August Birthstone Jewellery - Peridot

Apologies, I'm a bit late with the August Birthstone jewellery update on here, but there is still time to purchase gifts for the latter part of the month.

August's Birthstone is Peridot. Peridot is quite unusual in that it occurs in only one colour, green, ranging from yellowish green, to olive. The intensity of colour depends upon the level of iron it contains, and man has found no way of improving it's colour unlike many other gemstones. It comes from the Olivine group of gems, which are quite common in volcanic material and interestingly, meteorites. Having said that, gem quality Peridot is actually very rare.

The oldest deposit, mined for 3500 years is on the volcanic island of Zabargad, in the Red Sea off Egypt, and legend has it that Peridot was a favourite gemstone of Cleopatra, though she may have thought they were Emeralds at the time. Napoleon Bonaparte also gave Josaphine Peridots to express his undying love and admiration for her, but obviously this was before he had their marriage annulled!!













Find Periot combined with Peridot Jasper and other gemstones here:
http://hollysfriends.co.uk/products/jewellery/birthstones/

July Birthstone Jewellery and show update

I'm very excited to say that I have finally made up a pair of earrings from my gorgeous Longido Tanzanian Rubies!!

I am thrilled with them, they are so delicate and classic, and I can't get over the fact that the rich raspberry colour is completely natural. They haven't undergone any form of heat treatment or dyeing process to enhance it. Mother nature is truely amazing.

I've teamed these precious (yes, PRECIOUS!) faceted gemstones with beautiful, near round, ivory pearls and 925 Sterling Silver.

They will be appearing on www.hollysfriends.co.uk very shortly, available to purchase for £25.00 plus p&p.

Rubies and pearls for £25.00 - does it get any better than that?

I hope you love them as much as I do.

PS. The Summer Fete and Craft Fayre went really well. I was feeling a bit poorly, but met some lovely people, and there are a lot of people walking around wearing my Shamballa bracelets and earrings now :-)

Rebecca x

Charing Village Fete and Craft Fayre 2012

This year I have booked a stall for the Craft Fayre at the Village Fete. It takes place on Saturday 30th June (less than a week away now), and I will be located in the Church Barn.

I am both excited and nervous, what if I don't have enough stock? Or worse, what if I don't sell anything??

This is only the second year for the Craft Fayre, and I have no idea how well attended it was last year. I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

Wish me luck
Rebecca xx

1000 Page Views and Gift Vouchers

Two very exciting things have happened today at Holly's Friends...

1) This little blog has reached and exceeded 1000 Page Views - thank you all so much for your support xx

2) I am just adding a new product to www.hollysfriends.co.uk - Gift Vouchers!
a fantastic option if you're really not sure what gift to treat someone to. They are available in £10, £20 and £50 denominations, and P&P is free.
I can also enclose a handmade gift card for an additional £2.50.

Please visit the website for full details and terms and conditions.

Enjoy!
Rebecca xx

UK Handmade

I've just discovered UK Handmade. It's an online magazine for UK crafters, and also people who love to buy handmade pieces.

http://ukhandmade.co.uk/selling

They've got a great online community too. It's wonderful to here that there are shops dedicated to selling handmade pieces from UK artists and designers. So many shops seem to stock the same generic giftware, it's a breath of fresh air to find that even in these times of belt-tightening, people still value true craftsmanship.

For this reason, I'd like to say a huge thank you to my lovely customers, past, present and future. Without you I would be nothing...well, I'd be an avid crafter/designer with a house full to the brim of my work :-)

Jewellery and Cupcakes

It was the Garden Society Spring Show a couple of weeks ago, and one of the home crafts classes was 'Decorated Cupcakes'. Last time this class came up, the comment from the judge was that my decoration was "a little OTT". To my mind, that is the whole point of cupcakes, but there you go! My entry came in 2nd.

Taking this comment on board and, determined to improve on the last performance, I produced three of these....

The cupcake itself is chocolate chip, with white chocolate 'cheesecake' icing, decorated with three sugarpaste roses and leaves, and pink glitter flakes...they came in 2nd again. Oh well, there is always next time, and they still tasted devine!

I've also been making lots more jewellery. I've invested quite heavily in a big selection of genuine gemstones, and opening the packages is exhilarating to say the least. I have found that if I only have one strand of something, I find it hard to cut into it (I admit I also have this 'problem' with Scrapbooking papers).

One of my favourite new aquisitions is Watermelon Tourmaline. I've bougth two strands which have obviously been taken from the central part of the formation, as it doesn't display the green 'skin' that gives Watermelon Tourmaline it's name. The luscious, warm apricot tone is perfect for this season. I have already teamed it with pearl in this set...

and am excited to see what else it will work with.

Spring Jewellery pieces

The fashion magazines are full of ice cream colours at the moment, they are really hot for Spring/Summer 2012, so I've used that as inspiration for my new jewellery pieces.
Rose Quartz Stretchy Bracelet with Mother of Pearl Star charm £9.50

Rose Quartz and Glass Pearl Stretchy Cuff bracelet £9.50

Rose Quartz Stretchy Bracelet Trio, with removeable watch charm with pink face. There are endless ways to wear this little set, here are just a few possibilities....£19.00