Because my work was featured in Beads and Beyond Magazine I got a voucher to spend at Beads Unlimited.

I didn’t actually buy many beads, just a few little silver spacers. I did however, get lots and lots of fimo!! Can’t wait to get to work with this stuff!!

I was knocked for six yesterday when I received a phone call from my mum to say that Pip had died. Pip was our family dog and my best friend in all the world when I was a teenager. We had her mum, Midge, from a puppy and I was 12 when Pip was born. She got me through very tough times when I was a teenager, always being there to listen to me and make me feel better. She had a wonderful life living on a farm and going on thousands of miles of walks over the years. She was the most wonderful little dog in the world and I miss her. I am dreading going back to my parents house next weekend, knowing that she won’t be there to greet me.
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I thought I’d have a go at making a spirally version of my Enchanted Entwined pendants. I like how it has turned out. It’s pretty heavy though! There’s a lot of time and wire gone into this one.

Now I’ve had a go at making the beads, it’s time to incorporate them into my jewellery. It’s made me realise that round beads aren’t necessarily the shape for bracelets, I think I prefer flatter beads. I think the round ones will be more appropriate for necklaces. I am going to experiment further with the clay and see if I can make the perfect shapes for the kind of things I am making. That’s the joy of making your own beads, they can be made just the way you want.

I’ve been wanting to make my own beads for a while now but to do great things with polymer clay you need a pasta machine. I decided to treat myself after teaching my class on Saturday and so now the adventures begin.

The beads above are inspired by Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s book Ancient Modern. It’s a wonderful book full of great inspirations. I am sure I will be trying lots more of the ideas in the book.

The leaves below are from the book How to Make Polymer Clay Beads by Linda Peterson. I’m really pleased with how they turned out. I want to try some of the faux stones in the book too, especially the turquoise.

My kitties love to help me when I’m making stuff. Usually they are trying to chew the wire or chase a bead around. Today I had a delivery of beads – 1 kilo of green lampwork beads. Arty has decided they make a good pillow. I’m going to get on with making stuff with the ones he’s not asleep on.

Twin Spiral Bracelet from the tutorial in Bead on a Wire.

I got a new book today, Bead on a Wire by Sharilyn Miller. I am a huge fan of her work, she makes the most amazing things from wire. I had a got at one of the projects in the book, the twin spiral bracelet. I love how it looks. I think I am going to adapt and change the design to make it more comfortable to wear but I love the idea. I can’t wait to try some of the other things in the book.

I’ve been using notebooks at lot recently in an attempt to get more organised. Unfortunately, the ones with paper I like normally have horrible boring covers. The solution – I made a cover out of some awesome cat fabric I just traced the book onto some iron on facing.
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