Luli designs Jewelry FREE SHIPPING Sale

All orders in my jewelry shop are shipped worldwide for FREE until January 2nd! It is a great time to buy gifts for yourself with any money you got over the holidays or to buy gifts that you forgot to purchase for other people!

Happy Shopping :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Vancouver and most of Canada for that matter is going to be having a very white Christmas! It has been snowing like crazy for at least the past week and it doesn't look like there is an end in sight. The photo above was taken a few days ago and I think there has been another few feet of snow since then. The snow really does make the city beautiful. I think it is because it all becomes monochromatic so everything just looks good together. It almost looks like the photo is black and white but in fact it was taken in color.

Today was the last day of my advent calendar. I don't have photographs of the next few items but here is the list in case you are interested anyways.
Day 20 - Christmas tree ornament that is a metal cut out of a person playing the guitar.
Day 21 - A polar bear adopted under my name from WWF and with the adoption came the softest toy polar bear that I have ever felt.
Day 22 - Bottle of wine from 1989.
Day 23 - Keychain flash drive.
Day 24 - A key. What the key is for is a secret!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the snow and the holiday season.

A Favorite Restaurant - Queen Mother Cafe, Toronto

Today I received the news that one of my photos from my flickr account has been submitted and accepted to be used in a Toronto guide called Schmap. I took the photo on a walk through Toronto that I did before I left the city to go to Vancouver. Having a record of some of the places that were special to me was really important to me.

Queen Mother Cafe and Sushi Queen, Toronto

Advent Calendar - Day 11 to 19

The build up to the holiday season is such a busy time with all the shopping to do, people to see and I am still selling jewelry to people who are making one on one appointments with me. This has led me to be very late in listing my new advent calendar gifts...oops!

Day 11 - Map of Vancouver because I just moved here
Day 12 - More Purdy's chocolate (only some of it made it to the photo shoot and they all had melted because of being above the fireplace for 12 days!)
Day 13 - A gadget that corks your wine bottle and sucks out the air...very useful.
Day 14 - A Vancouver Canucks Christmas stocking.
Day 15 - A marshmallow head soccer player ornament. This one made me laugh.
Day 16 - The DVD "About a Boy". You can't go wrong with Hugh Grant!
Day 17 - A very yummy smelling candle.
Day 18 - Set for Life scratch tickets (I won another ticket!).
Day 19 - Vanilla essential oil for a burner I have - I love Vanilla.

Hopefully everyone is keeping warm and enjoying the snow (if they have any) in the winter days ahead.

Blythe Loves Christmas Too!

Even Blythe can celebrate the Holiday season by wearing this hand knitted Santa hat made just for her by my talented mother. Hope that everyone is enjoying the lead up to Christmas and are all ready to celebrate with family.

Advent Calendar - Day 5 to 10

This week-end I was away doing my last craft show of the season so I am a little behind on posting about the gifts that I got in my amazing advent calendar. Usually the hope is that you end the season with a bang but I guess this show was not the end of my season because it was not so much a bang as a bore. There were three craft shows going on in the area on the same day and the craft show that I was participating had the least signage. This led to a very boring Saturday. Oh well, it is definitely not something to dwell on and now it is time to concentrate on my etsy shop and selling to local last minute shoppers who contact me directly.

Today I get to tell you about 6 days worth of advent calendar!


Day 5 - Vancouver Canucks Hockey scarf. I am told that if I am living in this city then I have to love the hockey team.
Day 6 - Purdy's chocolate. I feel bad for anyone in this world who has not had the pleasure of trying Purdy's chocolate. It is amazing and 3 out of the 4 chocolates did not make it to the photo shoot this morning!
Day 7 - Gift Card for movie rentals. Renting movies on rainy Vancouver nights is perfect.
Day 8 - I have never owned a Pez dispenser and this one makes me laugh.
Day 9 - Can't wait to find the perfect spot for this very modern, almost sci-fi picture frame.
Day 10 - This gift made me laugh the most. Being a bit of a gamer girl means this Xbox like game controller tree ornament was so appropriate.

Hopefully me posting about my advent calendar gifts will help you to be creative in your gift giving and realize that the biggest most expensive gift is not always the best and that small thoughtful things can often make people the happiest.

Advent Calendar - Day 3 and 4

It is definitely feeling a lot more like winter now here in Vancouver. I went for a walk with my friend and her dog yesterday and I had to wear a jacket, scarf and gloves to stay warm. As soon as a down vest and sweater are not enough to keep warm here I know that the seasons have really changed!
Since I last posted I have opened two more gifts from my advent calendar:

Day 3 - cookie cutters...what says Christmas more than shortbread cookies!!
Day 4 - a hilarious yet very fitting Christmas tree ornament that says "Call of the Wild". I love camping and always look forward to being in the outdoors as long as I am nice and warm.

Advent Calendar Excitement

Yesterday I was given the BEST advent calendar ever. I get to open a present every day until Christmas..so exciting!!! The presents are all labeled with a specific day and are "under" the mini Christmas tree on my mantle piece, the tree even has a star and mini lights. The only thing is that I am dying to touch and shake all the presents. I am resisting because I know that it would ruin the surprise!

Day 1 - mice singing ornament that sits under the mini tree
Day 2 - snowmen Christmas mugs for sipping tea

Part of the reason that I am so excited about this is because it is the first time I have ever really had decorations in my place because I have never been around at Christmas to have it worth decorating. Looks like I am going to have lots to blog about right up until Christmas and who wouldn't love to open a present every day...makes getting out of bed that little bit more exciting each morning!

A Personalized Gift - Customized Charm Bracelet

A personalized gift is, in my opinion, the best sort of gift there is out there because time and thought have to be put into it by the gift giver. A customer who has previously purchased one of my charm bracelets contacted me because he wanted a customized bracelet for his mother. I am always happy to do custom work because it is so rewarding when you create something that someone really appreciates and is special to them.


The customer wanted a charm bracelet that represented his mother's four grandchild and a heart charm in the middle to represent his mother. After going back and forth with him we finally came upon the idea to have the following charms; princess crown, pirate head, heart, dinosaur and frog. I like to use pearls and crystals of different shapes and sizes to add texture and sparkle and make it more interesting than just a traditional charm bracelet. He chose to have champagne and clear crystals and pearls. Above is the final result.

I hope that his mother likes the bracelet and she treasures it for a long time.

FAB FAIR - Accessories Craft Show

This week-end I participated in an accessories craft show called Fab Fair that was held at Heritage Hall on Main Street in Vancouver, BC. It is a gorgeous building with high ceilings, pillars with trim and big windows, a perfect venue for a holiday craft show. The show went quite well and I like having the opportunity to interact with customers and see how they respond to my jewelry.

I ended up bumping into some old friends and making new friends with other vendors which is always exciting. The designer across the aisle from me makes the most beautiful clothes. I spent the low periods of the day looking at her clothes and trying things on. I ended up buying a long shirt and a sweater from her and I adore them! Her line is called Haiiku and she is really a super sweet girl too.

The holiday craft shows continue on for me this week and next week in which time I am hoping that I will make my millions! I also can't forget that pretty soon I am going to have to start my own Christmas shopping!

The Holidays are Coming...Craft Show Shopping

Can you believe it is that time of year? The holidays are almost here and it is time to start working on your gift list. If you are looking for jewelry and you live near Vancouver then I have a list of shows that you might want to check out. I will have a table at these craft shows with my jewelry company Luli Designs.

What: Fab Fair - a jewellery and accessories show
When: November 22nd and 23rd, 11am-5pm
Where: Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (15th Ave and Main) in Vancouver, BC.

What: St, Thomas More Collegiate Christmas Craft Fair
When: November 29th, 10am-4pm and November 30th, 11am-4pm
Where: 7450 12^th Ave, Burnaby, BC

What: Sunshine Coast Arts Council Christmas Craft Fair
When: December 6th, 11am-6pm
Where: Sechelt Legion Hall, Sunshine Coast

If you do get a chance to come by any of these shows which are all full of local talented designers, please come by my table and say hi. Have fun doing your holiday shopping!

Canada's Favorite Pastime - Hockey

Last week I had the chance to go to a hockey game. This is the first time I have been to a regular season NHL game and it was quite an experience! When we got to our seats I couldn't believe how good they were, we were 9 rows behind the visiting teams net.

The Vancouver Canucks were playing a home game against the Colorado Avalanche and even though the Canucks lost 2 to 1 in the shoot out I still enjoyed every moment of it. I am not sure if I enjoyed the people watching and listening to other people's conversations or the game more. When you mix guys, sports and beer together it becomes quite an event. This guy was the most entertaining and I couldn't resist taking a photo of him when he arrived back at his seat after first intermission in this hat!

He and a group of his co-workers were definitely enjoying a beer or two and it was pretty amusing until one of them decided to dump an entire beer over his shoulder on to the girl behind him. He totally soaked her and even though she was really calm about it the other guys around her were not cool about it. The guy who dumped the beer and the puck head guy were thrown out and didn't even get to see the whole game. I am not sure that they were really there for the game any ways.

Another highlight of the game was in the second intermission when the minor league boys came out on the rink. They must have been no more than about 6 years old and they looked so tiny on the ice. Hilarious to watch and definitely very cute!

I also can't forget to mention the food. Between the two of us we ate 2 steamers (hotdogs), poutine, 5 beers and a souvenir sized bucket of popcorn. It was the true sports exeperience. Even though this was my first regular season hockey game and it will hopefully not be my last!

Funky Fungi

There has been a lot of rain in Vancouver lately (surprise surprise) with the occasion beautiful day mixed in which is just enough to keep us Vancouverites happyish. One of the things that strives in this damp weather is fungi. On one of the sunny days I was out roaming around the garden and came across these:

The ones on the left almost formed a fairy circle which in "European folklore is the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance" (wikipedia). They are pretty small regular looking mushrooms. These are the ones that I saw next:

The cap of the one on the right was about 6 or 7 inches wide and the one of the left was really beautiful and looked a bit like a flower. I have however left my favorite one for last:


What is this!?! I have never seen anything like this before. It is so ugly and strange that it is beautiful. The stem is almost like a tree trunk and the top looked a little bit like a dog do!

If anyone knows what sort of fungi these are especially the last one please leave me a comment to tell me what it is. Hope anyone who is living in a rainy place is enjoy all the mushrooms that are popping up.

If You Could Vote for the US President...

The election for the US President affects more than just the USA and the world is waiting and watching to see how this election is going to pan out. I live in Canada and everywhere you look and listen there is talk about the election on Tuesday and how people are going to vote. I will be one of the many Canadians watching the results roll in because I believe that the outcome is going to impact the whole world.

Today I was forwarded an email from a friend that had a link to a very interesting site. The site is called "If the World Could Vote". The site allows people to vote for the person that they wish to be president of the US and gives on going results in a world map format. (You can only vote once). This vote will of course have no impact on the real election but the results world wide are very interesting.

If you are interested in checking it out to either cast your own vote or look at the results here is the link to the site: www.iftheworldcouldvote.com

Birthday Surprise...Blythe Hat from a Friend

When I picked up my mail on Friday I found a package in it but had no idea what it was. It looked like a package with something for my Blythe doll in it but I had not ordered anything lately. I opened it and to my surprise there was a really sweet birthday note from one of my very good friends in Toronto and a hat for my Blythe doll. The best part was that it was a total surprise and it is so nice that my friends understand my slightly strange interest in these quirky little dolls!!

Here is my sweet little Lucy wearing my birthday surprise

MADONNA Concert!!!

My ticket - we had first row seats right outside the floor seats.

Last night I was one of the lucky girls in Vancouver to get to go see Madonna in concert! There was a group of four of us that went clad in pink and white boas ready to sing our hearts and we definitely did that. It was a an AMAZING concert and was unlike anything that I have seen before. The concert was made of a series of different themed scenes from athletic jump rope when Madonna was wearing red shorts to a spaced themed scene where she was wearing black pants and large sparkle shoulder pads.

Madonna touched on political and spiritual topics with her video montages and it was really interesting to see her use this venue as a way to get across some of her views.

I took lots of photos which are not perfect but they give you an idea what the show was like.

This was at the beginning of the concert and it had video footage of Britney Spears in the background.

Madonna on the big screen

She was wearing some funky glasses in this set.

The Eagle Returns

We were all sitting having pancakes the other morning when one of us spotted an eagle standing down near the river. Seeing eagles is not a huge surprise to us but they are always wonderful to watch. The salmon starting running up the river about a week ago so the eagle was probably waiting for a catch. A moment or two later another eagle joined it's friend by the river and the first sat down. This is the photo that I took as I was slowly making my way down to the river and then the second photo was taken quite close to the eagles.

A couple of days before we saw a black bear wander slowly through the garden twice!! Our guess is that it was trying to get to the river but there was a fence in the way so it walked back through the garden to find another route. Unfortuntely I didn't get a photo because I was so stunned that we saw a bear walking through the garden the first time and the second time it walked through I was just not expecting it!

I will never get enough of the nature that can be seen out of the windows.

Getting Blythe Ready For the Cold Weather

My mum is the knitting genius behind the sweaters and soon to be other knitted accessories that will be showing up in our shared shop, BlytheCouture. We have added two new sweaters to the shop which are perfect for keeping your girl warm in the coming winter months. These sweaters are made from sock wool which has a varying pattern throughout the ball of wool so all these sweaters are one of a kind.

Skye and Lucy are getting jealous because they only model the sweaters for the shop and are not allowed to keep any of them for themselves.

Eagle Spotting

Yesterday I was sitting watching the birds play in the ocean as the rain fell rapidly from the sky and then I noticed a speck on the pylons that used to be the dock for an old steam boat. I grabbed my camera and threw on some shoes but there was no time to get a coat. This was the first photo I took.

I got to the pebbly beach and tried to be quite as I got closer and closer to the pylon but it was starting to really pour at this point. I slipped on a plank of wood that must have been washed up by the sea but managed to keep my balance. The zoom on my camera is not very good so I was having to get very close before you could see what I was trying to capture. The shutter clicked and this was the image that I got.


An adult eagle was scared off by me getting so close and the photo of an eagle on a pylon that I was trying to get became even more beautiful as the bird took flight at the same time as I pressed the button.

BlytheCouture Now Open!

My mum and I have been looking forward to being in the same city for many reasons but one reason is so that we could combine our artistic talents together and create a business from it. This collaboration has finally happened and BlytheCouture had it's grand opening a few days ago.
The shop can be found at www.blythecouture.etsy.com and is a great place to find quality clothing and accessories for your girl. My mum is going to be using her amazing knitting skills to create sweaters and other accessories and I will be beading and sewing. There are not a lot items in the shop at the moment but just wait, it is going to grow! We both have so many ideas and we are hoping to bring Blythe lovers a whole new shopping experience.

If there are any items that you have always wanted for your Blythe let us know and we will see what we can do and feedback is always appreciated!

Trick or Treat - Handmade Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner and I am sure everyone knows about it because there are packages of candy, pumpkins and costumes everywhere that you turn! If you are looking for something cute to celebrate Halloween with my mum has added some new Sweeties to her etsy shop. I am pleased to introduce you to Priscilla the Purple Witch. She is a friendly little doll with a long black dress and pointed hat with purple trim and booties. Watch for a few more of her friends joining her in grannyknits shop.

Priscilla the Purple Witch

First Day of Fall

Today is the fall equinox which represents the beginning of Fall (Autumn). To celebrate this day, here are a few fall inspired jewelry pieces that might get you excited that the leaves are changing color on the trees. All of these pieces can be found in my etsy shop.

(It Fell from a Tree Necklace, Sparkly Leaf Necklace, Rain on a Leaf Necklace, Entangled Necklace, Leaf Earrings and It Fell from a Tree Necklace - Silver)

Annaul Blackberry Picking with Help from Blythe

Last week-end was the last opportunity I had to pick blackberries at my parents place on the Coast. I love when it is blackberry season but it is also bitter sweet because it shows the end of the summer is coming quickly upon us. Hopefully the summer will continue for just a bit longer!

Skye helped out with the blackberry picking and I got this great shot of her. The dress she is wearing is my first attempt at sewing clothes for Blythe. I call it the Klimt dress because the skirt fabric reminds me of Gustav Klimt's paintings. This dress could be the beginning of a new business venture for me!

The Jewelry for Someone's Big Day

One of the biggest compliments I get is when someone asks me to do all or part of their wedding jewelry for them. This is their big day and my designs get to be part of it and part of their photos forever. So much thought goes into planning a wedding and what the wedding party is wearing and I really enjoying working with brides to make custom designs that will work with their vision.

Recently I had the opportunity to make the jewelry for a family friends four bridesmaids. I was approached two weeks before the wedding but I was more than happy to set any other projects to the side to create four sets of necklaces and earrings. The photos below are the finally design:

Necklace and earrings are made of sterling silver and Swarovski crystal. The AB crystals were chosen to exactly match rhinestone detailing on the bridesmaids dress.

The completed four sets on my company jewelry cards. I sent the fours sets in individual white organza bags so they are ready to be given as gifts to the bridesmaids.

The New Addition to my Blythe Family

Here is a quick sneak peak at the new member of the family! She was an early surprise birthday gift from someone who is very special to me and one of the few people in my world who sort of understands my new love of these strange fashion forward girls.


She is yet un-named. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Online Magazine for the Canadian Fashionista

For all those Canadian girls (and guys) out there that are looking for fashion, beauty plus arts and culture news that is geared to us in the Great White north check out GLOSS: The Fashion Magazine. It has great photos, articles and tips for all us Canadian fashionistas plus an extensive section created specifically for guys.

Finally a online magazine where you can buy things in it without having to worry about the cost of the duty because it is coming through the border! Check it out and let me know what you think of the magazine.

Blythe and her New Clothes

As you could probably tell in the Cross Canada photos of Skye her wardrobe was rather lacking and she had to make do with what she had. Skye's wardrobe is now growing and she wants to show off some of her new outfits, some of which were picked to suit her new rather wet Vancouver surroundings!

Clothes by moshi moshi. Shoes and Umbrella by Rement.

The clothes are all from etsy seller moshi moshi who I adore and who has amazing customer service and is great at custom orders. The accessories are made by a company called Rement and I found those on ebay. Skye has only started her shopping and I know that her wardrobe is just going to grow from here!

Purses, Purses and More Beautiful Purses

A few months ago I was shopping around on etsy for nothing in particular and came across an absolutely gorgeous clutch purse. I went to the shop and it was full of beautiful clutches in all sorts of wonderful fabrics and colors. It took me a bit of time to pick the one that I really loved but I finally bought one. The seller was so helpful and friendly and the packaging and clutch were more amazing than I expected.

Check out redrubyrose on etsy:

New Items in my Etsy Shop

Today I posted two new items in my etsy shop. Would love to know what you think of them:

PEACE and LOVE Necklace


LEAF Earrings

Blythe's Canada Experience

Driving across Canada was quite an experience for all involved. Here is a short photo diary of some of Sky (Blythe)'s cross Canada journey.

Taking a break on the Canadian Shield:


Having a seat on a haystack in the prairies:


Mac the Moose in Moose Jaw is quite a site to see:


Chillin out in front of the Rocky Mountains:

For more photos of Blythe across Canada check out my flickr account.

Show Success

My show at the Sunshine Coast this week-end was a success. It is always difficult to know if your success is comparable to anyone else's because people don't usually share numbers but all I know is that I was happy with the results and I had lots of fun while doing it. People at the Sunshine Coast are friendly and helpful especially in the crafting community which made doing the show on my own possible.


If anyone knows about any good craft fairs around Vancouver or The Sunshine Coast I would love to know about them. You can write about them comments of this posts.

Let the Show Begin

This week-end I will be participating in the first outdoor show that I have done in years and I am pretty excited about it. The show is being held by the Sunshine Coast Arts Council at Hackett Park in Sechelt, BC (which is located on the Sunshine Coast). It is an annual event and is held on the same week-end as the Sechelt Writers Festival. This small community always has lots happening!

The weather forecast is sunny and warm so hopefully there will be a great turn out. If you happen to be on the Sunshine Coast come and check out the show!

I will be posting my display photos after the week-end.

Cross Canada Complete!

On July 29th I began an adventure that I will remember forever, driving from Toronto to Vancouver in a Uhaul truck. It took 6 days, lots of Tim Hortons Ice Capps and lots and lots of driving. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who lives in Canada as it was not at all what I expected and it reminded me of the diversity and beauty of the country that I live in.

Ontario is a vast province that seemed to take forever to get out of, it took 2 days before we were in Manitoba. Manitoba begans as the Canadian Shield and then slowly becomes prairie fields. Saskatchewan is all about the beauty of the never ending sky with white fluffy clouds and beautiful shades of blue and gold. Alberta was the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting more prairie fields and sky but much of it was rolling green hillsides and rocky mountain grandeur. British Columbia was a crazy mix of mountains, dry desert and lush forest. The trip ended with my dad and I being exhausted and taking the last ferry of the day in the dark to the Sunshine Coast.

The trip will be forever in my memory and has made me want to explore my country more but when the trip was finally over, I have to admit, it was a relief as being on the road is not the life for me. I was also glad to be in Vancouver so that I could ship the items that had sold in my etsy shop while I was away!

Here are a few photos taken straight out the truck window and there are many more photos that will be in future posts and on my flickr site:

My New Muse

When I was little I loved anything that was miniature or had lots of pieces to play with like lego, Barbie and my favorite was playmobile. Now as an adult, I don't play with those sorts of things any more because a.) They don't really interest me any more and b.) some how I do not thinking it would really be socially acceptable for a 29 year old woman to be playing with toys.

I was surfing around on the internet about a week or so ago and kept coming across this wide eyed, slightly strange but adorable doll called Blythe. The were made for children by Kenner in 1972 but the large eyes that change color and direction when you pull the cord in the back of their heads scared children and were only made for a year and then were discontinued. After it was obvious that there was a real collectors following for these dolls, the Neo-Blythe dolls began to be produced in 2001. Now you can find them all over the internet and there are so many sites dedicated to these cute fashionable collectible dolls. When I saw them online I was intrigued and started to research them. The more I found out about them, the more that I saw the different clothes and accessories you could buy or make for them, the more fascinated I became. This tapped into my love of all things miniature and here was a doll that an adult could have because it was a collectible not a toy. I researched and found a shop in Toronto (these dolls are not readily available in Canada or the US) that carries Blythe and I bought my very first girl who's manufacturers name is French Trench.

French Trench, who is yet to be given her own personal name, has become my new muse. My plan is to open a new etsy shop and to make jewelry, accessories and clothes for this fashionable quirky doll. This idea collaborates my talents as a jeweler, sewer, marketer and lover of miniatures and collectibles!

I can't wait to get started but it will have to wait until after my across Canada trip in a Uhaul that starts on Tuesday next week. Watch for lots of stories and photos to be posted from that trip!

Tools of My Trade

One of the things that I wish I had had help with when I first started making jewelry was what tools to use. My designs would have been more refined and better made much quicker if I had know how to better use my tools. However, what tools you use and for what, is a very personal thing so try out other people's suggestions but always remember to use what works best for you.

Here are the pliers that I use:
Chain nose:
I have two pairs and often use both at once to do things like opening jump rings or other intricate work where my fingers are too big to get a good grip. The chain nose pliers are like an extension of both my hands when I work with them. They are great for getting a 90 degree bend in wire and for lots of other basic techniques.

Round nose:
It took me a while to find a pair of round nose pliers that I really liked the size of. The end of the nose comes in different thickens and this thickness dictates the size of the loops you can make with them. The pair that I have is about 1mm thick and I really like them because I can make very small delicate loops with them but can also make larger loops if I put the wire farther up the nose. I also use them at times when I need to hold on to something in a very tight space and the chain nose pliers are too thick to get in.

Side cutter (full flush):
I use to use the basic side cutters that you get at most bead stores and with any plier kit and I never liked them because it was really hard to get into small places to cut wires flush when you are doing any small wire work. Finally I came across a pair of side cutters that have a very tapered nose and thin jaws so they are really easy to get into small spaces and get a nice clean flush cut. It still confuses me why these are not the normal side cutters used but like I said before each artists is comfortable with different tools.

Crimp pliers:
For many years I use to just flatten crimps with my chain nose pliers. This never looked very good, the edges were a bit sharp and I was always worried about the crimp slipping. Then I was in the local bead store and saw crimp pliers on a display. The woman in the shop showed me how to use them and now my crimps look clean and professional and I don't worry about slipping any more.

A short story about these crimp pliers; I always squeezed very very hard on the pliers to make sure that the crimp was well closed. I guess I squeezed too hard a few too many times and one day while I was squeezing a crimp with all my strength one of the jaws of the pliers broke off and flew to the other side of the room at an alarming rate! Luckily it only hit the floor and not my eye, someone else, a window or the TV. I am sure that this was a freak occurrence and now I know not to squeeze quite so hard and that the crimps are just as good if you use less force.

There are lots of other types of pliers out there such as end cutters, long-chain nose, bent nose, loop closing, flat-nose, rosary and split ring. I have used a few of them but not all of them and have just found the pliers that work for me for what I do. My advice is to experiment with different pliers, ask what other people use and in the end you will find what works best for you.

Happy plier shopping!

On Someone's List

It is always a such a huge compliment to be included on someone's treasury list on www.etsy.com. For those who don't know what a treasury list is, it is a list that any etsy member can make to show off the work of other people, some lucky lists are hand picked by etsy admin and put on the front page. The list lasts about 3 days and then spaces become available so that other people can create new lists and promote other items. To find the treasury click on the link on the home page of etsy.

Here is a photo of the treasury list that my Pomegranate Seed Earrings were included in (they are in the top right corner). The photo is also a link to the list if you would like to have a look. I love the beautiful colors of this list!

Etsy is All in the Family! Grannyknits now open

I have been a crafty person all my life and have not only done jewelry but have done a great list of other crafts. Most of this is due to my very crafty and talented mother.

Yesterday, after lots of preparation and thought my mum finally opened her own etsy shop called Grannyknits. She makes the cutest knitted dolls (ok I might be a little bias) that are bright and colorful and are even baby friendly. There are currently six listed but there will be many more of these Sweeties to be listed soon.

My mum has been knitting forever and is the most talented knitter that I have ever met. All her work is super high quality and she designs her own patterns which I am always in awe of.

Hope you enjoy the dolls as much as our family and friends have!

www.grannyknits.etsy.com