Shop Update and New Autumn Designs...

Well that's August done and dusted then and I did manage to stick pretty much to my plan to have a bit of a restful month. But tomorrow sees the arrival of September and it's already beginning to feel very autumnal here...not that summer ever really got going. This past week I have been beavering away making new component stock for Thea too including trying my hand at Vintaj/Ranger patinas to add a bit of colour to my range.

I've never been much good with a paint brush (as my skirting boards will attest) but I really enjoyed doing these - what do you think? Definitely leaning more towards the impressionist movement I think! You can actually get some beautiful patinas from reactions in the kiln when the bronze clay is firing but sadly, it's unpredictable and the sealants available in the UK tend to dull the colour a somewhat. I was pretty pleased with a batch I got this week though...

And of course there's also plenty of the lovely clean and shiny stuff...

I'll be listing this and more in the shop tomorrow (Saturday 1st September) at 8pm UK time so I hope you'll pop by and take a look.

Have a great weekend.

Lesley

Interlude...

I'm in serious headless chicken mode this week, running hither and thither getting ready for a big shop update this weekend. I just grabbed ten minutes to eat some something and breathe in some fresh air in the garden when I spotted this lovely solitary passion flower. It seems the complete antithesis of me - cool, calm, collected and very beautiful...maybe next week I'll achieve a couple of those!

I hope you're finding time to indulge your passions this week.

Lesley

Giveaway Closed..

Well what can I say, so many comments from so many wonderful people and so many kind words. I'm thrilled to bits - thank you all so much. Hopefully the next six months will be as good as the last and I'll be able to celebrate my first anniversary in a similar vein.

For now though, I'm just delighted to say congratulations to the lucky winner...

MALIN DE KONING

Drop me a line Malin and let me know what you'd like as your prize.

Thanks again everyone and have a lovely weekend.

Lesley

Celebration Giveaway....

On August 23rd it will be six months since I opened THEA too my Etsy component shop, with absolutely no idea whether I'd sell anything and very little in the way of targets or expectations. In the event I was blown away by the response in those first few weeks and it took a good while to stop myself thinking that the bubble would burst at an  moment. I've had to work hard to develop my range and keep my jewellery design going at the she time (those of you with shops will no all that that entails) but I've had a great  time doing it.

A few weeks ago I was thinking about all this and what a great achievement it would be if I could celebrate six months of trading by reaching 500 sales...was that possible? Well, thanks to my wonderful and ever growing band of customers and friends who have encouraged, inspired and cajoled me, I sailed past that figure last weekend just a little ahead of schedule and I'm 'over the moon' about it. It's still early days I know but I think it's cause enough for a little celebration so, I'm having a giveaway with the chance to win £25 (approx. $40) worth of goods from one of my shops. The winner  can either choose components to the value of £25 to use in their own creations...

A small sample of my components...

Or they can choose a piece of ready made jewellery - entirely their choice. The pictures are just examples of my work and the winner will be able to choose anything from one of the shops to the value of £25 or, a higher value and pay the balance.

A small sample of my jewellery

All you have to do to enter is answer a question for me... just leave a comment here telling me what your favourite kind of jewellery component is. Are you passionate about pendants, crazy for clasps, bonkers about bracelet bars...or is there something else that gets your fingers twitching uncontrollably over that 'buy' button? Whatever it is I'd like to know. 

Once you've done that you can get extra entries by sharing this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter etc. or by becoming a follower of The Gossiping Goddess or liking my Facebook page. Be sure to leave a comment for each thing you do to get you extra entries.

The giveaway will end at 8pm British Summer Time on Saturday 25th August and I will select a winner using Random.org.

So good luck and thank you very much for coming on this journey with me.

Lesley

Bead Fest Pity Party - Bronze Sale

 OK - so we can't all go to Philly for Beads Fest but are we bitter?...well maybe a little but we're not going to let that get the better of us are we?

Heather Powers, she of Humblebeads has some up with some fun ideas for beady based activities over the weekend and even better, she's collected together a group of awesome artisan bead and jewellery makers who are all offering discounts for the duration of Bead Fest, Including me!

I am offering a 15% discount on all my bronze components between now 10pm BST on Sunday (19th) - just pop over to my shop and when you checkout use coupon code WHONEEDSBEADFEST and 15% will be deducted automatically.

And don't forget to checkout Heather's blog for details of the other people offering great deals.

Happy shopping bead lovers...

Lesley

Brit Pack Beaders - First Challenge Reveal...

So here we are at last, the first ever reveal for a Brit Pack Beaders challenge. Apologies for this being a week late - some of the team found themselves with plates that were a little too full last week but everyone is ready now so lets's crack on.

Just to refresh you the aim of the challenge is to create a jewellery design(s) using this image as inspiration...

With these components as supplied by the various members of the team (each team member received different components)...

Considering I set the theme for this challenge I actually found it quite hard to come up with my design. To get the most out of the challenge I wanted to create one piece that would feature an element supplied by each of the contributing members. I spent a long time getting things to a certain point only to find something didn't fit and having to start again, I hate those days - so frustrating!

My components included quite a lot of rings, including the toggle clasp I'd allocated myself so I took that as a starting point and after a couple of false starts with bracelets, I decided a necklace was a better option. Eventually I did come up with something I was happy with... 

Because the toggle was heavier in appearance than the other rings I decided to combine it with the focal bead Rebecca sent me to get a better balance along with some chain tassles for a little added flourish.

I've hung these from sections of heavy Vintaj chain interspersed with Claire's cotton (hand!) wrapped and silver rings, together with one of my own bronze rings. I made pretty little dangles from Bo's accent beads and added these to the lower sections of the chain together with a bronze shell charm.

The rest of the chain is woven with the rust and aqua silk strings that Jo sent me.

So I did manage to get something from everyone in there - it's quite busy for me but hopefully not too much so and I think it has a certain charm. I didn't have to much left to work with after that and although I really wanted to use the wire mesh that Claire had sent me, sadly I spent so long playing with it to try and work out what to do that by the time I'd finished it was unusable - sorry Claire! But at least now I'll know what to do with it next time! I did however make a couple of pairs of earrings using some additional beads from my own stash.

The organic silver slice beads from Claire I've teamed up with some Greek ceramic discs and some gorgeous rustic beads from Marsha Neal, wrapped with bronze to maintain the mixed metal effect.

I really like the effect of the silver and bronze together in these pieces so for these earrings I've mixed Claire's hammered silver discs with a pair of my own bronze rings and added a couple of gorgeous fat rustic pearls which also happen to come from Claire's shop.

There you have my interpretation of Carolyn's lovely photograph then and I'd like to say a big thank you to the rest of the team for taking part and for sending me such great things to work with. I have no idea what they've come up for their own designs so I hope you'll join me and visit their blogs (links below) and facebook pages to find out. And don't forget, this is a bi-monthly challenge so the next one will be some time in October so lookout for that.

Lesley Watt - THEA jewellery you are here

Rebecca Anderson - Songbeads

Claire Braunbarth - Smitten Beads

Bo Hulley - Bo Hulley Beads

Jo Tinley - Daisy Chain Designs (not participating in the design element this time)

Thanks for visiting.

Lesley

Taking it Easy...

 

I've been a bit remiss with my blogging this month...as I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm taking a bit of a breather, trying to avoid deadlines and relaxing a little bit more - so far so good...

Although I'm not a sporty person I have to admit that I've had a laptop permanently tuned to the BBC's live coverage of the Olympics over then past two weeks. I usually find myself watching some strange sport at an unearthly hour but because we are the host nation I've been able to watch all sorts of things this time around. I always love watching the rowing and cycling - not just because we're so good at them, but because they always seem to have such nail-biting finishes. But I never thought I would find myself engrossed by dancing horses (equestrian freestyle dressage - who knew that existed) and BMX racing...the former being incredibly beautiful and the later full of thrills and spills!

There have been many great events in these games but by far the greatest achievement for me is the way they've lifted the spirits of the nation. Now, I am not one for nationalistic fervour but a few weeks ago there was a high level of cynicism about what London would deliver with the press concentrating on any little niggle and negative aspect they could find. Couple this with the forever present black cloud of economic gloom and an absolutely dire summer here in the UK and it was all pretty depressing. Now, not only has the organisation and logistics pretty damn good, but 'Team GB' has surpassed itself with some amazing performances and a great medal haul and on the back of this, people are feeling proud, spirits are high and everyone is smiling!

How long will it last...I don't know but hopefully something can be harnessed and carried forward, certainly the future looks brighter for British sport but the weather and the economy...well they're in the lap of the gods and the economists - heaven help us on both counts!

I should point out that I've not been entirely idle and have made a few pieces of jewellery including this, my tribute to 'Team GB'...

I've also spent quite a lot of time clearing out the numerous pots of beads that have accumulated on my work bench and in the process finished a couple of projects that had been hanging around for a while, including this lovely, tranquil necklace showcasing a pendant by Birgitta Lejonkou.

And this great fun piece featuring a Jade Scott pendant...

And then there was an earring session -the easiest things to make when you're watching TV at the same time. These cuties feature lampwork mice by Ciel Creations and my own bronze bead caps.

This selection includes lampwork flowers by Mermaid Glass, lampwork beads by Puffafish Lampwork and ceramic charms by Karen Totten.

I'll be listing new jewellery in my Etsy shop when the current sale ends on Sunday. Although I'm having a little break from component production, I had a few things to do for custom orders so I had a little play with some rustic ring designs. These are quite tricky because they're thin and break easily whilst sanding and finishing but they're so useful and versatile and I like the way they've come out, so I'll be experimenting further and listing them in the shop in the near future.

Apologies if you were looking for the 'Brit Pack Beaders' reveal this week - unfortunately some of the team were a little stretched so we had to put it back a week. But do join us here on Wednesday 15th when all will definitely be revealed!

This weekend sees the second reveal of Lori Anderson Bead Soup Blog Party so I'm sure many of you will be checking in for that - I know I will. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Lesley

Sale Time!

Note - due to overwhelming commitments the Brit Pack Beaders challenge has been put back until next wednesday 15th August.

Because the sun is shining, because Team GB are having a great Olympics and the papers are full of positive news for a change and mostly because my jewellery shop needs a good sort out...I'm having a sale.

Most items in the shop are discounted by 20% or 25% with free combined shipping (no extra shipping after the first item is purchased) so this a great opportunity to bag yourself a bargain. The sales will run for six days only and will end after the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday 12th August - there's no gold in the shop but you will find silver and bronze! The prices are already discounted so need for coupon codes, just checkout as normal.

I hope you'll pop along and take a look - here's a little taster of just some of what's up for grabs...

Thanks

Lesley

Beads of Clay Giveaway...

There's another fantastic giveaway going on over at Beads of Clay right now with $100 worth of gorgeous beads and component up for grabs. You don't want to miss that do you...?

Lesley