BTW - what's on my beading mat today

Excuse the poor quality photo...it was taken on my camera phone and in not so brilliant lighting. I'm going to try and join in on 'Bead Table Wednesday' every week if possible (i.e. if I remember to take photos!) So here is my first glimpse at what was sitting on my beading mat as of yesterday.

In the bottom left is my first 'Bead Masters 2012' project, Rachel Nelson-Smith's 'Groove' earrings from her Bead Riffs book. This is very different from the way I usually bead, so it's been a challenge even though the project is a small one. There'll be proper pictures for the blog once I've finished them - this one just needs a little bit more embellishment added so I've not far to go.

In the top right is an idea I've been playing around with this week. It's getting there towards a design I am happy with, but I have a feeling I might need some 3mm firepolished crystals instead of the 4mm ones I've been using. We'll see once I've finished a whole motif - I might change my mind once it's complete.

So that's what's on my bead table this week - what's on yours?

Nicole 

xoxo

New Beads...and My Aims for 2012

I hope the start of 2012 has been a good one for you all. I must admit I'm still trying to get back into the swing of 'normal' life (or as normal as things get around here!) after being away for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year. 

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend trying to sort out my bead boxes - having taken beads to play with whilst away and having been busy with custom orders at the end of last year, my beads are in quite a muddle so I am keen to get them back into some logical order. Tidying has reminded me of beads that I've got in my stash that I'd forgotten I had, so I think that's some positive to be said for having a clear up!

I've received a few packets of bead post this week (the best kind of post IMHO) so I thought I'd share with you what I've bough lately and what I might like to create with these beads.

I'd run out of a few key colours of seed beads over Christmas, so I re-stocked these, plus I always like to try out some new colours (you can't always tell online whether you are going to like or love a colour as different monitors/cameras etc don't always show shades as they actually appear). Here's the selection of seed beads I plumped for - there's a fair bit of white/crystal, but there are also some unusal bronze-lined sapphire ab beads which are a lovely muted opalescent kind of colour and even some dark metallic red beads (I don't ususally 'do' red!).

 

I also bought some new accent beads - a selection of different glass shapes from a new bead supplier I hadn't used before. I'm really pleased with what I bought (especially the violet glass flowers) so will definitely go back to them again.

And of course I couldn't buy new beads without treating myself to some Swarovski sparkle including this whopping 27mm rivoli - such a gorgeous blue/purple colour...

...and, inspired by a stunning emerald necklace that was in the recent auction of Elizabeth Taylor's jewellery collection, some emerald coloured crystal cabochons - I am a bit in love with these, so expect to see them in an ultra glam sparkly necklace sometime in the future!

I don't like doing 'New Years Resolutions' as such (I always used to say mine was to stop biting my nails...which I did do eventually I might add, but not really as a New Years Resolution in the end) but I have a few things jewellery-wise that I hope to achieve in the next year that I want to write here.

1.)  Develop my metal working skills - I hope to take a course at Holts Academy once my current studies are finished with the aim of making a career change of direction in to jewellery making full time

2.) Self-publish at least one beadweaving tutorial of my own design - I've already started on this one over Christmas so hopefully this one won't take me too long to achieve. 

3.) Make some more 'bridal' pieces - I made bridal jewellery for a close friend last year and I'd love to do more bridal work. I want to make up some 'sample' ideas for bridal jewellery that I could have on my website to show people the sorts of thing I could do

4.) Make at least one 'big showpiece design' - this might well end up having something to do with those lovely emerald cabs I pictured above, but having completed two 'big' necklaces last year, I'd like to create at least one big piece this year...not necessarily as a competition entry, but something to challenge me

5.) Continue to come up with new designs and push myself out of my comfort zone - I've just started designing something in RAW which is a stitch I never use. It's not that I don't like it, my brain just until now refuses to 'think' in RAW - but the other night a flash of an idea popped into my head and I've been playing around with it the past few days and think it has potential.

6.) Learn from the 'masters' - I've got lots of books now by various beadweaving heroines of mine, but have never actually made any of the projects in them, just used them for inspiration and to drool over. I want to start actually doing some projects from these books to see how these beadweavers really think about beading and hopefully push myself in terms of what I design and how I use the different stitches

I think that's it for the moment...or at least that's a lot to be going on with for a year so far! Have you made any beady resolutions or set yourself any goals for this year? I'd love to hear what you've set your sights on - perhaps we can hold each other's hands/bug each other so we try and stick to our plans!?

TTFN

Nicole

xoxo

Bye Bye 2011...Hello 2012 - a review

I hope everyone has been enjoying a break over the Christmas and New Year holidays. I spent a much needed 2 weeks back in Essex with my family over Christmas, before getting the train up to Scotland to stay with my boyfriend and his family for another week over New Year. Soon it'll be time to get on the train once more and return to Cambridge (and start really cracking on with writing up my PhD thesis!).

I've seen quite a few review posts on other crafters' blogs and I think it's a great idea to look back over what has happened creatively and the things that you have made in the past year as sometimes it's easy to forget how far you've come in 12 months. Here's my review of Hollybird Beads' 2011...

January

In January it seems I was in to bracelets with lots of fringing and embellishment. I created two pieces, 'Amethyst Dawn' and 'Twilight' which showcased this technique, dripping with faceted glass, Swarovski crystals, pearls and semi-precious gemstones. 'Amethyst Dawn' has since found a new home, but 'Twilight' is still available on Folksy.

Twilight

Amethyst Dawn


February

Love was clearly in the air in February, when I created this dusky lilac bracelet embellished with tiny glass heart beads and finished with a beautiful lampwork glass heart focal bead created by lampwork artist Julie Fountain of Lush Lampwork.

My Heart's Desire bracelet

March

This was the month in which I fulfilled a beady ambition of mine by taking a trip down to the wonderful Stitchncraft bead shop in Dorset (how I wish I lived nearer so I could visit all the time!) to take a beadweaving masterclass with one of my beady heroines Laura McCabe (who is as lovely as she is talented). Here's a photo of what I finished during the class - a fully-functioning locket complete with Swarovski crystal rivoli lid.

April

In April I was asked to do some commissioned work to create bracelets for a friend to give as a gift to her bridesmaids on her wedding day. We settled on my 'Ice Queen' design, which I love with it's frosty silver/white and purple colour scheme. Each one is slightly different as I embellish at random.

May

The month of May saw the emergence of the first incarnation of my popular 'Halo' necklaces. I wanted to create some beadwoven jewellery that was both statement, but not too over the top to cater for those who prefer a more simple style of jewellery. I've made lots of these necklaces in all sorts of colours but I still love them as much as I did when I first started beading them. Here's the one which I kept for myself!

June

In June I was still beading lots of 'Halo' necklaces, but I also created this design, which I named 'Azul' after the gorgeous aquamarine bead colours I used. This design has in recent months lead to a custom order in which I created a full set of jewellery to match this necklace. The original has since found a new home and I had a lovely email to let me know how happy the person who placed a custom order was with my work - it's always so nice to hear that people like what I have made.

July

In July I was busy beading a competition entry piece to meet the entry deadline - so busy in fact that I even ended up taking my beading on the train on my daily commute in order to get it finished on time! This took up most of my beading time in July, but I did also start work on this bracelet 'Serafina' using some beautiful metallic pewter-grey seed beads. This piece has found a new home, but I will definitely be making another in 2012 - I think I want to use my rose-gold seed beads for that one!

Serafina bracelet

August

August was an exciting month for me when I found out my 'Flora Metallica' necklace had been selected as a finalist in the London Jewellery School's annual student jewellery competition. After the final judging, Flora was awarded 2nd place, which won me a gift voucher towards a class at the jewellery school (I chose to do beginner's wax carving and had a fantastic time). I am very proud of this necklace as it was my first 'big' piece of beadwork - taking over 20 hrs to design, test and make. The original has a permanent home with me (sentimental value!) but I would always be happy to create another (or a similar one in another colourway) as a custom order. 

 

Flora Metallica necklace

September

September saw the second incarnation of my 'Halo' necklace, with the addition of some dangling tassels of chain for extra movement. This design has also been very popular and sold out at the end of 2011 - fortunately I have already started beading more of them in new colours for 2012!

'Halo' in the 'Metallica' colourway

October

October was another exciting month for Hollybird Beads as I found out that my 'Flora Argenta' necklace had been selected as a finalist for the British Bead Awards in the 'Crystals' category. Although in the final judging I didn't come away with a prize, I still got to see my necklace on display at Bead magazine's 'Big Bead Show' at Sandown racecourse. I will have to start thinking soon about my entry for 2012s competition!

November

Novemeber was an extremely busy month - I had a stall booked at a craft fair, the Made-It Market, for the 26th of November, so every bit of spare time I had was spend beading furiously in order to build up stock. I created several new designs during this month, including my favourite, the 'Pearl Starflower' series. The fair was a great success - I sold lots of my work and got to hear customers and browsers alike compliment me on my designs in person. I've already booked to do the same craft fair again next year as it was so well organised.

December

The last month of 2011 was spent mostly working on custom orders - bridesmaid jewellery, Christmas gifts etc. I hope that all those who received a piece of Hollybird Beads jewellery as a gift this Christmas are happy with what they received and perhaps they will become new customers in 2012. I've been starting to re-stock my shops and hope to have lots of new designs in the next 12 months. I've also started work on creating a tutorial for one of my designs which I hope to release in the not too distant future. 

I hope you've enjoyed my review of the Hollybird Beads year and wish you a wonderful 2012!

Nicole

xoxo

Made-It Market Cambridge and Other Christmassy Things...

It has been rather hectic at Hollybird Beads HQ in the past few weeks so once again, the poor old blog has gotten neglected!

Early on Saturday 27th November, myself and my parents set off to walk from our flat into the centre of Cambridge carrying bags of display stands, tissue paper, paper bags, float and of course, a whole selection of my handmade jewellery. I'd booked a stall at the Made-It Market being held at the Cambridge Guildhall and had spent weeks furiously beading away in every spare moment to make my stand look as full as possible.

We arrived to find the hall already filling up with lots of other crafters setting up their stands and I hastened to do the same, hoping I could manage to lay out everything as I'd practised. My parents departed to explore the city and check out the exhibitions that were on at the Fitzwilliam Museum, leaving me and my boyfriend to man the stall. I'd brought beads and thread with me so I sat merrily beadweaving away, whilst people came and browsed. I was pleased to see that the fair was very well attended, with a steady flow of customers from the word go.

I'd only done one craft fair previously (and a very small one at that) so I didn't really have much to compare it to in terms of my expectations of sales - I just hoped I took enough to cover my stall fee at the very least. I was thrilled then to do far far better than that, and also to receive lots of lovely compliments about my jewellery from shoppers and have a chat with some other fellow crafters.

A friend came along with her mum and took this photograph of me behind my stall - I apologise for my slightly mad looking smile! - this was taken after the fair had been open a few hours so you can see there are already some gaps where I had sold some pieces.

It was a great day, although I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it (and promptly started coming down with a cold that evening!).

In the past few weeks I've been busy beading custom orders that have been placed recently. These have included an adaptation of a design that someone saw through my Facebook page and a commission to create some matching jewellery sets for bridesmaids which has had me beading in some beautiful shades of silver and aquamarine.

I've almost finished other peoples' orders, so next on my beading list is making Christmas gifts to give my own family and friends. I shan't mention what I'm making yet, just incase any of the intended recipients stumble across my blog, but I'll show you pictures after they have been given (and hopefully well received!)

There are still lots of lovely sparkly things in my shop if you are still shopping for Christmas gifts - I've added a few suggestions at the bottom of this post just to give you an idea. I'll be staying open over the holiday period too...so if you've come into a few pennies over Christmas you can treat yourself to a piece of handmade Hollybird Beads jewellery.

Just one of several flower rings I have left - these would make great stocking fillers at just £5. I have silver ring bases too so I can custom make you one in your colour choice if you'd like!

A sparkling silver and purple 'Nova' pendant. This piece has a wonderful 'ruffled' texture.

My favourite new design - the 'Pearl Starflower' bracelet...this black and silver version is just so classically elegant.

I've also made the 'Starflower' motifs into pendants - another great stocking filler, available in several colours in my shop, just £7.

Hope all your Xmas preparations are going smoothly - I am looking forward to a very festive day this Friday when I'll have my work Christmas lunch and then I'm off to the Olympia Horse Show for the evening which always feels very Christmassy!

Nicole 

xoxo

Folksy Friday...favourites!

Haven't done a Folksy Friday for a couple of weeks and my 'favourited items' section on Folksy has been filling up with lots of lovely things that have caught my eye.

1.) Narwhal brooch by I am Kritch - having only seen an internet based cartoon about narwhals, my boyfriend thought they were a made up animal until I showed him evidence otherwise! I love this cute little brooch that would be fab to pin on a nice wrap around scarf.

2.) Silver Kisses necklace by Natalia Lovat - I love the fluidy of this silver necklace...and it looks so wonderfully tactile too I want to reach out to the screen and touch it.

3.) Daisy Storm clutch bag by Beledien - a cute grey bag with a nice floral print...and I like that it has a wrist stap you can attach (if clutch bags didn't have these I would lose them!)

4.) Christmas Tree Present Bag by Ritzy Swish - beautifully made and I love the personal story behind this little gift bag. It's so nice to have things to keep in the family, particular when they relate to Christmas. My brother and I have had the same woollen stockings for as long as I can remember!

5.) Sheep Earrings by Maggie Jones enamels - I can't look at these wonderful earrings without grinning! The beautiful enamelling work, plus the fun dangly legs made these earrings gorgeous and whimsical.

6.) Sequin Flower Bunny by Oddly Enough - how cute is this little fella? I love the colour and texture created by knitting with jersey, and the sweet little sequin neck bow is just too adorable!

Hope you like my picks for this week

Nicole

xoxo

It's That Time Of Year...

Yes folks. It's been my birthday...it's been Halloween...it's been Bonfire Night....and yup, you guessed it, shops everywhere are in full swing Christmas mode (I went into my local John Lewis the other week and they had all their decorations up...mince pies have been on sale in Tescos for even longer [although I am ok with this as I LOVE mince pies].

So what's in store for Hollybird Beads this Christmas? Well, firstly, I shall be attending my first big craft fair. I did a small one when I lived in London that was in a library, but it really was small (and there were several stalls where, shall we say, there hadn't been much crafting done by the stallholder *cough*bought-in-children's-toys/bought-in-jewellery*cough* but I digress). 

The fair that I am signed up to do is the Made-It Market, which is being held at the Cambridge Guildhall on Saturday 26th November. The organisers of this event have been fab to work with so far, sending out regular emails packed with helpful info as well as postcards to give out to help advertise the fair. I'm really looking forward to the big day itself, and fingers crossed, it will be successful for me sales wise! So if you are in the area or fancy a trip to a beautiful city for a change of scenery and some Christmas shopping, it would be great to see you there :)

This has meant that I have been spending every spare moment elbow deep in seed beads, glass pearls and crystals in order to build up stock to fill my table with. I'm really nervous about it looking empty, so I really have been beading my fingers off, and there are several new designs that will be available to buy on the day, as well as the rest of my range. Here's a few photos of some of the jewellery I'll be taking with me to the market. I also have a photo album on my Facebook Page, to which I'll be adding more photos in the next few weeks to whet your appetite. After the fair, any pieces not sold will be going into my online shops.

 

'Ice Queen' bracelet - seed beads, Czech fire-polished rounds, pressed glass flowers & Swarovski crystals

 

'Pearl Starflower' pendant necklace - seed beads and glass pearls.

'Flower Rings' - seed beads, glass pearls and Czech fire-polished crystals.

Custom orders are also starting to build up (plus I have Christmas presents to make for my own family/friends!) so if you are thinking of ordering a customised gift for a loved one, please contact me to discuss your requirements. 

That's all for now folks

Nicole

xoxo

The Big Bead Show, October 2011 Report

Bringing the blog back from a short spell of silence to give you a report of one of the best events of any bead lover's calendar...the Big Bead Show! 

This October was my third visit to Sandown racecourse for the show and it was an extra special visit, since my necklace, Flora Argenta, had been selected as a finalist in the show's British Bead Awards, in their 'Crystals' category. I'd been invited to the awards ceremony and so just after the show opened, myself and my 'entourage' (aka my boyfriend and parents) headed in to the display. 

I wasn't fortunate enough to win anything with my piece - but I was just pleased to have made it to the final and have my work on display to all who came to the bead show. The standard of entries was amazing; my favourite pieces included Rebecca Anderson's gorgeous turquoise and red floral necklace and a fantastically detail seed bead depiction of 'The Owl and the Pussycat' - complete with £5 note in their boat! I didn't have my proper camera with me and my phone camera wasn't loving the light so I only have this really poor quality photo of my necklace actually on display.

See, I really did make it to the finals! Not bad going considering this was the first time I'd entered the competition and that I had to bead some of the final components on the train on my daily commute to work because otherwise I wouldn't have had time to finish the necklace (note: beading on the train gets you strange looks, particularly from commuter businessmen-type men in suits!) Here's a couple of photos that I have of the necklace to give you a better idea of what the finished piece really looks like.

I have no idea how many crystals are in the whole piece...perhaps I should have a proper count up? There are 9 sparkling Swarovski light vitrail rivoli stones, with the addition of bicones in violet and silver and some wonderful Czech fire-polished crystals rounds too.

 The necklace also uses Miyuki long magatamas as the 'petals' of my rivoli flowers. These beads are quite hard to work with as they seem to be quite variable in size and thickness, but I also like this about them as they make for more naturally 'imperfect' ruffled petals.

I love the clasp on this piece...it might even be my favourite part of the whole design.

Once the awards ceremony was finished, we headed for the trade stands. It was quite busy by this point so I found it a bit hard to have a proper look at some of the stalls, but I did make a few purchases; some more 4mm glass pearls in several different colours from Anita's Beads, some 'champagne' gold plated findings from Bead Time (which I already love as they compliment the rose gold galvanised seed beads I've been using recently) and I treated to myself to a beaded bauble kit from Spellbound Beads which I'm itching to start.

 It was a long day, but well worth the trip; it's so nice to get to see and touch beads before you buy them, since, like a lot of others, I tend to buy most of my beading supplies online. 

In other news, I am currently in the process of re-jigging my website and transferring it to a new web provider. Whilst I'm waiting for the technology to sort itself out, there's a chance the website might not be visible. Please do bear with, this should only be a temporary thing whilst the domain is switched to my new provider, and there will be a brand new look to the Hollybird Beads website (complete with it's own online shop) very soon.

Ta ta for now

Nicole

xoxo