rings and things

well actually, its just rings but then, whats in a title?? today i have listed some of my rings on folksy and facebook (no easy task for a technophobe ;) and want to shout about them here too as i'm really pleased with them (and the pics arent too bad thanks to my newest investment!)

i'd wanted a ring triblet for ages, but they're quite pricey, so was only selling rings to people at my jewellery partys as they could be tried on there and then, or i offered my special piece of equipment for sizing an order - string! but i wanted to put some rings in my folksy shop, so i decided a 'speculate to accumilate' policy was the answer. a week after ordering, i was told the item was out of stock, but the company would send me my other bits. hey ho i thought, and just looked forward to my silver clay arriving. well this was weeks ago, and i've used all the silver clay (designs coming soon to folksy and fb!) and had almost forgotton about it until the doorbell rang. the postman handed me a cardboard tube and boy was it weighty! at first i was puzzled, and to be honest, sceptical lol giving the poor postmen a quizzical look. (only now do i wonder if he thought i was pretending not to know the contents of this LONG TUBE parcel which could easily have come from an adult website!) of course, that excitement you get when your long awaited materials arrive at the door is so thrilling and this parcel was no exception. stuff the housework, stuff the phone calls, stuff the washing..................... i was off to create!

love love love half term!

ok, so it has a lot to do with the fact theres no rush in the mornings, AND theres not the 'groundhog day' element to the week........... but i really do love the freedom for me and my kids that the school holidays bring. although i've still had work to do with my jewellery, me and the girls have had 'time together' which we usually manage to make memorable (mostly from having dilemmas or disasters, but hey, they're still memories and we always have a laugh about them;) having said that, today was disaster free as i took my youngest swimming at our local pool. shes been going with her new school this half term, so it was brilliant to see for myself the progress shes made. and WOW has she made progress! it would seem that since i finally cracked it with her earlier in the year and she took her first solo strokes, her confidence has grown immensely; shes blossomed into a real water baby.................................. special olympics here we come! now i need to work on her irregular sleeping pattern and combat the tiredness so i can take her after school during term time. but shes swimming. shes confident, and shes happy :) :)

my chalk and cheese.......... being albino, chalk is particularly apt for my littlest. as for cheese, well shes is just the best big sister a little girl could ever have xx

to say its been a while...............

............. is a slight understatement. but my new year resolution (ooops, is it october already?) is to keep writing photographing and talking with you lovely people ;)

most of my time is taken with with work (urbanfairy) and family, and unfortunately the blogging side of work has taken a back seat (in the mini bus of everyday life). but me and the kids DID have a fabulous summer in cornwall, with late night fires on the beach and adventurous walks discovering new and beautiful places.

fantastic fun and amazing memories. much love and thanks to our friends who live in a stunning part of the country ;)

i also took my children to the cornbury music festival in oxford. cornburys a brilliant family festival we've camped at for tw0 years running now and intend on going every year possible, wherever we end up living! heres our 'festival feet' on monday morning. boy oh boy were we ready for a bath!

this is my youngest who has downs syndrome. she loves music, and is most definitely an out and out festival chick lol

but now i have to knuckle down and get back to creating new designs. some of my latest ones i've added to my folksy page http://folksy.com/shops/urbanfairy but heres a few i'm saving for customer visits this week :-

left is a simple pair of little earrings with amozonite stone rondells, and right are twists of sterling silver with pale jade. i love these colours, their so pretty, and thats coming from a tomboy!

long time gone..................................

well, i'll admit its been a while. and whats been happening? i think the pressure of relocating got the better of me as it all started to go pretty much pear shaped. to cut a long story short, it didnt happen. part annoyance and part relief if i'm honest. our much loved camper van (a classic vw) was stolen and this just added to the stress of the move which was going from bad to worse!! our beautiful (if tatty) van was our daily runner, which caused several obvious problems especailly as my youngest has disabilities. i can also confirm that my dislike for estate agents still exists (probably no surprise to most!!) BUT, on a GOOD note, i have been creating profusely, and from my little rabbit hutch in greenwich (which i still love, just wish i had the cash to 'up date' it) i have thrown myself into my business venture, which is now taking a very positive shape. not all bad then eh? hahaha am i still going to relocate? well the answer is simple.............................. i dont know!! i've decided to put any plans of this nature on indefinate hold and this in turn has given me a 'lift'. hadnt really realised to what extent the move thing had had such a negative effect on our lives till i'd finally taken charge of the spiralling situation and said STOP to everyone and everything involved. cripes, it felt good to be in control again!!

so now its on with the creating and making the most of our beloved home.................................. for now ;) my eldest is in her first year of secondary and 'at that age', my youngest has just had an MRI scan at great ormand street investigating one aspect of her disability - hearing (or rather, lack of it!). so think we have enough keep us busy at this present time. gotta just mention, my littlie was an absolute STAR at the hospital. i'd prepared her with making a book of the procedure, and practicing with an oxygen mask as well as role playing with her favourite raggy dolls. this coupled with the fact the anaethestist was soooooo patient and lovely (actually, he was 'pretty lovley' hahaha) it couldnt have gone smoother, and think i've even managed to turn around her absolute hate of hospitals! i DO believe in miracles!!

and so............. on to the jewellery!! i have created a group on facebook (Urbanfairy jewellery design) for members to view pictures of my creations aswell as post comments or an interest in any of my pieces. this has been great, as its not only enabled my stuff to be further 'out there' but has also increased sales; 5 items in the first week! wow! what a boost for confidence and motivation. something i'm sure we all need from time to time ;)

i'd like to add a big thank you to manamoon for her lovley message at christmas time, and.................. just general kindness really! not just a talented lady, but a lovely one too x

taking home made banners to a new level (probably a lower level then ever taken before!!)

i'm amazed. somehow, amongst all the up side downness of my life at the moment, i've been creating ??? how can this be? obviously, theres some creativity coming out of all this emotional turmoil. must be a subconscious thing, without realising it, i'm immersed in my jewellery work, which in turn stops me from thinking about the upheaval thats surrounding me.

silver wire worked bracelet with semi precious jade, accented with forest coloured seed beads

tried putting 'pink for october' stamp on my blog to help promote the awarness of breast cancer. hmmmmm, technology and me really are poles apart!! so for now, i'm writing in pink! i have a friend who has breast cancer. to say she is full of life sounds a cliche............................but she is, she really is! promoting this, supporting that, helping anyone and everyone and always with a smile and most of all laughing. she's also a mum, and a bloody good one. best i shut up about my situation now eh. *zip*

hang on! i've got an idea................................................................................ what do you think of my banner??? ok, bit primitive, but hey, needs must. (think the kids need some new felt tips!)

jade and jasper earrings. i tend to make my own earwires now as i think they look so much more individual to the piece. i just luuurve the colour of the jade.

things are moving.....................

an unfinished piece, of st. silver and lampwork beads. the funny thing is, i didnt have suitable silver beads to put inbetween the lampwork ones, so tried it with coiling silver wire and twisting it round the handmade bangle to create a 'spacer'. i quite like it!


they certainly seem to be! while i'm not going to count my chickens as to the certanty of me and kids and dog relocating to somerset, things are definately moving in the right direction. the sale of my house is going through well by all accounts, and the one we're buying is due to have the survey next week (so i'm told!). my nerves are getting the better of me today. stomach churning with some anxiety, which i think is brought on by the fact i'm taking my eldest down there tonight. it'll be the first time i've been back since things are more set in stone, so making the move more real i spose. also gotta check out schools for them both, and with my youngest having special needs and a full statement, am obiously very axious to get it right first time. eldest will be seeing her new home for the first time (was away with friends when i last went down and happened to find a lovely home). planning ahead, i'm gonna take some pictures of the house to make into a 'book' for my youngest when the time comes, to prepare her for the move. this is scarey stuff. its just me. whatever happens, its down to me, and it feels like more then just the weight of the world on my shoulders. i want a better life for the girls and if i dont do it now, probably never will. i dont want to be in my rocking chair in years to come, wondering what could have been if i'd taken the plunge and left london............................................... so here goes!


two more pieces i created this week, inbetween housework, solictors forms and kids clubs! sound familiar?? haha

bats in the belfry..........no, pigeons on the patio

st silver and fine silver wrapped and coiled, with chunky

green howlite nuggets

well today started with a slight drama at breakfast, (whats new). the dog was hankering to get in the garden as he'd obviously seen something. usually its a squirrel, or a cat perched defiantly on the pergola down the back. so i let him out, and he ran round to the french doors which i thought was odd as it looked as though there was nothing there.................... but there was. a pigeon. on further investigation it was apparent that the bird was hurt, as no right minded creature with wings would 'sit it out' when a dog comes sniffing their butt! well, i thought, if its injured and cant fly (bearing in mind i'm talking about a bird that is known to carry disease and having recently evacuated them from my loft, dont have a lot of time for them), then hopefully , the dogs presence will give it a heart attack. but it didnt. and to spare you the longevity of my morning going back and forth to the garden to check on it, i'll come to the conclusion. my neighbour hit it on the head with my shelf. i had to do something. even with my feelings on pigeons, i couldnt see an animal suffer. and after realising that i was more of a wuss then i thought, called upon my neighbour to do the dirty deed. thank you mike. i must admit, i had to walk down the side passage, with my fingers in my ears while going 'la la la... la... la... la... la.. la.. la.. la ..la.. . i would infact advise those of you who find yourself in this situation, to remove yourself completely from the vicinity, as i could still hear the 'thud' which caused me to squeakily release an expletive, naturally; i am a girl after all!

well, i wasnt gonna take a photo of a battered pigeon so thought i show my 'random' silver jewellery instead! i should point out, their not a set, as sets are definitely not my thing, i just got carried away with freeforming the wire!