Fighting With....

I have been busy in the background, doing things for the site and designing new jewellery, both on comission and for the site which should be updated soon.

I've been having a fight with my Rheumatoid Arthritis in the past weeks, and am hopeful that I will be prescribed new medication soon which may improve things. Of course my RA has an effect on my work output, though I try and appreciate the good things in life rather than concentrating on the difficult ones.

Tiara Commissions

I've been working on some tiara commissions.

Zara Tiara with goldtone wirework, Swarovski crystal, glass pearls, freshwater pearls, seed beads.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. - Albert Einstein

Site Work

An expansion to the site with the Gallery - I am trying to learn how to run the the website-- I despair of ever getting to grips with the technical stuff - have had a number of hours tonight with Mark showing me how to add a page and then how that all has to link in with all the other pages....and then all the things that can (and did) go wrong....aaaarghhh; however, being given that insight made me appreciate all the hard work that goes into the site....I think I will stick to making jewellery!

You were placed on this earth to create, not to compete. Robert Anthony

Spending time with Merlin

I have been bursting with ideas, annoyed I've been unable to achieve much due to my arthritis - I felt I might be heading for a rough patch after my trip away and, despite a steroid injection, I am having another flare up.

I've had various commissions including tiaras and wedding jewellery, and made some new pieces using copper and warm, soft, colourful combinations of glass, gems and pearls - I did a whole slew of new items in this lovely metal and then started to play with crochet and some fluffy fibres.

At times like this it is important to keep doing something, so I have spent time with Merlin, am in the process cleaning my studio (which really needs it), making plans to send out an e-mail to everyone on the

Adventures

Today returned from a week away with my best friend -- we went to London (yes, right smack in the middle of the heightened security alerts!), we stayed close to the London Museum and had a chance to do pretty much a complete exploration of all the different exhibitions there --- I was very interested in the jewellery that was on display, some wonderful exhibits and I bought a museum book that discusses the history of jewellery over the course of 7000 years - I think I might have taken root for the next 7000 years in front of the jewellery cases had I been allowed to.
We had hoped to find time to go over to Greenwich but that will have to wait for another visit perhaps, but we spent time in Covent Garden, where my friend bought a hand-painted jacket and t-shirt for her daughter and we did lots of window shopping. I visited just about every bead and fabric shop in London found the odd interesting thing that I got straight to work with. My beads and wire travelled with me and any moment I had spare was spent crocheting with sterling or doing bead and wirework....which meant that I was able to come home with a fair amount of work ready to be completed with clasps and other findings.

A Holiday in France

Just got back from a very brief holiday in the south of France during which time I did lots of new work (a holiday never being a holiday unless I take my beads with me) --- mostly working on sterling silver crocheted bracelets, cuffs, earrings and necklaces which once finished will be coming onto the site - I did some work on the site, updating its look and giving it a small makeover - I plan a larger makeover later which may (or may not) include a change of business name to be more specific to handmade jewellery and more new sections, but my next target will be extending the