Frohe Fritag!

It is a lovely sunny day here in Yorkshire, the sun has a warm golden glow to it and I’ve got that Friday feeling. I’m going to watch the Quantum of Solace tonight and I’m looking forward to it. It will be nice to go out somewhere with Jimmy and not think about the dodgy gas pipe or the old electrics.

Mr washing machine repairman came to my house yesterday and magiced my washer-dryer better. He even upgraded my thermostats!


Tomorrow James and I are going to indulge in some Glüwein at the German Christkindelmarkt at Millennium Square in Leeds it’s a great Christmas market, one of the biggest in the UK, the atmosphere is amazing and you get to ride the carousel which is great fun.
There is bar/restaurant called Frankfurter Scheune and it’s great. You get your Glüwein in a cute little mug, you have to pay a deposit of £2 but you can keep the mug if you don’t want your money back. I got a really lovely one last year but it’s lonely and wants a friend so I’ll get another this year. They also serve great food. I usually stick to the frankfurters but I might be a little more adventurous this year.
Here is the menu


Hot Drinks
Café, Coffee £ 2.00
Cappuccino £ 2.00
Kakao, Hot Chocolate Drink with Cream £ 2.50
"Lady´s Dream", Kakao, Baileys & Cream £ 3.50
"Men´s Dream", Kakao, Rum & Cream £ 3.50
"Santa´s Dream", Kakao, Amaretto & Cream £ 3.50
Tee, Tea £ 1.50
Glühwein, Mulledwine £ 3.00
"White Dream", White Mulledwine £ 3.00
"Hot Love", Mulledwine with Rum £ 4.00
"Flirt", Mulledwine with Amaretto £ 4.00
"Snowman", Mulledwine with Amaretto, Rum and Cream £ 4.00
"Bratapfelglühwein", Roast Apple Mulledwine £ 3.00
Himbeerwein, Mulled Raspberry Wine £ 3.00
"Himbi", Raspberrywine with Raspberryschnaps £ 4.00
Kirschwein, Mulled Cherry Wine £ 3.00
"Kirschi", Cherrywine with Cherryschnaps £ 4.00
Blaubeerwein, Mulled Blueberry Wine £ 3.00
"Heidi", Blueberrywine with Blueberryschnaps £ 4.00
"Hot Dream", Mulledwine with honey £ 3.00
Kinderpunsch, Children Mulledwine £ 1.50

Soups
Gulaschsuppe / Goulash Soup £ 3.00
Kartoffelsuppe / Potato Soup £ 2.00
Tomatensuppe / Tomato Soup £ 2.00

Small Dishes
Käsewurst / Cheese Sausage £ 2.50
Feuerschlucker / Hot Spicy Sausage £ 2.50
Krakauer/ Krakauer Sausage £ 2.50
Pommes frites / Chips £ 1.50

Sweets
Omi´s Blechkuchen / Grandma´s yeastcake £ 2.00
Sahnetorte / Cream Tart £ 2.50
Nusstorte / Nut Tart £ 2.50
Biskuit Roulade/ Sponge Cake £ 2.50
Apfelstrudel / Apple Strudel £ 2.00
Apfelkuchen / Apple Cake £ 2.00
Pfirsichkuchen / Peaches Cake £ 2.00
Obstkuchen / Fruit Cake £ 2.00
Marzipanstollen, Marzipan Fruit Bread, 1000g £ 4.50
Butter Mandel Stollen, Almond Fruit Bread, 750g £ 4.50
Slice of Fruit Bread £ 0.50

Main Dishes
Rindergulasch mit Semmelknödel
Goulash and bread dumplings £ 6.00

Käsespätzle mit Röstzwiebeln
Swabian Noodel, melted cheese and fried onions £ 4.50

Semmelknödel mit Pilzsoße
Bread dumplings with mushroom sauce £ 4.50

Rinderbraten mit Spätzle
Roasted Beef with swabian noodles £ 6.00

Spießbraten mit Kartoffelsalat
Spit roasted pork & Mashed potatoes £ 6.00

Gegrillter Schweinenacken mit Kartoffelknödel und Blaukraut
Pork steak with potato dumpling and red cabbage £ 6.00

Krustenbraten mit Sauerkraut und Semmelknödel
Crackling roast pork with pickled cabbage and bread
dumpling £ 6.00

Surbraten mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffelpüree
Gammon pork with pickled cabbage and
mashed potatoes £ 6.50

Surbraten mit Knödel
Braised joint of pork with potato dumpling £ 6.50

¼ Ente mit Blaukraut und Kartoffelknödel
¼ Duck with red cabbage and potato dumpling £ 7.00

½ Schweinehaxe mit Sauerkraut
½ knuckle of pork with pickled cabbage £ 5.50

Spareribs mit Pommes
Spare ribs with chips £ 4.50

Zwiebelsteak mit Kartoffelpüree,
Pork steak with onions and mashed potatoes £ 5.50

Gefüllter Schweinebauch mit Brezelfüllung
Pork breast with pretzel filling £ 6.50

I think we are going to be taking a few trips because a few people have asked us to go with them. I’ve not been feeling the whole "it’s Christmas" thing yet this year. It’s still a little early for me. I love Christmas and usually I’ll be the first to be all Christmassy but I am sick of it by boxing day. I think the market will light my Christmas spark! I’ll try and remember to take some photographs.

Now that the washer-dryer is repaired (Yay!) I can catch up on the laundry and make some Jewellery on Sunday and then hopefully it’s off to the pub quiz in the evening. I have missed our outings to the quiz, we haven’t been for a while for one reason or another and I miss it. I enjoy my two pints of Speckled Hen and the company.

Breakdowns and Buses

Do they always have to come in threes? My shower no longer heats the water and having Epilepsy I have to be supervised in the bath so I can only have on on an evening and I will not have a cold shower, bring on the deodorant!! The heating element on our washer-drier went a few months ago but we just used an airer and the radiators and then last night we noticed that the drum wasn't spinning on the wash cycle. So I looked through the manual and followed all the fault finding and that didn't help. So I have had to purchase an insurance plan and they are coming to repair it tomorrow morning and luckily mum and dad have the week off and will sit in my house and wait for the engineer. So I'm waiting for the third thing now.

Our local council have been installing free cavity wall and loft insulation in every home in the district which is great and they came to do ours last Friday. Unfortunately we had to pull the gas cooker out for them to improve a vent that was behind it. I have never pulled the cooker out before and ugh! It took me ages to clean it. Now, I work in the gas industry and seeing our gas pipe (the green pipe) has me worried. It is embedded in the wall when it should be held free of the wall with clips to prevent corrosion. It is suffering heavily from verdigris and is corroded in some areas.

I do like my house but had I worked in this industry when I first viewed it I would never have bought it. It's a mid terrace stone and brick house built in 1900. The central heating system is 35 years old and even though it works fine it is inefficient and we can't make any cosmetic improvements to the house until the big messy jobs are done. So that's the old system and immersion heater ripping out, new copper piping all over the house and like everything else the price has soared recently, new rads and a boiler. The electrics are as old as the heating so they need totally replacing. New kitchen and bathroom are really needed and the solid floor is really uneven in the kitchen and needs leveling, unless it's stone in which case we'll just pretty it up but I have a feeling it will be concrete. And then of course every room has yukky raised pattern wallpaper that will probably be hiding cracked uneven walls and after having the electrics done there will probably be several holes that need covering. Hopefully being an old house there will be conduits running to the light switches for the cables and we wont need to chip the walls out. So yeah, re plaster every room and then we can get on with the cosmetic side of things, that's the bit I will enjoy.

Last night James and I were so miserable, it was just getting on top of us, we work 80 hours a week between us and have no money, it hardly seems fair. We can't afford a car and James travels for two hours each way on the bus to work so he is hardly at home and when he is things like this happen. We both need a holiday I think, just time off work. I shouldn't complain really because there are so many people worse off than us, at least I have a home and a job!!

Mixed feelings

Yesterday was a great day, it was my little nephew Joshua's christening. He was so good, didn't cry once even when he was covered in freeing cold holy water!

Reading about Baby P in the news has me so angry. When I hold Joshua all I want to do is protect him and keep him safe. He is so precious, not just because he is the cutest most beautifulest little boy in the world but because he is a helpless little child. So innocent and pure, so vulnerable and fragile. A new life, and there is nothing more wonderful and awe inspiring than that. We "normal" human beings will never be able to understand how anyone could hurt someone like that. Least of all a child. All the people in this world who go through years of IVF treatment, people who long for a baby and people out there who commit such atrocities. It hardly seems fair does it?

Making craft and music

It would appear that craft and music go hand in hand, whether that is musical skill or just a strong appreciation for it they seem to be linked. I have always loved music, my I Pod goes everywhere with me and I sing all the time, I probably drive everyone around me mad.

So why is this, why do so many musicians also craft? Does the appreciation for all things aesthetically beautiful bring with it an appreciation for audible beauty? I've wanted to be a singer for as long as I can remember but I've tended to go with folk, country, blues and Jazz rather than pop or rock.

Here are just a few examples

Kate Rusby is an lovely utterly creative folk singer who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert last year. We had a lovely day, it was an open air concert, we had a picnic and watched her weave her magical melodies sat on the grass on a perfect summer evening.

Frank is a lovely young lady I had the pleasure of working with a couple of years ago. Although I hated the job I enjoyed her company and the music we'd play when the manager was out. She writes and sings the most beautiful melodies and she is also a wonderful artist. She is one of a kind, not someone who just tries to be different, don't those people annoy you? Frank just is who she is. I hope she doesn't mind me telling you this but She was the Supervisor and I was the Assistant Manager. If the manager was ever unhappy with someone I had the unhappy task of delivering the message. Frank was always humming, I enjoyed listening to the humming, it wasn't like she was humming spice girls tunes badly, they were delicate, sweet little melodies. The manager made me tell her to stop humming and I hated her for it. I suppose the humming did interfere with the Robbie Williams CD playing in the background! As I type I am listening to Dragonflies I recommend that you do the same.

And of course there is Eva Cassidy. Now I don't care what people say about her being too popular now. I don't form my musical opinions based on popularity. Her music and artwork are beautiful. Her arrangement of Over the Rainbow is still one of my favourite songs and listening to I wandered by a brook side makes me feel like I'm floating.

And then there's little ole me. I can't paint (I really wish I could) and I still have only covers on here, I really must pull my finger out and get some of my original music up there.

I was obsessed by music for a long time and then my jewellery kind of took over but today having looked up the ladies above I once again feel inspired. That's what a true artist does to you, they inspire you. Every day I visit the people on my blog list and everyday they rejuvenate me.

So why is it? Is my musical ability in some way responsible for my ability to string beads onto tigertail? Do I see the beauty in todays dark and opressive sky because I like folk music and do my colleagues laugh at me and call me stupid for it because they listen to the Pussycat dolls?

No, the leafless trees and the charcoal clouds are beautiful, and the gentle picking of a guitar accompanying a tale of love and tragedy sung with honesty are beautiful. There is so much magic and wonder out there, you just have to pay attention.

Oooooh I love Etsy

It's so much fun over there on the forums. I have yet to sell an item but I will. I don't think I have put enough groundwork in yet.

I've listed some lovely 9ct Gold and Swarovski Crystal earrings today which I think are a bargain at $30 US, that's about £20 ish. They are the first piece of gold jewellery that I have ever made and I really want to keep them but that is not the aim of this little venture.

This is a lovely necklace using Lampwork glass beads. It's bold but I love it. I think it looks like a little country garden

Lest we forget

Anyone got any spare inspiration?

I don't know what to write today, I'm a little stuck. I feel like I need to find some inspiration, I want to go for a walk in the countryside or see the ocean, I need something. I also think I need time off work, this year has been a hectic one. I took two weeks off in May for our wedding which was wonderful but not entirely relaxing and then I took two weeks off in August for my honeymoon but that was preceded by two weeks off sick after having five particularly violent epileptic seizures. All in all I haven't relaxed much this year and given that I have used my entire 20 day annual holiday allowance I'm not going to until Christmas. Don't get me wrong I'm not overworked or particularly stressed, my batteries just need recharging, that's all. The weekends go so quickly and the closer you get to Christmas the more weekends are taken up leaving you with less time for yourself. Maybe I just feel like this today because I am tired and not feeling so great, maybe I just feel whiny today!
Jimmy in Korcula, an Island off Croatia

Me (looking well dodgy) and Jimmy on a Gondola in Venice

My Grandad used to say that there is no country more beautiful than England. Having travelled a little I have to say that I have seen so much natural beauty in so many places that I could never say that but looking at the picture below of Derwentwter in the lake District I can see why he thought that

There are so many beautiful places I would love to see, Canada, America, New Zealand, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Iceland and many many more.

Ouch

My head hurts. I've been a little sick today and I feel like crap. Me no likey.

New Items on Etsy

I've finally got some new items on Etsy. Even though I have yet to have a sale I'm really excited. I think I priced my items too high initially so I've reduced them dramatically and added some more modestly priced items.

I got absoloutley drenched this morning on my way to work. I have an aversion to umbrellas, I do quite like walking in the rain, it's spending the rest of the day soggy that I don't like. I'm glad I didn't bother to straighten my hair this morning. However just two hours later the skies are blue. It is forcast to rain again this afternoon, probably at 5pm!

See, no need for lights...

On a totally random note, someone told me I look like a blow up doll in this pic, do I?

Skies over the M62

I took these pictures last Friday from my office window just as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful sun set and much lovelier in real life.

Today however things are different. This picture was taken at 1pm today. The street lights are on!

I think to an extent everyone suffers from SAD. People in my office are a little down, not as happy as usual, they blame it on the weather. I don't like to have my office lights on. I prefer to work in natural light but not today

So to cheer us up here's some pretties to look at

Are you kidding me?

Over night I received 3 emails harshly criticising my last post. Only yesterday I visited Yvonne's blog and read her wonderfully written post about freedom of opinion and speech. I thought her post was dignified and concise. I however will not be so polite. If you don't like my blog, don't read it.

I will not sensor my opinions, nor would I ask anyone Else to. Yes I whole heartedly support equal rights. I always have and I always will. I will not judge you because you are a republican or religious or black or asian or white or green with orange polka dots. But I will judge you if you are racist, sexist, homophobic or if you tell me I cannot believe what i like. You cannot change my opinions with hateful emails you will only strengthen my conviction.

This post will not stay up for long. This blog is a place for beauty and friendship not hate.

Thank you America

On the 1st December 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man, 53 years later the United States of America voted to instate their first African American President. Today is a great day for all those who have fought for equality. Racial, sexual or otherwise. For those who have sacrificed their lives for their beliefs and for freedom from oppression, for the good of others. I saw a picture of Rev Jesse Jackson with tears in his eyes and it brought tears to mine. Obama is a good man who in my opinion has won the hearts of America and the world not because of the colour of his skin, but because of the content of his character.

This blog isn't a political forum but

Go Obama!

Masquerade

This Saturday I'm going to a belated Halloween party at my friends house. I'm very excited because my costume is ace, if I do say so myself. It's a masquerade party but you have to make your own mask and have a costume to complement it. So I made a beaded wire mask. I bought two black plastic necklaces from Primark, pulled them apart and wove the beads along with a few 6m bicone swarovski Crystal AB beads ( I know, plastic and swarovski don't really go together!) onto a wire frame and this is the result.

Not great pictures but you get the idea.

So I based my costume around the mask. At first I wanted to make a masquerade ball type gown however when I went shopping I realised that Victoriana is very fashionable at the moment. So I went to Primark and bought a purple and black shirt with a black corset bottom, the above mentioned beads and a gorgeous Victorian style necklace which I'll take a piccy of asap. One of the necklaces that I dismantled came with a flower broach made from lace. So I went to the market and bought some deep purple velour for the skirt. Seeing the victoriana influenced fashions made me decide to go as a Tim Burtonesque Victorian ghost. The dress is quite Gothic looking and if I make my skin even paler (if that's alt all possible) and exaggerate the already existing dark circles around my eyes it should all work pretty well. Below is a representation of the costume. I apologise for the poor image. I used paint!

Best news ever!!!!! Oh and my Etsy shop is up

I'm going to be a God Mother! Yey! My brother Andrew and his lovely girlfriend have asked me to be my nephew Joshua's godmother. I'm so happy, he is so adorable. Here he is with his uncle and soon to be Godfather Simon

Last night just after the sun had begun it's decent and just before it left us with shockingly premature darkness the redbrick houses at the back of my house started to glow. They were a gorgeous shade of red against the grey oppressive sky. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice at all. So for all you overseas readers, this is what an English terraced street looks like. It's not the most beautiful view from a spare room but I still love to gaze out towards the fields and the farm house. The chap who owns the house also has a helicopter and I watch him land it sometimes. And no, I don't live on Coronation Street!

I'm so excited to be on Etsy. I've only got two items on there at the moment but I'm going to get some pictures taken today on my lunch break and get some more on tonight. The sun is streaming through my windows today and the beads look gorgeous in the light. Unfortunately once again the pictures don't do it justice. So as I have to prove to my Husband that I can make a living out of this. He has faith in me but we have to pay the mortgage and the many other ever increasing bills so it's about more than just believing in me. So from December the 1st my 12 month quest begins. If I am successful, in December 2009 I will be able to leave full time office work and work from home. Oh, the chills of excitement that scurry up my spine when I say that out loud.

This one is called Candy. The sunlight made the smaller beads look pink and translucent but indoor they are matt purple. I love this necklace it looks great with jeans and s simple T shirt

I haven't given this one a name yet. Any suggestions. It's Haematite and Swarovski Crystals and it twinkles like stars. Maybe I could call it Starry night!

This one is called Purple Haze. It's a mixture of Glass swarovski and glass pearls. It's very rich in colour although it looks a little washed out here.

A mixture

negative blogs

I love reading blogs but if the first couple of posts are negative then I don't tend to go back there. Don't get me wrong I don't expect everyone to be super positive all the time and I do complain myself but I think you can take it too far. I look for inspiration when I read, not depression.

All the blogs that I follow inspire me in some way whether creatively or emotionally. Above all they are all what I consider to be good people, nice people who are kind enough to let us into their lives, even for just a moment.

Follow the links, I know you'll agree.

Random stuff

Stick with me on this one...

I have recently developed an obsession for bracelets. I think it's the instant gratification. They don't take long to make and don't use up too many beads. I used to make earrings all the time probably for the same reason but that was before the days of Tiger tail. I must make some Necklaces soon. I'm wearing a gorgeous bracelet today, I'll take a picture when I get home. It's a silver charm bracelet with Fuchsia, dark purple, teal, emerald and silver shade Swarovski crystals. I'm wearing a teal shirt and it goes well.

Actually, I've got my legs out today which is very unusual. I do like skirts but I have a great pair of Monsoon trousers which look nice and are so comfy and I wear them all the time for work but now and again they have to be washed! It's so hard to find decent trousers that fit nicely. I'm only 5'4" and petite trousers are always too short but regular tend to be a tad long. So given that I can not sew to save my life (I plan to learn soon) every time I buy some I have to pay to have the hems taken up!

I decided to change the look of my blog again. I'm feeling Autumnal and was sick of my banner. I'm just waiting for my hub and his friend to make my logo. I want it in various colours, so I can change it with the seasons.

I'd love to live in Canada, it looks beautiful. I definitely want to visit there some day. I was almost born a Canadian actually. My Mum and Dad were going to move to Calgary before I was born but they stayed here and later divorced. Also during world War Two my Grandma was due to be evacuated to Canada but her mother wouldn't let her go. My Grandma tells me that the boat the evacuees sailed on was attacked by a German U boat and everyone on board died. I'm glad neither went, because after my mum and dad divorced mum married again and had my youngest brother Simon. He wouldn't be here if they had gone and the reasons for my Gran not going are obvious!

British Columbia

I'd also love to visit New England. I'd love to visit both in Winter, Oh and New York City.


Rhode Island
Central Park NYCStill with me?

A whole week

Gosh my weeks go fast these days. It scares me it really does.

On Monday (payday, woo!) I placed a wholesale order. I ordered the basics, tiger tail, headpins, crimps but I also was naughty and ordered some Swarovski crystals and some lamp work beads. I forgot the necklace ends and display pins but meh, I'll get them elsewhere. I also ordered some gorgeous silver plated Bali style beads. I love them they look so good with vibrant coloured beads. I should get my order either tomorrow or Monday. I hope it's tomorrow I have no plans at the weekend so I could make loads and loads and loads.... Is it normal to get so excited by this? I'm 26 shouldn't I be out with my friends in a bar? If I had any money ever I would be, but I wouldn't drink much so I could get up early, make a pot of tea and get out my lovely little pliers!

I'm going to have a Jewellery party at a local cricket club at the end of November and I want to sell as much of the plated Jewellery as possible to earn enough to buy silver. I don't want to use plated any more. It's great when you get started because its comparatively cheap and you can perfect your skills but no matter how careful you are it will eventually tarnish and I want my customers to keep my pieces forever and get lots of use out of them.

I have now set up my Etsy shop but I still haven't listed any items because I can't get a decent picture of them. Also I think I'm only going to sell silver and gold pieces on there, I think. I might sell some older pieces cheapish. Oh I don't know. Maybe I'll just have two sections, a precious metal page and a plated metal page.

My brain hurts, I need a cuppa.

Dead batteries

I've borrowed my brothers digital camera and the batteries are dead. It's such a shame cause the sky is so pretty right now. It's blue, yey, with fluffy marsh mallow clouds and a big grapefruit sun. Okay, so now I sound like a four year old, it's good though.

Stuff I like

My tea cup. My mum bought it for me on a day trip to Bakewell.



My Jimmy with my gorgeous little nephew


A wedding day picture of my hubster. Hmmmm
My wedding dress. I fell in love with this dress the moment I saw it. Nothing else came close!

Why?

Here lies a rant post. It is no more because we must not dwell. I'm over it :)

Blog Award

Thank you so much Gillian over at http://iheartcraftsnet.blogspot.com/ for giving me this award

The "Proximidade Award" or "Friendship Around the World Award" highlights blogs that are special in some way and extends the hand of friendship around the world! I will now pass on the award to eight of my favourite blogs and the recipients should do the same.

http://laurasparling.blogspot.com/

http://yvonneparks.blogspot.com/

http://littlebeadshop.blogspot.com/

http://www.classychaos.com/

http://craftycrafter.blogspot.com/

http://rubarbdesertdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://www.hollingdaledesignsblog.com/

http://cre8tivequilter.blogspot.com/

Thanks again Gillian. x

What do you do for a living?

I was sitting at home last night making a rather lovely red charm bracelet (despite saying yesterday that i didn't have any red beads i found a few swarovski crystals I had forgotten i had and teamed it with some red glass beads and some haematite) photos to follow, and i started to wonder just how many crafters are self employed. I don't mean people whose partners earn enough that they don't have to work or stay at home mums. I mean people who need a second wage and earn that through their craft. I have mentioned many times that I would love to leave my day job (even though I enjoy it) and make a living selling my jewellery. I mean wouldn't that be great, get up make a cuppa, head of to the studio (at the moment living room, eventually kitted out spare bedroom) and spend the day making and selling online? Of course there would be paper work to do, self assesment tax, website up keep, posting orders, taking pictures, craft fairs and such. Aww I'd really love to sell at a craft fair but I can't find any with availability. I was considering organising one at my local cricket club but it's a little scary cause I don't know any local crafters, I haven't got public liability insurance yet, would people even come? I'd love it so much cause I love the interaction, I'm a real chatterbox and if I do say so myself I'm great at customer service.

Ooohhh the thought of it makes me so excited. James has told me that I have to equal my wage for 12 months and once I have done that I can resign. He says that I need to see the seasonal peaks and troughs. Like January probably isn't a great month for selling but November and December are. He is right although I used to be a manager at paperchase so I understand retail trends.

But i'd really love to know, is it possible?

No more nail ... polish

I'm so lazy when it comes to my nails. A couple of weeks ago I did a french Manicure, it was wobbly to say the least and did not survive the night intact. It chipped and smudged and looked terrible. So I removed it...today. Yes it took me two weeks to get rid of it. Actually I don't know what's going on at the moment because all of my nails are long, there isn't the odd short, snapped, broken or wonky on that I usually sport. Of course now that I have written this I'm bound to be involved in a hard object V nail incident before the day is out. I think I'll paint them tonight but I think I'll use clear this time so that I'm not sat in meetings with my fists clenched looking all aggressive when I'm really just hiding my manky nails.

Etsy

Hey, I know a lot of you crafters use Etsy. It looks really good and I have registered as a buyer. I am going to register as a seller as soon as my husband gives me his credit card details (you need one to register and I don't have one) Is it as good as it looks? Is it well known amongst non-crafters? I suspect I will be spending most of the weekend setting it up and taking photos.

Last week was a more productive week that the previous one. I've made a few pieces but once again i'm running out of tigertail, headpins, clasps and crimps. I really want to make some pieces with rich deep colours. I'd love to find some really nice deep burgundy dichroic glass beads but sadly this month we have some big bills and I can only afford the basics. Unfortunately the majority of my beads are pinks and pale blues and other pastels. Lovely colours but I'm a little bored of using them and there comes a point when you exhaust their potential. Also I like to follow the seasons, I change my colours accordingly.

I went to see my mum the other day and showed her my full collection. She was amazed. She said she had never realised how good I was. My skills are improving though. At my first jewellery party a year ago I sold lots of similar things but with different beads. My range is more diverse. I've also gained more knowledge about beads. I bought plain glass beads wholesale at first. Now i tend to buy a few really special beads and mix them with the simpler stuff. I love lampwork beads.My only problem now is that working with Tigertail is so much quicker and easier than the wire linked jewellery I used to make. I'm going to make some charm bracelets tonight and then phone charms and key rings the night after.

Any one have an Umberella?

There's a light drizzly rain in the air today, I got very wet on my walk to work. There's an outdated overused Peter Kay quote I could use there, but I wont. The sky is solid mushy grey and the trees outside my window look dull and almost black in colour. Where's the golden Autumn sun that should be making them glisten and sparkle? I've had to turn on the lights in my office which I don't like to do. I prefer natural light but today, there isn't much around.

This weekend

is going to be a busy one. Tonight after work I'm going to rush home and pack up a bag and the camcorder, grab my tool box and get the bus to James' parents. We are going to download the wedding video and try and edit it. We are staying over as even though they only live 20 miles away it's a three bus journey and we haven't seen them for almost two months.

Then on Saturday night we are going to my friend Kelly's engagement party which I am very excited about because i have a new outfit and it cost me £10.50 from Primark! Yey. Then on Sunday I'm going to bake another Christmas cake as the last one didn't survive the week! LOL

The best news though is that Kelly has asked me to be a bridesmaid. I'm so happy cause I've only ever been a bridesmaid once before and it was for one of my best friends and it was the week after I had been in hospital with my epilepsy and I missed the service because it had to have an EEG. I was really sad about that, I made it to the reception. Kelly's theme is black, red and ivory which is great. She wants black bridesmaids dresses which a lot have people have turned their noses up at but I think it's ace. I have told her that she should do exactly what she wants on her big day.

Me and my beautiful bridesmaids. Two of my best friends and two of my nieces.

No jewellery

I haven't made anything for a few days now and I'm missing my little pliers. I made a gorgeous bracelet the other day and it broke when I tried to put it on. The fastener came off. I must have opened the end crimp when I fastened the calotte over it. I do check for that before I sell any, all items are quality checked.

I have had couple of items back in for repair but it's usually a particularly delicate item that has been caught and pulled and a jump ring has opened, something like that. Sometimes people don't realise that you have to look after your handmade pretties.

I made a beautiful copper bracelet with Swarovski crystals and handmade figure of eight links. A lady who had bought it brought it back to me to demonstrate that if she pulled hard enough the links opened and the bracelet fell apart. I asked her under what normal circumstance would a bracelet undergo such an action. She told me that she had caught it on a door handle and it had fallen off and that this wasn't good enough. I offered her a repair or her money back and informed her that any bracelet or necklace that I made will open under that kind of force. I recently had to buy a medicalert bracelet because of my epilepsy and they use jump rings so that if you catch it on machinery, your arm wont get ripped off! She took the bracelet home.

Brrrr!

You can tell it's October today, I had to put my big coat on and everything!

Ranty McRant

The other day I wrote a very long post ranting about a couple of things. I saved it to drafts as I didn't have time to finish it. Then the skimmed my blog and read

"At work I have my own office and one wall is entirely glass, I love it because sometimes I can just spin my chair round and gaze at the sky and the trees (and the motorway and the industrial units!) and if I'm having a difficult day I can think how small my problems are in the great scheme of things"

So, if I were to rant, I would totally contradict myself and I don't want to do that. I still think I would have been well within my rights to rant but it really doesn't matter anyway!

I wish I had a camera today. I would have loved to have captured the weather. It's been alternating between bright sunshine and heavy rain, it's been quite exciting.

I'm going to Primark tonight with a friend to buy a jumper, woo! I love shopping, although I'm not really selling it there am I?

Bye