more experimenting...

these are some of latest experiments - I have to make the resin pendants in batches due to the amount of resin you have to make up each time

The 4 pendants on the top row have been gold leafed after "playing" around with glass paint.
The 2 hearts on the bottom row are simply tinted resin with another resin button embedded in the resin that I had made previously.
The circle is pink & orange resin - I made the mold from another pendant blank I already had.

Experimenting with resin...

Here's some more results of playing with resin. I'm not planning to make them up into pendants immediately - unless anyone emails me & asks for one...

The BORN TO SHOP charm bracelet has been added to The Secret Jewellery Boutique & the heart & butterflies bracelet to Secret Jewellery on GROOVYCART. This dolphin keyring has also been added to Secret Jewellery on GROOVYCART

I love my bag...

Sue from Handcrafted Cards by Sue on Crafts Markets makes these fab bags - I just love mine & it only cost £3 too - a bargain. It's creased coz it's been in my handbag & used already although it only arrived on saturday!

This is my BORN TO SHOP charm bracelet. I've had the charms for a while but only got around to making the bracelet this weekend. I'm not sure which website I'll be putting it on yet.

This pretty charm bracelet is really simple - but I think it's very effective. Again not sure which website it will end up on.

This pretty pendant resulted from me playing around with resin. I just dropped blobs of pink resin that was beginning to cure on the pendant blank & when the resin had fully cured added the lilac coloured resin.

This fun dolphin pendant was made using an ice cube mold

Even more resin...

I've been experimenting with resin and different pigments & dyes & it's been an interesting exercise. I know what I want to do but I just have to keep testing different amounts of dye and at what stage of the resin curing process to add different colours. As soon as I've got something to share I'll post some piccies here.

My latest batch of resin pendants & rings are ready for sale - some I've already added to JKJ on Arty Miss Barter and Secret Jewellery on Groovy Cart - here's a preview...

All Wood & Resin...

I've finally finished taking photo's of Dad's woodwork for ALL WOOD and have now uploaded all the stock into the shop. Now all we need are the customers...

Dad's little boxes are an ideal gift box for small items of jewellery - earrings or a pendant.

I've made some more resin pendants and have some more "cooking". I'll post some photos over the next few days.

Apologies to anyone who uses my jewellery projects and has noticed the lack of new ones recently - I haven't had time but hopefully by the weekend...

ALL WOOD...

I've opened a shop on Craft Markets to sell my dad's lovely handmade woodwork. We've called the shop ALL WOOD. This is still "work in progress" as I've got quite a few things to photograph before I can upload them.

ALL WOOD can be found at www.craftmarkets.co.uk/all-wood

I've also bought the domain name www.derekbelsten.co.uk and set up forwarding to ALL WOOD - so family & friends you won't be able to forget...

Here's a little taster of what we'll be selling

JKJ now on Arty Miss...

The weather has been lovely & I've spent the past few days pottering around in the garden as well as opening the Just K Jewellery shop on Arty Miss Barter. I've listed a few items - got more to do but it takes time to get photos I think show off my jewellery to it's best.

Click here to visit JKJ on Arty Miss

Make This Ring...

To make the cluster ring that I've called my "odds & ends" ring below you will need a ring blank with 8 loops and at least 24 beads & small headpins.


To get the best effect you need to attach at least three beads to each loop - more if possible. I've used 6mm beads, stars, hearts, flowers and silver & gold beads - all picked at random from my box.

Take a bead & put it on a headpin, trim off the excess wire & turn a loop, but don't close the loop. Attach to one of the loops on the ring & then close the loop on the headpin. Repeat this process until you've used all your beads or the ring is as full as you want it to be - it can be really fiddly work so be patient...

The ring is now for sale in my Secret Jewellery GROOVYCART shop - click the link on the right of this page

Odds & Ends Cluster Ring...

This cluster ring has been made from lots of different beads in my "odds & ends" box
I'm sure that everyone who makes beaded jewellery has got an odds & ends" box - full of beads that are left over from other jewellery projects. This was just an experiment to see what a ring made using these beads would look like. I deliberately didn't have a colour scheme in mind & am pleased with the result.
I'll be putting this ring into my shop on GROOVYCART later & will also make it into a project but haven't got time to do so at the mo - so come back soon...

More Resin Pendants...

I made these resin pendants before I went on holiday & have now made them up into necklaces.

This claret coloured oval pendant has fragments of shell embedded in the resin.

This flower pendant is red & purple tinted resin with glitter to make it sparkle.

This pendant has a real flower embedded in the resin.

They are all for sale in Just K Jewellery

My head hurts...

I've spent the last few days glued to the PC & now my head hurts - I need to go & lie down in a darkened room!

I've opened a shop on GROOVYCART and have spent quite a lot of time setting up the shop and uploading some stock. For the time being I've used stock that's also in The Secret Jewellery Boutique & Just K Jewellery because I already had photos that I could use. Eventually I'll replace this jewellery with new stock. This is a really easy site to use & I'll be interested to see what happens.

I've also got myself on Facebook. I've set up my profile & created a page for Just K Jewellery. When my head stops hurting through overuse I'll set up a page for The Secret Jewellery Boutique too.

Visit The Secret Jewellery Boutique on GROOVYCART and Just K Jewellery on FACEBOOK

Chunky purple bracelet...

I made this bracelet before I went on holiday and have just added it to Just K Jewellery. It's a really simple bracelet to make - just loads of assorted glass beads in various shades of purple on memory wire - ANYONE can make a memory wire bracelet

I've been looking at the resin shapes I've made recently and have been trying to decide which of them to make up into pendants.

I also want to make a "born to shop" charm bracelet featuring lots of really girlie things - I'm going to have scour my favourite suppliers to find some pretty charms

Back from holiday...

We've just had a lovely holiday in France - home now & back to normal. My workdesk is looking very tidy & inviting but before I get stuck in I thought I'd share a few of the lovely photo's that Nick took of our holiday...

This is the cottage in the Loire that we stayed in & yes that's me reading my book. This was a fabulous spot to enjoy a few glasses of wine & watch the sun go down. We even had an unexpected visitor one evening - a baby wild boar who appeared in front of us out of the undergrowth



Me enjoying the sun with the beautiful Chateau of Chennonceau in the background



In the gardens of Villandry



This is the Chateau at Azay le Rideau



After a week in the Loire we went to Brittany to this lovely cottage