Just remembered I have a blog

Its an age thing and time thing and time consuming thing and a busy thing. I could blame it on so many things but basically I have been procrastinating. There have been times when I think "that would make a good blog" but, I would find an excuse not to post it. ie taking son to his class, running hubby to work, doing mums shopping....the list is endless!
Ok so what have I been doing that is new? Well my niece got married a few weeks ago and I have lots of pictures of new things that I have made that are now part of my samples. Unfortunately for my customers I don't have her tiara as I made it for her to keep. It is called Anastasia. I also made her jewellery.


Maria is wearing a new fascinator called Colette. This one is still to be added to the website.

Zena is wearing a new design called Fabiana and I am wearing a new creation called Olivia.
The lovely little boy between us is my sisters grandson...making me a great aunty!

I've been to London to visit the Queen!

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under her chair.

Ok despite the flag flying outside the palace our tour guide told us that while the palace was open to the public Her Majesty was actually in Balmoral. Also I guess I didnt really visit the Queen I just viewed the outside of her palace. I have just come back from a days visit to London. Me, hubby and his mum did the Yellow Bus tour around many of the sights in London. It was the first time in my 45 years that I have done the tourist thing in London and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We eventually got off at Trafalgar Square. We just sat for a little while and enjoyed the atmosphere before walking through Admiral Arch up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. I was amazed at how close everywhere was to each other.

Ok we didnt just go to London for a day we were also at a wedding the day before. Alison is a relative of my hubby and his mum, and I was delighted to make her tiara for her wedding day.
The wedding was held at Goodwood Race Course near Chichester and for a day I felt like a VIP. The bride was stunning. The venue was amazing. After the ceremony we went outside for photographs and while we stood drinking Pimms and eating canapés we were entertained with a flying display by a single aircraft.

Recent Makes

Ok I have been back from my hols now for a few weeks. Although I am never rushed off my feet with my wee hobby business I am kept going. I am off to a wedding in 2 weeks time and I still haven't made my self anything to wear for my head! But I have been busy creating a few nice things for family and my customers and the pictures now follow.









This is a necklace I made for my sister in law. She was celebrating a rather important birthday. It is made from sterling silver round wire. The crystals have be threaded onto the round wire then I have wire wrapped the round wire with half round sterling silver wire. I used ruby swarovski crystals as this is the birth stone of July.

This bracelet was purchased by a gentlemand for his wife. It is swarovski crystals, silver seed bead and sterling silver findings.






This is similar to the Galaxy fascinator but on a comb. I have added a few extra feathers along the comb and 2 extra wires curl round the wires that go round the flower. As I had difficulty in getting the exact colour I used darker and lighter feathers to contrast her outfit.





This is the Galaxy fascinator in grey chiffon ribbon, grey and cream feathers with golden shadow crystals and cream bugle beads.

Holiday inStoke on Trent

Just back from my holiday to Stoke on Trent. My first dilemma is whether to tell you about this beautiful cottage we stayed in or to keep it a secret. We all felt like lottery millionaires in this fabulous cottage. It was in the middle of the countryside. It had 5 bedrooms, 4 of which had ensuite facilities the 5th room was only a short corridor away from a toilet and sink basin. There were 2 kitchens with cookers, sinks, fridge and freezers. The big kitchen was huge.

There was also a room with a pool table and tv and another family lounge room with a flat screen tv. Two of the bedrooms also had small tv's in them. As me, hubby, mum and the twins arrived first, we all chose the best rooms. We did feel a little guilty, but not enough to give up the rooms we chose. The holiday started off disastrously. Mum slipped and fell in the kitchen. The next day we took her to A & E for an x ray. She had broken her hand. We spent a second day at the bone clinic to make sure the correct plaster cast had been put on her hand. Meanwhile our children, whose age range were from 18 to 27, went off to Alton Towers. Amazingly, they got sunburnt. I say amazingly because the weeks weather was horrendous. It would be dry in the morning and dry in the evenings but during the day when we would go out we would get caught in a huge down pour. Three days we went to Trentham Estate to see the Italian Gardens and each time we would just arrive and the weather would change and we would get caught in a downpour.

The people in and around Stoke on Trent were really nice and helpful. When we arrived at the hospital with mum, other patients who were standing outside helped by getting a wheelchair for mum and even helped me get her into it. And basically anywhere we went people were so nice and friendly and helpful.
The road system in Stoke on Trent was amazing also but it seemed that when people get into their cars their personality took a change. There was little patience for people using SatNavs who weren't sure of where they were going. I blame it on the fact that there were so many speed cameras. It must annoy the residence of Stoke on Trent having so many of these speed cameras.
We didn't manage to get to any of the pottery places either, as mum often didn't feel very well, what with her broken hand and her many other illnesses. Most of the holiday was spent around the pool table in the cottage and watching DVD's or cooking in that huge kitchen. It was also lovely just having all the family around that table eating, drinking and generally spending some quality time together. I think Stoke on Trent would have been a lovely holiday if only the weather had been better and if mum hadn't had that accident.

Handcrafted Creations Blog

As a follower of Handcrafted Creations Blog I recently asked the owner, Victoria Joanne, if she would be good enough to blog about my website.

Victoria took her time and picked out her favourite styles of tiaras and jewellery from my website and wrote about them. I really appreciate the time she spent doing this for me. Unfortunately at this moment in time I am unable to reciprocate so I have just taken a description of her work from her website and hope to in future give a more detailed description of her work. But I am sure you will see for yourself what she does by visiting her website.

Victoria's Designer Garter portfolio for her HandCrafted Creations unique wedding garters which can be custom made for you! All of her personalized custom garters are created special for each client. Your luxury garters can be personalized in any way you would like. Embroidery such as Names and/or date, a Monogram of your initials, or a personalized saying may be embroidered onto your uniquely custom made garter. You may choose to have extra charms added or Swarovski crystals sewn all over for added glitz and elegance. With Victoria Joanne custom wedding garters the possibilities are endless. See her website here http://www.customweddinggarters.com/

Please visit her blog and read what she had to say about my work and why not join Victoria's blog as a follower.

Crowning your Crowning Glory

Its always nice when a bride sends you a picture of herself on her wedding day wearing something that you have made. It makes you feel that the work you have produced is appreciated. But its also nice when other people host pictures of a special day and you can direct other people via the web to see these pictures. I was in the fortunate position this year of providing tiaras for 16 girls in the Deanburn PS retinue. Pictures can be viewed at the Fair Day website
Click on the link for Crowning & War Memorial. The pictures in particular that show my work are Picture 17, 27 - 29, 35, 75 - 77
Picture 17 is a design called Guilia Crystal and the rest of the girls in the other pictures are wearing Alina.

Lots of new & different stuff

Its been a strange time as I am not over worked but I seem to have work to keep me going. Thank goodness this is just a hobby and not full time as I think I would have had to supplement my income with a second job! And thank goodness for hubby who is good enough not to ask me to go out to work but allows me the luxury of a hobby business so that I can stay at home and help look after mum as well as being my teenagers taxi service! Any way what have I been up to? First of all I finished the tiara that I talked about in an earlier post for my hubby's cousin. So the finished tiara called Alison looks like this
I went out to buy a wedding outfit for this wedding and ended up getting an outfit for my nieces wedding instead. I am not sure if I can wear it to Alison's wedding as the material is quite warm to wear. Alison's wedding is in August and my niece Stephanie is not until October!
I have also had a few commissions for Rosary beads with June being the month of First Communions and Confirmations but these 2 sets are Irish and Celtic sets.


I also made one of my beaded combs in swarovski crystals and it looks quite stunning. You can see the lady wearing it on my gallery page. Her name is Janet.
Finally I took part in a challenge by a gentleman called Simon who works with wood. His website is called Wood Tattoos He asked a craft forum if they could create something in their own craft using items from his so that he could incorporate it into a book that he is writing. So I volunteered to wire wrap a wooden pendant. My choice of design was a star but Si suggested that it should be stars on a sun which sounded lovely. Well I have to admit it took me 2 attempts to wire wrap this pendant. That is the first time that has ever happened to me. It was a creative block! Anyway I was in the last throws of creating this pendant when I heard the sad news about Michael Jackson dying. My pendant that I was creating looked like a dreamcatcher but without the feathers. I thought Michael Jackson was a bit of a dream catcher. He lived the life of fame and celebrity something that everyone dreams about, and he was such a talented man. I stopped creating the pendant at that point to listen to the news. I then went of to bed but I tossed and turned all night as the dream catcher was missing something. In the morning I knew what I had to do. I search my box for suitable small feathers and added it to "Dreamcatcher". I am pleased to say that Si liked my pendant and he says he will include it in his book about Pyrography. I will add pictures of the pendant before and after the feathers were added to the end of this blog.
Finally....
When people say "What were you doing when you heard about the death of Michael Jackson?" I will always remember that I was creating a pendant called Dreamcatcher and if anyone says "When did you make that pendant?" I will reply "The day that Michael Jackson died." The two will always be linked.