Itsamistry Design Studio

Blog Dedicated to Weddings

2012-01-18T22:22:00.001Z

Hello just a very quick blog today to let you know that I now have a blog that is dedicated to all things wedding. Not just my jewellery and accessories but things that I have come across on the web. I want to show things which are unique like today's post which is all about Skull wedding toppers - although they can be used just as home decorations if you wanted. Here is a link to the new website hope you will come and join me over there to - Itsamistry Wedding Designs

Aren't they just fantastic?

Anita

If You Wear Red Today

2012-01-16T22:52:00.001Z

These necklaces are for a raffle at a Forward Ladies event – “If You Wear Red Today” as part of National Red Dress Day on Friday 3rd February – raising awareness of heart disease in women. Money raised from the raffle will go to the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. For more information and to book your place pop over to the events page on the Forward Ladies website

These beautiful red Swarovski hearts are embraced within a silver wire (non-tarnish silver plated) frame that has been hand-formed. Each heart is individual and unique the only similarity being the swirls that finish of the loose ends. Both necklaces will be attached to a faux suede 18 inch cord.

I also made these to list on my Etsy shop but I am letting my facebook, twitter and blog followers first refusal before I list them and add postage and Etsy charges to the price listed. Full description of each necklace can be found on my facebook page.

£25.00

£30.00

I know it's rather late but I'm sure Wendy won't mind me linking to her Handmade Monday post as it is still Monday.

Oh, what do you think of the new look?

You Lift Me Up

2012-01-12T18:05:00.000Z

Just a quick post today showing one of my cards with a sassy corset. The corset is a rubber stamp design by Pink Cat Studio - Lingerie set. I've painted it with my favourite Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils and added some jewels to the front. The tiny flower stamp is also part of the set and makes for a great border and as we all know you can never have enough bling I've added the tiniest of gems to the centres. I like this set of stamps as they are sassy and quirky and make me smile.

Coat Update and Handmade Monday #48

2012-01-09T18:02:00.002Z

Yay Handmade Monday by Wendy from 1st UniqueGifts is back after the Christmas and New Year break

I haven't made anything new this week as I've been catching up on the accounts. So my post today is an update on the coat that I started just before Christmas. I was determined to start and finish it before New Year but that didn't happen because of last minute orders and post office runs etc. But considering I've actually had the material and pattern for over 12 months just making a start was an achievement. I'm nearly there the lining and sleeves are in I just need to tack the sleeves in place on the inside and finish off the hem. I cut the sleeve to 3/4 because I wanted to add a cuff or something rather than have a straight sleeve.

You're probably going to think I'm crazy but I am going to cut out different sized flowers from the left over material and some contrasting coloured felt (black) and stitch those to the sleeve and add buttons or beads to the centre. Then instead of a button closure I am going to add a large hook and eye and cover it with a large layered flower again with buttons and/or beads. Well that's the idea. I think the red just needs to be broken up a little because it's quite long (calf length) and I feel its too much to wear all red on it's own. Plus I want to make it unique to me.

This is the pattern that I used.

Don't forget to pop on over to Wendy's blog to see what everyone else has been making.

Desk Sharing and Happy Feet 2

2012-01-07T21:10:00.000Z

Thursday started with the arrival of my 6 year old date- namely my gorgeous niece :) She's such a bubbly and happy little girl (99.9% of the time). Our day started of with her coming up to my workroom where she shared half my work desk with her colouring books. As she got stuck into doing some colouring I started drawing of a heart with wings. I'd found some doodles I'd made from when I was making the Sacred Heart ATCs. As I was drawing I could see little eyes peering over to see what I was doing and promptly a little voice asked if she could have a go and being the lovely aunt that I am I gave here some paper and a stencil with some hearts on it - I always encourage her to create freely and without making any suggestions unless asked and as you can see from the pictures she really enjoyed her making her heart with wings. After she had finished she cut it out and made it into a finger puppet - I wish I'd taken an photo of the heart because she really did do a fantastic job.

The middle picture shows my card. I have to add that I have removed the head and the lines under the heart and wings as they just didn't sit correctly. I still have to finish mine but it can wait.

The Happy Feet 2 refers to what we did in the afternoon - trip to the cinema to watch it in 3D. We thought we were going to be only ones in the theatre but as it happens a few more people did turn up. We both enjoyed it and had great fun trying to pop the bubbles at the end and yes I know they weren't real. I'm sure the other people in there must have thought we were both a little crazy but hey it was fun to laugh and giggle with a 6 year old.

Heart Tree

2012-01-04T22:47:00.001Z

Yesterday I posted these fabric Artist Trading Cards -which I am happy to say are on their way to new homes.

Before I started on the fabric cards I wanted to try out the "heart tree" on card to see if how it would look and work. I'm happy to say that it did because trees and hearts are 2 of my favourite things to draw (if you can call it drawing) and here it is -

Its drawn on Watercolour paper with faber-castell pitt pen and coloured with my favourite Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils and finished off with white gel pen.

First post of 2012

2012-01-03T18:45:00.000Z

Happy New Year!!!

I am going to blog more this year it's a shortfall of mine. So even if it's short and sweet I will try and post something on a regular basis.

In today's post I'm showing off the Artists Trading Cards that I've made for trading at ATCsforAll and for the sister site iATCs. Firstly we have cards for the "Trees Trees Trees" swap on iATCs. These are made from fabric and are painted with acrylic paints. I've added beads and sequins as embellishments and then used embroidery thread to outline the "trees".

Next we have the cards for the Sacred Heart swap over on ATCsforAll. The instructions for the cards was to use 3 of the 4 elements listed - wings, crown, thorns and flames. I went with wings, crown and flames as I couldn't get the thorns to look like thorns. I did have an idea of making a thorn crown out of wire but didn't go with it as these cards will be mailed out to the host and then onto the recipient and I didn't want risk them being delayed or taken out of the postal system for security reasons. For these I've used Derwent Inktense Watercolour Pencils, Faber-Castel Pitt pens and the card itself is Daler-Rowney -Bockingford Water Colour Paper 300gsm/140lb.

I hope you enjoy reading my rambles - I would love to know what you think so please feel free to leave a comment.

Anita

Knitting, Jewellery and Handmade Monday #47

2011-12-19T22:18:00.000Z

Finally!! I can start making my Christmas presents for a couple of friends. The last few weeks have been manic with making and sending out orders and making custom pieces for private clients. I have to admit I tend to work much better under pressure -weird I know.

So for my presents I'm knitting a couple of my friends neck warmers - they seem to be the in thing at the moment. Personally I don't like anything around my neck -feels claustrophobic. I found 2 patterns that I liked the look of and didn't take too long to make. One was from ravelry and the other was from Lynne's Pattern Parlour both of them are free for personal use and are very easy to make up. It took me longer than an hour to make them but then I find that I can't knit quickly with large knitting needles and I guess I'm not a "proper" knitter:).

The blue one is the ravelry pattern and the purple one is from Lynne's Pattern Parlour. The blue wool Aero by King Cole and the purple wool is Sirdar Big Softie - each has taken one ball of wool but you can use more if you wanted. The flowers that you can see on each scarf are brooches that I'd made some time back and co-ordinate very well.

Last week I posted a photograph of the dress I was going to wear to the sole traders Christmas meal what I didn't have at the time was the jewellery that I was going to wear. Well I managed to make a beaded necklace and a ring in grey/blue and matt red seed beads.

That's it from me for today. If you would like to see more creativeness why not pop on over to Wendy's and see what the other creative people have been busy making.

Wearable Art Brooch

2011-12-14T11:05:00.000Z

After the success of the new Wearable Art jewellery collection I have been thinking of other ways of using the art tiles – lots of different ideas but these had to go on hold until this week when the last of my custom orders were mailed out. I’ve also been asked if I would be making headbands or brooches so with this in mind I have made a brooch with some leftover pieces. I think I need to adapt it a little bit but for a first trial it’s not too bad.

My Party Dress

2011-12-12T20:58:00.003Z

My goodness how time flies when you're having fun and busy. It also seems to have gone very cold all of a sudden....................snow on the way? Let's hope it's not as bad as last year.

This coming Saturday I am going to a Sole Traders Christmas party which has been organised by Shilpa Mistry (no not related lol) and is being held at the Indian Ocean Restaurant. I could have a party for one but I guess that wouldn't be much fun now would it? or would it? :)

Joking aside it's a great way to not only enjoy good food and drink but also to make new friends and acquaintance. At last years party I met the lovely Deborah from Tiger Photography and we have since become very good friends.

I've not had time to shop and to be honest I haven't seen anything which shouts out and says "buy me" and I certainly haven't had time to make anything. Which put me on a mission to look through all my "going out" clothes - not that I go out much these days. So having rummaged through my collection I have decided this year I am going to wear a dress I made quite a few years ago and which still fits. It's a gorgeous deep wine colour and the over-dress is in grey with splashes of green, purple and deep red. I've altered the original dress pattern so that it splits open in the front to show the dress underneath.
I've taken some pictures today - not the best photography as you can see but you get the idea.

My Party Dress

I'm adding this to Wendy's handmade Monday blog even though it's not something I've made this week. I'm sure Wendy won't mind me sharing something I've made previously. If you have some spare time why not pop on over to Wendy's and see what everyone else has been up to.

Work In Progress (WIP)

2011-12-05T20:08:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to the start of another week and it's also Handmade Monday #45. It's getting much colder here and we've had nothing but rain and hail- thankfully no sign of snow.............yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get any until the end of the week as I still have a couple of fairs to attend. Last Friday was the annual craft fair at the Rams Head pub in Disley which coincides with the light switch on - you can read about it on my website.

As well as my jewellery projects I have been making some ATC's (Artists Trading Cards) for a swap/trade on ATCsforAll and another on the juried sister site iATCs. I haven't made any ATC's for over 12 months because I've been concentrating on the jewellery and haven't had that urge to create anything arty. However recently I've been having a "craving" to do something and I wanted to get back into the ATC communitly - I have made some lasting friendships on both sites and I've even met quite a few of them in June (2010) at the artfest in Rochester New York. So the 2 swaps I've put my name down for are My Sacred Heart on ATCsforAll and a Trees Swap on iATCs.

I've made a start on the heart themed swap yesterday by sketching out a few designs to see how I can incorporate a few of the essential items that are part of the rules of this trade: we have to add 3 of the 4 item listed - crown, thorns, wings or fire. I think I have the start of one of them using crown, wings and fire.

Here are some of my ideas - not sure how they will turn out but at least I've made a start on them especially as I have to make 3 for the swap and I always include 1 for the host. These are on watercolour paper and I've used my favourite Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils.

As you can see they are at the early stages and still rough around the edges but it gives you an idea of where I'm going with this swap. I don't know about you but I always find getting the initial idea the hardest to do. Once I've got the idea the actual making up of the art isn't as time consuming and it all seems to fall into place.

Well that's enough from me for today. Why not pop on over to Wendy's and see what everyone else has been up to and if you're a crafter and want to join in we'd love to see your work.

Knitting Challenge

2011-11-27T21:31:00.001Z

So those of you who know me and my challenges will no doubt be wondering what I'm up to this time. Well I've given myself a knitting challenge and before you say how on earth am I going to do a 30 day knitting challenge STOP because it's not a 30 day challenge. I don't think even I'm that adventurous.

Ok so what am I doing? Well you see I have this pattern by Sirdar which uses the Nomad range of wool. But I wanted to make it in a chunky wool..........can you see where I'm going with this? No? Well I decided to make this cardigan/jacket with a different wool still by Sirdar but in their Indie range which happens to be very chunky and thick. I like this pattern because there is no shaping involved - just squares/rectangles for back, fronts and sleeves. So how hard can that be to knit up?

I made a tension piece with the Indie wool using 5.5mm needles and it came out the same size as the instructions for using the Nomad (15 sts and 25 rows to 4in/11cm in garter stitch) and I thought great here I go. I have to say the ladies in the wool shop were/are still skeptical as to whether this is going to work or not.

Today I finished the back and it has taken 7 and a bit balls of wool to make (short version). The challenge is going to be in making up the fronts as they knitted lengthways with 104 stitches and the challenge there is that I can't fit 104 stitches onto my needles so I have decided that I will knit it width ways up (if that makes sense). However my concern is that I won't be able to get the collar to fall over the way it's supposed to.

I've started knitting the front today using 28 stitches but I think I may have to shape the collar or just have it without and have straight fronts and then do something creative with the edges - sounds like a plan? Anyway here is a picture of the back and the start of the front.

Now that you've read what I've been up to why not pop on over to Wendy's Handmade Monday blog and see what everyone else has been up to.

Another Piece of Wearable Art

2011-11-21T21:40:00.000Z

Oh dear I'm late posting this today. I was going to do it yesterday but woke up with a niggling headache - which didn't turn into a headache but you could feel it might do - yeah weird I know but there you go. Anyway here we are at the start of another week and getting closer to Christmas. It's quite frightening when you see someone post on twitter that there are only XXX amount of days left.

I've been busy with a few craft fairs not many and I'm glad as I've had an absolutely amazing response to the Shrink art bracelet I posted last week. I've already had people ordering and paying up front for them - which is great. I've also been making quite a few Christmas cards for customers.

This week I made a necklace with some polyshrink that was left over from another project. These bits make for unusual shapes which in turn makes the necklace impossible to recreate and totally unique. I've used the same design on the pieces just because I like it and it was already out. I've used doubled up lilac satin ribbon instead of using beads because I like the idea that you can adjust the length of the necklace to suit the outfit and neckline of your clothing.

Lilac Shrink Art Necklace with Czech beads

Here is one of the cards I've been commissioned to make -

So there you have it. Now that you've seen what I've made why not pop on over to Wendy's blog to see what all my fellow crafter's have been making.

Anita

All Made Up

2011-11-14T18:38:00.000Z

Last week I posted this picture showing you the start of my new collection.

If you follow me on twitter or have subscribed to my facebook page then you will already have seen the pieces made into a bracelet. If you haven't then here it is all made up and ready to be sold.

I've had some amazing feedback from people about the bracelet. At a recent Christmas Market held by a ladies networking group I had the bracelet on display and everyone of the ladies who showed interest in it held out their wrists to try it on. Normally I have to ask if they want to try anything on - but not with this one nope they all wanted to try it on. Which I think is a good response.

The first sample piece that I made was made in lime green and that colour seems to be the most popular even though I offer to make the bracelets in the customers choice of colour.

I'll leave you with a photograph of the original piece.

Why not pop over to Wendy's blog to see what my fellow designers/crafters have been up to. We have an array of talented ladies and gents and if you are a fellow designer/crafter why not share your makes - we always like to see what others have been up to.

Please do leave a comment of what you think - it's always nice to know that I've had visitors. There's always tea & cake on offer :)

Anita

Cut, Paint, Shrink, File & Seal

2011-11-07T21:00:00.001Z

Another week over and it's getting colder each day - there was frost on the cars and rooftops this morning. I don't like the cold in fact if I had my way I would quite happily go and live in India or any hot country until it warmed up here in the UK. But for now I will have to make do with the warm company of my on-line friends and blog readers :).

So what do I have to offer you today? Well sometime back I posted a picture of some new jewellery I had been working on and to date I have had some pretty amazing feedback and a couple of requests for purchase. So with that in mind on today's "To Do" list was pricing up the new design starting with the bracelet.

Here are some of the pieces I have made today in readiness to be made up into a bracelet. I will be adding some Czech crystals in coordinating colours along with some wire-work. Excuse the poor quality photograph I took it while they were still drying and had the desk lamp shining down on them. The true colour is more on the red side than orange. I'll take another picture when I've made them all up.

I also painted this papier mache heart box. I bought a few different shaped ones months ago but never got around to doing anything with them. So today while I had the paints out it gave me the opportunity to get one made up. I've used acrylic paint used straight from the tube (my favourite way). There are several layers on the lid to give it lots of texture. The design is the same background stamp I have used for the above bracelet pieces and for the Christmas Card Trees I made in a previous post. The base of the box is half red and half black again the pictures were taken at my work desk with the light shining over the top but the colours are more or less correct.

I hope you've enjoyed reading today's post. If you would like to see what other crafter's/designers have been making why not pop on over to Wendy's blog and check out the links in her Handmade Monday post.

Tameside Creatives Network

2011-11-02T21:06:00.000Z

Last week I posted about networking and how it helps to keep you motivated and “sane” especially if you are a sole trader and work mainly from home.

Today I am writing about a networking event that I run along with Shilpa Mistry – and before you ask no we are not related it’s a question we get asked quite often when we go to the same events .

The idea came about after I returned to work in Tameside after a year of working from a studio in Reddish. In my 12 months working in the Stockport/Cheshire area I found that Stockport council had a thriving Creative Industry and were actively promoting “creatives” in the area and as I had a studio there I was invited to attend their monthly events which I found really useful and got to meet and work with other like minded individuals.

However, moving back to Tameside I found that there was no support/meeting in the area (other than the established BNI’s B4Bs etc) and found myself to be really isolated working from home and not having as much contact with the outside world other than online via twitter, facebook etc. I tried to find help and funding from the local council but unfortunately they were going through cuts etc. So having come to a bit of a dead end Shilpa and I decided that we would do something ourselves and in our own time.

So with my list of ”creatives” database and Shilpa’s expertise in finding a venue we launched Tameside Creatives Network in May 2011 at Costa Coffee. We didn’t really know if anyone would be interested in coming along as it was mainly aimed at creatives (although everyone is welcome). I am pleased to say that we have gone from strength to strength in the last 7 months that we have been running the event and we have members who have been coming from day 1 – so we must be doing something right.

We get people from all types of businesses – photographers, cake designers, graphic artists, web designers, solicitors, a member of staff from Tameside College the list goes on.

The photographs below were taken at todays networking and as you can see the event is relaxed and inviting and there is no pressure to hard sell it’s very informal – which is exactly what we envisioned and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the people who attend our meetings so from both me & Shilpa I would like to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has come along and supported us and hopefully we will get to meet many more new businesses at our future events. If you would like more information or would like to come to one of our meetings please have a look at the Tameside Creatives Network website or alternatively you can contact me here via the contact form.

Thank you for reading my rambles and if you have any thoughts please do leave them in the comments box.

Handmade Monday #40

2011-10-30T22:15:00.002Z

I missed last weeks Handmade Monday because I was very poorly I spent 3 days in bed. I'm slowly getting better still have fits of coughing. My niece told me I sounded like a trumpet when blowing my nose - I'd say more like a fog horn lololol.
So my contribution to this weeks handmade Monday is a scarf I knitted for said cheeky niece :). It's made with Indie wool and done in garter stitch over 15 stitches on 51/2 needles. I've added some dangly bits to each end and sewn some buttons along the bottom at the request of my niece (she chose the buttons) - she's a creative little thing 6 going on 16.

As you can see it's quite funky and colourful.

Thank you for popping over to read my post and if you would like to see other creative peoples work why not pop on over to Wendy's blog to see what everyone else has been up to.

Please do leave a comment it's always nice to hear what you think.

Anita

Women In Business & Networking

2011-10-27T12:36:00.000+01:00

Starting your own business is daunting in itself but to be a woman starting out can be even more frightening especially if you work from home and don’t have a “office/work place” to go to. It can be very lonely and isolating.

When I started my business I had no idea the amount of support and networking events that are out there. Some are specifically catered to women, others are more corporate businesses, business clubs etc. There are too many to name.

In my first few weeks of setting up I received a lot of help and advice from The Tameside Business Family run by the local council in Tameside. This was great in getting to know the practical side of things like tax, book-keeping etc but didn’t really help with connecting to other people in business.

Too read the full article please pop over to my website blog

This is a photograph of some of the group members

Cupcake Cookie Tags

2011-10-18T12:20:00.003+01:00

A few months ago I was commissioned to make some tags for a bride who was having cookies made for her guests. The spec was that they were to be vintage style & colours. The tags were attached to the cookies which were then put into containers on the tables. I don't have any photos of them insitu but here are the pictures I took before I sent them off -

This is the lovely email I received from the couple -

Anita
Well, what can I say. Amazing, amazing, amazing......


The cakes and cookies went down a storm and the guests absolutely loved their name tags on the cookies. It was such a special and personal touch.

I cannot thank you enough for your help.

Carla & Mark.

2011-10-17T22:05:00.000+01:00

Diwali Cards

This week I've been making this years Diwali cards to send to friends and family.
What is Diwali? Diwali is the hindu festival of light. I won't go into a long post but you can read all about it here.
For my cards I've used a rubber stamp with a henna design on it (I don't remember which company its from as I've taken the stamp of the wooden block). I think the shape of the design lends itself as a flame. The base and wording were made digitally using a graphics software. The tiny gems adds a touch of sparkle to the end result.

If you enjoy looking at or even making different types of crafts why not pop on over to Wendy's and take a look at what other crafter's have been up to.

Anita

Make The Most Of Your Background Rubber Stamps

2011-10-10T17:25:00.000+01:00

Hello long time no blog - sorry about that but the problems with the internet connection has really thrown me off balance. Happy to say that it is all sorted - so no excuses not to blog right?

So for my first post in over a month I thought I would show how you can utilise your background rubber stamps. If like me you have boxes of stamps and only use a few favourites then read on. I have a LOT of stamps but use only a few but recently I've been using one of my background stamps for designing some jewellery - wearable art.

But first I would like share the 2 cards I've made using a stamp from Stamp Camp (Whimsy Waves #S358).

The first card is a trio of Christmas Trees.

The second card is a parcel.

And I mentioned a jewellery project - well here is a sneak peek.

Thank you for popping in to read my post. I would love to hear your thoughts on the above projects so don't be shy in leaving a comment.

If you would like to see more creativeness then why not pop on over to Wendy's and check out the Handmade Monday Blog.

Have a great week and I hope the sunshine's for you all.

Anita

Brides Up North Tweetup 2011 - Didsbury Manchester

2011-08-16T15:09:00.000+01:00

Hello lovely followers apologies again for the lack of updates but as some of you will know I have had a bit of a nightmare with my internet connection for the last 2 months - hopefully it will be sorted tomorrow as I've finally managed to get an engineer booked to come and sort out where the problem is.

I should have written this post 2 weeks ago but haven't been able to due to lack of internet. However, finally fingers crossed the internet doesn't crash while I'm writing this post.

You maybe looking at the title and thinking what is a tweet up - well very briefly it's a gathering of people who are on twitter and are looking to meet face to face. This particular tweet up was organised by the lovely Julia from Brides Up North. This wasn't just any old tweet up it was for people who are specifically involved in the wedding/bridal industry. I was one of the lucky ones to get a ticket - there was a waiting list as the event had sold out.

The event was hosted on 7the August 2011 at The Didsbury House Hotel which I have to say is absolutely gorgeous and wouldn't mind spending a couple of nights at. I have to admit I was really nervous walking in on my own -but I needn't have worried because the first person I met was a lovely young man named Ian Martindale who happens to be a photographer based in Yorkshire but also works around the northwest.

The official photographers were Jenny and Keith McAvoy - it was a pleasure to meet them both and they have given me a few exclusive photographs taken at the event.

Unfortunately I didn't get to speak to everyone so apologies to those I haven't mentioned in the post.

Well I'm gonna stop waffling and let you have peek at some photographs courtesy of McAvoy Photographers - thank you Jenny and Keith.


This is our hostess Julia from Brides Up North


Oh aye up here's yours truly with Ian Martindale and the delightful Jenny McAvoy


This young lady makes the most stunning vintage crystal bouquets	check out her website

There are more delicious looking photographs on Julia's blog of all the other people who were there on the night and you will agree that a good night was had by all. In one of the photographs you will see a table set up as a sweet stall - can I just say I DID NOT touch one of those sweets - why? because I was into day 7 of my 30 day challenge of cutting out sweets, chocolates, biscuits and cake - aye you read right - currently I am onto day 16 but more of that on another blog.

Here are links to some of the other creative people who I had the pleasure of meeting at the event. I hope you will pay them a visit -

Cakes by Beth Hand-crafted cakes for all occasions

The Flower Lounge Sian Wild -lovely lady won a nights stay at The Didsbury House Hotel. You can see some of Sian's creations over at Brides Up North

Very Inviting Bespoke Handmade Stationery

Wrapor - Wraps Tailored To Fit You Beautifully by Kay McEllin

The Wedding Shop Gorgeous wedding dresses.

Dream Booth -fantastic idea

Wedding Bits n Bobs - Wedding Accessories

Love Bouquets -Stunning Vintage Bouquets

Gimme Cake!!! Cupcakes made to order

Mia Rose Handmade Tiaras and Jewellery

Well that's it from me for today. Hope you all have a good day.

Anita

Birthday Present For A Friend & Handmade Monday #27

2011-07-31T21:41:00.000+01:00

What a busy week it's been with meetings with new clients, new web designer and an interview on Redshift Radio (see previous post) oh and it was my dads birthday.

So with all this going on I didn't have much time in the week to make my friends birthday present -it's her birthday today (1st Aug). I wasn't sure whether to buy her the usual wine and flowers or a piece of jewellery. A few years ago I gave her vouchers for Christmas and made a gift holder out of card to present it in. It seems she kept the pocket and has been using it to hold her bits of papers etc for when she goes shopping. We met up a few weeks ago and she showed me the now tattered pocket and asked if I'd make her another one. So this gave me the idea of making her a fabric purse to put her vouchers and notes in for her birthday.

Here is what I made her - fabric purse with hidden button closure, handmade card and because I'd forgotten to buy wrapping paper and couldn't find the gift bags I used some brown paper to wrap it all in. I think the package looks quite neat and was really pleased with the way it turned out. It's amazing what you can do with a bit of ribbon and lace.

Oh and in-case you're wondering she has already had her present today (Sunday)

She had a little gathering at her house and we all enjoyed some Pimms and had a lovely buffet and for dessert there was chocolate covered marshmallows, trifle and a baked raspberry cheesecake. Then we had a game of Family Fortunes to end the afternoon.

If you've enjoyed reading my little post and would like to see what other crafters have been making then why not pop over to Wendy's blog and click on the links.

Live On Radio

2011-07-28T21:04:00.003+01:00

Today I spent a couple of hours as a guest on the European Lunch hour (well 2 hours12pm to 2pm) at RedShift Radio. I was invited by the lovely Chrisoula Sirigou the owner of Explorama a company that provides very unique/alternative holiday packages. I met Chrisoula a couple of months ago at the Pre-Launch of the Female Entrepreneur Association and on the FEA LinkedIn group. Chrisoula had started a thread and invited people to put their names forward if they were interested in going on the show. Anyway to cut a long story short I put my name down like you do and I was invited to take part in todays show.

The programme today was all about France it's culture, history, food etc. We also talked about our passions ans what keeps us creative and how to keep a good work/life balance and the consequencies of stress and bad working habits and the importance of realising when to take time out for you. You can listen back to the show just go to the radios website and click on the schedule then on the European Lunch hour box and if you scroll down you will see the previous show dates.

As well as myself there were 2 other guests -

Rachel Kasaven who is a lifestyle coach and provides training and coaching to help you succeed in life. Rachel works with businesses and on a one to one basis. You can find out more about Rachel and her work on her website Rachel Kasaven Coaching .

Angelita Woosnam is a holistic therapist and is the owner of Indigo Spirit. Angelita offers treatments such as Indian Head Massage, Reiki, Facelift Massage and my personal favourite Reflexology.

I would like to finish of by saying a BIG thank you to Chrisoula & Redshift Radio for the opportunity to go on the show and to say how lovely it was to chat with Rachel and Angelita. It was definately one of those days I will remember for a long time to come and for all the right reasons.

Please do pop over to the websites as there is a lot more information than what I have posted here.

Anita.

Day 22 of 30 Day Challenge

2011-07-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

I can't believe I'm already onto day 22 of my 30 day challenge the days seem to have flown by. It's been good having set myself a challenge otherwise I would still be waiting for tomorrow to arrive and my Etsy shop would still be fairly empty.

I haven't uploaded the recent makes to Etsy as they are going to be shown to Annabel who runs Eco Chic Boutique in Boughton Chester. Annabel has been selling some of my jewellery in her lovely little shop where she also sells the most gorgeous dresses and outfits which can be made to order as a bespoke/customised piece.

Here are a couple of the newer items I've made this week -

I also made these customised White Swarovski Pearl Crysal & Crystal AB earrings for a friend of mine. She saw one of her friends daughters wearing something similar at a party and wanted me to make her something along that line. My photography doesn't do them justice.

So the next challenge is to come up with another challenge - any ideas welcome - please feel free to leave your suggestions here.

Handmade Monday #26

2011-07-25T20:05:00.001+01:00

Firstly apologies for not posting anything for a couple of weeks. Life's been a little bit hectic and stressed but I seem to be on track again.

I missed last weeks Handmade Monday as hosted by the lovely Wendy . If you craft or just like to see what people have been creating then pop on over to Wendy's blog to see all the other crafters and their makes - you won't be disappointed.

So what have I been up to? I've set myself a challenge to photograph a piece of jewellery everyday for the next 30 days -today is day 20. I can't believe how time disappears and that I have kept up the challenge - only 10 more days to go.

Here are a couple of new pieces that I made in the last couple of days. I'll be taking these to Eco Chic Boutique in Boughton, Chester. Annabel has been selling my jewellery for quite a few months now and I hope she likes these enough to sell them in her shop.

You can see all the other pieces on my facebook page.

They are all available to buy on my Etsy shop.

Hope you all have a lovely week.

Anita

Winner Announced of the July Giveaway

2011-07-16T20:32:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the announcement but I lost access to the internet yet again.

WE HAVE A WINNER

***ELS***

The winner was picked at random by my friend last night

Congratulations - The earrings will be mailed out to you on Monday

Thank you to everyone who entered.
Could everyone who entered please send me an email from my website as I have a
little something for you to for entering the giveaway.

Handmade Monday #24

2011-07-11T10:11:00.000+01:00

Another Monday and it's time for Handmade Monday hosted by the lovely Wendy from 1stUniqueGifts. It's also Wendy's birthday so this makes an it extra special day for her and her hubby who also shares his birthday today.

Happy Birthday to you both hope you have a fab day.

I started a 30 day challenge after watching this YouTube video which was posted on facebook by one of my contacts.

What's my challenge? To take a photograph of one piece of jewellery for the next 30 days and list it on my etsy shop - today is day 6 (I still need to take today's pics later on). I have also started an album on my flickr account and now that I have announced it to the world on twitter and facebook I have no excuse to not keep it up.

Here are a couple from the last couple of days

Available to buy from my Etsy shop

I've also been making more cards and really enjoying it.

I have no idea who this set of stamps is made by- I've only got pic of the images.

A sneak peek at an Indian wedding card that I have been asked to make.

Now that you've seen my makes why not pop on over to 1stUniqueGifts and see what

all the other creative people have been busy making.

Hope you all have a creative and happy week.

Anita

Handmade Monday #23

2011-07-03T17:51:00.002+01:00

This weeks Handmade Monday is dedicated to some of the people

who I met at the Mossley Craft Market this Saturday.

The market is held every 2 weeks and is in place to bring the people from

Tameside, Saddleworth and Glossop areas together bringing the spirit

of the community to one place.

Firstly let me introduce you to Jannicke Brun she is the owner of Mossley Cracker

Specialists in supplying ECO fuel to local community in the form of recycled

waste materials to make logs for burning.

Jannike is also one of the organisers of the Mossley Craft Market.

In the background of the above photograph (right) you will see Debbie of

Refind Creations they bring life back to tired

objects and turn these objects in to new things.

Like these frying pans which have been turned into clocks.

Then we have a couple of photographs from Symon of

Restor8 Design Solutions Ltd

Professional Photograph Restorers & Retouchers.

Below are some samples from Alan Tolfrey

Mossley Model Maker

Model Buildings - Portraits with a difference. Unique, Individual and Unusual

Next we have Lucy Allen of Knitted By Lulu

Lucy is new to the world of craft markets -this is here first one.

Lucy has only been knitting since February 2011.

She decided that she needed something to do while watching televison in the evenings.

Lucy told me that she taught herself to knit by watching videos on YouTube.

I have to say after seeing Lucys work I would never have guessed that she has

only been knitting for a few months.

Here are a few pics of Lucy's creations and the lady herself.

Oh and finally here is a pic of my table

If you would like to know more about the Mossley Craft Market pop on over to their website

I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog then you might want to pop over to Wendy's blog and

read what my fellow crafters have been making this week - you won't be disappointed.

Oh yes and before I sign off why not have a look at my previous post (1st July)

and leave a comment to win this pair of Swarovski Pearl Earrings

(you must leave your comment in that post to qualify)

July Giveaway

2011-07-01T11:48:00.004+01:00

AND WE HAVE A WINNER

***ELS***

Congratulations

The winner was picked at random by my friend
Verna this evening. I will post pictures tomorrow.

GIVEAWAY!!!

I guess it's time I put my money where my mouth is as the saying goes.

I posted on many of the social networks that once I had reached

500 followers on my facebook page

I would giveaway a prize.

I have to say I am rather overwhelmed with how many followers

I have on facebook, twitter and here on my blog

So what am I giving away and what do you have to do?

It's simple - all you have to do is pop on over to the blog page on my website

and leave a comment - see simple.

If you wish to you may leave a comment on here or on my facebook page to be entered into the prize draw.

Here is what you can win - a gorgeous pair of Swarovski Pearl Earrings.

The winner will be picked at random on Friday 15th July 2011

GOOD LUCK!!

ENDS 5PM UK TIME 15TH JULY

Glue and Paint

2011-06-29T18:07:00.001+01:00

This afternoon I went back to my love of mixing colours. It's been a long time since I've had glue and paint on my hands- and it felt good I can tell you.

I've missed this creative side just sitting and playing and letting the mind wander - I think we have enough rules in our day to day life and we forget to just let go and be ourselves.

I don't pre-mix the colours I like the freedom of applying paint straight onto the "canvas" and seeing the colours "develop" as I apply it to the item being painted.

I started by playing with some shrink plastic squares. I've had this idea about making buttons with it - it's not a new idea just something I wanted to make to use on my cards in some way - we'll see.

I wore my stampbord necklace one day last week and I had so many people commenting on it that I thought it would be good to make some more necklaces to sell.

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been making today.

Paints used are Stewart Gill Paints

I've been featured .............

2011-06-28T21:11:00.000+01:00

All thanks to the lovely Lauren from Pretty Star Designs. It was while I was browsing through the updates on twitter that I saw a call for wedding suppliers from Lauren. Not really knowing what was required I enquired about the call for wedding suppliers and Lauren told me that she was looking to represent other suppliers on her blog.

Lucky for me she liked my designs and wanted to do a feature - thank you Lauren I really appreciate you doing this.

Why not pop over to Laurens blog Pretty Star Designs and see all the other lovely creative people who have been featured along side myself.

Handmade Monday 22

2011-06-27T22:35:00.001+01:00

I really have no idea where the days and weeks are going. So here we are again another Monday and time for Handmade Monday where all the creative people link to each other via Wendy's Blog - Wendy started the Handmade Monday so that we could share our work with each other and to people visiting our blogs.

My contribution this week is a card that I made for my neighbours son and daughter-in-law - they've just had a baby girl (they already have a little boy). I've not seen the baby yet - they have their own home not too far from here.

There are traditions in the hindu community where the new baby and mother aren't supposed to leave the house for 3 months (depends on the person these days) so I guess I will have to wait a while before I get to see her. Oh and another tradition is that the babys aunt (fathers sister) will get to choose the babys name -although these days the names are suggested and the parents make the final choice.

Well here is the card - It's made using my own template. I've used watercolour paper and then painted with Derwent Inktense Pencils (my favourite by far). I've threaded ribbon at the top and then punched out flowers from some scrapbook paper and added little gems to the centre of the flowers. I normally make the dress as a stand alone so the card is joined at the shoulders but I didn't have time today. I think it's turned out ok though.

If you've enjoyed reading my post please feel free to leave a message - I really appreciate the time people take to read the posts and to hear your thoughts would be good to. Why not pop over to Wendy's blog and see what everyone else has been creating I'm sure you'll find something of interest.

Versatile Blogger Award

2011-06-24T17:08:00.002+01:00

Ok lets see if I can do this without any hitches.

Thank you Wendy for giving me this award I never would have thought of myself as a versatile blogger - more an irregular one :).

1. Link back to the person who gave me the award - done

2. Share 7 random things about yourself - errmm ok now thats a hard one

3. Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won. - That's easy there are so many creative bloggers out there.

7 random things about me -

I went paragliding in Italy a few years ago - strapped to a handsome Italian.
My favourite book of all time is 1984 I go back and re-read it every few years and I'm always amazed at how relevant it becomes to that time.
I have an eclectic taste in music depending on my mood - my favourite being Indian film songs - but I listen to anything from rock to classical.
I get told I'm too organised so to squash that I "try" to leave a little bit of clutter.
I get inspired/attracted by colours rather than the subject matter in a piece of art work.
I lived and worked out in India for 4 months and loved every minute of it.
I'm not very good at talking about myself because I don't think of myself as being interesting.

My nominated blogs for this award are (some are recent and some aren't) -

All Things Paper

by kicabijoux

Crumbs Couture

Ink Stains

Inspired Celebration

ooak-fairy-fae

The Scar Swallower

Lost Internet

2011-06-24T09:28:00.001+01:00

Yesterday (23rd June) everything that could have gone wrong went wrong (that's how it felt) It was like swimming against an invisible force.

1. A nasty virus decided it was going to make itself at home on my netbook (I've been using it in place of the pc as the motherboard needed to be replaced).- they are both now nice and clean and fixed.

2. I had to get 2 new tyres replaced - all I'd gone in for was to get the windscreen wipers changed.

3. My phone went through a network exchange which meant I had to reset all the settings etc.

and to top it all off the garage door decided it had had enough and wouldn't open- have to wait for my dad to get that fixed - keeps him out of mischief :)

Don't you feel sometimes that these things are sent to test us?

What I didn't like yesterday was not having any access to the internet. The loss of all online connections made me feel like I was in limbo all day. Not that I would have been online all day yesterday as I had errands and meetings most of the day but just the thought of not having any internet access was very disconcerting. It certainly brought home to me how much I rely on the internet to connect with my friends and colleagues and for work.

It also made me realise that although we get information from the radio and televison nothing is as immediate as the internet especially twitter.

How do you cope with loss of the internet? Do you feel as I do- lost?

Butterfly Wedding Invitations - A Sneak Preview & Handmade Monday #21

2011-06-19T19:22:00.002+01:00

Butterflies seem to be the flavour of the season and as I have a rather large collection of rubber stamps I thought I would use one on the new wedding invitations. The background paper I handpainted with acrylics then scanned & altered to create/add texture to keep the design consistant on each card. The butterfly has been embossed on the same paper as the background - I've used Blonde Moments embossing powder.

The cones are made up as a combined place setting and wedding favour. The cones are big enough to hold 3/4 sugared almonds or any other small object. I have placed a matching bag charm in this cone which is something a little bit different than chocolates (not that there's anything wrong with chocolates)

http://www.itsamistrydesignstudio.com/

I'm including this post as my contribution to Wendys Handmade Monday blog especially as I've managed to get this done in time.

Failure.....

2011-06-15T20:41:00.002+01:00

Failed? You ask..........yes miserably to keep my blog updated and I have no excuse other than time just seems to pass by at the blink of an eye. I have had a few computer breakdowns so I guess in someways I do have an excuse.

I've also failed to keep up with Wendy's Handmade Monday Challenge. I was determined to keep up with the Handmade Mondays posts but alas I haven't managed that either - sorry Wendy :( I will go and write out 100 times I must blog at least once a week :).

Ok so I haven't posted a blog but it doesn't mean I haven't been busy making and selling. I've also been working on a new range of wedding accessories but you're going to have to wait a few more days before its revealed.

In the mean time here are a few pictures of some new jewellery I've been making and are available to buy on my Etsy Shop.

Sarah & Ian's Wedding 27th May 2010

2011-05-29T15:05:00.003+01:00

When Sarah and I first met for her consultation she told me that she was not a "girly" girl and wanted me to design something that was subtle and would co-ordinate with the colour of the crystals that were on her dress.
After looking through some of the jewellery that I had made previously and drawing some sketches to alter the designs so that they were more in line with what Sarah felt comfortable with I made up a mock design so show her at our next meeting. We made a few alterations to the sample piece and after approval I made up the actual piece using Swarovski crystals for Sarah's jewellery and Fire-Polish Czech crystals for the bridesmaids.

Sarah on her wedding day wearing the jewellery that was made especially for her using a mix of turquoise Swarovski bi cone crystals for her hair comb, necklace and earrings.

This is one of the bridesmaids -their hair vines were made with Fire-polish Czech crystals -they co-ordinated with the colours of Sarah's jewellery.

Itsamistrydesignstudio

Man Stuff

2011-05-04T19:58:00.001+01:00

I am venturing into unknown territory here, as I have never made any kind of men’s jewellery. I have been told numerous times by the men accompanying the wives/girlfriends at craft fairs that they feel left out because the jewellery stands only cater to women.

So to that end I have made a necklace by collaborating with a UK Lampworking artist Jeanette who has made me a glass “sharks tooth”. The results as you can see in the photographs are very realistic.

This is 1 of 2 necklaces. I’ve kept the first one quite simple by threading the “tooth” onto a double strand of cotton thong and adding copper spacer beads to compliment the colour of the “tooth”. The second one I have added copper wire work around the top of the tooth to give it a bit more texture.

The “tooth” measures approx 5cm in length and 1cm in diameter.

Shark tooth made by Jeanette Fletcher www.jeanetteslampworkbeads.com

Sonia J Jewellery

2011-05-03T19:01:00.001+01:00

Jewellery is very personal and in todays market there is a very diverse and eclectic mix of people creating a wide range of jewellery from beading to wire-work to silver/goldsmithing for you to choose from.

So in the next few weeks I am going to feature different artists and their work. As you know I design and make jewellery but there are so many other jewellery designers who's work I admire that I just have to share their work with you.

Today I am going to show you some of Sonias work.

Sonia is a Jewellery Designer based in Staffordshire, England specialising in personally handmade silver jewellery. She creates individual pieces of jewellery in sterling silver and swarovski crystals, semi-precious stones, gemstones, pearls and other materials.

Sonias passion for handmade jewellery came from a love of all things beautiful and sparkly. Sonia became increasingly frustrated at mass produced items on the high street and so decided to do something about it and enrolled on a silversmithing and jewellery course. It's fair to say she has never looked back!

Sonias inspiration comes from a number of sources, some of them very unlikely, and very often in the middle of the night or on her way to a meeting.

Solid sterling silver heavy bangle with "ball" ends and a hand sawn daisy.

Jasper pendant hand wrapped in sterling silver to a unique design with integral bail.

Sterling Silver "Hearts" Handcrafted matching earring and pendant set. The hearts are gently curved and have different hammered textures on each side.

To see more of Sonias lovely work why not pop over to her website and see for yourself.

The Great British Craft Bazaar

2011-03-26T20:35:00.001Z

Today was the first day of the much anticipated Great British Craft Bazaar . It promised to be a fair with a difference and it certainly wasn't a disappointment. There were live demos of beading, metal smithing, glass making, leather work etc. We had quite a few customers who spent most of the day browsing the stalls watching the demos and even having a go at some of them.

As a trader you don't always get to see the other artists work especially if it's a large fair as it was today. I was lucky that I had set up my table on the Friday so had plenty of time to go and browse the other goodes on offer and I can tell you that everyone there had something different and unique.

One stall in particular caught my eye and anyone who knows me knows that I like things which are "outside" the box or in this case inside vintage tin boxes. Collette Bain of Emmas Wolf creates these gorgeous 3D papier mache quirky pieces of art and I can say that I got rather excited about them and I just had to share my find with you all.

These 3 images were the ones that caught my eye and drew me towards the stall. Check out Collettes website to see all her other fabulous work Emmas Wolf.

Here are some more photographs from today I'll be posting more but for tonight here are a few tasters. It's all happening again tomorrow so why not pop along and see for yourself what you've missed out on.

This is Wendy's stall she makes amazing handpainted plaques and clocks and lots of other unique items 1stuniquegifts

Hiding behind all the lovely hand knitted and felted bags is Claire Doherty from Clasibags

Here is the address if you fancy popping along tomorrow

Culcheth High School & Community Campus
Warrington Road
Culcheth
Warrington
Cheshire
WA3 5HH

The Great British Craft Bazaar 26th & 27 March 2011

2011-03-19T09:44:00.001Z

Next weekend is the launch of The Great British Craft Bazaar - a craft fair with a difference.

So what's different about this craft fair?
Well in answer to that question is that all the exhibitors have all been picked by a juried panel and ALL the items for sale have been made by the artists themselves so you are getting a unique handmade piece of art/jewellery/beads etc. The other thing that is different is that you will be able to see how some of these items are made and also at seletced stalls be able to have a go yourself.

They are also giving away - yes giving away some fantastic prizes one of them being The CraftRobo Silhouette AND a Titanium Ring of the winner’s choice up to the value of £250.- have a look here.

So where can you find The Great British Craft Bazaar?
It's being held at The fair will take place in the newly built Culcheth High School and community campus with plenty of free parking. Entrance fees Adults £2, Children & Concessions £1

Culcheth High School & Community Campus, Warrington Road, Culcheth, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 5HH

Please pop over and say hello we always like to meet the readers of our blog in person.

Anita

Handmade Monday #6

2011-03-06T20:53:00.001Z

I am dedicating this weeks Handmade Monday to the lovely ladies who came to my beaded bead workshop at c3stockport.

I'd like to thank Louise Davis for inviting me back to run another workshop (I did one last October) and to Alison, Laura and Sylvia for letting me show them how to make my signature bead. I think you will agree that all the ladies did a really great job.

There was plenty of food and drink to keep us energised - a big thank you to Lisa Chan Brown for keeping the tea/coffees flowing - I think she wanted to join our class instead of the photography class that was going on in the other room - don't worry Lisa your secret is safe with me lolol. You can see Lisa's amazing photography at Yatty LRPS.
Now that you've seen what I've (well not so much me) been doing this week why don't you pop over to 1stuniquegifts and see what all my other crafty friends have been up to and if you're a crafter why not join in the fun.

Have a lovely week :).

(Please note that permission was given by the ladies to post their photos on a public forum)

Handmade Monday #5

2011-02-28T20:45:00.001Z

Here we are again it's Handmade Monday time started by the lovely Wendy from 1stuniquegifts. If you're not a regular reader you've been missing out on some very talented ladies and men who blog about what they have created during the week. So pop over to Wendy's blog and check out these lovely creative people and if you are a handmade creative why not join in the fun - we are a nosey lot and like to see what others are making and you never know what you will come across. I've seen some lovely things which I am keeping my beady eyes on for when I have birthdays etc.

Anyway here are my contributions. I had a busy week preparing for a wedding fayre which was held in one of the lovely rooms at Manchester Town Hall. Sunday was the first time I had been into the Town Hall and I can say that it is very impressive if a bit daunting - definately worth a visit if you're ever in Manchester. In fact we had the occasional tourist walking around the room we were exhibiting in.

Ok here are some of the items I made this week -

So there we have it lol it's a bit of long post this week.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. If you would like to please do leave a comment I always like to hear what my readers think of my blog posts.

Handmade Monday #4

2011-02-21T20:02:00.001Z

Well it's that time of the week again where we explore what we creatives have been creating.

This week I made some beaded tulip charms for a swap over on UKJC and while I was making them I could see that the technique I was using could be used to make other flower/star shapes. I'm not sure if these look like flowers - maybe more like stars?

Anyway, I've decided that I like them enough to make a new collection for my bridal range. I like the versatility of making it simple or putting a few of them together to make something rather extravagent for maybe an Indian wedding. The ideas are buzzing around in my head (where else would they be huh? - lol don't answer that :) )

I'm going to be making up the red/gold version first as I have made up enough flowers/stars for a necklace. I'll post pics once it's made up.

Single flower component made with Swarovski Pearls and size 11 seed beads.

3 Components/flowers joined together.

4mm Czech beads placed inbetween the stitched flowers - another idea

Red and Gold Czech Beads 4 & 6mm. I've made a larger flower as a center point.


Single components

If you would like to share your blog and what you have been creating then why not join in the Handmade Monday fun. All you have to do is go over to Wendy's Place leave a comment and a link to your blog using the link tool so that we can come over and have a nosey around.

Spring Theme Charm Swap UKJC

2011-02-20T18:33:00.003Z

Spring Theme Charm Swap UKJC, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

I can now reveal the charms that I made for Lynne on the UJKC charm swap (they now live on the Isle of Wight)

This is the first time I have ever made beaded flowers. In my vast collection of books I have one called The Beaded Garden by Diane Fitzgerald. I've had the book for a few years but have never had the courage to make anything out of it. But i have to say the instructions were easy to follow and i think I will be making more of these little beauties to create my own little garden.

My head is bursting with ideas on how I can use the technique and incorporate it into my wedding collection. I've made a few samples but with a little bit of variation but I will share those tomorrow and have it as my "handmade Monday" feature.

Thanks for reading and if you wish to leave a comment please do.

GUILDED GEMS/Handmade Monday

2011-02-14T14:24:00.003Z

I hope you don't mind but I'm combining the launch and the Handmade Monday that Wendy from IstUnique started a few weeks ago. The beaded bead is all handstitched and was featured in Beads & Beyond in June 2010. I made this one as a giveaway prize on Guilded Gems.

Monday 14^th February sees the launch of a new website called Guilded Gems by The Guild of Jewellery Designers.

The website will provide up-to-the-minute fashion and trend updates for style conscious jewellery enthusiats with an eye for quality. You will be able to buy directly from over 100 British jewellery designers thus assuring that you are not only getting quality workmanship but in doing so you are also supporting British Craftspeople.

Itsamistry Design Studio has donated the “Ananta” beaded bead necklace as one of the giveaways. To be in with a chance to win this and many more lovely British made jewellery why not pop over to Guilded Gems and enter your details.

The winner of this necklace is Scarlet Leonard from Lincolnshire.

Well done Scarlet.

Barclays Trading Places Awards 2010 Certificate

2011-02-11T16:49:00.001Z

Barclays Trading Places Awards 2010 Certificate, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Finally managed to take a pic of the certificate for being listed in the top 100 business list for the Barclays Trading Places Award 2010

They did manage to mis spell my name lol.

Handmade Monday 7.2.2011

2011-02-07T18:44:00.001Z

Well here we are again it's Monday and it's time for Handmade Monday started by Wendy from 1stuniquegifts. I have not made anything today as I've been busy moving the last bits out of the studio and haven't had time to make anything creative. This time last year I was moving in - time flies :).

I was telling Wendy that I had started knitting again and would offer that as a work in progress. I have no idea how long it's going to take me to make this cardigan (for me). I've already discovered that the yarn is difficult to undo if you make a mistake- that's if you can spot it lol. It works up quite bubbly (if you can call it that) so if you were following a pattern it wouldn't matter as you'd never spot it.

heart tree card

2011-02-01T14:15:00.000Z

So here it is my make from yesterdays Handmade Monday all made up into a card. I decided to mount the painting onto a lilac coloured card which compliments the other shades of purple/pinks on the heart and border - shame the sheen on the card doesn't show on the pic.

Handmade Monday 31.1.11

2011-01-31T20:21:00.000Z

My friend Wendy is hosting a regular feature called Handmade Monday over on her blog 1stuniquegifts. I am really pleased that Wendy has started this as it will make me more proactive in my own crafting which I have to say has been sadly neglected for the last 6 months and this will give me the motivation to do something even if it's only a doodle.

The idea is that you blog about something you’ve made or are making (or anything related to that) and then go over to Wendys blog, where there is a Linky tool – you add your blog link this should then point more visitors to your blog.

So don't forget mark it in your diaries every Monday is Handmade Monday. Who knows what we will come across on each others sites.

Ok here are my makes for today. They will eventually be turned into greeting cards althougth I'm not too happy with the lollipop trees - I think the trunks are to wide. The tall heart card I started last week but have only finished it today - I'm happy with the way it's turned out.

Oh and please do excuse the creative mess :) and the picture - daylight seemed to have disappeared and the pic was taken under my desk lamp.

heart tree card

2011-01-27T15:00:00.002Z

heart tree 1, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Original artwork painted with Derwent watercolour pencils on aquafine w/colour paper mounted onto cream card - ideal for valentines day.

Win these Swarovski Earrings

2011-01-05T23:19:00.002Z

Win these Swarovski Earrings, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Swarovski 8mm round faceted crystal in fuschia pink with crystal AB bicones flower bead caps - sterling silver ear wire.

Who would have thought that I would have 400+ followers. I certainly didn't.

So to celebrate this I am doing my first give away. All you have to do is leave a comment on my facebook page (see link below) and maybe "like" the page if you haven't done already although this will not affect your chance of winning.

The draw will take place on Wednesday 12th January.

Leave your comments here www.facebook.com/pages/Itsamistry-Design-Studio/140063075...

Swarovski pearls & crystals bracelet

2010-09-17T20:12:00.002+01:00

Swarovski pearls & crystals bracelet, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Commission made for a father to give to his 3 year old daughter on his wedding day. It's so tiny - 12cms long with a small extention.

So how did I come by this commision? It was all because of Joanne from Vintage Twee she is one of the loveliest people you can meet. Her work is of the highest standards that I have seen in a long time. Every detail of her work is thought out carefully to show off the vintage paper, lace, designs etc to their best advantage.

Joanne was commisioned to make some vintage items for a couple who are getting married in Stockton on Tees and the gentleman wanted to give his 3 year old daughter something to open on the wedding day and she suggested he speak to me. After a few emails regarding his requirements and me sending him sample pics of my previous work he decided to go with a simple but beautiful bracelet.

You have to really see it so appreciate how tiny and cute it looks. It only measures 12cms from the sterling silver heart clasp to the first ring. I've also added a short extention to this so that it can be made a little bit bigger if needed. It's difficult trying to gauge a size from just the measurements.

To see more of Joannes work check out her website http://vintagetwee.com/

Tuesday Taster Sessions

2010-08-12T08:56:00.004+01:00

Lou's Necklace, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Louises button pendant that she made at the Tuesday Taster session @ Broadstone Mill.

Times Square New York

2010-07-20T19:25:00.001+01:00

DSCN0251, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Just like in the films lol. Loved loved loved it here and our hotel was just up the road.

An elephant in New York 2

2010-07-20T18:56:00.001+01:00

An elephant in New York 2, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

And a close up

An elephant in New York

2010-07-20T18:55:00.001+01:00

An elephant in New York, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

LOL I've just realised I've not updated any pics from my trip to New York.

Here is a little taster of what one can find without even looking for it. I love elephants and when I saw this sculputure (52nd or 53rd st West) I knew I had to photograph it.

Anyone visiting NY should really walk around the city there is so much to see and do. I really NEED to go back there very sooonnnnn.

William 21st Birthday Commision

2010-07-17T22:00:00.001+01:00

William 21st Birthday Commision, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Made for a lady who had only popped into see one of the photographers in one of the other studios. She saw another card I had done with a champagne glass - the beads looked like bubbles coming out of the glass.

Hope she likes it.

Lampwork Bracelet

2010-07-17T19:02:00.002+01:00

Lampwork Bracelet, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Here is the finished bracelet made with the lampwork beads made by Jeanette. Teamed up with 3mm swarovski bicones and sterling silver.

Cake Crown

2010-06-02T18:58:00.003+01:00

Cake Crown, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

This is what I have been working on in the last couple of weeks. It has been commisioned by Virginia Valentine http://www.angelcakesbyvirginiavalentine.co.uk/.

This is going to be the Crown of a 2 or 3 tier square cake which will be launched in June. The 4 sides of the cake will be decorated with vines.

Abstract

2010-05-25T22:46:00.002+01:00

Artfest 2010 16, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Here are some more ATCs for trading at ArtFest 2010. More abstract this time. Don't know if to add some beads or stitching to them. Will have to see how I feel when I look at them again tomorrow morning.

Artfest 2010 6

2010-05-16T19:23:00.002+01:00

Artfest 2010 6, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Artfest 2010 3

2010-05-16T19:21:00.002+01:00

Artfest 2010 3, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Artist Trading Cards to trade at AFA2010 Rochester NYC June 2010

Acrylic, beads and fabric butterfly painted with acrylics then beaded (beads are all sewn on).

Thought I'd better make a start on some ATCs to trade at the live meet up in Rochester NY in June. I trade mostly at http://www.atcsforall.com/index.php and http://www.illustratedatcs.com/index.php.

Last year there was a live meet up here in the UK (myself and Kay organised it) and in the USA and we all had a blast. However this year there is no UK artfest so my friend Kay and I are heading over the pond to New York and then onto Rochester where this years live meet up is being held and I can't wait we have 4 weeks left before we go (fingers crossed the volcano has stopped spewing ash and that BA are not on strike).

Don't think I want to wait another 3 years to go to NY - I was supposed to go for my 40th but it never happened so when this opportunity came along I grabbed it with both hands.

I've been published !!!!!!

2010-05-10T22:27:00.001+01:00

Beads and Beyond June 2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Woohoo can you tell I'm excited LOL it's not as if I've never had any of my work published before - I've had a couple of my ATC's published in the online ArtTrader Magazine. But this is a first for my jewellery and to have it in such a lovley magazine to.

Here's the full story -
I made the beaded bead and updated it on my social networks (facebook, flickr etc) and the comments I received about the bead took me quite by surprise as I was convinced someone had already made something similar. But I was told quite resoundly that no it was my own invention. Then someone suggested that I submitt it to a magazine and having looked (and bought/subscribed) to quite a few magazines I decided to send it to Beads and Beyond as I liked the lovely clean and clear way the article were presented.

So I submitted my tutorial to them a couple of months ago and I received an email from the assistant editor Rebecca Hughes telling me that they would like to publish it in one of their issues......................and here it is in the June issue of Beads and Beyond. I love the way they have done the photographs so much more interesting than mine.

Multi coloured spiral rope bracelet

2010-04-13T22:47:00.001+01:00

Multi coloured spiral rope bracelet, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Thought I would use up some odds and ends that were piling up. Necklace to follow

Right Angle Weave with Hugs and Kisses

2010-04-10T20:51:00.001+01:00

Right Angle Weave with Hugs and Kisses, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Right-angle weave also called RAW is another easy stitch to start with. It can be done either with a single or double needle. You can use any type or size of bead as well as combination to create a different effect every time.

Level Beginner
Duration 2 - 3hours
Cost £25.00 (includes materials)
Thursday 29 April 11am to 1pm
Saturday 1st May 11am to 1pm

Spiral Rope Bracelet -Workshop/Classes

2010-04-10T20:48:00.002+01:00

Spiral Rope, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Jewellery making is fast becoming an extremely popular pastime as more people are discovering the joy and therapeutic value of handcrafting their own unique pieces. My classes are small (maximum of 6 to 8 people) which means that you receive plenty of attention. You'll be amazed at how much you can achieve in just one day in my studio. Whether you wish to make unique pieces of jewellery for yourself or for loved ones my classes will be tailored to your particular needs.

Spiral Rope Bracelet

This is a really easy stitch to start with and is a favourite with beginners. It is a versatile stitch when done in different combinations and bead sizes it ensures individuality every time.

Level Beginner
Duration 2 - 3 hours
Cost £25.00 (includes materials)
Thursday 22 April 11am to 1pm
Saturday 24 April 11am to 1pm

For further details visit my website http://www.itsamistrydesignstudio.com/jewelleryworkshops.htm

Going Green

2010-04-08T21:34:00.001+01:00

Going Green, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Purple Hues

2010-04-08T21:33:00.001+01:00

Purple Hues, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Pink Coral Bracelet

2010-04-08T21:31:00.001+01:00

Pink Coral Bracelet, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

With a button closure done in Right Angle Weave.

Moody Blues

2010-04-07T20:50:00.002+01:00

Moody Blues, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

A simple yet elegant 18 inch necklace in shades of blue with a hint of silver seed beads. http://www.itsamistrydesignstudio.com/

chrysocolla and turquoise necklace

2010-04-07T20:46:00.002+01:00

chrysocolla and turquoise necklace, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

These are 2 of my favourite beads. http://www.itsamistrydesignstudio.com/

JEWELLERY DEMO 001

2010-03-26T20:02:00.002Z

JEWELLERY DEMO 001, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Ready Set .....................................Go.

Today was the first day of the March Madness discount day and the first time I have demonstrated outside of an organised craft/jewellery event. I was a bit nervous to start of with as I didn't know whether anyone would be interested in a jewellery demo in a retail shop.

Anyway as it happens I had quite a crowd gather in the morning and the afternoon. I had a blast and I think looking at the pictures the ladies who came over and watched (and one lady even had a try at a spiral rope) enjoyed the session and I think I even inspired a couple of the them to get their bead stash out and have a go.

All in all a good day and I get to do it all again tomorrow.

JEWELLERY DEMO 005

2010-03-26T20:01:00.001Z

JEWELLERY DEMO 005, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

The setup was at the entrance to the gallery and open studios - you can just see the stairs leading up to the gallery area.

JEWELLERY DEMO 008

2010-03-26T19:59:00.003Z

JEWELLERY DEMO 008, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

All eyes on me showing the ladies how to do right angle weave

JEWELLERY DEMO 010

2010-03-26T19:59:00.001Z

JEWELLERY DEMO 010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Hahahhaa I wasn't asleep honest :)

Jewellery Making Demonstration

2010-03-26T19:58:00.002Z

JEWELLERY DEMO 012, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T20:11:00.003Z

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T20:11:00.001Z

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Lots of laughter going on - that's what I like to see.

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T20:10:00.001Z

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T20:09:00.001Z

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

The boys concentrating on making the charms and pendants

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T20:07:00.001Z

The Buzz Workshop 15.03.2010, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Yay pics of the first workshop that I have hosed in my new studio at Broadstone Mill.

I can't tell you how nervous I was when they first arrived I wasn't sure if the samples I had made would be what they were expecting. After all I was teaching teachers but I think they had a good time. The boys certainly seemed to enjoy making the wirework and bamboo charm/pendants.

What a fab way of having your team meetings.

studio pic 8

2010-02-15T17:30:00.002Z

studio pic 8, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

View of my studio from the bottom of the stairs http://www.houldsworthvillage.co.uk/content/relax/arts-crafts-open-studios

studio pic 3

2010-02-15T17:28:00.002Z

studio pic 3, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

View from the outside of the studio (yeah I know they look like cells). Its 13ft 6inches by 11ft 6inches which is a lot bigger than what I am using at present. http://www.houldsworthvillage.co.uk/content/relax/arts-crafts-open-studios

cupcakes

2010-02-07T17:04:00.001Z

cupcakes, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

I made these for my nieces 5th birthday party - they went down a treat.

colour chart 2

2010-01-14T17:00:00.001Z

colour chart 2, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

colour chart 1

2010-01-14T16:59:00.001Z

colour chart 1, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

colour chart 3

2010-01-14T16:51:00.001Z

colour chart 3, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Hematite drop necklace

2010-01-13T16:28:00.001Z

Hematite drop necklace, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

I made this last week to match the earrings but never got around to taking pics.

Blacksilver beaded bead earring

2010-01-13T16:27:00.001Z

Blacksilver beaded bead earring, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

My beaded beads made into earrings.

Beaded Charms

2010-01-10T16:38:00.002Z

Beaded Charms, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

These are for a swop over on www.atcsforall.com/index.php

Swarovski pearls

2010-01-10T16:37:00.001Z

P1015462, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

This pendant is alittle bit different to the others in that I have added smaller beads inbetween the larger beads.

swaro crystal beaded bead pendant

2010-01-10T16:36:00.001Z

swaro crystal beaded bead pendant, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

More of my beaded pendants

Back garden

2010-01-05T16:28:00.001Z

P1015344, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

more snow

2010-01-05T16:27:00.001Z

P1015346, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

We have steps leading down to the pavement - this is whats is on the grass verge (such as it is).

snow snow and more snow

2010-01-05T16:26:00.001Z

P1015347, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Its all ice underneath all that snow.

Swarovski Pearl Pendant

2009-12-26T17:40:00.001Z

Swarovski Pearl Pendant, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Black and silver czech crystal pendant

2009-12-17T16:05:00.001Z

Black and silver czech crystal pendant, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

Gold czech crystal pendant

2009-12-17T16:02:00.002Z

Gold czech crystal pendant, originally uploaded by itsamistry.

for the pendant swap at iatc www.illustratedatcs.com/index.php