Memories of the sea ...

Way back when I returned from holiday (which seems like months ago!), I was filled with inspiration after spending time by my favourite element - the sea.  I made this Ocean Wave pendant in response to the latest Wire Goddess challenge on Etsy:

And, because I recently promised myself I wasn't going to assume I couldn't do something, I turned an idle sketch of Neptune into this slightly mad ocean-themed pendant:

I also decided to make an underwater pendant for myself, for a change:

The voting is now open for the Wire Goddess Challenge - Splendor of The Sea.  Please pop over and cast your vote - all votes are welcome! www.surveymonkey.com/s/V2QS8GL

I'll be working on my blog more in the coming weeks, and will try and share more about my techniques and inspiration - time has run away with me recently, as usual! :)

And the Winner of the Giveaway is ...

Marianna Adams!  As is traditional, I put the slips of paper in my (straw) hat, and my independent judge (hubby) selected the winning slip.  I will be contacting Marianna shortly to let her know, and the Silver Birch pendant will be winging its way to her.  Thank you so much to everyone who commented, and please stay tuned - there's bound to be another giveaway sooner or later!

In the meantime, after the hectic week I had last week, I shall start catching up with the blogs and Facebook pages of those of you who have them - it's always nice to find new talent and inspiration! :)

I won!!!

I can't believe it - I won the Wirework category of Beads and Beyond magazine's Jewellery Competition of the Year with my Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon necklace!

I am so thrilled, I just can't put it into words!  So ... we'll leave it at that.

And just to remind you all, my giveaway ends on Sunday, so if you'd like to win this pendant:

all you need to do is follow this blog (you can still enter if you're already following it!) and post a comment.  Or you can go to my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LouiseGoodchildDesigns and leave a comment on either my Timeline or on the giveaway post pinned to the top left of the page.  If Facebook won't let you do that, please let me know - it's been giving me the serious runaround this week - just what you don't need when you're in the middle of a giveaway! >:(

Thank you to all who have entered so far, and good luck - the draw will go ahead on Sunday! :)

Giveaway Time!

I'm back from a lovely holiday in Norfolk, where we 'enjoyed' an even more eclectic selection of the British weather than usual.  Inspiration wasn't lacking, and I produced a couple of pieces to choose from for my entry into the latest Wire Goddess challenge, which I'll blog about next time.  I also played about with wrapping one of the beautiful pebbles that Norfolk's beaches are studded with:

And, for anyone who thinks that Norfolk is just flat, let me tell you it has some of the most stunning forests in the country.  I'd never actually seen an entire forest of silver birches before (right next to a pine forest) and as the silver birch is my favourite tree, I was inspired to make this tree of life pendant, with a cluster of violets at the base of the tree:

I recently reached 100,000 overall views on my Flickr album (which, while not a significant milestone to some, still makes me feel chuffed!), and to thank all those of you who have taken the time to look at my work, I've decided to give away the tree pendant.

 

All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog (and follow it if you aren't already) and/or leave a comment on my Facebook page LouiseGoodchildDesigns by next Sunday 13th May.  Feel free to like my Facebook page too - if you do like it! - but it's not obligatory.  I will put the names into my trusty straw hat next Sunday, and will contact the name drawn by an independent judge (my long-suffering hubby again) to obtain your address.  If you would like me to hang the pendant from a simple thong so that it's ready to wear, just let me know.

Again, thank you so much for taking an interest in my work, and please do keep coming back - I'm not done yet! :D

In Response To The Rain ...

... I say, bring on the colour! 

As my UK followers know, much of the southern half of the country is now under a hosepipe ban, due to a reduction in rainfall over the last few years.  Naturally, the moment the ban was implemented, the heavens opened, closed for some intermittent sunshine that just served to make us look like idiots wrapped up in our wet weather gear, then opened again, dispensing rain and hail with vigour.  It's certainly made for some impressive skylines, with stormclouds boiling up out of sunlit skies.  Without the skill to represent these cloud formations in any way with wire, I just found myself reacting to the grey, and bringing out the colour.

This bracelet, made with the zingiest of Czech glass, shiny bronze wire and a stunning bronze clasp by Lesley Watt of THEAtoo is in one of my absolute favourite shades of green (my fave colour, anyway).

And prior to that, I went mad for bright purple.  The polymer clay butterfly beads are made by the talented Di Keeble.  The wire used is (of course) lilac craft wire.

I'm off on my hols soon, so hopefully I will be inspired while away (probably by yet more rain, it's certainly looking likely) and will have some goodies to show when I get back.  Fear not, the rain won't get me down - I love it!  There's nothing quite like walking along a deserted beach, getting absolutely pelted by torrential rain, then going back home to dry out and watch the weather with a hot drink (or alcoholic one, depending on the time!) in hand. :)

And I will definitely be organising my promised giveaway when I return.  My Flickr stats are currently showing 98,000 views exactly, so as soon as I reach 100,000, I'll be sorting out something to give away to readers of my blog/likers of my Facebook page to celebrate.  Yay - giveaways are fun! :)

Please vote in our Spring Blossoms challenge

It's that time again - the bi-monthly challenge for the Wire Goddess Team on Etsy.  We didn't have that many entries this time, but that doesn't mean the standard of the work wasn't as high as ever.  Please take a moment to have a look at how our different wire designers approach the same theme - and please do vote. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7H7SR3G  Voting is open to anyone, and all votes are welcome!  I can't wait for the winner to be announced so we will have a new challenge to get our teeth into. :)

On trees, daffodils and being inspired by the seasons (or not)

Recently I have been inspired to produce Spring-themed pieces - both by the latest Wire Goddess challenge, and by the weather here in the UK, which was ridiculously warm at the end of March.  Daffodils abound - on roundabouts, in gardens and in supermarkets.  I love daffodils, and was agreeably surprised to see my first bunch of the year open into these beauties:

Buying bunches of daffodils, with their tightly closed buds, is a bit like being given a wrapped present - you don't know what you're going to get until the wrapping is off.  Naturally, I had to produce something daffodil-esque in the form of a pendant, and this was what I came up with, another tree (I know, it lacks originality, but I'm obsessed with trees!  See pic at the bottom for proof.) with spring green leaves and a carpet (well, a very small rug) of daffodils nodding beneath.

Then, out of the blue, I became Autumn-inspired when I was lucky enough to snag a fabulous toadstool lampwork bead by the multi-talented Claire-Louise Patrick of Ciel Creations, and that led to this whimsical creation:

Don't ever let anyone dismiss stringing as easy - it took me almost as long to achieve a design I was happy with when stringing this necklace as it does to make a wire pendant.  It's very important to me that a piece has the correct balance, and I really faff about with it!  If you want to see real expertise in the art of sublime stringing, check out the work of Nia Clement - it is beautiful, balanced and exquisitely executed, and I am in awe of her talent!

A swift reversal of the unnaturally balmy weather back to our usual cold and wet, kept me feeling autumnal, and the fact that I'd just got myself some ivory craft wire meant mushrooms were still the order of the day:

Who knows what will jump into my head next?  It's unlikely to be Summer, that being my least favourite season, but you never know - I'm as obsessed with water as I am with trees, so it may be tropical seas next.  And here is one of my (many, MANY - ask my incredulous hubby) pictures of trees from last weekend, when it was cold but sunny: