Additions to the shop

Apart from completing my commissioned work, I also made 2 new items that I've listed in my Etsy and Artfire shops. A cord bracelet and a pair of earrings. Both feature beads I bought in Tokyo in 2007. I've been hoarding them ever since and finally got round to using them. I have to admit that I'm a little sad at the thought of not being able to stare and drool over them anymore. I hope both items find good homes. 

Coral Ring

Productive

I've been ill with the flu these couple of days, but in between coughing and sneezing, I've managed to make a number of items. First up is a long necklace which a friend wanted me to make. She left everything up to me, except to insist that it be long. I came up with this. Here's a close-up of some of the details.

And then, out of the blue a friend's father called to ask if I could make a necklace. He was going to visit a friend overseas and wanted to give her a special gift. He asked that the necklace include coral and/or bloodstone as these were his friend's birthstones. I found some lovely coral nuggets and combined them with powder blue seed beads which I've had in my stash since 2007 and some beautiful sterling silver beads and rondelles. I hope to goodness he likes it. It's the first time I've made something as important as this, and using gemstones no less. I didn't get very good pictures but for what it's worth, here they are.

The silver clasp is from a wonderful friend who gave me several clasps and pendants for my birthday this year. She's my enabler LOL. I also made a wire-wrapped ring with the one coral nugget that was left over. This post is so pic-heavy, I'll show the pic of the ring in the next post.

Another special request

It's been more than a month since I've posted any pics. So here's one. This is what I made for a friend who wanted a red bracelet. It's a prototype; I re-did it to make things neater and also, to shorten the bracelet. Despite what my friend says, her wrists aren't quite elephant-sized :-).

Little things that mean so much more

As you can see, I've been away for far too long from this blog. It was the usual culprits - work, illness etc - that kept me away. But I'm back and can't wait to get started on new projects. Being away from the blog didn't mean I was bead-free however. I've spent the past few weeks fulfilling some special requests from friends. But silly me - I forgot to take a pic of what I made. So I may have to get my friend to snap a pic of the bracelet I made her. I also repaired a couple of necklaces and just today, I was asked to make a necklace which this person wanted to give to a special friend. I felt really honoured that someone would think enough of my skills and work to ask me to make them a piece that was meant to be a special gift. In keeping with the good news on the jewellery front, I opened my email account yesterday to find that someone had bought one of my necklaces on Artfire. EB (you know who you are) - all I can say is 'Thank You!' and I hope you enjoy your purchase. 

That purchase - coming out of nowhere - means more to me than I can express. To be honest, I've gone so many months without having a sale or any interest in my designs, that I contemplated giving up jewelry-making. My love for beads won out though - I can't seem to stop buying them. But I was starting to get resigned to just making items for myself and friends. This Artfire purchase and new commission have renewed my faith - at least a little - that perhaps what I make is pleasing to people (well, some of them at least). Battling self-doubt has been the hardest challenge for me so far, so things like purchases and requests for commissioned pieces go a long way in helping me believe in my work and the value of it.