New Jewellery

Hello lovelies, well hasn't it been a miserable couple of days here in old blighty, I am really missing that sunshine! However, this has meant that I have had to knuckle down and get on with some new designs instead of swanning about in the sun.
As you may or may not already know much of my work is inspired by fairytales and fanciful tales, and these new pieces are taken from two of my favourite stories.

"I SHOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A KISS"

This is what Wendy said to Peter Pan before handing him a thimble from her pocket. It is the perfect whimsical symbol of love, a thimble kiss.

When Alice fell down the rabbit hole she found a table with a tiny key upon it, this key was to a little door that led to Wonderland. 

These two pendants are available now in my Etsy shop and will be added to my Folksy shop very soon.

My Studio - Wedding Season

The sun is out and wedding season is upon us, and as a jeweller this is a time when I get to make very special things for people that they will wear forever. How amazing is that?!
I am in the process of making a beautiful ring for one of my lovely Etsy customers from my 'I want a fairytale' series so I thought I would share a few photos of jewellery that has been purchased for weddings in the past.

These are a selection of commission pieces and pieces I sell in my my shops, the white gold wedding rings at the top have been sold several times for Alice themed weddings and can be customised. I have also had several brides wear my bangles on their big day and buy pendants for their bridesmaids. The cufflinks were a commission piece but I am looking at introducing cufflinks into my range.

New Collection Part 3

It is no secret that I have a few mild obsessions in life, like tea, pirates and a love of history and art. The latter is what lead to my interest in old folklore and folk art and the Arts & Crafts Movement it inspired. When studying both as a jewellery designer and an art history course we touched on this era in design. The ethos of beauty in functionality and the celebration of the handmade really stuck with me and although my work doesn't directly reflect those artists, I do find inspiration in the crafts that folk art produced.

Here are some photographs of the latest pendants and earrings coming to my shop inspired by heritage samplers, patchwork quilts, vintage lace and buttons.

Patchwork square in silver with a hand painted cold enamel fabric effect, the edge is textured with tiny kisses like cross stitching.

Silver button earrings textured with vintage lace embossed in to the silver.

Silver button earrings decorated with hand painted cold enamel.

Silver stacking rings - stitched with a kiss band, little heart ring and thin band.

Hope you like these new pieces, I will have them with me at the Bath Artisan Market this coming Sunday if you want come along and say hi.

What are your loves that inspire you?

new collection - part one

I know! I'm late posting today and actually I am changing my posting days as well as I have been super busy with designing my new collection. There are some new items in my etsy shop today that are inspired by ancient folklore and country wisdom. I am very proud of these original designs and hope you like them.

"Every cloud has a silver lining."

"Shoo shoo seagull, away from the sand. There's always bad weather when you come inland."

In the northern hemisphere, before the use of the calendar we use today, the year was divided in to 12 moons (moonths) that were described by what was happening in the natural world/countryside at the time. So if your birthday is in January you were born under a wolf moon, sweet no?

That's me for today, I'm off to the spa tomorrow to get over the excitement of it all! xx

Christmas Shopping Promotion

So today I have been giving my Etsy shop a Christmas makeover. With a little help from the brilliant themes, overlays and labels on Picmonkey I have decked out my jewellery for the holidays.
And for all you lovelies out there in cyberland I am giving you a 10% discount voucher to use for your Christmas Shopping. Pick up one of my artisan silver quote rings, the ones shown here say "& your bird can sing" and "curiouser & curiouser", perfect for the loved one in your life who likes pretty things.

To get your on line discount click on the Etsy button in my sidebar, shop away and use the discount coupon code SILVERSHED1 at the checkout. The offer ends at midnight GMT December 1st 2012. 

Happy shopping xx

Jingle Bells . Jangle Bangles

So it seems the festive season is rapidly approaching and my beautiful city became all a glow this evening with silver lights. The streets were certainly full for the great switch on as it was being broadcast live on the BBCs One Show and after a shaky start the elegant chandeliers came flickering to life! 

Christmas was the main topic of conversation on Sunday as well with the pre-Christmas shopping market at Green Park. It was a beautiful day with lots of folk enjoying mulled cider and hot chestnuts whilst picking up early presents for their loved ones. If you can come to the next one on the 9th of December you really must, it is a great day and I will have lots of lovely sparkly goodies for sale!

Some of those items are these bangles I have been working on, I have taken the quote bangle I make and given it the look of three stacking singlets sitting together on the wrist. The one shown here is from one of my favourite stories, Peter Pan... 'Second to the right and straight on til morning', that, Peter had told Wendy was the way to the Neverland.

xx

Fireworks, Flea Markets & Fabric Labels

Over the last week I have been a little miserable as a vicious cold took hold, but we can't let these things stop us can we! I didn't manage to get to the big bonfire party in Bath, but there was plenty to see from the garden and I lit a sparkler or two to feel a part of it. I do love fireworks, it's the wrapping up all cosy and warm and being with lots of others all enjoying the same experience.

I have also managed to do some flea market shopping of late, picking up some brilliant finds to decorate a few spaces and to use as props for my Silver Shed booth (remember to come along to The Bath Artisan Market this Sunday at Green Park Station 9.30-4pm). I am particularly in love with the 1930's German sleigh I found in pretty Malmesbury. The enamel bowls are perfect for holding my jewellery goods, there is a song sheet which will be framed and a mini milking stool and shoe last for... um, well... well for no reason, but why not hey!

Lastly I need to share with you my new love... printing on fabric at home. Looking for some way to label my silver quote rings I started thinking about printable fabric sheets, these little gems enable you to design and print your own fabric with an ink jet printer. Perfect for text too, but just remember to mirror image!

It is quite pricey but looking on line I came across many people raving about freezer paper and how it allows you to make your own sheets by ironing it to the fabric and giving it enough structure for the printer. Sadly I soon realised this is an American product and tricky to find in the UK, but look on line and in quilting shops (it's popular for applique work) and you will eventually find it, and plenty of tutorials (here is one on the Instuctables website). Have some fun with it!

xx

Pumpkins and Packaging

So Hallow e'en has passed by without much fuss and bother, although I had the obligatory carved pumpkin and soup (most simple recipe ever!), one or two little witches and I finally managed to use the fake leaves I procured whilst doing a window display as a VM last year.

If you want to make the simple soup here's the recipe...

approx 1kg pumpkin, roughly chopped (mine was just the scooped out middle of this bad boy)
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
1l stock (chicken or veg are best)
any seasoning or spice to your taste (I used salt, black pepper and a little ground cinnamon)
oil

Pop the onions in a large pan with a light coating of oil and sweat them down for 5 mins.
Add the pumpkin and cover with a lid, cook on a medium heat for approx. 40 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent any catching on the bottom of the pan.
Once the pumpkin is cooked add the stock and bring to the boil. Let the mixture cool then blend in batches.
Soup can be reheated when ready to eat. See simple!

I have just had a final bowl of soup for lunch and am now putting together some jewellery for the market on November 11th. I received some greetings cards I designed to go with my Forest Folk pendants this week, and I am so thrilled with them. Along with the cards I ordered from Moo.com (check them out, they are fab) I also ordered some new packaging, and I have to say everything is shaping up to look pretty cool for the holiday season.

I've neglected you rotten!!!!!

Well it is fair to say that I have been more than a little rubbish on the blog front. I really want to make this a place that people want to come and find a little joy, but over the last couple of months it just hasn't been possible. I have been concentrating on my business and getting a range of jewellery together that I can feel excited about showing the world, so I hope I can be forgiven for not making any new posts.

I think I will need to be more realistic about the amount of time I can put into my blog, but I am going to try and share with you my thoughts and new finds as much as I can. Just follow me any way you like to hear when I've got something new to show you (only if you want to obviously!).

So, here is the reason I have not been on here, my workshop and what it produces....

my workshop

sketchbooks

 This is my sanctuary where I spend most of my days. I really love this space.

"we're all mad here" 

"the time has come the walrus said...."

silver heart pendant

the peabird pendant

Many of my pieces feature quotes from favourite books and songs, my 'I want a fairy tale' series takes quotes from stories like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

This is just a small selection, I hope you like them xx