Hello out there....

It's been such a long time since I posted here, to be honest I kind of forgot that I even had blogs 😅

Just in case anybody stops by and happens to like handmade jewellery, here is a coupon code for 10% off at my Etsy shop Blossoming Silver =)

The coupon code is BLOSSOMINGSILVERBLOG and you can use it here!

Jewellery Party!.......

I'm having a little jewellery party at my online Etsy shop, so everyone is invited!  So here are the details =)

15% off 29th September - midnight 1st October (British Standard Time).

10% off 2nd October - midnight 8th October (British Standard Time).

For every item purchased you will be entered into a jewellery and goodies Prize Draw. Please let me know your favorite colour and if you prefer dark or milk chocolate via Note to Seller, in case you win a prize.

The more people that join in the more I will be giving away =) 

Click here to browse!

It's almost Christmas!.....

And another year seems to of zoomed by!  Looking forward to the New Year as my youngest child will be starting nursery full time, which means no more 3 hours of school runs....Yes 3 hours!  So hopefully I will have more time to blog, be creative, take photo's and work on my business =)

The Christmas holiday is always a busy time of year.  I have a few gifts to make and lots of cooking to do and plan to dance as much as possible, so I don't have to watch how many mince pies I eat!  The smell of mulled wine is becoming quite common in my home and the Christmas tree is up with all it's lights twinkling =)

If you're still in need of some gifts, you can find my Christmas delivery dates in my Etsy shop announcement, click here! 

As you can see I've started making glass teardrop pendants.  I'm totally in love with being able to change the pendant on my own necklace to suit what I'm wearing and these match the earrings that I make.  The pendant is £6 and with a sterling silver chain £10-11.  I've had some happy customers already that have bought these as a gift or for themselves =)

Well until I next blog, thank you for visiting and I hope you have a lovely festive holiday!

Wedding Anniversary Gemstones...

I had only ever really been aware of a 40th Ruby and a Golden 50th wedding anniversary, until a gentleman purchased a Moss Agate necklace and earrings from me, as a gift for his wife on their 14th anniversary.  There were wedding anniversary gift lists in the diaries my mother had when I was a child, but I had never been aware that there was one with gemstones.

Personally I think it's a lovely idea, well I would wouldn't I, being a self confessed beadaholic and I love love love gemstones to put it mildly (it's a good thing I make jewellery).

So I've had a little look around on the internet in search of the list and it turns out there are Traditional and Alternative lists to choose from and that there are variations depending on the country the list is from.  So if you like this idea it's well worth having a look at one of these lists!

I'll have to do some more research as I couldn't find any lists that actually explained the meaning behind giving a certain stone on a certain year, but all gemstones have their own story.  They have been used since ancient times for healing and adornment and I'm planning on writing some blog posts on this in the future =) 

Just Add Some Sparkle....

I love colour!  In my possession I have a 18k white and yellow gold chain necklace, that I bought in Venezuela the last time I was there (which was too long ago) and I've made different gemstone pendants to fit onto it to suit my mood or what I am wearing.

Having the different pendants to choose from is wonderful, each one is different, with it's own style and energy, I can't stress enough how handy they are and how much I love them!  My favorite pendants are a beautiful Pink Sapphire heart cut briolette, a Oro Verde Quartz shield cut briolette (like the one shown in the picture below) and now a tiny dainty Lapis Lazuli onion cut briolette which I wire wrapped with goldfilled wire.

One by one I'll be adding these beauties to my etsy shop and resisting keeping them for myself ; )

It's starting to feel alot like Christmas...

It's that festive time of year again, time to break out the mince pies and mulled wine!  Every year I aim to get the Christmas tree up on the first of December, will I do it this year?  Fat chance I think as I haven't even checked to see if the fairy lights are working and the tree has been stuck in a box for almost a year (it's not a real tree).  Last year I was wonderfully organized when it came to gift buying, but this year Christmas has snuck up on me.  So above is a selection of lovely finds created by my Etsy British Emporia and Craft Britannia team mates and other talented Etsyians that have got me in that shopping mood =)

To visit this treasury and explore these lovely finds and shops click here!

Enjoy =)

It's starting to feel alot like winter....

 My gosh has it turned cold, true there's still some sunshine, but all I can say is thank goodness for coffee!  Although I'm not fond of the cold I think winter is a magical time of year with it's long nights, candle light, perfect for snuggling up under a blanket or duvet and reading/ listening to winter tales and stories.  I have a few favorites and the above treasury was inspired by them.  Karen and Richard of Grin Grimace and Squeak handcraft amazing masks, crowns and accessories and I love the above picture of Karen as the Snow Queen =)

To visit the above treasury click here to explore these lovely finds!

 

 These icy blue petite teardrop earrings are a fairly new addition to my etsy shop, they are so dinky =)

And I love these beads *drool*.  I'm in the process of listing this bracelet, just have to measure and price it, although very tempted to keep it!

These light blue opal Czech glass briolettes are dreamy (can you tell I'm a beadaholic).  Think I might use them with some goldfilled wire, they would look gorgeous =)

Golden Summer....

 Gorgeously vibrant and golden!  I've added these lovelies to my collection of teardrop earrings and the wonderful thing is that as the wire and ear wires used are 14k goldfilled they are kind to sensitive ears, without the huge price tag =)

 So what is gold filled? The answer is that gold-filled is an actual layer of gold that has been pressure bonded to another suitable metal alloy and wears like solid gold. There is no flaking, rubbing off or changing of colour and your skin will only come into contact with the pure gold. This is what makes it more affordable, whilst still providing all the qualities of solid gold.

Whilst I love silver, I love the warmth of gold and there is something luxurious about it.  Find these lovelies here in the teardrop section of my etsy shop =)

Teardrops in every colour....

 Well not quite but I'm trying!  I love these briolettes and now have over 30 different colours/ sizes to play with.  They are great for everyday wear and are also popular as bridesmaid jewellery.  I like wire wrapping them with sterling silver wire, the end result is worth the extra time it takes =)

The matte aqua blue and matte teal green colours that I've just added to the collection, have a great sea glass look that I love. 

These are another new favorite.  These opal light teal green beauties are both translucent and semi opaque, as I've tried to show with this photo.  No two earrings are exactly the same, which I like =)

To see all the full collection as it grows click here!

Enjoy!

Christmas Loveliness...

It's nearly Christmas but there's still time to do some online shopping so here are some lovely finds from the British Emporia Team and other talented Etsyians.   I went for a ethnic spice theme for the above treasury, I love the combination of cinnamon, cloves, star anise, nut meg, ginger and citrus. 

To visit the above treasury click here!

 And you can't have Christmas without including some Robins =)

To visit the above treasury click here!

Packaging....

 Well it's been something I've been working on, like my Etsy shop, so I thought I'd take some photo's to share =) Note to self need to buy sharper scissors to snip those little threads on the organza gift bags/pouches!

This is the free gift I added in the package, who doesn't like a prezzie =)

My matching sticker and business card.  You likey?  The designs are by moi =)

 And finally the box sealed with love & cute kawaii washi tape, ready to be posted.

Christmas Magnets....

These little cuties arrived on Saturday.  10 designs to grace the fridge and very handy for keeping those school letters, photo's and drawings in place!  I had fun drawing these designs and found little clear lidded tins made here in the UK to put them in as gift set, just need to work out how to add Pay Pal buttons to my blog now =)

Tis the season to be jolly...

It's December already and it's time to put the Christmas tree up and start decorating the house.  Maybe you enjoy this time of year differently, everyone has their own way to spend the festive season, so I'll wish you light, warmth and happiness =)

Here are some lovely Etsy picks I've selected for your viewing pleasure, so do have a look at these lovely shops!

I had a busy weekend, but it was lovely to take part in the Crouch End Barboot in Little Paris and to Ashmount Primary School Winter Fair, I even got to help with the decorating of Santa's Grotto =)

To visit the treasury click here!

Enjoy =)

Winter is coming......

 It's getting darker earlier and there's a cold chill in the wind.  Judging by the amount of berries on the tree's it's going to be a harsh winter.  But rather then focus on the heating bills, Winter is a time of magical beauty.  So here I've put together a collection of icy blue polar bear beautiful finds for your viewing pleasure.  Snow, ice and polar bears, you can't more magical then that really =)

 To visit the above treasury click here!

Here are a pair of icy blue petite teardrop earring that I made, they are delicate and the colour is beautiful =)

Gorgeous Reds....

 I love red, can you tell?  It's been my favorite colour for over 20 years, although I now also have other favorite colours/ shades, the rich reds have a special je ne sais quoi for me.  It's just such a gorgeous colour!

 So here are some gorgeous red earrings that I've just added to my shop for your viewing pleasure.  I set my self the goal of having 200 listings in my shop by Christmas, so I'll be busy playing, I mean busy working with my beads, taking photo's and writing the listings (go and have a read of the listings they can take ages to write).

 I'm forever adding new colours/ shades to the glass teardrop earring range, they are great, but in the coming months I'll be adding more Artisan lampwork beads and gem stone jewellery as well.

 These crimson lampwork beauties reminded me a bit of glace cherries, I loved cheery loaf cake as a child, it was my job to cut the glace cherries into quaters.  The Silver beads I've used for these earrings are Karen Hill Tribe and fair trade =)

Well time to get back to the wire wrapping, so until next time keep well =)

Beads Glorious Beads......

Well I haven't been able to resist buying beads, so here's some eye candy for the jewellery / bead/ aholic's out there =) 

 

I try to always have a wide colour selection of beads to work with, which is easier to do with the glass beads compared to the semi precious stone's, as in having a selection in a certain cut/ style/ size of bead in the same price range, which is not always possible with gemstones as the price can vary a lot more and some stones are more delicate then others or not found often in larger sizes.

I'll admit that when I bought these beads I was thinking of WoW (World of Warcraft) which is a game where you collect all types of materials to make things as well as fighting dragons,  the smaller beads look to me as if they were made of little pieces of molten lava=)

I love this colour, it's gorgeous!

These beads make me think of blended ice coffee =)

Free Pocket Mirror Offer...

At the moment I'm offering a free pocket mirror featuring one of my designs, with every order of £15, not including postage and packaging =)

To visit my shop click here!

Fairytales from the Inner Rainbow....

As a member of the British Emporia team on Etsy, I take part in a weekly themed team treasury event, where we all create a treasury each for that weeks theme and then jointly promote them online on Wednesday evening from 7pm GMT.

This week the theme was indigo violet.  I think you'll agree that quiet often in fairytales you'll find woods, queens, princesses, crowns, pendants, flowers and there's even a famous shoe or two somewhere in the mix & a puss in boots.   Of course I had to include some iolite in the treasury, as this gem stone is normally violet-blue or indigo in colour.  Iolite is also know as water sapphire and I included the lovely raindrops photo by Murry Bolesta and blue mosaic earrings by Creating Trouble, as they reminded me of this aspect of the stone and a pond where there once was a frog prince =)

To visit this treasury click here!

 Here are a lovely pair of earrings you might find in the realm of the inner rainbow =)

March Shop Offer

This month I'm giving a free Pocket Mirror when you spend £15 on jewellery in my Etsy shop, not including postage & packaging. 

To visit my Etsy shop click here!

Add a little colour to your day...

 These little cuties are made of Czech glass briolettes and sterling silver wire.   I do love gemstones but these are lovely and not as delicate to work with as some stones like apatite which can be quite brittle and break if the hole has been placed too near the top of the bead, especially when your working with wire.

I have gemstone earrings similar to these and if your simply wanting a pair of earrings for the style and colour, rather then any special properties you might get with gemstones, these are great =)