Peculiar Forest: blog carnival

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6 January 2015

Etsymetal blog carnival: New Year's Resolutions

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

New Year's Resolutions!

It's that time of year again to try and make and keep some resolutions, mine are generally always the same!

Learn some new jewellery techniques, I want to do some more stone setting this is year and crank out some pieces with stones, I am getting quite a collection!
Stick to the 'Earring a Day' challenge, I am always super motivated at the beginning of the year and then I fizzle out. This year it is to make one earring everyday for the year and then put them in my Etsy shop under the asymmetrical section.
Get to 1000 sales in my Etsy shop! Not sure that will happen this year though but you never know! :)
Learn more jewellery skills in general, I am completely self taught so always learning.
Be happy! less anxious and don't sweat the small stuff. Try and be more positive.
Be organised, especially in my studio!
The usual, lose weight, eat healthy and stop biting my nails!

Earring a Day 1-4

Check out resolutions from other members of the Etsymetal team:

4 August 2014

EtsyMetal blog carnival- Tools!

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

This months topic is our favourite tools!

This is probably one of my most favourite topics, I love tools! and I love having a nosey around others peoples studios too see what they are using.

So here are some of my tools, some I use every day and others get used less frequently but I still wouldn't want to be without them.

My saw: obviously for me this is an important one, I use it almost every time I make something and this one is a old Knew Concepts one.

Disc cutters: I use this a lot too and I recently had one custom made especially for me, it's amazing and I want to get more!

Dapping/ doming set: I use this mainly for my post earrings.

Ring stretcher/ reducer: another useful tool to have if you make a lot of rings, I mainly use the reducer when I have gone a bit overboard with my hammering.

Torches: I use 2, a big jumbo one and this cute little dremel which is perfect for tiny things like jump rings.

Rolling mill: SO I have had this mini mill for about a 1 and a half years and I never use it; mainly because I obliterate everything I put through it! I need to spend some more time with it as I want to do some pattern rolling at some point in the future.

My bench: Of course my beloved bench is one of my most favourite things, can you call it a tool? probably not, but I love it and there is a whole other post about it here.

So that's a quick look at my tools and what I use on a day to day basis, check other members of the Etsymetal team to see their favourite tools.

2Roses: http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/

KSkilesJewelry : http://kaskiles.com/2014/08/04/studio-tools/ ‎

Nanopod: http://www.nanopod.me

Cynthia Del Giudice: http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com

Anne Walker: http://creativeinclinations.blogspot.com/

Nodeform: http://nodeform.com/blogs/news

1 July 2013

EtsyMetal blog Carnival- Favourite Recipes

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

What are your favourite recipes?

I am not sure why I am taking part in this blog carnival as I have so many recipes that I like! I studied professional culinary arts for 3 years in college so food has always been a big part of my life. One of the first cookbooks I bought was Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef, I still have my original battered copy that I bought when it was first released 14 years ago!

I love it because it takes me back to when I was a student, good times.

I am not going to write out all of the recipes that I like from this book as there are just too many, here is a little list of "some" my faves and you can look them up in the book as I assume you will have this one already ;)

Perfect roast chicken

Pork and crackling

Simple chocolate tart

Check out what my other team members love to eat!

3 June 2013

EtsyMetal blog carnival- Summer's a comin'!

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

Summer's a comin'!

Or is it?...

It certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment where I am that's for sure!

I think the Seasons are shifting and summer is going to come later and last longer towards the end of the year.

We have just recently bought a caravan and we have already had our first trip in it, we went to Les Fuvettes and also visited Lausanne, here are some pics:

Les Fuvettes

Lausanne

We will go away again soon, probably to the South, Cote D'Azur and maybe into Italy too or Spain, can't wait!

That is my summer sorted, check out what other members of EtsyMetal have planned:

1 May 2013

EtsyMetal blog carnival- Show off your latest

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

Show off your latest!

I am currently working on my ring making, finally! I made these 2 rings at the weekend just to practice with the soldering, they are not good enough yet so I am still working on them.

I managed to mess up the sizing which is kinda crucial! I did treat myself to this new tool though to help me out, it's a ring stretcher and reducer, looks fancy!

I am also currently sawing out another butterfly, I think this next one is going to be a necklace though not a brooch this time around.

Check out what Laura has been working on over at her blog

Laura Jane Bouton

4 March 2013

EtsyMetal blog carnival: Where do you live?

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

Where do you live?

I have moved around a lot, my Dad was in the army so I moved more than the average child anyway.

I am currently settled and I live in the Alsace region of France, it is right on the border of Germany and Basel, Switzerland where I work. I have been here for 3 and a half years and I have no plans to move back to the U.K right now :)

Here are some pics!

Strasbourg

Strasbourg again

Basel, in the summer we swim down this river, the Rhein

Walking in the woods

Looking out of my living room window

Keeping this one short and sweet, this is where I live!

See where other members live.

4 February 2013

EtsyMetal blog carnival- Photography tips

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

Photography Tips & Tricks

Since I started making jewellery I have been trying to take good photos for my Etsy shop and Website and blog. The photos are so important when you want people to purchase your work online, the images are all they have to go by when they can't see it in real life of touch it in person.

My photos keep changing, I go through phases where I really like them and then I get bored and want to change the style again. I have used everything from coloured backgrounds to sandpaper and now I mainly photograph on wood with a lighter colour in the background.

My tips are to use a macro lens or the macro setting on your camera, this lets you get close up and give good depth of field to the picture to make it more interesting.

I use a 100mm Canon macro lens:

I always used to photograph during the day in natural light from my kitchen window on my dining table. This was fine but I got annoyed with only being able to to take pictures at the weekend (I work full time and it is always dark when I get home!) I recently made my own little light box which works great, all of my pictures are taken using this, easiest thing ever:

....and then I received a proper light tent for my Birthday, I haven't used it yet and I don't think I have a need for it right now as my trusty plastic box does the trick! I will probably use it for larger items if I need too.

This is the tent I have:

Daylight bulbs are essential otherwise your pictures will have a yellow tint from normal bulbs.

When I have finished taking my pictures I always edit them either using iphoto which I find the quickest or I also have photoshop elements. There are plenty of free photo editing programs on the web you can also use, one I particularly like is Aviary which you use through Flickr. I always have to adjust the levels to brighten the picture and occasionally colour saturation; and sometimes I crop and use the retouch tool if I have a bit of dust or something in photo.

Here are a few of my pictures using my homemade light box and the above methods.

I hope these tips were useful!

See some more tips from other members of the EtsyMetal team.

7 January 2013

EtsyMetal blog carnival

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic

Topic: New Years Resolutions!

Happy New Year! I always start the New Year with lots of resolutions to keep, whether I stick to them is another matter!

This year is no different of course but I hope to stick to as many as possible.

1, Lose some weight! of course I always start with this one, time to shift some pounds gained over Christmas and a bit more besides. Also to become more active, I really want to start running, at the min I can possibly manage 10 meters without passing out. *snort*

2, Stop biting my nails. Yes I have done this all of my life, it is a horrible habit but at the same time I enjoy doing it! Gross I know and my nails look beyond terrible bit I can't help it. I would love to have nice nails to paint, so maybe this is the year!?

3, Start a creative challenge and stick to it. This year is Brooch a Week and I have successfully completed week 1. This is the first time I have ever made a pin/brooch and I like how it turned out.

Brooch a Week, wk1

4, Learn new skills. I keep saying that I want to make rings and I will! I need to practice more as I would really like to start adding some to my Etsy shop. Watch this space. Edited to say that I want to learn stone setting too, I forgot about this and was reminded yesterday when I received some lovely stones to use in the mail.

5, Be a more positive person. I need to be more happy. Towards the end of last year I realised I was getting grumpier and grumpier and little things and people were annoying me pretty much most of the time. I need to have a more positive outlook and I am determined to not be as grumpy this year.

6, Be more sociable. I tend to be a bit of a loner and I don't go out as much anymore but I think it's because I like my own company and to do my own thing, my partner is kind of the same so we are a good match!

7, Be more frugal. I am a bit of spender and I like the idea of being more frugal and saving a bit more than I do. I have been reading Frugal Queens blog and it is very interesting and a bit of an eye opener! I won'r be as extreme but it has some great tips.

I think that is enough to be getting on with for now, see what other members of the team have in store for this years resolutions and goals.

3 September 2012

EtsyMetal blog carnival, Pets!

Welcome to the EtsyMetal blog carnival

Blog carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on

a common topic: "Pets"

I love this months topic as I have a lot of pets!

They are not everyone's cup of tea but I have 10 rats. I did have 15 at one point too, it's quite a funny story. So when my partner and I moved to France I decided I would like 2 pet ratties, I have had them before and they are great fun, so we got to little ones called Bella and Bo (who are now in ratty heaven, RIP little ones).

We then decided we would like 2 more to add as we were getting this BIG cage, so off we went to get them and my partner says, "ohh I really want that big black one too!" I said okay, so we came away with 3. Two days later The 'big black one' gave birth to 10, yes 10! Of course we didn't know she was pregnant and me being me I couldn't give them away so we kept them all, 15 in total.

Here are some pics

Bella

All the babies a couple of days old

8 days old

Here they are at 4 weeks

Unfortunately we have recently lost 3 of the babies who are now over a year old, to illnesses and we now have 10. We had 5 girls and 5 boy rat babies which meant we had to get all the boys neutered and they are now huge! I must take some new pictures.

This year in January we welcomed another baby into the family, our little Yorkie puppy called 'Brutus'

He is the coolest dog ever, here are a couple of pics.

A very young Brutus

As he is now.

I hope you enjoyed meeting my pets, take a look at other participating members of

the EtsyMetal team blogs and meet their pets too :)

Laney (silentgoddess)

Beth Cyr

2Roses

Evelyn Markasky

Erin Austin

Rebecca Bogan
Victoria Takahashi/Experimetal
Cynthia Del Guidice

6 August 2012

EtsyMetal blog carnival 6/8/12 "The Five Senses"

Welcome to the EtsyMetal blog carnival

Blog carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on

a common topic: "The Five Senses"

I think it's quite hard to describe the 5 senses, we just take them for granted I think...

Taste is probably my favourite, as I love to eat! When I was at college I studied cooking for 3 years which was a lot of fun. I love to cook and I love to bake and I try and do it as much as possible although my waistline probably wishes I didn't love it so much.

Smell, what would we do without it, has it's good sides and it's bad sides but I am glad that I can definitely smell! Some of my favourite smells are freshly cut grass, new born babies, thyme, fresh flowers, cinnamon and vanilla.

Hearing and sight, I always used to think about what I would choose if I could only have one of these, I think my choice would be sight. That way I could still see the world, still work with my hands making my jewellery and cake toppers and still see my beautiful family.

Touch is important, without it we wouldn't know if something was hot or cold, if we were in pain or not and pain receptors are probably the most important. Apparently we have more pain receptors than any other, sometimes I wish this wasn't true :)
Without touch, blind people wouldn't be able to read braille so for some people touch can be the most important.

They say if you lose one sense another sense is heightened. I for one am definitely grateful that I have all of mine.

Check out what other EtsyMetal participants have to say about the subject

Abella Blue
Quercus Silver