why are the squirrels crying....

outside my door? are they very grief stricken or just being a bit raucous and shouty? do please enlighten me if you are knowledgeable in the ways of squirrels!

mature antelope squirrel by amberalexander

september catchup...

have been adding new bits to the shop in yummy winter tones, like these beaded lampwork glass necklaces. strong and simple colours like teal and dusky purple, perfect for autumn and winter. the karen hill tribe silver rose clasps are so beautiful and add a fab touch of detail to the glass beads.

also - 50% off the price of the below items! just click here to be whipped across to the shop and some bargainous prices

you may have seen me mention in blog posts the collar i've been working on bit by bit for the last few weeks....well now it's finished! im really pleased with how it turned out, love the shades of saffron, mustard, ecru and camel and all backed onto black felt which highlights these fab tones. after seeing a hundertwasser gallery in switzerland (see here for some pics we took at the gallery) i really wanted to make a statement necklace using the types of colours tones from his paintings. i have lots of plans for different colour combinations in the same style, any suggestions?...

also, a little sneeky view of my new designs, inspired by a recent fancy dress outfit! (pictures available at my blog soon.....)

gocco in the west country...

saw this on Magic Jelly's site and really want to go see it! we're planning a trip into bath to visit the new abode of lovely friends so would be fab to make a day trip across to bristol to pop into the exhibition of gocco printmakers at the here gallery. i've been lusting after a gocco printer for a few months now but haven't quite committed, i'm a little concerned about the rumours (are they rumours?) that goccos are going out of production and i wonder how accessible supplies will be over the next few years. but i know that i adore gocco design and there are so many fab artists out there. my particular favourites are:

queen of gocco: magic jelly

mingus

teahugger

if i could choose to have gold....

gold crown, originally uploaded by GUGAW.

it wouldn't be in my mouth, especially when i have had to pay £700 for it. so it starts of with painful painful aches....a seriously mouth numbing root canal that didn't work....more pain and multiple antibiotic treatments....then endodontic treatment (with the ex president of the endodontic society , don't you know, in a huuuge central london dental surgery) which was, surprisingly, a pleasant experience. i think i even fell asleep whilst having my FIVE! roots removed. then waiting for ages for my tooth to settle so i could have this gold crown fitted - now i'm rocking the geezer stylee (you can juuuust see it in the piccie above).

ok....but here is where it goes down hill. now, you may have asked - why such an expensive endodontist, £895 seems an awful lot for a tooth, you could have just had it removed? i couldn't agree more, it's just that following a hearty recommendation from my dentist and having the understanding that my tooth would be covered by my private dental insurance, i figured i should probably do things 'properly'. turns out that my claim 'arrived out of time' despite me sending it 10 days before the deadline, therefore they're not going to cover the payment.

so over £900 for a tooth covered in gold....i could cry. oh, so many better ways to spend £900....

by the way, i'm appealing.

meet pepper...

after a little camping out in the postoffice depot (damn the postie for not knowing when i'm going to pop to the shops) this sweet little sock monkey arrived from siansburys wonderful land of monkeyness.

first off, the packaging was fab and i LOVE the branding (i'm a shameless sucker for branding), lime green and chocolate brown from the polkadot ribbon wrapping the box to the label on the monkey's butt. and then the sweet little face peeking through the tissue paper as i unwrapped her, adorable!

say hello to pepper:

pepper enjoys mexican food, but her heart lies in the mountains of peru
where she imagines that one day she will live a semi nomadic lifestyle with a
herd of alpacas and a pet condor; in her spare time searching for mysterious
lost cultures. and gold.

now, here's the tricky bit. you see, pepper was meant to be a gift....but i'm not quite sure i want to give her up. is that horribly selfish?

making a statement with necklaces...

rhinestone rope necklace by vera wang

the past few issues of elle have been smattered with a gorgeous array of 'statement' necklaces...big, bold, detailed and bright pieces of jewellery which are really fun and bit playful. i've been thinking about making some larger pieces and now seems like the perfect opportunity. i've nearly finished a bright felt collar in the style of this (also currently unfinished!) piece, i hope to finish the collar this weekend so will be posting pics soon:

Tinctory's necklace (a fab UK based designer) is absolute stunning and i 100% covet one of these necklaces, particularly this graphite one

i'm really loving these lasercut necklaces which have lots of detail in them - the graphic style design is fab, like these pieces below: Victoriana style necklace from marmod

'a lady ought' by Untamed Menagerie:

this autumnal necklace made from recycled leather is very pretty, see mainichi's shop for more beautiful necklaces

beautiful trees....

moss green, originally uploaded by GUGAW.

i have such a fondness for trees....as far as water goes, i would much rather be in a woodland next to a stream or river than down by the seaside. i love the smell of a damp autumn wood or forest, with the abundance of moss and lichen and little shrooms starting to peek up through the old fallen leaves. this photo (taken on my new iphone!) is from a sweet little wood in guildford called chantry woods. wood walking always make me wish i had a big lolloping dog that would race through the trees and bring me back big sticks...though not sure what my chatty cat esau would make of lolloping dog should i ever bring it home.....

more woodland love:

gorgeous felt oaktree from hitree

i adore these terrariums from theoakleaves, wish they would survive the journey to the uk (would customs allow these to be posted?). need to learn how to make these...i have some milk bottles handy which i thought would look cute with moss and teeny plants inside...

baroque plus vampire equals swoon...

thanks to more everything: diary of a fan girl for featuring my snow white necklace on her blog! the necklace reminded her of twilight, which i must confess i had never heard of before...but i do like a bit of vampire love. it reminded me of my favourite vampire film - interview with a vampire - which stars a rather fab looking brad pitt (plus a whole rosta of other stars including tom cruise, antonio banderas and kirsten dunst)

it's not just the vampires that catch my attention in this but also the beautiful baroque and rococo style set design...i've been scouting around and posted some of my favourite pieces that remind me of the film below. this bed is stunning, if only i had a room large enough to house it.

artist unknown

these porceliain baroque style medallions from sofiamasri are so pretty

i love the colours in this brass pantina and sea foam coloured bracelet from axelscastle

iphone outfit....

iphone arrived and in use - at last! twas a bit of a palarva getting it ready though...after many hours waiting on telephone lines and in store for sim cards to be found (how cruel to send an iphone without a sim card?) i now have my new toy. on first impressions, i must say i love the slickness, both in the design and ease of use. and so, to keep it yummy and shiny i've been hunting around for cases. i'm thinking that a sleeve should suffice - i wouldn't really want one of those plastic sleeves covering the face as that would just ruin the usuage experience.....so here is what i have found:

the leather (eek, still haven't weaned myself off this yet!) iphone cases above from beyzacases are really cute, particularly these slimline versions in tan and yellow.

i've also been looking at these cute handmade fabric cases, including this navy stripe sock by blytheking and the green screen printed felt case by appetite.

is it really naughty to buy more than more case....or maybe the same case but in different colours.....?