Tuesday night and all's quiet on the house front..........

Well, here we are again!  I'm sitting here waiting for my daughter to get home on the late train as she's been out to dinner with a work colleague.  She normally walks home from our local station which is only about a 10 minute walk but as she's on the late train that means it won't arrive here till about 11:15pm - if it's on time. And I've heard the police helicopter up over town and that always makes me twitchy, so I will probably drive down to the station and collect her.  There seems a vast difference in service between Virgin Trains and London Midland but don't get me started on that one!
Having, hopefully, got our Blog more or less up to date, I thought I'd share with you some photo's of some of the latest additions to our bead stash...... I had to order some gemstone beads for a bespoke commission we've just completed (will share photo's next time once our customer has seen them herself) and also some that I bought at the NEC last month.

 These beautiful turquoise large disc's were purchased from Findingbeads4u at the NEC - can't wait to make a statement necklace with these little beauties!

Some stunning Lapis Lazuli 8mm round beads and peacock blue Freshwater Pearls from one of our favourite suppliers of gemstone beads - Semi Precious Beads in Sidmouth. Can you see the tiny specks of gold in these beads?

Sodalite 8mm round beads and very sparkly Swarovski crystals from Cooksongold in the Jewellery Qtr, Birmingham (another favourite supplier who offer fab customer service).
And, as I did say this might turn into a jewellery + knitting blog after the arrival of our very precious Lilly, here is the wool that I am currently knitting her a cardigan with.  Not actually that impressed with it - can't decide if it's me, the wool or the pattern (or maybe all 3....!).  Will post another photo once I've finished the cardigan.

Night everyone, till next time,
with love from Fat Fairy Jewellery
xx

Sunday afternoon and commissions.....

Hello everyone!

Hope you are all having a lovely Sunday.  Our weather's been a bit cloudy today after that gorgeous day yesterday but at least the washing is out and drying!

After sharing some of the lovely blog's we follow yesterday, I'd now like to share with you photo's of a commission order we made for Easter.  It came from a family member and was a special Easter gift for another family member!  Our 'brief' was pastel pink and I know the lady who was receiving the gift really well, I had an idea of what she would like.  However, as is often the case, when I sat down to start creating the necklace, it soon turned out to be nothing like the idea I had in my head!  The addition of tiny, glamorous Swarovski heart came around because I truly believe a girl can never have too much sparkle in her life - no matter how young or old she is.....!

The necklace was made using a variety of different beads, including crackle beads + glass pearls and, of course, the tiny Swarovski crystal heart.  For those special occasions, I honestly believe there is no other choice than Swarovski, they will also be my first choice for weddings etc because of their clarity, sparkle and consistency.  I've had this pack of these tiny hearts for some time now but could never think what or when to use them but since creating this necklace, I've now used more of them!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday afternoon!
With love from Fat Fairy Jewellery
xx

A happy Saturday....

Well, today really did feel like summer might just be around the corner!  We woke up to a beautiful blue sky here in Warwickshire and it felt quite warm!

 Hellebores over in our local park.

Even the pansies in my window-boxes seem to have woken up!

After walking the dog and all those 'normal' jobs, I headed off into Birmingham to meet a dear friend for a spot of lunch and a good old catch-up.  As I got on the Virgin Train service, I was quite surprised to find police on board.  Apparently Coventry were playing at home and also so were two other West Midland teams, so the police were obviously not taking any chances!  As we alighted at Birmingham New Street station, the police presence was even greater - police here, there and everywhere! Hopefully all games went off without any trouble - or none that I've heard about yet.  Couldn't believe just how busy Birmingham was, it was as if the nice weather had bought everyone (and I mean everyone!) out to play and shop.  I was quite glad to get home...!

One thing that I thought I would love to share with you and that is some of the lovely Blog's that I've found and am following - all worth having a quick peek at if you've not heard of them already or are not already following!
http://www.schoolgatestyle.com/
School Gate Style - Avril posts about what she is wearing and lots of other things - this one has made me think that I might try a week of posting what jewellery I am wearing (usually and hopefully by Fat Fairy Jewellery but not always..!).
http://claireabellemakes.com/
Claire blogs about her crafts and lots of other things and we also follow each other on Twitter and discovered we both suffer from migraines - which brings to me another blog I've just discovered:-
http://migrainememoirs.blogspot.co.uk/
For anyone else out there who suffers, this is really worth a read
http://irishfarmerette.com/tag/irish-farmette/
Lorna blogs about life on an Irish farm and lots of other things + is very into networking, so again, well worth a read
http://naturalnewagemum.com/
Sonia blogs about life with her family and trying to feed them as natural and organically as possible over in Australia - loads of receipes too!
http://mrsmmakes.wordpress.com/
Lots of crafty ideas here!
http://lostinblaenavon.blogspot.co.uk/
Michelle blogs about life in Wales and her family
These are just a few of the vast amount of Blogs out there taken from my own personal list but, as I've said several times this week (for one reason or another) , it's just my own personal view and favourites!  What one person likes or thinks is a good read might not be another person's cup of tea!

I'll leave you tonight with a couple more photo's of spring - daffodils in our local park!

Night everyone with love from Fat Fairy Jewellery 
xx

Friday night at Fat Fairy Towers

Evening everyone,

Well, the one thing most people seem to be saying this week is 'where is the time going to' or 'hasn't this week gone quick?' and the answer to both is yes (well, that's just my own personal opinion obviously!).  I can't believe that April is disappearing fast and that then we will a third of the way through the year - now that is a scary thought!  And so is the fact that our gorgeous girl Lilly will be 5mths old next week.

I've just put my daughter (and our Creative Director) on the late train from Rugby to Preston.  She is really looking forward to spending the weekend with her twin brother Paul, his partner Amie and, of course, our adorable Lilly.  Just wish I could share some photo's with you but fully understand their insistence and need for her privacy, so you'll just have to take my word for it - she is gorgeous, adorable and just so very precious - as all new babies and new additions to the family are for everyone.  I'm sure all new grandparents think that their own grandchild is just so wonderful and they certainly add a new dimension to the family!

When I was thinking about how much more there is to bring you all up to date, I thought I'd like to share with you some photo's of the jewellery that we sent back in March down to Bristol for the Poppito Pop-up shop run by the lovely Rebecca.  Some of it is still available from us, so if you see something you fancy, please just drop us a line as we haven't got round to posting everything onto our website yet - another downside to the time going by so fast - there are not enough hours in the day!

 Beautiful beaded brooch - hadn't made brooches for some time + really enjoyed remembering how to!  These can be made in any colour and beads - in fact I made a pink one for my friend and colleague's wedding last year and then another mauve one for a recent family event!

 Gorgeous 'Angel' necklace and ear-ring set made using beautiful pink Sandstone gemstones + Haematite (good grounding stone)

I love this necklace!  And am very tempted to keep it for myself..... The lovely large 'floral' beads are from my jewellery tutor (Beadelicious Beads based in Nuneaton) and the pink ones with the silver lining we picked up at a bead fair.  This is a very unusual and real statement necklace!

Gorgeous + girly- these Chandelier ear-rings in all shades of purple and silver with a little cream/neutral thrown in!

Well, that's all from Fat Fairy Towers this Friday night, wishing you all a fabulous weekend - they say the weather might be nice, so here's hoping!

with love from Fat Fairy Jewellery + the Jack Russell (who is asleep and snoring in her bed!)
xx

Updating......

Hello everyone - again!

Yes I know, not having posted for absolutely ages, then here we are again!  I just thought I'd like to get up to date with what's been happening and post a few more photo's!

Christmas + Easter have both come + gone (really quickly or so it seemed to me!), we had the absolute pleasure of spending Lilly's first Christmas with her as, together with her Mummy + Daddy, she was staying at her other Nannie's house for the festive season!  Bless her, she slept right through most of it - the fabulous Christmas lunch and then the opening of all her presents! She was a very lucky girl as everyone seemed to send her something! My cousin over in Melbourne posted off a parcel to her (via Grandma here!) and my lovely friend Mrs Woodhouse knitted 'Patch the dog' for Lilly.  Everyone on Christmas Day was stunned that  'Patch the Dog' had been actually knitted and I just know Lilly will get lots of fun playing with 'Patch' when she is older!  Another friend sent a lovely, soft Jemima Puddleduck which is currently sitting on the windowsill in Lilly's nursery! We also introduced Lilly to some of Grandma's neighbours on Boxing Day when they came to us for lunch - again Lilly slept blissfully through it all!

In between the knitting and jewellery making (not to mention the day job!), we've had lots of trips back and forth to Lancashire and they have managed to get down quite often too.  We also had a lovely family event back in early March with the 'Naming Ceremony' of my nephew's baby daughter Rosie, it was just one of those lovely days and so nice to catch up with all the family.  It also gave my son + his partner a chance to introduce Lilly to the rest of her family.  The day was made all the more special because Rosie's Grandad Geoff conducted the service as he is now a Registrar for Oxfordshire (and can marry people too....!!).

As I said in a previous blog, our Fat Fairy Jewellery bookmarks are proving very popular, so thought I'd share a couple more photo's with you.  We can make them to order with gemstones to tie in with your birthsign or any special or favourite crystals + colours.  Each bookmark is £8-99 plus P+P - each Fat Fairy Jewellery item comes wrapped in tissue paper, sprinkled with Fairy confetti and tied with matching (or contrasting) ribbon, so you can just give the gift straight away (or keep to spoil yourself....!!).  

Also here is a photo of a Christmas gift I made for a dear friend, a wraparound bracelet using Swarovski crystals and pearls.  Even though I say so myself, it was stunning and very sparkly.  We also made matching ear-rings - as you can see below!

For that extra sparkle, you really cannot beat Swarovski - they are well worth the extra money!

And, because this now seems to be a knitting and jewellery blog, here is a photo of the first thing I knitted for Lilly - a yellow pram blanket in double moss stitch!  I was very touched when I went to the hospital to meet Lilly as she was tucked up in her little hospital crib and her blanket was with her!

Well folks, I think that's all for tonight, so will wish you all sweet dreams until we 'blog' again. And please don't forget, if you see any of our jewellery that you like, please do get in touch with us - not everything is yet posted on our website (www.fatfairyjewellery.com) and we're very happy to make bespoke orders for you - including our very favourite - weddings!

With love from us here at Fat Fairy H.Q 

xx

Sunday evening at Fat Fairy H.Q......

OK - just looked at the time and realised that it is now evening!  Really think someone is stealing time from me....  We've had an extremely windy day here in Warwickshire and I'm still not sure it was such a good idea to put the washing out....

After yesterday's Blog, I thought I'd try and post a few photo's of both knitting and jewellery items! Those of you who do read our Blog may remember that back last summer I took a trip 'up north' to stay with my son and his partner and we had a quick shopping trip down to the Trafford Centre in Manchester to purchase the cot from John Lewis.  As would be expected from John Lewis, it was a very smooth transaction and the cot was duly delivered early in September.  While we were at the Trafford Centre, we also popped into Mama's + Papa's and my future daughter-in-law fell in love with one of their blankets.  However, yours truly here was horrified at the price and said I would try and find the same colour wool and knit one for my (then) future grandchild.  The blanket was in colours I would never have picked for a baby - cream background with a burnt orange and dark olive green.... Little did I know at that time, just how difficult it would prove to track down these colours!

However, never having been one to be beaten, in September I had a girlie day out with my lovely friend Mrs Woodhouse, having promised her ages ago a trip to the Trafford Knitwear outlet in Hinckley.  For those of you not local, Trafford Knitwear is an outlet that sells mainly Per Una (but now also other High Street labels) at a much lower price.... and always worth a visit.  We had a lovely day out, starting with morning coffee + cake at the Garden Barn on the way to Lutterworth (again, well worth a visit if you are local), then over to Trafford Knitwear and several items purchased by both of us.  I work on the basis that if Trafford Knitwear are kind enough to stock the item in my size and it would come in handy, then it would be rude not to purchase it...... Then we went into Hinckley for lunch at the Art Cafe (another lovely place for lunch or coffee!) which just so happens to be next door to a good, old fashioned wool shop.  It would have been rude not to pop in and my eagle-eyed friend spied some wool which looked very much like the colours I needed (yippee!).  It wasn't actually baby wool but was, in fact, pure new wool so would keep baby nice + warm.  The 3 colours were duly purchased and a couple of days later I made a start.

It was a very simple pattern (just garter stitch) and as it grew, the blanket got quite heavy but I was really pleased at how the wool was knitting up - had to pop back and purchase more of the cream which was the background colour. When baby arrived in late November, I was still knitting away, so took the blanket up with me and sat knitting at every opportunity!  I would well recommend this wool as it was lovely to knit with and once washed, kept it's shape really well.  Finally finished in January and blanket was delivered to baby granddaughter!  This is said blanket - halfway through knitting.

My future daughter-in-law was really pleased with it and with this cold spell, it's certainly getting lots of use!

We mentioned yesterday that we've been doing some bespoke jewellery orders, including our gemstone bookmarks which are proving a very popular line, so thought we'd share a photo with you!  These can be made to order using gemstone's or a mixture of beads etc or Swarovski crystals - in any colour - the choice is endless really and they are £8-99 plus P+P, so if you'd like to order one, please just contact us!

Love + blessings from Fat Fairy HQ on this very blustery Sunday evening!
xx

A much overdue Blog.....!

Good morning from Fat Fairy HQ,

Well, my goodness doesn't time fly!  I can't really believe our last Blog was back at the beginning of November around Firework night and so much has happened since then that I'm not sure where to begin!

I guess that I should start with the very important news first and those of you who already follow us on Twitter and our Facebook page will already know that my first grandchild arrived safely on 28th November 2012 - 2 minutes before midnight! Lilly Ann Frances Boylin made her entrance into the world at The Royal Preston hospital to my son Paul and his fiancee Amie.  After a rather traumatic delivery, very pleased to say they are all doing very well.  Lilly weighed in at 7lb 15 and half ounces (very glad it wasn't in metric!) and is
absolutely adorable and very, very precious.  Nothing quite prepared me for the overwhelming feeling of my youngest (her Daddy) placing his firstborn in my arms - a very emotional moment!

I'm not allowed to share any photo's of our gorgeous girl with you as they are very protective (quite rightly) of her privacy.  My son did post just one photo on his Facebook page their friends are spread far + wide and also my son still keeps in touch with people he met whilst working with Operation Raleigh International.  We've made several trips up to Lancashire where they live, to help out and, of course, claim lots of cuddles.

I plan to share some photos of what I have knitted for Lilly and also what I'm currently working on! I did warn you that this might turn into a knitting + jewellery blog....!  In fact, I think I've realised over the past few months, that I am the baking and knitting Grandma and can't wait to teach Lilly both those skills when she is old enough!

On the jewellery front, we've had quite a few bespoke orders which are always very welcome and we love working on something different!  Our gemstone bookmarks are proving a very popular addition to Fat Fairy Jewellery and we are still selling our gemstone jewellery out of the very lovely Brackley Rocks crystal shop (thank you Dianna!).  We also still have our shop within the very lovely Poppito website (a bit like Etsy + Folksy but Bristol based) and a big thank also must go to Rebecca who runs it and is such a great support!

Well folks, that's all for now but due to the long overdue nature of our Blog, I am intending to try and blog more over this weekend - just to bring you all up to date!

Have a lovely Saturday, bright + sunny here in Warwickshire and I'm just off for a lovely massage,

with love from Fat Fairy Jewellery
xx