Gardening Times

I must confess, I've long been a garden and plant lover. I would spend ages looking through seed catalogues, often ordering very little, but caught up, all the same, in the promise of what beautiful plants I could grow, with just a little earth, some water and, ideally, some sunshine. And I've always had a soft spot for nosing around other people's gardens, enjoying the National Garden's Scheme yellow book, and plotting routes to various gardens, both large and small.

The slightly milder May weather has encouraged me outside, specifically into other people's gardens. Neither of these two I recently visited are NGS ones, but both were opened for charity, which more than justified the entrance fees.

The first venture was to Saltwood Castle. It was raining, ever so slightly, and the sun didn't come out, but that kind of increased the drama of the place. That's what I told myself anyway. This castle is where the four knights who killed Thomas Becket stayed and plotted their deed, the night before he was murdered in 1170. Although only the grounds were opened, the castle is still standing, and so is the remains of what I assume is an old chapel, now open to the sky, and home to chimney pots and peacocks.

Chimney pots in the old chapel

It was a colder day when Sandling Park Garden was opened but, thankfully, the weather did improve and when the sun eventually shone, well, it was enough to make you stop for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. Oh yes.

These gardens were full, literally, of rhododendrons and azaleas. I've not visited a garden before which had so many, and in such a fantastic display. Corner after corner was rounded, and yet more stunning plants showed themselves. Some of the azaleas seemed to have no foliage and just consisted of flowers. No wonder I needed that cuppa . . .

Earrings, made with love and gems

Just recently I had a couple of 'landmark' birthdays in one month, along with another special occasion, and so was hunting around for something to make. Things were also complicated as I was away from most of my tools. Getting the torch and pickle out, well, it just wasn't going to happen.

Using a very slow internet connection, and eventually an old-fashioned phone line, I managed to order a mini set of tools, some very fine silver wire (0.4mm, if I remember right), and some truly exquisite Aquamarine beads, that were as beautiful as I had hoped, and are also a birth stone for March. I also cheated and bought some pre-made ear wires. Shocking, I know.

These are photos of just one of the pairs of earrings made. The beads aren't perfectly pure, but the inclusions, as shown more clearly in the last photo, are, I think, subtle, delicate, and even quite attractive.

So, under a little pressure, and a few time constraints, I was pretty pleased with being able to come up with gifts that I thought were special and, I'm pleased to say, the recipients did also.

Yet more Polymer Clay . . .

Rather than just making round or disc beads, I've now had a go at making pebble beads too, which I love. I'm not sure how authentic many of these pictured here look (some of the colours are a little on the artificial side), apart from the grey ones perhaps, but I've enjoyed creating shapes that look pebbley and a little natural, rather than smooth and uniform.

I think this may well be the last big batch of photos for now. Not sure I can just keep making these beads and posting pictures of them. I must also make something with the beads themselves!

These have all been made from Fimo. I have a lot of Sculpey III but have found this very difficult to soften. I know you can get special softener, although I thought that was for age-hardened clay? Any ideas on how to soften fairly 'youthful', fresh clay? I would love to use it but it really does make my hands hurt! Pathetic, really . . . ;-) All comments gratefully received.

Polymer Clay, yet again

The lure of messing about with polymer clay is still strong, and I've been spending a little more time making some beads.

Mixtures

A little glitter

Button-style!

As you may notice, swirls are pretty high on my list of 'likes' in clay. These beads are all made from Fimo Soft and Fimo Effect. Whilst I liked the Sculpey III, and have a fair amount left to use, the Fimo is far easier to soften by hand and so is that bit more enjoyable to work with, especially when you're sticking with simple tools.

Earrings . . . for a friend

It's always nice to have a special occasion to make someone special something special for. A dear friend I hadn't seen in a while treated me to lunch last month and, as a little thank you, I made her a pair of earrings.

These are they, and another pair I've made in the same design: