Packaging

Good morning :)

Wow its been almost a year since I last blogged.. where does the time go!

Its a lovely sunny day in London today and im feeling in the mood for getting organised.

Today i've been looking at packaging, this is something I find myself constantly trying to improve. I am often searching on google and pinterest for jewellery packaging ideas,  i'd say I do this at least once a month, and I never seem to get anywhere, or find what seems to be the impossible. its a vicious circle.

I have come across some lovely ideas today however, which I thought I would share with you all. My aim is to get slimmer more sophisticated packaging which can easily be posted through a letter box, something that when my customers receive their item of jewellery they think wow to the packaging aswell.

I found a lovely Blog by Boo's Jewellery who shared a template for their packaging, which seems to fit everything i've been looking for.

I also found via pinterest a supplier on Etsy who make some lovely packaging which is as simple as ordering, although they are based in the USA so I will have to double check they ship to the UK.

And another page who sell packaging templates which I think I will definitely be making a few purchases :)

So now I feel spoilt for choice. My mornings search has been very worth while. And these three were so worth a mention.

I hope you are all enjoying some sunshine today and enjoyed looking through these packaging ideas.

Lucie :) x

COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED

Hi All,

Please accept my apologies for the delayed announcement.

All names were added to a list in the order listed on the previous blog and then a number generator was used.

I can now announce that the winner of the custom set of rosary beads is Kelly Quinn.

CONGRATULATIONS KELLY. Please could you contact me on angels-diamonds@live.co.uk or via the contact tab on facebook so we can discuss your preferences.

Thanks to everyone who entered, please keep an eye on my blog for future competitions and giveaways.

Many Thanks

Lucie :)
Angels and Diamonds

CUSTOM ROSARY BEAD PRIZE DRAW

Hey everyone,

Its been a very long time since I last updated my blog! This entry is to give you all a chance to win a custom set of rosary beads, which I will add are my top sellers, they can be your choice of colour and style - eg. black crystals with silver paters or white pearls with crystal paters, you can have a name added, and even a charm.(upto the value of £35)
I originally started this on Facebook but due to rules of competitions I am bringing you to my blog, because the last thing I want is to lose my facebook page.
So im changing the way you enter - all you need to do to is simply comment on this post by telling me what style rosary beads you would like and why.. simple :). Then on sunday 6th May, I will enter all names into a prize draw and announce the lucky winner.

Please also dont forget to follow my blog as all competitions will be run through here from now on.

And just to give you an example of what type of rosary beads I have designed for customers, here are some pictures :)

And those of you who already entered via Facebook here are your entries, please feel free to join in the comments of this blog -  although because you have already shared, this part is not essential for you.

Thomas Vary
Anne Skinnider
Charmain Cowen
Lucy Gordon
Denise Mee
Kelly Quinn
Em Gina Clark
Angela Mccormack
Charlotte Lucy Hobbs
Natalie Lewis
Linda Jackman Coward
Rachael Hewett
Kimberleigh Louisa Russell
Marjory Clark
Shauna Mc Guinness
Carly Louise Forrest
Kelly Sutch
Princess Dandan
Michael Alboni
Wayne Hart
Jackie Jeffery
Candy L Albertsen
Elaine Kelly
Amy Shanahan
Emma Clark
Hirschfelds Ltd
Susan Sowter Cottol
Mary Wild
Sarah Stout
Kelly Clark
Jeff Hickmott
Josephine Golden
Patricia Vary

Please kindly share/like the page.

Thank you for entering and good luck.:)

Lucie xx

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