Sneddonia Designs

A Sale

2010-11-05T16:41:00.005Z

Buy handmade and save yourself some money too! I've created a sale section in my Etsy shop, full of items perfect for Christmas gifts and decorations. So now the festive season doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. Go there now to get 20% off many items:

Happy shopping! x

Happy September!

2010-09-01T09:59:00.013+01:00

So it's September, and autumn is on its way. It's starting to get cooler outside, and I'm looking forward to keeping warm in cosy, luxurious clothes.

Images from Elle and arashmazinani.com

Thanks to a typical washout of a British summer, I have in fact been looking forward to autumn since mid-July - wanting the temperatures to match the grey sky. This seems to happen every year. With autumn comes Halloween, so I tend to start looking forward to Halloween in the middle of the summer. Which is rather premature. It's September now though, and, with less than two months to go, I can stop feeling guilty!

Autumn has already arrived in my little Etsy shop - I've had a Spooky Sale on since mid-July (I told you I get Halloweeny around then!), giving you 20% off selected items. Clicky the piccy to go there:

I've opened a Halloween section too, making the rest of my spooks easier to find. Click the Woolly Bat to go there:

Talking of Woolly Bats, I do believe I've mentioned them before in a previous post. As I mentioned there, their design was inspired by Honduran white bats, little flying balls of fluff. They're made of felted balls and wire, and would look gorgeous hanging in your home.

^..^

I got things!

2010-08-03T16:24:00.007+01:00

I've done a couple of little swaps lately, and got me some groovy things. The first of the swaps was with Marie of Deviant Candy. I made her a Black Widow pendant:

And she made me a zombie bat pendant, yay:

The next swap, which I got in the post just today, was with Kyra of TheKraftyKreep. I sent her a bat dangle:

And got an awesome TV pendant from her:

Another thing I got today was a Brown Owl Lavender Sachet from the lovely Mel of Inkmeup:

It smells gorgeous, and I got free prints too!

The owl is for my Mum (it's her birthday today), but I think I might have to buy my own Inky sachet. The Smelly Cat ones are particularly cute:

Snowbats

2010-07-31T17:45:00.005+01:00

The other day, I was searching online for bats, as I often do, and came across these gorgeous little guys:

They're Honduran white bats, and live in the rainforest. Having seen these cute little snowballs, I of course wanted to make one, and set about designing how that might look:

The basic idea was to have some sort of big pom-pom, and to add wire wings and features to that. My attempts at pom-pom making haven't been too successful though! For example, this one, made from some very fluffy yarn, is just too fluffy, and moults everywhere:

Instead, I've decided that felted balls are the way to go, so I've ordered a few of those. Until those turn up, here's a little Photoshop mock-up of what will be known as a Snowbat:

The Snowbats will be a lot like my Fuzzy Bats, only snowball-sized, and will have a loop with which to hang them from your Christmas tree.

A Spooky Sale

2010-07-18T14:33:00.003+01:00

Other people may be doing Christmas in July, but I'd rather have Halloween in July! Check out my Spooky Sale section to stock up with some pre-Halloween bargains:

Made myself a little something ...

2010-07-01T13:57:00.009+01:00

Having seen a very sweet Tiny Bat Necklace (by Giles and Brother for Kabiri) in this month's Elle,

I of course wanted one for myself. So, combining a couple of old necklaces and a bat charm,

I made my own version:

Cute Inspiration

2010-06-14T12:17:00.010+01:00

Inspired by icons of cute such as Hello Kitty:

and Miffy:

plus the handmade cuteness of Etsy friends, and other cute things in my collection;

I am starting to move my work in a slightly new direction. Sort of a creepy-cute direction. Various cuteness seems to have been invading my studio lately, and the cute could not fail to invade my work too. And, being me, it comes with a creepy edge.

The creepy-cute invasion of my work begins with Evil Bunny. I'd say that his bark's worse than his bite, but rabbits don't bark.

Click the image below to see the listing:

Look out for more creatures coming soon! Here's a few designs I've been playing around with:

In the meantime, click below to check out the new Creatures section of my Etsy shop for bats, cats and more:

Firing my imagination

2010-04-14T13:48:00.001+01:00

My latest piece, Fiery Heart, is so called because of the bright, tropical-coloured beads I've used in its creation.

Inspiration for the colours used in its design came from a magazine advert for paint. I thought that the combination of brights in the room set just looked so gorgeous together that I needed to use them in my work.

Its so colourful that I almost want to keep it for myself. I won't though - you can buy it now on Folksy - just click the image below:

Pretties

2010-04-10T10:45:00.005+01:00

I love my Etsy friends. They like to send me things just because they think I'd like them. The latest sweetiepie to send me pretties was maker of hand-embroidered goodness, Laura of LAMdesigns.

There are little cobweb baggies (which some lucky customers will get things in no doubt), one of which contained a cobweb eyepatch and little wire spider. Plus there were Moo cards, and a very sweet little note on equally sweet notepaper.

Laura says that she was going through her stash and realised that, as much as she liked these bits, that she was unlikely to use them. She knew I'd like them though, and sent them on to me. Thanks sweetie! x

Much cuteness

2010-02-19T16:55:00.008Z

Today has been a day of squee, bringing with it much cuteness. This came in the form of:

Bunny Blobs by Cute Designs:

A Bat Brooch called Bertie from KoolKookyKreatures:

And an Emo Tweet from feltmeupdesigns:

These little guys (and Pinky Bunny) are all living in my studio:

Way too cute by far!

My handmade year

2010-01-03T21:54:00.018Z

Normal, organised people would post such a post on the 31st of December, or indeed on the 1st of January. However, having never been normal, or indeed organised, I am posting this on the 13th. 13 is my lucky number however, so there is method in my madness!

Last year's resolution was to buy something handmade at least once a month. Lack of money has meant that hasn't been possible every month, but I've still bought some fabulous things this year.

The first of those fabulous things was this gorgeous print by the ridiculously talented Deb of Champignons:

It came with some lovely free prints:

Two of which now reside on my ever-changing staircase wall of art.

Also in January, I bought this cute little print from Quite Contrary,

and, in February, I was able to afford to buy this gorgeous print from Linda Boucher:

The three prints hang in my bedroom, creating a little red shoe-themed triptych:

Take a look at this post for more about those :)

In March, I bought my Mum an adorable owl from Kool Kooky Kreatures for Mothers' Day.

June and July were somewhat batty, bringing with them as they did a Batcat ACEO from the truly fabulous Blacklilypie (I would buy her whole shop if I could afford it!):

It came with a gorgeous free postcard and stickers, yay!

Batcat now lives on the shelves in my studio.

Plus, a very cute apple cinnamon scented bat sachet from batgirl93.etsy.com,

A postcard (plus one free!) from She's Batty (check out her card designs!):

And lots of Halloween supplies:

I'd won a gift card for Aquariann's Artfire shop (another one whose whole inventory I'd buy if I could), so in August I felt the need to get me a little Tree Fairy print:

In November, I spotted that Claire Payne was having a little sale, so I snapped up a skully brooch for a bargainous price. I couldn't resist a cat brooch either, and, when the sticker-adorned package came, there was a free monster brooch too!

Also in November, I took advantage of a BOGOF offer in the lovely Illusio's Etsy shop. Not only did I buy one ACEO and get one free, I got two free, plus a postcard. Hurrah!

Those now live on the wall of art too.

So, with 2009 over, it's time to start concentrating on my resolutions for 2010. I need to generally look after myself better really - eat better, get out more and so on. Also to be more creative - I've really neglected my crafts lately (two pendants in three months is not good enough!) - and try to make something every day. So I've started the year with good intentions, but whether or not those are followed up remains to be seen ...

A ghostly giveaway - part 2

2009-10-25T23:06:00.005Z

It's not often that I do a happy dance while reading someone's blog, but yesterday evening I did. You may remember that I recently took part in the fabulous Mrs B's 31 Days of Halloween, allowing folk the chance to win this beaded ghostie.

There was a great response to the giveaway, and the winner was announced as the wonderful TMCPhoto. She sent me a link yesterday to a very lovely blog post, in which she was very complimentary about my work. How sweet!

You should check out her shop, in which she sells fine art photography of natural phenomena, landscapes, cityscapes and nature. In her words, "My photos are a variety of landscapes, still life and portraiture. My images are taken with a regard to the relationship I have to my subjects, they are full of energy, playful or thoughtful expressions of my view of the world." You can follow her on her blog, on Twitter and also on Facebook.

A bat and a ghostie

2009-10-12T16:48:00.005+01:00

This cute little fella arrived at my door on Saturday morning:

He now resides in my living room with the other spooky guys:

He was made by by Half an Acre, purveyor of hand-painted wooden loveliness, and creator of the brilliant Widget the Sock Bunny concept (read about the ideas behind Widget here - very clever.).

In other news, my Small Ghostie (click the image below to go to the listing) has been featured in a couple of places. He was on Cuteable on Friday in their Flickr Friday feature, and today he's in the Autumn issue of UK Handmade magazine (check him out on page 83 in the Trick or Treat feature).

Thanks folks! x

Cutie Pie Pumpkin

2009-10-09T12:04:00.006+01:00

I'd been admiring this little cutie for a couple of months, and finally bought her a couple of days ago. She popped through my letterbox this morning, and now resides in my living room.

She was created by a fellow Folksy seller, SeeTheWoods, who makes all manner of gorgeous things. Her plumpkins, pumpkins made from a variety of yummy patterned fabrics, are particularly lovely.

(Photo by SeeTheWoods)

Cutie Pie has now been added to the many Halloween decorations that live in my house. Here are just some of those:

A ghostly giveaway

2009-10-08T21:11:00.004+01:00

Did you know about Mrs B's 31 Days of Halloween? If you didn't, check it out now, for spooky giveaways and goodies: http://silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com

As I love Halloween, I am of course taking part. As part of today's Halloween fun, you can win this ghostly decoration:

Find out how by clicking here. Happy haunting!

Happy Autumn!

2009-09-22T21:36:00.007+01:00

It's officially autumn now (the TNBC calendar says "Autumn Equinox" so it must be so), and I can therefore stop feeling a bit premature for talking about Halloween :) So, with only five and a half weeks, or 38 days, to go until the big day, I've been adding lots more spooky goodies to the Etsy shop.

After buying some wonderful Halloween-themed supplies, I created a little collection of beaded dangles:

The little bells I bought were used in creating these three pieces:

My favourite is this one, because the large orange bead looks like a big chunk of candy :)

I'd also bought some glow-in-the-dark beads, both round and bat-shaped, which went into the making of these:

Pop into the Halloween section of my shop for all of the above and more!

I've also been working on a commission for four silver pieces:

You can't tell from this picture, but the bat on the bottom right is huge! 16 inches wide in fact, double the size of my usual bats. Was awkward but fun to make :)

Halloween in July part 2 - a beaded skull

2009-07-29T14:29:00.011+01:00

Production of the Halloween range has begun, and one of the first pieces I've created is this beaded skull:

This piece is the result of a series of sketches, in which I was working out how to make the skull look right. In my designs, I often draw something out as a line drawing first to see whether it would work in wire, as the construction of my wire pieces is basically made up of a series of curved lines. I always drew skulls face-on, and, as a line drawing, that always made them look too monkey-like.

However, while watching Buffy (series 7, which has a hand walking up a skull in the title sequence),

I hit on the (now obvious-sounding) idea that the skull did not have to be symmetrical face-on image, but could be a side-on image instead.

Thus, this design was born - a simple line drawing in copper wire, adorned with glass beads. Click the image below to go to the listing:

Halloween in July

2009-07-19T18:37:00.007+01:00

We've been having some typically British weather here lately, otherwise known as rain. The sky is rather dull, grey and leaky. So, despite the fact that it's the middle of July, it feels like autumn. Autumnal feelings always lead me to start thinking about Halloween though, so it's not all bad.

I've been starting to think of some Halloween-related ideas, the first of which has the working title of Bat Bunting. I also think I've finally worked out how to make a skull from wire. Plus, I have many more ideas besides, so watch this space for lots of spooky goodies coming soon! Until then, click the bat to see what I currently have on offer:

I also have some greetings cards that would be great for Halloween. Click the image below to see those:

And remember kids, a bat is for life, not just for Halloween!

Burtonesque

2009-06-23T13:04:00.008+01:00

Dear reader, it may not come as a huge surprise to you that I love Tim Burton. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice and others of his are among my favourite films, and a book called Burton on Burton has been one of the most interesting things I have read. My paintings have often been called Burtonesque, even though, in all but the piece below, there hasn't been a direct influence. It must just have filtered through from my subconscious ;)

So I'm very excited about Burton's re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, to be released next year. Alice has long been one of my favourite stories, and I love seeing various artists' interpretations of scenes and themes from the book. I can't wait to see what he's done with it. With a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas and Alan Rickman, it surely can't fail to be awesome.

In celebration of this, an Etsy friend of mine, the fabulous jewellery-maker Gugaw, is having a merry unbirthday giveaway! You can win anything from her shop - just comment about your favourite piece on her blog.

A craft fair

2009-06-02T11:10:00.006+01:00

This Saturday, 6th June, I will be at a craft fair at the Trinity Centre in Sutton Coldfield. It's on from 12pm to 3pm, and there's sure to be some gorgeous things there! Including my work of course ;)

The Trinity Centre is part of Holy Trinity Church, and is just up the road from this beautiful landmark (click here for a map of the area). I grew up just down the road from Holy Trinity, searching for conkers in its grounds in the autumn, looking at the light shining through its stained-glass windows as I walked past in the evening, and watching people having their wedding photos taken in its garden. It's a really lovely location. So, if you live nearby, or you happen to be in the Birmingham/ South Staffs area, why not come along? :)

Bat Swaps

2009-05-19T21:52:00.007+01:00

I've recently taken part in a couple of swaps - the first was with the fabulous Maya of Static White's Stitchery, in which I got a cute little batling, complete with detachable party hat:

You should so check out her shop, which is full of awesomeness. She has other batling brooches, plus Scrap Bats and more. Do eeet.

In the other swap, the UK Handmade Secret Swap*, I received two adorable sock bats by Dreamknight:

So cute! You should absolutely check out her shop too - dreamknight.etsy.com, for doll clothing and curios :)

I felt the need to journal about these bat swaps (Is journal a verb? It is now.), including the bat sprinkles that came with the batling and a little foam bat sticker that came with the sock bats:

*The UK Secret Swap was organized by UK people on Etsy, and is similar to a secret Santa idea. Basically, all that want to take part tell the organizer, then (s)he finds out from them what type of item they would like to receive. Then, from this information, (s)he works out who should get something from which seller. Each person makes something to send to the person they're allocated, and each person also receives a handmade item for themselves. Yayness ensues.

New things and featurings

2009-03-17T22:11:00.008Z

After months of a kind of creative block, the past few weeks has seen me creating in wire again. Suncatchers featuring some of my favourite themes - hearts, skulls, the rainbow, stars and bats - have been popping up all over the shop.

In addition to this, I have also had my work featured in two places - the 'Gift of Art' Gift Guide campaign on Etsy's front page, in which they've used my 'Turquoise Star' piece:

And also on ACEO Showcase, the new blog from the creator of Cuteable, who has featured my 'Midnight Moon' ACEO:

Wordle

2009-02-17T20:22:00.002Z

I made a Wordle. Looky:

Basically, it's a word cloud made from, in this instance, this blog. Go to http://www.wordle.net to get your own :D

Red Shoes and Resolutions - part 2

2009-02-17T15:20:00.006Z

In a previous post, I mentioned this year's New Year's resolution - to buy something handmade at least once a month. See that post for the inspiration behind this resolution, and for the first of January's purchases - a print from Champignons which I had been coveting for a while. To continue the red shoes theme from that print, I wanted two more prints, the first of which was this beautiful Ruby Slippers piece from Quite Contrary, which I also bought in January:

This month, I was also able to afford to buy this gorgeous print from Linda Boucher:

The two shoe prints above continue the symbolism that was there in the Champignons print. Although her print is called 'Alice in Wonderland', and is about when Alice grew tall from eating cake marked 'Eat Me', the fact that she is wearing red shoes makes me think of The Wizard of Oz, and Dorothy's ruby slippers. Also, the fact that Dorothy and Alice's clothing are very similar means that this figure could be either of these characters. Plus, there needed to be three prints not only because things look better in threes, but also because Dorothy says "There's no place like home" three times while clicking her ruby-slippered heels. Therefore, the hanging of the Alice/Dorothy print with ruby slippers either side seemed quite natural to me. I searched for red-shoe themed prints from UK Etsy sellers, and found the perfect ones. All three prints now hang in my bedroom:

Snow day!

2009-02-02T20:21:00.005Z

Followers of my Twitter may have read that I was "Planning to be very creative" today - in other words, intending to spend the day doing a lot of painting and maybe even a bit of wirework. Well, the snow had other ideas. Much of today has been spent either watching the snow out of the window or actually being out playing in the snow, leaving little time for much else. But no matter. Days like this tend to bring a lot of inspiration, which makes up for the lack of actual work :)

I have in fact got some 'actual work' done today - I've made a start to a painting that will eventually look a bit like the last of the above photos:

I've also made a sinister snowman - don't have nightmares! ;)

Kinver Hearts

2009-02-01T14:11:00.006Z

I've just listed my first printed greetings card - Kinver Hearts. I've been wanting to get this image printed for a while, and it finally exists in the form of a card.

The card has come out a little different to the original in colour, but I prefer it. The greys in the sky that you can see above have turned out more purple, which is great. Visit the listing here.

Just over a year ago, I blogged a little about the series of artworks that inspired this piece - visit the post here. It all started with this photograph, taken at Kinver Edge in the Midlands:

Shortly afterwards, I painted this piece. I opened up the negative space a little, allowing for a colourful sunset to be seen behind the plants:

Using that canvas as inspiration, I painted a similar scene in my art journal in watercolours and acrylics:

I experimented with that a little, adding an extra layer in acetate:

I also edited the photograph of the original, stretching it out:

Then playing with the contrast and adding hearts:

The original painting was originally to be for sale but we (that is, my boyfriend and I) liked it so much that we kept it.

I still wanted it to be for sale in some form though, hence these greetings cards (yes, there will be more!). I'm looking into getting prints of many of my paintings made too, of which Kinver will be one. There will also be a Kinver Hearts print - watch this space.

Red shoes and resolutions

2009-01-10T15:16:00.006Z

In amongst my more predictable New Year's resolutions, such as losing weight, I've come across a much more appealing idea - buying handmade. The idea came while browsing through the fabulous Hippy Of Doom's Flickr photos - she mentions in the description of this photo (an image of a pendant by the equally fabulous All Those Threes) that her resolution for 2008 was "buying something handmade for myself every month". A far more enjoyable (and doable) resolution than the well-meaning yet unrealistic ones that involve denying oneself things. As Hippy herself says, "I highly recommend it as a resolution - I have SO much awesome stuff now!"

So I'm looking forward to a year of awesome stuff, starting with this beautiful print by Champignons. I've been coveting it for months and have finally, with a little bit of Christmas money, been able to buy it.

Things are better in threes though (or so my OCD tells me), so there's going to be a row of three framed prints, all on the theme of red shoes. This print, by Quite Contrary, should be appearing in my house next week, no doubt chanting "There's no place like home". Although I'd be somewhat worried if a print could talk.

January Sale

2009-01-01T13:29:00.004Z

Happy new year to everyone! To celebrate 2009, I am having a January sale at Sneddoniart. For this month only, everything in store has 20% off. Click below to visit:

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
Sneddoniart.etsy.com

Many items are still on sale in the other shop too - just visit The great 7 dollar sale section.

Boris and Barrowman

2008-12-26T20:55:00.005Z

The good people at Etsy's Dark Side have featured my wire-wrapped spider pendant 'Boris' on their MySpace blog!

Boris is 'Item of the Day' today, which is fab, and has lifted me out of my post-Christmas moop somewhat. I have no reason to be in a moop really - I have things to look forward to, such as seeing family over the coming days. My man and I are also going to see the fabulous John Barrowman in panto next Tuesday. We saw him in Aladdin last year, which was great, and can't wait to see him in Robin Hood :D

Paper Snowflakes

2008-12-16T19:09:00.004Z

Inspired by this blog entry by the fabulous Lupin, I've created some paper snowflake garlands:

Ever the reuser of things, I've cut them from old envelopes, and the result is quite pleasing. I've deliberately not used completely blank pieces of paper, allowing there to be a little pattern on some of the snowflakes. For example, many envelopes have a blue pattern on the inside, which gives a lovely icy effect. Things such as postmarks give interesting detail too. I've woven white thread through the holes in the snowflakes, making them into a garland and allowing them to be hung. You could make lots of them so they form a curtain like Lupin's. I may well do just that too :)

Fuzzy Bats

2008-12-15T23:18:00.005Z

My Pink Fuzzy Bat has been reduced! No, it hasn’t shrunk (noes!) – its price is just smaller. Hurrah! This gothic yet contemporary pendant is made from silver-plated wire, a pink felt bead, and pink leather-like cord. I’ve reduced it from $30 to $20. Click below for the listing:

My other Fuzzy Bats have not been reduced, but they are still just as fabulous. Each one has been made from silver wire, leather cord and a felt bead. Click the individual images for each listing:

All Fuzzy Bats come shipped in a little recycled box, as do all my necklaces.

Your item can also be gift-wrapped and shipped straight to your intended recipient, if it is a present. Just let me know. :)

In other news, my parents very kindly took some of my work to a little charity table-top sale (my Dad is the Treasurer for a charity called Ebrook, which helps people who have learning difficulties) for me, and sold £35 worth of necklaces. Thanks folks :D

Hanley Park

2008-12-13T12:05:00.006Z

There was a park I used to walk home through as a student in Stoke-on-Trent. It was a longer walk than just going up the road, but it was a lot more peaceful. I would sketch, collect twigs and take photos there, it was a great source of inspiration. A few weeks ago, I was looking through some of those old photos and did some work in my art journal about them:

I've recently painted an artwork based on the second of those sketchbook pieces. It's called Hanley Park and depicts trees, and the dark ground from which they grow, silhouetted against a pale sky:

Chaos - the clear-up continues

2008-12-07T22:53:00.005Z

Yes, I know I wrote the original 'Chaos' post in June (see it here), but the tidying of the studio is still a work in progress. I have been worryingly tidy/clean around the house this weekend though, prompting my long-suffering boyfriend to say "Who are you and what have you done with Jen?". Various surfaces (including tops of wardrobes and such) have been tidied and dusted to make room for copious amounts of storage and festive paraphernalia. I have also rearranged my studio storage, putting my paintings in a space rather more accessible than the previous stacked boxes on top of shelves arrangement. (I am yet to have a sale in my shop of paintings, so this need for organisation of paintings is purely theoretical. It's good to be prepared, nonetheless.) There's also a lot more floor space in which to manoeuvre now, which is good, as I am rather clumsy.

No, you can't see photos of the relative tidiness, it's not quite that nice yet. So here is a photo of our Christmas tree instead:

Mushroom mushroom

2008-11-19T21:20:00.004Z

I've been struck with a desire to paint toadstools today. It's all DW's fault. Yes, the fabulous Devil's Wallpaper is having a closing down sale, which led to me lusting after this piece, of which I already have a badge version:

I love the fact that the inspiration came from actual conjoined mushrooms. As DW says: "I found some Siamese mushrooms at the supermarket, so I naturally took them home to draw them. Then I realised that they made a heart shape... and what would be even better would be fly agaric mushrooms, because then they would make a love heart. So that's what I did." Aww!

I've loved toadstools since I was a kid - they always reminded me of fairies and such. I have a little collection of toadstool things dotted around the house:

This collection includes the Toadstool Footstool, as previously blogged about here. It sits under my chair in my studio, which is very handy as, being short, my feet don't touch the floor.

That footstool was created by EsmeArt for the UK Etsy Challenge, as was this wee thing:

I loved what everyone made for that mushroom challenge, and that has kicked off my recent love for shrooms. And seeing DW's Mushrooms of Love today has inspired a little sprinkling of shrooms in my art journal:

And, in case you wondered where the name of this post came from, watch this:

An unlikely source of inspiration

2008-11-07T12:58:00.004Z

A few days ago I took inspiration from an unlikely source - a Wallace & Gromit poster on my wall.

Much as I love them, they've never inspired me to paint before, but looking at the background of that image I had an idea.

I'd been looking for something different to paint, something other than the trees and sunsets. So this simple landscape was a solution to that.

It's not a huge departure from my usual style, but it's something a little different. And it's inspired quite a few works in progress.

As has this sketchbook piece, painted a few days before, which was also an attempt to do something different (this attempt to do something different still ended up in painting trees though, lol).

I'm now newly inspired to paint, after a bit of a dry spell. Which is no bad thing.

A very skully Christmas

2008-10-08T21:27:00.004+01:00

You may have read my previous post about this piece, Skully Tree:

Well, the skully goodness doesn't stop there. I have more skully decorations to adorn your home at Christmas, Halloween or all year round:

Why not decorate your tree, and indeed your whole home in a more Gothic style at Christmas? Search "skull" in my shop for more. Plus, look out for other skully things coming very soon, including skully stars.

Post inspired by a fellow Deviant's comments on this piece.

New Christmas decoration - Skully Tree

2008-09-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

Christmas is getting ever closer, and over the past few weeks I've been listing a few festive goodies. The latest to arrive in my Etsy shop is a piece called Skully Tree:

If you're a Gothic type, you might want a darker look to your home at Christmas, or if you like rich colours and quirky details, this piece would also fit in well. It's made of steel wire, red glass beads and plastic skull beads, and it has a hanging loop of red ribbon. It could be hung by a window to catch the sunlight, on a wall or perhaps on a door, or of course on your Christmas tree.

Take a look at my Etsy shop for more Christmas goodies:

And, if you live in the UK, you can also buy my Christmas goodies at Folksy:

Plus, take a look at all three of my shops for unique handmade Christmas gifts:

http://sneddonia.etsy.com
http://sneddoniart.etsy.com
http://www.folksy.com/shops/Sneddonia

Recycled Packaging

2008-09-22T10:50:00.000+01:00

As I have mentioned here in a previous post, reclaimed materials are an important part of what I do. I not only reuse old jewellery in my work, but I also try to use old packaging wherever possible. So I keep all the bubble wrap, boxes, jiffy bags, tissue paper and other packaging that I receive through the post, and reuse it when I mail out my work.

I store the tissue paper in this little table:

My work gets wrapped up in reused paper and packaging to be posted:

I have recently been advised to start using gift boxes to give my jewellery a more professional edge and, while this is of course a good idea, I was unsure about it because that would involve buying new boxes rather than reusing old ones. The solution came when I was watching Dragons' Den one evening and saw the Tiny Box Company's pitch. I'd heard of them before, and, while watching the pitch, admired their commitment to using purely recycled materials in the manufacture of their boxes. I placed an order with them, and received some lovely purple boxes that I was very happy with. A couple of days ago I put my Black Fuzzy Bat in the post in one of them:

Now that little bat is all wrapped up and off to America!

Size Does Matter - ACEOs vs huge paintings

2008-09-04T20:44:00.000+01:00

Excuse the slightly clichéd title, but this post is about size, in part at least :) Lately, it has occurred to me that I'm painting smaller and smaller paintings now. What's made me think about it is the fact that some of my ACEOs have migrated from my DaWanda shop to my Etsy shop (as will the entire contents of my DaWanda shop over time).

Looking at them has inspired me to create more of these miniature works of art. There seems to be something very appealing about making something so small.

The fact that they're cute is I suppose the simple, rather girlie, answer to what I find appealing about them. Another reason is that it's a challenge to paint something so small, and therefore detailed. Don't get me wrong - I love large works of art too, but not all art has to be huge.

It's occurred to me lately that, while I now paint tiny things, my art teacher actually spent a lot of time trying to make me paint larger, which is funny in a way. At school I was told to paint on larger paper, for what reason I don't remember. She need not have spent so long trying to make me paint larger anyway - with all the life-drawing classes, Visual Studies and other art classes I went on to do at college, working on larger paper was a natural progression. She also said I should work more in 3D, and she was actually right there. Back in school it was all about trying to work to a brief set by an exam paper, which was what made me afraid to experiment (with sculpture) back then. Leaving school and coming to a rather different environment like college triggered more experimentation in my work, not least because there was so much more to try there. I specialised in three-dimensional pieces towards the end of college, working in ceramics and then metalwork, finally going on to uni to study Crafts. Again I specialised in metalwork there, also dabbling in ceramics and other media.

The main theme running through my work there was organic shapes, including metal sculpture such as copper trees. After uni I continued with these, finding my way back to painting via the trees.

Now it was on my terms - I didn't have to paint some incredibly detailed thing to try and pass an exam. It was liberating really. And now, I can paint tiny little things if I want. Now that I've come back to painting, outside of an educational context, I have developed my own style, which is a lot simpler than anything I ever painted at school. In the past few years, through both education and experimentation, I've developed my own style in all of my work. I don't doubt that my work will change in as yet unforeseen ways in the next few years too.

Front Page Glory!

2008-09-02T12:47:00.000+01:00

Brierley Sunset made it to Etsy's front page! Sneddoniart's first FP, awww :)

Many thanks to PennyDog, Hippy and PaisleyChainsaw for letting me know. And thanks of course to TickledPinkKnits for creating this Treasury list!

The great $7 sale

2008-08-21T13:24:00.000+01:00

There's a sale in my shop! Check it out here.

Most of the items would make great Christmas decorations, so you could stock up for Christmas. Or you could maybe brighten up your house with the suncatchers, bringing a little summer sun indoors.

Or add a little humour to your outfit with my Spidey pendant.

7 is a lucky number, so why not get lucky at my $7 sale!

Toadstool Footstool and Fuzzy Bats

2008-08-17T16:23:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I got this gorgeous item from the lovely Esme of PaisleyChainsaw, EsmeArt and StyleMissile:

It's a Toadstool Footstool, made for the UK Etsy Challenge, and Esme kindly gave it to me for FREE! Yays :)

I have bought many things from her supplies store:

and recently I was her 100th customer there, so I got fabulous freebies:

Bless her, it's a wonder she makes any money giving away all this free stuff :D

I also wish to pimp a couple of other UK Etsians I've bought things from lately. First up is geegaw.etsy.com, from whom I bought these gorgeous jewel-coloured glass beads:

Also check out her other shop, gugaw.etsy.com from which I bought one of my favourite pairs of earrings:

I love silver, and I love roses, so these are perfect :)

I've been wanting to use felt beads in my work for a while, and finally took the plunge with a 25 bead taster pack from BigFish.etsy.com:

I also got free beads and buttons, yay! BigFish is the colourful, ethical supplies shop of the lovely Kirsty Fish (probably not her real name), and she also runs PaperFish (more colourful goodness) and SnowFish (Christmas goodness).

The new material deserved a new design, and I've created something a little more minimal than my usual work. Here's what I've made with the felt beads so far:

These little winged furballs are called Fuzzy Bats, and are for sale here.

Thanks for reading, and happy shopping!

Looking forward to autumn

2008-08-15T13:42:00.000+01:00

Rather than wanting the funny weather we've been having lately to go back to proper summer, I seem to be in the odd position of wanting it to get colder. At the moment, in the house at least, I'm trying to keep warm, which puts me in mind of cosy yet stylish clothes. I want it to be autumn so that I can wear my little tartan skirt with opaque tights and a big chunky cardi, or snuggle up in similarly lovely warm clothes, such as the two H&M cord jackets I now own (one's a rich purple, the other's a mossy green, in case you wondered). This is partly the fault of fashion magazines such as Elle. I'm reading all about a/w fashions, my favourite being Goth of course, and wanting to wear them all.

I love this photoshoot from Elle:

I love tartan, and the way they've styled it there is great. Dark, playful and glamorous all at the same time.

I read a lot of fashion mags and sometimes the fashion does not inspire me. I'm not really a dedicated follower of fashion, so the fact that summer's all-in-ones and nauticals didn't interest me was not really a problem. But when what I see in those glossy pages strikes a chord, I'm all over it. I'm loving this new Dark Romance trend. That kind of feminine-with-a-hard-edge look that says Goth to me is one of the strongest themes that runs through my work, so the fact that this look is in fashion is a bit of a bonus.

I've dedicated a large chunk of my moodboard to this new, darker mood in fashion:

Inspired by this, I have created this Gothic Rose charm necklace:

I love the combination of black and red, as it always looks striking. Plastic stars and skulls add a bit of fun to the piece, while a vintage Lucite rose adds a little old-fashioned romance. Find it for sale here.

For more Gothic pieces, search Goth in my shop. Also, for more work from my fellow Dark Side members and myself, search etsydarkteam on Etsy.

Thank you for reading.

Repurposeful Crafts

2008-07-31T15:22:00.000+01:00

As a varied artist and designer/maker, I like to work in a variety of media. Therefore, reclaimed materials are an important part of what I do, as I take inspiration from what I find.

I love using reclaimed materials in my work. The idea of giving new life to an old, unwanted piece of jewellery intrigues me. I take the bus up to Stourbridge and scour the charity shops for interesting old jewellery to repurpose into new.

These second-hand pieces have their own unique qualities, which bring something different to a new creation. The style that these old pieces of jewellery already have can inspire the style of new piece. For example, the original look of the second-hand beaded chain in these necklaces inspired the forms that the finished pieces eventually took:

My love of salvage means that you can expect to find reused chain, beads, and other found materials in many of my items (search "repurposed" in my shop for a few of those).

As well as salvaging jewellery for its aesthetic qualities, I am also interested in reusing materials for environmental reasons. I believe that reusing is the best form of recycling, as it is the best way to reduce waste. I feel that it is important to protect the environment by reusing and recycling wherever I can. The reusing of materials is something that I am committed to, not only in my work but also at home. Old sauce jars become containers for paintbrushes, old cereal boxes are cut up to become magazine files, old fruit containers become containers for craft supplies, the list goes on. I think the old adage of "Waste not, want not" is a great one to follow.

*******

Posting the above in a couple of other blogs on Sunday made me want to do a bit of thrift shopping. So yesterday I popped into Stourbridge and bought a few things from the charity shops:

Earlier today I finished a necklace, which started life as the above bracelet. I took the bracelet apart, then put it together as one long chain:

I then added a beaded heart and vintage Lucite charms, and created this piece:

To hang from the thrifted steel chain, I created a beaded heart pendant from steel wire and emerald green glass beads. This heart measures 6cm (just under 2.5") high and is 5cm (2") high. The whole necklace measures 56cm (22") long, although it can be as short as you like, as the lobster clasp can be fastened through any of the chain's links. Find it for sale here.

Another new shop - Folksy

2008-07-21T21:48:00.000+01:00

I've recently joined a new site called Folksy. It's still in its beta infancy, just like Etsy was not so long ago. The best bit about it is that it's UK based. So finally I can list my items in pounds, yay!

Click below for my Folksy shop:

(button made by the lovely KMC, hurrah)

I've adopted Folksy as the new home for my tree sculptures. Here's what I've listed there so far:

Truly Handmade - a craft fair

2008-07-14T00:14:00.000+01:00

On Saturday the 19th of July, I'll be at a craft fair in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. It's called Truly Handmade, and has been organised by fellow UK Etsian LittleGemsUK. For sale at the fair, there will be jewellery, bags, cards, candles, food and more from some fine West Midlands artisans. There will also be refreshments provided, so come along to St James’ Church Hall in Mere Green for a great day out. Opening times are 10am-3pm.

Visit the website for more information:

Organised Chaos - The To-Do List

2008-07-07T01:16:00.000+01:00

For someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I'm extremely messy. But within that mess there will be little obsessively organised bits. Things like organising CDs in alphabetical order. Although I don't do that any more, it's a good example of things I do to try and feel like I have some control over my chaos. Another example is the making of lists. This also has to do with having a bad memory - if I don't write it down I forget it. So, with that in mind, I shall write my to-do list before I forget:

Organise the studio:
Throw away/ give to Flickr swap group/ give to charity/ sell what I don't need
Work out some storage solutions for what I do need to keep
A place for everything and everything in its place

Get ready for craft fair:
Work out how display will look - table will be 6ft x 2.5ft
Visit charity shops for inexpensive displays
Possibly visit venue for ideas

Work out brand identity:
Good marketing
Good photos - less nonsense on Flickr!
Lifestyle
Darker images on pinboard for inspiration
Stop trying to follow fashion!

Get a job

Lose weight

blah blah blah :)

Secret Swap

2008-07-02T21:12:00.000+01:00

I recently participated in the fabulous UK Secret Swap. Organized by UK people on Etsy, the UK Secret Swap is similar to a secret Santa idea. Basically, all that want to take part tell the organizer, then he finds out from them what type of item they would like to receive. Then, from this information, he works out who should get something from which seller. Each person makes something to send to the person they're allocated, and each person also receives a handmade item for themselves. If that makes sense!

I sent out a beaded heart to the lovely designsbylucy:

And received a gorgeous tiara from the fabulous bizzybeetrinkets:

It was rather exciting getting the package. She'd put little hand-drawn flower stickers on it:

And when I opened it up there was, in this beautiful little box,

a little tiara,

and a little pin:

I have no idea when I will wear this tiara, apart from modelling it for Flickr photos of course,

but, as Bee says in the thank you note, "I know a tiara isn't the most practical of items but I wear mine when washing up and you have such fabby hair that I couldn't help but make you one." Bless her :D

Day2Day - Take Five Ordinary Beauty

2008-06-28T01:06:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I joined a lovely little group on Flick called Day2Day - Take Five Ordinary Beauty. The group is dedicated to the beauty of ordinary things, a concept I am very interested in myself. As an artist, I see the beauty in everything (or at least try to), and therefore look forward to participating in this group in future weeks. So here's my first five days:

I love painting, and often feel that the paint palette can become an artwork in itself. An idea which inspired Monday's shot:

Lying back on the sofa in my boyfriend's games room, I noticed the interesting patterns created by the old lampshade on the ceiling. Hence Tuesday's photo:

I took Wednesday's photo for the simple fact that I love my bed (I'm quite lazy). I've been wanting this beautiful item for months, and my man finally bought it for us last weekend:

The fourth day, Thursday, is nothing more conceptual than ornaments in our living room:

Friday was another lazy day, and I thought my sparkly new slippers and favourite black PJ bottoms symbolised that quite well:

There's been no real visual theme to these first 5 days, but I look forward to a few themed weeks :) Thank you to Abiban for starting this rather interesting group!

Sneddoniart

2008-06-25T13:40:00.000+01:00

I have a new shop for my paintings. Find it at sneddoniart.etsy.com

I currently have paintings for sale - some are mini canvases, some are larger pieces. I will soon have ACEOs and more for sale, so watch this space:

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
Sneddoniart.etsy.com

My DaWanda art shop still exists, but it'll be the Etsy shop that gets updated most often.

Sneddonia Designs at The Starkeeper Part 3 - The End

2008-06-24T19:44:00.000+01:00

Sadly the beautiful shop to which I gave some of my creations has had to close. Which is of course bad news. However, I like to try and turn the negative into positive, and there is another way to look at this. The things that they once had (seen on the right, hung on one of my tree sculptures) can now be made available to you via Etsy. Yays :) Starting with my Repurposeful Suncatcher, which I've blogged about previously, here. Click below for the listing:

Chaos

2008-06-21T12:47:00.000+01:00

A couple of days ago, I received a message on Flickr from someone called aniuszka. As she said to me,

"hello,

my name is ania and i´m doing a research about chaos on the desk. i would describe myself as a very messy and chaotic person. in my diploma work i´m dealing with the topic how to handle chaos in an effective way, but without getting neat.
i saw your chaotic desk picture on flickr and would like to ask you for help. i would be very happy you could answer me these quetions. it would help me a lot!"

At first I wasn't sure how to take this. Does my workspace look that chaotic? Well, yes, of course it does :) I'm glad she contacted me, because it is a subject that interests me. As a very messy person, I am fascinated by tidy people's homes, and how on earth they keep it that way. Tidy people, however, aren't hoarders like me. I can't throw anything away! As a result of this, I am frequently looking for things and just not finding them. This is of course the worst place to be in a workspace. Anyway, he's her questions and my answers:

1. is your chaos a problem for you or do you handle it well?

Most of the time it is a problem to be honest! Although I like to think that creativity is born from chaos, I imagine the opposite is often true. I don't believe in all the rules of Feng Shui, but I do believe in the basic idea that energy can flow better when there is less clutter. To look at mess can be quite stressful and claustrophobic. If my home was tidier, I know I would be a calmer person.

2. why does your chaos break out?

The simple fact that I own way too much stuff! I'm a hoarder, and, like most people who hoard things, I'm always thinking that all this stuff could be used for something. Being creative doesn't help there - I'm always thinking I could make something from it all. I try to live by a waste not want not philosophy, but that just means that some of my studio resembles a landfill! It's not that the chaos breaks out, it's more like it never gets reined in.

3. is there something you always know where it is, something you´re never searching for? and is there something you´re always looking for? if yes why?

Yes to both. The items that I use the most are always where I can find them. For example, I keep my paints and brushes on my sideboard, and my beads in a box under the window, right next to where I use those things. Other items also have their place and they always get put back there. However, it often seems hard to find those items that I don't use so much. The solution, of course, would be to have a place for everything, rather than just a place for some things.

4. how do you find the things you´re looking for? have you got any strategies or methods? or do you know any alternative search-for-method?

I agree with the saying "A place for everything and everything in its place." even if I don't yet follow that philosophy. That would be the best method, as I wouldn't have to search for things at all. At the moment though, the best way to find something seems to be retracing my steps. Where was I when I last used the thing? Where might I have stored it last time I tidied?

5. could you imagine something that helps you finding what you´re searching for?

The aforementioned "place for everything" philosophy would be the most help to me.

So I have been inspired to organise my studio. It's a long overdue task.

Repurposeful Jewellery

2008-06-09T14:36:00.000+01:00

I love using reclaimed materials in my work. I take the bus up to Stourbridge and scour the second-hand shops for old jewellery to repurpose into new.

You can therefore expect to find reused chain, beads, and other found materials in many of my items. Search repurposed in my Etsy shop for a few of those, for example:

Sneddonia Designs at The Starkeeper - Part 2

2008-05-24T02:18:00.000+01:00

Remember my recent blog post about my designs in a local shop? The place is called The Starkeeper, and you can find it tucked away in a little side street in Stourbridge town centre:

I've recently been back to the shop, and had a look at how they've displayed everything. I love what they've done! They've had some more stock in too since I last visited, and it really does look gorgeous:

Especially since some of my work is in the window display:

They've also got it on the wall and elsewhere:

So next time you're in the area, why not pay a visit?

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ... S

2008-05-22T14:59:00.001+01:00

Is it Sneddonia? Is it Superman? Is it soup?

Nope:

Now do you know what it is? No, Boris doesn't begin with S. Try again, maybe Rosie can help you:

Now you've got it! Here's another one, the lovely Charlotte:

And another one, the glamorous Astrid, who has woven beads into her web:

Talking of webs, how about some cobweb necklaces? Click the image below for some:

Or maybe a cobweb sculpture or two?

These are great actually, because you can also hang your earrings and things from them:

Thanks for looking :D

A Treasury :D And the Dark Side ...

2008-05-16T22:35:00.000+01:00

Hurrah, I got a Treasury! And it's full of British goodness, look:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=10117

Also, I've joined the Dark Side. No, nothing to do with the Sith. It's a great new Street Team on Etsy, full of shops which sell, as the name suggests, items on the darker side. For Dark Side items, search etsydarkteam on Etsy. Here's some links:

The team page
The team website
MySpace profile
MySpace group
Blogspot
LiveJournal

The team even has its own private forum:
http://etsysdarkside.proboards85.com/index.cgi?
and networking site:
http://etsysdarkside.ning.com/
On which I of course have my own profile:
http://etsysdarkside.ning.com/profile/Sneddonia

So if you love the goth/alternative style, come join us! We don't bite, unless you want us to ;)

Sneddonia on Facebook

2008-04-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

Find my Facebook profile here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1231166824

I've also got a couple of Pages so you can become my fan! Hurrah.

One for my Etsy shop:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sneddonia-Designs/15817885078
And one for my DaWanda shop:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sneddonia/13295433740

I've also, as mentioned in my previous post, joined Fashion Central. I've since joined indiepublic too.

http://www.fashioncentralcommunity.com/profile/Sneddonia
http://indiepublic.ning.com/profile/Sneddonia

New Things!

2008-04-19T22:05:00.000+01:00

I've joined yet another social networking site (alongside MySpace, Facebook and VampireFreaks). This one's called Fashion Central and is rather fabulous. I joined about a week ago, and it seems cool so far. As the name suggests, it's all to do with fashion, and there's all kinds on there - designers, jewellers, models, photographers, etc. Seemed like a good place to network and promote oneself, so I joined.

I actually found out about it from the lovely Bunny who posted her profile on the Etsy forums. So thank you to her!

Also, I've started to make a few changes to my Etsy shop. It will have a darker theme, with richer colours used to photograph my work on, and some new items that are more gothic in style, for example this fella:

I'm trying to get some great colour combinations going in the thumbnails, just so the shop is as visually appealing as it can be. Rich, strong colours very occasionally punctuated by a pale blue or something, like these:

Which just happen to be the newest items in my shop :)

I'm an April Fool!

2008-04-03T22:24:00.001+01:00

And not just for posting this a couple of days after the 1st, lol. On April Fools' Day itself, I went into work just before 12, thinking that's when I started. I came downstairs to look at the rota and see where I was, and the manager then informed me I wasn't due in til 6! Doh. So I pootled around the shops then came home again. At least I got a few decent photos on my way in, so it wasn't an entirely wasted journey!

I've also nearly finished a necklace I've been working on for a while, called Charlotte. Why Charlotte? Well, I asked folks for ideas for names for my necklaces, and some UK Etsy friends came up with Charlotte, as in Charlotte's Web. All it needs now is a little more wire, which I've ordered off t'internet. Here it is so far:

Talking of spiders, I've just made a new spidery suncatcher. Astrid is the little sister of Rosie. She is also a glamourous little thing, takes after her big sis, and is of course not scary at all, like some spiders can be. Because she likes anything pretty, she has woven beads into her web.

I made Astrid from two beads, one glass and one plastic, with steel wire threaded through and wrapped around them. This wire attaches it to the steel part of her cobweb. This cobweb was made from more steel wire, with copper wire and a mixture of glass and plastic beads in shades of green and blue. This cobweb has a loop at the top, to hang it from.

Also, Doctor Who's back on Saturday, yay!

Glass Moon - a painted suncatcher

2008-03-31T16:07:00.000+01:00

Just last night I finished a new suncatcher. I make lot of suncatchers, usually from wire and beads, but this one was quite different. It involved painted glass, which is a technique I haven't used for quite a while. I used to do it all the time. This time though, I've not done it in the usual way. How you're supposed to do it is put the outliner on the glass then, after it has dried, put the paint in between where the outliner is, to look like stained glass with lead. I instead just painted onto the glass straight away, painting over the outliner in places and using it on top of the paint in others, to give it extra texture and colour.

I started off with a rectangle of glass, which was originally in this frame. I don't like to waste anything! I painted this glass with blue glass paint:

then painted a moon onto that with white glass paint:

After I'd let that dry, I then wrapped steel wire around the edges of the glass to form a frame, and also something from which to hang this piece:

I then painted a tree onto the glass, painting over some of the wire. This wire forms a frame for this painting and also gives more texture to the tree. I also painted silver-coloured outliner on top of the tree to echo the colour of the steel wire, and add to the texture. This suncatcher measures 17cm (6.5") wide by 13cm (5") high.

It's for sale here.

Jewellery at reduced prices

2008-03-28T21:25:00.000Z

As if my jewellery wasn't bargainous enough, I've just reduced two of my necklaces. First is my Spidey necklace, which is either a stylised version of Spiderman's face or a ninja, depending on how you want to look at it. Click the image below for the listing:

He's been reduced from $10 to $8 :D

Next is my Double Star Necklace, which features two stars, hung on black suede cord. As the soft suede cord the pendants hang on is adjustable, the pendants can be moved around so that the wire star sits on top of the other star, or so that the two elements are apart, however you want to wear it. Click the image below for the listing:

That one's been reduced from $20 to $15 :D

Don't forget my other necklaces. They're not reduced but they are still rather good value:

All available at sneddonia.etsy.com

Happy shopping!

New jewellery designs

2008-03-27T15:41:00.000Z

Introducing my latest jewellery designs:

Arachlace

A triptych of copper cobwebs, hinged to each other with jump rings, hang from copper chain to make this gothic necklace. The repurposed chain the webs hang from is a darker shade than the new copper wire I've used to make the webs, so I've annealed the middle web to match this. The smaller webs I've left shiny to contrast with this. The whole necklace, including the webs, measures 45cm (about 17.5") long.

Click here for the Etsy listing

Rosie

Some spiders are scary. Not Rosie. She is a glamorous pink spider, hanging not on a web, but from a silver chain. Her dream would be to adorn one of your outfits. Like I said, she is a glamour girl :) I created this spider from pink-coated jewellery wire. She measures 6cm (just under 2.5") long by 5cm (2") wide, and hangs from a 44.5cm (17.5") sterling silver chain.

Click here for the Etsy listing

Purple Star

I made the main star for this necklace from silver wire and three beads in glass and Amethyst. Hanging from this pendant is a smaller star, a steel one, repurposed from another necklace. The large star hangs from two loops that are attached to purple cord.

Click here for the Etsy listing

All these designs, and more are available in my Etsy shop

I got a Treasury!

2008-03-12T15:46:00.001Z

Wow. For the first time in, I don't know how long, I managed to get a Treasury on Etsy. Yay! I've featured some of my favourite items from fellow UK Etsians, in one of my favourite types of pattern, polka dot.

Click here to see it!

I've been tagged! Part 1.

2008-03-11T19:57:00.000Z

The lovely Lost has tagged me. So now I have to tell you 7 random/weird facts about me. So here goes:

1. I have mild OCD (if it's possible to have a 'mild' form of it). Things have to be in threes, fives, sevens or thirteens. For example I'll say "Ooh I'll just eat three chocolates." Then I'll have 3. Then 5. Etc. :) Also, if I touch a part of me I have to touch the other side. So if I knock my foot, I have to knock the other foot in the same way. There are many other ways it manifests itself too.

2. I am worryingly forgetful. I'll go into a room and forget what I went in for, or open a tab and forget what website I was going to open in it.

3. Related to the previous post (and probably the OCD), I write a lot of lists.

4. I shop in charity shops a lot.

5. I'm pretty shy irl, which people often mistake for rudeness (I think, anyway. No-one actually tells me so.).

6. I'm very messy, but I love organisation - magazines into files, beads into compartmenty boxes, etc.

7. I love pear cider.

The rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here's the 7 others:

http://abibansal.blogspot.com/
http://thedevilswallpaper.blogspot.com/
http://illustratorjen.blogspot.com/
http://moocowhandknits.blogspot.com/
http://moopf.wordpress.com/
http://kezzaroo.blogspot.com/
http://lmdesigns.blogspot.com/

Why is it Part 1? Well, I've been tagged two other times, so I shall be posting more facts very soon!

Batty Moon - a mixed-media painting on canvas

2008-03-05T23:46:00.000Z

In the end, I didn't add bats to that sketchbook piece, but I did draw this, using charcoal pencil and normal HB pencil, to get an idea of how the painting might look:

So, using the above sketch and my previous moon painting as inspiration,

I painted this piece, Batty Moon, using acrylics, silvery poster paint, liquid watercolour and blue glitter glue. It depicts a cloud of bats, silhouetted against a bright full moon, in a dark blue night sky:

The dark colours of the sky continue over the sides of the canvas on which this is painted, as do the shimmer of the blue glitter and the bat detail, to give one continuous block of colour. This means that this piece does not need to be framed. This square box canvas measures 15cm square by just under 4cm deep.

Find it for sale here.

New designs - a full moon and a starry necklace

2008-03-03T23:59:00.000Z

I'm working on a series of artworks at the moment, based on this piece:

Each will have a full moon motif:

Both the above sketchbook piece and square canvas are to have bats on, but the other piece is finished:

One of my favourite sights in the sky is when the moon is full, and the sky is cloudy. When the clouds part, and the moonlight catches on them, it looks magical to me.

This piece depicts a bright full moon in a cloudy, dark blue night sky. It was painted in acrylics, silvery poster paint and liquid watercolour. The colours of the sky continue over the sides of the canvas on which this is painted, to give one continuous block of colour. This means that it does not need to be framed. This small canvas measures 12cm (7") high by 18cm (5") wide:

Find it for sale here.

I've also recently listed a new necklace in my Etsy shop. To create this long chain, I re-assembled a chain from another necklace. I then added the twisted steel wire and pink beads. The pink star beads were repurposed from an old necklace, and the round pink bead was from an old bracelet. The pink star pendant was from a keyring.

The chain itself measures 82cm (about 32.5") long, and the main star pendant measures 3cm (just over 1") high.

Find it for sale here.

New design - a long star necklace

2008-02-26T19:34:00.000Z

My latest design:

To create this long chain, I re-assembled a beaded chain from another necklace. I then made a star from steel wire and red beads, plus another wire star. I added these, plus two metal flowers, a small metal star and a red glass bead to the chain. The chain itself measures 76cm (about 30") long, and the main star pendant measures 5cm (about 2") high.

It's a great way to look individual, yet still on-trend. This long star necklace is fashionable, yet different to the jewellery you'll find in the shops :)

I also have another star necklace for sale. As the soft suede cord its pendants hang on is adjustable, this one can also be worn long, or adjusted to be worn short. This means that the pendants can be moved around, so that the wire star can sit on top of the plastic star, or so that the two elements are apart, however you want to wear it. Click below to go to its listing:

Don't forget my other necklaces, all of which are also adjustable:

All available at sneddonia.etsy.com

Happy shopping!

Pretty Flowers!

2008-02-23T17:55:00.000Z

I'm such a girl :D

I love these type of brooches, and I'd had an eye on a few on Etsy for a while. I finally settled on the two above, from the lovely
clothcat.etsy.com and charlottenarunsky.etsy.com

Apart from buying things, I've also started a new job at New Look today. Eeek! No, it was good really :D

Sneddonia Designs at The Starkeeper

2008-02-21T14:38:00.000Z

I visited a shop in Stourbridge with some of my work today, and they've taken some :) This shop is called The Starkeeper, and sells lovely gifts, jewellery, suncatchers, candles and other things. It even has a fairy section!

The items I've given them include:

Plus items similar to these:

Well that was short and sweet ...

2008-02-20T14:39:00.000Z

That had to be the shortest unemployment in the history of me. Acme let me go on the first of this month, and I've been offered a job at New Look today :D So I start on Saturday.

In other news, I've done a new design:

I've named it Repurposeful Suncatcher, because almost everything in it has been re-purposed. It measures just over a foot long, and consists of gems and beads hanging from, and held together by, chain and twisted steel wire. The blue glass beads and steel wire are new, but the other components are not. The purple plastic beads were originally part of a bracelet, and the chain and faceted plastic gems were re-purposed from this belt:

It's not available on Etsy, (it's been given to a bricks and mortar shop) but something very similar will be soon. I also have a few other suncatchers similar to it. Click the image to go to those, and my other suncatchers:

The Escape

2008-02-17T18:51:00.000Z

For the past few days, I've been working on a painting called "The Escape", so called because it depicts a tree escaping from its frame. I'd bought a second-hand frame I bought from a charity shop, and took a while deciding what to do with it. I remembered an idea I'd had for continuing a painting onto its frame, so I made a start:

First I sanded the varnish off the frame:

Then added some woodstain:

After adding a thin coat of blue woodstain, I painted some branches onto the green, using glass outliner:

After painting the piece to go inside this frame:

I then added a trunk onto the green, using glass outliner, and painted a coppery brown within the outliner:

After that I felt that it perhaps needed more blue, to balance out the inside, so I tried a couple of things:

In the end, however, I decided not to add birds or butterflies.

To finish the piece I wrapped some copper wire around the frame to hang it from. The curves and colours of the copper I feel compliment the glass outliner on the frame:

This piece is for sale here on DaWanda.

Painted hearts and beaded Valentines

2008-01-27T12:13:00.000Z

Looking for something to buy your loved one this Valentine's Day? Look no further. I have a range of heart canvases up for sale in my DaWanda shop. Click the link to go there:

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Sneddonia

There will soon be hand painted cards in the same style.

I also have pendants, suncatchers and even a little heart hook for sale in my Etsy shop. Click the images to go there:

Happy Valentine's!

New Year, New Art

2008-01-12T19:57:00.000Z

So what have I been up to since I last blogged? Working very hard for Acme Jewellery, mostly. But all work and no play makes Jen a dull girl, so I've had a few decent nights out too, including seeing Madness on the 12th Dec and Aladdin (a panto starring John Barrowman) on 20th Dec. Yayness! With them, plus Bill Bailey and Alice Cooper, I've had a busy winter :D

I started a new project in the Christmas holidays too. The actual paintings have nothing to do with this, but me starting to paint again was inspired by reading Anthony Keidis's autobiography. He described how he and the rest of the Chilis lived in a house while writing Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and that John would be painting in his room there. Just the word 'painting' made me want to paint stuff, so the next day I started off a new sketchbook of paintings, little ideas for future canvases.

The first page of the sketchbook is a version of this canvas (click the image for a little more about this piece):

Using that canvas as inspiration, I painted a similar scene in watercolours and acrylics:

I traced the outline of the tree onto a piece of acetate with a marker, then added to this using copper-coloured glass outliner. I cut a hole in the top of the plastic, then attached it to the rings of my sketchbook with black ribbon.

The next page. Painted in watercolours:

When I was in college, a few years ago, one of the things the tutors had us doing was drawing the negative space around a figure, rather than the figure itself. I've come back to this idea, painting the sky around the tree rather than the tree itself.

I'll have more of these soon, plus some canvases and Valentines cards based on them.

I love rock n roll

2007-11-25T14:44:00.000Z

Indeed I do. It's been a while since I last blogged, and what a time I've had since. I started a great job making jewellery in August, so I've been having fun there. Not only that, but I saw Joan Jett, Motorhead and Alice Cooper on the 10th of November. I also saw Bill Bailey last Friday. What can I say, the man is sheer brilliance. And I'm seeing Madness on the 12th December. Yay! And then it's Christmas! I'm a happy bunny.

Talking of Christmas, I have lots of Christmassy goodies for sale on Etsy. Click the image below to go to my shop:

Check the "Christmas" and "Beaded Suncatchers" sections for things to make your tree and the rest of your home look gorgeous.

Happy shopping!

New job, and more ACEOs

2007-08-16T10:27:00.000+01:00

I went for an interview yesterday, for a Jewellery Assembler job at a place called Acme Jewellery. (No, Wile E. Coyote is not one of their customers.) I didn't really know what to expect, as I've never had an interview for that sort of job. I've had so many interviews for retail jobs, so I pretty much know what to do there, but this was different. So I didn't know how to prepare, which made me nervous. Luckily, my enthusiasm for the job must've shown through, because I got it! It was an interesting interview, because they not only interviewed me, they also took me into one of the workshops and showed me what they did. I did a bit of soldering and whatnot, then they asked me a few more questions. Questions like "Could you start on Monday?" To which, I of course said yes! I'm so happy, since jewellery making is my dream job :D

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Recently, I also managed to list the last of my ACEOs:

Which are, of course, for sale in my DaWanda shop.

UK Street Team on Etsy

2007-08-12T13:25:00.000+01:00

I'm a member of Etsy's UK Street Team, (although I really don't do enough promotion!). Some members of this street team are doing a trunk show at Etsy headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. To raise funds for this show, and other events, they've opened a UK Street Team shop. Click the banner to go there:

There are some amazing items there, including beautiful jewellery by Kalicat, BlueMarmalade and Sakurajewellery, a cute little zip-up bag by Urbanknit, fantastic collages by Rosehip71 and Bunny, a pretty little pin cushion by Bombus, a gorgeous felt flower brooch by charlottenarunsky and an ace Little Mr T by Kezzaroo :D

My first art cards

2007-08-08T21:16:00.000+01:00

I've just listed a new ACEO diptych in my DaWanda shop. It looks like this:

and is for sale here.

It's a mini version of a favourite composition of mine, which I've used here and here. It depicts a tree spreading across two cards. The first card shows one side of this tree in daylight, and the other shows the other side of the tree at sunset. The tree on the daylight side has been painted using a mixture of copper poster paint and black acrylic, giving it a metallic sheen that looks different in varying light. The sunset tree is in silhouette, painted in black acrylic, a striking contrast to the bright acrylic colours of the setting sun. As I believe is standard with ACEOs (I did say these were my first!), both of my cards measure 6.5cm (2.5") by 9cm (3.5").

I've also painted a circular art card, on display here:

New on DaWanda

2007-08-07T21:48:00.000+01:00

My latest DaWanda products, pictured below, include Purple Rose, Purple and Green Fire, Darkshines, and my newest listing, Dark Day:

The diptych "Dark Day" is actually a mini version of a previous artwork of mine, Dark Day and its Sunset. That piece is no longer for sale (I love it too much!) but if you'd like a similar one, I'm more than happy to paint that for you :)

Watch this space, I guarantee there'll be more art coming soon, including a Blue Rose painting and more trees.

Thanks for looking!

Get your Halloween goodies early ...

2007-08-04T12:01:00.000+01:00

I know it's a bit early to start thinking about Halloween, but ... What am I saying? It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween!

For some great decorations, check out the new Halloween section in my Etsy shop:

My cobweb necklaces would also be great for Halloween:

And so would this bat-winged t-shirt:

Happy Halloween!

New painting - Red Sky at Night

2007-08-03T16:54:00.000+01:00

This piece came about from a desire to mix two elements of what I do, the painting and the wire sculpture. It is a representation of a tree in silhouette against a red sunset, created using a mixture of acrylic paints and copper-coloured poster paint. I've also used copper wire, which forms part of the structure of the tree. This wire also goes behind the canvas, to attach itself there, and forms a loop at the top for hanging the painting.

For more information, go to the listing at DaWanda.

Art and craft for sale!

2007-08-03T01:53:00.000+01:00

Originally, there was only one place to buy Sneddonia's designs, i.e. sneddonia.etsy.com. There are now two places to buy my work, the
Etsy shop and my recently opened shop on DaWanda. On Etsy, I sell my jewellery, suncatchers and other metalwork, and on DaWanda I'm selling my paintings on canvases and t-shirts. Originally, all these items were available in my Etsy shop, but there was too much variety and the shop didn't seem like a coherent whole. So I opened the new store at DaWanda to create a suitable home for my painted things.

Here's what's for sale there so far:

And something that I just listed today:

Please be aware that all prices on Etsy are in US Dollars and all prices on Dawanda are in Euros. If you want these amounts calculated in your currency, just let me know.

More coming soon, so watch this space ...

Thanks for looking :)