pebble jewellery...

I wanted to make some small stud earrings but none of my "bought" molds are small enough. I ended up in the garden looking for some small pebbles or stones that were the right shape & size to make my own molds.

This pair of earrings are my first attempt...

They've worked better than I expected - I've been out in the garden again this afternoon loooking for more pebbles but this time a variety of different sizes. I'm hoping to make some slightly bigger ones for cufflinks.

These earrings are for sale on www.justkjewellery.co.uk for £6. I'm going to make more using both silver plated and sterling silver ear posts.

more resin pendants...

I've just added these handmade resin pendants to Just K Jewellery.

The gold patterns are handpainted by me and embedded in the resin.

All available for £8.50 (including P&P and gift packaging) from http://www.justkjewellery.co.uk/

more jewellery

what awful weather....

It took us nearly 2 hours to drive across town on friday night - usually only takes 5-10 mins! We live at the top of a cul-de-sac and the snow & ice was so churned up & icy that we couldn't get the car up the hill. A very kind neighbour with a 4 wheel drive gave us a tow and told us that the bin of grit that the council supplies for us the grit the road had been stolen. Funnily, the empty bin has now been returned - I wonder if it will disappear again when it's been refilled! Some people are so selfish. Many of our neighbours have spend time this weekend clearing the road so it's passable at the mo....

I've been housebound for the past week & have been making jewellery - here's a few examples of new stock in JKJ

I've got a choice of these millefiori heart pendants available in different colours

Just K Jewellery

sweet keyrings/handbag charms...

yes, they are real sweets embedded in resin..

love hearts and liquorice allsorts

all available from Just K Jewellery at £5 each

they could be an unusual valentines pressie for your loved one...

Twitter & Stumbleupon....

I've just signed up for Twitter and Stumbleupon. I'm justkjewellery on Twitter so please come and find me if you already use Twitter. On Stumbleupon my use name is kbeads so please add Just K Jewellery as one of your favourite websites if you use this site. I'm struggling a bit with SU - not the easiest site to navigate but I'm sure I'll get to grips with it eventually....

getting organised...

I have to admit I'm not very organised. My jewellery and the handmade beads that I sell are in boxes next to my work desk. I bought a workmans storage box at the weekend which has about 50 small compartments - ideal for my handmade beads. I've now got the beads sorted but am still trying to come up with an idea to organise the jewellery - without spending a fortune.

I've spent this morning restocking Just K Beads after a customer bought most of the stock at the weekend. It always takes much longer than you expect it to. Getting the beads ready for sale involves drilling holes, rubbing down rough edges, taking photos, editing the photos, writing the item description to give as much & as accurate a description as possible....

Making jewellery...

I've recently made myself a workroom - I had to move out of the dining room so we could use it at christmas. I was making resin in the dining room & jewellery in the study - and any other table I could use around the house! I've redecorated the room and moved everything in. Nick said he was going to take a photo to remind us of what it looked like tidy - I think he's just glad I've got a room we can close the door on!

Anyway - I decided to take some photos myself...

Dolly the dispay dummy in the corner says "hello".

This is my jewellery making desk. It was untidy again within 30 minutes of moving in as I uprooted boxes looking for something

This is my resin table - I doubt if I'll ever see it as tidy & neat again. I use a selection of ready made molds that I have to buy from the USA, I can't find a supplier in the UK with a decent range of shapes. I also make my own molds from found items and I make shapes out of fimo & then make a mold.

To make the resin you mix the resin with hardener in the correct quantities. While it is liquid you can tint or colour it and add a variety of different items/inclusions. It takes about 24 hours to become hard enough to demold the pieces & then they need to continue curing for about 48 hours. Curing under lights helps to speed up the process.

As you can see from the photo I've got some kitsch pieces curing - I've embedded sweets in the resin. I've had about a 50% success rate so far - the others had air bubbles trapped in the resin. I hope to be able to take photos of the finished pieces in the next few days...