Sarah Downton Beads and Jewellery

Friday lunchtime

Aahh, it’s so peaceful here today. I’m home alone and enjoying not having a wingey kid, or music I’m not in the mood for. It’s so quiet, I don’t really want to spoil it with some washing. At last I’m starting to catch up on things, I’m having a real correspondence sesh this morning, which doesn’t include cleaning beads, but they are waiting in the pot for cleaning, rats, I hate that bit of the art.

My leaf set that I was going to put up for sale got split up by one of my friends who came round yesterday morning to choose some jewellery. We had a lovely morning together of glass, jewellery and gem stone appreciation. She loves gemstones and we had great fun choosing stones and beads that would partner each other beautifully for some new designs for her order. Along route one of the leaves made it’s way onto a chain as a pendant, it may miss it friends, but it has a very loving new owner!

Have a great weekend.

Thursday morning

It had to happen. I knew one day it would. And today it did. Yes, I managed to grind black pepper into my porridge this morning. I missed the salt grinder completely and hit the black stuff. This is what happens when you don’t concentrate on the job in hand but stand gazing out into the garden watching the sparrows having thier little tiff on the fence. It was actually quite nice, adding a warm and musky flavour to it.

I’m in full flow now getting ready for my first solo bead fair next Sunday at Lingfield. I’ve done the GBUK ones but had all my jewellery for sale also (including my fashion range made with bought in beads from around the World), so it was really a mix of beads and jewellery. My stall at Lingfield will be selling my beautifully coloured focal beads and sets, my lampwork jewellery and various other bits and pieces including some sterling silver findings. There may also be some packaging items for sale. Better go and get on with more beads for the event, it should be lovely out in my studio as the weather is warming up again but not too much. Have a lovely day.

Sunday night/Monday morning

Hi there, just thought I’d pop in and say hi before I trot off to bed (after I’ve tidied the kitchen and stuff). I survived the week, just, lots of late nights (2am) getting ready for the Open Houses in Worthing, and Barton Beading day (that was today). I had a lovely afternoon at our private view in Sheilas house in Worthing, (address No. 9 and on the events page) and took time out to chat with the other exhibiting artists and admire their lovely work. Sheila has a lovely ecclectic mix of styles of work displayed in her house, but I suppose the thing that links all of it together is the amount of colour that we all use, most pieces are very colourful, from patchwork to papermache, and resin jewellery to lively cat paintings. The walls are covered in beautiful paintings, pieces of decorated driftwood, colourful crochet scarves, silk paintings, hats, bags and there is also rumered to be a cabinet full of glass jewellery by me. I even treated me to a wonderful garden sculpture based on the idea of the faces at Easter Island, now I have to tart up the garden so it looks fabulous in it.

Gotta go and get some zzzz’s in…….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Monday morning

Yay I’m back. What a gorgeous sunny day it is, I’ve eaten breakfast and had a lovely steaming mug of tea sitting on our new bench outside my studio. I’m raring to go, but think I may have to restrain myself from making beads today as I’ve lots of admin and other stuff to do for my business today, but I think I might crack and make beads anyway, yeah, why not. Oh and looking at my last entry it looks a bit like Bits and Boobs at a glance don’t you think? woops.

I’ve got such a mad 7 weeks ahead of me and lots of work to stuff in before the school summer break like summer fetes, the Lingfield Bead Fair, Rag Open Houses and various teaching dates, I’m also hoping to squeeze in a visit to the Hampton Court Flower Show with my parents and hopefully a trip to Art in Action where you can see GBUKs very own Di East at work, supported by Amanda Glanville and Dora Schubert. I think I’m going to have to do a project plan to shoehorn everything in and make sure I get some sleep some nights in the next couple of months. It’s a good job that my jewellery class has finished for another year as I don’t think I could fit that in as well, which reminds me I’ve organised a trip for the class to see the Tiffany exhibition at Somerset House also, and rats, I’ve just spotted an inset day on the calender for June also. Oh dear, it’s worse than I thought. Off to have a stiff drink and a lie down, but no, I haven’t got time!

Will she manage to recover from her faint? Will she get time to make beads? Will she persuade Rick to mow the lawn tonight (please?)? Will he also cook dinner, do all the washing, clean the house and do all the shopping for the next 8 weeks? Find out the answer to all these questions in the next installment…..coming to a blog near you.

Friday lunchtime

Just to remind you, I’m at the Broadfield House Glass Museum tommorrow at their beads day, demonstrating glass beadmaking together with Judith Johnston, Amanda Glanville and Roy Ayre. I’m planning to make Penguins, fish, stars and anything else that takes my fancy. I may even make some off mandrel heart and implossion pendants. We’ll also have 2 tables of lovely bead goodies for sale, beads, jewellery and accessories. The museum itself also has a range of glass beadmaking books for sale, and of course there’s Plowden and Thompson a couple of miles down the road in Stourbridge. There are also other stalls selling Vintage beads and other lovelies, and the museum itself is worth a look around.

Do swing by and say hello (after all, it’s free to get in!).

Tuesday afternoon

Look what I made at my class last week.

I had a go at last at Cuttlefish casting. I’ve never really been that enamoured of the pieces that I’ve seen done that way in the past, but I saw someone elses work and was inspired to have a go. The thing that’s so funky about this is that you can prepare your mould, carve your design and cast it all in the space of a couple of hours unlike normal Lost Wax Casting which takes a couple of days from start to finish.

I love this shape so much that I might make a rubber mould of it so I can reproduce it using the tradditional lost wax method.

Weds lunchtime

Hello peeps! Is that the time already? The sky outside today is so lovely and blue, it makes me want to fling the windows wide open, the trouble is it’s still a bit chilly.

I made beads again yesterday, woohoo. It was 4.5 degC in my studio when I started, so spring is on the way. I’m having fun playing with new ideas and colours, and trying out old techiniques to see how I’ve progressed. If you’re lucky I’ll post some pictures later. I always feel inspired to come up with new bead designs in the spring, maybe it’s because the mundane production stuff has eased off. But where would we be without the simpler bead designs? I always find it easier to design jewellery with my plainer beads, and leave the complicated and intricate work to you expert beadworkers. I’m off to grab a sarnie. bye.

Weds evening

Almost there.  Boy this accounting stuff has given me a headache.  I’ve spent the last week plowing through my business accounts trying not to get in a muddle and being hampered by a virus.  I’m so fed up with paperwork and can’t wait to get back to my torch now.  I’ve definately decided to be more disciplined about doing my accounts and costings as I go along this next year.  So much so that I’m looking at buying a jewellery design program to help me stock take and cost jobs properly.  Just got to find a UK one!

Hopefully I’ll be back at the torch next week……4 days and counting!

Saturday lunchtime

Oh dear, I still haven’t torched for a while now.  I have other mandrels in the fire (if you’ll pardon the pun) and MUST finish my tax return.  My time has been spent trying to tidy up paperwork and my workspaces (that includes the house!), and planning for my beadmaking year ahead.

If you’ve read my news on the front page you will have seen that I’m getting ready to commence teaching in my studio.  I will be starting with Lampworking and Bead and Wire as 2 separate courses but have other ideas for interesting bead and jewellery courses which I will be running sometime in the future.  Lampworking will have to run in my studio, but Bead and Wire can come to you if you wish!

I will be adding information on my courses very shortly, so please come back to see.

Monday evening

Hello again.  I made it out to my studio today after nearly two weeks making up jewellery.  It was 3.5 degrees C but didn’t feel as bad as last time, I think my body is aclimatising at last.  I just couldn’t help grinning as I sat to make glass drops, they’re so relaxing and theraputic to do.  I made more of my tigerlike beads and also managed to fit in another penguin cutie, this time complete with santa hat.

Looks like the big countdown to Christmas is really here now, only 20 days to go.  We’re still looking out for the new Argos advert that was filmed in town and wondering when we’re going to get time to start the numerous jobs that need to be done before the big day.  I suppose the worst of these will be getting the house to look more like a place of relaxation than a workshop/playroom/complete tip.  Maybe I should join up to this website that someone on Lampwork etc. uses to help her cope with the chaos of life, nah, I’d probably end up feeling I need to clean.  I guess this site ‘Flylady‘ is where Monica from Friends would be in heaven!

Monday evening

Wow it’s suddenly got real cold, and it’s all foggy outside.  I did brush off my thermals last Friday to wear while making beads in the studio…and yes I do wear jeans and T-shirt over the top…and yay I did get to make some snowmen and penguins.

I’m franticaly trying to top up my stock levels of jewellery to sell, it gets very manic at this time of year.  I am constantly trying to balance lampwork with making up jewellery and going out selling and trying to get a life.  It’s my birthday tommorrow so I may just take the day off.

Did anyone catch Peter Andre and Katie Price on Children in Need last Friday.  I’m not a fan of Jordan or her life, and wondered what on earth they were on this fundraiser for, but boy, as far as I was concerned they stole the show.   Katie sings really well, and I think they outshone even Madonna that night.

And so ….to bed (I wonder if I’ll get any pressies tommorrow, I don’t think I deserve any from Rick, cos I completely forgot to do the wrapped up pressy bit for him from our daughter or me).  He’ll either do tit-for-tat, or lavish me with pressies and attention to make me feel bad (I wish!)……although a mug of tea in bed in the morning would be nice, hint hint.

Saturday evening…..
Phew what a week it’s been.  Five events down and maybe 1 to go.  It’s been a very mad week with a very late night dash last night down to the coast to deliver my beads to my friend Judith who’se ‘womaning’ the stall tommorrow at the Newmarket bead fair.

I had a good day today, even if it was exhausting.  I sold some beads at the craft fair to a lovely bead enthusiast, had a couple more enquiries about lampworking tuition which I’m planning to start in the new year, and I made a new glass buddy!  Woo hoo, and she only lives about 5 miles away.  It will be so nice to have someone else nearby to talk glass with and swap notes.

Here’s a few pictures Rick took today at the lovely setting of Christ’s Hospital, while I was inside at my stand.

I’ve just spent a merry couple of hours reorganising my many links in my firefox bookmarks manager.  Phew.  Lets just hope my p.c. doesn’t crash again and lose the lot.

I’m looking forward to getting out to my studio tommorrow to make some more Christmas cuties, I feel a few penguins and snowmen coming on, and maybe a Christmas tree or two.  All this talk of snowmen is making me wonder whether I need to get my thermals out of retirement yet.  How sad am I, I invested in new ones at the beginning of the year!

I have to torch whenever I can now, because the local craft fair season has begun and I’m going to be out selling a couple of times a week from now on.  It’s going to be a hectic week this week.  I have four events to prepare for this week, including the Fair at Christs Hospital and the Newmarket bead fair.  I’m also heavily involved in organising the Christmas Display of Jewellery for Sale at the adult education centre I attend, and we set up the display this week.  I’ve done the majority of organisation, paperwork and accounts for the last 4 years, but this year I’m sharing the job fortunately.
I’d better go lie down and get some zeds…………………zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 

Good news – I can now accept credit cards on my stall at local craft fairs, and I’m waiting to receive the credit card swipey dooberries that I saw on ebay.  We had fun making our first ever bid on ebay for these, and got so carried away with watching the final minutes, cooking dinner and getting ready for a local craft event the same evening that we forgot we had an appointment at the school.  Woops.