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Hello

Hi there, my name is JanieB, and I want to welcome to you to my new blog... Ta Daaaa.  

In these pages I will hopefully record my crimes against the jewellery world as I wilfully show you the good, the bad and shamefully, the downright ugly attempts I make designing my own pieces , and following patterns of designers I like from the internet.

I enjoy all things shiny, from natures precious gems to man made sparkles, and I hope you will enjoy with me as I find new and old things to enjoy.

See you soon,

JanieB xxx


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Popular posts from this blog

Note To Self - Don't Be Cheap

There is nothing more frustrating than picking out the colours of beads you want to use, pouring them out into neat little piles and finding that because at some point you saw some lovely unbranded beads at a really great price, and bought them without thinking why.   I started to make another Fun Floral Necklace curtesy of Kelly Dale from Upthebeadedpath, and discovered the sizing of the 8/0 Heamatite seed beads I  have in my stash are all over the place.  Small, big, wonky, long, chunky are just a few of the different shapes.  I had been trying to pick out beads of roughly the same size, but have decided to give up with a bah humbug attitude. I have only myself to blame, there are reasons why some beads are a lot cheaper than others, and sometimes it really isn't a money saving option at all when you find that around half the beads are not fit for purpose. So my first Note To Self is... DON'T BE CHEAP. Toddle Pip...  JanieB. Xxx

Labradorite pendant

Hey all, today I have just finished my very first Peyote stitch bezel, and though it might not be my finest work, I can't help but be quite proud of myself for giving it a go.  I am sure once I get more confident doing things like this my workmanship will improve, well hopefully anyway.  LOL. The stone is a fancy carved, puffy rectangle Labradorite, around 25x18mm bought from  Jewellery Maker , and I used Galvanised Silver Miyuki 11/0 Delicas to encase the stone.   The pictures really don't do the Labradorite justice, as the flashes of colour from the labradorescence isn't picked up by my camera so well, though the second picture shows it better.  The carving is is lovely, I have never seen carved Labradorite before, and this is so pretty. Til next time, JanieB xxx

Russian Spiral Bracelet

Today I mastered the Russian Spiral Weave, making this bracelet with 3mm Fire Polished Crystals and 11/0 seed beads.  This is the second one I completed, the first one being a thing of abject horror and nastiness that it had to be buried in a box, in soft peat in my garden.  I can only imagine what archaeologists of the future are going to say when they dig it up.  Yay for buried treasure... Anyway, this second version, made after studying lots of Youtube tutorials, most notably from Jill Wiseman, Kelly Dale and Spoilt Rotten Beads, turned out really well.   I used, 3mm Crystal AB, 3mm half coated green, 3mm Magic Wine Fire Polished beads and Toho 11/0 Metalic Hematite seed beads, to make the body of the bracelet.  The thread I used was 8lb Smoke Fireline, though I am sure 6lb would of been good as well.  The clasp is a silver plated S hook, which I have had in my stash for quite a while, and looks good to finish off the design. I did make it a little big f...