Tipsy beads

I'm always trying to photograph my beads in a different way, one that still represents them accurately to a prospective buyer but also looks more interesting than the way I usually do it. Rather chuffed with this one where the angle is a bit askew and the end beads have fallen over! (Must've had a sniff of wine ...!)

Available to purchase in my SoozBeads Etsy shop :-)

Making jewellery out of recycled pagan wine bottle beads

This is a bottle of one of my most favourite red wines of all time. As well as being really great to drink (particularly with lamb dishes), the story on the bottle is really compelling to me:

My family has been tending our vineyards overlooked by the Saracosa hill since the early 1940s and legend has it that the hill was a sacred pagan site, where people gathered to worship the sun and the moon. Much of those original vineyards remain, producing low yields of high quality, concentrated grapes from which we selected to make this wine. 

I love the idea that I'm drinking wine produced from an ancient pagan site where rituals (so long as no animal sacrifice was involved) and magic were performed. Wow!

Anyway, here are some photographs of the jewellery set I've made from the beads which will be for sale tomorrow in Cambridge on my stall at All Saints Art & Craft market.

Hope to see you there! Whatever you're doing this Saturday, have a lovely weekend!

Sooz Jewels now available on Folksy

Click on the image above to go straight to my new Folksy shop. It's only got two items on there but I've got a bit tired this evening so I'll be adding to the inventory soon :-)

Folksy is quite similar to Etsy where I sell my lampwork beads (see link to the right) but it's all UK crafts people selling their items. Gosh two British based postings on the trot, God Save the Queen!

Calling all patriots

We have two events this year in Great Britain that I'm particularly happy to celebrate as they're great for bringing in tourists. As I do business in a city that welcomes many visitors from abroad, I think you'll understand why I am busily celebrating them.

The first is the Queen's diamond jubilee, followed shortly by the Olympics coming to London. In an unashamed and unapologetic effort to cash in, here is a sample of the jubilee jewellery (later to become Olympic jewellery) which will be for sale on my stall in Cambridge this Saturday

There is also a necklace, pendant and a double-stranded bracelet but they weren't finished before the light went for photography so you'll just have to pop along to Cambridge to see those. We have a terrific weekend forecast (THAT makes a change) so hope to see you there ... whatever you're up to, I hope all my readers have a great weekend.

Meet Cadee

This is Cadee, the moon gazing hare. My family clubbed together and bought her for me as a present for my 50th birthday. Isn't she just gorgeous? She's made of bronze by Paul Jenkins and stands a little over a foot tall! I've placed her in the lounge window sill where she can look out at the sky as I very rarely draw the back curtains as we're not really overlooked from the garden.

I'm a little late in receiving her as due to us being away when I had my actual birthday and various illnesses just before that, we didn't have my party (at my mum and dad's house) til last Saturday evening but well worth the wait I think! Lovely buffet and birthday cake made by mum and sister, Sandy.  I scoffed the last piece of cake yesterday, ta Sandy! :-) x

I've delayed posting her on my blog as I've been trying to think of a good name for her. Things kind of let you know what they want to be called I think, nothing was coming immediately to mind but when I was reviewing my Amazon Recommendations list yesterday, it suggested a novel called "Maybe the Moon", the main character in it is called Cadence and it just seemed right (Cadee for short). 

It was an inspired gift, we gave my other sister, Sharon a similar hare for her 40th birthday last year, I was so-o-o-o-o envious, I guess they picked up on the fact that I really wanted to keep it for myself and getting one that was moon gazing (something I like to do myself), was really, really brilliant to personalise it for me - one of the best gifts I have ever received - thanks everyone! xxxxxxxxx

I got lots of nice cards but I'm picking out the one that Sandy and Chris sent me in particular, it's made up like a newspaper front page ... it has a picture of Sandy doing the inevitable tongue poking out and also another one of gorgeous Anthony Head, the text reads as follows:

Half a century and half expecting a letter from the queen 
THE BIG 5-0 
Exclusive by Sandy Cannings. 
Although turning 50 is considered a milestone, Sue Doran is intent on seeing the lighter side of reaching the big 50. "I am still hot" she tells The News, "it's just that it comes in hot flushes". Now is the time to make your mark on the world and take on exciting new challenges. Fix up a dinner date with the gorgeous Anthony Head. Sue says "I will do something wild and shocking today, straight after my afternoon nap"! The News says: You go girl!

Hilarious! :-)

Tiger spankles

I just posted a photograph of my newest spankle beads on the Sooz Jewels Facebook page and they got 3 comments within a few minutes! They're now for sale in my Etsy shop and I think I'll also be making some more to make jewellery with for my stall in Cambridge too.

The colours are really warm. Today is the first day of summer and it's raining (again!) so I think we need warming up. Overall the beads remind me of tigers, I've got "Tiger Feet" by Mud stuck in my head (yes I am old enough to remember it when it was in the charts, I even bought the single!) It's when I start doing the dance that we need to get worried!