Takara Earrings Blog

My Girl Lollipop Children's Jewellery

2010-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

My Girl Lollipop is my new collection of adorable jewellery made just for children.

I wanted to avoid the plastic beads and elastic so often found in jewellery marketed for children.

My new pendants feature soft faux suede cord, sterling silver charms and beautiful coordinating beads.

Have a look at the My Girl Lollipop collection for more pendants. I hope to add some bracelets to the website soon.

Black Agate Heart Pendant

2010-04-07T13:09:00.001-07:00

I've just listed a new pendant on my website!

A gorgeous black agate heart pendant attached to black leather cord with a hand-beaded dark silver and iridescent blue coloured bail.

Black Agate Heart Pendant, £8

Check out the new website design!

2010-03-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've just uploaded my redesigned website. Some new items are on there so take a look.

Takara Earrings website

Folksy

2010-03-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've decided to list some new items (and favourites) on Folksy. Folksy is the UK equivalent of Etsy and is a wonderful place to find handmade items. Item and postage prices are the same as my main website so do check it out.

Showcasing my new pendant designs!

2010-03-03T10:21:00.001-08:00

I've been busy working on some new pendants and am really pleased with the results. I'll be taking these to the craft fair on 6th March so hopefully I'll get positive reactions.

Saturday 6th March, St Thomas More School Craft Fair

2010-02-28T12:34:00.001-08:00

I have my first craft fair of 2010 this Saturday, 6th March. It's the St Thomas More School Craft fair which is held at Exeter Hall in Kidlington, Oxford. The fair runs from 10.30 - 4.30pm. With Mother's Day only a week later, I'm hoping there will be lots of people there looking for gifts.

I'll also be having a spring sale with a discount off everything on my stall so it really is the perfect time to treat someone - or yourself!

New pendant designs

2010-02-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some pieces that I hope will appeal to those people who prefer bigger, bolder statement jewellery.

Here are pictures of two pieces that I will taking to the St Thomas More School craft fair on 6th March at Exeter Hall, Kidlington. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of them:

Sodalite gemstone pendant

Jasper Star pendant

Website Re-design!!

2010-02-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

I looked at my website the other day and decided that I wanted to make some changes. A few changes has now turned in to a complete website redesign!

I've almost finished the home page which I'm so pleased with. Of course, there are a lot of pages to do after that so I think it will be a while before it's live on the web.

I've had a lot of help from my brother and sister-in-law with ideas and advice which has been really great.

I think all the hard work will be really worth it and can't wait until it's finished!

Stoke Lyne Christmas Craft Fayre

2010-02-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

(another late post!)

I had a stall at a lovely Christmas craft fayre in Stoke Lyne, Bicester on 5th December 09. The church was really beautiful and the atmosphere at the fayre was great.

I added a few Christmas decorations to my stall and I'm very pleased with how it looked.

I got some great Christmas gifts for friends and chose something for myself too!

Had some really lovely comments on my jewellery but many people commented that 'they can't wear delicate jewellery'. With that in mind, I'm hoping to add some new pieces to my collection soon that will appeal to those who prefer bigger statement pieces.

Handm@de Oxford

2010-02-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

My blog entry on Handm@de Oxford is very late (lots of reasons why) but better late than never!

I had a wonderful time at Handm@de Oxford. The amount of people through the doors was amazing - a very busy day. Really impressed with all the stalls at the fair and wish I'd had more time to look around.

I think my stall worked well although I had some ideas on ways to improve it. Really hope to get a chance to do this fair in 2010 as I think it's really one of the best handmade fairs around.

Here's a pic of me with my stall.

Handm@de Oxford on Sunday

2009-11-24T00:54:00.001-08:00

Handm@de Oxford is only a few days away now! Really looking forward to it - I think it will be a great event and I can't wait to see all the great handmade gifts for sale. Hoping I can find a few Christmas presents whilst I'm there.

I think I am almost ready for Sunday. I have a box full of things to take for my stall - just got to find a way to get it all there!

Check out the Handm@de blog to see all the exhibitors at this Sundays fair - they have been running an A-Z of Exhibitors. Look out for me!

First post in ages!!

2009-11-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Wow - it's been ages since I last blogged!

Lots has been happening! I had a fabulous family holiday in Singapore in Sept. Went to a great bead shop whilst I was there! I came home with more beads and some great display stands for earrings and necklaces to use for craft fairs.

The Handm@de Oxford fair is less than a month away now! Really excited about it but know I have lots to do before I'm ready. A lot of the new items that I've made recently won't be added to the shop until after the fair.

Jewellery Stand

2009-08-16T14:15:00.001-07:00

I've been looking for ways to display my jewellery at craft fairs and today I found a great stand for necklaces and bracelets.

New Designs

2009-08-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

I got some lovely raspberry coloured pearls a while back but have only just got round to using them in some designs. I made two new pairs of earrings with them yesterday.

I also made a pair of earrings with some beautiful white flower Chinese glass beads. All these earrings will be on my online shop soon!

More Promotional Goodies

2009-07-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

I had some promotional postcards printed to help advertise Takara Earrings. I'm really pleased with them.

I couldn't resist the chance to get some magnets made too! They are really fun.

I will be sending some of these to the Handm@de team for the Oxford craft fair goodie bags in November.

Promotional Items

2009-06-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some promotional beaded phone charms I made. I've sent them to the Handm@de team for the Winchester fair goody bags. I hope the ten people who receive them are pleased.

A brand new bracelet design

2009-06-20T03:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a new bracelet design I made yesterday. Not available on the shop yet but hope to have some more made to add to the shop soon.

Children's Jewellery

2009-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

I've started making some children's bracelets to take to my next craft fair. I've picked some colourful glass and acrylic beads that I think will appeal to girls from ages 5 - 9. With the same quality of materials and craftmanship as my normal range of jewellery, I hope they will be popular.

Earring Survives A Month Outside!

2009-05-31T02:11:00.000-07:00

I made a pair of Little Gem Amethyst earrings to give to my Mum on Mother's day.

She had been wearing them a lot but discovered that one had gone missing whilst wearing it and we couldn't find it. I made her another earring to replace it. This was at the beginning of May. Well, today she found the earring she lost outside whilst gardening! Amazingly, after a month in the elements, all the beads are still attached and apart from looking a little tarnished, it's survived very well.

Quite a good (accidental) experiment to test the durability of my handmade jewellery!

Handm@de Oxford

2009-05-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have a table at the Handm@de Craft Show at Oxford Town Hall on 29th November. Check out the Handm@de Oxford website for details of the fair.

After my first craft fair last week, I've got plenty of ideas for the Handm@de fair. I've got lots of things to sort out so it's a good job I've got plenty of time to plan!

First Craft Fair

2009-05-23T11:15:00.001-07:00

My first craft fair was today - the Ladyfest Crafternoon at St Peters College in Oxford. It was a lovely afternoon. There were only about a dozen craft tables so a small event but it was perfect for my first craft fair and gave me a chance to try out different things for my stall. I now have a better idea what works and what I could do differently next time. I also made some sales which was wonderful. Here's a pic of me and my craft stand.

Wedding Collection

2009-05-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've recently added a wedding collection of beautiful, yet affordable, handmade jewellery to my website. Everything is priced as I would price my other jewellery. I haven't increased any prices just because it's a wedding collection and many of the items could be worn for other special occasions.

Moo Mini Cards

2009-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

Got some gorgeous Moo mini cards made with photos of my jewellery to hand out at craft fairs etc. Here's a photo of them!

Ladyfest Oxford Crafternoon - 23 May 09

2009-05-06T02:25:00.001-07:00

I have my first craft fair coming up in a couple of weeks! It's a crafternoon - what a fab word! Here are the details:

Ladyfest Oxford Crafternoon, Saturday 23 May
St Peter's College, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford
14:00

There will be stalls for local crafters - look out for Polly's Dolly. There will also be workshops and a cake sale to raise money for charity.

Really looking forward to it!

More handbag charms!

2009-05-04T09:33:00.001-07:00

I'm really enjoying making handbag charms! Here are some I made this weekend so will hopefully be adding these to the website soon.

Millefiori Charm Bracelet

2009-04-29T03:44:00.001-07:00

I love these beautiful Millefiori beads. They originate from the Venetian island of Murano. Millefiori is Italian for a thousand flowers.

I made a sterling silver charm bracelet using these pretty beads. I've made one for myself but will also make one to go in my shop.

Boxes

2009-04-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

I've been busy making boxes to package my jewellery in. I'm trying lots of different ways to decorate them - stamping, printing and collage. I think they look pretty cool. I shall be making quite a lot over the next few months!

Handbag Charms

2009-04-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some beautiful charms perfect for accessorising your handbag

New beads for earrings

2009-04-04T09:28:00.001-07:00

A big thank you to Yolande for the beautiful beads sent all the way from Singapore. I used some of these lovely beads to make a new pair of earrings.

I also got some glass beads, inspired by some earrings I was given at Christmas. Here are some earrings I've made with those.

Looking forward to designing more unique earrings with the new beads I have.

New Jewellery

2009-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Some more new jewellery photos!

Flutterby Earrings

2009-03-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of a new pair of earrings I've made. I've used beautiful blue Swarovski crystals and clear crystal quartz teardrops. I handmade the little butterflies using jewellery wire.