Looking forward to spring!

Pastels & Arrows

Is it just me or are you slowly feeling the days getting just a little longer, the days feeling ever so slightly brighter and the lull after New Year slowly dissipating?! No?! Well, whatever the weather in your part of the world, pastels can be an all year round kinda colour scheme - the pale blues/lilacs for a cooler feel and pinks/yellows for a hint of something warmer.

There will be brighter colour mixes to come but for now I'm on a pastels run! Here are my latest Blue Starfish makes:

Pastel jewellery designs made with natural wood, glass and gemstones

I'm also impatiently waiting for some new metal design stamps to come from America for my Graceful Deviant shop. Currently I just have the single and crossed arrows, skull and heart and they have been somewhat underused so before the new ones arrive I've been playing some new designs:

Sterling silver arrow stamped discs with rock crystal & amethyst

Sterling silver arrow connectors with rock crystal & turquoise

The new stamp designs are going to be similarly rustic/nature/travel orientated - my influence coming from the desire to set off on another epic road trip I think! There are plans in the pipeline for a month in Canada but more on that later :)
Designs will include a polar bear, paw print, mountain range and a native thunderbird. My mind is going ten to the dozen with ideas - several are for more dangle earrings so that I can combine my many, many gemstones but also for studs, stacking rings and charms for bracelets. Feel free to chip in with any ideas you have for items you'd like to see!

That's all for now - check back soon for dates of fairs where you can see my Blue Starfish jewellery for 2015.

A New Year.......

.....but no changes!!

Welcome to my first blog post of 2015! Hello!
Firstly, I hope you all had a wonderful with family and friends over the Christmas break - I myself played host this year having my parents to stay and thoroughly enjoyed cooking up a plethora of homemade goodies including mince pies (including the mincemeat!) and sausage rolls with plum and mulled wine sausage meat! You can trust Delia to deliver you quick and easy recipes for both of these here.

The big day saw us eating duck breast with a homemade plum sauce and a revival of a classic for dessert - Black Forest Gateaux which I subsequently found out was my parents wedding cake choice!
Having never made it before I was slightly nervous but needn't have worried - this recipe worked a treat:

For some relaxation over the New Year I got to witness this view every afternoon from a gorgeous beach house in Tywyn, Wales:

So, no changes?! No resolutions?!
Well, no not really - just to continue from where I left off really!
If there's one thing I know I don't want to repeat it's to jump on the bandwagon trying to make things that are 'on trend' or 'fashionable'.
Although according to Vogue, some ideas I have for the New Year actually will be 'on trend' for 2015!
Plans to add wording, snippets of poems and inspirational wording to silver bangles and charms is something I have flirted with for a short while now and hope to expand.

Slogan Bracelets at Chanel

Natural materials have always played a large role in my designs and this year will be no exception - especially if I can source some artisan pieces!

Wooden and Natural Material Necklaces from Marni

And the Pantone colour of the year?! Marsala:

Personally not a fan - how about you?!

I guess if I had to make one resolution it will be to post here every Monday to showcase new products, ideas, works in progress and everything handmade in between as Facebook begins to dwindle the number of fans who get to see my posts :(
It's really easy to keep up to date with the blog though - follow with Google Friend Connect or subscribe via email. See the options on the right hand side of the page :)

See you next week!