I Made it Myself

Almost in print....

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Way back when I wrote that I had submitted a design to Bead & Button Magazine. I am delighted to report that they liked it enough to publish! At this point it is available as a Subscriber Exclusive project online only. But it is a significant step in the right direction. I believe the word is "yay"!
If you subscribe to Bead& Button, have a look here

I'm a Team Player

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:29:00 +0000

I'm delighted to say that I have just joined the Beadweavers group on Etsy. Lots of new ways to explore the world of beads and more folk to chat to about my obsession.
I'm a bit nervous about their challenges, some of the work featured is seriously brilliant. But that is why it is called a challenge right?

Itsy bitsy bracelets

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:37:00 +0000

Don't know anybody else but I'm tired of chunky jewellery. It's hard to wear, noisy and can take an age to make. So I think it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up with me and recognises the virtue of delicate, understated elegance. Bring on the backlash!

I've made several quick(ish) designs and put them on Etsy in the hope that a) someone else will agree with me and b) buy something. Fingers crossed...

Getting ready for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Oh no not the C word! Sad but true; I've decided it's time to make some cheap(ish) and (very) cheerful pieces to offer for sale via janelock.etsy.com. My first effort is pictured here, more ideas to follow soon. Understated elegance for an understated price makes for the perfect gift. Yes really, trust me I'm a beader.
When something is this simple the materials have to be spot on, so I have used freshwater pearls and sterling silver. Might even wear one myself.

I Love This!

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:31:00 +0000


A word cloud created on wordle.net

Designs bigger than my bank account

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:30:00 +0000

There is no picture to accompany this post because my next must-do project is going to set me back £25 in materials alone. Lots of strands of Czech glass fire polished beads, looped and twisted around the neck into flapper style beads, or a choker, or a single strand.... All of which is in my head, waiting for the cash flow to sort itself out. But it will be gorgeous and there will be pictures. Honest.

Dangly bits

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:44:00 +0000

I've got the earring bug. Semi-precious stones/beads/tumblechips and sterling silver findings. Not hard to make once the ingredients are assembled, but they take a while to get the proportions right.

Shopping online

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:54:00 +0000

One of my favourite things; shopping online. But in this instance it is you dear reader, who can do the shopping. I have set up an Etsy shop at janelock.etsy.com with a small selection of pieces made up and ready to ship. At some point I may gear up for commissions and items made-to-order, but I'm about to go on holiday so now is not the time....

Noughts & Crosses

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Last week I made up a Miyuki bead kit for the shop where I work. Normally I avoid them; tiny beads, diagrams, someone else's design. But this one looked straightforward and very, very pretty. I finished it in around 3 hours and was hooked on the pattern. So much so that I had to make more but, true to my why-make-things-more-complicated-than-they-need-be philosophy, I simplified the design. One row of stitching, not three, fire polished beads in one colour not five; I made a bracelet to start with, then began this necklace. I am very excited about it. If it works (fingers/noughts crossed) I'll make more. Lots more...

Old Favourites

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:17:00 +0000

It's been a dry patch for beading creativity (pity the rain clouds couldn't take the hint) but finally I came up with something I like. And it took going down a familiar route to break the slump: A square stitch cuff, red beads to match some red shoes. Who says co-ordination isn't important?

Summer Madness

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:15:00 +0000

I needed something for a forthcoming trip to Athens, in August (August??). It had to be fun, suntan lotion-proof, cheap and I'd been obsessing over some acryllic beads for weeks. Bob's your uncle; a strand of the aforementioned acryllic beads, some leftovers, a couple of lengths of hemp cord all knotted together in 10 spare minutes and I had a necklace. We won't mention the earlier version that wasn't so simple, quick or effective and is still waiting to be dismantled.

No ideas for days, then 2 come along at once

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:00:00 +0000

I hate wire work, loops, pliers, all that malarky. But I had to make this. It's all sterling silver and agate, so is horribly expensive. But I'm quite pleased with it. Smug so-and-so.

The Good Old Days

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Remember my first picture? How pleased I was with it? Well dear readers here it is again.... dismantled and re-assembled into something that can actually be worn. State-of-the-art is all very well, but pointless if it's unuseable (as William Morris said to Walter Crane).
This little beauty is strung on elastic, so can be worn as a necklace or as a bracelet. I think I'm improving with age.

Repeating Myself

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:32:00 +0000

I made a necklace for myself more than 6 months ago, then a friend said she liked it so I sold it to her (hey! This beading obsession costs). Now her mother has seen it and wants a similar one for a friend. So I made it again; only to find that my technique has come on in leaps and bounds. Sooo satisfying.
Here they are; the old and the new....

Persistance

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:37:00 +0000

I'm pleased with this (she types, smugly). It took days and numerous false starts, but represents one of the few projects that turned out how I wanted them to, although I hadn't anticipated the Egyptian quality at the outset.

This collar does also bring home the impractical route I have taken - low-cost materials (apart from the sterling silver findings), plus hours of beading time = higher price than most punters would expect to pay for seed bead jewellery. I blame eBay. Must find easier way to get rich quick......

Whims and fancies

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:58:00 +0000

I have slowly and carefully (but not lovingly) unstitched the previous necklace. It would not do as I intended and so had to go. I will crack it and won't rest until I have. Meanwhile I rested my brain with a tried and tested Spiral necklace. I didn't think I'd like these colours, but I do. How fickle am I? Always the challenge to find bead combinations that don't glitter... Such a hard life.

Put out more flags

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:42:00 +0000

It seemed like such a good idea; a series of Delica squares linked by a strip of square stitch, all inspired by a design in Getting Started with Seed Beads. Almost finished after two days of stitching and I'm still not sure if it's going to work, but I can't stop now. If this doesn't work I am already thinking of other solutions.... gosh, is that the time?

Result!

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:51:00 +0000

At last the necklace is finished. Like any postponed task it was far less of a challenge than I had imagined. Although I did make it twice; the proportions were all wrong the first time.
Now what shall I make? Spring cleaning? Nah......

p.s. Look at the difference a camera (Canon A460) makes. The previous snap was taken on my Sony Ericsson K850i. No contest.

The Battle of the Bulge

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:10:00 +0000

Some time ago I made a spiral rope bracelet for a friend, who liked it so much she commissioned a necklace to match. But she wanted a chunkier element to be incorporated into the front third of the necklace. No problem said I, easy peasy lemon squeasy. The first attempt failed because, whilst it was chunky it wasn't spiralling, which completely missed the point. The second attempt failed because, although I borrowed the double spiral techinique from a book it was unworkable; needles bending, breaking and stabbing, blood on the thread, cats & dogs sleeping together. Generally bad. The third attempt..... so far so good - a few extra beads in the "arms" of the spiral, that's all it takes. Beading, like life adheres to the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid.

What to do?

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:46:00 +0000

I've spent a good part of today beading these two squares, lamina* if you will, but now I don't know what to do with them. That's the trouble with an obsession: I have to be making something, anything to keep sane but the end result is often not as satisfying as the creative process.

I think these are a bit too sparkly, a bit too bling. And dangerously close to looking like mini coasters. Ah well. Back to the beading mat. Again.

*Inspired by the Lamina design from Beadworking Brilliance by Kumiko Mizuno

Where does the time go?

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:28:00 +0000

It's time consuming, this blogging malarky. What with the all linking to my previously unused webspace, correcting the typos and generally fiddling around with the settings, there hasn't been much time to do anything else. Like something that might be worthy of entry in a blog. Or housework (I promise that will be the last time that word appears anywhere on this site).

Back to the beading mat for some more creativity...

The dawn of a new era in blogging

noreply@blogger.com (JaneLock) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:19:00 +0000

Pretentious? Moi?

What I hope to use this blog for is a record of my jewellery designs, when I made them, how I made them, why and sometimes who for. Whether that is actually what happens remains to be seen.

At the top of this post is a photograph of a piece I have just submitted to Bead and Button magazine in the US. I'm still waiting to hear their response.