Moustaches are a girls best friend.

Hello!!

Well it certainly has been far too long. The things is, I have flashes of inspiration where I make and make, until I either run out out of steam or materials. I haven't had one of those for ages. Until the other day that is.

Moustaches are what started it all off. To be honest I've always kind of a fascination with the sophisticated older gent, the moustaches, pipes, monocles, pocket watches and so forth. I'm not entirely sure where it stems from I just think there's something pleasing about it. For ages I've been thinking of ways to try and incorporate my love of blokes things into jewellery.

(I do have an actual pipe, but I have been strongly advised not to take it out in public.)

So I started out with something everyone loves, moustaches!! There's a huge number of styles to suit everyone's style, so what's not to love. My personal favourite is the ones that old army generals have, but I thought I'd start out with a simple Mario moustache.

 

So obviously this is quite a simple design, and one that a lot of people have seen before. But it's early days yet, and I am still trying to master the curly French moustache!! This is made of felt, which is such a great material. It's soft, easy to work with, and just wants to be your friend really. So I continued using this frankly fabulous material for my next project.

In the words of Matt Smith as the 11th doctor: "Bow ties are cool."

Damn straight they are!! And why should such a cool accessory be restricted to men!?! I think it's about time we ladies get in on the act.

 

These are surprisingly fun to make. I kept making them until I ran out of felt and chains, and they just look so damned good coupled with a plain t-shirt. Whilst wearing one, part of me does want to whip out the pipe and start telling stories of the good old days. Of course the other part of me wants whip out a sonic screwdriver and start running around after cybermen (I do love Docter Who).

So that's it for now!! It's great to be making again, and I have ordered some more felt, so hopefully some more creations are on their way!!

Until next time,

Lu Xx

"I'm in with the in crowd."

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Little Suprises

Hello there!!

Well for the last few weeks I have been a bit busy with sorting out an end of year show at college, which involved putting a skeleton in a dress. So unfortunatly, the jewellery side of things has suffered a little bit. But rest assured, I have a ton of ideas and two weeks off, which should make up for everything.
So I came home from work yesterday (work on a Saturday, its like living in the middle ages) to find a package for me marked airmail, from Australia!! This was rather exciting. After fighting with the airmail packet for about five minutes, I finally managed to open it. There were two tiny packages inside, one being this rather fabulous piece of costume jewellery.

I already have some ideas for this.... It's just so shiny!! The second little package had a note on it saying THE NOT PRADA COLLECTION. And inside, were these little beauts.

Hopefully some of you remember my post of Prada's gorgeous new jewels, well these aren't quite Prada, but they're Etsy. In my opinion that makes them better, as they have been hand made, and someone has put time and effort into them.

Well thats your lot for the moment, but I shall be back soon!! I have lots of ideas, but my finances can't seem to keep up with them.

Until next time,

Lu X

"Have you seen the stars reflect in the resivour??"

Lucy's happy place...

Hello people!!
So once again, this post isn't about my own jewellery, but I've been quite busy lately what with finishing projects for college and what not. Besides next week is half term, so I shall be holed I my room for the most part making things. 
But that's the future and this is now. Yesterday I went to Brighton, the most fantastic place for fashion, jewellery and vegetarian food. So for me it is heaven!! There are so many wonderful independent shops, so of course I had to spend all my money there to support them. One of the best shops I found was called Porta, an independent jewellery and accessories shop near The Lanes. Unfortunately, I found this shop on my way back to the train station, so couldn't actually buy anything, as I spent all my money on moustache tattoos (cos you need them). But the owners were extremely kind in letting me take pictures of their wares to show all you lovely people!!

I literally could have spent hours and hundreds of pounds in this place. I particularly loved the silver gift bow ring, which came in gold as well. So sweet!! I also love the tiny people necklaces, I wanted all of them. There was so much unique and original jewellery in this shop, I can't wait for half term so I can get making again!!
There are loads of great shops like this in Brighton but another thing it's brilliant for is flea markets. There is one in particular aptly name the indoor market which is literally a maze of shelves and cases stuffed with interesting bits and pieces. The jewellery in here was great, but a tad out of my price limit as most of it was antique. But it was just nice getting lost among the sparkliness (I think I just created a word....).

So that's my trip to Brighton. I always come back with some wonderful stuff, and I hope I can go back soon!! 

So that's it for a bit until I've made some more jewels. I have plenty of ideas!!

Lu X

'A dreaded sunny day'

Prada's new jewels!!

Hello!!
Now I'm not usually one for designer labels (mainly due to lack of money...) but I am absolutely in love with Prada's new jewels. And when I say in love, I mean get married, find a small house in the country and grow old together kind of love. Oh yes, they're that good. All pictures are courtesy of The Prada e-store.

If you've been following me, you will know that I adore flowers and all things nature. So for me these pieces combine that wonderful mix of class, and pretty flowers. My favourites are the red rose earrings as they look so elegant. But I adore the lime green ones as well with their light pink diamonds. I especially like the fact that the green roses are patent rather than plastic resin like the red ones. They're all just so beautiful!!
I would love to own one of the pieces, but I have neither the money or the social life for them. Hopefully one day I will.
Until next time!!

Lu x

'Diamonds are a girls best friend'

An Abundance of Bluebells...

Hello!!
Spring has sprung!! This is my most favourite season, just becuase of the wonderful colours nature has to offer. Then again, I feel exactly the same about Autumn. But thats another post for another time.
Now this time of year is absolutely perfect for my second favourite flower. My first favourite is Sunflowers, but there aren't many of them knocking about at the moment. But there are simply hundreds of bluebells!!

Now it's for images like this I wish I was a poet. These were taken at a wood near us, aptly named the bluebell wood. As soon as you walk into this place, you eyes are met with a sea of blue and lilac, as far as you can see. I've always loved the contrast between the blue flowers and the green stalks, it just makes the whole place seem so magical. With things like this, its not difficult to see why I adore Spring. But these pictures aren't just for me, they're mainly for my Auntie Sue, who I know loves bluebells even more than I do. But alas she lives in Australia, a country without these beautiful flowers. (But they do have kangeroos, which are pretty awesome so it balances out). So this is for you Auntie Sue!!
I also just wanted to share this with you as it is so wonderful. Well to me anyway. Now I not only love jewellery (Which I am still making, I swear!!), but I am really getting into glass. I would like to thank my dear old Pa for this, as he is an avid collector/seller, and has also been teaching me about it.

Now this beautiful glass flower basket is by a company called Davidson, who operated mainly at the end of the 19th century. It is made from uranium glass, which glows under a UV light. (Sorry about the rubbish photo). The milky effect round the top is known as pearline glass, which was achieved by just leaving the top of the mould uncovered whilst it was being fired. I just thought I would share it as it is so pretty sitting on my desk, and it is a subject that I'm growing more interested and passionate about. These little beauties are also availabe in blue glass, which glow under UV as well, and I'm desperate to get my hands on one!!
Well thats about it for now. Don't worry I am still making jewellery even though I haven't posted about it in a while, I've just run a bit low on cash to find my ideas. Roll on payday!!

Lu X

'Under a sheet of rain in my heart'

Damien Hirst Exhibition, London.

Hello!!
Ok, so this one isn't about jewellery but it is about shiny, pretty things which ties in nicely. Also, I don't want to write too much as I want the images to speak for themselves. Basically I went to the Tate Modern today with the college, and found a lot of the work boring, cliched and quite pretentious. You know the stuff, a single chair in the corner, a pile of rubbish in the middle of the room etcetera, etcetera.
But the Hirst exhibition was completely different. After paying a reasonable amount of £12.20 (Hallelujah for student discounts!!), we went into the exhibition. Obviously I wasn't allowed to take pictures, as I'm pretty sure Hirst would have jumped out and hit me round the head with a stuffed shark, or some such thing. So these are pictures from the internet of some of the works we saw, and of course all credit has been given where credit is due.

http://justoneeye.com/chronicles/beautiful-inside-my-head-the-wild-art-of-damien-hirst/for-the-love-of-god-damien-hirst/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Love_of_God



So there were other pieces, such as the shark, and famous cow that was cut in half. These were both interesting but they didn't really appeal to me. But the pictures I have shown above did. The crystal skull, called 'For the love of God' was actually free to see. Before veiwing this piece, I had thought that it would be a bit tacky and not all that interesting to look at. But you do really have see it to believe it. It is held in a completely pitch black room, so dark that you have to feel along the walls to see where you're going. And then, in the middle of the room under a single spotlight is the skull. Dazzling is the word I would use. Truely dazzling. Each of the 8,601 diamonds shines out with a million different colours. Seeing as it is free to get into the Tate Modern and free to view this, I would seriously recommend it. If not just to tell your grandchildren that you saw that famous skull.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/18/damien-hirst-butterflies-weirdly-uplifting



http://londonist.com/2012/04/art-review-damien-hirst-tate-modern.php?showpage=3#gallery-1

http://lorigordon.wordpress.com/

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?238321

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/2971219/Damien-Hirst-sale-at-Sothebys.html?image=3

Now the skull was wonderful, but the butterfly pieces were stunning. Words and photos can't really describe how fantastic it was, it has to be experienced. Especially the butterfly room. This was a white room with white canvases, on which Hirst had stuck butterfly cocoons. The room was kept humid, and bowls of fruit and flowers were placed around it. And then the butterflies hatched. Of course this happened right at the start of the exhibition, so when we went in today we were not simply walking into a hot, white room. We were walking into a hot, white room covered in the most beautiful, unique butterflies I've ever seen. There were some as big as your hand, with shimmery wings all the colours of the rainbow. If you stood still they would land on you. Looking up at the ceiling was wonderful, seeing all the butterflies perched daintily with their fabulous wings spread out. It was just amazing. But alas, as this room is so amazing, it is also very popular, so we were only allowed in there for 2 minutes. But it was a fantastic 2 minutes.

The other butterfly pieces I loved were Hirsts pictures made from the wings of butterflies, some of which I have shown above. Now the vegetarian in me said 'REAL wings?!?!? Oh thats horrible!!' But even I admit these pictures are simpley breathtaking. They are made to look like stained glass windows from a church, and in my opinion Hirst achieved what he set out to do. I adore these pictures so much, I have even considered how I am going to scrape together the £30,000 to buy one!!

Well I'm sorry if this description is a bit gushing, but I really cannot begin to describe how these works make you feel. You do really have to experience them.

Well I'm off to buy a lottery ticket,

Lu X

'You're just like heaven'

Silver lining...

Hello again!! Well it does feel like a while since I last posted, for me anyway. This is largely due to one thing: life. Yes after the blissful laziness of the halfterm, college has begun again, which means new projects, applying for new courses and less time on jewellery. But as I dropped a chair on my foot at college (graceful as always) I've had the past couple of days off, which has given me plenty of time to ponder and create. So there's a few things I want to share with you in this post. This first would be a new piece, which continues with my stars obsession.

I adore this necklace, if I do say so myself. The tiny silver stars were among some of the many treasures that arrived from ebay, and I think that they are so delicate compared to the large statement that the stone makes. This beautiful stone is from another necklace that I purchased from the wonderful Bonbi Forest. This is a fantastic website with lots of lovely jewels, prints and garments for sale. I find it to be a constant inspiration, and thoroughly recommend visiting the website. Anyhoo, after that gushing praise for Bonbi Forest I'm sure you're asking "Why did you dismantle it you silly moo?!?!" Well as I have stated in previous posts, one of the joys of making jewellery is that you can take pieces with fantastic memories that are no longer worn, and create beautiful new things that you are sure to wear all the time!! The original chain for it was gold, which I don't tend to wear as much as silver. The chain was also quite long and I personally prefer the shorter chain as it doesn't get in the way. Nor does it give you a heart attack every time the stone hits the side of the table. I particularly like the way the light shines through it. I also just wanted to share a little bit of where I live. For those of you who don't live in Kent, it's usually referred to as the 'Garden of England'. I'm not sure about where I live as it's a bit of a grey town that seems more at home in a song by The Smiths. But surrounding it is some of the most wonderful countryside you'll ever see. So the place I want to show you today is Wye Downs, a favourite place to take the dog.

This place has so many memories, most of them concerning me moaning after having to walk up the hill. But if you go there just as the sun is setting, it's perfect. Everythings quiet, the air is still and it feels like heaven on earth. Well, apart from the dog barking at you to just throw the ball. But I'm sure that would be up there. After all for me heaven wouldn't be complete without a bonkers Springer Spaniel who spins round in circles.

Lu X

'I prefer the waters edge.'