Last Day of the Earring Challenge

If you follow my blog (what do you mean, you don't?!  Click on that 'follow' button right now, or you'll miss access to all my inane fascinating ramblings, and then where would you be?  Having a life, you say?  Oh, okay, then) you'll know that I set myself an April challenge to make a new pair of earrings for every working day of the month.

The Serpent and the Apple

One pair of earrings a day - shouldn't be too much of a trial, I thought.  Well, I was right and wrong at the same time.  There were days when I was so busy, I didn't know how I was going to fit in creating even something as quick (ha!) as a pair of earrings, and they were the days when the execution was less complex.

Nautilus

 

But I'm so glad I did.  An important part of my job is coming up with new (to me) ideas.  I'm not saying many of them haven't been done somewhere in some similar way before, but I don't look for other people's work to copy (you know how I feel about that!), so the ideas were fresh to me.  And that not only keeps me interested in my work, it also fires my imagination.

Marguerite

I made an effort to make more wirework earrings for the challenge, and that took me in a new direction.  I also finally gave some woven backdrop earrings a go - featuring the sheepsies, of course!

Sheepsies

So am I glad I added to my workload in this way?  Of course.  It was fun to do, and as making things to order is also an important part of my job, it was a good exercise, too.  How did any of you do with your own challenges? :)

The Beauty of Buying Handmade

I love being part of the Handmade community.  I am among like-minded individuals, who understand the time, effort, heart and soul that goes into a handmade piece.  Since I started making my own jewellery, I have come to have a much greater appreciation for items that have started in someone's imagination, and grown as if by magic from their fingers.  It's not that I didn't appreciate handcrafted items before, it's just that having imbued each of my own pieces with a portion of my own heart and soul, it is to me a little humbling to own such a piece made by someone else's hand.

Beautiful work by Vicki Foster of VF Designs

 

I also have great appreciation for the sheer diversity of imagination and skill that is out there.  I cannot sew.  The nearest I get is applying a needle and thread to a simple beaded bead, and that is not very close at all!  So I'm in awe of anyone who can take a piece of material and turn it into something useful and/or beautiful.  There are a few things I can do, and many more that I can't - and for all those things, there are craftspeople out there with beautiful items to fulfill my needs.

 Whimsical hoops by Emma Granton of Wordy Sew and Sew

I'm part of a lovely group of sellers who are getting together to showcase their wares on a regular basis now in One of a Kind Market Events on Facebook.  The next one is on Sunday between 6pm and 11pm - here's the link to the Market Night Event.

Stunning silver-smithed pendants by Joanna Reilly of My Turquoise Queen

The wonderful thing about being part of something like this is that there is such a varied array of artisan work to see all in once place.  Granted, there are only a few special items available per seller, but every single one has their own page for you to hop over and drool over their photos.  And every one is happy - as am I - to discuss custom work with you.  Which brings me to the other reason why handmade items are so special.  Where else could you contact the seller and have something custom made just for you, something truly unique?

Adorable pincushions by Jo Porter at Crafty Jo Designs

 

 

Made to order colouring books by Alice Cook Designs

Handmade cards by Jan Colbunn of Agape Crafts

This is just a tiny fraction of the eclectic work that will be available on Sunday - here is a link to the Market Night Album, which will be full to bursting by then!  I would love to share a picture by each one, but I'd be here all day - and so would you, waiting for the page to load!  So here are all the links to their pages - if you get a moment, please do pop by, I have found some truly beautiful pages while taking part in these events.  Hope to see you all there on Sunday night! :)

The LFStudio
Sewing Circus
VF Designs
Lady H
Little Crescent Moon 
Card Bubble
Sun N Sparkles Bags & more
Crafty Jo Designs
Wordy Sew and Sew
Wrap It
Lily Rose
Jim Jim Designs
Mallory Bags and Journals
Waggy & Babbits
Alice Cook Designs
Agape Crafts
The Book Vandal
Mad About Bags
My Turquoise Queen
Bit On The Side - Vintage Inspired Fascinators
Fuzzy P's Crafts
Em's Little Cake Stop
Lovepaperandprint
Molly rose gifts
Louise Goodchild Designs
 

 

A Fixation with Filing

This is a subject about which I feel very strongly.  I don't often concern myself with how others execute their wirework - it's a personal journey, and I'm happy to plod on in my own sweet way without presuming to judge the skill level of anyone else.  There are MANY people who have far greater skill than I, and if I worried about that too much, I'd crawl into a hole, start rocking gently and never come out. ;)

But the one thing that really upsets me is when I see wirework that hasn't been properly finished.  I don't mean the odd nick that you just can't get to with the file no matter how hard you try - I mean working ends of wire that are going to make contact with skin, in particular earwires.  When I see an earwire that has not had the end smoothed properly, I wince, imagining it tearing the earlobe of the unsuspecting person who's about to wear it.

To my mind, there's no excuse for not finishing an earwire properly.  There's no great skill involved - just time.  My earwires are filed, filed and filed some more, then rigorously tested with my fingertip to check for any sharpness.  I spend a long time getting the finish right - this is why you often have to wait a few days when you order findings from me.  And I never use coloured wire, as the only way to retain the colour on the ends would be to leave them unfiled.  (I should mention that this applies to handmade earwires only - proprietary ones will have had the colour applied after the earwire has been made.)

 
Anyway, I'll step off the soapbox now - I'm not suggesting for one moment that my work is perfect, it's just that earwires with sharp ends really make me cringe!  And I do sometimes buy earwires from other handmade artists, which are beautifully made, and thankfully give me no cause for cringing.  Does anyone else have something that sets their teeth on edge in the same way?

In Good Company

I was going to write about copyright and image/design theft for today's post, as it's something that's becoming increasingly relevant to me - but I've decided to go with a more positive theme, and save the legal stuff for another day.

I'm very flattered to have been invited to join a whole bunch of talented sellers in a Facebook market night event on Saturday.  Online markets are becoming quite common - it's a great way for buyers to see the things they like all in one place, from the comfort of - well, wherever they want to be, these days.

This is only the second one I've participated in, and for the occasion, I've offered my new pieces, including this Sunset Tree, at special prices just for the event.  Please do pop along if you're able - there really will be some beautiful work there.  And I may even pluck up the courage to do one all by myself one day.  Although it is fun being part of a group of sellers for a change, so maybe not ... ;)

Structure and a self-imposed challenge

As someone who currently works from home, I find that a certain amount of structure to my working week is necessary.  If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that I spend Wednesdays in my hubby's workshop, wrestling his and my paperwork into shape and doing all the other admin tasks I put off during the rest of the week - listing in my online shops and writing this blog among them.

During the rest of the week, I start work by 9, make sure I take a break for lunch and work through until at least 5.30 (and usually later in the evening - you know what it's like when you work for yourself!).  This works for me.  I don't allow myself to get tempted by that book I'm dying to finish, or wander off to play cook in the kitchen.  That's not to say I can't if I really want to (and I'm not under pressure with commissions), but I generally don't.  This is a job - one I love, I can't deny it - but one that needs to pay my bills or I'll have to give it up.  So I'm utterly committed to making it work. :)

I'm interested to know what your own work ethic is, if you work from home?  Do you work 'office hours', or have a more relaxed schedule?  What works for you?

Along the theme of self-discipline and having daily/weekly tasks, I'm going to set myself a mini challenge - I'm going to make one pair of earrings every (working) day for the whole of April.  Would anyone like to join in?  It could be any task you'd like to set yourself daily, and you can share the results here or on my Facebook page if you'd like to.  :) 

Something tells me I'll be sick of the sight of earrings by the end of April ... nah, that'll never happen. ;)  I'd best get making earwires in preparation, though ...

Thank Flux For That ...

By Jove, I think I've cracked it!  If you follow me on Facebook, you probably know that I've been trying for months to make ball ended brass headpins with my torch.  I've mastered bronze and copper and I'm happy to buy proprietary silver ones, but I so wanted to make brass ones!  Unfortunately, every attempt I made involved spitting and smoking and charred remains - and let's not even talk about what happened to the wire ... ;)  It didn't seem to matter how I treated the wire or where I held it in the flame - same result.  Burnt offerings and a nasty smell.

However, after some time spent Googling the problem (again) and generally doing a lot of whingeing about it, I saw someone mention way down one of the pages I was poring over for help, that they used flux on their wire.  I can't remember where I saw it, nor can I find it again (naturally) or I'd put the link here.  But 'Aha' I thought - flux.  So I looked up flux on some of my supplier sites, only to realise there are lots of different types, and I couldn't find one that suggested it could be used on brass.  I asked on my Facebook page, and a very kind follower advised that although she used it for silver, her preferred flux was borax.

I figured it was worth a try - at the very least, if it didn't work, I could try it on my sterling wire.  So, one borax cone and a dish later, I sat down this morning to experiment.  Painting the wire with the flux paste is fiddly and time-consuming, but when I put my brass wire in the flame, expecting a mini fire again, it was not so!  A teeny tiny ball formed on the end of the wire and did its fascinating spinning around and crawling up the wire thing.  It's going to take some practise to get the balls a bit more central, and it's not as easy as bronze - but yay!  Result!  :)

Do you believe in fairies ... ?

Remember when we were kids?  Every time a wish was made - when blowing out birthday candles, puffing the seeds from a dandelion etc - I had two alternating wishes.  The first was the (still unfulfilled) wish for a puppy, the second was for a pair of working fairy wings.  It's an age old desire for humans to be able to fly, so it's not really that surprising.  But imagine the delight of sporting a fluttering pair of delicate shimmering wings that could actually lift you off the ground.  Let's be honest - I'd still wish for that if I thought it was remotely possible, but I think my belief in magic may be just a tiny bit tarnished. However, a little of that belief in magic must linger in many of us, because the allure of fairies never completely diminishes.  As evidenced by this recent artwork commission - a set of Four Seasons fairies.

I enjoyed working on this so much, it inspired me to make a wire fairy pendant, using my original goddess design and a dash of seasonal magic.  So here is my Spring Fairy.

Of course, I'm slightly more obsessed with merfolk than fairies, so I'm still trying to work out how to make a mermaid pendant, but in the meantime, don't stop believing in fairies - I may still get my wings! ;)