New designs

Please excuse the picture quality and the burn marks on my ironing board but here are a few of the pieces I made today. They consist of glass, Austrian crystal, haematite and silver plated wire.

What a weekend

A great weekend that is. So I did a craft fair yesterday which went really well and my gorgeous Marina earrings sold! I was so happy yet kinda sad too, I love those beauties and it was hard to let them go but the lady who bought them seemed nice. I'm sure she'll give them the great home they deserve.

I lost 3lbs this week! Woo!! I've worked extra hard as the weight really wasn't coming off and I was diagnosed with an under active Thyroid.

I've also learned a new technique involving wire which I'll show you later and this evening I produced some beautiful pieces.

Over all, and you won't hear me say this kind of thing often, I'm really proud of myself.

Hey there

Oh hello, have we met? Oh yes, I'm the girl who used to blog incessantly who now can't bear to put the computer on on an evening. Remember me?

I'm crap, no other way to say it, totally crap! Well I missed this place so I thought I'd stop by even though I'm not sure what to say.

My new job is insane, I'm so busy and stressed and irritated by it but at the same time I really like it. Strange I know, maybe I'm the one who's insane.

This months market at the Loft in Leeds was cancelled so I haven't done a market for a few weeks which is a shame but the ones I did were good, I won't be retiring anytime soon but after three markets who does right! My next one is on the first Sunday in June and I have a jewellery party booked at a friends house in a couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to that one because James and I have the Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off work and the Monday is our first wedding anniversary. One year already, it's hard to believe and wow what a year it's been.

So now I have to be prepared for jewellery parties so I'm off to sort my stock our.

Byyeee!!!

More beach hut loveliness

These photos were taken by my wonderfully clever hubby James. I think that they are lovely.

Scarborough 07.04.09

It was a lovely day in Scarborough last Tuesday, a little breezy but very pretty. I love the sea, it's very calming.

Scraborough is great because it's a perfect example of the great british seaside. Beach huts..

and an Americal Diner?

It's called the Harbour Bar and it does a mean BLT, the Ice Cream ain't bad either!

We had a stroll through Peasholm Park

and walked from the South Bay to the North and back again

Yorkshire Sculpture Park 06.04.09

Last Monday we took a trip to the YSP at Bretton Park in Wakefield. I've been loads but it's a really great place to go if you just want to have a wander. There's some great art there

and of course the great British countryside

a tree, or two

this little fella,

and loads and loads of these

Lackadaisical

to say the least!

James and I have been off work this week which has been great. We haven't had more than a couple of days off together since August so we were both ready for it. On Monday we went to Bretton Hall Sculpture park and on Tuesday we went to the seaside. It was really good to see the sea. I love it. I took loads of pictures but I can't find the USB cable for my camera so you'll have to wait to see them.

I'm doing a craft market at Pudsey on Sunday which I'm really excited about. I hope it's a nice day as the market is outside.

I really must make more of an effort to blog as I've been really crap and neglected it of late. That includes my weight loss blog, I've been doing okay with that but I really could do better.

Tomorrow night we are having a party for James and his friends 30th birthdays so we are going over to their house today to discuss food. I hope they like my suggestions as I am really looking forward to cooking up some tasty treats.

Anyhoo it's almost 1pm so I should really go and get dressed

Ta ta for now

What a couple of weeks!

Well, here I am, spinning head and all. I've started my new job which is so fast paced and stressful that when I get home on a night I can't even be bothered to turn the computer on. Ive been feverishly making jewellery to sell at the many markets I have signed up for. The next one is the re launch of Pudsey craft market on Easter Sunday which I'm really looking forward to. I've discovered a jewellery supply store close to home which I may make my second home. I'm determined to be back here properly soon but lately I'm so tired I can't bear the thought of staring at a computer for one more second. So please don't leave me! I will be back on a regular basis, I just need to adjust.

Love you all

XX

I am alive

but busy. I don't have internet access like I used to at work on my lunch so I can't post from there. I will be back shortly with more pointless posting.

XX

Not another post...

Yes like it or not LOL

I took a scary step today. I opened a business account with ..... a credit card! Ahhhh, I've never had a credit card before so I think everyone around me will be a little scared. It is however for business use only. I'm not about to go out and buy shoes and handbags with it (although that would be great)It will allow me to pay for the stalls at the Artsmix Arts Markets. I knew that there would be several points when I would have to take risks and this was the first so fingers crossed.

Well I've been collating my receipts and getting organised so now I must start keeping a track of everything I sell as I registered as self employed with the Inland revenue today too. I also need to do a stock take and evaluate my assets (sounds pervy LOL)

I'm at Holmfirth Craft Market tomorrow and I'm hoping it will be a better turn out than last time. I hope that the 10,000 fliers they sent out early this week have made a difference and I hope that the weather is as lovely and sunny as it is today.

Right, I'm off to Posters Anonymous

Yup, you guessed it .... I'm excited!

After being stood all day in the cold on Saturday and earning very little for it my darling husband decided that there must be better markets around that are more established and more geared towards art and less towards bought in stuff. So I suggested that even though I had searched extensively (obviously not that extensively) that he should look for himself and he did.

Well that clever boy of mine succeeded and found a company called Artsmix . So I had a look on their website and it looked great, so good in fact that I didn't think there would be any stalls left.

Despite my doubts I emailed the very nice lady and she sent me some application forms which I filled in and set back with photographs of my work. I ticked every date hoping that at least one would be available. Well she emailed me today and I've been accepted on every date I applies for, that's one a month from May until November and then three in December. I was amazed! Now the only issue is paying the £320 fee.

I have also been ringing around for public Liability insurance and I found that by becoming a member of the National Market Traders Federation for £78.00 I get public, product and employers liability insurance. How great is that?

All I have to do now is pull £398 from somewhere...any suggestions?

Loving Lampwork

I've just been naughty and bought some more Lamp work beads, this time from Crafted Gems I couldn't resist. Sorry Jimmy!

When I first started making jewellery properly almost two years ago I knew very little about the components, I didn't know what Lamp work was or how to use tiger tail or make ear wires from silver wire. I used cheap glass beads that looked pretty but had no story but that's fine because i was learning, I still am. I like to tell a story. I did a jewellery party last week at a pub near my house and I took my lower cost items and lowered the prices further to meet the market. For ease I priced all my earrings at £2 a pair or 3 for £5 bracelets £4 or 3 for £10 necklaces £8 or 3 for £20. Most of the pieces were just simple pretty glass except for one bracelet. I was trying to tell the customer about it, give her a little idea of what she was buying but she didn't even listen which was just rude. I was trying to tell her that the bracelet was made of Chinese Jade which I bought from a market seller in Dubrovnik whilst on my honeymoon. Now if I was buying a £4 bracelet and someone told me a story like that it would make the piece all the more special. Plus the fact that I actually pay attention when I am being spoken to.

And that is ladies and gentlemen why I will never lower my prices like that again. If you want cheap crap go elsewhere. You get what you pay for. Funnily enough some one has convo'd me on Etsy today and asked me to sell them my Marina earrings for $15! Seriously WTF?! I'd made a serious loss if I sold them at that. THE PRICE IS THE PRICE IS THE PRICE

Anyway, moving on before I move into perpetual ranting. I really want to make my business as ethical as possible. The wholesaler I use only uses ethical suppliers and claim that their products are all fair trade. I want to replace the plastic carriers I use with recycled and re-usable packaging. To me the point of buying handmade goes beyond the quality of the piece and the skill involved, you are supporting someones dream. We should all support small businesses and we should all consider what we spend our money on more carefully. Times are hard for most people right now and it's time to put your money to better use. Obviously if you are struggling financially you aren't going to buy jewellery but you can buy from markets selling local produce and farm shops.

So to follow on from this I want to promote the people who create the beautiful beads that I use. When I sell a pair of earrings I want to be able to promote the bead maker and tell their story, and weave that through mine. Create a new story.

My newest creation... the story? Oh right, yeah, well, you see...errrrm?!

Mt First Treasury

I'm so happy that I finally got a treasury. Please, go take a look here

Obsessed? I'm not obsessed, who said anything about being obsessed, not me not me. maybe you are obsessed and your calling me to mask your obsession?

Okay maybe a little. Heres a few more pics of Marina

In day light
and with flash

My god how pink are my fingers?

Ok so I changed my mind

They are on Etsy but I'm going to add some more photographs once I have some better ones.

The most beautiful earrings in the world

I was a very happy girl last night. When I got home I noticed that there was some post for me. Now ignoring the £500 in energy bills the post was great. Firstly my comic arrived (Elle) and then my newest addition to the bead family my Marine Lizard beads made by bead artist Laura . My housework plans thus thwarted I sat with my pliers and made some earrings. I tried numerous combinations of beads, none doing the beautiful beads justice until I stumbled across the perfect combination. Now I've taken a couple of pictures and they really don't show them off properly. May I introduce Marina...

I was going to put them on Etsy but until I have some better photographs they're not going anywhere.

Laura's work is truly inspirational, these beads are so intricate and beautiful and that makes it almost too easy to make something gorgeous. The combination of the antique gold and olive Swarovski Crystals with the beads is amazing. I was so lucky to finally get to buy her beads. They sell so fast!

I must say I have Jelveh to thank as she convinced Laura to sell her lonelies. Jelvah is another amazing Lamp work artist you should take a look at. So thanks Jelveh.

One day I'll try Lamp work, put me down for a course next year Laura!

Holmfirth Craft and Food Market

Saturday was craft market day in Holmfirth and although I'm not going to be retiring on the profits anytime soon I had a good day. On the way there we took a couple of wrong turns (my fault for reading the map wrong and his fault for not knowing better than to trust my map reading!) and so we were a little late but it didn't seem to matter as a few of the regulars arrived after us.

The market building itself sticks out like a sore thumb in picturesque Holmfirth, a mid 20th Century golden stone box nestled amongst the19th century blackened buildings. It's split over two levels. Upstairs leads onto the main street and the downstairs entrance is on a much quieter back street. They have recently reduced the size of the market, limiting the traders to one floor, curiously the lower floor. Inside the market has recently been painted and looks clean and much more inviting. The stalls were covered with sunshine yellow canopies with light bulbs running along making it all look very pretty from the outside.

There were about 5 unoccupied stalls and 10 occupied, 5 food and 5 craft. I have tasked myself with recruiting new traders. I'm going to approach local Etsians who create appropriate lovelies and invite them. I really believe that with a little perseverance this can be successful. In order to have a stall over the summer you must become a semi permanent trader now, it's quiet at the moment but it will be worth it in the summer, I'm sure. The council sent out 10,000 fliers this week and it's going to be advertised in the local press.

So If you or anyone you know would be interested in attending email me at apriljaneellis@yahoo.co.uk Please note that Jewellery stalls are all taken, sorry!

Running out of time

Last night I was nowhere near as productive as I needed to be so I have a lot of work to do tonight. I'm going to make a quick tea and then get straight on with organising. I'm going to ask Jimmy (hello!) to nip to Tesco with Suki and get some sandwich fillings and nice bread for tomorrow and some bottles of water or pop so that I can make up a packed lunch (Thanks X)

The busts are great. A little small but some of the necklaces look amazing on them. I measured my fabric and its 9 foot by 5 foot and the stall is 10 by 4 so it's a little short but its wide enough to accommodate so boxes underneath that will give height. The I have two black acrylic hands that are great for bracelets and three Ikea jewellery trees. All of my display items are black and really show off the jewellery. I'm going to take some pictures throughout the day tomorrow and post them here on Sunday. I am a little anxious about it all, I want it to go well because I'm hoping that this could be a regular thing for me. Tomorrow the goal is to give out business cards and cover the stall and petrol costs. Obviously I'd love to make a decent profit but and it's still early in the season and the weather is still cold I'm not expecting miracles. Still fingers crossed.

Ooh, and Jimmy would you like to pick up a couple of packs of mince and some bread cakes for Saturday night burgers. (and maybe bacon and plastic cheese too?) xxx

Spring has sprung

I'm so excited that Spring is almost here. The crocuses and daffodils are blooming and the snow has gone. The sky is dark grey today but I don't mind that, rain is good. Rain brings life...... and bad hair.

Tonight I'll be getting ready for the craft market on Saturday. Pricing items, pinning them to the boards packing up my display equipment. I'll try and get all that done tonight so that tomorrow I can step back, look at my stock and make some more to fill any gaps I see. I know I'm always going on about how excited I am well I'm uber excited about this! I need to have everything done tomorrow night as we have to be there for eight thirty on Saturday morning so it all has to be ready to go in the car. I'm also going to make a packed lunch and some bottled water as I don't want to be spending all my takings on refreshments.

Yesterday I ordered some display busts from a shop in Ireland and they arrived today. I had them delivered to my brothers house rather than work and I haven't seen them yet but my he took a piccy and sent it to me.

He's going to bring them down later and I can chose which necklaces to display on them. Ooooh even more exciting!

Bye for now

My adventures with Jimmy, Suki and Jeremy

It's funny, almost two weeks ago now I was panicking, relatively calm on the outside but not so calm on the inside. Being made redundant by a company I have really enjoyed working for was tough, especially when you have just been told that profits are up and we are doing well. Then just five days later my dad offered us a little car he uses to go to the allotment in. She is Suki Suzuki Swift and she is lovely. Jimmy and I went a brum brumming all over this weekend. It was so good to be able to visit friends without having to make a whole weekend of it every time and it's been great to have him home at a reasonable time on a week night.

And then... a manager in another department, one I worked in when I first joined the company, offered me a position in her department. It was crazy, I've never had a week like it which tells you how generally great my life is. Sure there are highs and less highs but no real lows, I'm a lucky girl.

And then there's Jeremy. Ahh Jeremy was a lovely little green finch who decided to fly at full throttle straight into my office window on the first floor. Seeing him fall I ran downstairs to see him lying on the floor twitching and blinking. I saw no blood or obvious injuries so I very gently picked him up and he straightened himself up and hopped onto my index finger. He didn't move, I think he was stunned poor little thing. I have to say it felt lovely to have this gorgeous little creature in my hand. I sat with him for a while and he seemed to perk up a little bit so I took him over to a little bush and popped him down under it. At first he wouldn't let go of me but I soon convinced him that he would be fine. I went back inside and cut the bottom of a plastic water cooler cup and filled it with a little water and placed it next to him, I gave him a little tickle and went home. I felt so guilty leaving him and all night I was worried. The next day I ran straight over to his bush and he was gone. I heard later that a colleague had gone to capture him and take him home and he had seen her and flew away. See me and Jeremy, we're buddies.

Total turnaround

I can't say much because I don't want anyone I know professionally to read this but lets just say that I no longer need to worry about a job. To celebrate the elimination of that need James is taking me to Wagamamas in Leeds on Friday night to celebrate that and payday! Mmmm Chinese Chicken Dumplings.

In other news my dad gave us a car the other day! How great is that. It's a little runaround he uses to go to the allotment. We are picking it up on Saturday, I'm so excited! James' 2 hour bus rides to work will be cut to a 45 minute drive (in light traffic) and I'll see him more and we wont have to rely on people for lifts. I feel so happy today, funny how things can turnaround so fast.

Muchos apologies for not being around much lately, my head has been all over the place but rest assured everything will be back to normal soon.

XXX

I'm in a treasury

Thanks to Gillian at Iheartcrafts for including my blue wonder bracelet in her first treasury. I love being in treasuries but it is extra special when the creator is someone you admire so much. It's a beautiful selection. Thanks Gillian

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=40572

101

So, there was shock, denial and then real internal anger, hidden from view. Now there is acceptance and clarity. Tomorrow I will update my CV (yes I know I should have already done that!) and have a look online. I've always wanted to work in schools, I think I'll look into being a teaching assistant.

So anyway back to the really important stuff. I've been creating! Yay! And it's about bloody time I can tell you. I've been really slack lately and not made anything. I sent a general text to all my girlfriends on Thursday apologising for whoring myself out but asking if they new anyone who would like to have a jewellery party. It worked, my sister has got me a stall at a local pub, they are having an, ahem, Ann Summers party and she said I could pop along so I will.

Here we have some lovely Amethyst and Citrine pieces, all made with sterling Silver fittings. I have just listed them on Etsy, I'm really going to try and push that over the next few weeks.

100th post!

Should have been a positive one but I don't feel that way out so tough! LOL

I feel settled here. I know what I am doing and I do it right. I don't want to start again somewhere new, I love knowing what I'm doing. But, I have no choice so I'm going to take it as an opportunity for self improvement. Even though I don't feel particularly positive today I'm going to go to my friends house tonight, drink some wine and turn this into an exciting adventure. Worrying will achieve nothing I'm just going to look as hard as I can for a new job and really try with my jewellery too. I'm not going to whinge too much, people are losing their homes, families and lives at the other side of the world. My problems are tiny by comparison and I am thankful for everything I have.

crap crap crap crap crap day

I'll keep it brief but essentially today I have been asked to relocate to London or be made redundant. Given the practical aspects of moving there it's not an option. Being epileptic I can't drive and it would take around 4 hours each day and cost around £80 a day when I earn around £50 a day. I have a house wth a mortgage here in Yorkshire and My husband works up here. So in 5 weeks I am out of a job and we don't have a disposable income. Practically every penny we earn goes on bills and food. I'll be back later when i'm less pissed off.

Black Sea

I love this necklace, it's the first piece I've made in a week or two and I love it. The large stones are lack agate and that's teamed up with black fire polished glass and hand made lamp work beads.

This week

I have honestly not known weather like this for years. My messy garden hasn't looked this good for years!


The streets are still covered with snow and there is more forecast for tomorrow. We have been lucky enough to see some sunshine yesterday and today but the snow is sticking around. Don't let the golden sun fool you it's still freezing

The day after my birthday I was very lucky to receive something really special through the post all the way from down under

I needed a case for my new camera and Camera Girl over at Light Renditions very kindly sent me one in the gorgeous fabric. She also sent me a mini version which as luck would have it fits the new I pod mini I got for my birth day perfectly.

There was also a new little friend in the package but I'll show her later.

I've been amazed by the interest in my new weight loss blog since i started it. Above all I've tried to be open and honest and that seems to work. I have a wonderful life but it still gets hard sometimes and I can be my own worst enemy. I was looking through other weight loss blogs and found some people who are really lost, trapped by their own expectations of themselves and eating disorders. People who I just want to throw my arms round and heal. If only I could.

It's bedtime soon. I want to have a great nights sleep and wake up refreshed tomorrow. It is after all another day