Happy New Year

Happy New Years guys! Hope you have a fantastic, amazing, brilliant, deadly(in the good way) 2012!

I decided a few years ago that resolutions would not be to give up something but instead to do something proactive, so this year I am going to say that I aim to every week do something new; that might be something big, like make a dress, or go to travelling, and some weeks obviously I’ll get in a lot of new things, other weeks it might be to try a new metalwork technique or trying a recipe I haven’t cooked before. But it will be minimum one new thing a week.

Anyone else got any resolutions they want to share?

The New Year will also be go go go on my business and on my blog, there will be how to sections and lots of pictures and if you have anything you want to see, just let me know J

Anyway hope you guys are partying, I’m having a quiet night in, I’ve got a boy with man flu and some bunnies to look after.

Happy New Year! 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I'm covered in icing sugar from attempting to make ice cream cone cupcake thingies! I'll get pictures but they're not that impressive.

So just a quick post to say hope everyone has a great Christmas and an amazing 2012!

Last Orders!

Still busy in the workroom and I’m loving it!

Did take a short break today to go to Craft in the Bay for an evening of mulled wine, mince pies and demonstrations, it was a really good evening and if you are anywhere in the Cardiff area you should really check them out!

Otherwise I’ve been chugging away on commissions and getting ready for the Vintage Pretty craft fair in Ten Feet Tall in Cardiff on Saturday. If you’re about town between the nice reasonable hours of 12-5, you should drop by!

We’re quickly approaching Christmas and last postal dates so I’m going to be taking a bit of break, this means that the last day for buying from the shop is Sunday the 18^th, orders placed then will be posted Monday morning. If it’s a personalized order you need to get it in by tomorrow to give me time to work on it. I will be leaving the shop open, but anything ordered from Monday onwards will not be received until after Christmas. So get shopping guys. Get in tonight and you can still take advantage of the free shipping!

Catch up

Well I promised you a decent post over the weekend and I failed! I’m sorry, lump of coal for me this year! I’ve been manic! The workroom is go go go! I got a fair few commissions which are all to be done this week and a few ideas in my head demanding to be hammered out on metal! It’s great!

 So catch up!  

Working up to 850, fire extinguisher within reach!

I spent a good chunk of last week enamelling, made lots of rubbish and mistakes and several fires (eeek) and then proper decent stuff that I’m really proud of, especially the bunny brooch, as well as a few things that are nearly made that I think will be fab! So I am eager to get back to it.

For those that don’t know, enamelling involves powder, sometimes suspended in a liquid, glass which you place on a piece of metal and stick in a kiln for a little over a minute at 850 degrees Celsius, hence the few little fires! It’s great for heating the apartment, not sure I’ll be much of a fan of it in August, but on these horrible December days it’s pretty great! And I love the orange red glow of the metal when you take it out of the kiln! The whole process is fascinating!



The results and cause of the first incident; its the paper I
use to protect the kiln when I fuse glass, it usually goes up
to 800 degrees but takes a few hours to get there, apparently when
 you heat it fast it starts smoking at about 400 degrees!





On Saturday I had my second craft fair, it was good fun, not hugely lucrative but it is really good and helpful to see peoples opinions of my stuff, the stag pendant was a particular hit, which is not my favourite so that shows me!

Sunday was recovery day spent playing computer games and reading J Everyone needs a break! And yesterday and today were all about laying the basis of several of the commission pieces, I like to swap around between projects as I work, so I have multiple pieces on the go at the moment. Will be able to move on tomorrow when I get my Cookson delivery of my new weighing scales (note to self don’t leave these ones in the wet, damp, humid, bathroom!) and I can make up some fresh pickle (acid to clean the fire marks off metal), I’ve killed the last batch! Woohoo for Cookson and their amazing delivery times!

So busy Sarah! Lots to be doing! But now I am going to go and rot my brain a little by watching the train wreck that I know my Big Fat Gypsy Christmas will be! ...I can’t not look!

Craft fair tomorrow and the first pics of my enamelling :)

Well what a hectic day! Enamelling is soooooo much fun! And been rushing around like a headless chicken getting ready for tomorrow! Have to be up in about 6 hours gulp! So just a quick post!

I will be selling at Redland Green School tomorrow from 11am till 3pm. So if you are anywhere in the Bristol area, pop on over!

I had a lot of fun with the kiln today and my enamelling so here are a few pics of the finished products, waaaaaaaaay more to come! Especially of the rabbit brooches! I feel like a mad scientist playing with chemicals and fire mwhaaaaa!

I promise a proper post this weekend! Now bed!

Don't forget, freepost, and last posting dates are nearly here!

I will do the enamelling tomorrow I swear! The kiln is on the kitchen table set up ready to go and the kitchen has been cleaned and tidy, so no food in my way, and I cut lots of copper blanks and bracelet shapes today so I’m all set to go! I will do it!

Most of today was spent sawing said Copper, I had great fun! Attacked a huge piece, and I definitely won! That is the great thing about Copper I can use such big bits and experiment cause it’s not as crazy expensive as the silver. Although the silver can do all sorts of stuff the copper can’t so I love both metals and really need to experiment with Brass more! Oh I Iove metals and my saw! It’s the little things!

So yep enamelling tomorrow and photos of process and products to follow!

Don’t forget

·        Free post on my ETSY shop until the 15^th of December! Just enter the code “EARLYPRESENT” at the checkout to take advantage of that!

·        Last Christmas posting dates for North America and Eastern Europe coming up! Get ordering guys!

·        For anyone around the Bristol area I will be selling in Redland Green school this Saturday from 11am.

·        For anyone in the Cardiff area, check me out in Ten Feet Tall on Saturday the 17^th J

New listings, distracting bunnies and I love Plumbers!

Oh I’m busy! Craft fair in Redland Green school in Bristol this Saturday! Another the following week in Ten Feet Tall in Cardiff! And Christmas orders through etsy and folksy! Long may it last!

I also found time today to take photos and put up some new listings, despite Orla’s best attempts at distracting me and demanding attention! Silly bun!

Hmmm a box, what shall I do

Death to the box!

Hey you, pay more attention to me! I'm adorable!

Tomorrow is a day for making (between Yoga and Tai Chi!) I have a trip to the post office first thing and then to my bench and hopefully fingers crossed! Enamelling! We now have a fully functional kitchen sink, plus an all improved non leaking bathroom sink with tamps that fully turn off! Plumbers rock!  

Don’t forget last posting dates are coming up! Check out the last dates from the UK to you here!

A good relaxed day

Ah what a strange ol day! I had the most amazing lie in! A nice long chat to my mammy. Went to see Breaking Dawn, surprisingly good compared to the rest (although that’s not saying THAT much, the scene where Jacob breaks from the pack was absolutely hilarious!) And watched lots and lots of community which I am completely addicted to! A good day!

Of course I couldn’t take a full day off! So I also arranged to do the vintage pretty craft fair on the 17^th of December in 10 feet tall in Cardiff. And ordered supplies for making stuff this week J And spent some time researching some stuff and thinking of making cufflinks, more clip on earrings and brooches. Time to expand my horizons J

Still no enamelling, because still no sink! Hopefully that will move forward tomorrow!

Earrings, fairs and blocked sinks.

It’s been a busy day! Got an order for made to order earrings and got them done, very happy with the result J Byzantine chain is always very soothing to make, after a while I get into the zone and lalalala ! They shall be posted first thing in the morning! My first order to Australia. Thats another country off the list, I quite want to get a map and just tick off countries and states as I get orders, I love that my jewellery is going places I probably never will!

Also went to the Made by Hand show, which was full of amazing things! At first I was really quite intimidated by the level of complexity of some of the jewellery on display and then I looked a little closer and thought hey I could do that, and I’m happy to say that no one was doing anything like my silhouettes or chainmail either! So yay!

It did again make me want to get going on the enamelling, which has still not happened on account of a blocked kitchen sink, which means mountains of dishes and no space for the kiln. We’re working on the sink, drain cleaner is in there as I type so hopefully I can FINALLY get cracking on that enamel soon!