And the winner is ...

Anne Jones, whose heroine is the vicar of Dibley!  Please contact me (via Facebook is fine) with your address, and I can get the pendant packed up for you, ready to send tomorrow if you're in the UK, or after Christmas if not. :)

As is traditional with my giveaways, all names went into my straw hat and my impartial hubby selected one. 

Thank you so much to all who entered - I've had SO much fun reading all your comments!  Thank you for sharing your heroes and heroines with me. :)

Until the next giveaway, then.  Merry Christmas!  I hope you all have a good one, and that next year is a fabulous one for all of you. xxx

It's Giveaway Time! (ends 18th December 2013)

Yay, it's giveaway time!  A short while ago, I passed the 2000 likers milestone on my Facebook page and I promised a giveaway as a big thank-you.  It's a big deal to me that two thousand people have bothered to press that 'like' button, and I want to give something away to say THANK YOU.  Thank you for liking my page, following my ramblings and commenting on them so I don't think I'm talking to myself and start licking the walls or something ... Thank you to those of you who follow this blog, the lovely people who share my work, and of course a HUGE thank you to every single one of you who has purchased a piece of my work.  From the lowliest headpin to the biggest commission, each sale is incredibly valuable to me.  Many of you are artists and craftspeople too, and you will certainly understand that there is nothing in the world like the knowledge that someone appreciates your work enough to pay for it.  I never take it for granted, I can promise you. x

So, without further ado, here is the piece of jewellery I shall be giving away - many of you will have seen it before, as it's a festive piece and quite dear to my heart - my Christmas Fairy Door. 

It is a pendant intended to be worn on a necklace, but if you don't wear jewellery you could always use it as a Christmas ornament. :)

Okay, the rules:  the giveaway is, as always, open to all of my followers, wherever in the world you may be.  There will be no substitutes for the item - what you see is what you get.  This will be shared on my Facebook page, but is not endorsed by or affiliated with Facebook.  All you need to do to be entered is to answer my question and comment HERE on my blog - entries on my Facebook page will not count.

To make this fun for all of us, I'd like you to answer a question - your answer will count as your entry.  Only ONE answer will be allowed per person, and you must include your NAME in the answer.  Anonymous replies will not be entered.

Here is the question:

Who is your favourite fictional hero/heroine and why?  You may choose a character from film and television if you don't like to read.  PLEASE ONLY CHOOSE ONE - this is part of the fun, that you need to whittle it down to one favourite.  You have time to think about it, the giveaway won't close until a week today (18th December).

So, to recap, here is how you enter:

• Enter by commenting here on my blog.
• Choose ONE favourite hero/heroine and state why you love them.
• Include your name in your entry.
• Enter by 18th December.

I will announce the winner here on 18th December.  The prize will be sent out after Christmas.

Good luck! :)

Christmas-themed Jewellery

So my immersion in all things Christmas - I'm still in the middle of decorating anything that doesn't move - has me thinking about seasonal jewellery.  I'm generally very bad at anticipating seasonal occasions - yes, I know they come round at the same time every year! - but the one I can throw myself into with ease is Christmas.  It would be nice to pretend I'm a shrewd marketer (stop that sniggering at the back), but the truth is it's no hardship to put together some pretty pieces with plenty of sparkle in Christmas colours.  I've always loved festive jewellery - I was always the one at work with the flashing earrings and necklace! - and I've been making it since I very first started.  I have several pieces that come out with tedious (for everyone else, I fear) regularity at this time of year.  This is one of the first Christmas necklaces I made:

And I wore another early necklace of mine on Sunday when I was decorating my tree and wailing along with all the usual cheesy classics:

Earrings are a perennial favourite of mine to make:

And of course I like to sneak in the odd wirework pendant:

What are your thoughts on seasonal and occasion jewellery?  I'm very inspired by the seasons and the weather, so I enjoy making pieces that epitomise the feeling in the air, especially winter and Christmas with its cold snap and warm feeling.  And I love to decorate myself along with all those things I mentioned before that don't move.  Spring will be no trouble, although I may struggle with the occasion that is Valentine's Day - I'm going to set myself a challenge to make a few Valentine's themed pieces next year! ;)