Fresh Start

I am not going to lament about how long it has been since I was blogging. I am going to draw a line and start afresh.

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So, the focus is going to be selling my creations, designing new workshops, getting stuck into my lampwork bead making and generally pulling my socks up. There will also be my attempts at other crafting thrown in.

I spend too much time surfing the internet lusting after items other people have made. However, there are times when such surfing pays off. It was my Grandad's 87th birthday recently, and I was faced with the oh so familiar problem of what do you buy for someone who has got everything? Just to complicate things further he lives in Canada so there is also the postage costs to consider. I was looking at Etsy when I came across Dana's shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5435702. Dlkdesigns offer some original jewellery and in particular cufflinks. Yes, my Grandad has got several pairs of cufflinks but I figured that if a girl can't have too much jewellery then surely the same applies to the men. I know there are lots of sellers of cufflinks but these are different because they are made using map. The bonus is you can choose your own map so I had one with Wiltshire on (where I live) and one with Ottawa on (where he lives), Dana also enclosed a handwritten tag to add the finishing touch. I was able to get a present that was very personalised, didn't cost the earth and I received an excellent service. A very happy shopper!

I had a session in the workshop today, the first time in ages. I am trying to make daisies..... Alas no photos yet, but when I get myself organised I will show some first and last examples.