Jewelled Web - December 2017 - Link Love

Oh, but it's suddenly come in very cold in the UK, the last few leaves are only barely clinging to the cold trees, it's even been crisp underfoot a few times and today I was surprised by waking to snowfall and seeing a brief but distinctly blizzardy sky.

My Christmas shopping still isn't done.

No tree or decorations are up.

I've not even bought any Christmas cards yet.

But, despite that, I'm still looking for and even finding some of that wonderful Christmas atmosphere, the glow from lights that is all the brighter when the days are so short at this time of year.

Like last month's Jewelled Web, this December edition is also devoted to links from fellow jewellers, who've also been interviewed on my blog, as well as a few more Folksy finds that leave me wondering if I want to buy them as gifts or to keep for myself...

Have a happy December and enjoy the links.




~jewellery links~


I interviewed Tracy from Cinnamon Jewellery on my blog a while back and it's well worth a read if you've not done so already - she works with silver, copper, and bronze, as well as enamel and these pink and green enamel earrings from her shop really showcase her skills in both metal and colour.

This beautiful ring has been made by Emma from Little Cherry Hill Artisan Jewellery, who creates wonderful jewellery down in Australia (where the weather is probably much warmer than it is in the UK right now...)

I love the inspiration behind Leisa Howes jewellery and the pieces she makes are just beautiful, like this Meadow Hare brooch.

Nanuk Jewellery is designed and made by Louise who is exceptionally versatile in her materials and skills. I love this sea dragon necklace, full of colour and clever ideas.

If you've not heard of fordite then do check out my interview with Sasha Garrett
and this necklace is a perfect example of her work.

My most recent interview is with Gemma Atwell of The Silver Shed - her moon gazing hare pendant feels just right for this chilly time of year.



~non-jewellery links~


This pinecone-covered dress by Molly Coddle Childrenswear makes me wish I was young/small enough to fit into it...

I adore this picture, full of snow and yet with a warmth all of its own, by Illustrator Kate.

Another snow scene, this time of the Dales, by Little Ram Studio.

On a foxy theme, these bookends made by Kittiwake Design are delightful.

This wolf brooch, made in wood by Martin Tomsky, is very evocative of the winter months.

A tea towel that will cover all seasons with its woodland theme is created by Lydia Meiying.



~latest reads~

Philip Pullman's latest His Dark Materials book has recently been released, but before reading it I've been re-reading Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass all over again, and enjoying them so much that I can't wait to dive into La Belle Sauvage very, very soon...

To breakup the above up a little I've also started ready The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory, which is officially Book 3 in the Cousins War series but seems chronologically to be Book 1 so that's where I've started...



~~~

Wishing you a beautiful December and a wonderful Christmas - thank you for reading my blog :)

~~~


If you're looking for a few more wintery links then do take a look at my Jewelled Web for December 2016.



(this post includes a few affiliate links (in the 'latest reads' section)  - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - November 2017 - Link Love

Despite the surprising warmth that hit parts of the UK in the middle of last month, and the high winds that came along with it in some places, the weather is resolutely autumnal now November is here. Some days the leaves fall like gold snow, they come down so fast...

Now Hallowe'en is past and Bonfire Night is over and the headlong rush to Christmas feels as though it's starting to get underway and, obviously, I'm still not prepared this year, despite having, as always, had months and months to be so.

But I am still going to try to get myself a little more organised, and so this month (and next month too) I'm devoting my Jewelled Web to discoveries I've made while creating my Jeweller Interviews series and to finds I've made on Folksy while looking for gifts and inspiration - hope you enjoy!



~jewellery links~


When it comes to looking for gifts and finding things you'd actually like to keep for yourself, then this bronze clay oak leaf bracelet by the very talented Sycamoon jewellery (interview with her here) pulls me in both directions.

I bought a wonderful pewter brooch from The Owl and the Pussycat (and then interviewed Chrissie here) and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her creations, like this Mackintosh brooch set with lapis lazuli.

One of the most beautiful feather pendants I've seen, made by Heather of MoonRiver Jewellery, who gave me one of my earlier interviews here.

The colour of the aquamarine in these earrings is so vibrant and I love the simplicity of the design and yet how striking and unusual it looks - interview with the extremely talented creator, Becky Pearce, is here.

My very first interview was with Kristin from KS Jewellery Designs and she survived the experience and is still making amazing work, like this citrine and silver ring.



~non-jewellery links~


These plant markers by Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics are simple and beautiful and I don't have pots nice enough for them!

Although these stylish pots, by Kerry Day, at Botanical Prints and Textiles, are very, very tempting...

Teodora at Teodora Paintings creates wonderful art, like this beautiful autumnal image of a deer.

I have recently pulled my embroidery threads from their hiding places and long to make something as seasonal and stunning as this winter landscape scene, created by Nicola at ndm handmade.

However given I've never done any felting at all, I suspect I'm even further away from creating a puffin as adorable as this felted version by Feltmeupdesigns.



~latest reads~


The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern really is a magical read and I've enjoyed every word in it. I've had it on my bookshelf for a long time and I'm so pleased I decided to take it down and read it. It's not often you find something that really does seem worth the hype.

Another modern classic that I've had a while is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. And it's another one I'm glad I read, despite how horrendously sad it is. Thankfully it's also quite beautiful and both brutal and gentle in how it depicts war and the way if affects people.


~~~

I hope your November is full of golden leaves and magic.

~~~


If you fancy a few more links then do check out my Jewelled Web for November 2016.



(this post includes a few affiliate links (in the 'latest reads' section)  - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - October 2017 - Link Love

It does seem as though Autumn is here now. The air is crisper, as are the falling leaves, and the days are noticeably shorter, and cooler. The seasons have shrugged although, to be honest, they're moving all the time, just so slowly that we don't notice so much unless we're really looking.

The last month has been windy and a little rainy, interspersed with glorious sunshine that makes the growing autumnal colours glow. It may not be summer but it's not all bad...

Hope your new season is mellow and beautiful - enjoy the links.



~jewellery links~

Wonder Woman jewellery - what more do I need to say?

Tutorial on making an adjustable bangle, via Cooksongold.

Gorgeous images in this post about jeweller Lies Wambacq.

If, like me, you love watching film and TV to see the jewellery, especially in period pieces, then you might like this post on a jeweller who made jewellery for films.

This site isn't in English but scroll down for a series of photos (with English captions!) explaining how some extraordinary wooden rings were created.

Excellent article and inspiring photographs on enamelling.

I've been looking for information like this for ages - a detailed article on polishing metals with a Dremel (although I would say the tips will work on any Dremel-like tool).



~non-jewellery links~

I love that phone camera photography is taken so seriously now that the Saatchi gallery has run a competition and the winner is beautiful.

Ever been frustrated by a modern-day Victorian who thinks only men invent things? Memorise this list of women who've come up with ideas ranging from windscreen wipers to bullet-proof vests.

If you've ever felt you'd like to sit on a laptop in a coffee shop and be extraordinarily productive then try this web site for authentic ambient background noise...

Or if you fancy working a more natural environment then try a birdsong soundtrack - here, here, here, or here.

Amazing photos from the old Wild West in the USA...



~latest reads~

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, a wonderful autobiography about one woman's love affair with life, science, and plants.

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler - if you've not read anything by Anne Tyler yet then please, please do so soon. She is always utterly wonderful, creating real characters with flaws who move through seemingly normal lives - a little like all of us. Ladder of Years is both honest, beautiful and sad.

~~~

Hope you have a wonderful October.

~~~


For more links then do visit my Jewelled Web for October 2014.



(this post includes a few affiliate links (in the 'latest reads' section)  - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - September 2017 - Link Love

September is still summer. No, really, it is. It is summer until October. That's how it works with me. And if you say 'Well, the weather's not so good now, so summer is over...' then my reply is 'Well, the weather hasn't been good for much of summer anyway. What's the difference? None.' Sorted.

But I can't deny that the seasons do seem to be shifting a little around the edges - a few leaves have fallen already (mostly green, but falling all the same), the flowers are showing up less, and spiders are (nearly) everywhere!

Links below are guaranteed spider-free...



~jewellery links~

I love this challenge! Jeweller Kim Thomson is recycling one piece of silver for 100 days and making it into something new every single day... see the items she's making on Instagram.

Speaking of recycling silver, here's some handy hints on what to do with your offcuts.

Being a professional jewellery designer - an interview with Josephine Tournebize.

A couple of years back I followed this tutorial to make a wire prong setting for a faceted gemstone. My own attempt involved an unfortunate incidence of silver melting where it shouldn't, but this is still a detailed guide for an effective setting. I shall return one day...

I've been watching some You Tube jewellery videos lately - I've come to these quite late as I've always preferred being able to see all the steps, and images of each step, before I decide to commit the time to following something through. And, as you probably know, some You Tube videos are very long because much of the information you want is hidden away after a long and frustrating preamble. But this three minute clip is extremely useful and to the point and if you want to know how to set corners on a gemstone bezel - as I did - then I highly recommend it.

A handy page of downloadable conversion charts covering such topics as saw blade sizes and cleaning gemstones to the ever-useful wire gauge sizes chart...

I adore looking at other jeweller's workspaces. Mine is, at present, an old kitchen table that is too small and in a very awkward position. It's also often shared, which isn't ideal. But when I see other workspaces then I get to dreaming of what might be some day... so here is Tracy from Cinnamon Jewellery's wonderful workspace.




~non-jewellery links~

An excellent Etsy interview with Carol from Kabinshop who makes beautiful ceramics (and a little jewellery too).

A whale playing with dolphins, video taken by a drone.

Different photo file formats and when you should use them.

You may have seen Jodi from One Million Lovely Letters in the media recently, if you're in the UK. Her project, which basically is sending love and support by way of hand-written letters (remember those?) is really quite wonderful.

Flying in the high winds - no wings required.

We may not have had the kind of total solar eclipse experience the USA has had last month but these space travel posters are still quite wonderful wherever you are.

The robots that are changing the world - or may do, anyway (video).

A binman in Bogota collects books thrown out as rubbish, has set up a library in his own home, and loans the books to children.



~latest reads~


Moving on from binge-watching box sets, I've discovered binge-reading and have just finished the second book in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, Hollow City. The first, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, was great fun. Library of Souls (book three) is next... If you know nothing about them, the books are full of (genuinely) old photographs of slightly peculiar people and are as fascinating as the text.

The Rings Book by Jinks McGrath has proved very useful to me of late and is an excellent resource.


~~~

Here's hoping that September really is still summer...but have a good one whatever the clouds are doing.

~~~

Sand dunes, grass and sea photo taken by me - it was warmer than it looks!

~~~

If you're looking for more links, jewellery or otherwise, then take a look at my Jewelled Web from October 2015.


(this post includes a few affiliate links (in the 'latest reads' section)  - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - August 2017 - Link Love

Oh crikey, it's August already. August is often a wonderful month, a real summer month, if you know what I mean, when the warmth of the last few months seems to have built up and spread out and the lushness of greenery is overtaken a little by how sun-parched it often begins to appear...

But August, the very look of the word, also makes me think of Autumn, and it feels like, unless I really focus on when I am, I'll miss the summer that is here (even if it's raining!) by looking out for the autumn to come...

So here's to some mindfulness and living in the now and enjoying the fact it is still summer and will be until about, oh, let's say November!

Enjoy the links below - I'll try keep them summer-y!



~jewellery links~

A brief but useful tutorial on making feathers in copper clay (pdf)

These copper and silver earrings are simply stunning in their careful detail.

I saw jewellery made from pencils in a craft shop recently and thought it was a great way to symbolically say school is out! Well, for a little longer at least...

This jewellery made from pencil shavings is also pretty amazing.

Pretty waterfall earrings in a simple tutorial.

Such a beautiful ring made by Beth Legg.

Grow your own crystal pendant - I've not tried this but it looks fascinating!

Precious metal clay has been around fpr quite a while now but I've only just learned about silver metal clay paper... 




~non-jewellery links~

Not quite jewellery, but beautiful soaps that look like gemstones and an excellent detailed tutorial to make them.

A wonderful way to grow small plants in dark rooms.

Excellent collection of furniture hacks to make what you own a little bit more fun/useful/attractive.

A good few of these small space living ideas for camper vans translate into small space living ideas for any home (that is also small...)

An illuminating cheat sheet on growing vegetables on a patio or a veggie plot, when to sow and plant, and harvest and hints on companion planting.

Reusing old jeans and making handy box bags via a detailed tutorial.

A guide to cutting down on digital clutter.




~latest reads~

After a trip to the Lake District a couple of years ago (has it really been so long...?) I vowed to read Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom as I had never done so. Despite my inability to understand most of the boating references, overall the book has been a delight and a wonderful reminder of both a recent holiday and a (slightly!) more distant childhood.

Resin jewellery always fascinates me and this book, The Art of Resin Jewelry by Sherri Haab, is an excellent, and encouraging, read with good photos and helpful instructions.


~~~

I hope your August is warm and sunny and a great month whatever the weather.

~~~

Wildflower photo taken by me on a day when the weather changed from gloom to sun and I was surrounded by so much flora.

~~~

Fancy some more links for the long summer days? Then check out my Jewelled Web from March 2016.


(this post includes a few affiliate links (in the latest reads section) - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - July 2017 - Link Love

It's really summer now, whatever the weather. The days are longer and, when the sun comes out, it's wonderful to feel its warmth. And even when it rains, well, it's still summer and that's what matters.

When the weather hasn't been so kind (or the wifi has stretched to outdoors) here's what I've been reading and bookmarking. Hope you enjoy.



~jewellery links~

So many jewellery making techniques have been around for centuries, including granulation.

More textured effects, this time created using a rolling mill - something still on my tool wish-list.

And yet more texture with a video on reticulation.

I adore these earrings, simple shapes and beautiful textures and colours.

Metal clay shell necklace tutorial - beautiful.

Simple and quick DIY makes, including a beaded lace cuff, a jewellery box, and how to make a plaster hand from a washing up glove to hold your jewellery.

What to do with leftover copper pipe after you've had a new bathroom fitted? Etch it.

The Pink Star diamond has sold in Hong Kong and set a new world record.



~non-jewellery links~

Fascinating article about a decades-long study on what makes us heathier - it's not just relationships but the quality of them...

A super-bloom of wildflowers that can be seen from space.

I love Cheryl Strayed (a film about her, Wild, is well worth watching and it's based on her book of the same title) and this piece by her about what writing (and reading) does for us is quite special.

Such a beautiful garden print, created by artist Fiona Willis

A publishing house in Iceland that produces books once a month and then burns the unsold books the next day...

Cinnamon can keep ants away and other amazing things it can do outside.

Online camera simulators for when you have to learn just what an f-stop really is.



~latest reads~

I've been binging on a lot of jewellery books of all kind the last month or so, but have really enjoyed re-reading Carles Codina's Handbook of Jewellery Techniques and Nicola Hurst's Start Making Jewellery in particular. Reviews to follow.

Non-fiction has been winning out over fiction lately for me, something I'm keen to overturn soon and find something wonderful to spend the warmer months with. But one of the best non-fiction books I've read in a long while is The Brain's Ways of Healing by Norman Doidge. If even half of this book is true then our brains are more fascinating and far more adaptable than we could ever have imagined and have the ability to transform our bodies. Totally recommended.


~~~

Here's hoping July is gentle and beautiful, in all ways. Enjoy your month.

~~~

Photo of the lime avenue taken during a wonderful walk in the park.

~~~

If you need more links then check out my Jewelled Web from July 2015.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Countryside Inspiration for Jewellery Designs - June 2017

Spring has begun its gentle slide into summer and whenever I'm out and about I've tried to snap photos as much as I can. All the photos in this post were taken on my camera phone as I've been trusting it far more lately to capture a good image for me. I've also been increasingly aware that the shapes and features that attract my eye in the landscape also feed into my approach to the jewellery I design and create.



The photo above of a green wheat field, backed with a wall, then a further field, and then the sky beyond made me consider the importance of both pattern and uniformity in jewellery design as well as aspects that break one or both of those qualities. Yes, the lines of the features in the photo run parallel to each other, but the spaces between those lines are all different - wide, narrow, narrow, wide and so they add interest and break expectations of a uniform pattern.

Creating differences through contrast in design is often pleasing - we naturally recognise rhythm and anything that alters or interupts it. The texture of the wheat itself, being pushed by the breeze, within the overall stripe it forms, shows how effective angles can be when set against horizonal patterns and shapes. And the clouds in the skyscape provide a rounded texture in contrast with all the lines in the photo, serving as a reminder how texture can be used as a subtle contrast.



This photo was taken late into bluebell time, when I nearly missed the best of the blooms through a rather weighty migraine that kept me hidden away instead of experiencing the flowers at their most blue. But even here in this image, the carpet effect is still in evidence and the trees, as ever, provide a protective canopy against the harshness of direct sunshine and beautiful spots of light falling on the flowers.

If you imagine the scene without the blue hues then it becomes a little drab, something a little plain - the bluebells add interest and texture and show how detail can lift a design which, while still attractive, may also be a little flat without it.



The contrast between the sunlight falling on the wooden gate and fence and the gentler dappled shade in the woodland prompted me to take this photograph. Contrast adds interest in jewellery design, as do angles, like the one that the gate and fence are on which helps draw the eye through the image, and prevent a one-dimensional quality by adding depth. In jewellery, the fact it is three-dimensional and tactile is one of its great strengths and allows freedom in design to create that sense of movement within each piece.

I'm really enjoying examining the photos I take a little more closely, choosing a few of my favourites and thinking about why I took them and like them so much and how certain elements of design manifests in my jewellery designs as well.

Do share anything you've noted in these images, or in any others you yourself may have taken, and leave a comment below. And if you fancy seeing my earlier posts on photographic inspiration they are here (on the seaside) and here (on flowers).

Jewelled Web - June 2017 - Link Love

June is when summer really should be making itself felt. It's half-way through the year, yet if to-do lists from six months ago are not being attended to then it kind of doesn't matter because, in theory, the sun is shining and the evenings are long and bright... May has seen rain, hail and thunder, as well as baking days under a bright sun, so I can hope that June will see sunshine and perhaps a little rain too, ideally falling gently while I'm asleep, always the best time for rain to fall in Summer...

Here are some of links to what I've been reading (and saving to read later) that may float your boat (tenuous photo-related pun intended).



~jewellery links~

A comprehensive introduction to torch fired enamelling - first published in 2008 and still getting views.

Tiny flowers made from silver and carefully pieced together into a necklace.

Strawberries and jewellery has to be the perfect combination.

A detailed tutorial on how to cut and shape sea glass.

Earrings or sculpture... either way, these are works of art.

Another highly detailed tutorial on how to etch designs onto metal.

Such a pretty ring - I love to deconstruct jewellery I see on the web, and try and work out if I've the tools and skills to make it myself!

Jewellery made from tagua seeds instead of ivory may help save elephants.

And yet another beautiful ring...



~non-jewellery links~


How to be organised. If only it was as simple as reading a blog post...but it's somewhere to start.

Dreams delivered to you, by hand (and cycle), while you sleep...

Will we all live in forest cities one day? One already exists in Singapore.

Steampunk sculptures made from rubbish. How to make your own armour. Creatures that (probably) don't exist. How to improve by practising. Yes, I went to Bored Panda.

170 years of photography.

More images, this time by a photographer who places animals where they used to be.

Wonderful stained glass cloud and raindrops.



~latest reads~

A mix of fact and fiction this month, both courtesy of the excellent facility my local library has of allowing eBook lending via the Overdrive app - and I believe this is nationwide in the UK so if you've been looking for a reason to join/rejoin your local library, this is a great one.

An absorbing book about illness and health and everything in between, I found Teach Us to Sit Still by Tim Park enlightening on the topic of what health can be and what it is and what to do when conventional medicine doesn't quite fit.

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor is a murder mystery set in the midst of the Great Fire of 1666, full of intrigue and duplicity and post-Restoration dark-doings...



~~~

I hope June is a wonderful and sunny month for us all - enjoy the sun, and the links.

~~~

Photo of pieces of a wooden slipway taken by me on an impromptu trip to the seaside.

~~~

If you'd like a blast from the past Jewelled Web then take a look at this one from April 2014.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Seaside Inspiration for Jewellery Designs - May 2017

Earlier last month the sun was shining in its hazy early-spring way and I went down to the sea. The water was calm and gentle, the beach mostly empty except for a few fishermen. We sat on some rocks exposed by the low tide, and I took some photos of the colours and shapes we saw.



The curl of the beach, where the sea was slowly moving the shingle, was a nice reminder of the curves I like to put in silver wire. The rhythm of the water moving along the shoreline was hypnotic and quite beautiful.



The rocks we sat on to bask in the sunshine were, on closer examination, half covered with tiny limpets, waiting for the sea to return. The texture, and strength, of these tiny creatures was easily felt under my careful fingers. I'm pretty sure I didn't squash any although I only discovered them after we sat down...



Simple shapes in jewellery often work the best, as in nature. The cone-shape of the limpets is both strong and elegant. The colours of the shells blended in with the rocks and seemed almost a part of them until we looked closer.

Simplicity equals strength seemed to be the design message from the seaside. Gentle curves and natural movements. Jewellery, like nature, doesn't need to shout to be noticed.

Do you find inspiration in simple shapes or do more complex ones challenge you? Do leave a comment if you like, I'd love to hear what you think.

Jewelled Web - May 2017 - Link Love

April is nearly done, taking with it a quixotic mix of weather... I've seen snow, hail, sleet and sunshine in the last week alone.

For a few years now May has often seemed a little like an early summer, with sunshine-filled days and flower-filled vistas. I'm learning not to take this for granted, as we've also had some summers filled with rain and cool winds after a warmer spring. This year I'm hoping both spring and summer will be sunny and bright...

Here's what I've been reading and bookmarking for later reading. I hope you enjoy.



~jewellery links~

Amazing what you can do with some old coins, some copper and a large hammer.

A very handy tip about how to protect gemstones when soldering.

You can never know enough about annealing silver - a useful and succinct page.

If you fancy doing some forging then these earrings look a good place to start.

More forging here, along with other ways to move metal and some great ideas for bangles.

A wonderful guide to making a wire and gemstone pendant - no soldering required!

Tools for texturing metal, including household objects and a clever use for a wooden clothes peg... also has great images of the effects of each tool on the metal.

How to do you identify your different solders? I use a marker pen in a strategic spot (ie, in the middle of the strip) but this article contains an interesting idea if your solder comes in sheets.



~non-jewellery links~

Monsters dreamt up by children and interpreted by artists... (video)

An amazing artist who (legally) copies work by the masters.

Sweet illustrations of creatures from the natural world who also really enjoy a good cocktail. (More from the artist here.) And more wonderful illustrations here, this time from someone who also helps create The Simpsons.

Are you a fan of Instagram? Then you may have heard about the artist who used it as a platform for an elaborate project.

The effects of smog in Beijing via time-lapse footage...

and a fire rainbow cloud in Singapore.

An artist who paints on extraordinary canvases to wonderful effect.



~latest reads~

I've had a quiet time fiction-wise this last month and have been looking to factual books generally, and jewellery books particularly, more.

Wing Mun Devenny's The Complete Guide to Making Wire Jewellery has been reminding me of what I love about working with wire and inspiring me to try new things.

Stringing and Linking Jewelry Workshop by Sian Hamilton is full of projects by a wide variety of jewellers, always good ground for fascinating ideas, and lots of examples of great use of colour.

~~~

Let's hope this May is sun-filled and gentle. Do enjoy your month

~~~

Photo taken by me on the Saxon Shore Way, a surprise walk on a beautiful spring day.

~~~

If you like more links to while some time away then check out my collection in the Jewelled Web from June 2014.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Floral Inspiration for Jewellery Designs - April 2017

Whilst I don't make 'flower jewellery' as such (in other words, direct silver representations of flowers) at present I do find the shapes, textures and colours of flowers in particular inspiring in terms of design. I also find leaves and even bark equally fascinating in these terms but less noticeable, something you have to look past the more obvious flowers for. And flowers are extra obvious at this time of year, as nature throws off dull winter clothing and plants regrow with vigour and vibrancy.



Pictured above is Glory of the Snow (or Chiondoxa), flowering a little late for its name really (I'm kind of hoping we're not getting snowfall this April...) but it is glorious, especially up close. The petals are vivid blue - yes, you can imagine how even more vibrant they'd be against snow - and the stamens are rich daffodil-yellow. The blue makes me think of porcelain, China-blue hues on delicate pottery, perhaps something that could be recreated with polymer clay or enamel colours. The frills and subtle twists of the petals would be a challenge to represent in metal, but if done well would look organic and natural.



After some extensive searching online - and much scratching of head in frustration - I managed to find the name of the flower in the photo above - it's Brunnera Macrophylla Starry Eyes. The plant is small and the leaves fairly unimpressive, but the tiny flowers shine brightly white and, up close, the outer edges look hand-painted in blue. Again, I think of porcelain and delicacy, and yet also strength in the robustness of the flower shape and structure itself - they are found on the floor after they fall, nearly as sturdy as when they are in place on the plant.

Looking closely at these images and considering why they inspire me has allowed me think more about how to translate that inspiration into designs of all kinds. My earlier Vantage Point blog post was part of this current train of thought and I'm hoping it will continue to be valuable and helpful.

Do share in the comments below any floral (or generally botanic) inspirations you've found lately.

Jewelled Web - April 2017 - Link Love

As April dawns it really feels like spring now, and such a reminder of how we all appear to hibernate to some degree over the winter - so many more people are out and about so suddenly it seems. And so many buds bursting into growth on plants and flowers everywhere; yellow daffodils, pink and white blossom, and any-colour-you-can-think-of tulips. Not to mention the most beautiful little group of purple hellebores I've seen in a long while.

And some days the weather is so mild (even warm) that it's hard to reconcile with how cold it was just over a month ago. Plus, the evenings are light again, and I can just about forgive being woken early on a Sunday when it's by sunlight finding its way through the gaps in the curtains...

You may have guessed that I love spring, and I think I love it a little more each year too. When I haven't been outside feeling the sunlight on my face, here's what I've been reading online...



~jewellery links~

An awful lot of information about bezel wire.

How cocktail rings got their name.

If only all jewellers got to live in apartments with aquamarine-filled coffee tables...

Making a DIY jewellery tumbler - an interesting idea although I'm not sure anyone could tumble by hand long enough for it to really work...

Creating moulds (especially for precious metal or polymer clay) seems like an interesting idea; I found this fascinating tutorial on how to use silicone sealant as a DIY alternative to shop-bought mould-making compounds.

Cleaning up copper clay pieces after firing, hints and tips and useful info.

Such beautiful and skilled work on gold jewellery that's over 2,500 years old.

Resizing rings reversibly.



~non-jewellery links~

Only really for serious walkers (and generally hardy souls) but staying overnight in a bothy in the most beautiful scenery in Scotland must be a treat well worth experiencing.

Sometimes it seems that if the internet was created for nothing else but for showing video clips of animals (and birds) becoming unlikely friends - here's a snowy owl and a husky puppy.

I also found some beautiful photos of a different owl and dog friendship. Unfortunately I made the error of going onto Bored Panda (perhaps the most addictive site ever) and also found some amazingly intricate birds created from fabric, beads, lace and sequins, and animals that melt (well, they look that way) before I managed to escape again...

Speaking of pandas, if you've not seen the clingy baby panda video then do check it out.

I was involved in the Vantage Point project last month and I do recommend you check out some of the other blog features (and stunning photos) featured on their Pinterest page. A few of my favourites are here, here and here.

If it's spring then spring cleaning and reorganising the mess that things naturally all into must follow - these drawer dividers look wonderfully simple to make and endlessly handy...

The Northern Lights in Iceland can be so stunning they comes with a safety warning. Plus, still in Iceland, time-lapse snowfall.



~latest reads~

A fascinating crime novel by Marcus Sedgwick, Mister Memory was a great find in my local library's 'New Books' shelf. Twists and turns around an intriguing central premise of a man who can forget nothing. 

A extremely readable and evocative tale of the period after the First Word War, Spare Brides by Adele Sparks cares about what people are wearing but also how they're feeling and how they're dealing with the aftermath of the nightmare that was the war to end all wars...


~~~

Hope you enjoy some (or all!) of the links and have a wonderful (and sunny!) April.

~~~

Photo taken by me at the seaside, late afternoon when the sea was like a millpond. Companions were my other half, a takeaway Cappuccino, and a bar of chocolate.

~~~

Not enough links? Then take a look at my Jewelled Web from June 2015 for more.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - March 2017 - Link Love

February was another cold month. I know it warmed up a little towards the end but mostly it was chill, grey and sometimes white with snow. That said, I have seen brave flowers rearing their heads; snowdrops, hellebores, crocuses and miniature irises are all promising brighter days.



~jewellery links~

Beautiful copper clay bracelet and a detailed tutorial to make it.

I've only once or twice combined metals but work by some artists using silver, copper and brass makes me think I must do it again - take a look at this and this.

Speaking of brass, I love this simple tutorial on making a brass triangle necklace.

And this is an interesting post about soldering brass - it's not jewellery-based but is still worth a read if you're thinking of working in brass.

Pretty and practical jewellery display stands - or make your own terrarium-style.

A detailed tutorial, with great photos, on adding patina to a copper or brass bangle.

Amazing lightbulb/bumble bee jewellery.

Can you make a living making jewellery? A brief but positive article.

It's spring (well, nearly) and so this tutorial for making a bird's nest brooch is very timely. Also, it's very charming.



~non-jewellery links~

Breathtakingly beautiful and award-winning photographs of gardens, from around the world.

A tutorial for a tiny house made from polymer clay and a lot of care and time...

Found underneath the floorboards of an old house, a four hundred year old shopping list.

An old thread but full of tips and advice on how to make the best-ever scrambled eggs.

February brought a wonderful display in the sky (which was entirely hidden by clouds for me) of a Snow Moon, lunar eclipse and a comet streaking by... if you missed it too then photos worth seeing are here.

And if you're a little fed up of only hearing about comets and the like after they've gone by, then this site called Comet Watch looks very handy.

Since I've never even been to Australia, I can't blame the weather for missing 'Melbhenge' however.

I can't resist this video of a seal taking a ride on a kayak in the Firth of Forth...



~latest reads~

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman - I didn't realise this was a YA (young adult) novel when I bought it and I did find the writing a little more simplistic than previous books by Alice Hoffman that I've read, but the themes were as universal and as touching as ever.

So many books seem to carry their amount of pages as a badge of honour or worth, so it's nice to find a shorter book (just over 200 pages) that has as much beautifully written and insightful content The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt, as many books twice the length.

I do have quite a love of history and have indulged it a little in this true story, The Inheritor's Powder by Sandra Hempel. If you enjoyed the book The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (by Kate Summerscale) then chances are you'll love this too. A fascinating tale of family dysfunction and gruesome poisoning in 1833, I finished the last few chapters of this one night when I couldn't sleep and it really didn't help...

~~~

Enjoy browsing the links and have a wonderful month of March.

~~~

If you fancy seeing some more links then take a look at my Jewelled Web from March 2015 to see what I was looking at and reading then.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - February 2017 - Link Love

Oh, but January has been cold. This last month I've seen a blizzard in the dark, defrosted the bird bath countless times, and woken to a hoar frost that reached the tops of the trees and sounded like tiny bells when it eventually began to melt and fell to the ground around me. Magical, but cold, so I can't help hoping February will be warmer and show some early signs of Spring...

To keep me warm and indoors until then, here's what I'm recommending or reading this month.



~jewellery links~

Fancy trying enamelling but not sure where to start? This tutorial looks a good place to begin.

Changing the colour of copper.

Simple tutorial for a bracelet made from rope and embroidery threads.

A Roman pendant made of silver and carnelian was discovered by a metal detectorist.

If you can't get to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London then this is a substitute, with wonderful photographs; a brief history of beautiful jewellery.

Interested in metal clay projects? I plan on checking out this list of PDF tutorials.



~non-jewellery links~

How tiny hummingbirds survive winter.

Wonderful photos of snow-clad Scotland.

Playing with colour online - Pictaculous lets you upload any photograph and get a custom colour scheme from the image. Colors on the Web lets you build a whole palette around one colour (knowledge of what hexadecimal colour codes mean is handy though - if you're not sure what I'm talking about, have a read of this). And if you're just looking for wonderful colours to inspire, then Design Seeds is always worth browsing.

Beautiful botanical art.

The web is full of 'handy hints', many of which aren't that handy. This list of things to do with an old mascara wand is pure gold though.

Crafting, creative and just downright fun-loving commuters, and how they fill their travel time.

Fantastic art, featuring zombies... and available on Folksy.



~latest reads~

Winter is wonderful for curling up and reading, reading, reading... I've just finished two great fiction books -

A Portable Shelter by Kirsty Logan (I read her earlier novel The Gracekeepers last year), which is a series of short stories tied up in a sweet plot  about waiting for a baby to arrive.

Phil Rickman's The Wine of Angels is suitably spooky and about wassailing, amongst other things. This in book one in the Merrily Watkins series, which has been recommended to me by more than one person. I inadvertently read book 2 first but I decided not to let that stop me starting where I should have started...

I'm also reading The Snow Child again, a beautiful book by Eowyn Ivey, and perfect when the ground is frozen outside and you're warm indoors with a mug of tea...

~~~

Hope you enjoy the links and hope your February is a good, if short, month.

~~~

If you want to pretend it's summer already then take a look at my Jewelled Web from June 2015.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - January 2017 - Link Love

A new year and a (slightly) different style to my Jewelled Web jewellery round-up and general link love posts. My photos have got a little bit larger (well, longer really) and I'm going to cast my craft-based web wider and include more links worth perusing from crafts further afield from jewellery.

I'm also interested in including any links you may have found, or ones you've created yourself, either on your blog or elsewhere on the web, so do contact me if you've something you'd like to share - twitter is good (and pretty reliable) or drop me a message via email at silvermoss1 (at) gmail (dot) com

After that let's get back into old traditions, despite the new year rushing in bracing and very, very cold.

I hope you had a good Christmas. Mine was deliciously quiet, so much so that I didn't even have Christmas dinner until Boxing day. My New Year's Eve (in the 'eve' part anyway) was also peaceful, involving a log fire and subdued lighting - no bad thing at all. The weather over this period was either grey or foggy (or both) and when the sun came back out (on the 2nd of January) it was astonishing to see the colour rush back into the world. Of course, it's grey again as I type this but it was sunny earlier and, despite the frost underfoot, the birds were singing already...


Here are some of the  links I've mainly been saving up to read (more on how I do that later in the post) over the last month. I hope you find some gems here, no pun intended.



~jewellery links~

One of my Christmas gifts was a starter set for Efcolor Enamels, which is low heat enamelling (no kiln needed!) and includes masses of colours. I've yet to find the time and space to explore this area as much as I'd like but I do so hope to very soon - I've loved enamel work for so long but haven't been able to justify getting a kiln, so this looks like a wonderful alternative.

In more mainstream enamelling, I was rather taken by the idea of using pennies to enamel on - however, this tutorial is from the USA (and points out that only US pennies from before 1982 will work) and I have no idea whether UK pennies would cope with the heat involved. Fascinating stuff though, all the same.

Combining soldering and enamelling at Cinnamon Jewellery.

These exquisite polymer clay feathers caught my eye. The tutorial isn't in English but the photos are so clear that, if you're not a complete beginner, you should be able to work through it just on images alone.

Flame patina on copper - beautiful.

I've heard of Mokume Gane but have never seen the idea used in polymer clay before.

A simple tutorial for a simple Zen pendant.

A detailed tutorial on etching copper and making a wonderful bracelet in the process. Also check out these etched earrings.



~non-jewellery links~

I think this year may be when I return to cross stitch (and perhaps embroidery too). I've never thought of cross stitching onto crochet though - this fox cushion (with video tutorial) is so pretty.

And if I do venture into embroidery then I may well return to this mini-tutorial for these beautiful dragonflies. Although I do love this embroidered octopus...

I'm forever looking (so it seems) for ways to make the web easier and hope to share some of the tools I have found on my blog this year. In terms of saving links for these lists I use both Pocket and Evernote. I tend to save links to Evernote but save articles to read later (and offline) to Pocket. They're both great web tools and both have good free versions - although Evernote does restrict your use to two devices unless you pay.

One of the links saved into Evernote for the Jewelled Web is this feature from the BBC site, showing some stunning drone photographs from around the world.

This might be one of the best videos of all time - a giant panda playing with a snowman; if you've seen it before then do make sure you've seen the longer version that this links to.

Travel posters from the past make great wall art and are a nostalgic reminder of days gone by. These travel posters of the future are free to download and print - and are really worth doing so. I'm going to start with... Venus, I think, and then Kepler 16-b (not the best name for a planet perhaps, but a great poster).

And speaking of the skies, these starscapes are a delight - although slightly more dramatic than my glimpses of the fingernail Moon and Venus earlier this week.



~latest reads~

I am still reading both Great North Road and Little Dorrit - this sentence might be a recurring theme this year. For more information on my trek through these long books, check out last month's Jewelled Web.

At last I've got around to reading The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge, which I found engrossing. It's based in a hostile setting, with a macabre plant taking centre stage and a wonderfully quirky and at times slightly unlikeable (but all the more real for it) heroine.

I got two jewellery books for Christmas, one from my Jewellery Book Wish List, and the other a surprise, and rather a good one. Reviews will follow after I've fully indulged and digested but I can reveal that I am now the proud owner of How to Create Your Own Jewelry Line by Emilie Shapiro and How to make Silver Charms from Metal Clay by Sue Heaser.


(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

~~~
I hope your January and the start of the New Year are good to you. Keep warm!


~~~
By the way, if you're after yet more links/inspiration/ways to waste time on the web then check out my randomly picked Jewelled Web from November 2014(this post includes affiliate links - please check details here for more info.)

Jewelled Web - December 2016 - Link Love

It's the coldest month of the year. Okay, that can actually be January or February, chilled as they are without the lights of Christmas to look forward to. But it's so cold this year, icy cold at times, with a harsh wind and an increasingly odd-looking world whichever way you look at it.

So this month I will trying to mostly keep warm but stay cool, to remember to relax and not be stressed, to try and enjoy the people I love who are in my life, and the good things they bring to me, and that I try and bring to them. I'll also try not to get too sentimental...

Some links I've enjoyed over the past month an that I hope to read more carefully before the end of this month. I hope you enjoy perusing them too.



~jewellery links~

Jewellery made from coins isn't hard to find now but this is the first time I've seen such a delicate adaptation as this design - that's some mean piercing...

A few years back I made some brooches from copper wire and loved doing so - stumbling across this simple (but helpful) tutorial has reminded me that I must make some more...

A tutorial for a wire and thread bracelet.

I'm falling in love with the possibilities of bronze clay - this work is amazing and this bracelet tutorial is fascinating...

Wonderful resources from Kernowcraft on setting stones.

I have a decent amount of copper pipe offcuts collecting in a large cardboard box - these examples of etching on copper are very enticing...

A tutorial for making an ivy copper clay bracelet (pdf).



~non-jewellery links~

Utterly beautiful photograph of a white rainbow in Scotland.

If you're looking for an excuse to take lot of photographs this month then this may be worth checking out - a wonderful way to take, and share, images and ideas for this last year.

Non-jewellery ideas for polymer clay...

I don't know about you but I subscribe to things I'm even just half-interested in and I need to stop, and I need to unsubscribe more.

Gift wrap for the dedicated cat lover in your life - we all know at least one, surely...

And these photos will be adored by anyone who loves dogs. In fact, even if you don't love dogs (really? Is that possible?) you'll love them.

Giving a compliment is always nice.

A reminder, if we need one, of the frightening impact of litter on wildlife, everywhere.



~My Own Personal Book Club ~

This month I've started reading Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton - I've got it as an eBook which helps disguise the fact that it's over a 1000 pages long... I'm not expecting to be finishing it this side of, well, next year... but I am enjoying the 14% I've read so far...

Speaking of embarking upon long books, I've also made a start on Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, after realising I've not read anything by him for a few years now, and also realising that if I don't start reading his novels soon then I won't get to read them all... (this is over 800 pages so I must find something a little shorter to read to get me through those spells when a long book just feels too long...suggestions please!)

I've also been leafing through and getting distracted by a Mollie Makes book, this one being Woodland Friends - it just makes you want to create tiny and gorgeous little creatures for no reason other than the fun of doing so.

(affiliate links included for the books listed here - please check details here for more info.)

~~~

I hope your December, your Christmas and New Year are all special and warm.


PS. If you need more links (and sometimes we all need more) then check out this post full of link love.

Six Things I've Learned Without a To-Do List

I've just done battle with some online Christmas shopping and forgotten passwords. I still have a scribbled list of gifts to buy and anxieties over getting it wrong. So I've come here for a change of scenery and some respite.

It's nearly the end of November which means its nearly December which means a mass of busyness and 'hecticness' and worrying about if you've bought/made the right gifts for the right people and if they'll like or appreciate them or even remember who're they're from by the end of Christmas day.

It also means 2017 is painfully, frighteningly close.

And it also means it's a time to carefully review the detailed To-Do list you made for 2016 in your very neat virtual/real notebooks, make insightful comments about what worked well, and then dream up ideas for the coming year.

Or, perhaps more likely, it's a time to wonder where the year went and how come you never actually got around to writing down any plans for this year. And so the possibility that you could have achieved anything must be equally remote.

If you haven't already guessed, the latter is a fair description of me. My life sometimes feels like a avalanche of chaos, tempered by mere minutes of clarity and resolve, which crumble so fast under the weight of overwhelm and lack of focus.

Obviously next year will be different... But then I tell myself that every year.


I didn't make a To-Do list, or even any notes, although I meant to do so. I had plans and ideas and hopes and dreams and then, as always, the reality of living got in the way. But I've become a little fed up at berating myself yet again and so instead am trying to look at not what I didn't do, but what I did.

I've come to realise that it's the little changes that make a difference. Like, for example, if you want to improve your diet then every time you don't buy a chocolate bar it's a win, even if it only happens once a week. It's still a step down the better road.

So here a few notes I'm making now about what I've improved on and learned this year. Don't worry, they're not long...

1) Make a decision, focus on what you're doing, & finish what you start

Okay, that might be three things technically but combined they can make a plan of any kind happen. When it comes to jewellery in particular, every time I begin to make something and then finish it, it's a win. I have endless small plastic grip seal bags of even smaller works-in-progress that, mostly, stay that way. So when I take an idea, focus on it, develop it step by step (see number 4, below), make it work by overcoming any and all obstacles (again, step by step), and then finish it, that's my win. It's even a win if I get one of those works-in-progress completed too.

2) Pay attention and take a break

The Pomodoro Technique has helped me with focussing and progressing no end. It basically carves time up into 25 minute portions. You set a timer for 25 minutes, and work on whatever you're doing for that period of time. Then you have a five minute break. And then you go back for another 25 minute section of time. It seems easier to turn distractions off when you're working against the clock and the five minute refresher clears your head; apparently if we focus on something for too long we start to lose brain power, even if we don't realise it. I sometimes decrease the times involved, but the principal seems to still work as well, the idea of balancing concentration with a little distraction.

This is a handy timer that I use online, but any timer at all will do.

3) Nothing is perfect

My jewellery is hand-crafted. I don't have that many tools. And I like the little signs of 'work' that remain on it, even when it goes into the 'Finished Work' box (yes, I do have a box labelled that, something I labelled this year to help with getting things finishing). Everything I make is individual and that's the joy of handmade; if all the tiny marks of uniqueness are removed from it, then it might as well have been made by machine.

And it's better to finish something than have a pile of 'not-quite-perfects' that are never completed...

4) Small steps make a path

Every tweak I make on improving the look of my blog is another win, even if no one ever notices it (I altered the font of my main text earlier this year, which pleased my eye no end but doubtless went unnoticed (as it should) by anyone who reads my blog).

Every minute I can spend on making jewellery can be productive. I often don't have the time to make a piece of jewellery from start to finish. Sometimes I don't have time to do pomodoros. But if I take a few minutes when I can and follow the simple steps I know I have to take, then I get to the end product, eventually. I find having a plan for more complex pieces, as well as a few simple ideas, means that I'm never at a loss for something to do, even if I don't have time to set up for soldering or polishing.

5) The web is a tool, not just somewhere to waste time.

I will probably nearly always have to remind myself of correct HTML or CSS formatting when working on my blog, and I think that's okay because that's one of the things the web is for - learning (even re-learning and re-learning again).

6) Try something new but not too often.

I always want to try something new; sewing, felting, model-making, watercolour painting, silver-clay... Then I have to remind myself to focus on what I am meant to be doing. But, sometimes, if what you're meant to be doing isn't quite working, then something new can provide a different and, perhaps, better focus... well, that's my theory.

I've used this idea over the last few months, relaxing more with my jewellery making, letting myself play with creating and using more beads (and colour) and less solder, and I've enjoyed taking the (self-imposed) pressure off. Sometimes a new space, whether physical or mental, is a good thing. As long as I remember to focus and not turn to another new thing...


How about you? What have you learned this year and how has it helped you? Do share in the comments as I'm the first to admit I need all the help I can get...

Okay, back to Christmas shopping for me.

PS. if you're looking for more distractions from Christmas shopping and/or working out what you did right/wrong this last year then check out my link love post from a couple of Christmases ago.