New found inspiration

Upcoming road trip seems to have influenced me more than I realised!

Itchy feet have struck again readers!! This summer, my friend and I are planning our second road trip and this one will be even bigger and better!

We're jetting off to Vancouver to begin almost a month of traveling around the West of Canada and flights were promptly booked last weekend so it certainly feels more real now. Here is our rough route:

One big ol' loop from Vancouver taking in the best of the National and Provincial Parks

We absolutely loved our time in Yosemite NP on our last road trip around California and so are making the most of what BC and Alberta have to offer and I think it's fair to say that the wilderness has definitely made its mark on my jewellery recently.
Plus, new tools arrived from the States last week so I had to have a play!

Bear Face // The cubes of pyrite reminded me of a sheer cliff or mountain side!

Be Wild // Clear rock crystal and kyanite to give an icy river or lake feel

This bear paw stamp is one of my absolute favourites at the moment - I love how deep the claw impression is giving a sense that the silver may actually have been clawed at!

A couple of new designs too utilising my solid acorn charm:

Simple, but effective and on leather it can even be unisex

The ever popular tree illustration with acorn charm - I never tire of making these!

If you click on the images they all link to the website where these are available to purchase.
I am curious to know peoples thoughts on whether they enjoy reading this blog or would perhaps prefer a weekly newsletter? If you would like to throw in your tuppence feel free to leave me a comment on here or Facebook - thank you!

Until next time......

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.