Jolly Jewellery: BLACK & GOLD

Black and gold has to be one of my favourite colour combos in jewellery. I find the contrast so striking and it makes such a strong statement. Cutting down items to create this post was very difficult. There is so much gorgeous stuff out there that fit this theme.

1. Gold Mirror Brooch by Jennifer Loiselle. A fun brooch made from mirrored acrylic. The whole shop is filled with great black and gold pieces, along with some super colourful stuff to.  The head pieces are also rather fabulous.

2. Geometric Necklace by Kate Rieppel.  Triangles cropping up again in this simple necklace made from 14K gold and oxidised sterling silver.

3. Pebble Ring by Lisa Hopkins. This ring was created as part of a Ring a Week challenge where, you guessed it, Lisa created a different ring each week for a year. Check out the rest of her creations on her blog.

4. Dipped Earrings by A Merry Mishap. These lovely little studs are available in a range of other colours including some very on trend neons.

5. Bold Gold Necklace by Jung ee eun. Super badass chunky chain tied with a pretty ribbon, great mix of materials as well as colours.

6. Cat Face Locket by Bonbi Forest. I love lockets and I love cats so this is a super combination.

7. Earrings by Quench Metal Works. A less striking colour contrast with the duller gold but a great shape.

8. Black and Rose by Ros Millar. Love, love, love this whole collection by Ros Millar, especially the rings with the stranger looking growths.

29 Drawings Later

Through out February I took part in the 28 Drawings Later challenge, though as this year was a leap I ended up with 29 drawings.  I wanted to take part to see if there had been any improvement in my drawing since the 2011 challenge. Looking over them it does look like there's been a little bit of progression.  2012's selection has a much more consistent style (even if it is the style of a small child). 

All the drawings were rather quick and usually done just before bed time so none of them are very complicated. There are a few I like which, with a bit of development, could make nice greetings cards. Yet again I enjoyed taking part in the challenge, even though there were some nights when I just wasn't in the mood. It gave that bit of extra drive to do something creative with my evenings and it allowed me to practice, which can only be a good thing.

You can see the rest of my drawings over on the facebook page, along with everyone else's. My images aren't the best quality, as I snapped many of them on my mobile, so apologies for that. There's also a rather super looking exhibition of some of the work happening in Glasgow. 

Some Late Lovely Things

I'm a bit late with my Lovely Things post this time around. I blame super fast weekend, I am so sure it was shorter than normal. This last week has been a good one with lots of new and exciting things going on. Here are some of my favourites...

1. New job.  I started a new job this week. This was one of my aims for 2012 so I'm quite pleased I achieved it early on in the year. Highlights of my new job include more hours, better pay, no weekend work and an opportunity to use my Gremlins lunch box. I've been taking this in each day and it's safe to say all my colleagues are very jealous.

2. Bright mornings. Getting up for work each day has been made so much easier by the fact that it is light outside. Not only that but it was rather sunny through out last week. If only it could be guaranteed for every morning.

3. Adding my first postcard set to the shop. During my 2 weeks holiday I designed a set of postcards, each showing a different compliment. I love the idea of sending little surprises through the mail, especially if they say nice things. The set of 6 different designs is now available in the shop, for the rather reasonable price of £4. I already have another set in the pipeline so hopefully they go down well.

Package of Pretty Things

I recently received a lovely package full of goodies from the fantastic Zoe of Ladybird Likes.  Included in it was the CD I won as part of a giveaway she held on her blog.  I love the packaging and the record texture of the CD, very fancy indeed.  

All the songs are now on my phone so I can enjoy them on my way to and from work. This seems to be the main time I listen to music so I really need to get a lot more songs to avoid listening to the same few over and over again.

She also, very generously,  included some super little penpal gifts. I love this collection, the lavender bag is already positioned in my underwear drawer and I will definitely be making use of the cute owl hook.  My favourite thing has to be the tiny toadstool.  I'm a big fan of miniature things and this would look great in a plant pot. I may need to work on my green fingers or it may be the only thing left in said pot.

Lovely Things - Week 6

1. New hair.  After 25 years I've taken the plunge and dyed my hair for the first time. I've always quite liked my natural colour but for quite a while now I've been wishing it was more ginger.  It's not a drastic difference but I'm taking things slowly. Also don't I look great with antlers? These are provided by our awesome fabric stag head made by A Wooden Tree.

Photo by Sophie Cameron found here.

2. Ladies that lunch.  Headed through to Edinburgh to meet up with some of my favourite ladies. We're all living in different places across the country so getting a group together can be difficult but worth it. We went to Eteaket for tea, cake and a longer overdue catch up. This very cute cafe had some great artwork on display and a vast section of teas, definitely worth a visit. 

3. Birthdays that go on and on.  I've received some more lovely birthday gifts this week including these books.  They are filed with lots of interesting crafty ideas that I'm looking forward to trying out.  I am also now the proud owner of a Wonder Cat print that I featured in this post. 

It's Nice to be Nice

I've been seeing a lot of great Valentines DIY's out on the web at the moment. I'm not really one to celebrate 14th February but it is nice to be romantic once in a while. So, since I'm abandoning him to go off to Edinburgh this weekend, I thought I'd make a little surprise to leave for Ross. I was inspired by this DIY but didn't have a spare cup and saucer lying around. I did, however, have some empty GU jars and got to work with the trusted Sharpies. 

I wrote ' love you lots like jelly tots' around the side. I know it's a bit sappy but it's been a constant saying in or flat after hearing it said on Casualty. I then filled the jar with said jelly tots and have left it out for him to find. Hope a) he likes it and b) the cat doesn't eat all the sweets before he gets up.

Jolly Jewellery: LOVE and Giveaway Winner

It's February and the other important celebration, apart from my birthday, is Valentine's Day.  I've never been particularly into this special date but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate some awesome love themed jewellery!  These would make great gifts at anytime of the year and can help you to avoid the cheap fluffy heart themed tat that is currently filling the shops.

1. Dude Brooch by Havock Designs. Super cool brooch for all the super cool dudes and dudettes in your life.

2. I Love You Necklace by Lauracet Cowan. Saw this necklace at the Vanilla Ink launch and liked the graffetti style writing. It makes the message much less lovely dovey.

3. Secret Message Necklace by Renaissance Life. I'm always a big fan of secret compartments, even better if they contain secret messages.

4. Next Level Brooch by Vangloria. One for gaming fans and a great way to let your valentine know you want to take the relationship up a notch.

5. DIY Heart Ring by bRainbow.  Nice bright colours and a bit of DIY fun, what's not to love?!

6. Braille Ring by MaaP Studio. Gorgeous porcelain ring that spells out the word love in braille. Can also be customised to feature a word of your choosing.

7. Organic Love Ring by La Chica de los Anillos. Simple but beautiful.

8. Heartbeat Rings by NO jewelery. Personalised rings that can be made in one or two sizes for sharing.

And the winner of the Lucky Penny Necklace giveaway is.....(drumroll please)....

Zoe Jade aka Ladybird Likes.  Congrats!  Just let me know your address and I'll get it in the post to you.

All images taken from the makers websites. Click on the links to find out more about each piece.