Chainmaille Commission

Today I have been working on this gorgeous commission piece. Its being made as a surprise for my customer's wife who is about to give birth to the couple's second child. The cute little gemstone charms are actually birthstones for all the family including the new arrival. I loved making this piece and found it very hard to part with, I think I may have to make one for myself!

Hope you are all having a good week!

Jo

'Spring Green' Jewellery

I know its summer but the colours in this set reminded me of spring with all the different shades of green. Handmade from green foil glass beads, Moss Agate and Aventurine gemstones and of course Sterling Silver findings. All are available over on the site: www.ajenno.co.uk

In other news its only 3 weeks now until I finish work and start my maternity leave.  I seriously dont know where the last 7 months have gone, it feels like only yesterday that OH and I were celebrating the fact that we were expecting and now our little one is almost here. All seems to be going well so far although the 'Third Trimester' tiredness is now catching up with me.

Jo

Where do you 'create'?

Due to my house being a bit like a building site at the mo, I have taken to creating a 'temporary' studio in the bedroom. Its not the most practical but it is comfy and it is so hard not to just crawl under the covers and take a sneeky nap.

I am looking forward to the downstairs of my house being slightly more creativity friendly again soon, at the moment its a mass of bare floor boards (not necessarily lying on the floor) and rubble.

I've been told by my hubby that we should have everything done by the end of June... watch this space.

Jo

New Items Coming Soon

I braved the wind (and the attempt at rain) this afternoon and popped out in the garden to take some photos of all the jewellery I have been making over the last week. I am in the process of editing them at the mo and hope to get them added to the shop next week :-)

In the mean time, here is a sneeky peek:

 'Verde' Necklace made from chunky green Agate, Aventurine and Jade gemstones. £26.00

'Black Velvet' bracelet made from Larvikite and Feldspar Jasper gemstones and Karen Hill Tribe fair trade silver lentil beads. £14.00

'Ibiza' Earrings made from Imperial Turquoise and Sterling Silver ear posts. £10.00

'Amethisto' Ring made from a chunky Amethyst bead and Silver wire. £5.00

I hope you all have a good weekend! Hubby and I are off to London tomorrow to visit some art galleries and catch up with friends. He even said he would take me out for lunch. Very excited!

Jo

Wedding Jewellery & Accessories

I have today added a new section to the online shop called: 'Wedding Jewellery and Accessories'. Not surprisingly this is the place where you can buy a range of made to order wedding jewellery and tiaras. I plan to expand the collection over the next few month, time permitting, and may even attempt to exhibit at some Wedding Fairs in the Bristol area.  

The piece below is called 'Sweet Pea' Necklace and is made from Freshwater Pearls and lovely twisted Sterling Silver Beads. It can be made in either 16, 18 or 20 inch lengths and prices start at £15.00. 

I hope you all had a good Easter and looking forward to the long bank holiday weekend ahead of us. 

Have a good week. 

Jo

http://www.ajenno.co.uk/WeddingJewellery.htm

Commissions & Custom Orders

I love working on commissions and custom orders, particularly when my customers give me freedom with the design!! Here is one I made yesterday for a customer who's only brief was 'a necklace, earring and bracelet set in turquoise'. I used Turquoise and Amazonite gemstones (some of my fave gemstones) and Sterling Silver findings.

A very summery look I think.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Jo

Banana Loaf Recipe

Here is my beloved Banana Loaf recipe for those of you that requested it.

Ingredients:

5oz Self Raising Flour

1 Ripe Banana

2oz Soft Butter (or marg)

1 Egg

5oz Sugar (Caster or Granulated - I use whatever is in my cupboard at the time)

1 Tsp Bicard of Soda

Recipe:

Chop and mash the banana

Mix all ingredients together except the flour

Add flour to mixture slowly

Cook in oven for 30 - 40 mins at 170 degrees (if it looks like the top is cooking to quick then turn down the temp and cook for longer). 

Recipe should fill a small loaf tin but can the quantity of ingredients can be increased to fill a bigger tin. 

Enjoy!

Jo

Working in Gold

My metal of choice has always been Sterling Silver as I have always found Gold findings hard to work with. However, whilst in Cornwall this past week I was inspired by the beautiful golden sandy beaches along the coast and a couple of new design ideas sprang to mind. 

I made this lovely pair of earrings using Gold Filled findings and Lampwork beads by Julie Fountain. Their simplicity gives them a hint of elegance and they have to be one of my favourite pieces that I have made in a long time.

I hope you all like them just as much as I do.

Jo

New Stockist

One of my fave shops in Bristol is called BS8. It's located on Park Street and is a mecca of all things vintage, retro, funky and handmade. The shop itself is made up of lots of little boutiques all very different, I remember getting my prom dress from a boutique on the third floor when I was at school.

Anyway, on Saturday I got an email from one of the boutique managers asking if I would be interested in selling my jewellery in a new 'Handmade in Bristol' section of the shop.. How could I turn this opportunity down?! The space is very small but its in a prime location in the centre of Bristol. I popped down to the shop after work today to discuss terms and conditions and ended up setting up my little display there and then. Its very basic at the mo but I am pleased with what I managed to do.

I apologise for the poor quality pic, I only had my phone on me and wasnt expecting to actually set up today (thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

If you are in the area then I recommend popping in to BS8, not only to check out my FAB display but also to check out the other goodies on offer.



Jo

It's all quiet on the western front…

Jan and Feb are always quiet months for me so every year I tend to let my jewellery business take a bit of a back seat in my life and I have a little rest to build my self up for the rest of the year. That’s not to say I've been doing nothing though. I have been working on the re-brand of the Ajenno label intermittently, which hopefully you will have noticed from the website, and I ordered some FAB new gift boxes which feature the new logo (which I am very proud of as I designed it myself).

I am hoping that this weekend I will be able to pop outside and take some piccies of the new pieces I have made along with some other bits and bobs I would like to add to the site.

I hope you are all well and 2011 has been good to you so far!

Jo

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I am on the slow wind down to christmas now, after my last market stall of 2010 has been and gone. We've got some lovely snow down here in Bristol, although perhaps not so nice to drive on. I am hoping it clears by Friday as hubby and I are off to Kent for christmas... last time it snowed on our drive back it took us 6 hours and we didnt arrive until 2am... I best start praying to the snow gods now.

I will be closing the shop today and at present am not planning to re-open until Tuesday 4th January 2011 but in the meantime I just wanted to thank all of my customers, past and present, for supporting me throughout the year and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hope its a good one for you all.

JO

Temporary Shop Closure

There are just 24 hours left until the Ajenno online shop closes for 1 month so now is the time to get your order in!

Why are we closing? Well, Andy and I are off to get married next weekend so we have decided to close the shop and enjoy being husband and wife for a while. The shop will re-open on 1st November 2010 just in time for the christmas shopping season (cant believe I am thinking about christmas already).

Jo

Where's my jewellery making mojo gone?

Not sure what's happened but I'm in a bit of a slump, I sit down at my desk, stare at the beads, play with them for a bit but dont actually make anything. I think my jewellery making mojo has popped off on its summer holiday. Perhaps its a way of telling me to take a break, obviously I must oblige so am off to spend the evening in front the tele with a glass of yummy vino.

In other new though, I just quickly wanted to blog about this fab shop I found on Folksy... I am just about to purchase a headphone tin for my MP3 player headphones, I keep them in my handbag so they are with me at all times but they keep getting tangled. Hopefully this very worthwhile purchase will sort them out :-)

Folksy Shop - She Draws

Folksy Shop - She Draws - Headphone Tin

Toodles for now.

Jo

Jewellery News

There are loads of new items in the shop including earrings, pendants, and new gift sets. Here is a sneeky preview below but for more info on what is available head on over to the site: www.ajenno.co.uk.

See you there!

Jo

Look what I received this morning….

…gemstones galore! I knew they would be arriving at some point but I hadn’t registered how many strings of beads I had actually ordered. Aren’t these just beautiful?! I can’t wait to start making some pieces with them and have dozens of ideas floating around my head.


Jo

New Bracelets in the Shop

New bracelets just added to the online shop...

Jo

Gardening Bits and Bobs

My boyfriend and I have a very small patio garden and until this year I havent bothered to do anything with it. Now though I have all sorts of things potted up including some butternut squash plants (in grow bags) and some tumbling tom tomatos in a hanging basket as well as lovely flowering beauties. This morning I decided I wanted to try and grow some potatos. You can get some 'late season' varieties that will grow in pots/containers until October or even christmas time (perfect for xmas dinner)... I got mine, in three different varieties from suttons:

Suttons - Potato Planters

I cant wait until they arrive :-)

Jo

Bridesmaid Headbands

I am having trouble deciding which headband to ask my bridesmaids to wear at my wedding... I started off by making an 'Full' ivory coloured glass pearl headband...

and then another idea popped in my head and I made a pearl and crystal headband....

and then I had another idea for a flower headband...

Now I am stuck with three gorgeous bands to choose from, what do you guys think? I am leaning towards the pearl and crystal band but am still not sure! Serves me right for trying to be too creative!

I am definitely thinking of adding all three to my website, I have some more ideas as well so expect a hair accessories range soon :-)


Jo

New Earrings in the Shop

Afternoon

I have just finished uploading some new earrings into the online shop.. head on over and take a peek :)

http://www.ajenno.co.uk/Earrings.htm

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Jo

Cute Soaps

I have just been scouring the internet looking for some cute gifts for my bridesmaids and I came across these lovely handmade Vanilla Corset soaps. The soaps are available to buy from Purple Sparkle Crafts. Purple Sparkle is run by Rebecca White from her studio in Bath. I have met Becky a few times at numerous crafty events and she is such a lovely friendly person. Have a browse of her site when you have five minutes, she has some lovely wax melts and bath goodies. I shall definitely be placing an order when pay day comes around!

http://www.purplesparkle.co.uk/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=AlchemySoap&Sub=63&isThumbs=No&Thumbs=

Jo