Beady Pool has moved

Finally after more than half my life away from where I was born I am back living in Cornwall.
It's fantastic to be back home and as people have commented there was part of me that never really left.
It's strange though, as I am a local but I am not.  I have bumped into people I grew up with and went to school with in the least expected of places.  It is taking a while to get used to everyone knowing everyone else and sometimes even knowing who I am before I've introduced myself.  Some people I don't even remember from my childhood but they remember me.

Blackberry picking at Trelissick - a view worth moving for.

The boys are now settled in school and pre-school and I'm starting to have a few hours to myself after all the unpacking, sorting, painting and of course summer visitors.
My jewellery bits are untidy but I can get to the workbench and I can't wait to get creating again.
I have to be patient if I can and do a little sorting out first.

Top of the to do list is a tidy through and clean of my stock.  Over time sterling silver tarnishes.  Silver reacts with the oxygen in the air and oxidises making jewellery loose it's shine and lustre.
Even if it's stored in boxes and you use anti tarnish tabs it still eventually happens. 
You can clean silver using silver dip, cleaning cloths, sonic cleaners and many other methods but this morning I've been using a simple, cost effective and easy method that is so easy to do.

Beady pool creations having a clean.

 

 

All you need is a plastic pot, aluminium foil, hot water and bicarbonate of soda.  There are many "how to" methods on the web that you can find.  Here is a nice easy to follow one from Jo Tinley a fellow jewellery maker.

Cleaning jewellery link

Revamp

One of my lovely clients who likes my gemstone "Karensa" bracelets asked if I could revamp one of her favourite bracelets.  Elastic is a great way to thread beads, but after a while it looses it elasticity and you get a bracelet that just doesn't sit right.

 

 Some silver beads, a handmade Karen hilltribe clasp and heart later we have a revamped karensa bracelet using personal gemstones.  Let's hope she likes it.

It's been a while...

So long that the gorgeous kitty in my previous post has gone to kitty heaven, due to old age.
However today saw the arrival of Max the tiger cub.

Cute isn't he?

I am a cat and I will sleep where I want....

Even if it is in your tomato planter....

destash

Once again I am clearing through my beads. These lovelies are all available now over on Folksy

Postage is £1.00 regardless of ho many items you buy. Go on you know you want to add to your bead stash and help me clear some of mine ;)

Lyonesse

When I set out for Lyonesse,
A hundred miles away,
The rime was on the spray,
And starlight lit my lonesomeness,
As I set out for Lyonesse,
A hundred miles away.
~Thomas Hardy

Okay so I have had these beads by Rachel Dawes in my stash for ages, but from the day they arrived they were going to be Lyonesse and they were going ot be teamed with amethyst and freshwater pearls.

It sounds strange but somedays the beads just talk to you, they already know what they want to be. So finally I have made them into a bracelet and a pair of earrings. I hope you like them? I certainly do.

They are available now over in my Folksy shop.

Commission

The other day one of the mums from school popped over to buy some jewellery for a good friend of hers who had a special birthday. Over a cuppa and a good natter this is what we designed between us. It's not what she had in mind when she walked through the door, but often that is how good designs materialise.

Beautiful lentil beads by Izzy Anderson, with large Hilltribe silver lentil beads faceted onyx and irridescent czech glass thin rondelles. All finshed with a startburst focal toggle clasp.
The bracelet has arrived safely with it's new owner and she says she is very pleased with her special birthday pressie. I hope you like it too.

If you go down in the woods....

next Wednesday 29th July then you will find me hiding out as my alter ego Sugar and Spice at the annual Teddy Bears picnic at Jocks Lane, Bracknell. Fab fun for pre-school kids.

I'm hoping the weather stays like today..I don't fancy getting wet or blown away. I will be selling my cute clips and wooden bead making kits. If you are coming along do come and say hello. Will post some pics of my wares in my next post to wet your appetites.

Wordless Wednesday - Half term back home, tea in a bucket

Wordless Wednesday - meet my veggies

Wordless Wednesday - half term back home

Busy, busy, busy

Making oodles of gorgeously cute girly hairclip. Maybe it is the fact I now have two boys, who knows but I am loving making these.

This is what 159 lots of them look like all carded up and labelled ready for sale. Phew that's a lot of hairclips.

Where are they going? Reading Children's festival this weekend.
A good friend of mine is running the Reading Mencap stall at the Meadow Madness, Christchurch meadows from 11-4pm. My hairclips, new range of rings and wooden jewellery making kits will be on her stand for sale. You can also pop by for some fantastic story telling by local author Cathy MacLennan - my son adores her chicky chicky chook chook book.

You can find Reading Mencap on twitter and facebook.
If you do go to the children's festival have a fantastic time.

destash time

Ideas and designs change and yet the amount of beads just increases. Those of you who make jewellery know what I am mean and probably like me you have oooodles of beads you are not using at the moment. When the now 4months old (where has the time go?) pickle was on the way I lost my "studio" as it had to become the guest room and currently my beads are strewn all over the dining room table. This means I am in the dog house and need to do some serious clearing out and tidying up. So, I have joined the April Show-ers over on Folksy and am trying to list an item a day. This is mainly going to be destash items, all in new unused condition. All bought with the idea of using them at some point but a few months even years later they are still there bagged up waiting for me to work some magic.

So, here are a few items I've already listed. Some hilltribe silver flower charms - aren't they gorgeous. Why not head over to my Folksy destash shop and grab yourself some lovely beadies at good prices. I need to clear some space ;)

Sea Foam

Gorgeous beads by EvaBean now made into a stunning jewellery set. The lampwork are a beautiful sea green with an organic insert. I continued the sea theme using hiltribe silver beads with a bubble pattern and faceted aventurine rondelles to compliment the lampwork.

I am really pleased with the pendant which features a wave of handwired aventurine rondelles dangling from the lampwork focal. The pendant comes with either a 16inch or 18inch silver curb chain. All are available over in my folksy shop. I hope you like them.

Auction for Japan

The collective is back, this time with a fantastic auction raising money for Japan.

From fantastic lampwork beads to cute silver earrings, there are lots of gorgeous items for you to choose from.

Why not pop over to the AUCTION page and place a bid?

A massive thanks to Mel for organising the auction once again, lets hope it raises lots of money for a deserving cause.

It's been a while

but here I am back again and hopefully I won't be away so long next time.
Where have I been? well last November I was looking like this....and that was two weeks before I had my second child another boy.

Thankfully they did a c-section as giving birth to my first wasn't great, he got stuck in my pelvis coming out amoungst other things. He was 8lb 3 and this one....well a good 10lb 6 or if you do the conversion correctly nearer to 10lb 7. Poor love, they even had to use forceps to get him out despite the c-section.

Anyway, my little man is now 13 weeks old, today to be precise and we are finding our feet. It is interesting to say the least getting them both ready and out the door for 8.30 for the school run. Even though I am a routine type person, he doesn't have a routine and I am feeding him what he wants when he wants and this is causing a few issues as I have to top him up everynow and again so we can do this with my eldest but we are getting there. Compared with his brother who at this age was downing 8oz bottle of hungry baby formula every 4 hrs on the dot he isn't so bothered about his milk and is causing me a bit of brain ache...but we are working it out slowly.

Enough about the baby, more importantly Beady Pool news.

My website is closed at the moment as I am having difficulties finding the time to update it but my jewellery is still for sale over on Folksy. I am also trying to slowly tidy through my bead stash so I am selling some of my beads which don't suit my current designs in my other Folksy Shop. There are some great bargains to be had especially on the silver as I bought a fair bit of it before the prices increased - silver prices have skyrocketed in the past year.

Oh and I am doing the Henley Art Trail again this year - May 28th - 31st May 2011. Put the date in your diary and watch this space for more news.

Misty Moonlight

Finally we are slowly getting back into a routine in the Beady Pool household.
The now not so little man is at big school each morning, and is shattered but lovng it. This means I am getting a little more time to make and load some jewellery. Inbetween all the antenatal appointments which I seem to be having that is. Last week I had two lots of blood taken and a rather vicious anti-D injection - ouch!



On the jewellery front new from me is Misty Moonlight. Lampwork earrings in lushious lilac tones featuring artisan beads by Isabelle Anderson. Newly listed on Folksy.

Diary date
Beady Pool will be at the Music With Mummy Bracknell Coffee afternoon
Monday 27th Sept 1-3pm
Why not pop by for a cuppa, a piece of cake and some retail therapy?

Crystal clear Karenza

As mentioned in my last blog post Karenza also comes in a different colour way.
This time in sparkly crystal clear rock quartz.



Bracelet and earrings are available now on the Beady Pool website with free UK P&P
Why not pop over and take a look?

Karenza

In my last blog post I promised you a peek at my new range and here it is.
Karenza - featuring semi precious gemstones and Handmade Karen hilltribe silver heart beads.

This colourway features the gorgeous blues and greens of blue flourite interspersed with tiny silver beads.

So far, there are bracelets, earrings and pendants available and I have plans to introduce some handmade silver bangles next month. These are for sale on my website with free first class postage included.

Karenza is currently available in the flourite and in clear quartz crystal and will soon be available in a lovely autumnal smokey quartz too (I gave the smokey quartz set to a good friend of mone for her 40th birthday before I took photos - sorry).
Unlike my lampwork items, which are all one off pieces, this will be a limited edition range.

Lush Lilacs

Beady Pool has been a little sporadic on the blog posting over the summer. It's surprising how little spare time you can find when you have a four year old under your feet all day. That and the fact we have done alot of visiting over the summer hols. Both sets of family (Cornwall and Essex) and some good friends "up North". With all the visiting and my sister in laws wedding we have been a tad busy to say the least.

However, hopefully things are changing, well for a few weeks anyway. My little man started big school part time earlier this week so I get my couple of hours a day back - yay.

This joy may be short lived as number 2 is now only 12 weeks away from arriving - or 10 weeks if the consultant gets her way and induces me early like I was with my first. In the meantime though, I am going to try to make the most of the next few weeks.

To start with I have been working with some gorgeous lilac and purple beads by the talented Isabelle Anderson.

Heather - available now on Folksy

Misty Moonlight - on Folksy later today/tomorrow.

I hope you like my new pieces.
Keep an eye on my blog over the next few days and I will be unveiling a new themed range - Karenza.