Bathing Beauty...

Mother's Day is coming up and I have been sharing lots of gift ideas over the last couple of weeks, today I am sharing some bath and body products, not just for Mother's Day but a great treat for any occasion or just for a little treat as many of these great Etsy products in the treasury are both gorgeous and affordable. 

Of course, if you were looking for a Mother's Day gift time is running out to buy online products so I thought I would also share some great little DIY bath products that I have found and tried lately that can be made with everyday items found in most household cupboards or supermarkets.


Firstly there is a great little project for DIY bath salts on one of my favourite blogs The Idea Room which can be scented in with your favourite essential oils. I personally love peppermint, it always smells so fresh,although lavender is better for a relaxing and soothing night time bath. 

Actually, The Idea Room has a variety of great bath product DIY projects so whilst you are there have a look around at what else they have. 

Then I found this great little customisable recipe for a face scrub using items available in the supermarket. I tried the brighten and tone with Almond oil and strawberries, it felt very fresh and smelt divine. 


Then finally I found this great little DIY scalp treatment which is fabulous as I get build up after using the same shampoo for a few weeks. I used to keep two types of shampoo's that I can swap over whenever I feel that there is a buildup, which helped, but is not great. I tried this little DIY treatment ages ago and its really lovely, feels nice and does make your scalp feel clean so I no longer have to juggle different hair products.

Do  you have any homemade bath or body products that you make from everyday ingredients, share in comments so we can all try something new?

xxx Rachel

Inspiring Jewellers...

Over the last 2 years I have spent much time experimenting with techniques and materials to figure out what direction I want my handmade jewellery to take. I love working with colour but find gemstones limiting both in the creation process and the way they need to be set and colour, which led me to enamel, and eventually resin. 

Initially I began working with traditional vitreous enamels to add that splash of colour, but again, whilst I love the results vitreous enamels create, especially the results of translucent enamels on fine silver, but the colour range, whilst broad, is still limited, and the construction requirements for enamelled work is also limited in some respects as its very important to consider the strength of the  structure of an item that is going in a kiln, there is nothing worse than spending 5 hours creating a unique piece of handcrafted silver jewellery only to have it warp, melt or collapse in the kiln. 

But with resin the possibilities are endless, no heat is required and with a great deal of experimentation you can do so many things. Most importantly, as resin is hand-tinted, the colour options are only limited by your imagination. 

In 2014 I will be focusing my creative skills on handmade sterling silver and resin jewelry. 

And Even though my personal jewellery making style is simple and contemporary, aimed at every day jewelry that can made more than once rather than unique one off jewellery creations, I wanted to share some of my inspiration. 

These jewelry artists create beautiful complex silver and resin jewelry all around the world. Their work is inspiring and provides me with some beautiful examples of what I would one day love to achieve, handcrafted silver and resin jewellery that goes beyond the norm and is nothing short of art. 

What Inspires you? Have you posted about your favourite artists or creators, share you post by adding a link in comments so we can all be inspired by what you love. 

xxx Rachel

Vote and Win

New Look Design

Well 2014 is the year I change the way I work, over the next 12 months there will be lots of changes to my website and store, in the lead up to all the changes I am clearing house and evolving and altering some designs for the better to fit the new collections coming.

The first evolution is my resin earrings, the changes are minor and hopefully for the better. The new design is a bit larger and more substantial, longer and will have the same contemporary look and feel of the old design just a bit more.  

There will also be a range of new colours available, including classic black, all the bright and bold colours in the existing design and a new range of beautiful soft transparent pastels perfect to lead into Spring.

These little colourful drop earrings are one of my best sellers so before I remove the design from the shop I wanted to ensure that the changes are not unpopular.

So to help me decide if the changes are good and before I discontinue the existing design in May I am running a vote and giveaway to get your opinions.
Please help me by voting for either the new design or the old, if you choose the old I would love some feedback in comments to explain what turned you off the new look design.

There are 3 pairs of the new look resin drop earrings up for grabs to random voters so get as many entries as you can before we close the voting. 

One lucky newsletter subscriber will also win a bonus necklace to match their new design earrings from the new mini hoop pendants just launched and available on Etsy now.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pretty Spring Pastels

Spring Jewellery Inspiration.

A perfect way to celebrate Spring with some soft pastel and spring coloured jewellery to freshen your wardrobe this season. 

Etsy has a beautiful array of handcrafted jewelry for all tastes so visit some of these lovely shops and support handmade. 

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/FreshfromtheKiln; https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MaaPstudio; https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/NestPrettyThingsShop; https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/daimblond; https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/SilentRoses; https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/livbridal

Pretty Peonies that Never Die

 

I saw this amazing tutorial on Craftberry Bush recently and just had to share, they look great, almost life like and the best part, will never die. Of course I would image they need to be kept away from water, we have all seen what water can do to crepe paper.

I love fresh flowers, but often leave them too long, getting that sad droopy drawers look as they die and many silk flowers look a little fake and those that don't are often expensive. 

This is fun, inexpensive and a great project to do with your children. I did this with my 12 year old daughter last weekend, of course it took us a few trials before ours looked good, and I can't say they are perfect, but the materials are so inexpensive we kept going until we had a lovely little bunch. Now I have an excuse to buy a new vase to put them in.

Head on over to Craftberry Bush's blog get this great DIY tutorial. 

xxx Rachel

Mellow Yellow

Summery Treasury on Etsy Featuring Australian Made Items. 

xxx Rachel