Peculiar Forest

Brand New!

2012-02-08T08:35:00.000+01:00

Well one new and one recycled!

I made this tiny little heart necklace from sterling silver and it is slightly concave and has been oxidized too. More details here.

Then there is the missing piece necklace which used to be made from fine silver but this one is now made from sterling. You can see more details here.

Four A Month- January

2012-02-06T09:28:00.000+01:00

I joined the Four A Month (FAM) challenge on Flickr, and here is what I made for January. The theme was birds and branches so I made 4 pendants from copper and pierced them. I am pretty happy the way they turned out too.

I think it is a really good challenge as it pushes me creatively and it also means I get at least 1 new listing in my Etsy shop each week :)
Now I just have to think of a theme for February and you can find these necklaces in my Etsy shop.

Making a comeback

2012-01-19T11:47:00.000+01:00

I have decided to re-stock some of my older items that I used to have in my shop as these were some of my best selling items and people seem to love them.

First up is my paint palette necklace.

Little red heart necklace, for Valentines of course :)

The ever popular missing pieces earrings.

And this little guy

Let me know what you think!

A new addition to the family :)

2012-01-16T07:52:00.001+01:00

I wanted to introduce you to this little guy, he is called Brutus and we get him in 2 weeks!
He is a little Yorkie and will be the newest addition to our family and we can't wait to get him.

And his latest pic, I am loving the ears! :)

New everyday earrings

2012-01-11T11:53:00.000+01:00

I have been making a lot of post earrings lately, gives me a good excuse to practice my soldering too. These are the latest pair, I call them tweed earrings. Another pair is to come once they have posed for pictures.

A Bat Necklace

2012-01-06T09:54:00.001+01:00

Another new necklace I have made, this one has actually been sitting around for some time but I have only just got the chance to photograph and list it.
This one is all sterling silver and the bat has a brushed satin finish.

A New Necklace

2012-01-05T08:34:00.000+01:00

I have just finished making this new necklace. It is a pierced copper pendant strung on sterling silver and it is now in my shop, hope you like it.

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T19:14:00.001+01:00

I thought I would make some resolutions this year and er, actually try and stick to them. My list seems pretty big! I am obviously not satisfied about the way things are right now!

Here goes....
1. Stop biting my nails, yes this is my resolution every year. I have bitten my nails pretty much ever since I can remember, I have never had nice nails. I bite them to the point where they hurt and sometimes I can barely see nail, pretty gross I know. So far 3 days with no biting, go me!

2. Lose weight & get fit, this is another resolution I make every year....so far the healthy eating is yet to start.

3. Read 25 books, first I thought read 100 and then I thought, impossible! then 50 and even that is 1 a week so no life there. I think 25 is a reasonable number and my sister and I decided we are going to do this one together.

4. Say 'I Love You' more, just because it is a nice thing to do.

5. Get another 50 sales in my Etsy Shop, well a bit far fetched but you never know....

6. Join a challenge on Flickr, and stick to it. I joined FAM, should be interesting. A good way to help with achieving No.5.

7. Blog at least 3 times a week, and get more followers in the process.

8. Go to the dentist, I hate the dentist....a lot.

I think that is it so far, I will see at the end of the year how many I have achieved!

2011 Recap

2012-01-01T19:12:00.000+01:00

I like to try and do a yearly recap of all that is happened, I think it is fun to look back and remember what has happened over the past year.

January

This was a pretty cool month, I turned 30 and my mum organized an amazing surprise party for it. As we live in France she had arranged for my sister Dani and her boyfriend Mike to come over as a surprise and it was amaaaaaaazing. Now I will be 31 in 13 days and I am not sure it will be as good as last years celebrations :)

February

In February I joined Macro Mondays on Flickr, every week there is a theme and you have to take a Macro shot using the theme. I only did it for a couple of weeks but I would like to get into it again as it's a really good way to challenge yourself.

I was alo nominated for the stylish blogger award! ;)

March

I really started to explore working with sheet metals this month and I was practicing my saw piercing using copper. This was when I started getting addicted to the jewellery saw!

I also found this surprised kitty!

April
April was a pretty funny month as we bought a new large cage for our 2 rats Bella and Bo. We then decided we wanted a couple more ratties to add to the family so we went off to the pet shop. We were only going to get 2 and then Dom decided he wanted this other big black rat so we bought her too. 2 days later she gave birth to 10 babies, it was a bit of a shock at first but we kept therm all and got the 5 boys neutered so they could all live together happily. :)

May
This month I was moving forward creatively and made more first all sterling post earrings which I had soldered all by myself! This is something relatively new to me so I was happy I had cracked the process.

June
Busy as ever this month with the cake toppers and it was scorching weather over here in France.

July
My poor old girl Bo passed away this month, it was really sad as we went to the U.K for a week and she died while we were away. She got a bad case of mites and unfortunately just didn't recover. RIP Bo Bo!

August
In August we decided were going to move apartments so the search was beginning!

September
Packing! and not much else :S We also lost another ratty, RIP little Dora :(

October
We moved to an awesome house on October 1st, much bigger than our previous tiny hole of an apartment. I actually really hate moving as we have done it sooo many times over the last couple of years but hopefully we will be in this place for a while.

November
More house sorting, oh and we decided to get a puppy, more on that later :)

December
We had a great Christmas this year, we hosted Christmas dinner and my sister and her partner were here for the festivities! Their friends also came over on boxing day from the U.K so we all had a great week. Topped off with and amazing and funny New Years Eve in Basel watching the fireworks.

Hope you all had a great year, heres to 2012!

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-30T15:22:00.004+01:00

Time ran out and I never got round to writing my tool Christmas wish list but I did get some new tools for Christmas :)

Before Christmas I bought myself a little disk cutter and I got another one as a Christmas gift from my mum, it is this one found on Cooksons. It makes discs and also these little conicle shapes. I am yet to try it out but will post pics when I do.

Thank you to my sister I also received a ring stick, I have been trying to get ring making tools together for some time and I am now almost there! Just a few more bits to get. This stick has both American and European sizes and also tells you the length of metal you need for each ring size, super useful.

I also received a £100 Amazon voucher so I purchased some jewellery making books. Can't wait to receive these.

Penland Book of Jewelry

Making Silver Chains

Mounting and Setting Stones

All I want for Christmas....

2011-12-21T16:18:00.000+01:00

...is lots of tools and things from etsy:)

Silver Buds by Revonav

Flower coasters by decoylab

The Hermitage Chapel by Bewilderandpine

Vintage nick nack shelf by Myvintageobsessions

Soooo that's just a small part of my wishlist, next up will be my tool wishlist...ahhhh tools :)

A little tool

2011-12-09T21:35:00.001+01:00

I have been wanting a disc cutter and doming set for aaaages so when i saw this one on sale at Cooksons I had to get it! It arrived today and it is so tiny it's quite funny.

I would say it is perfect for some of my little post earrings and I will be giving it a go soon, watch this space.
:)

Kitchen stuff

2011-09-22T11:35:00.001+02:00

We are currently packing up our little apartment to move to a much bigger house (fingers crossed we get the keys on Monday!) which is why I have been a bit absent lately. All of my jewellery tools are away and packed as well as my polymer clay for my cake toppers.

What I have been doing is getting slightly obsessed with baking and the kitchen. I have been buying some new things for the kitchen and he is what I have bought.

I love this little coffee machine and the colour is awesome, I also got the matching kettle!

Finally my new mixer has arrived and I LOVE it! I haven't tried it out yet as I only took it out of the box for a look and then it had to get packed away again for the move.

I think like most people I had the Kitchenaid V Kenwood debate in my head over and over, I always wanted a Kitchenaid but then I found this beauty and it had so many good reviews. I can't wait to get into the new place and start using it. Notice that it is red and not blue, thought I would mix it (no pun intended) up a bit.

I have always loved cooking because quite frankly I love food! I even went to college and studied it and although I don't do it as a profession I enjoy cooking at home. I have always thought about starting a foody blog too as I think this one would get a little overcrowded if I started adding my baked goods as well.

Soooo watch this space and hopefully my tools will be back out again soon, just in time for the Christmas shopping :)

Something New!

2011-08-04T16:21:00.000+02:00

I made these post earrings for a friend and I thought they were super cute, so I have now added them to my etsy shop.

They are all sterling silver and measure a tiny 6mm approx. I hope you like them and you can find them here :)

*Update, one pair sold today, yay!

My first RAW

2011-07-30T11:06:00.000+02:00

I really to join in with RAW this year but the months past and I never got a ring made, partly because I kept putting it off having never made one before.

I then started taking a metalsmithing class every Friday night which I love, I have learnt a lot of fabricating techniques and my tool collection is growing fast, think I'm a bit of a tool addict!

I think I am starting to leave metal clay behind and work more with sheet metals, I love the piercing technique, cutting out intricate designs and filing to perfection.

So here is my first fabricated ring made in sterling silver, I couldn't decide if I wanted to oxidize it or not, maybe later.

RIP Bo

2011-07-20T15:59:00.000+02:00

My sweet, old girl Bo was put to sleep on Saturday after having a stroke. She was in the wars after having a tumor removed and then she got mites which gave her a bacterial infection.

Bo was my only rat who ever bit me on more than one occasion! :) She definitely liked her own space and didn't like being moved. She was always an explorer when she was younger, unlike Bella who would never come out of the cage until after about 3 months.

Towards the end we couldn't get Bo out of the cage very often, she loved to sleep and chill out in her hammock and looked after the other babies when they were born. She was my grumpy old girl and I will miss her.

Rest in Peace Bo Bo.

Bo as a baby

Wedding Cake toppers, a new set.

2011-06-08T14:05:00.000+02:00

Wedding season is upon us again so I am working my way through the cake toppers. I just finished this one this weekend. I am happy how it turned out and looking forward to seeing it on the cake :)

Updated ratty pics

2011-05-25T16:27:00.000+02:00

My baby ratties are now 4 weeks old and have totally changed, they are super cute but now look like ratties :)

Here are a couple of pics of the cuties:

Cuuuuute!

New Earrings

2011-05-04T15:58:00.000+02:00

Something new I made over the weekend, first up are these cherry blossom dangle earrings. Cut from copper sheet and they hang on my own handmade sterling silver ear wires.

Next are these post earrings, my first proper go at sawing sterling sheet, I quite like how they turned out too.

I hope you like them, they will be listed in etsy shop soon :)

Rat Babies!

2011-04-28T20:21:00.002+02:00

As promised here are a couple of pics of the new babies, official head count is 10, so I now have 15 rats! Let the fun begin!

All 10 babies

A Big Surprise!

2011-04-26T22:18:00.000+02:00

If you read this blog regularly you will probably have figured out that I have a couple of pet rats, Bella and Bo. Well we decided to buy them a new BIG cage and buy 2 more rats also, we went to get them on Saturday and Dom decided he wanted a 3rd one as he liked the look of this black baby.

We left the pet shop with 3 new ratties on Staurday and this morning I woke up to a lot of squeaking, I look in the cage and find a pile of rat babies! One of out new ratties was pregnant and had given birth :S
I think they are about 8 babies, so I go from having 2 to 13!

Here are a couple of pics of their new home and some pics of the new pups will come soon :)

Etsy Front Page

2011-04-21T23:14:00.001+02:00

Last night my 'La petite maison' necklace made it to Etsy's front page, no sales but lots of views and hearts. Here is the treasury and thanks to magalerie for creating it :)

Friday Favourites

2011-04-16T00:19:00.000+02:00

I haven't made anything new this week to show so thought I would show some more of my etsy faves. Oh how I think I need to win the lotto!

Abandoned and Haunted House By DaisyJaneDesigns

Early Bloom By tmlCREATIONS

Handmade Shoes By fairysteps

I hope you like my picks, next post will be about what I have been up to in my metalsmithing class. :)

Featured Seller...

2011-04-06T21:34:00.000+02:00

For this post I am featuring a friend and colleague of mine, Jennifer of SilkSpinnerDesigns.

This is a brand new shop and Jennifer makes awesome beaded jewellery, here are some of her listings.

Rose & Gold Kinesis Necklace With Matching Earrings

Happy-Go-Lucky Double Helix Bracelet

Tigerstripe Necklace with Vintage Czech Glass Beads & Matching Earrings

To celebrate her one month anniversary on Etsy, jennifer is offering 10% off on some of her designs so go and check them out :)

Another Cherry Blossom Necklace

2011-04-05T22:00:00.000+02:00

You can probably tell that cherry blossom is one of my favourite flowers, not sure why, I just love them!

I made this larger pendant at the weekend and next up I want to make some cherry blossom earrings.

I hope you like this one :D

Stuff I really, really want, part 2

2011-04-01T23:33:00.000+02:00

I think I add things to my Etsy favourites everyday, there is just too many nice things out there! I thought I would do my faves in jewellery this time around.

So this week first up are these super cute earrings from vickiorion. I love the pink and green together, 2 of my favourite colours for sure. Unfortunately they just sold :(

Ruby & Zoisite Earrings by vickiorion

Next is this amazing charm bracelet from the etsy metal team. The members who participated each made a charm for this piece which can also convert to a necklace. Oh how I would love this :)

Etsy Metal Charm Swap 6 Bracelet By the EtsyMetal Team

I love this quirky modern earrings by AntiGenre, very unique.

Egg Earrings By AntiGenre

Finally, I LOVE this dog tag necklace by drakonaria and it's quote, how cute is the little chocolate and donut detail? love it!

Balanced Diet....By Drakonaria

More Birds in Copper

2011-03-30T15:15:00.000+02:00

Here I have a couple more pieces I made over the weekend, in copper.
I used my jewellery saw to cut out the graphic then sanded and tumbled and gave it an oxidized, brushed finish.

Next is another bird and branch necklace, this one was made the same way and I hammered the edges for a bit more detail.

That's it so far, I hope you like them :)

On another note, I am very excited as I will be starting my first metalsmithing class on Friday night which runs for 7 weeks. I hope to learn some more advanced techniques and brush up on the things I have already taught myself. I have started to collect a few cabochons ready for stone setting, so watch this space and I will keep you updated on how it is going :D

The Winner is......

2011-03-27T21:13:00.000+02:00

...Congratulations to Louise of Dearest Jackdaw!

Thanks so much to all who entered my little giveaway and more importantly for continuing to follow my blog.

I always love to do giveaways so keep a lookout for the next one! :D

GIVEAWAY TIME!

2011-03-25T14:24:00.002+01:00

Hello all, I thought it was about time for another giveaway and to mark my celebration of getting over 200 followers, hurrah! (Thank you to all my followers :D)
As you have probably seen, I have really been practicing my piercing so I thought I would give away this cherry blossom necklace.
Yours will be freshly made and lovely, all you need to do to enter is follow my blog if you are not already and leave me a message below.

I will randomly pick a winner this Sunday (27th) and I will post the necklace anywhere in the whole wide world! :D

Hand pierced copper necklace on a oxidized sterling silver chain.

Stuff I really, really want...

2011-03-22T15:58:00.001+01:00

So today I was just admiring my favourites on etsy, as you do, and thought I would share.
First up is this uh-mazing scarf from TheFaerieMarket in fact I love her whole shop but this scarf is my fave, although now I am having trouble trying to decide which colors I like best.

Long and Leafy Scarf with Embroidered Leaves By TheFaerieMarket

Next up is this purse/wallet from MoxieandOliver the reason I love this so much is because it is big and has 2 zips! I live in France and work in Switzerland so I always have 2 currencies on me and I would like to keep them seperate. Makes life much easier when you are rooting around for change! I think this will be my next purchase, this purse makes me happy :)

Belle Cadilac Purse Wallet By MoxieandOliver

Hello gorgeous piece of silver, I love this cuff. Rough and organic, just my style from CyndieSmithDesigns

Silver Leaf Statement Cuff By CyndieSmithDesigns

Last but not least for today, this French Maison Set by ARTISANIEEurope. Who doesn't want little villages all over their house? I do and I think this one is perfect.

French Maison Set By ARTISANIEeurope

Finished Cake Toppers

2011-03-21T14:55:00.000+01:00

I finally finished this set of toppers, just need to add some finishing touches and then they will be shipped. The photo quality is a bit rubbish as I took it with no natural light and flash was used, when you work full time what can you do? :)
All polymer clay as usual, now onto the next set!

Friday Cuteness

2011-03-18T18:22:00.001+01:00

More metal work

2011-03-15T16:32:00.001+01:00

As promised here are the other pieces I made this weekend, more pierced copper! First up is another hammered heart necklace, this one has a jump ring in the centre rather that a bail on the back. I love to use my hammer and bash away and I also love the texture it gives.

Next is a little apple which was fun to cut and helped me practice my curves along with the heart.

And last but not least, one of my faves, a little house! I love houses and I love seeing them in jewellery. I would really like to do a series on houses but more like little 3D houses made from silver clay, something for the future no doubt.

At the moment I am practicing a lot with copper sheet and hope to start using silver sheet in the near future, as it is expensive I want to make sure I am not going to destroy it first!

New metal piercings

2011-03-13T17:40:00.000+01:00

As promised here are a couple of pieces I finished this weekend. I am really happy how they turned out and I think my piercing skills are improving as well as my finishing skills!
First up is the bird on a branch piece which I blogged about earlier in the week saying it was my next challenge. My first attempt went wrong as I cut out a piece I wasn't supposed to so this time I planned my cuts and all went to plan.

I love that one!
Next is a cherry blossom which is slightly domed and I put in a rivet for the centre part of the flower, a very sweet and dainty piece. I am really loving the oxidized look on the copper and I think it gives the piece a lot more depth.

I think I will add both to my etsy shop today, I have another couple of pieces but I just need to edit the pics so they are for another post.
I hope you like them :)

New Tools!

2011-03-11T18:00:00.000+01:00

Or rather new machines? anyway I finally bought a rotary tumbler for my jewellery and I also bought a crock pot and some pickle. For some reason it took me this long to buy a pickle pot and pickle and I don't know why, maybe it's because I am now doing more soldering.

As for the tumbler I have wanted one for ages, not just for polishing but for work hardening the metal as well. I make all my own ear wires, so I am looking forward to some tumbling this weekend and finishing of the piercing projects I started. More pics to follow over the weekend!

Work in progress- cake toppers

2011-03-07T16:36:00.001+01:00

Here is an update on my cake toppers which I am hoping to get finished this weekend, all being well. I have 3 dogs to make yet as well as the groom :S

I couldn't resist getting the saw out again, I received some new blades in the mail and the size I am using now is much better so made life a lot easier! I have finished off the 3 from my last post and will post pics at the weekend but above is my next piercing project. Can't wait to get started on that one now!

Sawing Metal..

2011-03-05T18:40:00.000+01:00

I have spent most of today messing around in my studio sawing metal and practicing my piercing. The photo shows what I have made so far. I think I have figured out that my piercing skills are not so bad, it is the finishing I seem to struggle with. Trying to get that line perfectly straight or curved is tricky! I need to figure out the best tool to use on my flex shaft for this. If course I am using copper at the moment to practice on and hopefully I will have a couple of pieces finished tomorrow ready for Etsy shop.

Anyway I really shouldn't have been playing with metal as I have cake toppers to finish, oh well tomorrow is another day before Monday arrives and the week starts all over again :)

Cake Topper-Work in Progress

2011-02-28T20:01:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to show what I am working on at the minute. It's wedding season coming up again so orders are coming in, hurrah!

More pics to come as I progress :)

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-02-22T15:44:00.002+01:00

So today I found out I have been nominated for the stylish blogger award, hurrah! Thanks so much to paperpiedesigns for nominating me :)

The rules of the nomination are:

1. Thank the person and include the link for the nomination (see above)

2. Share seven things about yourself.

3. Nominate 15 blogs for the award.

4. Let everyone know they have been nominated and let them have the details, should they want to spread the Stylish Blog love.

Things about me:

1, I have lots and lots and lots of books, mainly recipe, jewllery making, polymer clay and photography books.

2, I have 2 pets rats called Bella and Bo who are little menaces and I frequently find random holes in my clothes when I get to work without realising they were there when I got dressed!

3, I spontaneously moved to France a year and a half ago and I can't speak word of French!

4, Even though I work with metal clay I am taking my first beginners class in metalsmithing starting 1st April, can't wait.

5, My favourite colour is green, love it and pink and even better pink and green together.

6, I have just joined RAW (ring a week) as I never make rings so this will be one big challenge for me.

7, I LOVE cupcakes and wish I could find a seller who ships to France, yummy!

That's me! and the following blogs I shall nominate:

Inside the Artisan
Happy Day Art
Diva Designs
Zoe Nelson
Swirly Arts
Murano Silver
Ali Bali Jewellery
Pips Jewellery
Quercus Silver
Mango Tango Designs
Lora Hart Jewels
Lorena Angulo
Dream Some Designs
Lulubug Jewelry
Copper Heart

So there you have it, some super stylish blogs!

Spices & Seasonings

2011-02-21T17:28:00.000+01:00

It is time for Macro Monday again and this weeks theme was spices and seasonings. Above is my contribution, just some fennel!
I spent quite a long time yesterday fiddling about with Christmas lights trying to see what bokeh I created and I will definitily use them for future photos.

I hope you like the photo :)

Macro Mondays

2011-02-07T16:11:00.000+01:00

I decided to join a couple of groups on Flickr to help me improve my photography and Macro Monday is one of them.

This weeks theme is 'Unexpected' and above is my contribution.

Photography

2011-02-04T16:19:00.000+01:00

For Christmas I got a new toy, my very first DSLR, it's a Canon 1000D a nice entry into the world of DSLR and I love it! My interest in photography has really grown and I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can get outside and start snapping. I also treated myself to the 100mm Macro L lens by Canon and the 430 EX II speedlight to help me along the way.

Roll on spring time to I can go bug hunting ! :)

Something New

2011-02-01T18:21:00.000+01:00

So I finally made something new, hurrah! I love this little skull and I make have to incorporate him into some other designs too.

I think I shall add him to my Etsy shop this evening :)

Hello Blog

2011-01-28T20:30:00.003+01:00

So I was going to do my recap for 2010 but I left it too late, grrr

Now that I work full time again I spend very little time making things so I really need to get my butt into gear and start creating again. Also the summer wedding orders are coming in for the topper so I am going to be pretty busy!

Meanwhile here is a shot of my rat baby Bella....

Latest topper in action

2010-12-12T13:43:00.000+01:00

I received this pic of one of my toppers on the cake a couple of weeks again. This one was quite an unusual request but it was fun to make. I am happy it managed to arrive at its destination in one piece!
Made as usual with polymer clay.

Bid for Autism!

2010-11-06T17:40:00.000+01:00

In April of this year, members of our group the Etsy Metal Clay team each made a charm to be assembled onto a bracelet. We are now auctioning of this bracelet for the charity Autism Speaks. 100% of the proceeds will go to the charity, you can find the auction here.

Here is a bit about the bracelet from the ebay auction:

One of a kind, the bracelet consists of a 7 inch (178 mm) fused and hammered hand made sterling silver chain, adorned with 22 charms crafted of fine silver, bronze and copper. The charms were created by accomplished metal clay artisans and EMC Team members (in alphabetical order) Dina Alexander, Lorena Angulo, Carrie Benvenuti, Cherylyn Bredemann, Milica Bubanja, Nicola Callow, Christine Childress, Lis-el Crowley, Evelyn Pelati Dombkowski, Janice Doner, Kelly Fehr, Jane Font, Beverly Gallerani, Judy Gordon, Kristi Bowman Gruel, Lucia Gulino, Louise Hunter, Rachel Kranzberg Miller, Heidi Stinson, Kathy Voss, Catherine Witherell, and Tiffany Zadi.

Hello World..

2010-10-17T16:48:00.000+02:00

..Wow, I haven't seen this page in a while. So I started working full time about 2 months ago and it is tiring! I forgot what it was like to work full time, ha! Since I started I haven't been very creative, mainly as I have been too tired after work and there is always too much too do at the weekend.
Also I have been quite addicted to reading, I got myself one of those new kindles from Amazon and I love it!

I have no more cake topper orders to make so now is the opportunity to make more jewellery, watch this space!

Work in Progress

2010-08-21T23:31:00.000+02:00

Hello blog, I haven't seen you in a while....

So tomorrow is my last day of freedom! I start my new job on Monday, kinda excited and a little nervous but I am sure it will all turn out ok.

Other news I have started a diet, it's called the Dukan Diet! I am on day 3 so far but it is going well. It is very strict and you can see more about it here

Before I start work I have 2 sets of cake toppers to make and then I caught up, finally! Here is what I am currently working on.

Good News!

2010-08-10T23:44:00.001+02:00

Originally uploaded by ✭Lou✭

So I have finally got a job! yay. Since I have moved to France last September I have been applying to lots of places and hadn't even got an interview but I finally got my interview and job as a lab/admin assistant at a Biotech company. I start on the 23rd, finally some spending money too!

Also here is a pic of my latest toppers :)

Another set down

2010-07-30T12:08:00.000+02:00

Here is my latest set of toppers, just finished and on route to the U.K, I love how this one turned out :)

I only have a couple of more sets to make and then I have caught up, hurrah! I might actually be able to fit some jewellery making in then!

My friend Mike singing Crazy, Gnarls Barkley :)

2010-07-25T10:08:00.001+02:00

Finished topper

2010-07-22T00:47:00.000+02:00

Just a quick post to show the toppers finished :)

Christmas in July

2010-07-17T23:54:00.001+02:00

It is the 3rd annual Christmas in July on etsy where lots of shops offer a discount or free shipping to drive the sales in the slow month of July.

I am participating and currently have 'free worldwide shipping' on everything in my store. :)

Also here are 2 new pieces, some tiny sweet black post earrings and 'the missing piece' necklace in brushed silver.

Work in Progress

2010-07-17T00:33:00.000+02:00

Wow, been busy with these toppers, here is what I am working on at the mo and should be finished this weekend ready for postage on Monday.

As usual I will post the final result! Have a good weekend all :D

My mums new westie puppy & kitten playing :)

2010-07-09T20:22:00.000+02:00

More Cake Toppers

2010-07-08T01:59:00.000+02:00

Been busy, busy. busy with the topper lately. Can't complain I guess! Looking forward to getting this next lot finished so that I can make some more jewellery pieces. I am having withdrawal symptoms! :)

Here are my latest 3.

Etsy Finds & Wedding Cake Toppers

2010-06-29T23:42:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I made it into the etsy finds, yay! First time ever :)
I got 2 sales out of it and a ton of shop hearts and item hearts so it's all good. It was my 'Tiny star necklace' that was featured.

I also have these 2 sets of cake toppers to show you. I made the first set (at the top) but they got lost in the post, or so we thought. So then I had to make a second lot and get them posted (the most expensive shipping ever! :S) It turns out the first lot turned up on the wedding day, a whole 15 days after they were posted! This is pretty unusual as I had posted another set the same day to the U.K and they arrived after 3 days, hmmm

Anyway it turned out they had to use the first set anyway as the hotel lost the second set! Luckily they found them later on but it was the first set that ended up on the cake after all!

I do think I like the second lot better, just goes to show, handmade means nothing is ever identical!

Friday Favourites on etsy

2010-06-25T20:23:00.000+02:00

I just love green!
Here are a few of my faves this week from my treasury, please click to enlarge :)
The bottom row got cut off during my screen capture, those shops are from left to right:
monpetitvolon
ellemardesigns
pursuingeden
Steinshmuckdesigns

oooh Shiny!

2010-06-23T23:17:00.000+02:00

I finally got some new supplies in the post today, I had got the gemstones earlier but my wire only arrived today to I managed to get some new pieces listed in my shop, hurrah!

I got garnets, quartz tilak briolettes and some sky blue topaz onion briolettes. I wrapped them all in oxidized sterling because I just love the dark colour! They all hang from my own handmade ear wires too. I think I will make some into necklaces too so there can be a matching set if required, lovely.

All can be found here :)

Friday Favourites

2010-06-19T01:15:00.001+02:00

Just some cool stuff from some more talented etsy sellers :)
(click to enlarge)

Cows & Stamped

2010-06-13T18:49:00.000+02:00

I thought I would kill 2 birds with one stone with this post and show what I have been making in both shops.

First up is a new little stamped custom necklace for my shop in copper. I think it is cute and great for everyday wear. I got a set of letter stamps so looking forward to playing around with those a bit more.
I have also ordered some lovely gem stone briolettes so can't wait for those to arrive either. I love getting new supllies delivered! :)

Next up are these cow cake toppers, more cows! The dress was really big and princess like so it was quite a difficult one to make but I managed to get it right in the end.
Jewellery will be put on hold again as I have a last minute order to complete for 2 weeks time which I would like to get finished by midweek at the latest.

2nd Etsy metal clay charm swap

2010-06-10T15:02:00.000+02:00

I received my charms the other week for our second swap. I love them all, so beautiful!
Thanks to Evelyn for lending me this pic of her finished charm bracelet, how awesome does it look!

Riveted

2010-06-06T02:03:00.001+02:00

I made this new necklace, I think it is pretty cool! My first go at riveting too.
It is 2 copper pieces, the first with my pierced design and the second I have oxidized and attached underneath so the patina shows through the design. It is quite a heavy piece so I think I need to experiment a bit more when my new supplies arrive.

Happy weekend all :)

Cake topper- work in progress

2010-06-04T00:45:00.000+02:00

It's that time again, time to put down the jewellery and catch up on CT orders. Here is a sneak peak of some cows I am making. I have 2 sets on the go at the mo, you can't see the others though as the bride needs to keep the dress a secret from the groom, and he might be here...hiding:)

Also check out my new Etsy banner and Avatar made by WinchesterLambourne, it is freaking awesome if I say so myself.

That is all :)

First piercings

2010-05-30T20:07:00.002+02:00

I have been busy trying out my new saw, gotta say it's pretty cool! First of all I made the above, the flower was the first thing I cut out of copper and soldered to some sterling wire and added the copper leaf detail.

I then made this cherry blossom necklace, I like how this one turned out:

Finally I made a little hammered heart, well just because I love hearts, cute and simple.

Even though I have never used a jewellers saw before, I highly recommend this one, changing the blades is a breeze. Out of all 3 pieces I only broke one blade and I wasn't even sawing, I was trying to lubricate the blade, haha!

I hope you like my new pieces :)

Knew toy!

2010-05-27T22:24:00.001+02:00

See what I did there, Knew/new geddit?

Yay for new tools! I really want to try my hand at working with copper and silver sheet so I bought myself a snazzy new saw. A Knew Concept saw to be exact. I have never tried piercing before and I have read a couple of people say how amazing this saw is so I had to get it.

The frame is made from super lightweight aluminum making it the lightest saw on the market. The unique tensioning system is built into the frame so you don't have to squish it against your sternum to tighten the blade.

It is even painted red which apparently improves accuracy, who knew?

I have it in 5 inches but you can get it in 3" and 8", ~~I just need to wait for my bench peg now so that I can test it out.~~ It's arrived, yay, let the metal carnage begin!

More toppers & beads

2010-05-20T20:54:00.000+02:00

I have been working like mad to get this set of cake toppers finished, the customer loves in the States and it was a last minute order so I was very conscious of the time. Finally finished today and in the post. This set seems to include everything but the kitchen sink! :)

I also got around to turning these older beads into necklaces and have got them listed now. They are polymer and all findings are sterling silver. I think I may have blogged about these beads a while back when I made them. Even though green is my favourite colour, the blue and brown necklace has to be my fave.

And the winner is!.......

2010-05-14T23:36:00.000+02:00

CONGRATULATIONS to Glasmagie! Thank you to all who entered, I wish I could send you all something, really I do! So I will definitely being doing more giveaways in the near future so come back again!

Lou :)

Some new bits

2010-05-12T22:12:00.000+02:00

First of all thank you to everyone so far who have entered my giveaway below. I will do the draw 10pm my time here in France on Friday and announce the winner straight away. Hopefully I will get a few more participants! :)

I made a couple of necklaces last night, I always love the look of the wire wrapped briolettes so I thought I would carve some myself from polymer clay. I really like how they both turned out, they are very irregular and fun to wear. I made 2 in similar colours, one is slightly lighter thank the other and both are wrapped in sterling silver and hang from sterling silver chains. I have already made 3 more in different colours as they are quite addictive to make! You can find these 2 in my Etsy shop now, I hope you like them both.

GIVEAWAY!!

2010-05-08T00:59:00.000+02:00

I promised I said I would do a giveaway once my blog got over 100 followers so here it is peeps.
I am giving away one of my Moon & Stars necklaces above made from precious metal clay and strung on a sterling silver chain.

All you have to do to enter is follow my blog if you aren't already and leave a comment below, that's it!
I will use the random number generator to pick a winner next Friday 14th.

So get following and commenting! :)

Cake Toppers Done!

2010-04-28T23:23:00.000+02:00

Yay, I got this set finished, I was starting to panic as I thought the wedding was on the 10th May but it isn't until the 24th, big sigh of relief!
I am happy as I am now back on track, on another note I got my Prismacolor pencils in the mail today so I can start experimenting with colour on my silver pieces, excited!

Cake Toppers- Work In Progress

2010-04-27T01:33:00.001+02:00

I have another set on the go, I was ill for almost 3 weeks not long back which set me back a bit with the cake toppers so I am trying to get back up to date.

Here is the bride all ready to go and her policeman groom will be finished soon. :)

Charmed

2010-04-25T00:25:00.000+02:00

I am taking part in a second Etsy Metal Clay charm swap, mine are all done and dusted and on there way to the States. I can't wait to see what everyone else has made!
My charms are cherry blossoms, coloured with pencils and little rhodonite beads attached. I hope you like them. :)

Cake Toppers, Done!

2010-04-23T21:13:00.000+02:00

Here is the finished set, all done and dusted and on there way to Ireland, now onto the next!

Cake Topper- Work in Progress 2

2010-04-21T23:22:00.000+02:00

Here is the bride all finished, just need to make the groom, attach them to their base and post and then onto the next! :) Stay tuned for the final piece.

Cake Topper- Work in progress

2010-04-20T22:15:00.000+02:00

Here is a work in progress shot of a set of cake toppers I am currently working on, I hope to get these finished and posted by tomorrow. I'll post a pic of the finished toppers once they are complete :)

Just to show...

2010-04-14T00:56:00.000+02:00

...my latest set, only a quick post as I am off to bed ready for a busy days of cake toppers tomorrow. Hope you like them. :)

New Shops

2010-04-12T00:39:00.000+02:00

Today I have been busy opening up some new online stores for my jewellery. I now have a Zibbet shop and a Coriandr shop. Of course Etsy will always be my fave but it doesn't hurt to get your product out there into the world for more to see. I only have a couple of listings in the new shops so far which will be made to order items so I will just see how it goes.

If anybody is thinking of opening up a Zibbet shop please use me as a referral and you can also get a 7 day free trial by entering FREETRIAL in the coupon section. You just need to follow this link, My referral link.

As for new work I have a few design ideas floating about in my head right now I just need to get them in my sketchbook but tomorrow is all about the cake toppers as I am slightly behind from being ill, boo!

Lou x

Out of the Kiln

2010-04-09T01:42:00.002+02:00

Here are some new pieces out of the kiln and in my Etsy shop already. A little collection of cherry blossoms. I love them we have lots of cherry blossom tree's here where we live, so pretty.

I carved a little stamp and made this, the branch I made ages ago and was wondering what to do with it:

I then made some post earrings from the same tiny stamp:

Finally I made a bigger stamp to sit on its own on a necklace and this is the one I am going to be using for my EMC charms in copper with an additional bead component.

I hope you like them all :)

Bleugh

2010-04-03T22:39:00.001+02:00

So I haven't made anything new for well over a week now. Since Tuesday I have been sick as a dawg! I have literally not moved from the sofa (apart from peeing, sleeping and bathing) since Tuesday and it sucks! I have the worst head cold, bleugh.

I have however managed to catch up with all of my internet stuff, spent way to much time on Flickr and Facebook, all in the name of research :) I also re-joined PCAGOE (polymer clay artists guild of Etsy) a group of Etsy artists that sell there polymer clay work on Etsy. Search "pcagoe" on Etsy to seem some amazing artists at work. I have ordered more supplies, always love to receive new materials in the post.

I have been overdosing on orange juice and fruit smoothies and here's lunch.

Happy Easter everyone. :)

Something new

2010-03-23T23:17:00.001+01:00

While working on my cake toppers I have managed to squeeze in a little jewellery making too :)
I have made another guitar pick necklace made from precious metal clay and also a pair of earrings using my own handmade polymer beads and ear wires. I like how the earrings turned out so I will definitely being making those again with some new colour combinations.

Both can be found in my Etsy shop now :)

Sherri Haab- Jewelry Techniques & Inspirations

2010-03-21T20:22:00.000+01:00

I received Sherri Haab's new book in the post not long back and have only just got round to having a proper look at it.
Another awesome book from Sherri, I have her metal clay book. This one covers everything from wire wrapping, metal clay, etching, polymer clay, fiber art and more!

Its starts with Sherri showing you around her studio and giving tips on organization, once you get past drooling over her amazing studio she goes on to explain how she uses notebooks and also tips on taking and teaching classes.
After giving tips all basic jewellery techniques such as wire wrapping, working with jump rings and mixing resin to name a few the rest of the book is split into 5 sections. Memories such as inspirations by the sea, Seasons has some techniques for Halloween and winter then there is Collections, Blast from the Past and Hobbies.
There are step by step instructions for all of the projections with great photography to match, clear bright and beautiful photos.

This book has definitely given me some projects for the future using materials I would never thought of using. All in all a great and beautiful book!

Another set down

2010-03-11T22:27:00.000+01:00

My latest cake toppers done and dusted! These toppers sure are keeping me busy at the moment, I am looking forward to when I get get some new jewellery pieces made again.

Sleepy Bella

2010-03-06T22:51:00.003+01:00

Rat cuteness, that is all...

Work in progress

2010-02-25T20:49:00.000+01:00

Some work in progress, I am currently making 2 sets of toppers for April and this is the bride of one set.
I will get the finished pic up once it is finished.

Some new cake toppers

2010-02-18T22:44:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post tonight to put this pic up of some cake toppers I have just finished :)

My studio..

2010-02-16T00:48:00.000+01:00

Here is an updated pic of my studio since I moved to France, as you can see its still as messy as ever! Its a work in progress though and I am slowly sorting it out and getting everything into place.

My desk is a total mess at the moment here but it is all clear now as I had to have it clean for making cake toppers as polymer picks up dirt and dust like nothing else.

I think I just need to inject a bit of colour now and brighten it up a bit :)

Some new earrings

2010-02-14T21:20:00.000+01:00

Now I have finally learnt to solder I have been making little post earrings non stop, I love them!

Above are a couple of pairs which I am currently uploading to my Etsy shop :)

I can solder!

2010-02-11T22:11:00.002+01:00

I have had my solder paste now since Christmas and all my other bits and pieces to solder but last night was the first night I gave it a go. I wanted to solder ear posts to my PMC earrings which I had made earlier so I plucked up the courage, stuck my little goggles on and went for it!

I must have had about 4 goes and couldn't seem to get it right, the solder wouldn't flow and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. So after much frustration I flickr mailed my buddy, the lovely David of Revonav who explained it all to me and gave me a great link for making posts too. I left it and went back to it this morning and fiddled about with positioning of the earring post and the direction of the torch and it worked! The solder flowed and I made my earrings. I got a bit solder happy and made 4 pairs above is one of them. I have wanted to make these for a while now as an alternative to my paint palette necklace and I love making and wearing post earring myself.

These earrings will be up in my Etsy shop tomorrow, so here's to more soldering and thanks again to David, go check out his awesome shop here. :)

Featured!

2010-02-08T23:50:00.002+01:00

I am currently in 4 treasuries and featured on Etsy's front page ~~2 days in a row~~ make that 3 times in 2 days now! Lucky me, I now have lots of new hearts for my shop.

I haven't put any new jewelery in the shop for a few weeks now so that is next on my list, I have a few ideas buzzing around my head which I am looking forward to trying out along with re-shooting my photographs once my coloured backgrounds arrive. :)

Also go check out Barbe's (one of my Etsy metal clay team buddies) Quit Your Day Job interview...

EMC Charms

2010-02-04T17:54:00.000+01:00

I haven't actually written about the charms that I recieved in the Etsy Metal Clay charm swap. I got mine a bit later than everyone else as I was moving abroad and I didn't want them to get lost in transit!
Each of us involved made a set of charms using either silver, copper of bronze clay and we made a couple of extra ones for charity. One of the bracelets went to the Hearts for Haiti shop on Etsy and pretty much sold right away which was awesome. Here is a pic of the charms I made and another pic of the finished bracelet that went to Hearts for Haiti. Thanks to Ruth for the finished bracelet pic :)

Experimenting

2010-01-31T03:07:00.000+01:00

I am thinking of changing the backgrounds on my Etsy shop pics for my jewellery by adding a bit of colour and brightening them up. I have been experimenting with the backgrounds today, not sure if I will change them yet though I am undecided!

Pens that write on polymer clay...

2010-01-29T23:13:00.000+01:00

....and don't smudge! do any exist? The only ones I have found to work so far are the Eberhard Faber Decoro Lackmarker. Sometimes I need a pen when I am doing a certain design on my cake toppers and also for when I write the couples names on the base of the topper but finding one that works is hard! If anybody out there can point me in the right direction of preferably a fine black pen but a pack of colours would be good too, I would be most grateful! :)

New Year New Moleskine

2010-01-28T01:36:00.000+01:00

I love the Moleskine, I was a bit late getting my diary for this year as it has only just arrived and I love the weekly notebook, plenty of room for writing and it has a nifty yearly planner at the front where I write all of my cake topper orders. Makes life much easier when I can see what I need to make at a glance! I aso have a sketchbook and I want to get the watercolour book next, well in fact I want to collect them all! The cheapest place to get them I think has got to be Amazon.

Here is a group on flickr dedicated to all things Moleskine. Some awesome Moleskine art.

Full of cold

2010-01-26T17:01:00.001+01:00

I am full of cold (boo) so I haven't been in my clay room at all this last week or so, I was feeling extra motivated too! :S
I haven't made a piece of jewellery for a couple of weeks now as I have had to cake my cake toppers made for this month and next, its been nice to work on something different.

So as I haven't got anything new to show here is Bella all cute and cuddly on my lap :)

Some of my Faves

2010-01-21T22:44:00.001+01:00

Here is another selection of my favourite things on Etsy right now, click on the pic above to see it large and go check out these sellers shops, awesome!

1, 2010 weekly planner by lillyjanestationerry
2, Victorian gingerbread dollhouse by Victoriandollhouse
3, Red landscape ring by QuercusSilver
4, Sugar and spice by Happiknits
5, Frosted raspberry earrings by JooJooLand
6, Starlight beads by Feyglass
7, Chained heart by Revonav
8, Don't steal my pickanick basket by Johnnyvintage

Click on the pic above to see it large and go check out these sellers shops, awesome!

Finished toppers

2010-01-18T22:48:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post tonight to show the finished toppers I posted about last night. This one was finished today and its on it its way, now onto the next! :)

Cake Toppers

2010-01-16T22:22:00.000+01:00

My week has ended busier than I thought it would! I have had a lot of cake topper queries this week so I have been sorting those out and sending invoices and making the dates on my calender etc. Here is a work in progress pic that I am currently making. This set will be finished by tomorrow ready for postage on Monday and then its onto the next!

Hopefully more orders will still come in and I will be kept busy. I have also bought a new blow torch today to use with my silver solder paste so I will be trying that out on some new post earrings, cant wait to see the end result of those either. I will get some pics up as soon as I have finished those.

Have a great weekend :)

More Hearts

2010-01-13T23:50:00.000+01:00

I have been making quite a few heart pieces for my shop and the latest addition is a little pink one. Even though its Valentines day next and they are pretty appropriate for the occasion, I love hearts anyway! :)

Rat Love

2010-01-10T04:08:00.000+01:00

Had to put these pics up here, soooo cute! Meet Bo up my boyfriends sleeve :)