First Craft Fair approaches!

Another long gap between blog entries. This time my excuse/reason/feeble explanation is by way of a trip to Scotland to see family. Naturally enough, this took place when snow appeared in October for the first time in officially yonks. I was lucky - flights were not affected (and Gatwick wasn't too busy despite an airline going bust on the morning I was due to fly). And I was even luckier when the plane began to descend above mountains in Scotland and I was rewarded with the sight of, well, why bother with words when I can show this:






Of course, snow means cold and we had a chilly few days but then things heated up (okay, weren't so cold, but the contrast with the snow-cold meant things seemed warmer than they were!) and the sun could be felt. We headed off to Roseisle



where I found a few of the wonderful pebbles that cover parts of the beach here, and at nearby Findhorn, and have fetched them home with me, hoping to be able to incorporate them with silver somehow,



and Dulcie Bridge, or rather, the view from said bridge.




But, hold on. Isn't this blog about, er, silver and jewellery and stuff like that? And doesn't a certain First Craft Fair appear to be looming on the horizon? Yes and yes. And so, back in England, I've been busy working through several lists (I made one big one then cannibalized it into three smaller ones, the first about jewellery itself, the second about how to display it and the third about everything that didn't fit into the previous two headings), and getting things done, making up on lost time a little too.

I changed the soap in my tumble polisher which has made a massive difference to the quality of the shine on the jewellery (um, hang on. I've just remembered I set it running and it needs checking. Back in a minute! Wait, I'm going to save this first . . . Right, Back again. Just swapping over from one chain to another as, having spent a good 15 minutes untangling two chains (despite them being wrapped around separate bangles) yesterday, I'm now polishing them one at a time . . .). And I finished this afternoon four pieces, two pendants and two bracelets that had needed doing for a long while now. I've also been making up some chains (hence the polishing) and finishing up any little things that should have been done and hadn't been done. Which seemed to be quite a lot . . .

I’m also working on how I’m actually going to set my stall out, how the table will be designed, where the various bits of jewellery will go. Apparently, the thing to do is take a photo of it when you like it, print it up, then use it as a guide on the day. So I shall try to do this, even as I’m increasingly convinced that as long as it all fits on the stall and can be seen then, this time at least, I’ll be happy.

Quick update before I post this! Today, I managed to break a plastic crate that I was going to store things in; I discovered three chain necklaces I'd made up were not able to be used as I'd managed to solder the clasps I'd also made on incorrectly; and the jump ring on a pendant came off as I tried to fix it to one of the chain necklaces that did work . . . Oh well. Let's hope I'm getting it all out of the way before the craft fair this Saturday . . .

A slow week for making things . . . but always a silver lining . . .

Not been the best weeks for actual jewellery making but rather more successful in finding things to display jewellery on! Yes, thoughts of the craft fair remain ever near . . .

A charity shop (Help The Aged - I'll give them a credit although it's never easy to find the same thing in other branches . . . ho ho) had a bundle of items out in the street (pedestrianised) and sitting right on top of them was this:




A potential jewellery display stand!

I hmmed and ahhed a bit. It was £2.99 which isn't much but is if you're trying to make money, not spend it. Then, indecision over, I bought it. The woman on the till (young. For some reason, Help The Aged seems to attract young volunteers, far more so than any of the other charity shops. If anyone knows why then please share! It's not important, I'm just nosy . . . ) asked what it was. I was stumped.

"I don't know," I said, "but I'm planning on using it to display jewellery." Which she agreed was fair enough.

Then I noticed a ring of metal within the structure, not dissimilar to the support you'd find . . . for a lightbulb in a lampshade. We commented a little on this, trying to work out exactly how the actual shade would fit over the curves.

I still have no idea. But I'm not too worried as I have a nice jewellery stand to go with . . . my other one!




This one is not second-hand and is what it says on the tin, or whatever metal it's made from. It is for jewellery display and should prove pretty handy for bracelets and earrings.

The first one will be more suitable for necklaces, I think, although a little experimentation at home led me to realise that it wasn't as tall as I thought and the necklaces wouldn't hang straight down. But it turns out this means the last third of them can be laid artfully on the table so not a disaster, in fact, probably a more effective display than if they just hang vertically as, this way, they should be 'more available to the eye'.

I decided to put that in quotations because it sounds like something someone who knows about such things would say. Ahem.

So, some photos, at last.

But, no, none of my jewellery yet. I see a new goal ahead - and will attend to it shortly! Honest! Otherwise you'll start to wonder if I actually make jewellery or just fantasise about it . . .