Just a few bits and pieces

These are just a few of the bits and pieces I have made over the past couple of weeks. Some of the jewellery is made from shell and stones that have been bought and I have added a few other details to them.

I have also become interested in wire working. You can make some very intricate designs using a wire jig and different gauge and coloured wires.


This pendant necklace is made using a foil stone, threaded onto an ornate headpin and the wire is twisted using a wire wrapping device.





A lovely piece of Abalone Shell forms the main part of this pendant.











I recently bought three watch faces, they were so dainty, they cried out for small pearls as a bracelet. This one is coffee and cream. It is strung on the invisible thread and includes the tiny heart and arrow fastening.













This is an example of the wire working. The main bracelet is made by winding 18 gauge silver wire. I used a Celtic pattern on this one. The 'flowers' were then fastened together using silver 7.5 jump rings. The fastener on each end of the bracelet is again 18 gauge wire bent to form the hook and ring. Quite effective.












This bracelet is perhaps a little more intricate. You can see from the close up it is made up from segments that were twisted using the wire jig and again held together with jump rings. I have added small seed pearls to the end of the wires.














A shell pendant threaded onto 2mm leather cord.
and a bracelet and watch made from Hematite beads.

An Evening with Sir Elton John

On July 5th, Steve and I went to Darlington Football Club to see Sir Elton. Wow, what a show, he was brilliant.

The day dawned wet and miserable, in fact it did not stop raining till we got there at 5.30 pm. The show was due to start at 7.30 pm. The sun shone throughout the performance, in fact you had to shield your eye's at one point to see anything. We were some distance away but my trusty little Canon took some great photo's and video. He came on to rapturous applause at 7.30 pm and did not leave the stage until 10.30 pm. He sang all his hits, the audience sang along with him and at one point he stood with his foot on his piano stool waiting for everyone to sing. He congratulated Darlington on their new stadium and said he didn't think he would ever visit it as a concert venue, he had visited the old one when he was with Watford Football Club.

Richard Fleeshman was supporting Elton . I think he sang for about an hour before I realised who he was. Oh yes, it's him from Corrie!

It was a great night, I only hope more concerts are held at this venue but how do you top Sir Elton, well perhaps by Rod Stewart!

We had nothing but praise for the way the whole show was organised. Once in Darlington several park & rides were in operation making it easy to get both to and from the venue. We had none of the usual traffic hold up's going home, straight onto the bus, back to the car park and out. Fantastic.

And we even had our photo's in the paper. Not that we realised we had had them taken, that's why I was pulling a face, squinting into the sun, honestly, I wasn't pulling faces at the photographer, in fact we did not even see him. So pleased I wasn't doing something I shouldn't!

Long Time - No Blog

It is an age since I have put anything at all on my blog. So.......... to make up for it I have loads of photo's of various items of jewellery, clay figures, pottery etc. May take me several days to get it all on!
Quite a bit of my jewellery is now on show at Bradley Burn Farm shop in the Durham Dales, it is a lovely part of the county and well worth a visit, they do a lovely cup of tea and a scone if you are ever passing. If you would like to visit their site follow this link.
www.bradleyburn.co.uk/

Some of the items that are on show in the shop.

I have just done another 10 weeks at my pottery class, only produced one item but I was pleased with it. The idea is to put a light inside the house so it shines through the windows. The roof should be a nice russet red but the colour did not take too well, so it has to go back with me in September for a make-over.

This is in it's unfired state, it was stuffed full of wet newspapers for weeks to keep the walls from drying out. The paper burned away once it was in the kiln. It is now sitting with a tea light shining through the windows, looks quite nice.

Two wizards from a previous 10 weeks at pottery. Incidently, we have just put our house up for sale, we need somewhere larger to house all of these.

One recent little polymer clay figure is the Indian Chief. This one was made for Derrick, a little get well present. The feathers took a little but of doing, I sat up till 2 am trying to perfect them.