Back to Etsy.

I have finally, (finally!) managed to list something on Etsy last week. I've been feeling a bit down about my shop lately, I've let things expire and haven't really done much promotion. Partly because I haven't had much success and partly because real life events have been a bit tough...BUT... now it's time to pick myself up and get back into it.

I've been enjoying playing around with some new glass molds I was given for Christmas and, after a bit of experimentation, I made something that I thought was good enough to list on Etsy (the photo is a link to my shop) I really like this way of making pendants, I could get addicted to making them.

I'm also sharing some of the work of the The Crafty Folk team members. All photos are links to the shops.

I'm featured!

It's Handmade Monday! time :) Be sure to check out the link to Wendy's blog for details on how to take part, it is a great way to get views and helpful comments. I must apologise that I haven't been commenting on other posts as much, I seem to be rubbish at time management at the moment.. something I will improve!

I woke up to some great news, I have been picked as this weeks featured seller on the craftyfolk Etsy team. I never win anything so I was shocked and very chuffed! I have had some gorgeous treasuries made featuring the items from my shop and the views to my shop have shot up :)  Have a look here for the details of how to take part in the weekly challenge and also for some links to the treasuries that have been made for me.

I started a new hobby on Sunday, it involves shooting pointy things at round things... have you guessed? It's archery! Me and a friend have started a beginners course which lasts for the next 5 weeks, in which time I hope to improve. I wanted to take up a sport that someone with as rubbish lungs as me could do but wow, it is hard work pulling that string back and my  muscles feel like they have had a real work out. It was a little embarrassing that out of the 12 of us there, I was the only one who missed the target a few times and I had my bow (that was about two inches shorter than me) swapped for a baby one, but on the whole I absolutely loved it. There is a competition on the last week with an actual trophy which obviously I am going to win hehehe!

I have added a few new things to my shop this week which you can see below, just click the photo to be taken to the shop.





Have a great week!

Poppies and Onions

I can see a little bit of sun! There is a lot of cloud still but, now and again, the clouds part and I'm reminded it is actually Summer. This year I have planted some red poppies in the hope they will self seed all over the garden. I love poppies, they are one of my favourite flowers and I love how they seem to grow in the most unlikely places( we have some growing in the driveway against the side of the house)

This picture was a week or two ago.

And now. I really love how bright they are and there are still loads to open.

I haven't done much listing this week, I think its because I know I am having to shut my shop for the next week or so (from Thursday so buy now! hehe) 

               https://www.etsy.com/listing/104595417/millefiori-multicoloured-silver-plated?ref=pr_shop

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104856563/quirky-multicoloured-spiky-rubber-bead?ref=v1_other_1

I have also had a play with glass a few weeks ago, I don't think I have blogged about it ( mind like a sieve) so thought I would share. I used frit to make the shape of pansies (at least they are supposed to look like pansies, they are a bit wonkey.) It was also the first time I used fusable paper as I thought leaves may be a bit tricky using frit, plus I don't have any green.I think it has turned out well but I managed to break my slumping mold and I have only used it twice- rarrrrrrrrrrah!

I hope everyone is having a great Handmade Monday!

LH

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P.S... I am now on facebook, you can find me here- http://www.facebook.com/little.harriet There will be some crafty promotion and some random life type things, will also promote fellow crafty people.

P.M.C Moon - a tutorial of sorts.

Happy Easter!
I thought I would do something a little bit different for this Handmade Monday. I'm still a beginner when it comes to using silver clay but I thought it would be useful to write a sort of step by step tutorial type thingy showing you how I made a silver moon ( a present for my mum who, like me, loves all things shiny and colourful.)The chances are the way I have made the piece isn't altogether the best way, so follow my instructions at your own risk!   Ok.. my very first tutorial coming up...

1. For the first stage I used all the items in this pic. There is.. a bottle of olive oil (nicked.. I mean borrowed.. from my mums cupboard), Silver paste (low fire), a paint brush, embeddable bails (you can fire these in the kiln), embeddable gems, different sized circle cutters, low fire art clay, rolling guides (to get the clay to a uniform thickness), a roller and a plastic wallet to provide a work surface (not ideal if you are using a scalpel to cut out shapes as it will rip the wallet but it will do for this )

2. rub a tiiiiny amount of olive oil onto the plastic wallet and rub some onto your hands, this will prevent the clay from sticking. Try to use only a small amount as it can make the clay slide about. Using the guides, roll out the clay to a uniform thickness.

3. Cut out two circles, one as big as you want your moon to be and the other just big enough that it will take the bail (the clay will shrink when fired so make sure you account for this when choosing the small circle. If the circles of clay wont come out of the cutters, use the paint brush to gently poke them out. Wrap the left over clay up and put away in the airtight bag immediately (it dries up very quickly).

4. Push the bail into the small circle and put to one side.

5. Use a slightly small cutter than the one you used to make the larger circle and position it on the clay so that when you cut it out it makes a shape you are happy with. There are probably some moon shaped cutters out there but using two circles works.

6. you will end up with a shape like this. It looks a bit rough but it will be cleaned up when dried.

7. Push the gems into the clay.

8. Turn the piece over and using plenty of paste on the paintbrush, "glue" the bail onto the back.

9. Leave the moon to dry overnight or you can use other methods. Some people use a mug warmer, other people put it in a slightly warm oven. I just leave mine overnight or place it somewhere warm. Just make sure the item is really dry before you fire it or it can crack.Once it is dry it will be really brittle so handle carefully, you can mend broken pieces with paste.Smooth rough edges with the needle files and the sanding pads. Spend a good while on this, you want a nice smooth surface for polishing once it is fired.

10. I didn't spend enough time filing and sanding around the gems, told you I was a beginner! I should have filled in the holes with paste and let it dry again before re sanding... A lesson learnt for next time!

11. Once you are happy with how your piece looks, you can fire it! Metal clay can be fired in a kiln, with a small kitchen type blow torch or over the hob of a cooker. Follow the instructions in the packet for how long you need to keep the heat on for your chosen method. I'd recommend having a look at some youtube videos too, to get an idea of the different methods. Be safe! Things get really hot.

12. Once fired the piece will be white. You need to give it a good rub with a wire brush. Be careful, the wire bristles can hurt! Try not to scratch the gems. To get a mirror shine you need use the sanding pads, starting with the lowest number and working up. Rub with the sanding pads and don't move up to the higher grit until the sanding pad seems to "slide" over the metal. When you are satisfied that you have gone as far with the sanding pads as you can, give the moon a rub with some silver polish and a soft cloth. You can see in the pic of the finished moon where I haven't spent enough time working on the dry, pre fired piece, TAKE YOUR TIME!! It's so easy to want to rush and see what the piece looks like when fired.

13. You can thread the moon on to some chain and then you can enjoy wearing your handmade, unique, piece of jewellery.


Well, I hope that was ok and easy to follow. I may write a few more of these in the future. :)

LH
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Find me on Facebook at Little Harriet

Silver Pendant and glass cabochons

It's great to be posting on Handmade Monday again!

I have wanted to make some glass cabochon's ever since I found out they could be set into silver clay. I've already made some pendants but I wanted something more round rather than squarish.. and the result of my first try......I'm so pleased with how they turned out. You can't really tell on the photo but they change colour and can be a blue or yellow depending on how you look at them.I can see myself getting fairly addicted to making these little shiny ones :D

But what to do with them? I got the pencils and paper out and had a draw and a play with some ideas.. I was going for a silver flower with the glass as the centre and I ended up with...

Not very flowery is it? It does have a leaf shape that I found in the garden and rolled onto the clay. I oxidised the piece to try and get the detail to stand out a bit more. It's a pendant (there is an embedded bail in the back)and I'm not sure if I should put it on a chain or some beading wire. I will be making a few more of these I think but I'll try to make the detail stand out a bit more and less bendy!  :)

Have a great week!

LH
x

Spring Signs

Well I though I had better post again as it has been a while. I've been keeping fairly busy, experimenting with my kiln (more failures than success but still loving it) making lots of phone calls (I've heard "the number you are calling is unavailable" way to many times) and reading online tutorials for everything! I've also been adding to the epic bedspread project with a little "help" from my dog.

A first for me was planning ahead and sowing some sweetpea (one of my favourite flowers) seeds for next year. Now normally I'm not the most organised person, my mum said my middle name should have been Later, so this is a first for me. I have loved seeing the new signs of life springing up while everything else is cold and dark and it helps to remind me that Spring isn't too far away. I hope they survive over the winter.

I made some black and white beads the other day and thought I would wrap a piece of silver wire with thinfire paper and place between the layer of glass to make a hole. They looked ok, a bit of cold work is required to get them the shape I want but when I turned them over I found a dirty, yellowy mark in the glass. Nooooo! I *think* it may be because i glued the paper to the silver with prittstick as that was the only thing I did differently...more experimentation needed I think. I'm also thinking about glueing on a bail and forgetting about making a hole until I can get myself a drill... lots to think about.

The beads on the front...

The beads on the back, complete with manky yellow.
















still, waste not... I decided to make myself a necklace and bracelet.

Not too bad from an experiment gone wrong. :)

Have a great week!

Ps.. if you get chance watch Love on the Transplant List (it should be on iplayer) It's a documentary about a fellow CF patient and her wait for a lung transplant. I advise watching with tissues as it's very emotional but well worth the watch and highlights the importance of organ donation and what a difference it can make to someone's life.

LH
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A bit of sparkle for a dull Monday

Happy Handmade Monday !

It's a very dull, rainy Monday here, there is nothing good on telly so I have stuck on the radio and have curled up on the sofa with my laptop ( I *love* wireless internet- I'm a fairly recent convert to it)
It was my mate's birthday party yesterday (her birthday is today) and I'm feeling a bit sleepy after having two late nights in a row (I must be getting old) The plan is to go bowling later which I haven't done for years. Now I say bowling, but my technique is more of a throw and a hope for the best. Its also a bit embarrassing hiring those bowling shoes... while everyone else gets the lace up adult variety, me with my tiny feet has to suffer the indignity of Velcro fasteners. I think I may lie and say I'm a size three and just wear very thick socks and tie the laces extra tight- that should stop my feet flapping about too much.
Here are some (awful- it was a rush to take these) photo's of the commission I made for a friend of my dads. All I had to go on was that he wanted a necklace and a pair of earrings for his wife's birthday and that she liked colour.. this is what I came up with.

I was told that she really liked them and her husband may want me to make a few Christmas presents :)

I also made a bracelet for a raffle prize at my dads bowling club.My dad told me it was snapped up so yey for that :)

Anyway, I have to go and brave the rain and bowling shoes.

LH
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