Couldn't help myself,

I just had to have a little play with the beads earlier, they were calling me, honest! My almost-daughter-in-law loves funky jewellery which "rattles", lol, so I thought I make her a ring to go with the orange necklace I made for her a while ago. Darned fiddly, trying to get loads of teeny weeny beaded pins hooked onto the ring base, and I may have used some unladylike language once or twice, but.......... "rattle" it does, and she totally adores it! Now it seems I have to make a girlie pink version of it as well, lol.

Wow, sold out again!

It always amazes me how quickly the facial polish and facial serum sell out at fairs and just through repeat custom. It is immensely satisfying to have customers come back asking for more and obviously really liking the effect it has on their skin. So I am making new batches today, as I am completely out of the facial polish ( love, love, love it ) and most of the facial serums as well. And because Spring is in the air and the sun is shining, I decided to take a couple of new pics as well. Here they are -

One of the facial serums




and the much loved facial polish



Spring is so inspiring, I find, I have so many ideas for new products, for new soapies, and yes, for new jewellery as well ( darnit, beads are way too addictive, they oughta carry a warning!!! ). Now all I have to do is turn those ideas into actual products................. yeah, right, lol, I need somebody to give me a mighty kick up the rear again....... where are you, JJ???

My beautiful doggies are full of the joys of spring as well, boy, do they keep me on my toes! This week is particularly difficult, as Andy and Nick have taken the car to France and the doggies can't go nuts in the Firehills or on the beach. So they go nuts in the garden and the house instead, lol. Hector is turning out to be a right little Houdini as well. I put him in the indoor kennel crate while I did some food shopping, and left Poppy in the family room, only to come back and find them both greeting me very enthusiastically at the door! He had taken the crate door and side off the hinges and squeezed through!

Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, right? -

Heads up! Hair Soap

Although my family has been using this soap for 3 years, I hadn't added it to my range before as it is not suitable for vegetarians. However, I come across so many people who have the same sort of scalp problems as my husband, for whom this soap was originally formulated, that I have decided that it is time to let others experience the benefits of this soap as well.

My husband had been suffering with psoriasis and eczema for 20 odd years, and his itchy, flaky and angry red skin used to drive him nuts. For his skin he now uses my LCR Balm, facial serum, shaving soap and shaving oil, as well as any soap he can pinch from my stock cupboard, and for his long suffering scalp he uses nothing but this amazing soap and ( now only occasionally ) the specially formulated scalp oil. I cannot make any medical claims because these products have not been tested in medical trials, but I can certainly speak from my husband's and many friends' experiences. My hubby's skin is smooth, free from red, itchy patches and his scalp is itch and flake free.

A carefully selected blend of essential oils, which include tea tree, rosemary and eucalyptus amongst others, helps to combat the symptoms ( again, speaking from personal experience, not medical trials ) alongside the very special oils used in this soap. One of the ingredients, however, is emu oil, which makes this soap unsuitable for vegetarians, but it is such a vital part of the formulation that it cannot be left out.

The soap may make your hair feel a little heavier and thicker, and it will take a few washes before your hair and scalp get used to such a radical change. On his short hair, my husband doesn't ever use a conditioner or rinse, I only use conditioner occasionally on my longish hair. On rather longer hair it might be best to use a lemon water rinse and/or conditioner to remove the feel of heaviness. Something else I have noticed after using this soap for a few years now - I don't get split ends anymore! My hair is very slow growing and I am not very fond of hairdressers, so I only have it cut every two or three years and it used to break and split terribly. It has been over two years now since I last had it cut, and amazingly, still no split ends, can't be bad, eh?

Do I really need another hobby?

I really blame a very dear friend for the latest hobby, well almost addiction, of course I can't name names, I'll just say that her initial is JJ, surely that won't give anything away, could be almost anybody, right?

This, ermm, hobby is so very tactile, it involves a lot of fondling and stroking, and NOOOOOOOOOO, its not that at all, get your mind out of the gutter! I am talking about jewellery making, and I can tell ya, handling those beautiful beads is something else. The smooth finish of semi precious stones, the wonderful sheen of freshwater pearls, the sparkle of Swarovski crystal......... sigh, you just can't help playing with the beads. So I made a few things, like bracelets and necklaces, for prezzies. Probably enough for at least a year's worth of pressies for female friends and family members, but once you start, its impossible to stop. They are all pretty simple pieces, but they are so much fun to plan and make.

This necklace, with Japanese seed beads and lucite flowers and leaves, was made for my (almost) daugher- in-law, to go with an orange jumper she loves -


This was the first "dangly" bracelet I made, again for my (almost) daugher-in-law -


The beautiful beads in the "dangles" are rhodonite rounds, mother-of-pearl hearts and tiny round beads, rose quartz heishis, Prehnite baroque beads, freshwater rice pearls, fire polished crystal beads and Japanese seed beads.

The next one was made as a birthday present for a girl friend, a three strand twisted necklace with rose quartz focals and chips, and a variety of delicate green and pink beads, offset with silver round beads -


I love using vintage beads, and the following necklace, bracelet and earring set was made using vintage beads covered with the finest strands of pink silk, together with light pink freshwater pearls ( also from a broken vintage necklace ), faceted crystal bicones and beautiful light pink howlite tear drops -


Oh, and then I got some absolutely mouthwateringly delicious lemonstone beads! The colour of those stones is just gorgeous, and I couldn't help myself, I had to make three necklaces to see how the lemonstone beads would look combined with different beads -

The first two necklaces were made with lemonstone rectangles and a big oval pendant drop. One is contrasted with ( black ) hematite beads, for the other one I used Prehnite baroque beads and faceted amethyst crystals -


The third lemonstone necklace is a three strand one, with 2 strands of peridot chips and tiny silver beads, and of course one strand with those beautiful lemonstone rectangles, interspersed with faceted green crystals -


Phew, I think thats quite enough for now, otherwise you could think I really was somewhat addicted to this jewellery making lark, lol. I'll save the pics of the others for another day.

Doesn't Time Fly?

Goodness, I can't believe it has been nearly 5 months since I last posted on this blog! Well, a few things have kept me somewhat busy. I did a couple of Christmas Fairs in November and December. I was petrified to start with, as I had not done a craft fair before, but it was a great experience. Being able to talk to the customers directly and being able to explain in a bit more detail what my products are all about was immensely satisfying. Here are a couple of pics of the stand with my products -




So, there you have it, weeks of preparations for the very first fair kept me well and truly busy.

In November, our beautiful granddaughter Grace was born, and made Christmas even more special. She is such a gorgeous little chubbycheeks, she was just a few weeks old in this photo -


In January, our faithful companion of 14 years, Harry, died, and left a huge empty space in our family. Poppy missed him so much, and desperately needed company, so we started looking for a new friend for her. Finally, after weeks of searching, we found another Ridgeback, a boy this time, again through the Northern and Midlands Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue. And so Hector joined our family. He is almost the same age as Poppy, and the two of them hit if off immediately. They are inseparable now, and are the bestest doggies anybody could ever wish for, even though they keep me busy 24/7. I wish I had just a tenth of their energy, they are forever playing tug-o-war with their toys, which usually entails racing up and down the stairs, bouncing off the walls and the settees and generally creating havoc!


Well, I guess thats enough of an update for now, the post would really get way too long if I didn't stop myself from going on and on. I'll save blogging about the latest hobby for another time.......... now, its back to labelling 100 lip balms for a wholesale order.