As you can see I have not been able to post recently as I have been ill with a very virulent virus on and off for over a month now.
I had so much to write about, my holiday in Turkey with my daughter and share some pictures with you and different things I have been making before I fell ill. I hope I shall be back after Christmas and if anyone still reads my blog, I would like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas or whatever you celebrate at this time and a very Happy, Healthy, Harmonious and Peaceful New Year.
~Jackie~
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
I PASSED..!!!
I have not been writing my blog as my computer went down never to rise again...!!! I have managed to afford a new one but of course everything has changed in the ten years my dear old computer lasted, so I am getting to grips with things being in a different place or no longer available, can't find this or that but I really wanted to get back to writing my blog again, so here I am, if there is anyone out there reading me or have you all given up! I wouldn't blame you a bit, anyway if you are reading this I decided I would write a little bit about my interest in Tai Chi.
I have been studying Tai Chi for a few years now and really love it. Last month I passed my assessment to become an instructor, I am so thrilled that I have achieved this with study and hard work, in fact I haven't got my certificate yet, it takes a while to come through I have been told.
I have been working on a new collection of Tai Chi pendants my instructor wanted me to make some so I have made a few prototypes I am calling them Impressions of Tai Chi they are hand painted Polymer and I am working on some at the moment, I have tried to get some movement and flow into these tiny figures although I have found miniature paintings quite tricky to do, as my paintings are usually a good bit bigger! I have added something to the back of each pendant as well. I have put one below so you can see the back and front.
Thank you for taking the time to visit.
~Jackie~
I have been studying Tai Chi for a few years now and really love it. Last month I passed my assessment to become an instructor, I am so thrilled that I have achieved this with study and hard work, in fact I haven't got my certificate yet, it takes a while to come through I have been told.
I have been working on a new collection of Tai Chi pendants my instructor wanted me to make some so I have made a few prototypes I am calling them Impressions of Tai Chi they are hand painted Polymer and I am working on some at the moment, I have tried to get some movement and flow into these tiny figures although I have found miniature paintings quite tricky to do, as my paintings are usually a good bit bigger! I have added something to the back of each pendant as well. I have put one below so you can see the back and front.
Thank you for taking the time to visit.
~Jackie~
Sunday, 21 July 2013
A HOLIDAY IN LONDON!
I have just been up to London with my daughter, staying with an old friend who lives on the outskirts.
We had a great, if rather hectic time partly due to the extremely hot weather. One of our first calls is Covent Garden and environs it is always fun with lots to see and do. The Camden Markets are another stop for us as Lara shops at Cyberdog and we have a few favourite sellers we tend to visit both of us spent too much a rareity for me I might add!
We had an evening at the theatre with our friends, The Lady Killers a new offering of an old film, it was a comedy and gave us all a laugh.
We had booked for the Pompeii & Herculaneum Exhibition at The British Museum it was excellent and gave a great insight to the times and happenings but the museum always does its exhibitions so well. Then as we had not been to the Natural History Museum for a number of years we went there another day then on to the V&A where we had tickets for Fashion of the Eighties which Lara wanted to see.
We did fit in a few other things and I have some photos to go through when I get time later in the week there may even be something worth showing, but until then I will just put a couple of pictures of some jewellery I made recently.
We had a great, if rather hectic time partly due to the extremely hot weather. One of our first calls is Covent Garden and environs it is always fun with lots to see and do. The Camden Markets are another stop for us as Lara shops at Cyberdog and we have a few favourite sellers we tend to visit both of us spent too much a rareity for me I might add!
We had an evening at the theatre with our friends, The Lady Killers a new offering of an old film, it was a comedy and gave us all a laugh.
We had booked for the Pompeii & Herculaneum Exhibition at The British Museum it was excellent and gave a great insight to the times and happenings but the museum always does its exhibitions so well. Then as we had not been to the Natural History Museum for a number of years we went there another day then on to the V&A where we had tickets for Fashion of the Eighties which Lara wanted to see.
We did fit in a few other things and I have some photos to go through when I get time later in the week there may even be something worth showing, but until then I will just put a couple of pictures of some jewellery I made recently.
A handflower in freshwater pearls with gold beads and Swarovski crystals.
Beautiful freshwater pearls rubies and emeralds set in silver.
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
I WON A CONTEST!
I just won the most innovative class in a bracelet contest I am rather pleased and thought I would share the cuff bracelet I made for it with you. It is made from Polymer with beautiful little freshwater pearls and vintage Swarovski crystals.
I named it Spring into Summer!
I named it Spring into Summer!
Sunday, 30 June 2013
SUMMER IS FOR PEARLS !
I do love pearls in all their grand variety and there are 'pearls for all seasons' but especially in the summer I love to see them with pastels and brights with coloured gemstones, agates Jaspers, Lampwork, silver, gold they just seem to go with everything and I use them often when I design and make jewellery and wear them myself too. Below are some of the necklaces I have made, these are for sale right now, if you see something you would like to have, just email me!
Pale pistachio green pearls with elegant hand made flameworked beads the centre bead is a large floral & vines, very pretty and summery fastens with a hook clasp.
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| Sweet little white pearls look lovely with Rose Quartz hearts and carved flower bead, cubes of Rhodonite and silver fastens with a lobster clasp. There is a bracelet and earrings to complete the set! |
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| Hand wrought in silver this beautiful Emerald pendant creates the focal point in this luxury Emerald and pearl necklace the inner strand of pearls are a pale green the outer strand is white it fastens with an S clasp. |
Sunday, 16 June 2013
SUNSHINE AND GARDENING
I have managed to get out in the garden the last two weeks, I was determined to make the most of the sunshine, after last year and all that rain and very little sun in my part of the world I was really ready for the sun.
First I cut down a small Magnolia that had more or less died for some reason, it would never recover so it got the chop, well actually I sawed it down as the trunk was not thick and we chopped it up.
Another small tree to come down that had actually outgrown its spot and was leaning badly to one side with multiple trunks took a bit more work and had to be done over a couple of days. This tree had almost pushed my lovely little crab apple over. Both trees were covered with clematis C Freckles which is totally rampant and has been rampaging from one end to the other on one side of my small but long narrow garden.
Freckles is a pretty clematis with a slight scent, when we pulled the branches down covered in clematis this is what we found!
First I cut down a small Magnolia that had more or less died for some reason, it would never recover so it got the chop, well actually I sawed it down as the trunk was not thick and we chopped it up.
Another small tree to come down that had actually outgrown its spot and was leaning badly to one side with multiple trunks took a bit more work and had to be done over a couple of days. This tree had almost pushed my lovely little crab apple over. Both trees were covered with clematis C Freckles which is totally rampant and has been rampaging from one end to the other on one side of my small but long narrow garden.
Freckles is a pretty clematis with a slight scent, when we pulled the branches down covered in clematis this is what we found!
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| Blue Tit nest filled with downy Dandelion seed heads |
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| Blue Tit nest woven with moss side view I don't think the nest had been used and I was sad to think maybe the birds had built it for a second nest this year and now it will be too late to build another. Here is a picture of the Clematis C Freckles flowers .  |
Friday, 17 May 2013
A HAND FLOWER
I have been enjoying making a new design at least it is new to me, it is a bracelet named a Hand Flower some call them slave bracelets but I think those are all chain whereas mine is made with freshwater pearls, crystals and components, so I am calling it a Hand Flower, it was fun to make and my daughter loved it. I actually used her wrist to get the dimensions right!
It's my daughters birthday on Sunday and I made her a necklace with some of the Bead Soup my partner sent me ( photo in my previous post ) she also has a quantity of books on drawing landscapes, she wanted a diploma art course but there are none available for coloured pencil which is her chosen medium to work in, she feels the background to her figures could do with more study and I have to agree with her. I am hoping the books will help her.
Anyway here is my Hand Flower.
It's my daughters birthday on Sunday and I made her a necklace with some of the Bead Soup my partner sent me ( photo in my previous post ) she also has a quantity of books on drawing landscapes, she wanted a diploma art course but there are none available for coloured pencil which is her chosen medium to work in, she feels the background to her figures could do with more study and I have to agree with her. I am hoping the books will help her.
Anyway here is my Hand Flower.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
MY BEAD SOUP REVEAL!
At last the great day is here when I can reveal my bead soup to you, I seem to have been waiting such a long time! When the soup arrived from my swap partner Cathy Jakicic I unpacked it and spread it out and looked at it for a couple of weeks with no idea what I would make with it, I just kept going back to look and slowly ideas started to come together.
The first necklace I made was with the blue nuggets (they look like Lapis but not sure) I added some large vintage brass beads and chain from my stash and the focal is the blue stone from my soup. I made a bracelet to go with the necklace but used one of my hand made beads as the focal point.
For the next necklace I had great fun with my hammer, hammering the shapes I made and then putting it all together. As I was constructing it the beautiful Jasper leaf I added from my stash, a tiny tip from the top broke away it was so small I was unable to do anything about it, I don't think it detracts from the necklace hopefully. I named this one Floating Away, simply because the beads remind me of streams and leaves do float away on them.
The lovely green glass navette shape beads inspired a completely different design I really love it! I used the lovely lampwork clasp Cathy sent, the small white rice pearls came from my stash, as did the pink lampwork rose buds and deep green rondelles, I think it turned out very pretty!
This necklace , gave me quite a challenge because of the odd shaped squarish nugget beads, tricky! The colour looked like pieces of blue sky with pink blossoms perhaps from a cherry or almond tree so I designed a pendant with an old weeping cherry tree and Blossom Time was born! I used the pink pearls and silver from the bead soup and added a hand dyed silk string from Diane it is soft shades of blue and pink and a little silver hook clasp, I think it worked well, and I love it.
This is a last minute idea I had for the leaf and tiny heart Cathy sent in the soup, I found a tiny bird and a couple of 4mm Swarovski crystals and popped them onto a long headpin and added them to the leaf, the leaf is on a hand dyed silk ribbon I had in my stash and that folks is it! I do have a few things left over and I am sure I will use them in time.
The first necklace I made was with the blue nuggets (they look like Lapis but not sure) I added some large vintage brass beads and chain from my stash and the focal is the blue stone from my soup. I made a bracelet to go with the necklace but used one of my hand made beads as the focal point.
I had been looking at the pretty Cameo which is quite heavy and decided to go with a hand dyed silk ribbon as I felt it might be too heavy with a chain or pearl necklace so a ordered ribbon from Diane at http://www.sowzeredesigns.com she also has an Etsy shop SowZerE
For the next necklace I had great fun with my hammer, hammering the shapes I made and then putting it all together. As I was constructing it the beautiful Jasper leaf I added from my stash, a tiny tip from the top broke away it was so small I was unable to do anything about it, I don't think it detracts from the necklace hopefully. I named this one Floating Away, simply because the beads remind me of streams and leaves do float away on them.
The lovely green glass navette shape beads inspired a completely different design I really love it! I used the lovely lampwork clasp Cathy sent, the small white rice pearls came from my stash, as did the pink lampwork rose buds and deep green rondelles, I think it turned out very pretty!
My daughter had spotted the white opal glass spike beads of course she wanted those, just her sort of thing...!!!! so of course I said I would make her a necklace with them, I found a strand of pinky, purple vintage fire polished beads added some silver beads and now she has her spikey necklace.
This necklace , gave me quite a challenge because of the odd shaped squarish nugget beads, tricky! The colour looked like pieces of blue sky with pink blossoms perhaps from a cherry or almond tree so I designed a pendant with an old weeping cherry tree and Blossom Time was born! I used the pink pearls and silver from the bead soup and added a hand dyed silk string from Diane it is soft shades of blue and pink and a little silver hook clasp, I think it worked well, and I love it.
This is a last minute idea I had for the leaf and tiny heart Cathy sent in the soup, I found a tiny bird and a couple of 4mm Swarovski crystals and popped them onto a long headpin and added them to the leaf, the leaf is on a hand dyed silk ribbon I had in my stash and that folks is it! I do have a few things left over and I am sure I will use them in time.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit and hope you will take a look at the other participants of the bead soup.
This is a link to the list for the second reveal http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/preview-of-2nd-reveal-blog-list-for-7th.html
I do hope it works
~Jackie~
Monday, 8 April 2013
NEW DATE FOR SECOND BEAD SOUP REVEAL!
Lori has put the date back for the second and third reveal so of course I didn't post the items I have made on the 6th but will now be posting them on Saturday 13th April instead so I thought it might be nice to post a few pictures of some necklaces I have made either as gifts or commissions.
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| Amethyst & freshwater Pearls with a silver Agate & Amethyst pendant |
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| South Sea Shell Pearls with Amethyst leaf and silver beads |
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| Gemstone necklace Imperial & white Topaz with Citrine |
Monday, 25 March 2013
BEAD SOUP I SENT AND RECEIVED!
Well as it is getting closer to the reveals I thought I would post a couple of pictures of the soup I sent to my partner Cathy Jakicic, Cathy is the editor of Bead Style Magazine and she sent me an amazing soup full of all sorts of things, she had picked the spring colour of greens and blues and I have had such fun making several lovely items from it as I said in my previous post can't show you till the April 6th but here is what Cathy sent me!
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Cathys Soup to me |
Sunday, 24 March 2013
BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY ETC...
It will soon be that time again when we reveal our bead soup to the blogging world, the first reveal will start on 30th April. I am part of the second reveal so my turn will come on 6th April, I have already nmade several items but I mustn't give anything away till the day.
I have been making other things as well and as it has been too cold and damp in the garden to start out there. Although I do have some flowers in bloom Narcissi and my early Camellia Haru Gasumi and lots of Hellebors, I notice the beautiful double flowered Magnolia Vulcan has shed some of the furry jackets from its buds, I do wish it had waited a bit as the weather is unseasonably cold with strong winds and I so look forward to seeing the wonderful display this magnificent little tree puts forth, so I hope the flowers won't all be ruined!
I have been sewing, for Easter I have made my sister a scarf from a piece of beautiful vintage kimono silk it is so pretty full of spring flowers and soft as a butterfly wing! I shall be making more scarves and some ascots/cravats to sell later on hopefully.
I have been making other things as well and as it has been too cold and damp in the garden to start out there. Although I do have some flowers in bloom Narcissi and my early Camellia Haru Gasumi and lots of Hellebors, I notice the beautiful double flowered Magnolia Vulcan has shed some of the furry jackets from its buds, I do wish it had waited a bit as the weather is unseasonably cold with strong winds and I so look forward to seeing the wonderful display this magnificent little tree puts forth, so I hope the flowers won't all be ruined!
I have been sewing, for Easter I have made my sister a scarf from a piece of beautiful vintage kimono silk it is so pretty full of spring flowers and soft as a butterfly wing! I shall be making more scarves and some ascots/cravats to sell later on hopefully.
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| vintage silk scarf for my sister, much prettier colour than the picture |
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| Imperial Jasper with five Amethyst Cabochons I made this before Christmas ~Jackie |
Thursday, 14 February 2013
KYDO JEWELLERY !
Its Polymer Clay month at The Beading Arts Blog and Cyndi Lavin invited me to take part, today 14th February is the day I am featured on Cyndi's blog.
Thank you Cyndi for giving me the opportunity to display some of my work.
~Jackie~
Thank you Cyndi for giving me the opportunity to display some of my work.
~Jackie~
Friday, 18 January 2013
VINTAGE KIMONO SILK
I love vintage and antique fabrics especially the exquisite silk kimono panels and kimono and jackets (Haori) I collect. I have only been a collector of these beautiful fabrics for a relatively short time just a few years and learning all the time.
My daughter has caught the collecting bug to a lesser extent and has several lovely silk Haori's and a pretty cotton Yukata she wears in the summer. It has been fun wearing these to the theatre and they are always admired and we enjoy telling people about them and how well they were looked after which is why they are still in such wonderful condition and perfectly wearable, I often wonder who owned them and what stories they could tell...!!!
My daughter has caught the collecting bug to a lesser extent and has several lovely silk Haori's and a pretty cotton Yukata she wears in the summer. It has been fun wearing these to the theatre and they are always admired and we enjoy telling people about them and how well they were looked after which is why they are still in such wonderful condition and perfectly wearable, I often wonder who owned them and what stories they could tell...!!!
From some of the silk and one of the wool panels I have made scarves for my daughter, sister and friends I think I should start doing something with some of the panels again this year as it is a shame for such beautiful fabric to lie unseen on a cupboard shelf when it could be worn and admired.
The Orchid kimono below is rather unusual and pretty and the haori is gorgeous the embroidery is silver and gold roses and foliage. The three silk panels I think are very beautiful.
Monday, 7 January 2013
SPECIAL OFFERS AT KYDO JEWELLERY
I have decided to keep the sale going a little longer at the web site http://www.kydojewellery.co.uk so please do take a look many iterms are deeply discounted some at half price!
It has not been a good start to 2013 for our family, I have not seen my sister or her husband since before Christmas as they were both ill then no sooner had that started to go than they both picked up the dreaded Noro Virus with all it entails, that got better, then last Thursday I phoned my sister and her husband was in bed in agony with back and stomach pains and vomiting violently. I phoned yesterday and he had felt better Saturday then Sunday back to square one! My sister phoned this morning to let me know last night he was taken to hospital now the doctors think he has possible kidney disfunction...!!!
Its a lot to take in and I had hoped so much for the New Year that things would pick up and maybe even a few sales to cheer me. This was to be a year of trying new things and putting the old behind me if that meant giving up the jewellery so be it; although I will always be making things just for the sake of it, as I can't imagine giving up art in some form it has been a part of my life since I was a small child.
I would love it if you left me a comment or two, I don't often feel so low but right now lots of things seem to be piling up, I expect you know how it is we all get those times! I will leave this post with a picture of a bracelet and earrings I worked on for a wedding.
I hope your New Year has got off to a flying start and I wish you only good things for 2013.
~Jackie~
It has not been a good start to 2013 for our family, I have not seen my sister or her husband since before Christmas as they were both ill then no sooner had that started to go than they both picked up the dreaded Noro Virus with all it entails, that got better, then last Thursday I phoned my sister and her husband was in bed in agony with back and stomach pains and vomiting violently. I phoned yesterday and he had felt better Saturday then Sunday back to square one! My sister phoned this morning to let me know last night he was taken to hospital now the doctors think he has possible kidney disfunction...!!!
Its a lot to take in and I had hoped so much for the New Year that things would pick up and maybe even a few sales to cheer me. This was to be a year of trying new things and putting the old behind me if that meant giving up the jewellery so be it; although I will always be making things just for the sake of it, as I can't imagine giving up art in some form it has been a part of my life since I was a small child.
I would love it if you left me a comment or two, I don't often feel so low but right now lots of things seem to be piling up, I expect you know how it is we all get those times! I will leave this post with a picture of a bracelet and earrings I worked on for a wedding.
I hope your New Year has got off to a flying start and I wish you only good things for 2013.
~Jackie~
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