Sorry, I've done it again, new products were added to the website yesterday, only two are blue this time. But in my defence, I haven't been able to make many beads because of the new driveway. The driveway is nearly finished, it should've been finished yesterday but due to the Easter holidays, the haulage companies were too busy to deliver the topdressing gravel. It's coming on Tuesday and the guys from Albion will arrive on Wednesday to spread it and tidy everything up. It should be a fairly quiet (and quick) to do so I may be able to work in the studio without too much disturbance next week. I have made a solemn vow that I will not make any blue things next week at all!
We are having a new driveway put in at home, the one that was there before didn't go far enough and it was really only a bit of parking. This is our first year at this house, during the summer it was fine but muddy days were a bit of a trial. We can wipe our feet and take our shoes off but Missy, our dog, doesn't ... so we can keep the house kinda clean as long as muddy pawprints get cleaned up but going to the car, there was no non-muddy route so the car is in a perpetual state of yukkiness. We are putting in the driveway now ready for the next wet spell (obviously this won't occur during the summer ... HA! ... we hope!!)
My studio is the converted shed you can see to the right; the guys, Lee and Dean (wonderful chaps) are putting in a path from the house to the driveway today and I think I'm just going to be in the way today if I work out there so I will be indoors finishing off a couple of commissions and working silver - no beadmaking for me today. I just got the first disc of the first series of Jonathan Creek from Lovefilm yesterday as I never watched it on TV when it was aired. I discovered yesterday that Anthony Head (my favourite actor) is in it so I am bound to enjoy it whilst making jewellery - yay - that's a bonus!
I met Hazel of Sulis Glass on Saturday. She stopped by my stall during a day out in Cambridge and introduced herself as a fellow lampwork beadmaker. I have seen her postings on Frit-Happens and we had a lovely chat - what a smashing person. It was quite a quiet day as the Grand National was on and Cambridge must be a gambling City cos everyone was either watching it at home or at the bookies ... good job Hazel turned up else I'd've been bored stiff! I remember one year it was the Grand National and the Prince of Wales wedding to Camilla - the market was like a ghost town!
Actually it wasn't that bad, the weather was great compared with last week and I sold quite a few things to some European ladies who were visiting from Holland. The strong Euro is helping my sales beat the financial crisis.
I have finally got all the designs for the initials pendants that I was burbling on about last week scanned in and I have created a separate page on my website under Jewellery > Initial Pendants.
Oh dear, I've just updated the website with the other new things I've made this week and I've realised that I am back on a blue kick - tut, but I do like blue soooo much! A very witty visitor to my Art & Craft market stall once told me that I should call my business Booze Jewels because of all the recycled beer, wine, gin and sherry bottles that I use to make some of my lampwork beads with. DH has just informed me that I should call it Bluez Jewels now! :-)
I'm really pleased with the beads that I made into this bracelet. I have made some similar round ones before (see my Gallery page) but I encased in clear. They were really pretty but now I've made them into lentils, I used some glass with the merest hint of aqua in it as the encasing gives a halo effect which is more interesting if it has a little colour in it. They are so seaside!
I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front as it was my year end on 31 March and I have to count all my stock and materials and get all my accounts in order. If I don't do it now, I will forget when it comes time to file my tax return. I'd rather not pay the tax man any interest or late penalties - he gets enough off of me as it is!I wish the weather would make up it's mind; yesterday it stayed cloudy and cold all day, we even lit a fire in the evening. This morning it was the same but this afternoon the cloud has burned away and so it's now nice and warm. Trouble is, I had already made a nice warming stew for dinner; it's simmering away on the stove as I type and has been since just after lunch. It feels like we should be eating a salad instead. Oh well, if that's the worst of my troubles, I'm not so badly off am I?!
