset us all deeply - he was always a wanderer which happily is not the case with the other cats we have, but that does not make us feel any better.

To Mark's Mum I had to say he was lucky in a way - he died surrounded by all the people who loved him, who were trying to help him - which I feel sure he knew, he never knew a moment of cruelty or unkindness in his entire life, and it was mercifully (I hope) quick.

He was such a character, we often received phone calls from people telling us our cat was with them (and often either playing with their cats or eating dinner with them), and in September when Mark was away in France I spent 3 days looking for Bailey, in tears, convinced somthing awful had happened, only to find out he had wandered nearly 3 miles away from home - so realistically it was only a matter of time, but none of that makes any of us feel any better, and it was particularly terrible that Mark's 90-odd year old mother had to be there to see all that. He's buried in the garden with his favourite toys, along with the other pusscats we've lost over the years, but what a terrible day.

New Work

2011-10-29T23:51:00.001+01:00

New earrings for the Site, soon to be avaiilable on www.slcdesigns.co.uk

Above: Handformed sterling hoops with Garnet and Tiny Turquoise beads.

Above: Handmade lampwork beads, Swarovski crystal and vermeil with gold-filled components.

Above: Rock Crystal, White Zircon with freshwater pearls and sterling silver.

Above: Swiss Blue Topaz with Gold-filled wire and fittings.

Above: Green Onyx with Goldfilled wire and componets, green jade and amazonite.

Above: Rock Crystal and Gold-filled wire and fittings.

Above: Turquoise and Sterling silver.

Above: Chalcedony and sterling silver.

Above: Handmade Murano Glass with Swarovski crystal and sterling silver.

Above: Dalmatian Jasper, Black Onyx and sterling silver.

Above: Swarovski Crystal 'gift wrapped' cubes with gold-filled ear wires.

Bailey

2011-10-24T01:56:00.000+01:00

Ohhh, butter wouldn't melt in MY mouth...

You remember we adopted Bailey several months and we love him dearly, as you can see from the pic he's spoiled and loved, and what we just cannot understand is why he keeps wandering off from home to find new adventures - this weekend was a case in point where I nearly went mad because he went missing for 2 nights and a day and was eventually found two and a half miles away from home, because some kind soul read the tag on his collar and rang me.

Mark had gone away for the weekend and for all intents and purposes, Bailey decided to do the same thing - it was several hours before I started to worry and then I worried and worried and worried and wandered the streets, bothering the neighbours, driving round and round the neighbourhood, looking for this cat all to no avail; when eventually I confessed to Mark I had lost the cat I was frantic and in tears, convinced something terible had happened to Bailey, only relieved more than 24 hours later after the call from the good samaritan the other side of town - I confess to bursting into tears from relief as soon as I buried my face in his fur (that would be the cat's fur, not the person who called me!).

I cannot imagine how he managed to navigate over several main roads, over a park and into a housing estate all that way away, but right now we are looking into a GPS collar for him in an attempt to locate him when he goes on his next holiday - in the meantime, he's sleeping his adventure off, sore paws and all....

Just Made This

2011-10-17T00:16:00.000+01:00

Handmade silver lined Murano glass with sterling silver and Swarovski crystal.

Long Time No See

2011-10-15T23:55:00.006+01:00

Well, its been one of those long absences again. Its not that I didn't miss you, I did, but I've been quite busy. I've been busy with stock from recent buying splurges (Venetian glass, sterling silver and semi precious stones) and unfortunately I've been under the weather for some time with a cold, flu and a virus - then Mark, my husband had a minor heart attack and we've been quite preoccupied with that - THEN Bailey the cat went missing for three days, oh and so on and so forth.

In any case, here we find ourselves towards the end of the year with a neglected Blog. Apologies. This is one of a series of periodically recurring apologies for the same occurence. The cat came back, Mark is OK again and so I am I, so its back to work. And hopefully to pick up with my Blog again; I've got the baking bug once again so I'm getting into the swing of things with that, with big plans for baking all my Christmas presents - hah, let's see how that one works!

Thanks for your patience whilst I have been absent!

And loads of new stuff for the site soon too!

Back to Venice

2011-09-07T13:38:00.029+01:00

Today I am in Venice, another hot, hot hot day at 34 degrees...

Its been quite some time since I visited the city, which is one of my absolute favourites, and in actual fact I've never visited Venice in the heat, only when it has been wintertime/autumn which is evocative, misty and mysterious but its very different in the summertime - firstly a lot more crowded than I am accustomed to, cruise ships coming in and out of the city (which was worth seeing in itself) and oh my, have the prices been hiked in the hot weather? Not sure I'd come back in the heat as I'd rather have the place to myself and I'd prefer to be able to afford it - I call 7 Euros for a tiny caffe latte wayyyyy too much!

I chose to stay at the Bauer Hotel, not somewhere I have stayed in the city before and it is wonderful - there are two Bauers, both owned by the same company - the expensive version and the less so, and I went for the cheaper option which is a boat trip over the water from St. Mark's Square on the island of La Giudecca, but the hotel has a little boat which shuttles back and forth which is quite convenient - the hotel was once a convent, dating back to the 16th Century - at the end of a crowded, hot and busy day in the city, it is an oasis of cool and calm and peace - and it even has its own garden which is lovely for breakfast; rooms are fab with lots of space (unusual in Venice), clean, spacious, with lovely staff. http://www.palladiohotelspa.com/

Cafe Florian is one of Venice's great landmarks - the interiors date back to 1720 but again, one of those places you can just have a little peep inside and enjoy the ambience of the place by walking outside on the Piazza San Marco, because its another one of those place that unless you've recently won the lottery, there are so many other things you can spend your money on.

Above - the Lion of St Mark's - you see this emblem of Venice everywhere.

Above - view of St. Mark's Square from the launch going back to the hotel

Above - Goldoliers...waiting for their next ~~victim~~ customer

Above and below - someone's colourful washing!

Above - a tiny little painting I spotted on a wall next to a canal - so lovely - presumably an artist succumbed to boredom and decided to do us all a little doodle...much nicer than the usual grafitti though!

Above - Venetian glass creations.

Ponte Vecchio Florence

2011-09-06T13:27:00.025+01:00

Views of the most famous bridge in Florence on a lovely sunny day...the bridge dates back to the medieval period, and spans the the narrowest part of the Arno river - it is one of six bridges in the city and is the oldest. The original shops on the bridge were probably butchers, tanners and fishmongers but in 1593 Ferdinando I decided that these trades were "vile" because their practice had been to throw their refuse into the river causing an almighty stink, replaced these trades with goldsmiths - who continue to occupy the shops to the present with stunning displays of gold, silver and precious gems...the net worth on this bridge would most likely go a long way towards paying national debt!

Further info on the bridge can be found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio

Lovers Locks on the Ponte di Vecchio - the same the world over...

WikiPedia says of this practice: "Along the Ponte Vecchio, there were many padlocks locked to various places, especially to the railing around the statue of Benvenuto Cellini. This is a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio. It was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to idea of love and lovers: by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded. This is an example of the negative impact of mass tourism: thousands of padlocks needed to be removed frequently, spoiling or damaging the structure of the centuries-old bridge; however, it seems to have decreased after the city administration put a sign on the bridge mentioning a 50€ penalty for those caught locking something to the fence."

Displays of coral and precious metal jewellery

The bridge is lined with amazing jewellers shops on either side...

During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy. Instead they blocked access by demolishing the medieval buildings on each side.

The bridge has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables in front of their shops, interestingly, it is claimed that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: when a merchant could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything

Vibrant Street Market in Florence

2011-09-05T01:18:00.000+01:00

Thought you might like to see these pics of a fabulous street market I stumbled across this evening - how amazing is this place? I wish I had something like this at home - everything was so tempting - in the end I succumbed to some lovely handmade soap and some olive wood salad spoons, though I could have gone on and on buying the amazing stuff on offer - however, the 'Jet2' luggage allowance dissuaded me...I'd hate to have to leave anything behind!

Everything was handmade/grown at home or as a small business and from plants to hand knitted clothes, olives to carvings, jewellery to handbags, you name it you could pretty much get anything you might want from this place - hardly anyone spoke English and I don't speak Italian, so we managed by the universal sign language of writing prices on paper - works every time.

Statuary in Florence

2011-09-04T13:32:00.000+01:00

Art and culture is what you come to Florence for (as well as the grafitti and overall grubbyness) and here are some pics of the fabulous statuary around the city - we've had great difficulty getting into any of the buildings to see works of art because of the queues stretching back a literal five hours, and 35 degree heat... but just to be here is a treat.

Florence, Italy

2011-09-03T01:12:00.000+01:00

Today I am in Florence, Italy, where I will be for a few days - I've never been to this city before and its a staggering 34 degrees so I wonder how much time I will actually get to spend out and about in my pale northen-ness....

Anyway, here are a few views of the Florence to get the photo album started...

The architecture is amazing...

Blog Time Out

2011-08-15T01:27:00.000+01:00

I'm taking a brief break from my Blog to enjoy some summer (fingers crossed) and to get over this particular problem I have with my HP Laptop currently...will be back when I've had some sunshine and my blood pressure has calmed down after the big laptop explosion...and when I have a new one. In the meantime, happy summer xx

I Tell You...Its Back To The Dark Ages Here...(also known as 'Bonfire Night Comes Early to England')

2011-08-10T00:24:00.003+01:00

Dear Reader,

Well, once again long time no see, er - that is long time, you no see me...if you see what I mean. I apologise. There are a number of valid excuses, the most pertinent of which is that my computer blew up in flames several weeks ago and now I am back to chalk and a slate...there's not much you can do to those, but neither are they particularly well known for hosting websites, and that is one of our problems. Its a bit like being in a time where there WERE no computers, and I tell you, my eyesight has improved a lot since I gave computers up.

Any time I spend online has to be begged and grovelled for (as in this, borrowing someone else's machine) and although I spent several nights sighing, my fingers twitching once the infernal thing had combusted, I grew to like not having one strapped to my lap day in, night out. The great computer fire of Summer 2011 will long be blamed for SLC Designs not having been updated in a donkey's age.

Like people everywhere, I am right now astonished by the drama occurring on the streets of Manchester (as well as various other places) this evening; as I write much of the youth, freeloaders, dropouts and disaffected of England seem to be running amok and burning out cars, destroying buildings, homes and businesses and generally causing pain, distress and fear to the general populace; watching this havoc made me think of the Blitz in the second world war (not, you understand that I saw that first hand!), but I did a lot of research on that for a book I wrote for my Dad's birthday last year (when he was 70) all about the year he was born (the year of the Blitz); it brought home to me what it must have been like for the people then, and I feel terribly for the innocent people caught up in this mayhem, a shame to the country and a terrible indictment of a criminal minority hell bent on getting stuff for free and terrifying the entire populace into the bargain. I hope I never see anything like this again in my lifetime.

I have a ton of stuff for the site, but right now, its being held to ransom inside something called a hard drive. Yes indeed, it is driving me very hard up the wall. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I can mug someone for the use of their machine, the little men inside the machine resume work, or perhaps - I'll have to go out and purchase a new one.

Little Kisses...

2011-07-22T03:07:00.000+01:00

Little baby Harley is nicknamed 'Little Kisses' because one of his favourite things is to come to me, purring, and put his head right underneath my face....and of course, you just have to cover his lovely little head with kisses....mmmmm.....little kisses.

Merlin

2011-07-19T22:03:00.001+01:00

To many, the words love, hope, and dreams are synonymous with horses....

Beautiful Merlin, Summer 2011...

New Work...

2011-07-18T22:09:00.002+01:00

Turquoise and Gold-Fill...

Green Amethyst and Gold-Fill, Gold Plated Birdies and Sterling Silver Posts

Peridot, Mother of Pearl and Fire Opal

Zircon and Gold-Fill...

Beautiful Rock Crystal and Gold-Fill

Freshwater Pearls, Zircon, Rock Crystal and Sterling Silver...

Turquoise, Sterling Silver and Garnet...

Chalcedony, Vermeil and Gold-Fill...

Topaz and Gold Fill...

Fighting With...

2011-07-17T21:06:00.002+01:00

I cannot belive such a long time has gone by since my last post, especially as I began the year practically blogging every day!! Sometimes there's loads to report on, and other times not so much, though this quiet period in my blog has mostly been caused by health issues - my Rheumatoid Arthritis has raised its ugly head once more and I just haven't had the energy to blog recently, and hey, who wants to hear about this bone hurting more than that one? I sure don't and I'm pretty sure you don't either. I've just been doing quite a lot of burrowing into my pillows and bed, reading and not a lot else, though I did manage to sneak off to my favourite health spa, Ragdale Hall last week for some much needed TLC. It was lovely as always and I felt a lot better mentally if not physically for having had a bit of pampering.

I had thought I'd get away with sneaking off without anyone noticing, only to be updated by Mark that I had an avalanche of orders stacking up...this made me feel really guilty for being away, but he managed it and I want to thank everyone who was willing to wait a few days whilst I was away. Usually I put a big message at the front of the site, and to be honest I forgot. Apologies. In any case, the avalanche is dealt with now, and I'm clear of outstanding orders so my conscience is salved.

I've been doing loads of cooking in the past several weeks, I suddenly got the bug for it and its nice to do other creative stuff, and I do think of cooking as creative. I made the most AMAZING chocolate cake for Father's Day and had Mum and Dad over for dinner - alas I forgot to take any photos, so you'll have to take my word for it, but I love to cook....eventually we plan to knock a wall out to the side of the kitchen and make a much larger one but that's all in the pipeline under 'Manyana' because I have a horror of home construction projects as its a strong childhood memory that my parents must have been the original property developers; we moved a lot, and every house we lived in, my Dad was always knocking down walls, building extensions and putting new roofs on....its not at all that it was awful, its just anytime I think of all that dust and mess I start gibbering.

Well, we've adopted ANOTHER new pussycat; we had a bit of a tragedy as you know when lovely Blue died a while back and we adopted Harley who is lovely and cute but he immediately bonded to me rather than to Mark; so Mark was on the look-out for another cat and we've adopted Bailey, previously 'Ghost' who needed rehoming as the little boy to whom he belonged was allergic to him in a major way - Bailey is a Tiffanie cat (no, we'd never heard of the breed either) and as you can see from the pics, he is beyond beautiful. Apparently Mark is a cat snob, because all the other three are mogs - the three have all bonded to me of course, and Mark is working on Bailey to get him to bond to him. Bailey isn't actually living with us as yet because it turned out he had some sort of cat virus which we didn't fancy giving to our other cats so at present he is at Mark's Mum's on quarantine until we get the all-clear which shouldn't be too long away now.

The one thing I do know about my cats and Merlin my horse is they all instinctively sense when I am not well and do their own thing to try and look after me. Harley likes to lie right against me and purr very very hard into me; it does make me feel better, because that sort of unconditional love is very very special.

So, its four cats now, and that is absolutely the limit - its a nice number and certainly the three we have in the house now make it feel full, like a home, as there's always something going on, and they bring warmth and happiness to the house.

I have been doing some new work and although I can't make promises as to when it will go on the site, where it does there will be lots of new pieces to look at - I've also got lots of fresh vintage stuff as well, but of course the progress of all that is health dependent.

I hope you'll forgive the total silence, and hopefully I can make up for it soon.

Love, Stephanie x

New Kits, New Work

2011-05-24T22:52:00.001+01:00

I've been working on new kits for BeadAddict recently, I love doing these because they let me create and share - I started writing kits years ago but I've concentrated on them in the past few years because, well, they sell and whilst that is one reason, I love teaching, in fact I'm hoping to get back to one to one and class teaching in the coming months (well, its on the to-do list anyway), and the other reason is that I enjoy the more organised creative process of putting together and writing the instructions for kits. I've got a pile more in the works (and some of these shown below aren't launched as yet) but I thought I'd show what was coming up on the site.

www.beadaddict.co.uk

Maisie Tiara

2011-05-18T22:53:00.001+01:00

I made this tiara for Maisie, a lovely little girl who has a pony at my stable-yard...no particular occasion, I just thought she'd look pretty in it - not that she isn't already! Made with Swarovski crystal, Czech glass and gold-plated wire, her Mum told me she even sleeps in it!

Welcome Harley

2011-05-16T23:46:00.001+01:00

This is Harley, he is my newest baby, who has joined the family - after the awful loss of Blue a couple of weeks ago we had the most terrible cat sized hole in the family and we just decided to adopt someone new - Harley (who was first going to be called Inky-Dinky, then Baby George, then DuCatti then Harvey...) and we ended up with Harley...isn't he just a cutie pie? Harry-cat thinks he's great but Mia is less impressed, but it takes a lot to impress Mia and it could take several years with her...its lovely to have a complete family once again, and although he'll never replace Blue, he brings happiness back to the house and we are delighted to have him here with us, as with all our feline babies, he will be very very loved....

How Does My Garden Grow...

2011-05-08T23:31:00.001+01:00

This is my pretty boy Harry, enjoying his garden...he has this funny habit of sitting in a planter (the bulbs have long since given up trying to make it up towards sunlight...) - this is his favourite place in the garden right now...and some lovely plants currently gracing the garden....

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T19:04:00.003+01:00

What a happy day, never mind that we get some extra days off (apart from us people who work for ourselves!) but despite a lot of miserable people moaning about the cost, the royal family, the weather, anything they can think of, this lovely day brought a bit of happiness and colour to the general gloom of the econony, economy, and economic crisis. And how lovely did Kate look? Every bride has her 'Ahhhh' moment, but this was a little bit of happiness in the grey light of reality and should be enjoyed as such.

Goodbye Pussycat

2011-04-27T00:11:00.002+01:00

We had an awful day today, our sweet pussycat Blue died whilst we were taking him to the vets - he died from his asthma which we had managed to control for the past few years but this morning he just couldn't breathe any more and he died whilst Mark was holding him. He was only six. We are just heartbroken; because we don't have children, our cats are our closest family and this has broken our hearts. We wish we had done so many things so differently, but it doesn't change the fact that lovely Blue has died. We buried him in the garden.
I guess there is not much else I can say about this, I can only hope we can eventually look back with happiness on his short life. There will never be another Blue. Goodnight Pussycat, Sweet Dreams in Pussycat Heaven x

New Work

2011-04-25T00:35:00.001+01:00

A selection of my latest creations waiting to go on the website...

Chalcedony and Vermeil Necklace

Venetian Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Vermeil and Silk Necklace

Arizona Turquoise, Green Amethyst, Coin Freshwater Pearl, Gold-Filled Wire and Chain Necklace

Multi-Gems and Gold-Fill Bracelet

New York Love Earrings - Swarovski Crystal and Gold-Fill Wire, Chain and Earring Fittings

Turquoise and Gold-Fill Earrings

Chalcedony, Vermeil and Gold-Fill Earrings

Light Amethyst, Dark Amethyst, Green Amethyst, Vermeil Earrings

Green Amethyst, Gold-Fill, Larimar Earrings

Vermeil, Chalcedony, Gold-Fill Earrings

Topaz, Gold-Fill Earrings

Venetian Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Vermeil, Gold-Fill Earrings

Murano Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Vermeil and Gold-Fill Earrings

Royal Wedding

2011-04-24T18:59:00.001+01:00

Dawn Breaking...

2011-03-23T17:04:00.001Z

This is on the way home from New York, wayyyyy too early, with dawn breaking as I fly home towards England - so peaceful, so pretty... I am hoping for spring when I land!

Today's Scenes from New York...

2011-03-21T02:01:00.001Z

Its my birthday today! And these are today's scenes from New York!

It was a rainy, cold and horrible day so I didn't leave the hotel till mid-day; then went with Mum to have some red velvet cake which was lovely, lovely and finally we visited 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' which passed an hour or so before we returned to the hotel to hibernate --- snow is forecast for the end of the week - I'll be home by then though!

To be honest, most of these pics were taken during the past week - you'd be too depressed by the weather if I showed you photos of today.

Walking Through Central Park...

2011-03-20T01:50:00.001Z

Walking home through Central Park from the Van Cleef and Arpels Show...the weather was perfect, the sky so blue, and spring just around the corner...so lovely and so peaceful (well, relatively for New York

anyway).

Set In Style - The Jewellery of Van Cleef & Arpels in New York

2011-03-20T01:39:00.001Z

Today I visited the Carnegie Mansion (AKA The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, part of the Smithsonian) to view the collection of historical Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery on display there - a fabulous collection of to-die-for precious and fascinating jewels including items that belonged to Greta Garbo, Princess Grace of Monaco, Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor - it was jaw-dropping, really it was - the lushness of these amazing pieces, the size and the design of them was astonishing - the Carnegie Mansion was quite interesting too and the tour guide was worth following around. I was lucky enough to arrive early, because I as I left, there was a long queue out the front with people waiting patiently to view the collection which was almost as astonishing to me as the collection, I've never seen Americans queue for anything before!

World Trade Centre

2011-03-19T01:20:00.002Z

Despite having visited New York several times before, I've resisted visiting the WTC until now - it seemed intrusive and wrong, but whilst I was in the area, I walked down there - it seemed to me that the area was so much smaller than I had imagined it was from all the coverage I have seen on the TV over the years; there is a small temporary memorial area, and the building of the first of the new structures is making progress -- not on the footprints of the old twin towers. The previews of the permanent memorials look lovely, and I hope I will be able to visit them when they are reality in the future. Its a strange place - firstly its a building site, and now that is what it is foremost, but everyone was walking round quietly, everyone looking upwards, everyone reliving what we saw in September 2001.

Terrible, really; that sense of this building site being something so awful; it was truly like visiting a graveyard, you just can't help thinking of all those poor people.
It was one of those times in our lives when we will always be able to remember where we were, what we were doing and who we were with at that moment of that day; I can never think of these events without remembering these things, how normal a day it was for us at home, watching these awful things on TV.
Strangely, it still seemed unreal, unbelievable for being in the actual place where it happened. The cruelty of the event is still unbelievably staggering, beyond comprehension.

Wall Street...

2011-03-19T01:12:00.001Z

Whilst down at the Financial centre of New York, visited Wall Street...
saw the Stock Exchange (though you can't go in...)

and saw extreme poverty alongside all this wealth...this man was barefoot, standing in the middle of the road, singing, wearing rags...

Walked the Brooklyn Bridge...

2011-03-18T00:57:00.004Z

Today I went down to the Financial District and Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is one not to miss in New York and another beautiful day to do it! The only low spot - I had the sun in my eyes so was walking with my head slightly down and then 'bong', I walked head-first into a metal box on the bridge (phone or electricity box I think) - I hit it with quite a bang and now have a huge, huge bruise on my head. Ouch.

Great bridge though.

Street Scenes from New York...

2011-03-17T00:24:00.001Z

Today's Scenes from New York....

National Museum of the American Indian

2011-03-16T23:54:00.002Z

Wandering down in the financial centre of New York, I found this interesting museum display of artifacts dedicated to the American Indian - inside a beautiful building were more beautiful, interesting things AND a display about the American Indian Horse Nation. Well, of course I had to go in and see what was what - beautiful beadwork - including a lady beading in a corner, talking to people about her work and lots of horse related stuff - it was fascinating.

I have to tell you though, this was the scariest doll I ever saw in my life...

Today In New York...

2011-03-16T00:48:00.001Z

Stuff I saw today in New York..

Empire State Building....very, very tall...

Financial District - very very grey....

More very, very tall buildings...

Cake, cake and more cake...and the last one was all mine...

M&J Trimmings, New York

2011-03-15T21:53:00.001Z

Whenever I visit New York, I HAVE to visit M and J Trimming which is just about the most amazing place you could imagine for lace, ribbon, buttons, flowers, feathers, fabrics, trims, sewing stuff, iron-on transfers, you name it, you can find it in here ---- I bought some gorgeous feathers for tiaras and some silk ribbon but I tell you, I could spend a couple of weeks in this place and never cover it all....

If you're into creative stuff - sewing, knitting, stitching, jewellery making, whatever, and you are in New York, this is one place you absolutely must not miss!

Blue Man Group, New York

2011-03-15T00:15:00.001Z

Just come back from seeing the Blue Man Group at the Astor Place Theatre - laughed until I nearly died.

I chose this rather than something more serious because frankly, sometimes you just need a damn good laugh - and although I began by thinking 'well, this aint this funny' in the end I just was rolling around laughing - I wasn't expecting to see the amount of audience particicipation that there was, and those who (involuntarily) were involved were really good sports about it -- the show was an orchestrated series of chaotic events - paint spraying everywhere, rolls of toilet paper all over the theatre, I cannot tell you --- it was just one of the maddest evenings I've had in ages - it was like being seven again, and all this hysterically childish stuff happened but in the end, you just could not help being totally engaged with it - if you do get the chance, go and see the show, it can't help but make you happy.

New York

2011-03-14T21:47:00.002Z

A few photos from sunny New York!! More soon....

One of the lions outside the New York Library...

The FlatIron Building, take a look at that gorgeous sky!

Just Landing...

2011-03-13T22:04:00.001Z

This was our view of New York as we flew over the sea and city - what a beautiful day!!

On my way...

2011-03-12T13:01:00.004Z

As you read this, I am on my way to New York with my Mum...I'm going to be attending a bead show where I will take some classes (and probably do some buying...never pass up an opportunity for that!) and have a few days break too - we've got this great long list of stuff we didn't get round to the last time we were there, so I imagine we'll come back with sore feet. If you're ordering any jewellery, I'll get to it as soon as I get back on the 24th March - yayyy, I'll get to celebrate my birthday in the Big Apple!

I'll blog once I've got photos and news to share about the trip... xx

Site Updated...

2011-03-09T22:41:00.021Z

I've just updated the site, take a look at www.slcdesigns.co.uk for my new work...and here's a sneak preview...

Pay It Forward 2011

2011-03-08T02:56:00.004Z

I love to give stuff away free, its good karma and giving makes me feel good, I love it, its fun, and the surprise on someone's face when they get something they weren't expecting is truly special. That's why I've decided to take part in this years' "Pay It Forward" doing the rounds on various blogs right now (though I picked up the details from. Heather at Little Bearries - (who makes the most amazing, adorable bears).

Although I go to New York at the end of the week, and as long as my 'winners' are OK with my sending their stuff out when I get back, then we're on with the challenge - so what you need to do is be one the first five people to comment on this post and then I'll make you something by hand for the those first five; at the same time, you must FIRST post details about the Pay It Forward challenge on your own Blog, and you also have to make something by hand for the first five people who comment on your Blog.

Yes, its like a chain letter, no, it won't mean you end up with bad luck or anything if you don't take part but its a way of linking creative people all over the world and for us all to give a little something to each other.

Please, only comment and post on your blog if you really intend to take part. And no, I haven't decided what I will make for the successful posters as yet!

Here are the rules of the Pay It Forward 2011 Challenge:
Pay it forward 2011 - "I promise to make something handmade for the first five people who comment.
They must in turn, post this and make something for the first FIVE who comment on their status (blog post).
The rules are it has to be handmade by you, and they must receive it before 2011 ends."

If you'd like to take part:* Be one of the first five to comment.
* Please leave your email address so I can contact you directly.
* Be sure to repost this to your own blog if you do comment, as that's the whole point of Pay It Forward after all!

I'll let you know when all my five 'spots' are taken.

Cats - You Never See An Uncomfortable One...

2011-03-08T01:57:00.001Z

Harry, making himself at home. All he needs is a can of beer and the remote control and he'll have settled right in....

New Work

2011-03-07T01:15:00.001Z

Finally, I seem to be getting on top of some of the work I've been doing in the past couple of months, ready to go on the site - having come home with a hoard of stuff from Tucson, and most of that for BeadAddict, I've had to put creativity to one side apart from the few chances I've had for sneaking up the wooden stairs to the studio and putting this lot together - I am hoping the new stuff will be on the site before I head off for New York over the weekend with my Mum, but we shall see if time permits - in the meantime, here is a quick preview of a few new pieces of work (clearly, I've been in a 'blue' mood...). Have a lovely day x

Harry Helps Out...

2011-03-05T14:21:00.001Z

Harry (A.K.A. 'Harry the Bugger') likes to stop us working in any way he can. He likes to lie in front of the photography lights. He likes to play with the beads. He likes to lie in the packing baskets. He likes to lie on top of the laptop. His favourite activities are watching TV, biting, sleeping, eating, climbing up the chimney and generally getting in your face. But I still love him.

More Cats...

2011-02-28T23:17:00.005Z

I think from this Blog you'll have noticed how much I love cats, (and horses) so I just about fell around laughing when I saw this - if you've not seen it so far, even if you're not that into cats (and if you're not into cats, what is up with you?) then I still think you'll find this funny. X

Valentine's Day...

2011-02-14T01:01:00.003Z

Happy, Happy Valentine's Day one and all - if you didn't get anything in the post (so far), I am sure the postie is on the way...in the meantime, here's my Valentine to everyone - ready to go on the site soon - I've had this porcelain heart decorated with gold and enamel and signed 'Lennox, 1998' since - well, at least 1998; at long last my eyes hit on this red faceted crystal and with some gold-filled wire, chain and fittings, well, the rest as shown...have a lovely day x

Going Home

2011-02-08T01:30:00.000Z

Tucson...

2011-02-07T01:41:00.003Z

The landscape is so different here from other parts of Arizona, the huge Saguro cactus must reach 30 feet or more into the air and they look like sentries as you drive down from the hills - to my (English) eyes they look like an alien species, dropped here from another planet. The colours are different to those I've seen so far on this trip, but as ever, lovely; sages, silvers and soft, weathered dusty roses and browns; I hope I can keep all these colours in my head once I get home and start to work again; its always the colours I remember the most, the intense blues and red, red rocks of Sedona; the deep greens and wintry, pure whites of the White Mountains - and here, well, different again - always beautiful.

I was hoping it would be warm but its almost as cold as the mountains here right now - brrrrr....the photo above is of a cactus/fountain outside my hotel room first thing in the morning - you wouldn't imagine they could survive this sort of extreme of temperature but it seems they can.

Its off to the gem shows in Tucson over the next few days, this is what I am here for and I am rested and ready for the buying frenzy that will take place! Tucson (and Arizona generally) is one of my favourite places in the States and is easily somewhere I could live - I had this image before I travelled here the first time that it would be just one big desert, but its an amazing state, full of contrasts and quirks and interesting stuff - you could spend years exploring.

Still, once I've done my buying it will be back home to get all my bead and findings catalogued and photographed and ready for the site - and back to the mucking out! Aaaargh.

I'll Be Having Nightmares for the Next 10 Years...

2011-02-06T01:39:00.002Z

We're in Tucson right now for the gem shows, doing some buying for BeadAddict and of course, just a little light browsing and purchasing for lovely things for SLC Designs whilst I'm at it...the shows are great fun and you get to meet all sorts of people and see the kind of stuff you never see anywhere else (but of course by then, all your pennies are spent...) though I have to tell you, the shows are E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G - now I know you don't believe me, because how hard can it be, browsing beads and buying stuff but I tell you, this stuff seriously, seriously frazzles your brain - I guess its making all the decisions and trying to get them right, negotiating with vendors, and all that walking, walking, walking...I tell you, it feels like I have flippers now, not feet - and we get to do it all again tomorrow - yayyyy! Every time I am at these shows, I start off with tons of energy and by the end of the day, I tell you, I just could not care less if I never saw another bead or finding ever again; the stuff you walk by at this stage in the day, I tell you, your hair would stand on end.

What I love particularly about the Tucson shows is the sense of community - you'll be buying something and some random stranger will lean over and have a conversation with you - this doesn't happen often enough in day to day life, and to be honest, when I've tried it in the States in the past (at appropriate times of course), you tend to get blanked - I don't think its something they do much over here.

In the UK of course, we have the perfect conversation opener of the weather, the state of the roads or some other thing we can have a collective gripe about before exchanging pleasantries with a stranger, often never to see them again - but in the States, they sort of look at you funny when you do that - often when you're in a foreign country, its something you do out of total isolation - you're a long way from home and you just want a normal conversation for a few minutes, however mundane; but hey, I guess that's the way it is here. The shows though are a great leveller, and I find people are willing to chat about nothing or anything, and even to open conversations themselves on the same lines - that sense of community is what makes these shows so special.

Anyway, the thing that will cause me to have nightmares for the next ten years - well, its not to do with beads or people, its this piece of cake (and the hand isn't there because I can't stop myself, its so you can see how big the cake is)!  It might not seem so in the photo, but this was at least 4 inches high and 8 inches long.

Can you believe this piece of cake is meant for ONE person?   I tell you, I took this photo the first night I was here, then over the next few nights I got six portions out of it, and even then had half of it left over when I left the hotel.
I just don't know anywhere in the UK you'd get a portion like this - interestingly, I heard a few days ago that there is this big hoo-ha in the news because the US health department has just come out and said that people should try to control their portion sizes - apparently they've never considered this advice worth giving out, because the food lobbies here are so powerful that they were terrified of them. I love visiting the US, but I tell you, if I lived here I would so be reaching for those fat pants within a couple of months... no offence intended to anyone.

I felt so guilty as I left the hotel, leaving half of this tiramisu behind...but at least its not actually ON my behind...

Hidden Meadow Ranch, Arizona

2011-02-02T22:04:00.004Z

Hidden Meadow Ranch

I was lucky enough found Hidden Meadow Ranch by chance via TripAdvisor, and had looked forward to it for weeks before travelling there up into the White Mountains (itself an adventure through the snow). In every way our expectations have been exceeded by the lovely place, the lovely people, the lovely cabins and the WONDERFUL food (thanks Kurt!!!) - even my being a vegetarian was no trouble at all to these lovely people and I have had the best food I have ever had at this place.

It snowed and snowed whilst we were there and Mark went ski-ing in a blizzard at the ski-ing resort next door, taken by bus provided by Hidden Meadow, whilst I attempted to go riding, also in a blizzard, with a very patient chap who was endlessly sweet and kind to me despite it obviously being the kind of weather where no sane person would ever want to get on a horse. I lasted about 3 minutes swallowing tons of snow but I got to sit on a western saddle and I went away happy.

We did a leatherworking class with Logan (I don't think Harry the kitten will never grow into that tiger size collar) and mostly we stayed by the fire and snoozed in the ultra luxe cabins. I nearly died and went to heaven when I saw the bath but in the end, it was so big I just never could fill it with water and in fact, had I done so I probaby would have drowned. Beds were so comfortable it was bliss and have I mentioned the food??? OK, we were actually the only customers there at the time but I daresay everyone feels that way regardless of whether there are other guests there at the time. It was wonderful, and nothing was ever too much trouble for anyone. We were truly astonished to find our car had been cleared from the snow every morning before we went to breakfast (though we didn't move it until the day we had to prise ourselves out of the gate).

We left HMR feeling refreshed and like we'd had a proper holiday. There was no TV in the cabin which initially we thought 'uh-oh' but instead of spending hours in front of meaningless rubbish, instead we read, slept and listened to audio books - and did a lot of staring into the lovely real fire in the cabin.
I highly recommend this lovely place; we felt we made friends there and would not hesitate to return; I hope it won't be 5 years before we get to visit Arizona again, but however long it is, HMR will always be on our 'to do' list - hopefully next time in the Spring or Summer.

(Review written for TripAdvisor.)

Currently Reading

2011-02-01T20:40:00.003Z

Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon: Gripping Accounts of All Known Fatal Mishaps in the Most Famous of the World's Seven Natural Wonders by Michael Patrick Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers - If you were planning to visit the Grand Canyon before reading this book, you'd change your plans PDQ. This could also be titled 'Seven Hundred Different Ways to Die in the Grand Canyon' and it starts with a compelling (recent) story of a woman who got drunk and fell over the side. Having visited the GC, I can tell you that you look at it, think 'Bloody Hell' and then you look down and in that instant you can imagine falling down there, and you inevitably wonder how many people have actually done that - in fact, the book says that its one of the most frequently asked questions of park rangers - 'do many people fall over?' - well, falling over is only one way to die or injure yourself in the GC, and this book plumbs the depths (literally) of recorded deaths, misadventures, murders and suicides over the past hundred or so years. Some of the stories are a bit too meandering, but others are harrowing and there is occasionally the funny one, though I am sure the victims did not think so at the time. This book does not just deal with death - it also features miraculous escapes and amazing rescues, and this really brings home to you just how vulnerable the human being is. An interesting read. Just do it after visiting.

Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett - I wasn't so keen on the last Ken Follett I read which was actually his first work - Pillars of the Earth (which was a very early work and meandered on for several hundred pages, about three hundred and fifty of which could have been cut out) - but this book is of a different order; well written, great characters and a fab story.
Set during WW2, this is a tale of the first order of a German Spy and British Secret Agencies and a remarkable woman - at least two stories go on at the same time and until the last few chapters you aren't very sure why they are relevant to the each other, but they aren't - from 'Amazon' the synopsis is as follows:

"His weapon is the stiletto, his codename: The Needle. He is Hitler’s prize undercover agent - a cold and professional killer.

It is 1944 and weeks before D-Day. The Allies are disguising their invasion plans with a phoney armada of ships and planes. Their plan would be ruined if an enemy agent found out... and then The Needle does just that. Hunted by MI5, he leads a murderous trail across Britain to a waiting U-Boat. But he hasn't planned for a storm-battered island, and the remarkable young woman who lives there . . ."
Highly recommended.

The Royal Governor and The Duchess - The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in the Bahamas 1940-1945 by Owen Platt - take a spoiled American adventuress who broke the heart of a nation, a weak and good for nothing man who once was king and a nation who decided to send them far far away to an (at the time) unimportant outpost of the Commonwealth, and you have the core of the story. Machinations of the Germans (once again) who are suspected of wanting to take control of the now semi-royal couple, suspicions of their Nazi sympathies and the pressure cooker environment of a small island and you have the crux of this short but interesting book. I couldn't help but want to slap the ex-king and his new wife for their condescension, snobbery and spoilt behaviour, but this in the end is a book about how England had a lucky escape from these two thoroughly not very nice characters who really should have been sent to Siberia rather than the Bahamas.

Garden of Beasts by Jeffrey Deaver - yet another book based in WW2, I really did not expect to enjoy this story as much as I did, despite it being written by Deaver, who rarely disappoints.
Assassin Paul Schumann is offered a chance to avoid the electric chair or prison. All he needs to do is travel to Berlin for the Olympics and take out Ernst, chief of the bureaucrats who is building German's military might for Hitler with a sideline on a particularly nasty scheme to impress Hitler.
In Berlin an honest police officer Willi Kohl finds himself on Schumann's trail without any idea of what he is up to; his forensic work, given the limitations of the time is well deduced and intelligent, and the research that Deaver has obviously underaken shines through; the Nazis are as bad as you might imagine them, but Schumann, himself a hitman, has flaws and complications of his own and as a reader you might find your sympathies misplaced - until the end. Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver - Deaver is one of my favourite authors for a good, gripping thriller/adventure and this one certainly did not disappoint. A police officer notices a memorial cross at the side of a road but stranglely the date on it is the following day - the day the police find a kidnapped teenage girl, left for dead in the trunk of a dumped car.

Special Agent Kathryn Dance, the kinesics expert with the California Bureau of Investigation, is on the case. The girl points her to an online community where accusations against a boy at her school turn vicious; it seems the bullying went too far, and he has snapped.
More crosses appear for future victims, linked to a names of users on a website where classmates have been busy attacking the boy; Kathryn Dance has to race against the clock using all her knowledge of kinesics and human behaviour to find the attacker before he can carry out any more attacks. This is a book closely linked to the internet and Deaver throughout has links to actual web pages (which I confess I did not read) - an interesting idea, though for me the best part of this work was the suspense and the characters - a fab book, had me guessing (wrongly!) until the very end.

Up Into the Hills, Many Miles Away...

2011-01-31T03:01:00.001Z

Today's journey almost seems to have been endless - the Sat.Nav. claimed it would take 4 hours, but my SatNav in the UK also tells lies, so I don't know why I'd believe its American cousin any more. And this SatNav has the most appalling diction.

Anyway, here we are listening to a book on tape (Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care), through endless miles of flat grassland sprinkled with snow and the occasional road sign which seems to have fallen victim to a crazed gunman or two. We wish we'd taken the bullet-proof option now.

I'm ashamed to say there are at least three mega photo opportunities I haven't taken up which will stick in my mind for ever because I was just too darn tired to get out of the car and click the button on the camera.

This is one example of pure laziness mitigated by complete and utter exhaustion -decided we'd go to the Petrified Forest to see the trees that had turned to stone. Got to the gates. Knackered. Took a photo. Left. Shamed. Sorry.

But its nearly the end of the day, and finally we're at our next hotel where we fall through the gates in complete and utter relief. I really should try and remember that the States are bigger than the UK.

Who Put This In The Middle of the Arizona Desert?

2011-01-31T02:56:00.001Z

Not very nice at all. No, not at all nice.

Meteorite Crater - Bigger than Big...

2011-01-31T02:29:00.001Z

We stopped off at the Arizona Meteorite Crater, (yes, a big hole in the ground) - you approach on this winding road through miles of flat desert with nothing much but tumbleweed rolling under the car to break up the desolation of the area until you come to the big hole in the ground, and boy was it big, and oh my goodness it was windy.

When I came down I met a group of Americans (as you do in America) and happened to mention that I thought I was going to lose my trousers whilst I was up there. It was a weird thing, from the frosty silence, I got the impression I'd committed some sort of faux pas - do Americans not mention trousers flying off on the top of mountains and laugh in a 'oh my god, I know EXACTLY what you mean' sort of way? I could understand the resounding silence if I'd said I thought I was about to lose my knickers up there, but I didn't actually say that.

Listen, it was interesting and all but I don't think I'd do it again because really, it was a big hole in the ground. I did it mostly for my Dad who'd mentioned the place specifically before I left so I felt I needed to do it for him to take him some souvenirs and books and photos and things. But, what can you say? Long drive, big hole. Trousers.

I thought the view on the other side was pretty darn cool though....

Just the Wide Open Road

2011-01-31T02:22:00.001Z

Twin Arrows near Flagstaff, Arizona

2011-01-31T02:13:00.002Z

We decided to drive up part of the old Route 66 (part of which we seem to do every time we visit this area) (now the unromantically named I-40) and boy, have we seen some stuff...first was the old Twin Arrows trading post which apparently closed about 20 years ago - this place looked like something out of an old western, and yes, we saw tumbleweed (didn't actually believe that really existed, but trust me, it does...)

Twin Arrows - well - you can see why Twin Arrows was named - these were originally made from old telegraph poles and have been restored recently, though the trading post itself hasn't as yet. Interesting.

Leaving Sedona

2011-01-31T01:36:00.003Z

An early start today, in order to drive over to the White Mountains on the other side of Arizona and have enough time to stop and start over and over again and take photos to my hearts content - the first few photos were taken just a few miles out of Sedona, as the colour of the rocks start to change - today it's cooler (and colder by the minute as I leave Sedona and as you can see, clouds in the skies - though still breathtakingly beautiful) - the next hotel is at 8,500 ft. elevation and I know for a fact already that it is perishingly cold up there, so this is time to enjoy the last few rays of sunshine and warmth for a few days.

As we climb upwards, the landscape and colours change dramatically... the red fades and a khaki/sand colour predominates.

The sun filters over the mountain tops and gives a little warmth to the chilly valleys; I've never seen this landscape in the summer, I can only imagine how beautiful it must be.

Cliimbing up through the mountains, these silver coloured trees dominate along the sides of the roads.

Then, we start to see (and feel!) snow... I'm sure it won't be the last - when I was here last time I went up the state as far as the Grand Canyon (actually I travelled further than that) and it was knee deep in snow.

This pic is only about 17 miles outside of Sedona, and I can't believe the difference in temperature and the landscape.

Sedona 3 - Heart of the West

2011-01-30T01:26:00.001Z

Doing a little light shopping in Sedona, I came across this fine chap and couldn't resist a few snaps... the town is choc full of public art (lots of artists live here) and I'd love to be able to have a full day just to explore it all.

You can read more about this artist and his work here.

Sedona 2

2011-01-30T01:09:00.002Z

A day of running round in the car and taking a look round Sedona once again - I got my Dad a t-shirt which had been dyed with Sedona dirt, well, maybe until it is washed anyway! I had to stop and get a photo of this street, so that I can truly claim I've been in the back of beyond today....

I'm always entraced by the colours in this place, and I always wish I could spend more time here....

The red rocks are mostly what pull people in here, (as well as the good food and fab climate) and below are some photos of the rocks at various times of the day...

This next one is the view from my hotel bedroom...fab, eh?

End of the day, on my way home from a day's photography and soaking up all the red and blue...

Sedona 1

2011-01-30T00:43:00.001Z

Sedona, Arizona, is where I find myself today, writing from one of the most beautiful places on earth where today there is warmth and lovely blue, blue skies without a cloud anywhere - quite a change from the cold and rain I've left behind in the UK - though I know this won't last long as my travels progress!
If you've never visited Arizona, and if you'e never had the pleasure of the town of Sedona, you've missed something special - this is a town I pass through whenever I can, not only for its beautiful views, lovely people but also its sense of serenity and peace. I am staying in the Best Western Arroyo Roble Hotel - it's a great hotel at a fab price - lovely and clean, amazing views, great breakfast included - a pool and gym, the hotel exceeded expectations. (I always book my hotels on the recommendation of the Trip Advisor website).

After the trauma of getting here, the peace and rest were truly needed. Sedona is amazing in many ways, but the colour of the skies and the red of the rocks (caused by iron ore) are two of its particular attractions - the previous times I had been here I hadn't been able to visit this interesting church with a fabulous view, seemingly constructed right out of the rocks but I took the walk up to the top of the mountain huffing and puffing and arriving almost as red as the rocks.
I didn't feel I could take pictures inside, but it is an amazing building, the walls inside are just sheer sheets of smooth stone which must rise up maybe 60 feet or so, and the roof slopes backwards; inside there are simple benches and a clear glass window intersected by the structural cross at the front of the building - its simplicity is beautiful, and although I don't consider myself religious, it would be hard not to be moved by something so simple yet impressive.

Towards the evening, I passed the same place (though decided not to climb that hill again!) and was fascinated by the change in the light and the sky...

You Just Wouldn't Believe It.....

2011-01-29T05:42:00.001Z

I write currently from Arizona, where I landed this morning after a harrowing journey from Manchester through Philadelphia and on to Phoenix, where I picked up a car and drove to Sedona. The flights should have taken around 13 hours, instead it took over 28 hours. You can imagine. Firstly flights were delayed due to poor weather on the east coast of the States, so the plane was late in taking off. Very late. But fair enough.
So we missed our connecting flight and were put on a later one.

Then when we got into Philadelphia after a flight from hell with an indifferent aircrew who basically gave the impression it was their last week in the job (we can only hope) we had the always lovely experience of standing in line waiting to be admitted to the US. This became somewhat tedious when the immigration computers crashed and we waited around an hour and a half for it to be fixed. At the two hour point we'd missed another flight.   When at long last the immigration computer problem was resolved by letting people in manually, the old fashioned way, we'd missed another flight.

We went to reschedule to be told the next flight was in six hours at which point I burst into tears and had a tantrum which was made a lot better by a US Airways "Customer Service" person shouting at me which made me cry more - I hope it made her day, because it sure made mine.

I had another flight of over seven hours ahead to cross the States.   Eventually I arrived in Phoenix and was faced with a three hour drive up to Sedona in pitch blackness in an unfamiliar car. I nearly left the road a number of times due to complete exhaustion. At no point did I ever hear the word 'sorry' or anything approaching it from anyone responsible for this. And I'll never fly US Air again once I get home (and I am hoping I will), who really made the whole experience really special. If I ran my business this way I'd be out of work in a week.

My Baby, Harry...

2011-01-27T02:50:00.003Z

Time for a little 'ahhhhhhhhh' moment; here we have Harry in one of the brief moments he is not actually being naughty or doing something he shouldn't. I think you can see why it was love at first sight...I'm just wondering...is that a smile on his face?

Currently Reading...

2011-01-26T00:15:00.002Z

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin. I adored this book; beautifully written by a talented author, this is the story of Alice Liddell who was the real Alice in Wonderland - its not a biography, its fiction with a lot of facts and because of that, the story of this child who was the muse of Lewis Carroll is very readable. I had heard (I think) several years ago that there was some minor scandal involving the author and his possibly inappropriate attachment to young girls but this story fleshes it out. Alice Liddell at the age of seven believed herself an adult whilst Lewis Carroll (the name was a nom de plume, his real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) appeared to believe himself still a child. Alice's life was in many ways affected by the story of Alice in Wonderland, in many ways that were not happy or positive and she only came to capitalise on her fame as the Alice in the story when she was an old lady - at which point her audience was suprised and somewhat disappointed to find that Alice had grown old. Her life was sad, surprising and in the end, uplifting, as was the authors and this book has inspired me to read more about the real-life stories of Alice and Lewis Carroll.

Weave, Wrap, Coil - Creating Artisan Wire Jewelry by Jodi Bombardier - I have shelves full of jewellery making books - I can't tell you quite why I love to hoard this genre of book so much, but my studio floor positively groans under the weight. In fact, I had a good reason to purchase this particular one as most of my jewellery is wire-work - I love to work with wire and I love to look at the work of other people who work with wire. When I see a piece by someone else, I enjoy mentally deconstructing it and learning from their technique - I've wanted to begin making rings for some time, bought ring mandrels late last year but still haven't managed to find the time to make anything. This is another fab book published by Interweave Press which, like all my other jewellery-making books, I know I will never use to replicate any of the projects, but the deconstruction and information on how to create the 25 projects are invaluable to me in the learning process - and if you were looking to work the projects, the photos are fab, the instruction excellent and this is well worth the money.

The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd - I read Rutherfurd's 'New York' some time ago and adored it, and this work is equally as amazing. The central character is the New Forest in England, told through the stories of the human and animal inhabitants over centuries; from the the founding of the Forest during William the Conquerors's time up to the present day; the historical research the author must put in to each of his works is astonishing. The story does hop around from century to century which can be a little distracting and as with some books read on my Sony E-Reader this can be difficult to keep hold of when you can't just flip back through the (paper) pages of a book to refresh your memory on a particular character. I visited the New Forest as a child and it is every bit as magical as Rutherfurd's depiction and I cannot wait to get hold of more of this author's work.

Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake Series 5) by C. J. Sansom - the 'Shardlake' series is one of my absolute favourites; it is historical fiction at its absolute best - as with the previous author (Rutherfurd), Sansom's hard work and research shines through the writing and the sense of being in the time and place (Tudor England) is absolute. In this installment of the series, Henry VIII's disastrous invasion of France mounted by Henry VIII has been answered with a vast imposing French fleet making preparations to cross the Channel. At Portsmouth, the English navy is readying itself for the battle of its life; England, reeling under the debasing of its currency to pay for the war, is suffering crippling inflation and economic meltdown. (If the thought of Britain's involvement in controversial foreign wars while suffering an economic crisis remind the reader of contemporary parallels, there is little doubt that is what Sansom intends.)
I especially found the portions of the book featuring the sinking of the royal ship the 'Mary Rose' fascinating because as a child, I remember vividly the raising of the same ship from her resting place of hundreds of years, in fact my parents thought it was important enough that we missed a whole morning's school to watch the event on TV. Mary Rose Official Website (no wonder I love English history these days!)

Against this tumultuous backdrop, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake is presented with a difficult case via an elderly servant of Queen Catherine Parr which will plunge him into the labyrinthine toils of the King's Court of Wards. Shardlake’s job is to look into wrongs which have been done to the young ward Hugh Curteys by a Hampshire landowner, and (as is customary with most cases involving Shardlake) murder is soon on the agenda.

If this is the sort of fiction you enjoy, I haven't yet found better than C J Sansom - at over 600 pages long it does require some dedication, but the sense of atmosphere, of living the events is amazing and as always with Sansom's writing, it leaves me wanting more of the same, and very soon.

Recent Work...

2011-01-24T00:08:00.003Z

Some of my latest creations.....

Swarovski crystal pearls, fabulous crystal encrusted clasp, Swarovski crystal beads, gold plated findings. Available in lots of colours...

Swarovski crystal, sterling silver, lots of patience!

Ditto....

Hematine, Coral, Freshwater Pearls, Goldfilled chain and wire.

I originally did this bracelet as a free with purchase kit for my other website, BeadAddict but liked it enough to offer it as a completed item on SLC Designs - it features Czech glass, Agate pebbles, Swarovski crystal, Magatama beads, seed beads and gold plated findings.

'Wheat Ear' freshwater pearls and sterling silver. One of those pieces you can wear anywhere. I am waiting for this same pearl to arrive from the manufacturers in various other colours.

Sapphire (which occurs in various colours) with sterling silver. I bought these stones in my first trip to Tucson five years ago.

Fine London Blue Topaz with gold-filled wire; I just love this colour of blue - I bought these beautiful faceted briolettes in London (fittingly) several years ago - I also have some gorgeous Swiss Blue Topaz, which is a lighter blue, but every bit as fab.Carved coral flowers.

Dainty faceted multi-coloured Tourmaline 'hearts' wrapped with gold-filled wire on gold-filled leverback (pierced) earring fittings; the colours go with everything!

Faceted freshwater pearls, sterling silver, Swarovski crystal.

Aquamarine (in various colours), handmade fairtrade Karen tribe silver (purer than sterling silver), Rose Quartz, faceted Peridot, sterling silver.

Keishi pearls and sterling silver; this was originally a commission by a regular customer for his daughter, again a lovely pearl necklace with a contemporary twist - I used to offer this necklace in gold before the price of precious metals made it impossible to do so.

A woven freshwater pearl beaded bead, Swarovski crystal and sterling silver - I made this necklace originally for some of my friends at the stable-yard and then was asked to make it for the website.

Rubies, London Blue Topaz, a sterling silver heart wrapped with gold-filled wire on a gold-filled chain and clasp.

Mother of pearl, freshwater pearls, coral, gold filled wire and fittings.

Multi coloured Tourmaline, a matte gold plated bird charm and gold filled wire, chain and findings. I love this because its so dainty and delicate.

Deep red Garnet with silvery freshwater pearls and sterling silver; the original piece was made for a friend with a January birthday. Swarovski crystal and sterling silver.

Ametrine - a combination of Amethyst and Citrine with Amethyst ellipse shapes and sterling silver with a a sterling hook-style clasp.

Coral, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystal, Rose Quartz, sterling silver.

No, I Can't Imagine Where I Have Been Either...

2011-01-23T23:27:00.001Z

Dear Reader

It may be that you have entirely given up all hope of my ever picking up my blog again but wrong, its been bothering me that we haven't talked for a while - you've really been on my conscience, and I am sorry for neglecting you - I am sure I have averaged about three excuses a week why I've not written a thing since October but to be honest, other than the swine flu over Christmas which actually lasted a month and a half I don't really know where I've been.

I know where I am going though, I am off to Arizona later this week, leaving my parents to look after the cats and the horse and the business (God help us then). So, really I am picking this up so I will be able to write about my travels whilst I am away...

I've patted myself down and I think I am all here, so let's start again.... to be honest, there's loads happened...

fistly is that I have a new baby. Don't get TOOO excited, my new baby is a baby feline called Harry whom I adopted over Christmas (kittens always help with the flu) and oh my goodness he is a cutie cutie pie - though Mia isn't too keen as yet - but in the meantime, here are some pics....

Harry is now about 13 weeks old and his favourite activities are - eating, sleeping, biting people, jumping, climbing curtains, driving Mia mad, biting people some more and hiding in places I never knew existed in the house. I am having to keep him under lock and key because my Mum threatened to steal him the moment she set eyes on him. I am utterly in love....

He is just the best Christmas present I ever gave myself...

There was loads of snow over Christmas and some time before that too (its all a blur now anyway) but about late October I started being unwell and several courses of antibiotics later realised I had probably had swine flu despite having had the swine flu jab. Ha, so much for that.
You know when you're so ill that when you get better you feel so grateful its pathetic? Yes, it was like that. Anyway, not only did we have minus 11 degree temperatures during Christmas I was also looking after a friends' horse and Mark was ill at the same time - I can tell you, we CRAWLED up to the stable yard, croaked round the place getting our chores done and then dragged ourselves back home day in day out.
It was a bit awful really because I'd invited my parents, Marks' Mum and my single friend Yvonne round for Christmas day only to have Christmas cancelled by my Mum two days before Christmas because she declared we were too ill for it and I can't tell you which was worse, actually being ill or letting people I love down. I did make up for it on New Years Day by having a retrospective Christmas Day Dinner with them all which was lovely.

So a week or so before Christmas Day (this is the actual Christmas day not the amended one) I put up the most beautiful tree and we just lay in the lounge, stunned by being so ill we could barely move; we had beans on toast for Christmas Day dinner - its strangely liberating doing that, I recommend it.

Mark got me an X-Box for Christmas because he thought I needed the exercise (well you know I do, but I don't really need to be told I do....) and I got Merlin a smart new rug and a new mucking out fork (though he has yet to use the mucking out fork) and I booked the trip to Arizona though until recently I couldn't remember if I'd actually done that or if I was just under the influence of a lot of Beechams Cold Remedy.

In any case, happy new year one and all, here we are again in a new year and I wish you every happiness. And health. And I hope you don't get the flu.
Love xx

If I had my life to live over

2011-01-17T00:04:00.004Z

In memory of my Great Auntie Olive, who died today at a good age, with her family around her.
Remembered with Love.

------------------------------------------------------------------
If I had my life to live over - Regrets By Erma Bombeck

If I had my life to live over. . .
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television, and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”
There would have been more “I love you’s.” More “I’m sorry’s.”
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it… live it… and never give it back.
Stop sweating the small stuff. Don’t worry about who doesn’t like you, who has more, or who’s doing what.
Instead, let’s cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us.

Life is too short to let it pass you by.
We only have one shot at this and then it’s gone.

http://www.ermamuseum.org/home.asp

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erma_Bombeck

Doggy Dentures

2011-01-15T23:25:00.001Z

I'm not so into dogs (there goes half the readership...) being more of a cat person (the right ones stayed anyway), but whether you're a cat person , a dog person or one of those strange hybrids of half and half, you still have to smile at this....literally....

That'll Be One Less Snow Plough In Georgia, Then...

2011-01-12T01:33:00.006Z

I just had to share this. Talk about a bad day at work, this is one of those where you can imagine the poor bloke ringing his boss can't you??

More recent work

2011-01-12T00:51:00.001Z

Earrings I've made recently...

Latest Necklaces

2011-01-09T01:00:00.002Z

Some of my recent work -

Today's Creative Effort

2010-10-05T13:46:00.001+01:00

I always like the doorway in my home to look pretty, so the postman feels happy when he delivers our mail (!!) and the guys selling stuff we don't want don't feel so downhearted when we pour boiling oil from the upstairs window, so I always have a silk flower 'wreath' to welcome visitors...and today I made this...hours of wiring and pushing and sore fingers, I swear this is the last time I make one of these things....but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Textile Cuff Bracelets

2010-09-26T04:47:00.002+01:00

These textile cuff bracelets were made whilst working on new ribbon scarves (because there's nothing quite like being distracted to stop all work on the thing you were supposed to be doing....)

I am a complete and utter hoarder of lace and ribbon which has left me with a great pile of stuff; also my mother in law Simone gave me some fab French vintage lace a while back some of which she decided was over 80 years old (she is French and over 80 years old herself). These cuffs are worked with vintage, antique and contemporary textiles and each one is a labour of love.

These are currently for sale in my Etsy shop, click on the Etsy link to side of this post to go there.

This is 'Giverny Textile Cuff' with vintage beaded trim, velvet, lace and collected threads and fibres from around the world and across time...

La Vie En Rose Textile Cuff...I love the antique rose colours of this one - vintage lace, gold thread, antique lace, velvet, grosgrain, vintage beaded trim, organza, silk, satin and ombre ribbons with collected threads and fibres from around the world.

St Tropez Textile Cuff Bracelet - With vintage organza rose trim, contemporary bead trim, silk, satin, organza, wool, velvet, antique lace collected both in England and France; this is a lovely rich chocolately-gold cuff with some pretty gold lace, organza ribbons and vintage beaded trim.

Autumn's Here....

2010-09-25T04:14:00.000+01:00

Ouch

2010-09-24T04:08:00.001+01:00

I know, I've not been around much recently, but as usual I have a plethora of excuses waiting in the wings. Sometimes you have nothing to say, and that's part of it, but I mostly have nothing to say because I am saying ouch with every other word.
Do you remember last year when I was tearing my hair out because my old car was driving me nuts? It got to a stage where everything that could go wrong had gone wrong and I was ready to take a stick to it, John Cleese style. Well I sort of feel like that about my insides right now.

Years ago, before I had Rheumatoid Arthritis I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis which is about as it gets for that condition, so much so that every time I went into hospital for a service and oil change I had spotty medical students hanging around begging me to allow them to look at my insides whilst I was out for the count. Mostly I got very good at chucking stuff off them and teaching them some new medical language.

At the time I was told I'd need a hysterectomy when I was 40 and of course when you're 32 you can't imagine being as old as that, well, I am as old as that and a bit more and its time I got it sorted.   To be honest I've been just pretending it isn't happening for some time because there is so much else going on - added to which because I know its going to be a cut right across my tummy and that is going to be a bugger to recover form and because - well, because no-one wants anyone doing stuff to them that involves surgery, well, you just put up with it and grit your teeth and grit them some more.   Well, I've gritted as much as I possibly can and its now officially ouchy.   I am cool with it, its got to the stage where it needs dealing with but I do so wish I didn't have to go through that useless stage afterwards where I can't pick up a kettle or drive my car or run my business or muck out my horse - all the stuff I absolutely HAVE to do.   I just don't know how I am going to get through all that, and that is what is bothering me more than anything else.

Endometriosis has caused my infertility, but for years I was told by my doctor I had irritable bowel syndrome (not the same docs I have now as you might imagine), which being young and foolish I believed until I just went whack, collapsed on the floor and was rushed into hospital when all this stuff was discovered.   I had just got over surgery and was going down the route of IVF when I got rheumatoid so, well, that was that.   I always had a sneaky feeling I wasn't up to IVF anyway because I think it needs someone spectacularly special to go through all that and you know, I could live with not being able to have children because that was a fact of life, but to go through all that stuff and then still not come out at the other end with one, well, that was mind altering and not in a good way. Funny how things are decided for you.

So I have the cats and the horse instead, and trust me, sometimes they are all as maddening as I understand kids are, but on the other hand, they are my babies, and we each need something to love.

So I should know in the next couple of weeks what the docs are going to do about my malfunctioning insides but I jolly well hope its just whip the lot out and be done with it - and as I keep telling everyone, you have to look on the bright side because it all has to weigh something doesn't it?   I mentioned this to my rheumatology nurses who were killing themselves laughing and said - er - actually - not that much. Which is a bugger because I was hoping to drop a stone or so.   Sigh.

Anyway, just wanted you to know; also I am a great believer in passing on stories like this. If I had only known when I was 20 that the hideous pain I was in was definitely not normal, then it might not have turned out like this but it has and there is absolutely no point thinking about 'what if's'. If you or a daughter or a friend ever have pain like that, go to the doctors and don't take no for an answer; if I could prevent just one other woman having to go through this then it would all be worthwhile.

And I'll let you know about the weight loss post surgery....!

What I've Always Wanted....

2010-09-23T05:14:00.000+01:00

You're going to snigger, and for that I forgive you, because everyone does, but I've always wanted my own tail. Just imagine what you could do with it. You could have it co-ordinate with your clothes, you could use it to hang jewellery from, you could take it to the hair-dressers and have the colour changed. As I don't have one, I'll have to show you Mia's instead....

Coral Anniversary

2010-09-15T00:35:00.003+01:00

The 35th Wedding Anniversary is Coral, and I've recently been commissioned to make some earrings in celebration of this event by a regular client of mine, Jonathan. I can spill the beans now because I know that "Mrs. Jonathan" has been given her earrings and I wanted to share the three options I made - when I work to a commission I usually make two or three different pieces so the customer has a choice - I don't like having a choice of one, why should my customers? - I give them their choice and hope they'll like something enough to want to buy it; to be honest I'm never a fan of someone telling me they like something but can they have this and that and the other differently because somehow it makes my artistic muse grumpy, but I love having someone say 'I want coral and gold in earrings' and leave me to it, now that's giving me some artistic licence - Jonathan had wanted a copy of a pair of coral and freshwater pearls I did a few years ago but of course creativity moves on and I wanted something more beautiful, more delicate and pretty for Mrs. J. Anyway, Mrs. J, happy anniversary. Shown below are the earrings that were chosen - this was vintage coral
(around 35 years old) with pretty white and antique rose freshwater pearls on sterling silver. I have the same earrings on sale in my Etsy shop - just click on the photos to go to the listing.

Click on any of the photos to go to the Etsy Listing.

I'd not worked with my coral for some time and remembered I had bought some utterly (and hugely expensive) amazing red Italian coral branches a few years back - these were so expensive I had to hide them away for a while! I've been trying to restore order to the chaos commonly known as my studio recently so I've been lucky enough to unearth some hidden treasures, this gorgeous coral amongst other things, one of the other things being some fabulous huge clear pebble type beads of Rock Crystal so I whipped together a mega-sized bracelet. This is heavy, heavy, but it feels soooo good against your skin that you don't mind too much, and in any case, with all the wind and wild autumnal weather we've had recenly its good to have something to anchor us into place....

One Year On...

2010-09-10T13:27:00.004+01:00

A year ago I had to have my pussycat Cleo put to sleep, I still miss her and think of her every day.