dragonfodder logo

this is what i've decided on as the branding for my little business. i'd like to have little silver metal discs made with the logo's symbol stamped on.

then each piece i make will have this distinguishing mark.

business cards and a stamp with the symbol also in the pipeline.

january

january seems to be a month of trials over the last few years.for some reason my mom has a little crises in january every year. this year has been the dementia diagnosis and moving her from her cottage to a care room in frail care. mom has a small one bed roomed cottage but wow, did she have stuff. anyway we settled her in on the 23rd and were due to clean out the cottage on 29th. now its my chance to do the january thing. liam cam home from school the week of the 20th a bit poorly. well by thursday the 23rd i was sneezing and monday the 27th i had a lung infection. so my poor sister and hubby got no help from me. i've been man down ever since. in bed actually, hoping that i'd get better sooner. well i'm up but not better. my sis lindy, says to give it 10 days so i will.

only two pics for today. a button cuff bracelet which was an order. pink cotton crochet yarn, a selection of pink buttons with a background of pink beads in czech glass and other glass beads.

and then to while away the time in bed, this cream one for myself. button brights with a background of the most beautiful matt cream seed beads.

i've an additional desk for my studio and want to work in a packaging area. the place needs a spruce up, i'd like to get going with some sewing, so pics of the sorted studio soon. i've been crocheting as well and will post some pics of this hopefully soon as well.

bye for now and thanks so much for visiting.

the holiday season

well it's almost a month since i was last here. much has happened. mom's dementia and frailty has increased, with her now being moved to frail care.

it was wonderful having glyn and james from east london over christmas time, christmas day was great, as well as hectic.

i've managed to make jewellery but only really the last few days.

liam on christmas day. just watch his face.

liam opening one of his christmas presents, an electric fan, you could not miss his delight at this present. we are an odd bunch and he's caught the bug. he absolutely loves fans and has been besotted with them since an early age.

family (boxing) day at bevan and claire. bevan made the most gorgeous paella on an open fire. pic of glyn and james, 2nd one, glyn and i.

my latest cotton crochet cuff with random bead work. mother of pearl buttons, czech glass, shell pearls, glass tubes and various glass seed beads.

a pretty bracelet that started with the green lamp work bead. then yellow ones followed and thereafter the silver metal roses.

i'm sure i've said it before. i'm struggling to find lamp work glass beads and in fact glass beads in general. most retailers say it's just too expensive to import to his country. every one of these blue beads are different and beautiful.

just another view of these stunning beads.

i'm supposed to be packing beads away, i discover one, then have to find beads etc to compliment and this is what we get. pieces like this can't be repeated as i don't often buy strings of beads.

hearts and hearts in icy white and silver.

i'd say this was back to my roots. my first bead book was a second hand copy of "world beads" by janet coles and robert budwig. the african beads and designs are in my blood. i'm fourth generation african.

this 37cm necklace is made up of polished stone nuggets, i've no idea what they are, they came in a packet and the retailer, was also none the wiser. included are african trade beads, probably recycled glass beads from ghana, as well as presiosa seed beads, imported from the u.s.a. the pendants are little african metal charms, i added the jump rings for a bit of movement. it's photographed on a carving done by bevan.

this 74cm necklace is made up of really beautiful beads. they were all in my stash. the amber beads may come morocco, although i purchased them at an african market in j'burg 4 or 5 years ago. the teardrop shaped beads in brown were most probably made in bohemia and used as trade beads in africa. bevan bought a necklace at the goodman gallery in j'burg. some of them were quite grubby, like they were well travelled. the brown patterned beads are most likely from accra, ghana. there are paper beads from www.mothersforall.org in botswana, two turquoise coloured quartz teardrops, cream bone beads, wooden beads, a millefiori bead and turquoise coloured howlite.

this 75cm necklace started with the cream flat oval stone (i have no idea what it is). then came the newspaper resin beads, then the cream and black saucers. in my box of ceramic beads i found the lone cream and tan striped bead. this needed the crochet bead. a stone bead, zulu teething beads, dark grey speckled ceramic beads, a glass saucer bead with silver metal bead caps. some hematite discs, black ceramic beads and an arbitrary cream and black bead that looks like a baseball.

paper beads from www.mothersforall.org. the necklace is 72cm long. the paper beads are interspersed with recycled glass beads that i found at "the space" ages ago. 3 wooden discs beads from "bead some more".

the paper beads from www.mothersforall.org have been very inspiring. probably also because they come from botswana. i mixed these large bluish paper beads with lilac paper beads, smaller bluish paper beads and two crochet beads from "bead some more", as well as blue czech glass pony beads. it looks stunning and weighs nothing. the necklace is 72cm long.

this 82cm long necklace started with the green beads, with the white and yellow design. they are most likely made from recycled glass and originate in ghana. there are creamy/brown bone beads, wooden beads, two foil lamp work beads and a large chip of millefiori in green, brown, white and yellow. the green and yellow teardrop beads came from the necklace purchased at the goodman gallery. the yellow discs were purchased at makkie's shop, "bead some more". 

the turquoise paper beads were my introduction to www.mothersforall.org. i've had them for ages. they've been combined with newer paper beads, turquoise wood beads and glass czech pony beads. the two bigger turquoise wood beads were found in a kit at a craft shop. the necklace is 87cm long.

three quick items for me. the earring are made from left over coloured zulu teething beads, african trade beads and two hands.

cone shaped paper beads from lima beads in the u.s.a. paired with ethiopian silver.

a few zulu teething beads, a paper bead, three rustic trade beads and three faceted coloured agate beads.

more paper beads from www.mothersforall.org. a cone shaped paper bead from lima beads, ceramic blue speckled flat oval bead from my stash, cobalt blue ceramic tube beads, green howlite crosses and czech glass pony beads. the necklace is 55cm long.

i suppose i really should get an online site or start my own. currently my pieces sell at joce's salon, makkie's shop "bead some more" and face book.

need to do some repairs for customers, mainly their own pieces from elsewhere. got lots of ideas swimming around in my head so i'd better get going.

thanks so much for visiting. anyone who has a blog with pics knows how long all this takes. but i love it.

guilty again - maybe not

it's been hectic again. my mom took a turn for the worst due to a bladder infection. mom has been getting a bit forgetful and saying some odd things but as she's 81, we put it down to her age and the fact that she is quite the recluse. we have now ascertained that she has dementia. it explains a lot but it has been a bit of a traumatic time. my shoulders and neck are still stiff, must have really got myself into a tiss.

but i have been making stuff, as that keeps me sane.i do post pics more regularly on fb.

many views of the same wrap bracelet. made for an order in australia. not sure its what was expected. the order came about because of jocelynn's cream/white wrap bracelet. then it was suggested that the cream lace might not be such a good idea. couldn't seem to get anything else into my head. so we have lace, linen tape, silk cord, linen cord, a variety of glass, shell, pearls and semi precious beads. the bracelet was modeled by joce, love her tattoo but i'm too conservative to even try.

these beads were in my stash, i can't find glass beads like these easily anymore. so this short necklace is all about the beads.

this bracelet is because of the orange lady bird. i found her at a shop that stocks pearls and gemstones. when they are in china, they buy scoops of mixed glass beads. they have a bowl in the shop, i haven't been there for ages.

i made this bracelet for caron, as she liked the one that had sold. not quite what she was looking for when she tried it on. no worries, it's for sale. the large bead is acrylic and has a print insert. the beads are volcanic rock, glass, seeds and shells.

made because of more trawling in the white beads. one catches my eye and off we go. this one has small metal cameo inserts and a quartz top drilled teardrop bead.

a long opera length necklace, or a double string or a wrap bracelet. a mix of glass beads, quartz, ceramic beads, shell and buttons.

i take photos outside on the patio. i look after liam 2 mornings and 2 afternoons a week, as well as every second saturday morning and lots in between. liam had to model this piece, as he had seen his mom model earlier in the week. so dear!

an order for a black crochet cuff bracelet, with black, grey and silver bead work. i had to rush out and buy the black cotton crochet thread, as i had none. the customer was enthralled with the bracelet and left wearing it. such a sense of achievement when someone loves what one's made.

such fun. i crochet these in the evening in front of the tv. the beading also gets done at night. the buttons have been set in a miyuki mix, called lavender garden.

not something i made. i bought this from makkie (the artist and maker of this piece) a friend who also stocks some of my creations in her shop. she has managed to sell her business, so at least the shop won't be closing. i'm to meet the new owner in the new year. have to find out if she wants to stock my work and the percentage she will take on sales.

i love this necklace and had been eyeing it for a while. makkie says i love it as it's based on pieces of mine she has had in stock.

bye for now. household chores to do. how droll. but we have friends over for lunch on monday. must go to mom today and go to the nursery for some plants. need to spruce up the garden for christmas, as we will be having family over. my sister glynis and her hubby james, will be here from the 22nd to the 27th for the festive season. they'll be flying up from east london.

also got the christmas decorations to put up. busy! busy!

thanks for visiting. your comments are always appreciated.