Ultimate Echo Echo

Hello my lovely bloggers. It has been ages (once again) im sorry, I really need to put a time in my diary each week dedicated to my blog!

With it being the summer holidays I took a week off from my day job to spend with my son, we didnt go away but we had lots of fun, doing lots of activities, lots of park visits and we also took a couple of trips to the cinema, first we watched cars 2 which was brilliant, and then the next time we saw The Smurfs, which was really funny. we went for an early viewing and was eatting popcorn for breakfast!! yummy lol. Since the smurfs my son tells me quite often 'i smurf you mummy' lol how sweet :)

Over the past few months my son has become a major BEN 10 fan, and after I purchased him an Omnitrix he soon discovered that he couldnt turn into a real alian and so it is now his dream to go to Ben 10 land and get the real one, I told him that it wouldnt be as simple as going to get it, Ben 10 has the Omnitrix so we cant get that we'll need the ultimatrix and to get that we need to first find Ben 10 land, track down the ultimatrix and then contront the enemy who has it. he says 'if you hold him down, I will take it and then I will turn into Jetray and fly away' He's not silly! lol I've since discovered that o2 Arena are showing BEN 10 MONSTER TRUCK MANIA in September.. so I am going to surprise him.. I cant wait to see his little face :)

So 2 weeks ago we got a new addition to our family, a beautiful cockatiel, I decided to let Reece name him and the name he picked wasnt quite what i expected.......

Meet.... ULTIMATE ECHO ECHO lol (the vet seemed shocked when they asked his name) he is a brilliant basketball player.. its so amazing to see him put the ball in the net.. he does a little victory dance too.. clever little birdy.  Im hoping that soon he will feel comfortable enough with me to come out of his cage but in the mean time i went a little crazy with new toys for him :)

What have I been making?
 

CUSTOM ORDER Ivory and black flower girl and bridesmaid bracelets.

 Angel wing cluster earrings (I made a pair for myself and decided to make them available in my stores as they are too nice not to share :)

CUSTOM ORDER Red crystal rosary beads

 

 Silver and swarovski heart chain bracelet

 

CUSTOM ORDER Electric blue floating butterfly necklace

 

CRIME Bookmark (this is one of a whole range of my Themed bookmarks)

A bit of a mix up..

ok so I had an order for a set which I have made in white with a touch of green and gold before, but the customer asked to have salmon coloured beads, So after a few emails back and forth I made the below set.. its a very bold colour! So I emailed the pic to my customer..and to my dismay I had got the colours the wrong way around, the salmon colour was just the colour she wanted a hint of.. OOPS lucikly she was lovely and understanding, so I got the correct version made that day.

 

Packaging
Ive been thinking about different styles of packing and I had some nice card so I thought I would try out some pillow boxes, I added a label and some ribbon, and here's what I got.. So this is now my new packaging (I also still use jewellery boxes for the fragile orders with the added ribbon and labels which give them a lovely finish :)

Oh.. one year ago yesterday was the day I placed an order for my first set of jewellery tools!! Who would have thought that a year on I would be where I am now... making lots of lovely items for lots of lovely customers.

Here's the first bracelet I made a few days later (once the beads had been delivered.. it took a few attempts to make as I kept dropping the beads, and my lovely cats were chasing them across the room hehe, I also made the earrings followed by a silver and blue set :) (ive come a long way with the jewellery since then and so has the photos lol)

And so that is my update for this week..  Thank you for reading :)

Lucie xx

Chiswick Summer Fair

I can barely keep my eyes open today, I had a late night working on some posters for upcoming events... which I am pretty happy with :)

Over the past few weeks I have been working on lots of new designs, unique jewellery pieces to suit all ages.
I have also been working on custom orders. 

This is a gothic bracelet commission by fellow crafter Kat which I was left to use my imagination, I didnt want to go down the charm route or the usual beaded style bracelet so I thought id try something different and so I made with this with black skulls, black onyx and black quartz crystals, all bound by a  large chain.. I did have fun making this one and was surprised how well it turned out, and better still, my customer is very happy with it :)

This commissioned bracelet is for a bride to be. I was asked for something delicate using white, black and diamontes. so I decided on making something using wire to cluster the pearls to give it the floaty effect. This looks really pretty up close. I was really happy with the outcome. I've made lots of jewellery for bridesmaids and have had orders for my current designs for brides to be, but this is my first ever custom bridal bracelet :)

New designs

The pictures below are some new designs.. I have ALOT to add so ive picked a random few.. otherwise it'd take a day to upload them all and you'd be bored after the first few lol :)

 Ive gone for the old vintage style on this one, a brass key hanging from a suede cord with a mixture of crystals, there's an old fashioned coin hidden in the pic and a Hermatite square with a quartz crystal center.

 These are the new kiddies charm bracelet range, ive gone for bright and vibrant, 3 different styles and 4 different colours.

 This is another of the children's range, I have lots of different colours and styles for this, Not only is there an adjustable bracelet, but they are part of a set (matching necklace). I will post more pics of the other styles another day.

Here's another 4 stranded bracelet. its funny how a change of colour can change the whole look of a design. ive got lots of different colours of these available.

Like the childrens leather bracelet above, there are lots of different colours and styles to these necklaces, plus there are two different styles of matching earrings too.

CHISWICK SUMMER FAIR
So i've been busy busy busy preparing for Chiswick fair, its not easy working full time, entertaining an energetic four year old boy, working on commissions and preparing for an event, but its possible and I think I can say I am now happy with where im at. Ive had lots of lovely tips and Advice from friends at the craftforum and create which has been soooooo helpful.

Just a few finishing bits to do now, a few more items of jewellery to make, posters to be sent to the printers, oh and the labling up and I must remember to make a check list.. as I keep forgetting!... actually there's quite a few odds and ends to sort, but im not going to worry.

So if you are local and fancy a day out then why now visit Chiswick Summer Fair on Saturday 9th July between 11am and 4pm.

Have a look at their site and see what its all about :)

http://www.chiswicksummerfair.org.uk/

Oh and I will have my facebook and website more upto date within the next few weeks. If you have any questions in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me :)
angels-diamonds@live.co.uk

HANDMADE MONDAY

Handmade Monday.. http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ please pop by Wendy's page and join in with Handmade Monday :)

Thanks for reading :)

Lucie xx

Somethng different..

Handmade Monday.. http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ please pop by Wendy's page and join in with Handmade Monday :)

I mentioned in my previous post that I applied for some local events.. GOOD NEWS.. I got a table at the big event in Chiswick. Chiswick summer Fair im really excited about it. There is so much happening at the fair that its guarenteed to be a great day for all, Raffles, auctions, stilt walkers, firemen, photgraphers, handbag and jewellery stalls, BBQ's and world food, circus workshops, story telling and so much more.... a fantastic day out for everyone. I cant wait :)

With the fair attracting around 3000 people I realise that I need to get busy.

So ive been working hard, working hard to complete custom orders and making a start on items just for the fair.

Ive woken up today with sacks under my eyes lol.. not a pretty sight, but I've made lots of one off items.. here's a few (ive made lots more, which im really happy with but I havent taken the pics yet).

 These rosary beads are a custom order, my customer is giving them to her hubby to be as a wedding gift. I made them using onyx beads for the aves and quartz crystals for the Paters.

 This set of rosary beads are for my customer to keep for herself, she wanted flower beads so I used these pretty millefliori beads as the aves and quartz crystals as the paters.

My customer was so happy with them that she said she nearly cried when she saw the piccy :) Thats what makes this all so worth while. :)

 At christmas I made the first of my male bracelet range, they were more ained at the children as they were customisable with names.  this one is aimed at the men. its big chunky and manly lol. Made in the same style as my previous ones with an adjustable strap.

 This is one of my one of designs for the Chiswick Summer Fair. I havent made hardly any big chunky statement jewellery so it was lots of fun making this (and lots of others which I need to post soon too)

 Another one off, this is a bracelet, but I will be making a necklace to match.

 This is made with hermatite round beads and squares and rose quartz chips and round beads and swarvoski crystals in the centre.

 Toe rings.. I started a range of these, in lots of different colours :)

SAMEE SUPERNATURAL

Im recommending this page for a few reasons.

1. Because her dolls are so unique and amazing.
2. Because she is very talented.
3. Because I think everyone should pop by her page on Facebook and have a look at her other dolls.

This little fella is a warewolf, her latest creation. her vampires are a hit aswell.

Such amazing detail in the clothes!

And here is one of the vampire dolls!

VOTES

My lovely customers have been nominating me for SITT Small Business award which has been oranised by Send in the Troops its a competition for the best facebook business page. The winner will receive a trophy and £50 for advertising.

So if you want to nominate yourself or someone else then please visit this link.

Votes start on 12th June and end on the 19th :)

Thank you everyone for taking your time to read.

I will be back again soon to post more pics :) xxx

Well last week wasnt the most productive. It didnt start off too well and most things were down hill from the off... But this week however, is the start of a new fresh week.. The fact that it is raining hasnt dampened my positive thoughts.. the rain can wash away last weeks problems. who knows, the sun may shine tomorrow :)

I decided to apply for some stalls at upcoming events, and although I hadnt heard back from anyone that I had previously emailed, I was pleased to receive an email from a local event for a pampering evening at a nursery being held at the end of this month, so I will be busy preparing for that. and.... Yesterday I had an email for a really big local event, which normally attracts 3000 people, so I am keeping my fingers tightly crossed that I get a stall there.. i'll find out sometime this week I think.

Ive never done any kind of event before.. all my jewellery is sold online so it will be a big thing for me. I will be working extremely hard every evening and weekend over the next 4-5 weeks to get as much jewellery made as possible. Hopefully I havent bitten off more than I can chew with potentially two events in the space of a week.

I just need to get myself organised!! plenty of coffee to be drank, a note pad to be filled, alot of beads to get creative with, and ALOT of work to be done. not to mention everything inbetween....arrrrgh, panic time.

How long do you give yourself to plan/prepare for an event? If I had the day hours to do it in I think a month wouldnt be a problem.. but as I only have evenings and weekends.... hmm.. i'll stay positive, im sure it can be done, and I do like a challenge :)

Handmade Monday.. http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ please pop by Wendy's page and join in with Handmade Monday :)

Here are a few custom orders ive done recently:

This is for a very valued customer as a gift for her mother's ruby wedding anniversary. I had a play around with styles and this one was the winner. it looks amazing on.

This decoration has been made in loving memory of another customer's nan. Previous memorial decorations i've made have been made to hang by a ribbon or to place in the ground, and so this one was a challenge to make standing, as the decoration itself was shaped as hearts i decided to make it with 3 hearts intertwined together, which looks nicer then you can see by the picture (as does the sparkey crystals).

And this is a toe ring. I had a couple of requests for toe rings so I thought i'd give one a go, and this was the outcome. As soon as I get some times I will add some more to the range.

(famous last words lol.. ive got so many designs in my head for pieces of jewellery I want to make, just not enough time to make them).

Thank you for reading :) xxx

House arrest

Handmade Monday.. http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ please pop by Wendy's page and join in with Handmade Monday :)

Since last week my son caught chickenpox.. I was in shock when I saw the rash on his back on Thursday morning and by the afternoon he was absolutely smothered in them, a quick trip to the doctors confirmed my obvious suspicisions. Me and my son said goodbye to the outside world, no nursery, no work, no outdoor trips for 4-5days... no sunshine!

Everyone seemed to be avoiding us last week, we were beginning to get complexes lol.

Whilst being at home for so long, I seemed to become clumsier than ever, in one day I managed to catch my toe on a piece of stationery furniture which really really hurt, and then a few hours later my son accidently knocked over a dining room chair (which is heavy) and that landed straight on my little toe (next to the one which i had hurt earlier) OUCH!! lol. and then prior to that I whacked my arm on the frame of the door!!

By the end of the week I looked pale, washed out, battered, ill, tired and sun deprived lol.

And needless to say, I was glad to get back to the office (out of harms way) lol and my son is back to nursery aswell so he will be glad for the fresh air and fun too :)

Whilst at home and inbetween nursing my poorly son and my battered toes, I did manage to work on some new designs.....

 Ive had these lovely hearts for a few weeks and wanted to do something different with them and this was the outcome.

 Doing the pink flower on the previous necklace inspired me to do something even more flowery/pink and different.. this necklace is stunning on. I need to try and get a decent picture of it, its pretty long so difficult to get a full length pic.

 These 2 bracelets are custom orders, the first one my customer knew exactly what she wanted and the second we just knew to add a cross and a daisy (this was my third design before showing my customer) :)

 Glass square earrings with crystal clusters

 Angel wing earrings

 Hermitite squares with swarovski cubes

 Quartz crystals with flower charms and flower spacers

Pandora style bracelet, I have lots of colours and lots of beads for these!

This week I am offering 20% off any purchase in my store, click here to visit my website, and enter FB20 on checkout for your 20% off. offer ends Friday.

I do have a few more designs which I have completed, but I dont have pics yet so I will share them with you next week :)

Thank you for reading xx

Clusters of crystals

Handmade Monday.. http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ please pop by Wendy's page and join in with Handmade Monday :) I havent done handmade Monday for aaaaages, im looking forward to catching up on everyones work :)

I LOVE clusters and I LOVE crystals, so this weekend I was working on a few pairs of earrings and lots of cluster rings. My hands were sore after all that wire wrapping but I felt good after getting so much done so after that I made a bracelet which I also LOVE.

So here are some pics...

Lots of colours and styles to choose from, I will still be adding to my range soon though.

A close up of the black cluster

and the purple

 and this ring was made as a custom colour choice from a aqua one I had previously made.

Red cluster

 

The cluster earrings pink and smokey

 And here's the four strand bracelet which I love. I went for all pastle colours so it will suit lots of different outfits.

 This necklace took me a few hours to make.. its made in the style of rosary beads, (but not in the same formation) I will be adding rosary beads to my range shortly though.

 I made this pendant originally to be earrings but decided it was a bit oversized and would look much nicer on a leather cord. :)

WEEKEND OFFERS

I dont think I have mentioned before, but every weekend I have a special offer on over at my Facebook page. This week my rings were on offer for £5.00 each with free P&P, I have had lots of offers on over the past few weeks, 2 friendship bracelets for £10.00 with free P&P, heart cluster necklaces £5 each with free p&p and more.  I will be re-introducing these offers over the coming weeks to give people who missed out a chance to grab a bargain.

Thank you for reading, and if you havent already joined me over on my FB page then please pop over, Its the place to pick up the best bargains and see all of my new designs.

Lucie :) xx

WOW!! Has it really been that long?!

Its been such a long time since I last blogged!

Ive been so busy with work and with my son and with jewellery making that I havent had a chance to blog, but I have decided to make some time and update you all :)

Since the Auction, which raised a lovely £100 for Cancer research, I have been working on new designs and rebuiding my website. this has been a bit of a long process due to having internet problems at home and not being able to use the internet for more than 10minutes without it cutting out (thanks BT) hopefully this will be sorted soon.. its been a few month now so who knows!

Anyway :) what have I been making... well I wont show you everything, but here are a few items..

 Angel name bracelet

 Filigee locket on a silver beaded necklace with a choice of crystal

 Wire wrapped cross with pearls and crystals

 Coiled hoop earrings with crystals

 This was made in loving memory (a custom order) A red glass heart with lots of pearls and crystals and a small swarovski heart and angel wing on a belcher chain.

 This was also made in loving memory (to hand on a moseleum)

 Anklet. this is made using small seed beads and crystals with a wire wrapped pattern (it looks pretty on) as the summer is upon us I will be started a range of anklets

My new banner, which I had lots of fun getting right lol.

What else have I been upto?

Well I recently started driving lessons, I did a couple of lessons 6years ago but wasnt really that motivated and didnt do any more.

Its a shame i have left it so long to learn, but I have determination this time! i'm really enjoying it, ive been on A roads and all my lessons are during rush hour traffic (London rush hour traffic.. lots of big vehicles and buses to drive along side.. gulp) I seem to be doing well though :)

I did have a minor problem this week however, I was turning of a main road into a side road and a cyclist was waiting to turn out of the side road, I keep turning to soon, so this time I made a conscious effort not to turn too quickly.. I left it a little too late this time, I missed the shocked cyclist by an inch (thanks to my instructor grabbing hold of the wheel) lol. I couldnt help but laugh (it wasnt an evil laugh, im not the type of person to take pleasure in scaring cyclists half to death lol) I always laugh when im nervous .. which is sometimes really inappropriate.

On average it takes 40 hour lessons plus home learning to pass a driving test these days!?! Is that a bit extreme? how many did it take you?

I hope I am cut out for it, I dont want to be another maureen! lol

So now that I have finally got around to blogging again, I promise not to leave it so long now. (hopefully back to weekly).

Thanks for reading :)

Lucie xxx