Favourite Thing On A Friday - Stacking Up The Silver!

It's that time of the week again...





My Favourite Thing On A Friday this week is a set of silver stacking rings I've made.

If you've been reading Mimi and Tilly for a while, you'll know of my deep love of honking great, mahooosive rings.  This ring love also applies to big stacks of little rings.  Oh, and big stacks of big rings too.  The only thing that minimises the size of the ring stack I'm prepared to wear is whether I can bend my finger or not.  Practicality will out in the end, my friends. 

For me, there's something really satisfying about wearing a stack of silver rings rather than just one.

Do you know what I mean?

My hand feels a little bit fancy...  And I like that feeling. 

This stack of silver was inspired by small twigs, with little buds on. 

They were surprisingly tricky to make...

Please excuse my honking great paw.  I used to think I had quite pretty hands until the micro setting on my camera got hold of them and I saw them in all their glory...

How has your week gone?  I hope it's been a great one.  How about this fantastic weather?

I had a small operation earlier this week, and am on the mend.  I think today, I might just take myself into the garden and rest up out there, with a good book.  Smashing. 

Feel very free and easy to link up your Favourite Thing On A Friday in the link-up section at the end of this post. 

I'll be over to see your Favourite Thing On A Friday tout de suite.

Favourite Thing On A Friday - Gorgeous Glass

I met my friend, Claire, at university in 1987.  We've been friends ever since.  She is one of my heroes in life.

She is the person I call when I'm low.  The person who makes me laugh till I snort.  And the person who makes me realise that life is fun at times when I've forgotten that.  She's very courageous.

A couple of years ago when Claire came to visit, we went to a late night book store to peruse the craft and art section.  We found a book of patterns for... Wait for it...  Knitted, woollen underwear.  I kid you not.  Knickers, bras, vests.  All made up in sassy shades of double knitting wool.

Itchy?  You betcha.  

Within seconds, Claire and I were sitting on the floor in the aisle, crying laughing about dropping stitches in the gusset, speculating where we'd put the bobbles on an aran knitted bra, and what would happen to you if you ever fell into a pond wearing the full knitted underwear kit of bra, undercrackers and vest.  (Drown.  Due to getting pulled under by the weight of your water-logged woollies.)

I have no idea why, but we can't be in the same room together without being rude.  Or saying gusset.

When Claire isn't being what looks like effortlessly amazing, (when actually I know she works so hard, running a school, bringing up a family, looking chic and gorgeous whilst carrying off being rude and irreverent with panache) she makes glass.

We caught up over the summer and she gave me a collection of her glass pieces to use in my jewellery designs.

Here are some of the pieces she made...

Aren't they beautiful?

I'm actually going to transform them into jewellery for Claire. 

The glass that Claire makes is my Favourite Thing On A Friday this week, but my friendship with Claire is One Of My Favourite Things Ever.

If you want to join in with...

...  Add your details in the link tool below, linking up with your blog post about your Favourite Thing On A Friday, then link back to Mimi and Tilly.  That's it.  I'll be over in a jiffy to see your favourite thing this week.

Oh, and Kitty over at Kitty's Vintage Kitsch saw my Opulent Opals this week and thought they would go perfectly with a dress she has.  She's going to be posting about that dress today, so pop by and take a peek!
  

The Earrings... In Situ

I had a couple of requests yesterday, asking if I could show how the earrings I posted about this week might look when worn.  

After several attempts to take photos of my own ear-holes (no mean feat),  I have managed to produce these photos.  I am near hysterical in the shots due to taking pictures of pretty much every other object in the room without managing to get a whiff of my own head, let alone my lug-hole.

I need to have a think about how to best take shots of my earrings in situ...

But for now, I hope these help.

And just because it made me smile, here is a picture of Ernie with his chum.

I'll be back tomorrow with...




I'm really looking forward to seeing what your favourite things have been this week.
Happy Thursday.  I hope you're having a great day.

Coral

I've been thinking about coral, and the beautiful shapes it makes.  I realised that the other day, when the memory popped into my head about the art deco tiles at school, it was because I'd been looking at pictures of coral the day before, and thinking about how to translate the shapes into jewellery...  

These are some of the shapes I've found really beautiful.

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 After making the copper earrings yesterday, I wanted to make a pair in silver, using just one piece of silver for each earring and making them smaller, with more coral-y curves!

Here they are... 

They have beautiful, deep red, fresh water pearls to complete the "underwater" theme!

Opulent Opals

Here are some earrings I made yesterday.

Inspired by some Art Deco tiles that I remember lining the corridors at school!  I don't know why the tiles popped into my head yesterday afternoon, but they did, and I got a fab idea for a honking great pair of earrings.

This happens to me a lot.  

I'll be doing something and my mind will wander, and as I day dream, something will pop into my head that gives me an idea for a jewellery design.  In the past when it's happened I've said to myself, "that shape would make a fab ring/earrings/necklace", worked out in my head how I would make it, and then forgotten all about it!  

Recently, I decided that if inspiration came, and I was near to my tools and sketch book, I would go and see if I could transform the idea into a piece of jewellery there and then.  Yesterday I did, and it was so much fun.

Next time around, I would modify this design slightly.  Making the earrings each from one piece of wire, rather than two.  Just to gi-gi them up that little bit more. 

But I love 'em.

They are made from copper and Peruvian opals.

Yum.

They are 9cms long from top to tip, including the ear hooks and opals.  The opals themselves are 1.5cms long.

What do you think?

I'm linking up with Free Pretty things For You Today...

Hats For Cats: Fun Or Wanton Animal Abuse?

I know it's not ok to abuse my pets.  I know it's not good to take away their dignity and annoy them for my own pleasure.  But honestly, if I could get either Eric or Ernie to don one of these saucy beauties at a jaunty angle, without taking my face off, or leaving an unsavoury protest in my bed as revenge, I would so do it.  I'd be all over the Etsy shop "To Scarborough Fair" like a woman who's been off carbs for 6 months and gets offered a belgian bun . Wait.  That was me.

To Scarborough Fair hats for cats originally seen on Etsy and The Dainty Squid