Sarah & Ian's Wedding 27th May 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.