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.

  

Beady Eyes

 

Just in time for Halloween!

 

Yesterday I took a break from my recycled materials, Neil and I went to a coffee shop and on our way home stopped at a charity shop. I saw a pair of Manolo Blahniks in the flesh (I don’t see what all the fuss is about). Anyway, they were selling a bracelet with nice beads for not very much. So I snatched it up, I knew it would make cool earrings.  

 

Just last week we bought beads of all colors at another charity shop. They included the small green beads, small white beads and black ones too. I thought they all went together really well.

 

Back when I first started this journey I bought a bunch of beads from another charity shop. They had jars of beads, well actually jars of old (and not so old) necklaces and bracelets that were nice. So these two pair of earrings are made from two of those (a necklace and a bracelet). Unfortunately, when you use repurposed beads your stock is limited. From those items I can only make one or two pairs of earrings a piece. That just means your jewelry (should you be the lucky one to purchase it) will definitely be one of a kind!

 

 

 

£3.95 for UK shipping, $8.18 for US Shipping

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.
 
  

 

Curling Ribbons

SOLD OUT!

This is another design I’ve been dreaming about. I wanted something that looked like curling ribbon on a beautifully wrapped present. I must say I am happy with the result of this project. I tried with different widths of materials and different colors. Besides these four colors I have dark green, black and white available. I can also make pairs in combinations of these colors. Please specify the color(s) and width (small or large) and tightness (Orange is the tightest, blue is the loosest) upon ordering.



 

I think I may start using only recycled materials, I like using things that would otherwise just end up in a landfill. The technique I use to refashion the material gives it a nice texture. The only problem with this source of materials is I am limited in the colors available. I am trying to figure out a way to color the material since I have a lot of white and clear but not many other colors. What I've tried so far looks okay but the color fades when touched, which won't work for jewelry.

 

 

I wore the Blue ones out last week and my cousin loved them. They are very light despite the size of the curls.

Pink & Purple
 

So I took a big step the other day, I opened an Etsy store. So far I only have one style of earrings listed in the store but I will add more. I wanted to see if it's worth it first. So you can make your purchases from the Etsy store or from this blog. But I have to warn you the Etsy prices are higher to cover the costs of the store so if I were you I'd buy directly from the blog.
 

 
Blue & Orange Curling Ribbon - Sold

Pink & Purple only £3.95 for UK Shipping, $6.75 for US shipping

Each pair is slightly different.  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

Eco chic Circles

We’ve been busy

 

Over the past two weeks Neil and I have been really busy. We’ve gone to a few places and done quite a lot not even including doctors’ appointments and things like that. So I haven’t had much of a chance to make things. But the past few days have been rainy so I spent these days designing new earrings.

These are eco-chic again. I’ve been dreaming about these earrings, I hope everyone likes them as much as I do. It took some time to figure out how to get the plastic to take the shape I wanted, but once I got the design right I was set.

I tried with different colors of plastic. I tried using different color beads to top the circles and even inside the circles.  That inspired me to try another design which I will save for another week.

 

£3.95 for UK shipping, $6.85 for US shipping

 

Each pair is slightly different. Only one of each in stock . 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.  

Eco-chic!

 

So I haven’t been out much lately, mainly because of the weather, then Neil got a cold and now I have it. So we haven’t really had any journeys, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy.

See, I’ a recycling fanatic. Really! My grandfather got me into recycling when I was very young, back in the day when you got paid for taking cans to a recycling center before it was collected with your trash. When my best friend’s neighborhood in Pennsylvania didn’t recycle every time I went to visit (almost every week) I’d fill my car with plastic and glass bottles, and aluminum cans to take home and recycle.

So last week I had an idea and I’ve been working on it ever since. I’m making earrings out of recyclable materials.  Right now I'm using plastic store shopping bags. These bags are often not accepted in local/municipal collections. You know the kind of bags you can turn in at Walmart, but that means you have to collect them and keep them handy so you can take them on your next trip. I used to do that and I’d forget. Once a month I'd end up going to Walmart (or Wawa) and recycling 5 bags full of bags. Sometimes the receptacles would already be full. 

By the end of the year in the UK all stores will begin charging for plastic shopping bags as a way of deterring people from using them. All the stores have starting selling their own reusable bags. They can be pretty fashionable too. But, I'm a bag lady.

Circles

So here’s what I have so far. I’m working on a few other designs and styles. The plastic bags give a very nice texture and appearance to the earrings, also it is easily manipulated while hot.  Plus I’m looking at using other types of plastic as well. The only big thing is I don’t really have control over the colors. Also a lot of stores add printing to their bags which isn’t as nice to work with.

 

Dotty!

 



So here’s something for my eco chic ladies. Helping the environment while looking fabulous.

 


Rectangles



I’ll continue to work on this for a while but I have lots of other materials in the meantime. Hopefully it won’t be so long before my next post.

 

Circles and Rectangles £4.50 or $8.65

Dotty £3.50 or $6.85

Only one of each in stock . 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.

 

At the Shore

 

I love the beach! I grew up going to the shore with my family every summer either for the day or for the week. But it wasn’t until my adulthood that I started to appreciate the beauty of the beach. The relaxing sound of the waves crashing, the salty smell and the coolness of the sea breeze and my favorite - sea shells.
 

Every time I go to the beach I collect shells. I started doing it ten years ago when I lived in Florida. I was given an indoor water feature that I put in my bathroom and filled with sea shells I’d collected. My bathroom decor even included a conch shell I smuggled back from my trip to the Bahamas.


I think part of the reason I collect shells is for souvenirs of my trips. But also I’ve always thought of making jewelry out of them. I love shell jewelry! At home I had several sets in different color shells. I only brought one with me to the UK.
 

So my first real entry for the blog are earrings that I’ve made from shells I collected on my trips to the shore or as I believe they call it here the seaside. Last fall my partner and I took a few trips to the seaside; Sheppy, Bexhill, Hastings and Whitstable. We’ve gone to a lot more this year; Worthing, Littlehampton, Penarth, Barry Island,  Margate and back to Whitstable.
 

Sheppy

Hastings










I can’t recall for sure where the shells I collected last year are from because I stored them together. But I know for sure these two are from Margate. 

Margate

Herne Bay






Unfortunately, because the shells are natural the pairs are not identical in color or size, but I have tried to make them from shells that were close. I must say making these earrings was much more complicated than I anticipated. Even once I made the holes a few broke in the process of threading. Sacrifices to the God of pretty earrings.

Herne Bay Sold
Hastings, Margate and Sheppy - $12.15 for US shipping, £7.50 for UK shipping