Tell Your Girlfriends about Bronze...

Have you met my friend Cilla..?

You may know her as the design force behind the fun and fabulous jewellery creations to be found at the Etsy shop and blog 'Tell Your Girlfriends'. Cilla and I 'met' early last year when she won a stash of beads in one of my very first blog giveaways. Ever since then we've been following each others progress and when I've been trying out new techniques or styles she always has some positive words of encouragement.

Cilla was particularly interested in some of the bronze work I started showing on my blog and although I wasn't selling components generally at the time, she bought some of the pieces I was making for my own use and I think it's fair to say she got hooked on bronze. So, when I started thinking vaguely about opening a second Etsy shop to sell bronze components I just happened to mention it to Cilla and she was both delighted and excited. 

Since then she has given me non-stop encouragement and has come up with numerous ideas both for designs and ways to help promote my work. It can be quite daunting starting out on a new venture and having someone to bounce ideas off has been invaluable to me and without her infectious enthusiasm  I doubt I would have got things up and running quite so quickly. So thank you Cilla, I really do appreciate everything you done.

But now lets move on to some eye candy shall we...

Whilst I was working on pieces for the new shop, I sent some to Cilla for her to play with so that I didn't focus too much on things that suit just my design style. When I saw these photos of her beautiful creations I was 'chuffed to bits' as we Brits say. I didn't realise just how much satisfaction I would get from seeing how other people use my pieces in their work - I love it!

Anyway, I'm going to shut up now and let Cilla's designs speak for themselves.

Bronze tulip earrings with vintage glass bead, Czech glass and Vintaj findings

The flower beads on these earrings are a work in progress for me and after seeing these they  are definitely a design I want to develop.

Bronze focal, square polymer clay bead by Gabriel Studios, blue patina chain
by Miss Fickle Media, turquoise and resin beads and vintage brass chain

I think this bracelet is really harmonious and balanced and I love the way the shape of the focal is mirrored in the chain links. The pretty square bead adds contrast and texture and pulls together all the elements perfectly.

Bronze donut beads with leather and lampwork beads by Outwest

When I made these beads it was as standard 4 hole connectors but Cilla has laced them with little pieces of knotted leather - very original and so effective.

Bronze heart connector with lampwork beads by Silverfish Designs

Another very pretty bracelet with a soft romantic feel to it and as I'm not a big user of pink beads myself, it's great to see how well they work with the bronze.

Bronze bird charms with lampwork beads by Clare Scott and Vintaj accents

Aren't these fun? the charms are a perfect match with the earthy iridescent tones of the lampwork beads.

Bronze script connectors, ceramic beads by Jean Christensen,
blue rock crystal and vintage brass chain and findings

This is a great bracelet which I think has a sort of 'ancient relic' vibe about it with the unusual ceramic beads the little scraps of writing on the bronze...ever the romantic me!

Bronze heart headpins with Czech glass and gold accents

And last but not least... the cutest pair of candy pink earrings made with a pair of heart headpins. I am really intrigued to see how people use these headpins and these are a great start.

Thanks again Cilla for bringing my work to life in your lovely designs!

You'll find some more of  Cilla's work on the gallery page of this blog and of course her Etsy shop Tell Your Girlfriends has lots more lovely jewellery too so do please pay a visit.


If you have made jewellery using any of my components and would like to have it featured in the gallery you can find details here. I am also hoping to do a regular round-up post showcasing some of these designs so keep your eyes peeled for that.

In the meantime have fun!

Lesley