New and coming soon!

I've been working on some new ideas recently, inspired by some beautiful handmade lampwork beads I've had for a while, and some new art tiles I found on Etsy.


This was the bracelet I made using an adorable burnt wood tile from J-Lynn Jewels:


Rose Garden Bracelet

I enjoyed matching beads, gemstones and metals with the pretty colours in the heart. It's funny how you start off with an idea in your head, but, as you start putting it together the design sort of takes off by itself. You end up with something a little bit unexpected, but even more pleasing, as it's a bit of a surprise!




I've also just completed some earrings using fabulous handmade lampwork beads by UK artist Shirley Giles from Fyrebirds. They are greenish in shade with an amazing depth and intensity. I think the lovely handmade sterling silver earring wires from Etsy artist Tracy Smith at Cinnamon Jewellery complement them perfectly:

I love the quality and uniqueness of these handmade beads and findings. 


I am also working on some earrings using handmade copper wires from Cinnamon Jewellery, and a project involving these J-Lynn tiles, once I can decide whether to use them separately or all together!

All I need is more hours in the day...!

Spring: Clean and Trying to be Tidy!

It's been a day of sunshine, showers, and even hail - a typical April day in other words. 


We didn't mind the rain too much on our afternoon walk.

And the rain is good for the garden too

I've been having a bit of a spring clean of my beads today. It always looks awful to start with!

It's taking a long time as I'm trying to be very thorough, but I've also occasionally been distracted by playing around with some new designs!

If you're anything like me, you often have several projects on the go at once, and storing them can be a bit of a problem if you haven't got lots of room.


Today I had the idea of packing up each project in a sealable plastic bag which I can then store in a basket.

I've done one each for bracelets, necklaces and earrings. The great thing is I can now stack the baskets so they take up less room.

This hopefully means they will be easier to find when I want to work on them.


Now, I just need to finish tackling this little lot!

Lovely lilac

Lilac, mauve, purple - gorgeous colours, and some of my favourites on Etsy lately:
Click the links to see more details on these lovely items :)


Polymer clay mosaic tiles  by Penelope Stern

Pink Blooms gift tag bookmarks by Craftie Nellie

Wildflowers blank card by C Shell Cards

Glass bunting by Redbrickglass

Lavender: Purple stems original painting by Art in Wax

and finally

this necklace from my shop :)

Hope you enjoyed looking at these lovely lilacs!

Silent Sunday

And the winner is ...!

Thanks to everyone who shared my blog giveway details, and especially thank you to the seven entrants for leaving such lovely comments!


Last night I assigned each of you a number in the order you posted, and put the numbers on little pieces of paper in an envelope. Then I asked my OH to pick a piece of paper out, and this is the result!

So - Congratulations Catriona - you are the winner!!!


You can either leave me your email address here - or, if you prefer, you can email it to me at phoebedreamsjewellery@gmail.com.


Your earrings will be winging their way to you very soon :O

Facebook Fan Giveaway!

*** To celebrate reaching 700 fans on facebook, I am having a little giveaway! ***

The prize is this pair of earrings, faceted sparkly coated Czech crystal beauties, presented in an organza bag and ready to send to the winner!

If you would like a chance to win, all you need to do is leave a comment here on my blog by 6pm Friday 3rd Feb and I will enter your name into the draw (which will take place on Friday evening). 


My hubbie will serve as the 'random number generator' by picking a name out of the hat! I will publish the result here and on facebook, so you will need to check back  so I can contact you to ask for your address. Simples!


Good luck everyone :)

Projects for today

Well, it's a glorious day here - the sun is shining and it's lovely and still.


Here's what I'm going to be up to later.


As usual, I have several things on the go at the moment, so I'd like to finish them. Two bracelets and some earrings which are nearly done, as you can see here: 

In the top right you can see my first ever experimentation with memory wire, which I'm quite pleased with so far. For some reason I had thought that it would be a lot trickier than it is, but unless finishing off the ends is really difficult, this hasn't proved to be the case. The beads thread on really easily, and it's actually quite fun to do!

Then I have some gorgeous new beads which arrived yesterday to put away. I placed the order mainly to have some more of the rhinestone hearts, as they make lovely pendants, but I couldn't resist popping a few 'extras' in my basket at the same time!

And not forgetting to admire these fabulous tulips. I bought them earlier in the week and they have lasted really well, but I can see they haven't got long to go now - they're at the stage where you know the petals will be dropping off soon, but still time to enjoy them!

So I'd best get started then!!