Blue Box Studio - jewellery - textiles

New charm beads

2012-02-12T19:38:00.005Z

just listed on Ebay

All handmade in my North Somerset studio

original pieces to complement or start
your charm bead collection

What a week! More sea glass beads now available

2012-02-11T18:55:00.004Z

You know how some weeks seem to go on for eternity? Well, this has been one of them! Thankfully the threatened snow didn't have much of an impact, for once we were on the right side (or should that be left side) of the line and basked in cold sunshine with only a few wintery showers to annoy.

The week started out badly when someone, not me, left the petrol cap on top of the car, drove off, realised his error, drove back to watch another car drive over and break it. I now seem to have some fancy doo-dah that only stays in the pipe if I shout at it. Who cares it won't lock, fortunately the flap on the car does. I didn't know you could pay that much for a petrol cap!

Monday: and same car has to go to the bodyshop (not the kind that sells White Musk perfume!) to have the rather large dent removed from the bumper. I didn't do that either - same person as the petrol cap incident! The insurance would have written my old jalopy off so we've had to pay for this ourselves (not the use of 'we'!) until I can afford a new jalopy. Actually, strike 'afford' and replace with 'find' - finding an estate car to take all those boxes for craft fairs isn't easy, not many estate cars around, well, not many with proper big boot spaces that aren't designed to stuff another 3 elves in seats into. Anyway, I spend a couple of hours booking my car in, it would have been quicker and less embarrassing to have said where there weren't any scratches than keep marking them on the check in form. Then I get given a tiny Chevrolet to get me from A to B for the week. I was given the 'don't do any damage or it'll cost you £250' chat and crept home avoiding all confrontation on the M5.

Tuesday and a journey up the M5 demonstrates that tiny Chevrolets cannot do more than about 50 uphill, the lorries were overtaking me for a change, not impressed - mental note not to buy one of these instead of an estate car. Never mind, I get mine back on Friday. My day is darkened further by noticing a mark on the loan car - fortunately some 'stuff' from Halfords removes all but the stubbonest marks. I parked it on the end of a row so this must have been malicious damage :( I mentally start working out where I'll find another £250 - the total bill is now about the value of the car, I might as well have just scrapped it (except I need a car and can't aford to buy a newer one).

Wednesday - text arrives - 'don't forget we want our car back tomorrow'. I text back that our agreement is different, see you Friday. 'Oh yes' they say.

Friday: I drive through a blizzard (the West Coast version, we don't do snow over here) to be told 'oops, they forgot to collect your car for service Thursday, we'll start it later today!' I go home in the under-powered Chevvy and carefully park in the drive. Shouldn't a Chevvy be red, sporty, open topped, sexy? This was blue, under-powered and tinny. I should be drilling sea glass - I eat cake instead.

Anyway, my now rather presentably bumpered estate is back home and safely on the drive. The mad fools valeted it, inside and out; I hope it doesn't think it'll get that kind of treatment from me. The marks on the not-so-sexy-Chevvy didn't show up in the pouring rain so someone is looking after me this week. My car won't be going far for a few days as I need to renew the warranty on it (it's often very poorly) before it reaches 100,000 miles (the maximum starting mileage they will cover) - it's a race between 100,000 miles arriving before pay day, and the mileage is winning. The warranty is not an inconsiderable sum, I need time to be able to find that kind of dosh - and winning £6 on the Euromillions yesterday hasn't helped much. It was our 2nd win in a week - we're were thinking how best to splash the cash, all £10 of it and settled on a Sainsbury's meal deal. You can no longer do a chish and fip supper for 2 in Clevedon, and it's too cold to sit and watch the sunset on the sea front, lovely though it might have been. Through the low could and rain.

For a little light relief, and de-stressing, I've drilled some more sea glass into beads and they are now listed on Ebay. Hopefully I'll have time to make some more tomorrow. I have another race here - can I make my few remaining drills last to drill more glass, until the new order escapes from the clutches of the Customs man and get to my doorstep - they are coming from the US, but I suspect on the 'Slow Boat to China'.

So, do give my sea glass beads some love. I've also listed some lovely pieces of red and blue English sea glass, very rare colours but I found them!

So, that's my week sorted. What was your week like?

Handmade sea glass beads

2012-02-05T17:31:00.005Z

Whilst I was making some sea glass drilled beads for me, I made some for you!

These are all genuine sea glass, from English beaches - having had a quick wander around Ebay there is a lot of sea glass there that's not been near a beach! If it's too regular in colour and shape, then it's probably not down to Mother Natures slapdash ways - she rarely makes two pieces the same, which is what is so nice about a natural product.

Along side this, I have some rare 'end of day' sea glass, also known as multis or multicoloured glass, pieces. These are small but beautiful. And getting very rare. These came from a beach in the North East of England, where the last glassworks closed around 1923 apparently. I have a few larger pieces that I will make into jewellery, but these are a bit small for my designs.

Finally, all those lovely chunky sea glass eggs .... I keep them all, so rare and an exciting find, but with all the piles of them along windowledges it is beginning to look a bit like a sea glass chicken farm so I have sorted out my favourites and am offering the rest. Again these are quite rare. Usually they get broken on stones on the beach but these are all lovely quality. They are usually from the dumps of glass at the end of the day, hence their size, especially as glass was taxed in the 18th and 19th century, on what was used in the factories, so they wouldn't want to be taxed twice on the raw produyct and dumped it instead.

So, all these lovelies are listed on Ebay. If you'd like something more specific get in touch as I am happy to take commissions. I am working with a natural product though, so what I currently have is what I have until my next foray onto the beach - hopefully March will be warmer, Cornwall here I come!

English sea glass necklaces

2012-01-16T18:11:00.006Z

I have listed some more of my quirky sea glass and sterling silver cored pendant necklaces. These are made to my own idea and design, with genuine sea glass which I collect from beaches around the beautiful Cornish coastline. Each piece is then carefully hand drilled using a variety of drill sizes to get to the large size I need, then hand cored with sterling silver and mounted on a sterling silver chain.

My sea glass is as found on the beach, no tumbers, no etching fluid, no tweeking with drills, just beautiful as Mother Nature intended. I just wash it and drill it for mounting into beautiful pieces of jewellery. These pieces of glass have taken 50 - 100 years of being softened by the movement of the waves and sand to get this frosted. 'Sea glass' made in a tumbler is not sea glass (even if you do throw in a bag of beach sand and some sea water!). I now only use my own sea glass, personally collected by me so I know it is the real thing. Sadly the market (especially Ebay) is flooded with fake sea glass. Believe me, comparing the two, there is no comparison!

Because of the nature of sea glass and my designs, no two will ever be the same. Wear something original, made with thought and care, especially for you.

Available only from my Etsy, Artfire, Groovycart and Folksy shops (and direct from me at fairs).

Back to nature (and other pretty things)

2012-01-16T10:00:00.001Z

I've just listed some pretty lampwork glass, sea glass and sterling silver necklaces in my Etsy, Artfire, Folksy and GoovyCart shops.

All of my sea glass necklaces are made from genuine English sea glass, personally collected from beaches around the beautiful English coastline.

The blue sea glass is particularly rare, it will most likely be Victorian, all sea glass being 50-100 years old - it takes Mother Nature that long to make her jewels that smooth and frosted.

Back in the 'driving seat'

2012-01-15T17:30:00.005Z

It's been so long since I actually had the time or energy to sit in my studio making beads that I'd almost forgotten how! But it is like riding a bike and you soon get back in the swing of things. All my planned free time over Christmas didn't happen due to having visitors; then the first week back at work and the post-visitor sorting had to be done.

Then, as if it was 'my turn' I've been hit by the worst cold I've had in years - I won't go into the gory details but it laid me low enough to only be able to cope with daytime TV; yes it was as bad as all that. So was daytime TV! Still, I think I could tackle renovating a narrow boat, and I've never been near one so you can tell how long that programme went on for.

Today was the first day back in the driving seat and, after a 2 month (is it longer?) absence I don't think these beads are too bad. I couldn't decide what to make, what colours to use so I do what I always do in these moods and resort to using up all those rods ends that make it into a pot on the side of my work bench. There's rarely enough to make 2 of anything hence the assortment of colours and ideas.

It's a start!

I managed to take a couple of photos before the light went and I will be listing some new jewellery in my Etsy, Folksy, Artfire and Groovycart shops over the next day or so.

New shop!

2012-01-09T19:00:00.001Z

My work is now available from my Blue Box Studio shop on GroovyCart. Where? I hear you say. Yes, I'd not heard of it until yesterday either but it is a British site so I thought I'd give it a try for a couple of months.

I've already listed a few scarves and some of my shibori dyeing scarf kits; more work will follow over the next couple of days and weeks.

Give it some love. If no one visits and buys I'll not keep it, stocking on-line shops is a long winded business and eats into making time.

Charm beads for your Troll and Pandora bracelets - from Blue Box Studio

2012-01-07T18:48:00.004Z

These beads are available from me on Ebay over the next 5 days. I hope you find something you would like to add to your charm bead collection.

Beads on the 'Bay

2012-01-07T16:15:00.005Z

In a post-Christmas need to clear the decks and make way for more work, I've put some beads on Ebay. I'll add more later and some tomorrow, as time allows.

There are sets of beads, charm beads for your Troll and Pandora bracelets (but look just as good on necklaces),
as well as a few supplies - some brads for cardmaking and a commercially made glass puff heart.

And for anyone who needs Weights & Measures approved scales, or likes a bit of retro (and has a kitchen bigger than mine) my gorgeous scales are also up for grabs with a starting price less than you can buy the brass weights for nowadays. These are fab, I loved them in my kitchen but since moving to The Tiddly Terrace I haven't any room for them. Just the thing if you need decent scales for weighing out small amounts for sale. They were tested by W&M when I bought them, and found accurate, but not needed to have them checked since. The weights are all metric, although the scales are British. Wedderburn told me they thought they were probably late 60s or early 70s when I enquired.

Price reductions in my Folksy shop

2011-12-31T14:40:00.004Z

Many of my sets of handmade lamp work glass beads, ideal for making your own bracelets and necklaces, have been reduced in price in my Folksy shop. I have also managed to source some postal boxes that will allow me to send more of my items as 'Large Letters' instead of 'Packets' so many of the smaller items now have much cheaper postage rates for the UK.

Don't forget that 'free worldwide postage' ends midnight tonight.

Sign up for my newsletter to find out about other offers in my shops - I promise not to spam you with loads of emails, probably just 3-4 a year at most!

Have a happy New Year!

Quick reminder - free postage - and some new scarves

2011-12-30T23:07:00.005Z

Short and sweet tonight .......!

Don't forget that free worldwide postage ends in my Etsy and Artfire shops midnight tomorrow UK time - oh OK, when I get a round tuit on New Years Day

and

some new scarves in my Folksy shop. Some of these reduced down to almost cost price to make way for new work.

Happy New Year everyone

Lots new - just for you

2011-12-29T17:26:00.005Z

Isn't it funny how you don't miss something until it's not there? My 'Logistics Director' (husband) would shoot me if I publicly declared this but I'm missing the thrill of fairs! I'm not missing the 5.45am departures, but there is an instant gratification you get with talking to people about the work that they are holding in their hands.

If you've ever watched us load and unload you will know we are a bit like a band on tour - boxes for this, crates for that, all stacking so a sudden car braking doesn't brain me at some unheavenly hour of the morning. So, as I sort through my boxes of work I've come across some popular items that you might like and listed these in my shops.

Shops .... ah, they have been a bit neglected. If you don't sell on line you will not realise that they take a lot of maintenance. I have three to keep me busy! Sadly (?) I'm not like Tesco, I don't have an army of people behind me, just me, with husband helping out at fairs and I fit this around my day job - I dream of this one day becomming a full time salary earning business, but the recession is not helping my dreams.

I digress ... so without further ado

In my Etsy shop I have some handmade glass bead bottle stoppers with beads made in my North Somerset garden studio. Just the three remaining; there might be more later.

In my Artfire shop I have some pretty but inexpensive handmade lampwork bead necklaces. These were very popular at fairs so I am hoping they will be popular online as well! They have free worldwide postage to the end of the year UK time.

My shops are open again - shop 'til you drop

2011-12-17T20:24:00.005Z

After a very early rinsing (4.45am), departure for Salisbury (5.45) we are finally home from a busy day at the craft fair.

My Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops are now open again and we will be posting orders at least once a day until Christmas.

We also aren't closing for Christmas - so feel free to browse my shops over a glass of wine (or whatever your tipple) on Christmas Day!

Have a happy one, whatever you are doing.

Last fair of the year ......

2011-12-16T18:56:00.005Z

So, here we are, about to do our last fair of the year. Like the rest of the year I'm muttering 'where's the time gone?' seems only a few weeks ago it was September and we were about to start the Blue Box Studio road show.

Like last week, we are at the Guildhall in the market place in Salisbury tomorow from 9.30am to 5pm. After last week's rush on shibori dyeing scarf kits I've sourced fabrics and pipettes to make more kits so plenty more to be had now - we were down to just one kit! I have lots of sea glass jewellery, some of which I will reduce in price to make way in the box for new work after Christmas and some new scarves - silk - devore velvet and solid velvet; just the thing for these cold mornings and ideal for Christmas presents. Don't forget, buying from me you are buying from the maker and all work is designed and made by me. You don't find that at every craft fair!!!

If you are in Salisbury do come and see us and say 'hello'; surprise me - I am beginning to think the only person who read my blog is me!

As usual, my shops will be closed from later this evening until after the fair - perhaps the end of the weekend as I have to be somewhere else Sunday doing family-things.

Shibori kits back on line and more scarves

2011-12-12T14:55:00.004Z

You've not yet tried one of my shibori dyed scarf kits? What are you missing!

It's been a busy few weeks over here at Blue Box Studio. We've been at fairs around the west country (and as far as Salisbury) since the beginning of October and each has been better than the last. Each has also generally been better than the same fair last year so we must be doing something right. Some things we make have now been relegated to that great big craft fair in the sky, other things have become even more popular - as have my shibori dyeing kits. I made a new batch of dyes for these in October, then November and now December! With all the dye blending, printing, batching and bagging they are quite labour intensive to make up, but they are 100% my own idea, to my own colours and instructions.

Only 2 colours are available at the moment, Autumn Leave and Summer Sunset (at fairs they are Woodland walks and Rosy Glow, we fancied a change of name) but more will be designed next year once I've sourced more dyes and worked out the new names given by the manufacturer.

I love that so many people will now have fun making their own creation in their microwave (or I have steamer instructions if you prefer) and they are the present that goes on giving ...... there is the fun of making and then the fun of wearing something that is original to you, and you made it too!

My kits are available from me at fairs and through my Etsy, Folksy and Artfire shops.

Talking of fairs - just the one to go now before we take a well earned rest for a few weeks. Next Saturday we are at the Guildhall in Salisbury again (my car knows its own way there now, which is just as well as we have to leave home 6am to get there and set up in time; take pity on us :) ). What we have is what we have - my printer if going 10 to the dozen but we are unlikely to have more than that number of kits so if you were moseying over to see us and get one, it's still limited stock, although I might be able to post one to you.

And then there are a few more scarves listed in my shops - follow the hyperlinks above. Many items have free worldwide postage in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

The printer has printed and my coffee has gone cold. Time to get out in my studio and start making kits - I'm just dependent on one supplier getting silk to me and me and the elves can start work.

You Tube, shops, free postage .......

2011-12-09T17:39:00.005Z

My Etsy, Folksy and Artfire shops are closed until after the weekend whilst I am at a craft fair in Salisbury Guildhall on Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm (ish).

If I get back earlier than expected and sort out sales in time I will open earlier, just keep checking back.

Don't forget I have free worldwide postage on most items in my Etsy and Artfire shops - although I can't guarantee delivery outside of the UK this late in the month I will be posting at least once a day as orders arrive. I was trained by Santa, but can't guranatee he trained the postman or Customs officer!

Meanwhile if you need some Christmas cheer, hopefully the link below will make you smile - and give some thought of all those will not be with their familes and friends for Christmas.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDZcGz4vmJc

New scarves listed in my shops - free postage

2011-12-05T15:15:00.005Z

I've been busy listing some more scarves in my Folksy, Artfire and Etsy shops. All of these are reduced in my sale to make way for new work after Christmas.

Don't forget, in my Etsy and Artfire shops I have free worldwide postage on most items! All sales are being posted within 24 hours at the moment and will be open and posting (subject to the Post Office depot being open) every day.

Beads and bottle stoppers on the 'Bay

2011-12-04T15:25:00.006Z

Just listed ~ for 5 days so don't delay ~

some handmade lampwork glass bead bottle stoppers in a choice of red, organge, yellow, or blue, or green.

All handmade by me in my studio from my own handmade lampwork glass beads. These are beautiful and would make an excellent gift for Christmas.

All my beads are individually handmade so no two bottle stoppers would be the same. A novel and original gift.

Then for the bead collector or jeweller I have more of my handmade lampwork glass beads. This time loose and ready for you to incorporate into your own creations.

Some of these are sets, deisnged to go together and match ...

Others are 'orphans' - packs of single beads of a similar colour, suitable for necklaces, bracelets, and lots lots more besides.

Create Festive Fair - this weekend - we're there!

2011-11-28T17:35:00.005Z

Yet again we are at the very popular Create Festive Fair on Friday 2 December and Saturday 3 December. Come and see us - we'll (hopefully) be on the 1st floor in the corner meeting room - but look at the fair maps they give you to find us listed as Blue Box Studio.

If you are not sure how to get to the Create Centre, follow the map below - it's hard to miss it visually - one of two large old red brick bonded warehouses on the Cumberland Basin, but unless you know to come across the old Junction Lock bridge by the Pumphouse pub, or come off the Cumberland Basin on the slip road just before the Plimsoll swing bridge, you could be driving around for a while! Perhaps they will signpost better this year? We can only hope!

Lots of handmade and local (that's me!) gifts, eco products and more. It's always been well worth coming to and I'm not expecting this year to be any different. Saturday gets busy with lots of families shopping so Friday night is the time to come if you fancy a spot of easy-going Christmas shopping.

Shops now open again - and don't forget free postage!

2011-11-27T18:24:00.005Z

My Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops are now open again after the weekend's craft fair.

Don't forget I have free worldwide postage on most items in my Etsy and Artfire shops until the end of the year.

Thank you to all my customers who visited me at the the fair at the Curzon cinema, and made it a very successful show.

Next Friday and Saturday we are at the Create Festive Fair, at the Create Centre (one of the big brick bonded warehouses by the Plimsoll Bridge), Bristol. More of this later.

This weekend - at the Curzon

2011-11-21T20:32:00.005Z

At last, a fair that doesn't need me to get up at 5am!

This weekend we are in the Oak Room at the Curzon Cinema in Clevedon. The Curzon is (apparently) the oldest continually operating purpose built cinema in the world. The Oak Room is not the largest of rooms so this isn't the largest of fairs, but we make up for it by having fantastic handmade work by local artists.

Come and have a look. Take in a film whilst you are there.

Buy handmade and local this Christmas.

Free worldwide shipping in my Etsy shop too

2011-11-21T12:26:00.004Z

on most but not all items .... kits and a few supplies are excluded.

This offer applies to the end of December so is the ideal opportunity to browse through my shops and have a 'virtual Blue Box Studio craft fair' - without having to venture out into the cold and wet and battle the crowds.

Don't forget I also have lots of lovely things in my Folksy store, but there is not an easy option to amend postage rates so it won't be happening for the moment. Unless they suddenly change things!

Happy shopping.

Free post in my Artfire shop

2011-11-21T08:24:00.005Z

I've decided to kick start the economy - oh well, I can dream can't I?

From now until the end of December I have free postage on everything in my Artfire shop except my shibori dyeing kits.

Now's the time to start your Christmas shopping!

If this is successful I might try and do this with my other shops, but Artfire are geared up to making something like this easy to do. I'd rather be making than spending 1/2 day trying to wrestle with the foibles of a shop!

Happy shopping!

Shibori dyeing kits - create a masterpiece in your microwave

2011-11-18T20:32:00.004Z

Shibori dyeing kits, a set on Flickr.

or a sensation in your steamer.

My popular kits, designed for beginners, will shortly once again be available through my shops on Folksy, Etsy and Artfire.

Limited stocks - once these are gone I will not be making more until the New Year (due to delays with suppliers).

These are an ideal gift that goes on giving - the fun of making your own scarf, followed by the excitement of wearing your own creation.

Just the thing for a retro kitchen?

2011-11-14T17:34:00.003Z

I no longer have room for my retro/vintage scales so am selling them. W&M approved, these would be ideal for a shop, but equally useful in a kitchen. Now (sadly) selling on Ebay.

Would these look lovely in your kitchen too?

This week Salisbury & Newton Abbot

2011-11-10T23:04:00.006Z

Saturday sees us in Salisbury again, at the Guildhall.

Sunday, we will be at a new venue for us, Newton Abbot racecourse. We've no idea what to expect having not been at a fair in the area before, but fingers crossed .......

As usual, my shops will close Friday evening until sometime Monday.

Meanwhile I've been busy making more silk shibori dyeing kits - I'd nearly run out! Every year I ask myself if everyone now has one, will they keep selling, tell myself perhaps now is the time to discontinue them, then surprise! they start to go like hot cakes again. I love sharing this technique with people so I have spent every evening this week making more, from printing the paperwork, ordering in more bottles, blending the dyes, preparing, wrapping and packing. Yes, these are designed and made by Yours Truly - you won't find a kit of this quality in a commercial outlet, just from me. They make wonderful gift for arty or crafty people, a gift of something to make and then the enduring gift of being able to wear their own creation.

Tomorrow I must make some more zip pulls from my handmade beads. A bargain priced stocking filler, something else I have almost run out of.

As the season progresses, some things will be discontinued due to lack of space. All of my hand dyed silk scarf clips have now sold, sea glass brooches have been discontinued, cuff links made from sea glass and hand dyed silk will not be repeated, I am not sure about bottle stoppers with sea glass and hand made beads - the jury is out on those. If you come to a fair and dither whether to buy or not, they might not be there next time. Please, let's not have another year of 'I should have got it when I saw it', I can't always magic another from a box under the table.

It's Christmas! We're on the road again ....

2011-11-03T11:48:00.007Z

Can we mention the C word yet? Christmas - it's less than 52 days until Christmas! Not long - time to get your thinking caps on and head off to the overcrowded and over priced shops with your shopping list.

Or not. Why not go 'handmade' this year. Give something that someone has put some thought into, that you've put some thought into buying, that supports British artisans and business.

At Blue Box Studio we (that's the Royal We, husband is in charge of logistics - or lugging boxes into and out of venues) will be selling our wares somewhere over every weekend until 17th December - from Salisbury to Newton Abbot, our home port of Clevedon to Ross on Wye.

Details of our road trips can be found here.

This weekend we are at the Somerset Hall in Portishead on Saturday and The Chase Hotel in Ross on Wye on Sunday. Do come and see us else the only enjoyment in our day will be the drive up the Wye Valley - it has to be the prettiest route we take to a craft fair.

We will have an exciting range of sea glass and silver jewellery, handmade lampwork beads for your charm bracelets, glass bead jewellery, beads for makers and collectors, silk scarves that are colourful and light to post, gorgous velvet scarves to keep out the chills, cufflinks for the men (and women), bottlestoppers in sea glass and handmade beads (for those who don't always empty the bottle), and the ultimate gift for people who like to have a go at making something, a kit to make a shibori dyed silk scarf - the present that goes on giving, make and enjoy wearing. That's got to be better than a box of chocs from the petrol station - and far healthier too!

Musings of a procrastinator

2011-10-29T16:59:00.006+01:00

So there I am, supposed to be making things for upcoming fairs, supposed to be getting ready for a day out with Himself who complains he only sees me these days when we are both behind a craft stall, and I'm pondering the meaning of life!

It's not fair to keep all my mad thoughts to myself, I feel it's good to share, so here goes.

We all know Wagon Wheels have got smaller over the years, and it's not just that my mouth got bigger. OK, you only know that if you are over 30/40 years, just take my word for it. They were huge when I was a kid and now, however you look it, the pound devaluing, conversion to metric, whatever, they are a darn sight smaller - you'd have needed a lorry to get 6 in a pack back then. So, when your current favourite chocolate bar/packet of crisps says it's got 10% extra in 'this' pack, why do we get excited? Have you spotted how insignificant the 10% is. Did you also spot the price had, strangely, gone up by more than 10%. That's 'inflation' for you.

Another thing I've spotted is the card inner on kitchen and loo rolls. I know, I should get out more.

When I was at primary school, we had to make a doll out of a kitchen roll card insert. Now, for starters, my family didn't normally have these in the early 60s, only posh people used something other than a dishcloth and a tea towel, but somehow we managed to get one. My sister helped me make a nurse doll using a kitchen roll tube and a ping pong ball, complete with smart uniform and a nurses cap. The ping pong ball balanced nicely on the tube and looked in proportion. Just to put you out of your misery here, I didn't win first prize and some blighter swiped mine when it came to taking them home again. If the one remaining doll was anything to go by, I suspect the thief's parent might have spotted the difference, I am sure they were very academic because they sure weren't very practical!

So have you looked at the card roll on a kitchen paper roll recently? On the ones I buy (not posh, Juan Sheet is a liar, 1 does not do it for me, perhaps my family, pets and craft makings are uber-mucky?!) any ping pong ball would have a heck of a job balancing over the hole - the hole is far too large. So the hole has got larger, rather than ping pong balls have got smaller?

Having accidentally ordered quilted loo paper recently from Mr Waitrose, but having a few ordinary mortal's loo paper to use up, I've spotted something else that will cause insomnia at night. The roll insert on an ordinary loo roll slides inside the roll of a quilted loo paper roll. Why are they not the same size? Why are they so big anyway? I'm sure ping pong balls balanced on them as well 50 years ago? I have a couple of theories ....

the big hole gives the impression the roll is bigger and therefore better [bigger yes, better no]
the even bigger roll on the quilted roll means it looks even plumper so must be ultra soft and fluffy [not in my opinion]
All these rolls now take up more space, so you can get less boxes in a lorry, meaning more lorries carrying loo rolls and therefore the price has to go up because of the added freight costs [that's probably true]
Following on from above, loo rolls and kitchen rolls are adding to global warming, assuming fuel pollution is not helping the ozone layer [if you believe in global warming]
manufacturers wish to ridicule me for buying a Kleeneze loo roll holder for the back of the downstairs loo door - the rolls are too big to fit through the flap opening at the bottom and 2 will not sit side by side in the holder [husband says this ought to be true]
manufacturers are spoil sports and wish to stop children playing with spare ping pong balls and card tubes thereby meaning parents have to spend oodles on money on their little darling with electronic toys [if you don't believe this one, just add up what you spend on them for Christmas this year - bet you can buy a used car for that kind of money!]

I've just remembered that I have a DVD to watch. It is on lampworking so I guess watching that is educating, although it does stop me going out in the rain to my cold studio and actually being creative. But education is good - or so my mother said every time I complained I hated school. I'm about to learn the secrets of stringer control from a woman wielding a whip. Read into that what you will.

Then, in case I feel a touch guilty at having not worked hard today, I shall give hard labour to a cut glass dish I bought from a charity shop this afternoon, with 3 sections - ideal for nuts, olives ... and displaying my loose beads in 3 prices. The price label is well stuck, so it needs a bit of procrastination to remove. But I suppose I've made more work as I now need some price labels for the 3 sections and another 'what this is' label for the whole thing. Darn, more work!

A few new pendants .....

2011-10-25T18:54:00.004+01:00

I've been busy making affordable pendants for sale at my fairs and in my Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops. Each of these is made from one of handmade lampwork glass focal beads, threaded onto sterling silver wire and finished with sterling silver fittings and chain.

Have a look in my Etsy, Folksy and Artfire shops at the range available. Each comes in one of my professionally printed Blue Box Studio boxes, carefully packed for safe and speedy delivery. These would make wonderful presents for friends, family or even yourself.

Charm beads on Ebay and focal beads in my shops

2011-10-18T18:37:00.006+01:00

Handmade lampwork beads from my North Somerset garden studio

I've listed a few uncored charm beads on Ebay - they have a large diameter hole so will fit Troll, Pandora and the other well known makes of charm bracelet around at the moment.

Low starting price and ideal for adding to your collection or even wearing on a leather or chain necklace.

I've also listed some large focal beads in my Etsy, Folksy and Artfire shops.
Ideal for the jeweller who wishes to make pendants for sale or Christmas presents.

Join my mail list - offers - events

2011-10-17T12:17:00.005+01:00

If you would like to keep up with what's happening at Blue Box Studio, where I'll be exhibiting, where you can buy my work, offers and free gifts for subscribers, then sign up for my newsletter.

Just fill in the box on the left of my blog. I promise never to sell your details on or share with anyone else, nor will I fill your mailbox on a daily basis. I anticipate I will send only a few newsletters a month, when I have something to tell you.

The next newsletter with details of my fairs for the rest of the year and news of free gifts is due to go in a few days time. It will be the last for 2011. Oh, and you can unsubscribe at any time, I'll try not to take it too personally.

And if you are interested in the bracelet above, it is available from my Artfire shop. Handmade from my own lampwork glass beads, sterling silver and featuring a beautiful etched clasp which is, as far as I am aware, a one-off. The talented silversmith who makes these, only ever makes one or two of each so no chance of ever running into someone else at a party wearing the same!

My shops are now open again

2011-10-15T21:28:00.004+01:00

After a long day in Salisbury, meeting some lovely people, missing out on the sunshine inside the Guildhall, we are back and my shops have now re-opened.

Next stop Grittleton - Sunday 23 October.

If it's Saturday, it must be Salisbury!

2011-10-14T08:26:00.005+01:00

Tomorrow we will be at a craft fair at the Guildhall in Salisbury. Right next to the market place, with the Saturday market, an ideal time to pop in and start your handmade Christmas shopping! Yes, I will use the C word so early in the year. This fair runs from 9.30 to 5pm. That means we have to leave home before 6am to be there and ready in time! I think a caffeine rich breakfast will be the order of the day.

This is an excellent fair for handmade work, everything is good quality and nothing is bought in mass produced - the market is outside if you want that sort of thing. All my work is individually handmade; whilst I make have several of a kind, there are not 2 of anything (except earrings and cufflinks) so you are buying an original piece of art from an artisan.

On display I will have an extended range of sea glass, handmade lampwork bead and sterling silver jewellery, lots more silk and velvet scarves, my popular shibori dyed silk scarf kits and lots more. I also have a new range of big hole beads, that will fit most of the Pandora and Troll style bracelets that are popular at the moment - I would say 'all' but there's sure to be one somewhere that I didn't know about and I will then have no idea of the size. If it's less than 5mm diameter I will have something for you, from uncored to sterling silver tube cored, from plain to patterned, large to small.

So, we look forward to seeing you there. We now take 'plastic' if that helps anyone - but bear with us, it'll take us a while to get used to the gizmo, we're used to putting our PIN in and spending, not doing the bit before and asking YOU to put your PIN in!

Quick update - whilst at fairs I close my online shops - a few of my larger pieces will come with me to fairs. My shops will close this evening and re-open Sunday morning, once I have had time to adjust the shops stock levels with the items sold at the fair. If you have your eye on something in one of my shops, I can't guarantee it'll still be there Sunday - and of course I never have 2 the same to replace it.

Almost ready to go

2011-10-07T18:39:00.005+01:00

All those late nights are starting to pay off (and take their toll).

At last the velvet scarves I printed and made last weekend are sewn up, pressed and sitting in a pole ready to be listed in my Etsy, Folksy and Artfire shops, with a few being taken to fairs, which start next week and pretty well run through to the week before Christmas.

As a taster of what I have, there are spots and stripes, bright colours and patterns. There will also be a couple of devore scarves in purple and green, with more to come as soon as I can get back into my studio.

So, keep an eye out on my blog, Facebook, Twitter (yes, I finally succumbed and can be found as @BlueBoxSue - just don't expect me to have got the hang of it all yet) and in my shops.

News from the front line

2011-10-03T17:45:00.011+01:00

I know I've not been very visible in the last week or so, but I'm still here! With fairs starting in under 2 weeks I've been busy sorting my stock boxes, making up shortfalls and juggling life, the day job, family et al as well..

These scarves will soon be ready for sale. Let me tell you how they are made.

Very early Saturday morning I started by cutting the high quality black silk velvet into usable pieces. This takes several hours.

Time for coffee!

Silk screens are retrieved from their cupboard and decorated with the designs I'll be using today. I then make up a batch of (disgustingly named) discharge paste from a shelf of noxious chemicals - this will be applied to the fabric to remove the colour, before the fabric is re-coloured.

By now it is time for lunch. By now it is very hot both in my garden and my studio so I'd rather like to spend the afternoon snoozing on my sun lounger but that would mean upsetting my 2 cats who got there first and also missing the excellent drying conditions for newly printed scarves. Rain is forecast for Monday, time to crack on!

I lay my first piece of fabric on my work table, secure it with tape and prepare to screen my first design with the new ready discharge paste and already prepared screen. The scarf is then carefully wrapped in newspaper, nicely absorbent and a perfectly adequate free by-product of my lounge, and steamed so that the paste will be activated and remove the colour from the black velvet in readiness for later hand painting.

Once the scarves are steamed they are then hand washed to remove all residue of the discharge paste. Fortunately it is still very hot so the scarves quickly dry on my washing line. By now it is late afternoon and I am also well steamed, so time to call it a day - there are cats and family to be fed before I settle down to Downton Abbey and glass of chilled white wine.

Sunday morning dawns as hot as the day before. Another ideal drying day. Today I will be hand painting the scarves so my first task is to hand blend the dyes and mix with fixative to make them colour and light fast. I try to have a wide palette of colours and make up over 10 colours throughout the day.

The first scarf, now dry from the day before, is fastened to the work table in readiness for dyeing. Using a small paintbrush I hand paint the decoration over the coloured removed design. I've tried using several processes in the past including using thickened dye but this left a 'painting by numbers' effect with hard lines which I didn't like; now I just apply the dye and let it blend and bleed with adjoining colours where it wants. Once the scarf has been fully painted it then needs to dry. Because it is so hot the scarf can be left on the washing line, the colours will not run because they are drying so fast. Often when I make these scarves I have to leave them to dry horizontally so the colour doesn't run, then I can only make one scarf a day - or more likely one an evening so I can leave overnight.

One all the scarves are hand painted and dry, they are washed in a special detergent which removes excess dye and once again left to dry on the line. The hot weather is still holding so I manage to get them all dry by the end of Sunday.

Monday morning doesn't look quite as good ... the weather is changing. Secretly, I am delighted, I don't want 30c in October, I'd rather it were not so hot but for longer. I realise I am alone in wanting this. Today's task is to sew up the scarves and start work on making devore (burnt out) velvet scarves. it's 7.45am and I'm already on my 2nd cup of coffee, there's a lot to do today. I have a couple of devore scarves all ready for dying and have decided to 'double dye' these, using 2 dyes in the same dye pot, one for the silk background fabric, the other for the viscose velvet pile. As I reach into my under sink cupboard to get out my 2 ring electric hob, I realise the whole cupboard is under water! I have to empty the cupboard onto the table to work out what has happened. It turns out that the connection between the water inlet and the tap head has failed so when I turn on the pull out spray tap (vital for cleaning silk screens) water pours along the hose into the cupboard below. So my first job is to order a new tap - thank heavens for Google. But meanwhile I have a tap I can only use if left dangling in the sink and a cupboardful of things that will have to live on the table for now. Devore printing will have to wait for another day.

I settle down to Radio 2, and dyeing the couple of scarves I have ready. Again I use the commercial dyes to blend my own colours. Dyeing the 3 scarves, washing out the excess dye and hanging on the line takes the next couple of hours.

An early lunch - the flour and yeast I threw into the bread maker at the crack of dawn have now turned into a tasty sunflower seed loaf. Just about cooled enough to slice, bread and Stilton cheese - fit for a Queen.

The afternoon sees me using my sewing machine, double folding my velvet scarves and sewing up, remembering to leave a small hole to turn them inside out - I've been known to forget that bit, which makes finishing a tad difficult. Armed with a stack of scarves, I head for the sunshine with needle and thread to turn the scarves the right way out and close up the holes. By now it is mid afternoon and the warm spell in the middle of the day has gone, to be replaced by a cold wind. The cats have woken to find the sun they were bathing in has gone so this must mean it's time for dinner. It's always dinner o'clock in their lives.

So the pile of scarves you see above has taken me the best part of 3 days to make, the finishing will be done in front of the TV over the next couple of evenings. They will then be hand pressed, priced, labelled, entered onto my stock database before being listed for sale. This will take another couple of evenings. I hope to have some of them for sale in my Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops by the weekend. The rest will be offered for sale at my craft fairs, starting in Salisbury on 15 October.

I'm sure these scarves could be made by a machine far faster than I can work. But then they'd not be individually hand made products from an English artisan.

Whilst you are waiting for these scarves to appear in my shops, do have a look at the other things I have hand made and listed for sale, from lampwork beads for other artisans and collectors, to sea glass, lampwork glass and sterling silver jewellery as well as other scarves and a few supplies.

Don't forget - free post - last few days!

2011-09-27T19:31:00.003+01:00

Don't forget ... this offer expires at the end of September - and unlike some furniture showrooms we could mention, I'm not planning another offer for a few months but will be busy selling at fairs from mid-October. Some of the work from my shops will go with me to fairs so if you have your eye on something, it'll be getting greater exposure in a couple of weeks time. If you have found your heart's desire I can't gurantee it'll be sitting waiting for you in a few weeks time. As they say, buy it when you see it, especially when it's a one-off handmade item.

So to recap:

Free postage in my Etsy shop
$4 off in my Artfire shop - I can't create a free post coupon for this shop so this amount is roughly the average between the UK and international postage rates.

In both cases quote "birthdaygirl" in the coupon box to get the discount. Use as many times as you like. Both offers will expire on 30 September.

Popular myths exploded!

2011-09-12T13:00:00.001+01:00

Seen on a seaside bin in County Durham - sadly a lot of the dogs (or the owners?) can't read.

Next you'll be telling me there's no Santa Claus?

This sticker has had Alistair and I chuckling all week!

September offers in my Etsy and Artfire shops

2011-09-11T12:51:00.004+01:00

I have a couple of offers for you for September, it's my birthday month!

Free postage in my Etsy shop
$4 off in my Artfire shop - I can't create a free post coupon for this shop so this amount is roughly the average between the UK and international postage rates.

In both cases quote "birthdaygirl" in the coupon box to get the discount. Use as many times as you like. Both offers will expire on 30 September.

Hope you find something you like, an ideal opportunity to stock up for Christmas, birthdays or just treats.

Where has all the sea glass gone?

2011-08-28T10:50:00.005+01:00

I'm often asked ~

where do you get your sea glass from?
can we have earrings in blue please?
why is your jewellery in green, pale green, white or brown?
You don't have overheads! Why isn't your work cheaper?
Why don't you make some if you can't find some?

Having spent a lot of this morning sorting through a big bowl of sea glass I thought I'd answer a few questions.

We get our sea glass from the beach. We live near Bristol and, although we have one beach around here that we go to, our best beaches are in Cornwall. We go for the day, until our cats learn to open a sachet of food on their own we have no other choice short of putting them in a cattery for 4+ days. So the guys get a food fest by way of a treat for being locked in all day, we throw £50 at the local petrol pumps and head off for a long day - it's 3 1/2 hours each way! Sounds a bit of a chore? Nope. We love our days out, and usually manage to squeeze in a cooked breakfast and a trip to a garden, stately home, family or two. This is work after all.

Our last visit, a week ago, we picked up 2 friends on the way. Double the fingers is double the hoard? Ha! They still have their sea glass picking L plates on, but a couple of hours timed to fit in between the high and low tides yielded about a colander full, 10p, a strange coin (not a Spanish doubloon sadly), a marble and a provisional driving licence. The latter I had a devil of a job off-loading onto a local policeman who wanted me to hand it in to the Police in Truro 30 miles away! I suggested I wasn't going to do that and I might find it handy as alternative ID, seeing it had the owners photo, name, address and date of birth. He took it off me. It comes to something when the police can't be bothered to do something because it probably means they have to fill in a form.

I digress. The marble is in my marble tray with all the others. The 10p is in my Flame Off fund piggy bank, every penny helps. The unidentified coin will be cleaned and no doubt go the same way as the 10p. The glass has been sorted and this will be the bit that amazes. Imagine a full sized colander full of glass. Now look at the photo above (that's a standard take away dish from the local Indian take away) there's a bit of a difference. Much of the glass we collect has small chips, so that goes in the reject pile (as mulch around the post in my garden). A lot was last weekend's wine bottle (I said they had their L plates on) so that's rejected to the bin. Much is a very odd shape or far too small to be made into jewellery - I do have to be able to hold it to drill it ... reject pile. Only the most useful pieces are kept. A year ago we would have managed to collect 3-4 times the amount we did. The take away pot is the useful bit of a days picking by 4 people.

The blue in the corner of the pot, too small to use and not in my 'good quality' category is there just to show how little there is now. Blue sea glass will usually be Victorian, when the glass was used for medicine and poison bottles. It might have been a blue vase, who knows. This shows why I don't have many blue earrings, or if I do, then it's a small piece as accent colour. It just isn't around now. Much of the glass comes from the glass thrown away 50-100 years ago, it takes that long, so it will be green and white wine bottles, or brown beer bottles. Sadly, finding pieces to make items like the pendant below haven't happened in the last 8 years!

I made that as a statement piece for an exhibition. Because it was so spectacular, I wanted to keep it so priced it rather high. It sold within 5 minutes of the exhibition opening.

So in answer to the questions ...

all my sea glass comes from beaches ~ not tumblers, factories, or other non-genuine sources (and a lot of the sea glass offered for sale hasn't spent much time on a beach recently)

I can't find enough blue to make earrings, if you have a pair, treasure them, I won't be able to make you another pair when you lose one

the colours I find and use are peculiar to the area I beach comb. If I could go back in time I'd make red, orange, yellow wine bottles - then I'd have something different to collect now. I'd also have banned plastic bottles and 6d back on the Corona bottles, and made it law that interesting coloured glass was disposed of at sea, then there'd be more glass for me now. [I jest - I'm very Eco-friendly and probably recycle more than most, before you send the Eco-Police round]

sea glass might be free. Thankfully it doesn't wash up to my studio door, ready sorted. If it did we'd be flooded as we are a mile from the sea and in a flood plain.

The long and short of it is I have to go and get it, petrol and time, I have to clean it in hot water, I have to spend my time sorting it to find the nice pieces, I have to drill it with expensive tools and drills, I spend my time adding it to silver, spend time cleaning and polishing with an assortment of cleaning materials, pay to list it online, wrap it, box it and take time out to take it to the post office when it sells. These are called 'overheads', we all have them and they are factored in to my selling price so when my tools wear out I can afford to buy more.

So when you ask me these questions, I will try to answer with a smile. But remember you are buying something that has been hand designed and hand crafted, by a self representing artist in jewellery design who has a living to make in order to keep the family in the realms of decency and in business. Sadly I cannot go and get the materials for my individually designed pieces off the shelf at the nearest craft emporium [tongue in cheek - I wouldn't want to], string it all together with change from £1, I don't have teams of elves or slaves working around the clock and I don't make enough profit to be able to [nor would want to] turn up the studio heating so much that I was working in a 'sweat shop'.

Oh, and which beaches do you get your sea glass from - give me coordinates so I might go there too?

No chance! Never ask a sea glass artist to divulge their source. All of us keep our beaches a closely guarded secret.

To see more of my work, look at my website and my shops on Etsy, Folksy and Artfire, keep an eye on this blog and take a look at my Facebook page..

Back on the menu!

2011-08-28T10:00:00.002+01:00

A couple of years ago I came up with the idea of drilling sea glass, which I had personally collected on beaches discovered on my travels, core with sterling silver and hang from a heavyweight chain. They quickly became one of my best sellers. Neither I nor my customers had seen anything like this before.

Sadly, well documented now, I had a simple household accident, tearing the tendons in my dominant arm which stopped me working with silver because it was too painful to grip hammers and bang away at the metal. I hoped that treatment, the last of which was an op to sort out the damage I had done, would resolve everything but it quickly became obvious that, despite what the doctors said, I was never going to have much grip in my right arm so weilding a hammer could either break windows or have me up on a manslaughter charge for an innocent passer by. Sadly I sold all my silver work equipment; then discovered lampworking - which uses some of the tools I'd just sold!

The way I cored the sea glass was long and labour intensive. Large holes in sea glass have to be drilled using a cordless drill, the bits being too large for my dremel drill press. I wasn't able to grip the drill for long once I had hurt my arm, and shaping the silver core using dapping punches and hammers was out of the question.

I recently bought a bead corer from Mango Beads and hoped it might have the capacity to core larger pieces than just big holed beads for charm bracelets. Yesterday I set myself the challenge of getting this to work.

First obstacle: the 2 Ni Cad batteries for the drill are failing. One refuses to hold a charge, the other only for a short while. Having found replacements on line, I needed a stiff brandy to get over the cost. Then I saw the cost of a new drill - since when were they in 3 figures? Have I had this drill so long??? Some things will have to wait a while, lets see if these are still popular before I go mad buying new batteries. I did get out the big power drill husband gave me one Christmas - but it's mains electric and I drill into glass under water, and anyway it needs two hands to hold and that doesn't leave one for the glass. I abandonned that idea before I'd gone very far!

Second obstacle: time erodes memory. Having managed to get a charge in a battery, I still can't hold the drill for very long, because of the pain it gives me. I'd forgotten that. Solution: the battery dies about the same time I do, so I drill one set of glass, put the battery on charge and move into the large studio for a bit of coring.

After a couple of false starts I am getting the hang of coring several pieces of glass together. They don't need the oomph I'd normally give to a bead - it tends to crack a piece of glass if I do, but that leaves a slight movement with the glass which I find rather pleasing and tactile.

Then came the next obstacle: I popped them in the vibro polisher for a quick polish, only to find the tiny polishing pins found their way behind the glass and along the silver copre. Nothing would get the little blighters out so the only solution was to cut the silver away and start again. A waste of silver, a waste of time; the solution to this was that husband appeared at just the right time to ask if I wanted to go out for lunch. Too darn right, mister. Things feel better once you've had a break and at least I could face cutting up the silver and starting again by then.

So here are the end results. They are for sale in my Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops, along with other beautiful pieces of sea glass jewellery (or will be in the next few days) as well as lots of other jewellery, beads and textiles.

Clouds

2011-08-21T21:56:00.004+01:00

A gorgeous sunset over Blue Box Studio this evening, I particularly love the bottom photo, pale moon and whispy clouds - that was the colour of the sky.

New sets of beads on Ebay

2011-08-21T21:51:00.003+01:00

Just a few more sets of beads, some themed by colour, some matching, all very pretty and would make lovely necklaces, bracelets or additions to your beady collection.

Available from my Ebay page.

New beads on the Bay!

2011-08-20T13:31:00.005+01:00

Just a taster of my new sterling silver cored handmade lampwork glass beads to fit Troll and similar sized bracelets that have been listed on Ebay.

Due to Ebay's daft rules I can't mention brand names on their site - they threaten punishments way beyond the crime! If you are unsure just measure your bracelet, these will fit up to approximately 4mm diameter, so may also fit some bracelets made by companies I don't yet know of.

All have been made and cored in my North Somerset studio from beautiful glass, sterling silver using high quality professional tools. Not a sweat shop in sight - I struggle to pay myself, let alone a thousand underpaid slaves who will work through the night for pennies. And with utility prices rising, I certainly can't afford to turn up the heating to make my small studio a sweat shop!!!

But I love what I make, and hope you will too.

If you can't see anything to take your fancy here, I also have lots of beads, jewellery and scarves for sale in my Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops.

Featured in an Etsy treasury

2011-08-17T22:48:00.005+01:00

My pretty brown devore velvet scarf has been featured in an Etsy treasury here. I've been lucky to have been featured in a few recently, mosey on over to my Facebook page for more details.

Meanwhile I've been updating my Folksy, Artfire and Etsy shops with new work, more to follow soon. Whilst I might not be blogging, adding new items or appearing somewhere on a daily basis, it doesn't mean I'm idle. I'm busy making new beads, sea glass jewellery and devore velvet scarves or collecting sea glass from beaches in Cornwall for future projects. Yes, I know Cornwall is not on my doorstep, a round trip today, 6 hours driving and unfortunately not too much to show for it. It's getting very scarce!

Are we friends?

2011-08-08T09:00:00.001+01:00

on Facebook?

At the moment I have friends on my personal Facebook page who I've never met but we are friends because they enjoy my work (I hope!). I also have a Facebook fan page (or whatever they call it now) for my business.

I've decided that it's time to seperate business and pleasure. My new friends don't really want to know the non-glassy-arty side of me so I won't be adding details of my newly listed items for sale on my personal page in the future.

If you are a friend on my personal Facebook page I invite you to wander over and 'like' my business page, where you will be kept up to date with my work, fairs, outlets and offers.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Just a taster

2011-08-07T09:00:00.001+01:00

of what's to come in the next few days. I've been busy making and listing but will spread things out a bit rather than appear to be here one day and gone for the next.

Things will be listed in my Artfire, Etsy and Folksy shops - more to follow later.

New beads on the block

2011-08-06T11:58:00.008+01:00

Life is a bit hectic over here at Blue Box Studio, but I'm not sure why! It's been a busy couple of weeks but I've not much to show for it. You know what I mean, we all have weeks like this!

My long awaited bead coring gizmo arrived from Mango Beads last Friday. It's a new design and made by Manda and David, In my opinion it is superior to any of the others on the market because, apart from being British so no ghastly extortionate import fees, it does several things, where the others only do one. It's a 3 stage process, one part flares the tubing, another flattens it to the bead and the final stage domes the top of the tube. I much prefer the look to others I've seen. It's also easy for me to use (post elbow op) - I need all the help I can get.

Of course there is more to coring a bead than squish and squash. The sterling silver tube has to be cut, the burrs removed, the tubing annealed, pickled, cleaned and that's before I get to play with my new gizmo! Previously I've been coring my big holed beads (BHBs) with glued in sterling cores, a lot of people use them because these tools don't come cheap, but in future my beads will be solid cored with sterling silver tube. Sadly, that will affect the price a little, have you seen the price of silver recently? It's jumped by something like 25% to over £1000 a kilo (if my source is correct) in a couple of months.

At the moment my tube cored beads will fit any bracelets less than 4mm diameter, such as Troll or Lovelinks Petite. The rivet cored beads have a larger cored diameter of 4.5mm and will fit Pandora and smaller, my uncored beads will fit any bracelet system (as far as I am aware) because they have a hole slightly larger than 5mm.

Oh and talking of Troll and Pandora, we can't! Ebay have taken to removing listings where the words are mentioned, you can't even say 'fits ....' so when I do list on there, which will be infrequently in future, I shall have to find other ways of describing my beads to the way most people will be looking for them. If only it were a level playing field on Ebay, and the fakes were also removed. I guess they make more money from counterfeiters than they do from me, and a lot of other lampwork artists.

I hope shortly to be making genuine sea glass cored beads, something a little bit different - watch this space.

Anyway, this leads to new beads on the block, these will shortly be available through my Folksy, Etsy and Artfire shops.

New scarves on Etsy, Folksy and Artfire

2011-07-22T15:30:00.003+01:00

I've finally got around to doing the ironing .... scarves, that is. Once the scarves come out of the dye pot they are hung out to dry then, usually because it is raining and they are on the garden line, they are scooped up in a bundle and taken back into my studio to finish drying on the airer. Why I don't just bypass the angst and put them on the airer I'll never know, but I like to see colourful scarves blosing in the breeze. Velvet is very forgiving, after all this rough treatment it gets to lie down on an ironing board whilst I gently caress it to the right size and press out any creases. It then returns my tender touch by looking its shimmering best for me.

I've had a couple of weeks of running on the spot and still falling behind, the list of things I need to do grows, yet I seem only to add to it despite not having a spare minute from busily making. I'd procrastinate, but I haven't the time.

So now, a few new scarves, added to my Etsy, Artfire and Folksy shops. Click on the hyperlinks to go there and see what pretty things are on offer.

Spotlight on a customer

2011-07-22T07:54:00.006+01:00

This pretty bracelet and earrings have been made by Jean, using my handmade lampwork beads. I think they are so pretty and I'm delighted to have seen what Jean has made.

Jean sells her work through her Etsy shop and through her website. Her work is beautiful, do take a look.

I'm always delighted when customers show me their creations from my own work. If you're one of my customers and would love to show me what you've made made, please send me some photos.

A few new bead sets

2011-07-12T20:17:00.004+01:00

available here

A mix of large and small, round and shaped, smooth and ribbed, blues and reds
(and a few other colours too).

Just a few things

2011-07-05T20:37:00.003+01:00

ending shortly on Ebay and still needing a new home ....

and lots more as well....

A few more focals

2011-07-05T07:47:00.005+01:00

Handmade lampwork glass beads, individually made in my North Somerset studio.

Just a few more here.

Fantastic frits

2011-07-03T11:34:00.005+01:00

I've rather a lot of frit in my studio, more than I can sensibly use, store or display - I like to see what I have before I use it and be inspired. So I am selling some of it.

There are 3 sets, all available from Ebay for quick sale, all excellent quality and interesting colours. Just the thing if you are looking for something to inspire inspiration.

I've lots of other things on Ebay at the moment, ribbon, beads, focals and more will be added shortly ... I've discovered some rather nice expensive glass I want to try but need a period of selling before the next period of spending (according to him who thinks he ought to be obeyed).

Focus on focals

2011-07-03T10:15:00.001+01:00

Handmade lampwork glass focal beads for jewellery, for collecting, available here.

All individually hand made in my North Somerset studio.

Bead bonanza

2011-06-29T18:36:00.003+01:00

Just a few more sets

of pretty beads

to tickle your creative taste buds.

Buy here.

A few more hotties

2011-06-28T20:28:00.005+01:00

Just a few more pretty focal beads looking for new homes.

Click here to buy.

Hot glass beads

2011-06-27T19:52:00.005+01:00

More pretty beads, sets and focals, available here.

Shipped from the UK, worldwide.

New jewellery, old jewellery

2011-06-25T18:42:00.006+01:00

Whilst looking for something in my attic I came across one of my old storage boxes, long since superceded by a more efficient storage system ... or so I thought. The box seemed heavy for empty and closer inspection revealed it to be full of gemstone and silver jewellery which I made several years ago. Such are the joys of moving house, things end up in the most unlikely places and I had spent a while back then assuming I had come to the end of that stock line.

For lots of reasons I no longer make gemstone and silver jewellery like this. These pieces, in my Folksy, Etsy and Artfire shops, are all that is left and I am selling them at sale prices. There are pearls ~ all naturally coloured, gemstones, necklaces, earrings, sets, all at a fraction of their normal price. Also in my shops, a pretty necklace made from PMC, again the last one left, as well as lampwork bead jewellery, beads for your own projects and lots more.

Do take a look, lots of things that are ideal for gifts, for friends, family, brides and yourself.

Freshly baked beads

2011-06-24T07:55:00.005+01:00

Some new beads, hot from the kiln. A selection of pretty colours, dark blues, mixed blues and greens, all decorated with silver rich glass, fine silver wire, frits and more.

Something fore everyone and some of these are made on 3mm mandrels which will often fit onto fine chains to make pretty necklaces. Enough in each set for bracelets and necklaces.

Click on the picture to be taken to the listings.

Enjoy!

All is safely gathered in

2011-06-20T10:45:00.000+01:00

Further adventures in glass storage!

I've now made the glassy storage - some of it was already there, I've just added 87 more 'holes'. I know 10m x 33cms = 90, we had 3 that weren't quite the right length so will keep those for postal tubes, nothing wasted.

This is the glass that I needed to find a home for ... well, the bits I had not already managed to poke into a hole in the wall.

Then there's the frit that needs storing - I'm still working on that, I need to clear the shelf of CDs, tissues et al in the hope of having enough shelf room ....

I bought 100 'sample' bottles for frit storage - not they have not been used!!!!!!!

Some of the frit is in bottles, but much is in bags

Not sure when I will get a chance to actually make any beads! Too much enjoyment in seeing what I have to play with. I also bought a lot of silver leaf, copper sheet, and heaven only knows what else ... that's on the shelf for another day.

So, what can you do with 30m of drainpipe?

2011-06-19T13:00:00.001+01:00

I seem to be buying the wierdest things recently. My latest buy is 30m of drain pipe. Why, I hear you ask, have I taken up plumbing? no, but it is really useful for storing glass rods.

I recently bought a 'retiring' lampworker's glass and frit stock. I'm glad I had paid for my holiday firtst else we'd not have been going anywhere. There was rather a lot of it! In the coming weeks, once I have finally got to grips with all that I have I shall be selling some of it - there is more than I will need for many years and in many years I may like to buy some of the new colours for a change.

Back to the pipework! Fortunately the Parcefarce man felt sorry for me and did at least put the 10m package in my hall. With the 10m package came a jiffy bag with a plastic pipe cutter, not a cheapie - we know they won't work - but then neither did the expensive version! It will be returned to Screwfix Monday as 'not fit for purpose'. If it can't do the one thing it is designed for, cutting plastic pipe up to 42mm diameter, then it's not a lot of use. It makes a mucky indentation and darn all else. If you are looking to buyt one of these, I've tried several over the years, all failures so wojuld not recommend a Focus cheapie or Record.

I managed to drag the parcel into the kitchen, no mean feat as my hall is narrow and this is not flexible en-masse. It filled the length of the hall but only half filled the kitchen.

Just for a change it was pouring with rain, so 'my lovely assistant' was unwilling to cut up the pipe into 33cm lengths outdoors. Fortunately after a bit of bribery (I think he was trying to get out of the job) he agreed to do it in one of my studios.

We tried the super-dooper pipe cutter again, just for luck, but abandonned any hope of it working and resorted to using a hacksaw.

In the end I have 87 reasonably straight ended pieces of tubing which I now need to glue into a block for safe storage of all my new glass collection. That's today's project!

Looking for craft related tools and supplies?

2011-06-19T10:02:00.004+01:00

More clearing out from the darkest recesses of Blue Box Studio! All these items are currently for sale on my Ebay pages. Clickety-click the link.

This time we have on offer a Sally Stanley smocking pleater with feeder box, spare needles, tools and spares. I bought this for pleating fabrics for shibori dyeing, it copes well with pleating velvet and silk but as is often the case, my mjind wandered on to other things before I had a chance to use it for more than a few test pieces. This is as new, in its original boxes.

Do you work with leather, or need a nice piece of leather for something? Here's a large green piece. Perfect for making a skirt under your jewellery bench, or for bags etc etc.

What about batik or other wax crafts? 1kg of wax granules for batik work. Might be suitable for other crafts but were sold to me as as batik wax and I've not worked in other wax crafts so wouldn't know. Whatever, their starting price is far less than I paid, but I need the space and already have more batic wax than I'll need for a while.

If you make bags, this is a lovely pattern - I just didn't get around to making anything from this. Brand new and unopened.

Metal rivets with the tools to fit. Nearly a full packet, I just needed a few to work out what I was planning to do just wouldn't do what I wanted it to do.

Also in my Ebay pages, books, DVDs, I'm trying to make space. Please help me.

Book & DVD sale!

2011-06-12T17:27:00.007+01:00

I'm having a book sale! We've run out of space on the shelves and had to not only decide which to rehome but also impose a 'one in, one out' policy. Or we could buy a bigger house?

Click on the picture to be taken to the listings - there's also a 'watched once' copy of the Black Swan DVD including a digital copy so you can watch it on your ipod, ipad or iphone. There are more books than shown here, I'll add more when I find them. Postage will be combined if you buy more than one of my items.

Bead swap

2011-06-12T14:39:00.004+01:00

I took part in a big hole bead swap on the Frit Happens forum recently. The idea was to make up to 18 beads that fitted into several categories, send them off to Shahlaa the co-ordinator for this swap (how brave is that to organise?) and in return receive back the same number of beads from others who took part.

Here are my beads, aren't they wonderful. Lots of ideas and inspiration from my fellow lampworkers. Some of these are perfect for my charm bracelet so will be cored and worn with pride.

Back up and running part 2

2011-05-20T17:58:00.004+01:00

Having restored my studio, I decided to buy a bigger torch with an oxygen concentrator this week. I had a shortlist of 2. Madeline Bunyan offered to let me try her 2 torches so Monday I trotted down to beautiful Dawlish to take her up on her offer. I had a great time and my mind was made up - for once I didn't go for something purple and named after a cat; some days I surprise even myself. I rushed home to place my order and arranged delivery for today.

Yesterday I went to Barnstaple - I've visited a lot of new places in Devon this week - for a bead coring course run by Mango Beads. Another great day, checking out all sorts of bead coring tools and falling in love with the one that Manda and David are making.

Today is 'new torch and oxycon' day. Husband was duly dropped off at the railway station an hour before he needed or wanted to be there, in case the delivery came when I was out. It turned up mid morning in a massive box. The man from Parcelfarce left it on my doorstep and I can understand why, it was heavy! He was gone before I could say 'oi, give us a hand, mate'.

The new torch uses the same hose as the old torch, but darn if I could get the O ring off, or obtain another to replace it. In steps Kevin the plumber who hadn't a clue what I wanted to do but had the right tools and know-how to sort the problem - for a fee. I hadn't been totally happy with the way I'd done the ventilation last week and a trip to the supplier on Monday, they were on the way home from Madeline's, explained I was doing it all wrong. Following instructions, I've fought and battled with the acoustic ducting, been covered in the fibreglass inner and more 'called a truce' than 'won'. I've tested the ventilation with smoke matches, great fun, works a treat but the neighbours might be a tad hacked off with the smoke effects.

So now we are up and running again. There's not a lot of room for the gas and the oxycon - he's called Andrew according to his name tag. I trust he's not got a male temperament. I would have assumed it to be female and called it Roxy the oxy, but I guess being named after the patron saint of rope makers has a bit more kudos. I think there will be a phase 3, when the gas moves outside, but not today.

And the pictures of flowers? Well, the garden is looking good at the moment, if a little purple. With a splash of pink or white.

Back up and running again

2011-05-10T18:01:00.004+01:00

Ever since Arts Week ended Sunday evening I've been creating chaos out of order. It hasn't been a simple case of putting things in boxes and opening my online shops; first I had to find the items I'd borrowed from my online shops! I thought I had marked everything at the start, I thought we'd tagged everything in the sales book but no to both. At last I think we are there and everything is in its rightful place and all my shops are now open. What a day!

Having turned our reasonably tidy conservatory into an exhibition space, I've had to re-construct it from the endless piles and boxes of bumph (a technical term) that I'd left in the lounge and hall. The large studio, also an exhibition space has been re-constructed from the boxes in the little studio. The little studio is now back to being my glass studio. First I had some running repairs to do though.

My lampworking ventilation unit, previously sitting infront of the flame, was getting really hot and I feared for it's longevity. Borrowing an idea from another lampworker I bought a shelf from Ikea, assembled it this morning [much the same quality as their flatpack furniture, a lot of the screws don't fit the metal holes], screwed it to the wall and then admired my handiwork. That part had gone surprisingly well, if you ignore the one screw that refused to go completely into the shelf rail.

Next came attaching some acoustic hosing that will hopefully keep the noise down a little. Some say these fans are whisper quiet, but either they are more deaf than I or mine is very noisy. I needed b-i-g jubilee clips. Off to the DIY store, they say they are vent clips and no they don't have; on to the plumbers' merchants .. they say they are not vent clips they are jubillee clips and no they don't have them. Into Halfords .. across to the plastics supplier .. back to Jewsons .. on to the domestic repair shop .. and home. No one has them and the original supplier charges rather a lot for delivery for 2 jubillee / vent / hose clips. I improvise with the jubillee clips I buy from the first shop and use the old foil ducting for part of the installation.

It's up! OK, the combined length of 8 mini cable ties to hold the 'elephant's trunk' in the right place on the shelf is a bit Heath Robinson but it's raining and I'm not going out into the big wide world again today. It seems to work, I've made a few beads and haven't expired from fumes yet.

Now all I need to do is make more beads to replace those I sold during Arts Week. But that'll be another day.

It's nearly all over for another 2 years

2011-05-07T08:22:00.008+01:00

It's been a very busy week at our North Somerset Arts venue, but sadly (or is that 'happily' - it's hard work!) it's nearly over for another 2 years. So just a quick report of what the end result was after all the panics to be ready on time.

I bought these gorgous clasps from Di Sandland, we have 'I do like to be beside the seaside', 'You are my sunshine' and 'good morning sunshine, the earth says hello'. I didn't get these made until after my venue opened, but had decided and made the style and colour of beads beforehand. I'm really pleased with them, they've received a lot of compliments.

They are available from my venue at an introductory price but will be in one of my shops after, if not sold. They are made from my handmade lampwork glass beads, sterling silver and Di's fabulous clasps.

Just a few pictures of my venue ... my conservatory and large studio have been turned into a gallery

on sale we have my silk shibori, velvet devore and hand painted/printed scarves,

my handmade lampwork beads - for jewellers and collectors, in sets and singly. There are also the large hole beads which will fit Troll and Pandora bracelets and necklaces (and some of the other styles - bring your bracelet with you if unsure, we cn try them)

We're selling teas, coffee and home made cakes to raise funds for Holly Hedge animal sanctuary and giving from our sales as well - we're hoping to beat what we raised 2 years ago!

All this is in my pretty garden setting - visitors are welcome to enjoy the garden whilst they are here (although it looks a bit grey and damp out there today - but we desperately needed rain for the garden). If you are in the area this weekend, do come and see us.

If you are in the area this weekend, do come and see us. We are open 10.30 to 6pm both today and tomorrow. We promise a wam welcome.

Two wheels on my wagon, and I'm still rolling along

2011-04-27T18:43:00.006+01:00

You have to be of a certain age to remember the song by the New Christie Minstrels, or even the New Christy Minstrels.

I was up with the house sparrow this morning, and he's up pretty early. I've bare bones out there now, so it's startting to look like it's coming together. No doubt I'll move everything around when Marilyn arrives to set up tomorrow but for now it'll stay.

Some bits are more together than other bits. Hopefully by this time tomorrow the finished article will be available for show. Then the hard work begins!

Today's bit of silliness .... my gardening fork broke so I had to dig out the handle. I actually get to go into the hardware shop and ask for 'fork handles'. And if you are too young to remember the sketch, prepare to be enlightened. I promise you will see the world in a different light after.

3 days to go .... panic setting in!

2011-04-26T18:40:00.005+01:00

Is summer over already? It's definitely colder and very much windier here today. Still, Ted managed to get a few minutes in the sun before the cloud took over.

There has been progress, although it doesn't feel like it! I've collected the publicity boards from Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, who we are again supporting throughout Arts Week (and beyond, in my case). They fit perfectly in the space once occupied by my sewing machine. Of course, we have the collecting bucket too! Please give generously.

The kiln is on for one last firing of beads. I shall miss my torch, no more bead making until after arts week now - the space is needed for the things from the other workshop.

will the muddle ever be sorted?

Walls painted (to sort of hide the dye splashes), floors cleaned, shelves washed down and ready for filling with lovely glass and jewellery. Still a couple more hours work this evening, sorting as I go and hopefully by the end of tomorrow there'll be real progress. I am sure it didn't take me this long last time!!

A quick check of the Met Office website - thunder storms expected Friday and Saturday! It doesn't predict further ahead than that but I hope the sun shines! We've a new BBQ being delivered Friday, have bought parasols for shade, got the lounger and chair cushions from the loft. Perhaps I should stop thinking we are actually going to have a warm summer this year?

4 days to go - and we are getting there

2011-04-25T08:00:00.001+01:00

So, I'm greeted by 'the boss' at some unearthly hour this morning, wondering why I'm not out there working. I guess holding down the pond so it doesn't float away is important.

His partner in crime is already in position to supervise further gardening.

Look at the size of this bee - there were several in the garden today.

Still, flowers are blooming and pots are now planted so the garden is looking pretty good at the moment.

One more thing crossed of my 'By Monday' list ... the sofa is gone from the conservatory and the dining table is in its place - neither are easy to get through the kitchen door, by 2019 we will have the hang of it and less choice words will be shared.

Still a long way to go though ... and I keep getting side tracked!

My big studio is going to be one of the main display areas, along with the conservatory and I've not started in there

and the small studio shouldn't be looking like this now either but I've bought some gorgeous clasps for bracelets so am having a rush to make beads for them

just off the mandrels, yet to be annealed in the kiln. That's the blues done, now need a selection of pastels .. tomorrow's distraction ...

... seeing the boss had settled down for a snooze. Seemed a shame to disturb him. That's my excuse!

Must remember to prune the clematis next year - only flowers on the top of the pergola, none on the bits you can see :(

Countdown to North Somerset Arts Week

2011-04-24T08:32:00.005+01:00

Garden supervisor

5 days to go! Will be ready on time?

This weekend we've been concetrating on the garden. 2 years ago people told me to make more of the 'pretty garden setting' in the brochure, so this year I mentioned it and we had the hardest winter ever at Blue Box Studio. It had all got a bit of a mess and a few weeks back I despaired of ever having something resembling a garden, let alone a 'pretty garden setting'. Let's get one thing straight first. My mother could get anything to grow from nothing, even dead plants thrived for her and my father cultivated roses on a grand scale. So, I can bud roses, even prune roses (we kids were trained up from a very early age to belp with the 500+ roses that needed attention every year) but darn if anything else rubbed off on me.

Charlie, carefully avoiding the delphinium much loved by the slugs

I have a willing band of helpers though, well, more press-ganged I suppose. Husband does the heavy work, cats help with the digging. Husband has been known to dig up the 'weeds' [plants] that I planted the day before and the cats happily uproot any newly planted specimen for unmentionable activities.

Still, Nature thinks I need a hand and has also helped.

I am hoping the bluebells last at least to Friday, they are all over the garden and are the major source of colour.

The old woody yellow rose never fails to start early and won't stop flowering until November. It needs a really hard prune to get rid of the really old knarled wood but I daren't in case it has a heart attack and dies on me.

The wall pots in the pretty metal stand on my studio wall is just about coping with the heat and

the apple blossom was so good this year we might actually get more than one apple - it's a family tree growing in a pot so we're not giving it its best chance I suppose. The fig, dwarfed in a tiny pot for a couple of years has now been given a new big home outside my studio, hopefully figs in a couple of years.

So, it's coming along. Potatoes, peas, beans, tomatoes are now planted but won't come into their own for a few more weeks but then I want something to look at after the mad rush of arts week is over and I actually have time to sit in the garden and enjoy the fruits (apples, figs and all) of my labours.

In the midst of all this the sky was full of a lot of shrieking and squarking - gulls seeing off a lone Peregrine falcon soaring overhead, my birdie friends tell me it is one of them anyway, they nest in Court Woods above Clevedon Court apparently; if you know different, fine, I go with what I'm told as I can just about recognise a Robin but not much else :)

Stunning shawls in sumptuous silk

2011-04-17T12:44:00.003+01:00

Gorgeous shawls, or big scarves depending on your viewpoint, in beautiful high quality silk viscose velvet. One is black with gold design, the other black with a devore (burnt out) foliage disign with silver markings which shimmer in the light. Both have been lined in the best polyster lining I could source to make wonderful shawls that are suitable both as a wrap over your LBD or evening outfit are soft enough to be folded and worn as a scarf.

Unusually for me, I have several of each of these - the designer fabric was too stunning to overlook, I had to have it! They are available in my Artfire, Etsy and Folksy shops. If you want more than one of each or either, this is possible, just let me know.

These normally retail through my fairs and galleries for far more than I am selling in my shops, but in my sale at roughly 33% discount.

Hot off the press

2011-04-15T12:22:00.003+01:00

New scarves in my Folksy, Etsy and Artfire shops.

Each of these has been hand printed to devore the gorgeous silk viscose velvet fabric, then double dyed to give the 2 colour effect.

On special offer, just the thing for those chilly days when it looks far warmer than it really is, and dull Mondays when you need something to cheer you up.

Have you discovered ....

2011-04-13T18:47:00.005+01:00

my Shop on Big Cartel?

To offset the price rise in UK postage rates, many prices have been reduced.

I have a range of sea glass jewellery

beautiful silk and velvet scarves

pretty earrings

using sea glass, handmade lampwork beads and more.

All my shops wil be closed during North Somerset Arts Week, which runs from 29 April to 8 May, to alloow me to concentrate on visitors to my open studio. If you are interested in buying, some items will be available during arts week and may not be available afterwards.

New beads in my new Artfire shop

2011-04-05T16:18:00.003+01:00

Just listed in my new Artfire shop, a selection of pretty hand made lampwork glass beads in shades of grey, blue, green, yellow, pinks and purples. Click on the pictures to go to the listings.

Don't forget you don't need to register with Artfire to buy, although you can if you want to.

Artfire will be the main outlet for my sets of glass beads for the moment.

Thanks for looking.

Catit water fountain needs loving owner

2011-03-31T15:04:00.004+01:00

Just in case there's someone out there in blogland who is wanting one of these for their thirsty moggy or small pooch, I have one for sale. Bought to encourage Charlie to drink more water but in reality they prefer eau-de-pond and Muddy Puddle vintages. We've shown them what it's for, tempted them to eat the biscuits in the attached food bowl but, clearly lacking in the 'make your humans happy' stakes the most they have used it for is a water fight. Oh yes, they'll dunk a paw in and scoop water towards the other, no problems there.

It's quiet and soothing so makes a good indoor water feature for stressed cat owners, cools and freshens the water and should be just what every cat wants on a hot day - but my contrary pair don't see it that way.

Comes with the now otherwise not available mat, 4 filters, boxed with instructions, clean and in excellent working condition and selling for considerably less than I paid out for this in the first place. Just click on the picture to go to the listing.

Spring is sprung

2011-03-26T19:53:00.004Z

So finally Spring has sprung. Last week I was lamenting that nothing was looking vaguley alive in our garden and having a mild panic that I've described our Arts Week venue as a 'pretty garden setting'. This week ... a bit of sunshine and my 'dead' plants have made an effort.

I thought nothing bar the fern like weed was alive in the pond, so happy to see the marigold thingy (think it's meant to be a marginal, but we don't have margins).

Very few of the daffodils I carefully selected from a Cornish daffodil farm made an effort to rise about the surface, but the tulips have been a bit more entheusiastic.

Several years ago we bought a tiny camelia plant from Trebah gardens, last year only one flower, this year it has risen to the occasion.

I'd forgotten I had bought this Bleeding Heart (Dicentra somethingorother - I'll never be invited to talk about my garden on Gardners' World - can't remember the normal names let alone the Latin ones!

A reliable cherry. It's lived in a pot since I bought it in 2001. It was originally a Prunus Mume Beni Chidori, that much I can remember. I bought it to remember a beloved pet I lost early in that year, in the hope it would flower early and be a reminder. Strangely my other cat was Benny and he was forever 'chiding' Ginger so the name seemed apt. Sadly the plant always had terrible peach leaf curl and grew badly so we cut it back to the rootstock which had decided to sprout and so far has been curl free. Considering I have mulched with bits of sea glass I can't use for jewellery, give it several doses of grotty water from the lampworking plunge pot - usually with added bead release and bits of broken bead for added bonus, it does well. One of my 2 current ginger toms happily curls up around the trunk and basks in the sunshine. Ginger would have liked that. Actually, no he wouldn't, he'd have given these two a run for their dinner.

So please, no more frost. The bluebells are coming along nicely - as good a bluebell wood you'll find in any tiny suburban garden, we are over run with them. If they could hang on a bit until the beginning of May perhaps I will have the 'pretty garden setting' I've promised people - otherwise I'll be in the garden centre buying up trays of flower to plant!!

A new outlet - on Artfire!

2011-03-24T15:36:00.004Z

Well, they say a change is as good as a rest. Until recently I've been selling my handmade lampwork glass beads mainly on one particular site but I have decided for a variety of reasons that this is not the right place for handmade items. So, also recognising that not everyone wants to join a site before they can buy I was looking for somewhere that doesn't require this, and found Artfire.

Early days, I'm listing things as fast as I can but other things also get in my way, but there will be more there in a few days and lots more there very shortly.

I have also decided to list a selection of my other work on there, much of it at sale prices. I might also offer a discount on purchases for those who sign up for my newsletter (the link for this is on the left) and for previous customers. As they say, you have to be in it to win it.

So my new Artfire shop is here - keep popping back and into my Etsy and Folksy shops to see what's new.

My website will be updated with a link shortly, I'm concentrating on actually filling the shop first.

Let me know what you think? Oh and a tip that took me ages to discover yesterday, when looking at Artfire item prices, if not in your currency, click on them and change to your own. The downside for me is that I have to list in US dollars - even Etsy finally sorted that one for us.

So, what's new?

2011-03-21T15:53:00.004Z

A selection from this week's offerings from Blue Box Studio.

First up some gorgeous 'parchment' roses, there are 2 sets of these. I bought them to make a corsage for a wedding, then forgot to take them with me! So, as reeived, new and unused they are looking for a new home. All bar the teal blue roses have brooch pins attached but it wouldn't be too hard to add one to the blue roses. They would look lovely just added to a fabric bag, made into a corsage, just brightening up a jacket, jumper, scarf or anything else. Our idea was to use them for a wedding corsage and buttonhole for a long-distance wedding; the florist wasn't open when we left and flowers have a nasty habit of drooping overnight so would have been quite sad by the end of our 4 hour journey to the venue. These have the lovely trait of never drooping, however long you keep them or how far you travel!

Also on offer, lots more big hole beads for your Troll and Pandora bracelets and necklaces. Hand made by yours truly in my garden studio, some have sterling silver rivets, some are uncored. Other makes of bracelet are availabe (as the advert goes) so they may well fit another brand. All my beads are properly annelaed for strength and durability in a digital kiln, cleaned and checked before despatch. Offered at a sensible price and each is individually made so no one else will have one identical. Buying handmade beads by self representing artists means you won't have your friends telling you 'I've one exactly like that'!

All of these, and more are available here.