Some bracelets & a Camera

Well 2 things done off the To Do list so far.

I actually completed 2 bracelets today. Both feature the very versatile button knot and beads I picked up from the Scottish Bead fair at Perth.

I have not worked out costings for them yet, but they will be For Sale tomorrow in my Etsy & Folksy shops.

I have also listed my Nikon 35mm SLR camera for sale on Ebay. As well as the camera the listing includes 2 Nikon zoom lenses, a Lowepro camera bag, an autofocus flash & a battery grip plus extras such as filters. It's not been used for over 3 years so I decided it was time to sell it and put the money towards a new digital camera as my little point & shoot digital really needs upgrading. It is all in working order though and I even have instructions and original boxes for some items! here is the listing: Nikon F80 SLR plus accessories. Happy Bidding!!

Etsy Favourites - Autumn

Decided on a seasonal theme for this week's Etsy Favourites feature, now it's September already and it's starting to get dark by 8 o' Clock. I find it such a depressing time of year, but these beautiful items are enough to get a smile on anybody's face!

Blue Heron

This shop features hand made Jewellery, Pottery and fused glass items, such as the lovely item featured which is a glass sculpture, which can either hang in a window to catch the light or be displayed on a stand.

Little b Bunny.

This lovely shop is the place to shop for some gorgeous handmade cards. I liked the cat on this Halloween themed card. The seller named her shop after her daughter's nicknames, which I think is soo cute. It's little personal details like this that make shopping somewhere like Etsy so nice. The shop features a wide selection of cards for all occasions and in a wide range of styles. Little b Bubby also has a blog: http://littlebbunny.blogspot.com/

Radiant Mind Designs

I love this shop. It is full of absoloutely gorgeous beads and also has stunning photographs. Definitely on my list of Etsy shops I will be purchasing from! This shop features handmade lampwork glass beads in small co-ordinated sets or larger focals. Some are one-offs to purchase before they're gone, others are from the custom line that are re-made when sold. They also sell lampwork recipe e-book tutorials for those who fancy trying their hand at making their own beads. Radiant Minds also have a blog: http://www.glassmuse.blogspot.com/

Humblebeads Gaden Party

Another lovely handmade bead shop. Humblebeads is owned by Heather whose beads are inspired by textures and colours in nature. Her beads are made from polymer clay and hand buffed to a matte finish. The shop contains smaller disk beads and really nice focals and pendants, including things like hedgehogs and owls! Another shop to add to my shopping list! Heather also has a blog: http://www.humblebeads.blogspot.com/

Lavender Cottage

This shop features handmade metal Jewellery, using fine silver, sterling silver, copper, brass and occassionally gold. The findings are even handmade as well! The pendant i've featured is hand drawn and cut from sterling silver, resting on a background of hammered copper. The stone is a carnelian. It measures an inch across, so is a pretty delicate little piece. Lavender Cottage is a blogger: http://lavendercottageoriginals.blogspot.com/ and also a Twitterer: http://twitter.com/lavendercottage.

I hope you enjoyed this week's autumnal favourites and have been inspired to do a bit of seasonal shopping.

The Scottish Bead Fair

Well I got as far as the Bead Fair on Sunday in Perth and had a really good afternoon. It was a long way to go and I managed to get there late so missed one of the demonstrations I wanted to see, then was so busy shopping that I missed the second one! I could have spent a fortune particularly on some really beautiful glass focal beads, but I resisted and restricted myself to a £30 cash budget and got a nice selection of smaller beads, both for using with knots and cords and with wire.

I also picked up some cards and leaflets and discovered one of the companies is coming to a local glass studio to teach next year so i will definitely be getting involved in that!

It was a very busy day, I was amazed at the queue to get in but it was worth it and next time I will get organised and actually get to the demonstrations. It was very easy to get to and I had a nice wander round perth as well. It's a nice town, with a real variation of architecture, from the very old....

to the very new.....

(The Concert Hall where the Bead fair was held.)

Back on Tuesday

You may have noticed i've not been here much since being back off holiday. I have decided to extend my holiday a little and will be back on Tuesday. Tuesday is the day our visitors go home and I finding it hard work to devote time to them and Northern Dawn.

I am working tomorrow at my 'day job' and am off to the Bead Fair on Sunday. I am so looking forward to it. I am going to allow myself a very small spending budget but I'm sure I will be quite inspired by what I find there. Even if I can't spend a lot of money, I can still collect information and ideas!

So I will be back Tuesday and you can look forward to more holiday photos, artwork & Jewellery over the coming weeks.

Etsy Favourites - Get Knotted!

No I haven't suddenly lost all my manners. Today's theme is based around one of my favourite things - knots. Today specifically Macrame. This fantastic craft is based around 4 or 5 main knots than can be combined in as many fantastic combinations as you can think of. Here are 5 sellers that show how creatively it can be used.

Melanie Miljan

Melanie makes Jewellery & Accessories, including this fab Belt tied with hemp and featuring green Aventurine nuggets and a Bamboo buckle. She uses natural materials and her shop mostly features Jewellery, made with either Fine Silver or Sterling Silver. Melanie also has a blog at http://macramewithmelaniemiljan.blogspot.com/

Intrinsic Imagination

This shop is full of amazing items that are works of a very creative imagination. The Barefoot Sandals caught my eye mainly because I'd never heard of them before! They are made with hemp and glass beads and can be worn in bare feet at the beach or a summer party or to brighten up plain flip flops or sandals. I think they're lovely. The shop also features handmade jewellery, hair falls and some very funky feather eyelashes.

My Imperfections

This is only a new shop but already has some really nice items in it. The knotted cord necklace pictured is made with silver rattail, shells and rings. This shop features big, bold Jewellery that are real dramatic, statement pieces combining so many different elements into pieces that just shout gorgeous at you!

Freedom Market

Freedom Market features lots of lovely Hemp and Beaded Macrame Jewellery. The Necklace featured contains Hemp with fire agate, antique brass, wood and hand carved bone beads. Hemp creates a lovely natural look especially when combined with natural material beads and the items listed in this shop are very wearable.

Katie's Basement

Handmade & Custom Jewellery from a modern day hippy. This is what Katie says about her shop. Being a bit of a modern day hippy myself I fell in love with it. It's a fairly new store, only opening at the end of May this year but already features many items that are all beautifully photographed. The bracelet featured is a Jasper Hemp bracelet, tied with hemp with a Jasper centrepiece and smaller wooden beads. Katie also has a blog: http://katiesbasementblog.blogspot.com/

Monday's To Do List

Our visitors are going tomorrow and whilst i'll be sad to see them go and have had a lovely time while they've been here it will nice to get back to work on Northern Dawn bits, especially seeing as I am on holiday from my 'day job' until Thursday.

So I have already written my To Do List for tomorrow so thought I would share:

• Order some packaging boxes
• Make the Golden Retriever Puppy ACEO card and put one up on my Folksy Shop and one in my Etsy Shop
• Make something with my new goodies (don't know what yet but think it may feature pink chain and plaid beads)
• Order some wooden beads and some suede thong

I ordered some very nice natural wooden pendants but didn't order anything to go with them, hence the need for wooden beads. Beads Unlimited also do some cool coloured wooden beads which I think will go well with my fabric tartan ones. The Suede Thong is to go with some of the new pendants I've ordered. I want something rustic looking and think Suede will be a good look.

As always, I may not get all these items done but at least I will start tomorrow with an aim. Tomorrow I should have something new and funky to show you.

Cross Knot Bracelet

As promised, here are the photographs of the bracelet I told you about yesterday. The knots are Chinese Cross Knots, which mean Ten in Chinese. The beads are translucent rocailles in two different shades of blue. It is tied with black leather cord and will probably be closed with a toggle clasp.

Thursday Favourites - Polymer Clay Beads

As promised yesterday after discovering fellow sellers on Etsy had 'favourited' me I went on a search this morning for something special. After quickly realising I could quite easily spend 3 whole weeks solidly searching and always finding something different, I decided to narrow the search slightly. I decided first I would search for 'beads', as these are an essential part of my own jewellery making and great fun to look at, then I narrowed the choice down to Polymer Clay Beads. I am fascinated by Polymer Clay and it is definitely something I would love to learn how to use and I was not dissapointed today in my search - the variety of beads and jewellery produced with this medium is astounding.

So, here they are, my Five Thursday favourites:

Fimo Flora - The creations in this shop are just fantastic. All are handmade. The little characters are all very cute and very original. The choices range from elephants to peanuts and my favourite (for all those Winnie the Pooh fans) is the Heffalump. The prices are very reasonable as well. This shop is definitely one I shall be purchasing from in the future.

Jelly Beads Designs - This shop is full of handmade polymer beads in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. These include animals and characters, but also food and shapes. A lot of the beads are flatback but can also be purchased with holes and can also be glazed or left natural. They are also very reasonably priced and all beautifully photographed.

Tiny Ark - I found this shop by looking for rat beads and found some little mouse buttons instead. I liked this shop because it was a bit different, as it sells lovely, original buttons as opposed to beads. I have seen buttons used on jewellery though so felt it warranted inclusion. There are buttons of all shapes and sizes as well as animals such as some very cool bees. They are also machine washable so very useable.

Creative Spirit Too - I always thought of polymer clay being used to create beads in the shapes of animals, flowers, food etc. This fantastic shop showed me that it can also be used to create fantastic focal pendants and 'normal' round beads. The creations in this shop are just beautiful and I will definitely be shopping here for some beads to complement my knotted jewellery.

New Forest Beading - This is another seller who uses polymer create to create beads and pendants instead of objects. The pendants in this shop are highly detailed pieces in fantastic colours and would be perfect for one of a kind jewellery for someone very special.

So that's my five for today. I had great fun with this and hope anyone reading will find something useful. I have tried to find five shops that show the amazing range of things that can be done with polymer clay. Etsy is not just about buying handmade items, its also a fantiastic place to buy supplies for creating your own special pieces.

There will be five more on a different theme next Thursday.