posted: Monday, 29th September 2014
Being at home and unpacking has led me to see just how many beads I own and, whilst I'm in no danger of stopping buying them, there are many that I know I'll just never use.
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posted: Sunday, 28th September 2014
Behind the scenes I'm working away writing and testing the instructions for my Secret Christmas Kit and so no photos of that, instead I'm pleased to finally have for sale a set of instructions that have been a long time coming - my Faux Bead Crochet.
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posted: Saturday, 27th September 2014
The good luck was finding this gorgeous and colourful ceramic wall tile in a charity shop for only £6.50.
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posted: Wednesday, 24th September 2014
For a long time now I've wanted to create a bead-a-long kit, a secret kit and a Christmas ornament kit and so behind the scenes I've been working on a new kit that combines all of those elements- My Secret Christmas 2014 kit!
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posted: Tuesday, 23rd September 2014
I'm finally managing to get around to unpacking from all my travels earlier in the year.
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posted: Monday, 22nd September 2014
I managed to finish my Laura McCabe necklace in record time.
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posted: Sunday, 21st September 2014
I first beaded a Geometric Star way back in about 2004 and since then have gone on to bead many more, create multiple variations on the original design, and teach it to hundreds of people. Even after all of that I never get tired of the idea or introducing it to a new audience.
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posted: Saturday, 20th September 2014
A busy day with a trip to Hitchin to teach my Geometric Tilas class at Charisma Beads.
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posted: Thursday, 18th September 2014
Who doesn't love Laura McCabe and her work? Only a fool would not fall in love with her and her wondrous creations so when someone mentioned many months ago the possibility of attending one of her classes I said yes.
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posted: Tuesday, 16th September 2014
A train ride to Stitchncraft Beads today to teach an Orbit Beaded Beads class.
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posted: Sunday, 14th September 2014
The house decorating is still ongoing and this weekend brought us another trip to IKEA for more storage and then, much to Mr Jean Power's disgust, finally putting my collection of white animal ceramic and metal animal heads on the wall so I can display some jewellery on them.
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posted: Saturday, 13th September 2014
Almost since I began beading I've trying to achieve my own holy grail of a project - a beaded peyote stitch triangular tube that stays the same width throughout, remains tubular and can bend.
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posted: Friday, 12th September 2014
Ever since I first imagined one of my Icos Pendants I've known they'd work as bracelets and it's only now, a few years on, that I'm finally getting a chance to bead one.
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posted: Wednesday, 10th September 2014
I've had such a lovely week as we stayed on after the wedding with the newly-weds, and others, to relax in the house.
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posted: Saturday, 6th September 2014
Today began with getting ready and helping the bride to look her most gorgeous (not hard as she already is) all accompanied with the talented photographer Linus Moran snapping away as we got ready.
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posted: Friday, 5th September 2014
We're down in very sunny Devon and preparations for tomorrows wedding are in full swing.
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posted: Wednesday, 3rd September 2014
I'm crazy busy trying to get all my work done so I can disappear for a week down to Devon for my friends' wedding.
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posted: Tuesday, 2nd September 2014
My evening yesterday was spent having my hair dyed red to match the emerald dress I'm wearing as a bridesmaid and today my new head piece especially for the wedding has arrived.
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posted: Monday, 1st September 2014
So today started with me in a better mood, my shoulder pain was less, the messages of support had been overwhelming and I was off to have fun at a photo-shoot for my new book proposal.
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posted: Sunday, 31st August 2014
Yesterday I decided to put a photo of my newish Sticks & Stones bracelet on Facebook.
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posted: Thursday, 28th August 2014
A best friend is soon getting married and she only very recently announced to me I'm a bridesmaid- apparently she assumed I just knew I would be.
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posted: Wednesday, 27th August 2014
An evening out with friends from roller derby catching-up and making edible chapstick and beauty products all accompanied by music and cocktails at Drink, Shop & Do.
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posted: Monday, 25th August 2014
My latest piece is my Marun bracelet inspired by the crystals themselves and the ideal of interlocking components.
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posted: Sunday, 24th August 2014
A new batch of beads arrived recently for my Favourite Delica kits 4 and 5 and I've been immersed in tubing them up and falling in love with each one I see.
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posted: Wednesday, 20th August 2014
Tonight I had to open another pack of Blue Zircon SS39 Chatons and I think this camera snapshot shows just why I love them so much.
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posted: Sunday, 17th August 2014
it's over 8 months since we moved house and after delays caused by travelling, work and lack of storage up, until today I hadn't even managed to unpack my clothes.
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posted: Saturday, 16th August 2014
Named for the Basque word for 'shield' this bracelet is made up of bezelled chatons and designed to look sparkly and protective at the same time.
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posted: Friday, 15th August 2014
Some beading projects seem to come from nowhere and be perfect right from the start, whereas others become a real labour of love with a lot of annoyance, experimentation and frustration built in.
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posted: Thursday, 14th August 2014
Seeing as I'm doing so much bezelling of the same component at the moment it's giving me lots of opportunity to let my mind wander and to think about what I'm doing.
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posted: Wednesday, 13th August 2014
Just to whet your appetite, and prove that I do get a lot of beading done behind the scenes, here's a sneak peek at another variation of my Sticks & Stones bracelet.
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posted: Tuesday, 12th August 2014
Now I have revealed my Sticks & Stones Bracelet, as well as the colours I'm using for one of the variations based on it, here's a sneak peek at two of the components.
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posted: Monday, 11th August 2014
I have long been inspired by city skylines and especially of London with its tower blocks of varying heights.
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posted: Saturday, 9th August 2014
An article on make-up in a Sunday magazine has got me inspired today to ditch the all gold colours I was using for a project variation I'm working on and turn to Miami inspired colours instead.
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posted: Wednesday, 6th August 2014
If you're at all interested in food then the name Heston, rather than just being a miserable place I lived for a 2 years many moons ago, sums up images of wondrous and magical creations.
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posted: Sunday, 3rd August 2014
As the main purpose of this trip was to buy wine for a wedding it seemed silly not to buy many samples and try them all before making final decisions.
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posted: Friday, 1st August 2014
Two of my favourite people in the world are getting married very soon so we've escaped to France for a few days with them to see my parents and buy vast amounts of wine for the wedding.
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posted: Wednesday, 30th July 2014
So much of what I'm doing at the moment is either not interesting enough to photograph (emails answering, kit packing, tidying-up) or is beading that I'm keeping fairly hidden until I have the finished pieces all done and ready to show off.
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posted: Monday, 28th July 2014
My 15-year old niece is here for a couple of afternoons to help me and so we've sneakily taken some time off (all educational and inspirational of course) to vist the wedding dress exhibition at The Victoria & Albert Museum.
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posted: Sunday, 27th July 2014
All this use of white in my beading and decorating has made me crave colour (even more than usual) and a trip to IKEA for furniture and storage makes me see it all around me.
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posted: Saturday, 26th July 2014
As I wrote I would the other day I've now begun beading the final example of my new project all in white (well apart from the Blue Zircon crystals that is... I couldn't not add in some colour!).
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posted: Friday, 25th July 2014
In my magical time of not travelling too far I had mentally planned to self-publish 2 or 3 books (I'm not sure how exactly I thought that this time would allow me to do so much!)
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posted: Thursday, 24th July 2014
My birthday's over, my parents have gone home and I'm back to work.
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posted: Wednesday, 23rd July 2014
... who knows, I'm just shocked I hit 40 today!
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posted: Monday, 21st July 2014
Tonight we headed out to watch a live recording of my favourite comedy podcast - Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown - and after a hilarious show it was time to head home via the Lego bus stop for some photos before it disappears.
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posted: Saturday, 19th July 2014
Today is my last day in Providence and after a fun book signing I had a couple of hours to squeeze in a trolley bus tour of the town and a drink before boarding my last flights home and getting ready to wind down a bit.
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posted: Friday, 18th July 2014
My time at home was short-lived and before I knew it this week I headed off to Providence, Rhode Island for 4 days of beading classes.
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posted: Friday, 11th July 2014
As promised today I'm launching another bead set and this one, My favourite Delicas 5, contains all 42 colours of the new Duracoat Opaques - yes 42 tubes of beads!
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posted: Thursday, 10th July 2014
My trip to teach at Taunton has been thwarted many times this year but today it finally happened and I had so much fun teaching my Icos Pendants that I only remembered to take a photo right at the end as we packed up and all I had left was the mess that was my teaching table after a full day of...
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posted: Wednesday, 9th July 2014
Sadly my Multiple Sclerosis is causing me lots of problems with my feet, legs and hands and I've developed a drop in my foot which makes me stumble some days and causes me immense pain at night when all my muscles are tired of fighting each other
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posted: Tuesday, 8th July 2014
It seems recently there's a never ending stream of new bead shapes, colours and finishes.
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posted: Monday, 7th July 2014
When I design a project I usually end up beading it at least 4 times. Once is my first experiments with the idea, the second is when I try and repeat what I did the first time
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posted: Thursday, 3rd July 2014
The weather in London in heavenly at the moment so it's the perfect day to head to Richmond to watch the cricket and enjoy the clear blue skies and the view of the pagoda in Kew Gardens.
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posted: Wednesday, 2nd July 2014
I loved beading the Cindy Holsclaw AKA Bead Origami kit so much yesterday that I couldn't wait and drove right into one of the others I bought today.
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posted: Tuesday, 1st July 2014
I recently got to do a class with Cindy Holsclaw aka Bead Origami and treated myself to some of her kits and as I'm still recovering from my travels today I allowed myself some time off to sit and bead one.
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