Back on Form

Whilst I realise that I have been neglecting my blog, what I have been doing instead is making lots of new jewellery. After a busy run-up to Christmas at the end of last year there have been times when I have not felt inspired or indeed enthusiastic about my jewellery-making. Until now!! Just in the last week or so I have begun trying new ideas and producing some pieces which I am very happy with. I have used chain maille for the first time to produce bracelets and have been able to find some great new beads to work with. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that I would benefit from returning to work in some capacity as I am beginning to miss the dynamics of a working environment and feel that I am in danger of losing my motivation at times. What I have gained recently though is a great group of people with whom I Twitter on a regular basis and these people have kept me sane!! Sometimes I feel I know my fellow tweeters better than I probably do but I hope that they gain as much from me as I do from them.

Spring Fairs in the Air

Well I have to admit that my jewellery production since Christmas has not been great.After so many fairs I really felt the need to step back for a while and plan my next moves! Sadly my friend and co stall-holder has decided that she no longer wants to come to jewellery fairs but would like to investigate other crafts and is busily sewing and embellishing at the moment. Good luck to Sue with that but I would rather you came back and helped me!! LOL We do have one last venture planned together however for later this month. Sue has a beautiful daughter who was adopted in China and we are going to be selling jewellery at a special weekend get-together involving many other families who have adopted and their wonderful daughters.

Read All About Me!! Prima Magazine Article

At last the March edition of Prima magazine has arrived in the shops and I have been able to see what they made of the interview with me and I wasn't disappointed. The content is more or less accurate but anybody who knows me would agree that the tone of it isn't very "me"!! A big thanks to my friends and Crafts Forum supporters who have taken the trouble to have a look and to my new found friends at Twitter too. I must confess that Twitter has become a large (and disruptive!) influence in my life but I love every moment of my time tweeting. If you decide to give it a go then come and follow me by going to my profile page and clicking on the follow box, go on you know you want to!

Take A Look & See What I've Been Doing Today!

It's not easy to get going again after Christmas and New Year but now its time to really get going again. So to show that I really am working on my jewellery and not spending all day long on Twitter (though I find it hard to resist checking in on a regular basis) I thought I'd share what I've been up to this morning.

Getting Motivated

Well here we are on the 15th January so it is high time to get creating and sharing the results with you. I have been a little distracted by Twitter - in a good way - where I am having a lot of fun tweeting with my followers who include Jonathan Ross, Will Carling, Stephen Fry and Philip Schofield. Hello to all tweeters if you are reading this! I haven't been entirely idle as I have not only been making jewellery but I entered a writing competition judged by Alexander McCall-Smith (he of the No1 Ladies Detective Agency) and my short story was shortlisted. Also coming soon will be my interview by Prima magazine for the March issue due out beginning of February.

All About Me

Ok so this comes courtesy of Swirly at www.swirlyarts.blogspot.com and I thought it would be fun to complete.Anybody else wanting to join in and compare notes?

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more to charity than you could afford
7. been to Disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11.bungee jumped
12. visited Paris- many times for business and pleasure
13. watched a lightning storm at sea –
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child - no but looked into it
16. had food poisoning - don't recommend it!
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables-
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train - the Mavi train from Istanbul
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb - and bottle fed it
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse –
30. watched a sunrise or sunset –
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise – not for me
33. seen niagara falls in person
34.visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. seen an Amish community - while visiting a friend in Pennsylvania
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person –
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen Michael Angelo's David in real life - simply awesome
41. sung karaoke - its not big and its not clever
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight –
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Cistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling - no way
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia - no interest in doing so
60. served at a soup kitchen – possibly
61. sold girl guide cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood – and I should do again
65. gone sky-diving - oh no
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque - it was a misunderstanding honestly
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy –
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt –
73. stood in Times square - and watched the ball fall at New Year
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in London -many times
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car –
83. walked in Jerusalem - just after 1st Gulf war, it was awesome
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible –no chance of that happening
86.visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating - don't eat meat so no chance
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous - many in my publishing days
92. joined a bookclub - I have set up and run two bookclubs
93. lost a loved one - several
94. had a baby- just one
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee - well a wasp actually - does that count?

So let me know if you take part and don't forget to check out Swirly's answers!