GIFT GUIDE

Today I am in Cyndi Lavin's December Gift Guide, so the web site is well stocked with lots of specially priced items everything from necklaces, pendants, bracelets and earrings, I also make ribbon bookmarks these are adjustable to fit large or small books and won't mark the pages.
The sale will run till New Years Eve to finish the old year with a flourish prices are in £ & US$!
If you see something you would like just email me the details and I will get right back to you.

On another note I have been thinking of putting some things in my Etsy shop it is such a popular place I buy all sorts of things there throughout the year, I do love to buy handmade it has a uniqueness about it that is so special.

The Ganoksin Online Exhibition

I have four necklaces in the new Ganoksin Exhibition the links are below if anyone would like to see them.
Page 26.
http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/duu/Humming-Bird-_amp_-Nest-02-resize.jpg.html

Page 35.
http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/duu/Pandora-01-resize.jpg.html

Page 53.
http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/duu/Wild-Rose-01resize.jpg.html

Page 55.
http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/duu/York-Amonite-01-resize.jpg.html

 The exhibition showcases 330 images chosen from entries from over 111 artists representing 26 countries:
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Serbia, Spain, Trinidad, Turkey, UK, USA, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands
Artists were free to interpret the theme in any way they chose. Each artist could submit up to six pieces. Interpretations include uniting different materials into one cohesive form; intellectual and emotional "unitings", where the meaning of the piece unites multiple concepts; the uniting of time - past, present and future; and a number that focus on the harmony created when uniting multiple materials and/or concepts.
The work submitted involved a wide range of jewelry techniques, from very traditional to very cutting edge, as well as using materials from traditional precious metals and gemstones to "re-purposedThe online exhibition titled "Differences Unite Us" is now open to the public!

FIRST OF THREE GIVEAWAYS!!

I have three items I would like to give away over the next few weeks the first is a sari ribbon necklace/bracelet I made with the items I was sent by my partner for a bead soup I did with Lori Anderson. The leaf is ceramic and the beads are lampwork.
The drawing will be made on the May 12th.

To be entered in the draw with a chance to win, please leave a comment on my blog and you can either blog about it on your own blog or mention it on your Facebook and let me know you have done so for an extra go. Oh yes don't forget to let me know your email address or I won't be able to contact you if you win!
That's all you need to do. You can see a picture of the first give away above. 

Promotional Sale

To promote my shop at Ruby Plaza, I decided now is the time to have a promotional sale it is seasonal and will run through December, everything is on sale right now lots of lovely necklaces and earrings that would make great gifts there is even a silver Festive bracelet made with beautiful handmade lampwork beads etc. payment is by Paypal and we ship internationally to most places very reasonably, we try to keep the cost down even if you order more than one item.
So sit down with you favourite tipple and enjoy browsing our shop at Ruby Plaza. http://www.rubyplaza.com/shop/thesilverlodge

Of course our web site Kydo Jewellery has lots of lovely things on too http://www.kydojewellery.co.uk/
including our very popular bookmarks, being made of satin ribbon they are kind to books and make great gifts anytime! I have made them to go in prayer books, bibles and for confirmation in a favourite colour or white with a sterling silver cross.

New Nefertiti Necklace & A Walk in the Woods

Well I am still here for the time being hoping that blogger will fix the glitch that won't let me post to some blogs, so I thought I had better show you some new necklaces I have just put up for sale on our web site Kydo Jewellery with the help of my daughter and web master.

The first necklace I called Nefertiti. It came about this way, I was looking through one of my books on Ancient Egypt for a completely different reason and came across some lovely wall paintings of Nefertiti with flowers, which inspired me to create this necklace. I had recently bought some large and beautiful Lapis Lazuli cabochons in that lovely royal blue colour so out came the sketch book as usual. I decided on a lily shape with the central cab of the Lapis I added three Carnelian cabs and engraved a lily design into the gold clay. I used my only strand of lovely Lapis nuggets with Carnelian rounds and little gold plated rondels it closes with a little vermeil S hook. It is signed on the back as are all my Gold Collection pieces. I think it turned out rather well.

The second picture is of a fresh green and white necklace. I chose a leaf or teardrop shape which compliments the shape of the Agate cab I textured the background of the gold clay and added a round Turquoise cab, which kind of set the whole piece off nicely I think. I used some high quality white pearls and tree Agate rounds to string it with and a few gold vermeil flower spacers, the clasp is a gold plated lobster claw. I think it makes a refreshing change the green and white, I called it A Walk in the Woods, I can almost smell the leaves and ferns lol.

Hope you like them I would love it if you left me a message.

Two new pendant necklaces

I have two pretty new pendant necklaces to share with you today, from my Gold Collection. The marquise cabs in both cases are Ocean Jasper the pink and white one also has two round cabs of Chalcedony with Swarovski crystals embellishing the chain. The gold and green Cab has a round vintage Swarovski crystal with crystals and freshwater pearls embellishing the chain.Both these are on the web site right now on The Gold Collection pendants page.

The necklace in my last post Florentine is also on the web site Gold Collection necklaces page. Just click on Kydo Jewellery to the right and visit our web site, we have a special celebration offer for our blog followers, free first class or standard Air Mail shipping anywhere for one week thats till 30th April! 

 

Bead Soup Reveal Day

Today is the day I can show you what I made from my bead soup partner Magda; our brief was we had to use the focal and clasp our partner sent us but could use the beads sent or use some from our own stash. I tried to use as many of the items Magda sent me as I could and just added one bead and some vintage brass chain of my own to finish off.

I made an asymetrical necklace, I loved the hand made beads and clasp she made for me, so the clasp had to be seen, but I had great difficulty deciding how to hang the focal circle of wood, I wanted to use the long wire wrapped bead she had made me in a different way. So this is what I eventually came up with.

Bead Soup!

Magda is my bead soup partner she lives in Poland, her English is good while my Polish is non existent but that has not stopped us communicating and I would like to show you the lovely selection of beads Magda sent me. The beautiful clasp and wire wrapped beads Magda made especially for me, I feel so honoured they are lovely. I have tried to use as many of the components in my necklace as possible, I just can't let you see it yet lol.

White Water Turquoise

I made this necklace for myself with some of my favourite White Water Mine Turquoise, some silver and a handmade pendant from Jean Christen ( Clay Genie ) I love wearing it!

Coping with the high cost of silver and gold

Reading my friend Lori's blog sparked my idea to write some musing on this subject from my perspective. I used to make art jewellery pieces up until a couple of years ago with sterling silver armatures wrapped with very fine silver wire, I developed my own style and things went well, but with the constantly rising cost of silver I began to question where I was going, add the gemstones etc, etc and expenses rose, yes it was fun to create, especially as I enjoy making as many parts of a design as I can apart from the gemstones obviously I leave that to mother nature.

Then a few years back I was introduced to Premo Polymer clay, its a bit like paint in solid form I thought so I was hooked. I took a few tutorials to begin with, then as usual I meandered off on my own. Many years ago I worked with clay but this was different I had colour now and many more colours could be mixed from the basics! So I made many different items from small sculptures to jewellery, which is now my preference.

Polymer clay it would seem has come into its own and is no longer considered the outsider but is sold in prestigious galleries, there are museum collections and displays of jewellery it has finally made it!

Last year I got to thinking how wonderful it would be to work with gold clay that I could shape into my own designs for necklaces and pendants, a lovely setting for beautiful Jaspers, Agates and Gemstones etc so working from my original sketches; I spent the next six months building a collection of art necklaces and pendants based in the gold polymer clay.

The Inspiration; water plays a large part in my life as I live close to the ocean, enjoy lakes and streams, with reeds and swans, the ponds in our garden. Trees are important to me, also mosses and ferns, each piece of jewellery I sketch has an inspiration in nature and the natural world around me. Sometimes it is a shape I want to capture or maybe a beautiful Jasper cab inspires a picture.

So my problem seems to be solved, I no longer need large quantities of silver or gold metal and I am excited with all the new possibilities this new direction has given me.

This collection will be available when we have finished updating the web site.

New Jewellery at last

The London trip was nice but would have been a lot better if Lara and I had not both picked up some old virus there, which really spoilt the week! I have been unwell with it ever since which is a really long time and why I did not feel like writing anything as it was all doom and gloom lol. Now I am feeling much better and I have been moving forward with 'The Gold Collection' if your wondering why gold? Well gold polymer clay simply makes my art necklaces and pendants affordable, most people couldn't afford to buy my art designs in high carat gold, so this was a way of making them affordable.

I am useing many beautiful handcut Jaspers, Agates, Fossil materials and rare stones. Faceted and smooth gemstones in variety and choosing the most beautiful high quality gemstone beads and pearls for stringing. It has also been a time of experimentation, I am trying different things and cut the templates from my sketches, finding ways to set gemstones in the clay and I am loving it!

My ideas are moving forward, I have been especially inspired by ferns of all kinds recently; a number of different ones grow in my garden I am particularly fond of the Hart's Tongue fern. The hedgerows and places around here abound with ferns hiding between rocks and carpeting the moss grown floor under trees. So here is a necklace and pendant from The Gold Collection celebrating the Hart's Tongue and other ferns. The necklace will be for sale but the pendant I made as a gift for a dear friend.

I would love it if you would leave me a comment.

Feeling Creative!

Our overhaul of the web site this year seems to be taking forever, Lara who is also the webmaster has been so busy with her commissions and other work that it is on a go slow and only half finished. We really wanted to showcase not just work for sale but commissions, work in progress artwork, jewellery and sculptures.

There just seems to be so much to do with work progressing in the house, it is a very old house so needs constant attention and it has taken us years to eventually get down to the bottom floor, there are four floors and we finished the kitchen last Christmas but still more to do, when I say finished the kitchen I mean it was gutted completely right up to the joists, my husband did all the work himself so it all takes a lot of time. Right now he is finishing two of the windows we had double glazed last year but never got to finish around them. then there is the front door the frame is all rotted out so needs replacing but of course it isn't that easy or straightforward, never is in this house, so we await the various carpenters who will hopefully submit their prices in the not to distant future. I haven't even mentioned the garden yet! The fences one side are falling down and have to be replaced and the whole garden sorted out and my lovely canal pond filled in as being at the bottom of the garden it has become a lot of work to clean it etc. So I will have to bring my large Koi up to the top pond and somehow enlarge it a little bit as I hand feed them and couldn't bring myself to part with them, they are like old friends.

Not much time for web sites you might say, I have been in a very creative mood recently, but now I feel strangely restive with too many ideas popping up in my thoughts and none of them really settling into something definite I can work with, so I am going to show you some of the things I have finished in my Pandora collection.

The little blue lilies pendant has bronze wire the loop at the bottom I was going to add something but don't know just what yet! The Pandora necklace took a very long time to construct as it was so complicated it was really inspiring to create, have to say I enjoyed it immensely and is so comfortable to wear, I love it!

Pandora

Lara and I went to see the film Avatar in 3D earlier this year, I loved the concept of an unspoiled planet full of natural wonders, we bought the hardback book Avatar to share between us a few weeks later and although not a thick book it was interesting and gave some insight into the design and making of the film. The use of colours intrigued me as did the idea of floating mountains in fact I found it all quite enchanting.

Since then I have been working on my Pandora collection of pendants and necklaces inspired by the strangely beautiful alien world of Pandora. Sculpted in Polymer clay, the photos don't really show them to best effect as they are dusted with interference and mica powders to add that special iridescence the pendants and necklaces were exciting and intricate to design I really enjoyed making them, so I thought I would share some of them with you, I hope you like them to!

Spring Weddings & Inspiration

I am not sure the two always go together but in this case they do, as I have a bridal commision for a May wedding the bride and four bridesmaids, I am halfway through and really enjoying it. How delightful to design something for a big day, no matter whether it be gowns or jewellery. In my case it is jewellery and the colours are silver and purple.

The bride likes a very dainty necklace and happily I had some of the tiniest purple nugget pearls which she fell in love with, so that made a good base to start from. I added purple velvet crystals and some lavendar blue pearl rondels, then she chose a silver filigree flower with clear crystal petals and a centre of lavendar blue, I offset the flower to just below her collarbone, I hope she likes it when she sees it tomorrow.

Well now it is Sunday and my bride loves her necklace! I finished the rest yesterday and have taken a couple of pictures to show the brides and three of the bridesmaids necklaces. The bridesmaids dresses are purple with gold embellishments.

I have also added some of the necklaces we have in our spring sale, you can see them on the right hand side of the page just email if you would like anything!