On the Fly

On The Fly!

I've never really done this with any success. Sunday my friend's family threw a party for her birthday. It was family function but they invited Neil and I as well. I planned to wear one of my favorite dresses (I've had it for 7 years now), normally when I wear this dress I wear the pair of earrings featured in Layers that I've had for [about 10] years and rewired because they had become tarnished. But Sunday I decided to make a pair of earrings to wear to the party ... just an hour or so away.

I opened my box of beads and realized I had several shades of blue, most of which are in my dress. So for about a 30 minutes I played around with settings and chain and findings to get it just right. And with just a few minutes to spare I ended up with these.

I like that the beads are different shapes and sizes, and the lengths are different as well. You may notice I do that a lot in my designs.

Once we arrived at the party Shirley, my friend and neighbor told all of her granddaughters that I make earrings,

"Really?"

"Yes, in fact I just made these!"

I tried this once before, I made a pink and white pair that I never bothered to put up because I really didn't think they were any good. I wore pink and black from head to toe one day and wanted some pink earrings but didn't have any black beads at the time. I wore them on the day and just shoved them aside, I think they're still in tact but I don't even think about wearing them again.

But these are a different story. Grant it you'd have to have a dress like mine to make it work. Or maybe you just like the colors, or have an outfit with the same blue, grey and black combination. Whatever the situation is, if you'd like a pair of these just give me a shout.

How 'bout a beer?

Sea Glass - Beer bottles

 

I used to go to a friend’s house to hang out and he had a bottle opener that exclaimed that phrase. Another friend loved it so much he used to say it all the time. Maybe it’s from a movie or something, I don’t know. But looking at the last pair in the collection I’d think sea glass this color would have come from a beer bottle.

 

These oblong light brown glass beads are wrapped in non-tarnish wire and fitted with silver-plated fish hooks. The beads are also triangular which was a bit difficult to wrap. They hang just under an inch and a half from the ear and since they are larger will probably be a bit heavier than the other earrings in the collection.

 

I hope you enjoyed our visit to the sea side. I've always enjoyed looking out for shells at the beach but Neil has turned me on to sea glass too. So the next time you’re on the beach or on a river bank keep an eye out for one of those gems. And try to figure out what it would have been when it first went into the water.

£4.00 including UK shipping or $8.15 including US shipping

P.S. I have added a reviews section to the Facebook page so please leave a review of your purchase and if possible pictures. Thanks!

Vague

 

 

When Neil collects his sea glass there are sometimes pieces of glass that you cannot tell what they were before. And in addition to the glass he’s found pieces from pottery and crockery. He did some research and discovered from the manufacturer’s mark that one piece is from a plate dating back to the 70’s. Again you can check out his collection of sea glass on his blog. I tried very hard not to make any blue earring for this collection but I just couldn’t help it.

 

I wore this pair to church last week and I received so many compliments on them. They probably are my favorite of all the designs in this collection but honestly I don’t know what this would be if it were sea glass. It’s too blue to be a Coca-Cola bottle and too light to be a poison bottle. I suppose it would just be a random piece of glass that could have come from housewares that were discarded and made it into a drain leading to the ocean, traveled the currents and landed on a shore somewhere.

 

The light blue glass is wrapped in non-tarnish silver-plated copper wire and fitted on silver-plated kidney wires. They hang just under an inch from the ear.

£4.50 including UK shipping, $8.65 including US shipping.

Wine Bottles

Wine bottles

 

This won’t be a long post partly because it’s so late and partly because the main story I told last week.

This pair is made of green glass that if it were sea glass it would probably have been wine bottles in a previous life. This pair is rather small, they hang just under an inch from the ear. As always the findings are silver-plated and the glass is wrapped in non-tarnish silver-plated copper wire.

£4.00 including UK shipping, $8.00 including US shipping

Sea Glass - Coca-Cola

Sea Glass

I had an idea sitting at breakfast Saturday morning. My husband has collected sea glass from the beach for years possibly decades. He has quite a nice little collection of pieces of glass in various colors; you can check out one of his posts on the collection on his blog. He can date some of the glass pieces by their color. You can tell what some things are from the color. Green is wine, brown is beer, clear could be an old medicine bottle or a modern day liquor bottle, light blue glass could be old Coca-Cola bottles dating back to the 1920’s and dark blue was used for poison so if you find dark blue glass it could date back to the 1950’s.

So I asked him if he has any sea glass that he could spare. He thought about it and said that all the glass he had was sentimental picked from Cornwall or our trip from the Isle of Wight. Then I remembered I have all the lovely glass beads and some of them are frosted like Neil’s sea glass.

Well, it was frosted when I started working with them, but once my fingers ran around the beads with the wire they were a bit shinier.  I made several pairs in different colors, shapes and patterns. I tried to imitate the glass in Neil’s collection. I decided to release them by color and I made it a point not to use and blue glass since I’ve released a lot of it recently.

I think this color glass would be Coca-Cola bottles. I love this color bead; they’re clear but have a slight blue tint to them. Two pair are oval shaped and are wrapped one time with wire. The third pair are shaped slightly like barrels an even have ridges although the ridges run horizontally (parallel with the wire) not vertically. The barrel pair is wrapped three times with wire.

The beads are all glass, the wire is all non-tarnish silver plated copper and the ear fittings are silver plated as well. The barrel shaped pair hangs an inch and an eighth, the larger ovals (middle pair) hang three quarters of an inch and the smaller ovals hang exactly an inch.

£4.50 including UK shipping, $8.55 including US shipping.

 

Layers

 

Today is our first wedding anniversary! I can’t believe it. We were so busy last year getting ready for the big day that I didn’t post anything for about two months. This year has gone by in a flash and yet it seems to have taken an eternity to get here. Strange, huh? Well if you’d like you can take a look back at our wedding pics.

Years ago I bought a cheap pair of earrings from a plus sized clothing store which I used to buy all of my clothes from (hint: it’s what real women wear). I wore them all the time especially when I was wearing royal blue which a lot of my summer wardrobe is. Over the years the long kidney wires turned and they didn’t look so good, but the beads were fine so when I started making earrings I put new hook on them.

I love these earrings and I have been trying to make some similar, which is why I bought the bead heads last month. But I made this pair while I was waiting for the bead heads to arrive. Once they arrived I realized none of the heads were small enough for the top of this bead since it’s very small on top.

I love the natural tones of this bead. It looks like there are layers in the beads like the sedimentary layers you may find in exposed rock on mountains or cliff faces. But the beads are not made of stone, they are glass. All of the findings are silver plated and they can be fitted with fish hook, kidney wires (shown) or clip-ons. They earrings hang just over and inch from the ear.

 

Hopefully we have a busy day ahead of us; recreating our wedding picture, going to dinner and having the top tier of our wedding cake.

 

£4.50 including UK shipping, $8.55 including US shipping  One pair left

 

Jasper Beauty

Jasper Beauty

Back to the designs I had lined up before my bead heads arrived last week. I made these a few weeks ago when I first received the large pack of glass beads. The pack has so many different color beads I figured I could find something to go with the Jasper. I’ve had these Jasper beads for a while and since they are so earthy I couldn’t think of anything to do with them. I did sneak in a pair when I had the stall at the fair in March, but I couldn’t come up with an idea for another design. You may remember I started the year off with birthstones. I made several pairs of garnet earrings, I even made a pair that has both mine and my husband’s birthstones. I bought these jasper beads to continue the birthstone theme. Jasper is a birthstone for March or October. There are many different types of Jasper, this one is called Leopardskin Jasper because of the pattern in the stone.

This pair has one burgundy glass bead about 8 or 9 mm I’d say, with a 4 mm Jasper bead on each end of it. The burgundy of the glass bead picks up the streaks of burgundy running through the Jasper. The earrings hang approximately 1 1/8 inches from the ear. The findings are all silver plated and can be fitted with kidney wire (shown), fish hook or clip-ons.

I recently started an Instagram account and thought it would be a good idea to share my designs on Instagram a day earlier. So if you’re a fan of #TDJ or just want another way to keep in touch follow me on Instagram @robyngmh_tdj where you’ll see my picture. I hope you all like these as much as I do. I enjoyed making them and enjoyed photographing them.

 

£5.00 including UK shipping, $9.15 including US shipping

 

Periwinkle

Periwinkle

I know what you’re thinking; isn’t this the same pair from last week? Well, not quite. The beads for this pair also came from the pack of glass beads I just purchased. The pack contains several colors of beads and each color has several shapes. The only problem with assorted bead sets is that there’s no consistency. There are several beads each color and shape but not necessarily in the quantities to make a pair (or two) of earrings.

This periwinkle pair hang about an inch and a half from the ear. In addition to the glass beads there is a pearl and all the findings are silver plated. And like the beads in Sunny, you can see a swirl pattern in the coloring of the bead.

 

In case the pairs from the past two weeks have left you a bit bored, not to worry. I have a few things coming up that are quite different including one which is a bit earthy and another that's slightly elegant. So keep your eyes open for the next few posts.

£4.50 including UK shipping, $8.55 including US shipping

Sunny

I've had a lot going on.
 

I’m sorry about not posting anything last week, I was a little under the weather. I should start by saying that I have terrible allergies. I went to an allergist in 2002 and he told me I had the worst allergies of any patient he’d ever seen and this doctor was pretty old. After taking expensive prescription antihistamines for years I settled for over the counter meds.  I took Cetirizine or Zyrtec for the past year or two but this year it stopped working (as antihistamines do from time to time) so now I’m taking Chlorphenamine which is in the same class of antihistamines as Benadryl or Diphenhydramine, they are very effective but they make you very sleepy (and now are being linked to Alzheimer's disease). I also take Flonase every day. Neil tells me I shouldn't take so much medicine and I have told him many times that if I don’t take these meds I get sick. Well now he has seen firsthand what happens when I don’t take my medicine. Two weeks ago I forgot to take them (both the antihistamine and nasal spray) for about four days total. The first time I got sick I was in college, I left the doctor with an antibiotic, steroids, nasal spray, decongestant, inhaler and cough syrup. And at least once a year for the last four years I was in the US I had the same thing happen, I would go to the doctor and they'd give me an antibiotic, steroids (methylprednisolone) and a cough medicine in pill form.  Last week (and even now) I was feeling pretty rotten but I couldn’t really rest, Neil is ill so someone has to take care of things. Last Wednesday I definitely had a fever and woke up twice in the night drenched. I can only stand to do one strenuous activity a day (whether it's yard work, cooking or cleaning) then I'm useless for the rest of the day. I am now at the tail end of this allergy induced bronchitis.

Last Tuesday I had my first driving lesson. Two weeks ago I passed the theory test for my UK driving license. I have a license in Pennsylvania but that isn’t doing me any good here (especially since I need to get it renewed). But I had never driven a stick shift or driven on the wrong side of the street (and car). I didn’t think I was going to do well. To be honest, I was okay driving but starting and stopping are tricky especially starting. I have another lesson tomorrow then hopefully Neil will put me on his insurance and I can drive between lessons.

 

Lastly, the flowers. Fortunately while I wasn’t feeling well it rained for almost a week  straight (or at least it felt like it). So I got to take a break from watering the flowers. But on Saturday I still went out to feed them (which I’m supposed to do every two weeks). My  two favorite roses seem to be at the end of their bloom, but three more are just getting started.

 

This lovely little orange rose is just starting to blossom, and another two bushes are going to open any day now.

 

 

 

 

 I can’t wait to see what color they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can probably see from the pictures they have aphids which I have tried spraying with homemade natural pesticides and store bought chemicals (which Neil doesn’t like). The homemade one didn’t work at all, the store bought one did seem to work but I can only use it twice a year, and I’m afraid to use it now that I that have seen birds perched on the bushes. I hate bugs but I like birds.

Another bush about to blossom

Finally, for the reason you read this blog. Between being out of ideas and materials and being busy I hadn’t made anything last week. But then I purchased some glass beads. Honestly I knew exactly what I wanted to make I just didn’t have the supplies I needed to make them. So I went online and made a couple of small purchases. One turned out to be a bust, the beads didn’t look anything like the picture but I can’t really complain for the price I paid and they were buy one get one free (You get what you pay for is the lesson I am learning this year). I’m still waiting on the essential piece I need for my idea so I can’t make it yet.

The Last two Peace roses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did get a large pack of glass beads from my favorite supplier and I am amazed by the range of colors that were in the pack. I wish I had my wardrobe from home, I would make myself a pair of earrings to wear with every outfit. Unfortunately I didn’t bring all of my pretty summer dresses with me, and even if I did I’d never get to wear them since it’s rarely hot and I never get to go anywhere (hopefully that will change when I get my license!).

 

The first pair I made reminded me of a yellow linen dress I used to wear at home. I HATE YELLOW! But I like wearing it, it looks good on me. But when I saw these little yellow beads I knew I had to make a pair with them.

 

The two oblong beads are glass and you can see a swirl pattern in them. Each bead is separated by a small pearl bead. The findings are silver plated and they will hang approximately an inch and a half from the ear. 

Although there were several hundred beads in the pack I bought there are only enough of the same beads for me to make one pair of these so if you want them for yourself let me know. 

£4.50 including UK shipping, $9.95 including US shipping

Aqua Marine

 

These are not Aqua Marine! Let me say that up front. These are beautiful blue glass beads that I got last year. A few weeks ago when I was having a creative streak I made these one evening while watching TV. I had just watched a video of someone making jewelry and thought I’d try this specific setting. Then I bunched the beads up together; I wanted a range of sizes and shapes of the colored beads. Once I was finished I knew I’d save these for March since this is really close to the color of March’s birthstone Aqua Marine. But again these are glass beads and not Aqua Marine.

 

Really I was messing around trying to come up with an idea for wedding earrings this year. I have given it a try but that will wait a few months. But I love blue! And these earrings are lovely.

 

As I said they are glass beads of different sizes and shapes. The clear beads are a mixture of glass and acrylic beads. All of the findings are silver plated and the fitting can be is kidney wire (as seen), fish hook or clip on (additional cost). The earrings hang about an inch from the ear.

Just one more week! Next Saturday (18^th) We’ll be at the Wraysbury Village Hall for another coffee morning fair. There will be tea, cakes and coffee on offer and lots of stalls selling fabulous merchandise (including us!) so come on down!

£6.00 including UK shipping, $9.75 including US delivery.
Only one pair available

Fiona

 

When you think of people do you think of a color? If you have a friend who always wears blue, when you think of them does blue come to mind? Well I have a lovely friend here named Fiona and when I think of her I think Purple. She’s a very colorful person, she doesn’t always wear purple but she does wear it often. She redecorated her home last year and what’s the feature color? Purple. I wanted to make a pair for her last year but I had no purple beads. She picked another pair I’d already made and she loves them. Since then I have gotten purple beads but I had no idea what to do with them.

I’ve been having another creative streak over the past two days. Sunday my husband turned on the soccer so I went into a different room to watch political shows from back home. I made a few pairs while I watched. Then Monday I was updating some old designs and while putting my supplies away a style came to me, and these happened.

 

One of many patches of crocuses in our yard

Monday was a lovely day so I went outside to take pictures of the new earrings. I was going to publish a different pair this week but when these came about I knew I’d have to do them first. It looks like spring in our front yard and these earrings match the Crocuses. And since February’s birthstone is Amethyst (which is also purple) I wanted to get these out before the month was over.

 

 




The purple beads feature a marble type effects, traces of white swirling around them. In the center there is a iridescent glass bead with a swirl effect on it. Those three beads are separated by small purple iridescent beads. The findings are silver plated, and can be replaced by kidney wires or clip on if you’d prefer. They hang about an inch and a half from the ear.

This seems like a good time to make an announcement. The journey is making another stop. Once again at the village hall in Wraysbury on Saturday March 18^th from 10am to noon. I’ll have the newest designs on hand as well as some old ones and some remixed designs. So put the date on your calendar and I hope to see you there. Remember, you save shipping costs when you buy in person. And there may even be a few surprises.

£4.00 including UK Shipping, $7.70 including US shipping

 

Bits & Bobs, Odds & Ends

 

 

Bits & Bobs, Odds & Ends Part 1

Great News!!! The Dangling Journey has just booked its first table at a fair. This is huge for us! It’s the biggest exposure we’ve had and hopefully will generate a lot of attention and sales. It also means I have to get to work creating more things to display.

Luckily I have had a backlog of things I made and never got around to posting either because I wasn’t excited about them or I made something else and forgot they were there. In any case it’s now their turn for the spotlight.

 

First up is this lady if the night. No, I don’t mean she’s provocative but to me this pairs seems more like something you’d wear in the evening. They are made form a funky black bead, followed by a resin spacer and topped with a bronze “disco” ball. They seem like a pair of earrings up for some fun. So I’ll call them Randy, get it?

 

 

Next are two pair I made back in the Spring. I bought packs of glass beads and made several pair including the three from my Something Blue post. These two pair feature a large blue bead with other beads dangling from the end. Both pairs have beads that complement the central bead, one pair has another blue glass bead as well. I’ll call them Big Blue.

 

 

 Finally the last pair is a pair I just made about two weeks ago. I bought all of the beads on different occasions but when I got the last set home I made these beauties. A lot of times I make earrings because something comes to mind when I see the beads. Next week I hope to feature my cocktail pieces. But these beads remind me of maraschino cherries, so I’ll call them Cherry. And when I saw the gold beads I had to put them together. They are really fun and hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do.  

 

These four pair will be making their way to our stall/table at the fair in Wraysbury Village Hall on September 17^th unless one of you would like first dibs. If so just get in touch.

All pairs $8.08 or £6.15 Including shipping
   

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