Links I'm Obsessed With 2

Time for another round of inspirational gorgeousness!

Beautiful beaded beads and a sprinkling of origami - I found this whilst looking for origami instructions, and it took my breath away.

Retro to Go - fast becoming my new favourite website, this has provided me with endless inspiration which is now steadily filling my silversmithing sketchbook.

Core Architect - is fascinating me at the moment, it's a fairly gentle introduction to architecture and has some really interesting architecture. Again, helping to fill the pages of my silversmithing sketchbook!

Something's in the air...

No posts at the moment, a fantastic opportunity may have come my way...watch this space...

Frustration

Anyone who knows me in real life will know that I suffer from a fairly long term depression. Until now, it has never impacted on my creative side; I has consistently used it as an escape from reality; who could be depressed when looking at such beautiful things?

Until now.

What is it? Loss of mojo? No, I have a million and one ideas...I just can't get my head around construction. My brain is so slow at the moment, I look at the components and think that I cannot possibly do anything. Added to that whilst cutting some wire today I took a chunk off my index finger, I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me!

My resin experiments are going sorely wrong, I've wrecked a bangle mould and I've lost patience with just about everything right now. Having said that, at least I have a tonne of inspiration, so I guess I'll just have to keep drawing and writing about it until the ability comes back!

Until then I have so many beautiful things stashed away in my bookmarks folder to stare at, including the incredibly beautiful Skinner Studio, a complete resin mistress.

Hopefully I'll be back with photos or at least something!

So, here comes 2011...

Well, it's here already, who would have thought it. I don't even know where 2010 went! The secret santa bracelet in the previous post went down really well, with everyone, not just the person it was for! I don't think Tracy has taken it off since I gave it to her...I sense a future customer.

I've really started my resin enterprise in earnest; the first test pieces are out-
This will be turned into a ring...well, it would if I hadn't mucked it up and it'd gone cloudy...I left it on the windowsill and noticed that the windowsill sloped...and so had my resin! So I thought I'd be clever and turn it around but this must have led to air bubbles getting trapped in it. The bangle that I did befell the same fate. So, I've now got three moulds setting, all on flat surfaces, all people in the house with strict orders not to move them. Fingers crossed! They should have soft cured at this very point in time, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow and pop them out when they've hard cured. Keep your fingers crossed for me and watch this space!

In other news we had a fab Christmas, I taught my niece how to make jewellery (well, it had to happen some time didn't it!) and I got a Wii Fit....so here's hoping I'm slim and trim by this time next year!

Secret Santa Present and work in progress

So I got a secret santa partner who loves silver and turquoise...great, I think, except there's a pretty strict amount of money we should spend. So, presenting Tara:

I'm sort of taking this just as a sweet stocking filler bracelet, made from stabilised turquoise and stardust beads, with silver plated fixings. The next one, I'm not entirely sure what to do with. The focal beads are by Julie Fountain, of Lush Lampwork (I think!); mixed up with coated czech glass and these gorgeous, massive jet rondelles. It's going to be finished with a decent weight silver chain, or perhaps a nice ribbon. I've got to get cracking on something to wear at the staff Christmas party, I'm thinking...peacock pearls, onyx and maybe rock crystal...

My new enterprise begins :)

My new enterprise begins...Just ordered my first resin mould and I have my eye on some casting resin...

I've got a target for getting this business off the ground. There's a show I want to exhibit at, next September. I've been there before, visiting, and I think resin jewellery would go down really well with the type of people who go there. The only downside...I've got to have enough stock to fill up 10 feet of frontage, for three days! I've got a million and one ideas, so fingers crossed I'll be able to bring this plan to fruition!

Barry is adamant that I should be exhibiting at Sandringham next year, but I'm not so sure. It's a lot of wedge to part with (over £300), and while it's well attended, the looks on the faces of the stallholders this weekend didn't make it look as if they were doing a roaring trade. People have to spend so much money to get in to the place it seems as if they don't want to spend when they get in there. Perhaps when I've got myself a reputation built up, and a good amount of stock...but until then, I'm going to focus on smaller enterprises. I'm adamant that I'll get to Clutter City, I've been longing to exhibit there for a couple of years now.

I'm hoping that this resin idea will take off, so watch this space!

Links I'm Obsessed With

This week I've mostly been looking at:

Penny Dog Jewellery - Penny Dog not only has GORGEOUS resin jewellery, but she has fab supplies too and she's one of the first helpful sites I found for creating resin jewellery. She's really original and I love reading her blog and seeing how some of her designs come together. As if all this wasn't enough, she also donates money to the retired greyhounds trust with each sale, a fantastic cause which I feel is truly worth supporting.

I Love Spoilt Pig - Earlier this year I was bought a gorgeous resin pendant from this site, which sparked a faint idea in the back of my head that I'd like to start making resin jewellery alongside the other style I enjoy...so here is my original inspiration for my next project! Spoilt Pig has the funkiest, coolest jewellery that I have ever seen, and I aspire to be able to create as well as this!

Etsy Open Studios - I long to have a studio like some of these places of gorgeousness! I've been mentally designing my studio for years, and when Barry and I got back together and started looking for houses, he promised me I would have one. Of course, now he has started silversmithing, he is intent on sharing it with me. If any jewellery maker that is reading this has a whole day that they can spend entranced with these photographs, click this link!