Leaves are Falling

 

Happy Wednesday folks! 

I'm in the middle of a two-weekend show on Facebook with my friends Lucy Haslam and Helen Backhouse. Inspired by the books/TV series 'Outlander' and set mainly in the Scottish Highlands at the time of the Battle of Culloden, then moving via France to Northern America, it's natural that I've included a number of pieces of work using designs based on heather, leaves and wood. 

These two new pairs of earrings are coming up this weekend in Part II - both using new, stained glass effect polymer clay leaves by Helen Backhouse. 

The top pair are lusciously long but light as a feather, using sigid wood tubes and Vintaj copper beadcaps, wound with silver/copper fancy headpins and swarowski crystals, hung on matching aqua niobium earwires. 

The second pair have more purple in them - I had these perfect stained glass effect lampwork beads by Leese Mahoney and again used copper beadcaps and the silver/copper headpins with swarowski crystals. The earwires are purple niobium. 

We all need some colour in our life at the moment. Hope you can join us over in The Very Nice Group this weekend. 

                                                              Take care out there. 

                                                                   Lindsay xx

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Haunted House

 Hallowe'en is fast approaching and time for one of my favourite designs - my Haunted Houses! I begin with polymer clay door and tower by Helen Backhouse, and add ceramic skull and flying bats by Jana Bliznakova. The orange pumpkin is one of my last from Jetta Sellars. 

               Add a fancy copper key in case you dare to unlock the door to the house of horrors! 

These are available now in my Etsy shop in good time for posting. See you again in two weeks and as always, please stay safe. 

                                                                   Lindsay xx

Trailing Clouds of Glory

 

A couple of weeks ago I had a message from Helen Backhouse telling me that Comet Neowise, orbiting the sun, was coming close enough to Earth to be seen with binoculars. And Helen being Helen, she had commemorated the occasion by creating. 

These dramatic ceramic buttons she made have all shades of midnight blue, gold and bronze. The interplanetary iceberg has survived solar heating so far and is nearing the earth - if you can call 64 million miles close - on its long trek back to the outer Solar System. 

The earth is represented by the gold faceted glass beads above and the trailing light is black and gold chain. Spitting bits of rock (sparkly blue druzy) in it's wake. 

We won't see it again for over 6.000 years so if you did manage to see it, well done. And if not, you can always have the earrings from my Etsy shop!

                                             See you again in two weeks - stay safe everyone 

                                                                    Lindsay xx

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Blue for you?

Last weekend my focus was to host a challenge in my Facebook Group for members to explore the new Pantone Colour for 2020 - Classic Blue. This also fit nicely with Erin's topic for We're All Ears this month.

There were some beautiful entries - jewellery, scarves, textile wraps, lampwork beads. We all came to the conclusion that Classic Blue was a lot more workable with than we had anticipated.

The first thing I did was to see what Helen Backhouse could come up with for me and these I thought were fabulous - deep rich classic blue with terracotta. Warm and mediterranean, full of texture.

This pair has shells in polymer clay, with copper, jasper and lapis lazuli - both the faceted drops and the larger, matte beads.

The second pair, ceramic shells with glossy, sky-meets-sea lampwork by Karin Hruza, wrapped in copper with vintage coral.

So are you a blue fan? Judging by the fashion magazines, you'll be seeing plenty of it this year. Both these pairs are now available in my Etsy shop. See you again in a couple of weeks. Take care!


                                                                         Lindsay x

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Indian Summer

We were certainly having an Indian Summer here last week - warm and sunny enough to get out on our bikes to the local wildlife reserve, sit and watch the swans gliding regally over the water. Leaves are turning from green to gold and red, berries are ripening, and there are some fabulous textures around as well.

Todays earrings are full of texture - Helen Backhouse wrapped polymer clay that has been textured with silk fabric and coloured perfectly for the season. The 'stamens' are Kimberly Rogers lampwork headpins. Lucy Haslam's dark copper earwires and crusty rusty czech glass finish them perfectly.  

The second pair are again Helen's polymer clay, textured with her grandmother's old silk bedspread. Beautiful brocade-like deep green, perfect with malachite, vintage venetian gilt collars and tiny beaten brass drops from Bernie Ryman.

Both pairs will be available in our upcoming 'Indian Summer' show this weekend over in The Very Nice group in Facebookland. Hope you can join Helen, Lucy and me on a brief tour of India and it's vibrant colours.
                                                  Keep well, and see you in two weeks.

                                                                      Lindsay x

                                                           
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A Game of Thrones

Well, it's finally ended. After 8 series, countless battles, deaths and political wranglings galore. Much anticipated, much discussed. A Game of Thrones - inspiring so much debate, it even has a TV programme (Thronecast) dedicated to dissecting every detail of plot and character.

Up to 8 weeks ago, I hadn't watched a single episode, falling into the 'what's all the fuss about, silly dragons etc' camp. Then my friend Lucy Haslam finally persuaded me, after two years of pestering, to base our latest jewellery show around it. So I thought I'd just watch a couple of episodes, get the feel of it, the type of jewellery I could conjure up from the themes, costumes etc.
                                                               
                                                                       Hooked.

In 8 weeks him indoors and I binge watched the whole 7 previous series to get up to date for the new, and final one. And the ideas are flowing. 

This pair of earrings are one of the first I completed. Helen Backhouse had been working on some new polymer pieces using moulds from teasel heads in her garden - in my deluded state they looked to me like dragon wings, so I sourced some black brass dragon claws; the black brass crescent moons curve nicely around the top of the 'wings' and Lucy's black copper bobble earwires fit perfectly.

 This pair is for Viserion, the middle dragon. And of course, there are three, all differently coloured…..so let's see what transpires! Our show is in  The Very Nice Group over the Bank holiday weekend 31st May to 2nd June. It's a must for all you GoT fans!

 

 

Hop to see you there.

 

Lindsay x 

 

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Moongazing.

A couple of weeks ago I was meeting my sister in town and had an hour or so to spare, so I dropped into our city museum for a coffee. They had an exhibition on entitled Museum of the Moon. There was a replica of the moon hanging from the high, domed ceiling which could be viewed from three levels - this was the central one. The exhibits included a scaled down Apollo rocket, a spacesuit circa 1968 and lots of artefacts detailing the significance of the moon to ancient civilisations. I was so fired up by all this I have been instagramming it like mad. I felt a tribute in jewellery was warranted!

 

I had several copper pieces by Helen Backhouse at home with the same sort of surface pattern - some from a wormcast rock I brought her from Greece last year, and some  from a piece of rose quartz she used as a mould.  In the end, I made a necklace, bracelet and earrings - and here are the earrings. 

 

 

With the textured copper pieces I have used glorious, galaxy-like lampwork bicones by Angelika Schott and wrapped them with copper wire and little satellite swarowski crystals.

Here's the view from below - while I was having a latte and a toasted teacake for breakfast! Life doesn't get much better. If you are in the UK, this exhibition is touring the country so do try and catch it if you can. You won't be sorry.  

 

 

 

Hope the weather is being kind to you - its unseasonably warm here and the plants are shooting up fast. See you in two weeks.

 

Lindsay x 

 

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Spring in Mind

I know we are in the run up to Christmas but I've had enough of seasonal jewellery already! I started making for Christmas about 3 months ago and peaked last weekend so I'm now on the other side and looking forward to spring designs. My January copy of 'Vogue' arrived this morning and I've already got some new colour combinations planned.

Recently I've been excited by Helen Backhouse's venture into ceramics. I've made a few pairs of earrings which have all flown out but I saved my favourite pair for today's blog post.




The detail on these is quite incredible - the veining, the colouring. I've turned them in opposing directions for added interest.  Above the connectors are some of my favourite lampwork beads from Emma Ralph - great shapes, colours and textures - with bronze spacers from Anna Chernykh and opaque emeralds. Earwires are (of course)  by Lucy Haslam.

                   Below are chunky matte kyanite beads and tiny pieces of silvery leaf chain.

They'll be in my Etsy shop if you'd like them. And I shall be back with you all on Boxing Day - so from me and my family to you and yours - have a very Merry Christmas!

                                                                            Lindsay  x

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In the Bleak Midwinter

A little bit previous this week, as it isn't really yet midwinter nor is it particularly bleak - more wet and windy up in the north of England. I have Christmas Carols on the brain though - our village Christmas tree lights are being switched on this weekend, I'm helping organise a Christmas Fair in our village hall on Sunday and next week we have our carol concert. But possibly my favourite event will be my next on line jewellery show, this time with a Christmas Carol theme.

My friend Helen Backhouse has recently begun adding ceramics to her repertoire of polymer clay and metal components. Just as you'd expect from her, organic in shape and beautifully glazed. As tester in chief, I made these, which I have named In the Bleak Midwinter.

They're textured using a stone I brought back from Greece this summer. Cool blues and steel grey, echoed by lampwork headpins from Linda Newnham and steely chain, with 'magic' glass beads above which would be happily at home on your Christmas tree. Lots of copper wire and earwires made by Lucy Haslam.

 

 

These will be included in our show in our Facebook group The Very Nice Group on 8th December. Do join us!  

I shall be back tomorrow to introduce Lucy Haslam, writing her first guest post. Hope you'll pop in and welcome her.

                                                                        Lindsay x

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Paper Flowers

It's been unbelievably hot up here in the north of England this week - 31 degrees here today. Probably not too bad for those of you who are used to a hot summer, but we aren't, so we aren't equipped with aircon in our homes. Impossible to work in my conservatory cum studio so I've been outside under a large garden umbrella!

Right in my view is this lovely Clematis Viticella. I think it is 'Valour' but don't quote me - I'm erratic at keeping garden records! It's scrambling up the brick wall with its beautiful deep cerise papery flowers set off by green foliage.  The inspiration for this weeks earrings.

 

 

 

The textured and patinaed bronze connectors are new from Helen backhouse and perfectly coloured. I've wired them in bronze and added faceted emeralds, then through the beaten oxidised copper washers from Faerystones I've popped beautiful sari silk in a rich cerise, leaving the edges papery to  to echo the flowers.  The fancy earwires - also by Faerystones, are as near as I could get to the trellis behind.

 

 

Pretty summer wear to flutter round your ears! They're over in my Etsy shop now, and as I'm joining in Etsys 13th birthday sale, they have 10% off until the end of the month. And then - July, and school holidays with four grandkids beckon! See you then.

 

Lindsay x

 

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Sand Between Your Toes

It's the time of year when minds turn to booking your summer holiday - if you are as late in doing so as  I am!

Thinking of beaches and rockpools, clear azure seas, hazy mountains in the distance; a cool glass of wine in a beach bar in the evening, watching the red sun slowly go down behind those mountains. Bliss. I can almost feel warm sand between my toes.

This week I've even foregone my normal dark wood photo background for this whitewash wood/white sand one. I must say, it was a lot trickier to get the right exposure on a light background. 

My friend Helen Backhouse recently took a trip to London to meet up with some friends over from New Zealand. The guy is an absolute expert on shells and always brings her some new ones with which to make moulds for her polymer clay pieces. In their honour she has come up with some wonderful new matte sorbet colours, as shown in these two pairs. Soft lilacs and blue/greens.

This pair are so full of texture I thought I'd add some more! The little lampwork beads with tiny shells and sand particles on I've had for years but are from Mayahoney. I've tied them with lilac waxed irish linen cord and seed beads. 

 My second pair have larger smoother whirly shells wrapped with bronze wire to chunky amethyst cubes and amazonite rondelles, perfectly echoing the colours Helen has used for the shells.

I hope these put you in holiday mood! I've a few shell pairs now in my Etsy shop.

 

See you again in two weeks

 

Lindsay xx

 

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In Praise of the Humble Seed Bead

The humble seed bead. A staple of every jewellery maker, but are they always given the credit they deserve? I'm not a beadweaver, and thoroughly admire the patience of those who are, but I do like to use them judiciously in my designs. They're marvellous for adding texture, picking up colours and creating an echo. This week I'm looking at a few ways I've been using them lately.

The first pair feature dramatic lampwork shells by Joanne Joyce. I've been buying beads from Joanne for almost 10 years now; she lives not too far from me in Lancashire. I love the colours in the frit she used, and the seed beads on black irish waxed linen cord were perfect to highlight them. The textured ceramics are by HappyFallout .

Next - simple matte black seed beads emphasise the black in these fabulous leopardskin  jasper beads. This is a pair I made to complement a bracelet - so not too complex.
     






     And the last - like peas in a pod - wired down some rustic, organic leaves by Helen Backhouse.

                                           How do you use yours? Experiment a little!

                  See you again in two weeks, and I hope the weather is treating you gently.  
                                                                    Lindsay x

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Forever Amber

I clearly recall reading 'Forever Amber' by Kathleen Winsor in my teens; it became an international bestseller, spawning a whole new generation of girls called Amber!

Abandoned on the streets of London, pregnant and penniless, 16 year old Amber St Clare manages by her wits, beauty, and courage to climb to the highest position a woman can achieve in Restoration England - that of mistress to Charles II.

                    Thank goodness that isn't the height of ambition for women these days!

Seriously though, this week's earrings all feature amber. Amber is fossilized tree resin, appreciated for its colour and natural beauty since Neolithic times. It comes in a range of shades from sunny yellow to dark and treacly. I love them all. The first pair is rustic - in mid shade, with rhyolith discs and copper shell segments by Helen Backhouse.

Next we have the sunny yellow with shimmery lampwork wing headpins by Juliette Mullet and faceted citrine. The rose gold findings add to the warmth of this pair - downright pretty.

And last, my favourites, looking ancient with roman glass and polymer clay vessels by Jon Burgess.

The amber nuggets and the citrine I used here are from Sylvia Stungo's shop Fizzy Elements; a real treasure trove of colour and texture.

 Hope you like them. I've also used them as three of my Instagram posts for the #100DayProject - #100DaysofArt which has just begun - are you joining in?
The top pair are gone but the other two will find their way into my Etsy shop over the next couple of days; and I'll see you again in two weeks time.

                                                                       Lindsay x

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A Fine Romance

So. It's Valentine's Day - do you 'do' it or not? This year I'll have been hitched to him indoors for 47 years. For most of those we have exchanged cards, for many he's bought me flowers - ok, sometimes garage afterthoughts, but flowers nonetheless. Last year we made a conscious decision to cut down on 'stuff ' we didn't need. We have a house full of  'stuff' that at some point our kids are going  to hold up their hands in horror at; so let's not add to it.  Cards are a casualty of our cutbacks.  Beads however, that's a different matter! But let's quickly gloss over that....

In honour of St Valentine, patron saint of courtly love, I asked Helen Backhouse to make me some 'hearts that aren't really hearts'. Heart cockle shells - subtle.  Then I turned them upside down - because that's what love can do.

 Gold and black/gold chain dangles from the rear and bright blue Czech glass really brings out the blue in them.

  Whatever you do today, make a point of giving someone a big hug, because love comes in  many forms.

                                                                  See you in two weeks
                                                                          Lindsay x

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Short but not so sweet.

                                                              Happy 2018 everyone!

The trees have gone and the decorations are down for another year. As exciting as it is to put them up with Christmas to look forward to, I'm never sorry to take them down again, tidy up and get back to some semblance of normality!

I don't know what it is, but maybe the overabundance of décor has made me yearn for some simple, clean lines. I'm also conscious that my earrings can sometimes get too long and complex for some people, and there are occasions when even the most boho of us need a pair that's short but still stylish.

My earrings this week feature heavily oxidised silver shells by Helen Backhouse - for such small shells, they have an incredible amount of detail and a beautiful curve. To complement them, I raided my stash of  ocean jasper - one of my favourite stones, because it has so  many different shades in. The first pair has distinct pink and grey tones, the second green and honey. It's fun picking through.  And the gloss offsets the grungy shells nicely.

                              Add some killer earwires, and you have plenty of style in a small package.

Short, but not-so-sweet!

 

See you in two weeks

 

Lindsay

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For Auld Lang Syne

                                                        Our last post of  2017!


As I write, I'm humming 'Auld Lang Syne' - a poem by Scotsman Robert Burns, set to the tune of  a traditional folk song and sung all over the world to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on 31st December. For old times sake....so you might be expecting me to reprise some of my favourite earring pairs from 2017.

Nah.......never look back is my motto. Life's too short. Let's look forward to 2018 and think about         

                                                                   COLOUR!                    
                                                                                      
How much notice do you take of colour predictions when designing? PANTONE have declared 2018 the year of Ultraviolet. 'Dramatically provocative and thoughtful, communicating originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking'.  With a business named after my granddaughter Violet I can't help but be excited. The fashion magazines are already full of it and I know from experience it's one of my customers' favourite colours - it never stays long in my shop. Here are a couple of pairs I made recently with leaves from Helen Backhouse and lampwork by Juliette Mullett of Avette Glass. 

 

 

 

 

 

And this pair, I made for Hallowe'en with vintaj black arte metal and Rejetta's witchy hearts.

 

 

The top pair has been repinned from my Pinterest page almost 700 times in two weeks - so I guess we can't ignore Ultraviolet. Here I've kept it fairly subdued, with silver, bright blue or black. But it looks vibrant with lime green, moody with mustard, soft with pink; flamboyant with red.  Cool with silver, warm with gold. The possibilities are endless. Is it for you, and what other colours or metals will you use it with? 

 

 

It just remains for me to thank you all for joining us for another year; and to hope we continue to enthuse you through 2018!

 

 

Lindsay x

 

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Metal Guru.

Hello folks! Hope I find you all well. It's been a  busy week so far with three out of my four grandchildren succumbing to a sicky bug that's had me running around with not much time to make. So if you think your eyesight is a little blurry - no - I left it  a bit too late to take my pictures today and the light was disappearing fast, so it's the pictures, not you!

This week I thought I'd introduce you to a new venture for my friend Helen Backhouse. She's begun to work with metal clay - silver, bronze and copper - and the results are beautiful. She's using the same moulds as she does for her polymer clay work - all individually hand made from natural found objects, not proprietary. The first pair today is copper, in a bark effect. I've given them the special treatment, with my new delivery of Basha Beads - magical colours that look like the beads have tiny flames inside.

The shells are some of my favourite shapes and they cry out for sea treasures - coral sticks and keishi pearls, all copper wrapped.

And finally- the silver. Oxidised heavily and polished back so the relief in these teasel heads really stands out. I've kept these simple with black pearls and Lucy Haslam's oxidised silver twisted sisters connectors. Gothic glamour.

 

 

So those are this week's earrings; all available in my Etsy shop. I'll see you in two weeks, hopefully bug-free! And by then, there will be only two weeks to Christmas - can you believe it?

 

Lindsay x 

 

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La Serenissima Pt II - Ciao

Every February for hundreds of years Venice has been famous for it's Carnevale. Ending at the Christian celebration of Lent, 40 days before Easter, it's characterised by the entire population and visitors from all over the world frolicking around the city dressed in elaborate costumes - and masks.

Wandering around the back streets of the city you come across many mask shops - from the cheaper tourist souvenir versions to the specialists, still handmaking in papier mache, and hand painting these wonders. Go through to the back rooms of these shops and you can see the artists at work - no pictures allowed though, as they are very protective of their masterpieces, but more than happy to show you. The most elaborate ones are kept there, out of the daylight, ready to hire out just as we hire out hats for weddings.  Below is a photo from a shop window (so excuse the reflection)  - a fabulous gold creation; and can you see the lace earrings, another speciality?

I've had these black ceramic masks for years so now was my opportunity to use them. I wanted to try and achieve a  more elaborate look in a traditional mask shape so I attached them with vintage bronze wire to a pair of  Helen Backhouse's polymer clay leaves in a bronzed brown. The tiny black glass duos at the bottom are some of my mother's old vintage beads. Very appropriate, as my mum always wanted to visit Venice and never did; after she died in 2011 my sister and I hopped up the Rialto Bridge at midnight one hot August night and threw some of her ashes into the Grand Canal. Completing the circle of life. Death needn't be the end of your story.

    Our visit this time was short - only 4 days - but I will go back again. So it's Ciao for now, Venice!

                                                                   See you all next time

                                                                          Lindsay xx

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Art in the Garden

Last weekend I took part in a lovely event. New to me, it was held in the wonderful garden of Jan Lord, a friend of my friend Helen Backhouse (she of Helen's Bat Cave fame).

As well as keeping about 5 acres worth of garden looking magnificent, Jan is a potter, so pottery and ceramics featured quite strongly in the show. 35 artists of all genres, in marquees placed in the garden. Very English - lots of tea and clotted cream scones!

Here's me on Sunday - having left my cardigan at home on the Saturday when it proceeded to pour with rain after the first hour, I had learnt my shivering lesson and took a jacket. Of course, it came out warm and sunny! I'm also wearing my grandson's pumps (I possess no flat shoes, not very useful when you are on grass for 2 days).

                             You wont miss the fact that I have A LOT of earrings for sale.
Here is one of my favourite pairs from the show - a sleek and simple design with copper cones that show off the beautiful colours in Helen's leaves.

And I couldn't resist showing you Tarquin, my lovely pottery tortoise (cheap to feed and no vet's bills). Traded with my neighbour for a necklace - one of the perks of live shows. He's now out in my garden, peeping out from a hosta plant, tasked with keeping the slugs and snails at bay!

                  I'm taking away great memories of a beautiful place, along with several new plants. 

                              Do you love your garden?  Or have  a favourite plant? Tell us about it.

                                                              See you next time

                                                                    Lindsay x

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