MacMillan Spring Fair and Coffee Morning

 

This Saturday is another MacMillan Fair and Coffee Morning in Wraysbury and once again we will be there selling our earrings. The morning really is a lot of fun! Local vendors, made up of local small businesses and non-profits, will be selling new and used merchandise. There will also be delicious cakes (biscuits, cupcakes, fruit cake and chocolate cake in December, both were yummy!) as well as coffee and tea.

The set-up is nice; there are tables and chairs set up so you can grab a cake and coffee and sit and chat with friends. In December the vendors' stalls lined the room and the tables were in the center. I didn’t go around personally and look at all the vendors but I could see another jewelry vendor, ladies accessories, plants,  stationary, baked goods, nutritional supplements and hand knit woolen items. There is also a raffle, the winners are announced at the end.

Like last time I’ll have some surprises on the day. Plus our prices are lower at the stall (no shipping!), so if you are local and have seen anything you like come along and check out our stock. I’ve also made a few pieces especially for the fair; they haven’t been featured on the blog.

 

 

First is this pair in Onyx, they are the same as the Garnet Queen which was released in February, in addition to onyx beads they feature a crystal chambala bead. Next there is this lovely wooden pair. These Retro earrings feature an oblong and a round wooden bead with bronze colored bead spacers.

 

 

 



I made this pair with the remaining crystal hearts from Love Hearts. Each earring has only one heart.

 

Finally this is the first pair I've made that feature Jasper and hematite beads. I will be using jasper beads in the future but I wanted to have something to show at the fair. Jasper is a very earthy stone, not necessarily beautiful like garnet or sapphire but it has it's own charm. I love trinkets made of this type of stone. My mother has a lovely box made of this stone.

 

 

 

 

MacMillan Fairs and Coffee Mornings really are a great way to spend the morning. And all the proceeds go to MacMillan Cancer Support. So please come down and support us on Saturday between 10am and noon.

 

Wraysbury Village Halls The Green, Staines-upon-Thames, Wraysbury, Staines TW19 5NA

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/wraysbury+village+hall/@51.4582091,-0.6256265,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x4876709a5765227d:0x8fed39e7851187cc!2m2!1d-0.555587!2d51.45823

 

Odds & Ends

Bits & Pieces pt. 2

 

When I told my mother that I finally got a stall at a fair she told me to make as many earrings as I could and just sell them. I did have a day when I was pretty productive but mostly I’ve been trying to tie up loose ends. This week I’m putting up a few more pieces that I had laying around as well as some I made since last week.

 

The first pair I made last fall when I was experimenting with recycled materials. It combines my love of crafting with my love for music. I was making plastic circle designs and decided to try a G-Clef. This is the only pair of these I ever made. I think I had intended to make more but then I got caught up in my Christmas inventory and forgot about them. They are rather nice though!

 

 

The next pair is also from my recycled material trial. It show my fascination with spirals. Really, if you look at my stock there are a lot of spirals, swirls and curls. I’ve done them with craft wire, sheets of HDPE that I treated and then curls and now these. I won’t say what they are in fear that people might cringe but let’s just say it’s something most of us use every day, at home they used to advertise missing people on them. Nowadays they are made of plastic, I guess the Amber Alert put made it redundant.

 

 

The next one I hinted to last week. I got these red beads a while back and I decided they reminded me of cranberry juice. So I decided to make a pair based on one of my favorite drinks, also it could be based on my mom’s favorite drink (minus the Cointreau). These are vodka and cranberry with a twist of lime or Cosmo (Cosmopolitan). Well, I guess when you mix up the vodka, cranberry, lime and Cointreau you end up with a lovely pink concoction but Vodka and cranberry with a lime twist is too long of a name for a pair of earrings.

 

 

On Thursday I was panicking about something so I decided to make some earrings to take my mind off of it. This pair I just made, however they are based on the first pair of earrings I ever made and the first to appear on the blog  you can read the story about them. Over the past year I’ve acquired a lot more hematite; some magnetic and some not, some blue and some gray, some shiny and some chiseled. These are a little different from the originals but they are in the same spirit.

 

 

Now, what can I say about these? A few months ago I purchased a kit of glass beads, I wrote about it wrote about it then . I really like making earrings that are a bunch of different sized beads that dangle. The great thing about this kit is that it consists of shiny and matte beads. I love using a mixture of both when make a pair with them. I like grapes, but only white (or green) grapes which these remind me of so I’m calling them a Bunch of Grapes.

I was inspired by the last two pairs on a walk with my husband  last week. We were walking through our village on our way to pick up our Chinese food dinner. I saw this adorable curl with a little “bump” on the end or along the curls. I think that eventually the “bumps” will blossom into flowers but I’m not sure. I asked Neil what it was and he didn’t know. I think however that the curls were on some kind of vine, and last week we also passed some vine weed which I thought was beautiful, I never would have thought it was a weed. So that’s what I’m calling them; Vine Weed.

 

This is your last chance to get these before the fair.

All pairs $8.08 or £6.15 Including shipping
   

To make a purchase please leave a comment with your email address. I'll send you an invoice through paypal. Items will ship once payment is confirm. Prices include shipping.
       

 

 

Halloween Slasher

  

Limited Time Only!

As you may know I started an Etsy store a few weeks ago. As a special for this week I lowered all the prices on my stock on Etsy to try to boost sales. No such luck so far. So I may just extend it a few days and do the same on the blog.

Until November 4th all the blog prices will be lowered as well. If you make a purchase on November 5th they will have gone back up to their regular price.

Just in case you forgot which fabulous pair of earrings you had your eye on, here's what's in stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

All earrings are handmade by me so you can ensure your earrings are one of a kind. Some designs are limited (number in parentheses) for Clear Circles with beads please specify what color beads you would like when ordering. For Rectangles, Colored Circles and Curling Ribbon please specify what color you would like (Blue, Black, White, Dark Green, Purple, Pink and Orange and combo)

All prices include shipping. Shipping available to US and UK.
For purchase leave a comment  or send an email I'll respond with Paypal info. Items will be shipped once payment is confirmed.

  

Thrift Stores/Charity Shops

 

We’ve been busy, but this blog isn’t always about where we go unless I find materials in our travels. We try to go away on a day trip once a week. Saturday we tried to go to Weymouth but never quite made it there. We spent the whole day in Portland on Chesil Beach. Unfortunately they didn’t have any sea shells there.

The remainder of our time we pretty much waste. I experiment with new materials and designs or try new recipes since I also love cooking. I don’t know what Neil does, plays Tetris and watches You Tube videos (just kidding). Once a week we go to a coffee shop for cappuccinos. On that trip we have to stop at several ‘Charity Shops’ as Neil calls them or Thrift Stores as we call them at home.

I’m not really into Thrift Stores. Neil loves a bargain but I only like bargains at department stores. I have gotten a few pairs of shoes in the charity shops because that’s pretty much the only place I can get good quality shoes in my size (when I can find them) at a reasonable price. When I decided to start making earrings Neil started looking in charity shops for beads to make them with.

He’s trying to take over my blog! He’s constantly looking at YouTube videos and trying to tell me things to make earrings out of. While I do appreciate the moral support, his ideas aren’t usually the way I want this to go. Nevertheless, we’ve found a few deals on beads at the ‘Charity Shops’ and I’ve done a few pairs of earrings.

 

Rosie

Trixie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pairs I made from the beads of a vintage necklace, the beads are in good condition. I really dig the shapes!

 

Swirls

 

 

This pair I really love. I’m a hematite fan anyway, but I tried being creative and putting the beads in a spiral. I also tried to incorporate all the pieces from the bundles we purchased. Neil really likes the bundles the way they are so I told him I would take one apart and leave one together.

 

 

Again, what you see here is the only stock there is, at least for now. I think I can make another pair or two of Rosie and Trixie, but Swirls I can only make one pair.

£4.50 for UK shipping, $8.18 for US shipping

Only one of each in stock . Prices do not include shipping. Shipping available to US and UK.
For purchase leave a comment  or send an email I'll respond with Paypal info. Items will be shipped once payment is confirmed.  

The Journey Begins

A few years ago someone gave me a hematite necklace. I loved it but I like to wear my jewelry as a matching set. So I went to a craft store, bought some items and made myself a pair of earrings.

 Last week I wore them out and a friend loved them. I told her I made them and that if I could find the materials I would make her a pair. I did!

Grant it the stones are not the same, the hematite pieces were bigger in Philadelphia, so the new pair is not exactly the same as the old one, but still, pretty close.

I really enjoy making earrings so I decided after some persuasion by my partner to make some and start a blog. So here the journey begins.

I will post pictures and a story about a pair of earrings every week. If you are interested in purchasing a piece please contact me, I'll send you my Paypal info and when payment is received I'll send you the earrings. Supplies will be limited since  the earrings will be made of materials I find on my journeys throughout the week. I will try to make as many pairs as possible but sometimes only one will be available. I will also try to keep the prices reasonable, around $8.00 or 5GBP.

I hope you enjoy my journey!

 

 

 

£3.00 for UK Shipping, $8.15 for US shipping