Photographer I am definately NOT!

What is it about taking photos that really peeves me?? Is it the fact that I cannot sort out my photoshop properly? Is it the fact that i cant take a blooming photo to save my life? Is it my Sony Cybershot camera? Or could it be that I am infact BLONDE!!!

I am really trying to sort out my photos for my website, as I really want them to show my lovely jewellery off and as it is at the moment, the perfect handmade beads, swarovski crystal and fantastic karen hill tribe silver just cannot be show at its best! If anyone out there has some tips to share then please feel free to shove them my way!

The photo at the top has been untouched just to show you exactly what I mean. The fab bead is from Emma Ralph and really is quite out of the ordinary but this just doesnt show in my pic.

Right off to get ready to go out now - me and my Dom are off out for something to eat tonight - just the two of us which is a rare event I can tell you!

Catch Ya Later

xxxxx

What a Brill Sunday!

Today started just like any other Sunday - very early wake up from Betty Boubalay Swaggles wanting pee pee, cuppa tea, washing, dog walking and cleaning! By 2pm i am absolutely shattered.


I decided to make some bits and pieces of jewellery for The Great Yorkshire Show which is to be held on 10th July till 12th July at the Showground in Harrogate. I made this little stunner and am very pleased with how it turned out.

I have called it The Twisty as it features some brill sterling silver tubes which are twisted - fab idea i thought!!

Anyway, I was browsing my email this afternoon after my jewellery making spout, when to my surprise I have a couple of emails firstly from the very talented and equally nice lady - Jennifer Dangerfield to tell me that I have WON second prize in her "pants to ovarian cancer" postcard competition!

The idea behind this is a really sad one as Jennifers own mum was sadly taken by this terrible disease so to help in the treatment and finding a cure for this terrible illness Jennifer decided to donate £1 for each and every postcard sent to her. I believe she had 110 sent to her so this is ace that she was able to donate the money for a bloody brilliant cause! Anyway there were three prizes up for grabs - a handmade charm bracelet, a choice of pendant necklace and a choice of earrings. i have chosen a red dotty pendant necklace and will post a pic of this on here for you all to see once it arrives - Im thrilled to bits as you can imagine!

The next email was from The Indie Quarter - an online blog that specialises in writing articles about designers etc and they have chosen to feature me in one of their articles!! WOW WEE am I a lucky girl today or what?? Here is the article!

I have had such a different and fantastic Sunday because of these two things - I just wish I could have played the lottery today cos you never know do you - good things come in threes they say!

Have a brill rest of the day

Love Bev xxxx

Bonny Bonny Scotland

Well my week went well in Bonny Scotland. The journey up and down was long and tiring but we had a right laugh! On the way up me and my friend who is also called Bev had our breakfast at the little chef in Scotch Corner and it was disgusting!! God how can they justify charging £18 for a plate of grease!! We did laugh though when we were at the till and the amount just kept going up and up!

We then called at my lovely Mother in laws - Glynn who lives in a beautiful little place called Seahouses in Northumberland. This is a fab place for a little holiday and the scenery is to die for. It then took us another good hour to get to the showground and I was blown away at how large the ground is. I have been to our version - the Great Yorkshire Show - a couple of time but this was about three times as big! We were in the Rural craft Marquee and had a brill corner spot.

The four days of selling went really well despite the weather being absolutely terrential at points over the weekend ( I did buy myself a lovely pair of pink wellies though).

The hotel and their staff especially Edna, Leisa and Raymond were ace, we felt like we were on a little holiday!

All in all the week went really well but I was glad to get home to the kids and my babies! Now back to the jewellery making and creating for me as I have a very busy couple of months - lets hope this god awful weather keeps off Yorkshire!!

Catch ya later

xxxx

The Show Season

Well its that time of year again!!

The show season is about to kick off with a rather large bang up in Edinburgh. The Royal Highland show starts this Thursday (21st) and is running for four consecutive days ending on Sunday 24th. I will be there on Avenue 12 in the Rural Craft Marquee although I am exhibiting with "Made In Yorkshire"

and not the Rural Craft Association.

I have just about got everything ready now and will try to stop panicing - have I got enough stock? will I sell anything? I tell you, I have been a blasted nervous wreck for the past week or so.

Mum is coming tonight to help me pack away my jewellery so that should be ok as she is very very organised!! She will also be staying a few days with the kids and the babies - Marvin and Betty!

So wish me luck and with that I will say arrivederci !!

Site Sales

Yesterday I did a site sale at Dewsbury district Hospital in their canteen/coffee shop and it was absolutley diabolical!! Not only was the interest in my jewellery poor but people who did look saw the prices and turned their cheeks!! OMG I couldnt believe it - do they not know quality handmade jewellery when they see it??, is the market so saturated with Claires accessories and accessorize cheap and nasties that it has made my jewellery bloody redundant??

I feel that in todays "fair trade, handcrafted, organic" times that one should take a step back and consider where and by whom their jewellery was made. I can vouch that most cheap and nasty beads and jewellery that you see on the high street comes from little chinese and indian sweatshops where the makers are but 10 years old and paid an absolute pittance for their toils.

I for one would love to end this and point out to the general consumer public just what they are paying for when they buy this cheap poop!

Bloody hell fire I feel better now that I have had my rant!! The day yesterday was so poor that I packed up early and left, I had been harrassed by a group of Asian men when I would not give them my newspaper, had to sit in a filthy canteen (yes the NHS has alot to answer for) and drag my sorry ass up and down the lifts and corridoors from the mucky canteen to the car park (which I had to pay a day pass for) and all I did was waste a day!

Anyway let it be a lesson learnt I think - no more hospitals for me!! I will stick to the First Direct call center and the other banks that I visit as they are really successful.

Right a little pic of my babies for you to end the week I think here are Marvin and Betty Wainwright

Arnt they just lovely!!!!!!!

Tesco's or Bust!!

I fell in tesco's yesterday! I was minding my own business as usual, filled my basket up with my few little goodies, popped it on the conveyer stand (you know the one for the baskets at the end of the conveyer belt) and it tipped up sending my dog food, mars bars and coleslaw flying down the bloody isle!!

I managed to pick it all up but then noticed a tin of winalot rolling down the isle - I ran after it (commando style) and as I got to it fell flat on my arse! Talk about mortification, I got myself up as quickly as i could and turned around to see the other shoppers laughing their heads off at me.

Well I couldnt get out of there fast enough i can tell you.

Anyway less of my daily fiasco's, here are some photos of my Jamie in his Karate world championships last Saturday In Birmingham.

Here he is in his fight with another boy of the same sort of age and ranking. Jamie is the one to your left.

Unfortuantely Jamie lost the fight and was really down about it as he always has won his fights and sometimes gets Gold medals!! I was so proud of him regardless if he won or not , just to have qualified for this event was brill and he has only been learing karate for little over a year!

Right I have loads to do today and loads of jewellery to photograph, label and put on the website, as well as the ever elusive prize draw, so I will have to get my backside into gear and get cracking!

Have a brill Wednesday!

Love Bev xxx

Dont you just love this bead? it was created by Beverley Hicklin , her art glass beads are so lovely and this one in particular is like a little art scene dont you think!!



Well I have been really busy over the past week getting ready for my busy season what with shows and parties I really dont know whether to shit, shave or shampoo (pardon the pun)!

I have some really nice new jewellery and not too expensive either!

The family is ok, Ben who split from his first serious girlfriend last week is now feeling ok and not too bothered, Jamie is ok after his loss at the Karate World championships in Birmingham and the devil dogs are well being very naughty as usual!!



Hope to catch up with you later and pop some photos on of The Karate do in Birmingham!



catch Ya later xx