Happy Friday everyone!! I've been super busy this week working on custom orders. Above is a shot of *some* of the custom cupcakes I created this week for my lovely friend Michelle. I made so many cupcakes I thought I would die from sugar shock! ;) I made cupcakes in rainbow colours, pink cupcakes, cupcakes with ladybugs on top, cupcakes with crowns (my favourites!) and assorted cupcake earring pairs. I had tons of fun making them but it will be nice to have a little break next week from cupcake making.. lol :)

I also made a couple of sets of my farmyard animals including my new roosters! The pig, puppy and cow all have little bows on their tails too :D I love animal beads but have yet to make myself any! I really should get around to doing that... someday!


Love,
keiara

Yes, yes.. I have returned! My trip to Florida was wonderful. Here's a pic of me and my daughter, Kaia, the day of our Easter party :) If you look closely you can see I'm wearing my Easter necklace :D Kaia's bunny necklace is hiding under her scarf (WHY the child likes that hideous scarf I do not know.. but I smile through it!). She's grown so much since January, I swear! When she got off the train I only recognised her because she was carrying my old Animal (from the Muppets) backpack! She also grows more beautiful everyday.. and I'm not biased, really!

My best friend, Emi, came to visit with her family and that was fantastic. I've missed her so much and it was great to be able to sit around and chat like old times. Her new son, Ethan, is so cute! He seemed to take a liking to me right away and gurgled happily whenever he saw me :D

Mom made tons of wonderful food as always and I tried very hard not to make a pig of myself. Easier said than done in that house! We went shopping and went to all my favourite restaurants. I read the entire Twilight series (which was ok but not great) and spent time with my old friend Marc.. whom I've known for half my life. Ooh I also got to meet Leah's boyfriend/fiance, Eric, who is a really nice guy. (Doubly nice for putting up with Leah.. haha).

All in all it was a great trip. Now that I've returned I'm already up to my eyeballs in custom orders!! If you have something you've been yearning to order, please feel free to contact me. I'm setting aside the next two weeks for mostly custom orders :) Hey, I gotta keep you people happy!

I'm also running a 15% off sale on select items in my Etsy shop. Have a look and grab a bargain! I listed new trees and bird pairs today too. Lots of prettiness for spring awaits!

In other news, my sister-in-law, Zan, had a baby girl today!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! I'm so excited :) Zan is the girl responsible for my awesome bright red hair :D She owns her own salon and never lets me down. I always walk outta there feelin' great! She hasn't chosen a name for the baby but I'm pulling for Lola. She has a 2 year old son named Logan and I think Logan and Lola sound precious together! Plus it's just a kick ass name ;)

Ok, I'm off to kill zombies. Hope you all have a great week!

Love,
keiara

In my previous post I mentioned that I made myself some Easter jewellery.. well, here are some pics! The necklace is made with fabulous, custom-made ribbon and cord by the lovely Diane of SowZerE Designs. I am mad about her ribbons and have quite a collection. She creates the most beautiful, well-made ribbons, strings and cords that I've ever seen! Just look at those colours :) I also used a beautiful, hammered Sterling silver ring made by the wonderful George of By George. George is an amazing artist who creates gorgeous jewellery and chainmaille pieces. Her work is to die for! I've used one of my own lampwork focals for the pendant. This focal was an experiment and I'm relatively happy with how it turned out. My animals are usually in full 3-D and applying the bunny faces to the base bead was a great learning process. Since it's my first effort I had to keep it for myself and I think it works well in this necklace. I also used four of my Confetti Mini Gems at the ends of the ribbon and cord. This creates and bit of weight which makes the necklace lay nicer against the skin. I didn't cut the ribbon or cord (how could you cut something so exquisite?!) so, as an additional bonus, the beads hang down beneath the bow and create a pretty view from the back as well.

Each week I choose a couple of artists whose work I really love. I've decided I'll call this weekly write-up 'keiara's keepers'. I know, I know.. I'm obsessed with alliteration. Anyway! This week I've chosen ticklebean and Merkaba Jewelry. I purchased the above GORGEOUS purple lily hair clips from Amy of ticklebean as a custom order. She had looooooads of other beautiful flower hair clips but I really had my heart set on purple lilies. Amy created these little lovelies just for me and I adore them! They are the perfect size, colour and the flowers look so pretty nestled in my bright red hair :D Plus Amy is super friendly and talented. Stop by and see for yourself!

This is another custom order created for me by Jennifer of Merkaba Jewelry. Jennifer is an incredibly patient and accommodating seller and I'm so glad I met her :) She created this fabulous scarflette in my new favourite wool colour, Gothic Purple and also shopped for buttons according to my requests. The scarflette is warm, amazingly soft and very well made. It is a nice alternative to a bulky scarf and still keeps my neck warm. Now I'm actually sad that spring is here and I won't be wearing it anymore! Fear not, though, next winter this little beauty will be one of the first items of my winter wardrobe to make an appearance :) Thanks a bunch, Jennifer, for all your help and for creating this gorgeous scarflette for me! (I also broke down and bought a matching scarf from her. If you like handmade scarves and such PLEASE go check out her shop. Her scarves are to die for!)

In beady news I've made a bunch more bunnies which have proven to be quite popular! I love their little faces and I may have made myself a pendant.. and a bracelet.. and a phone charm.. and some earrings!!! Heehee :) I'm so excited about my upcoming trip to Florida and celebrating Easter. Tomorrow I'm having a little Easter tea party with my sister and my friend Sam. There's something about little sandwiches and cupcakes with pastel-coloured icing that fills me with joy. I have to convince hubby to iron the tablecloth and napkins for me when he gets home. Hmm.. here's to hoping that goes over well!

Hope you're having a great week :)

Love,
keiara

I mentioned that the previous newspaper article was an excerpt from a larger article that would appear in the near future. Well, here it is! You can have a look at Your Shepway's site. I'm on page 8. There are a few mix-ups (uhh, I'm not a glass blower, thanks!) which I've already emailed them about but, all in all, I'm so thrilled! This one gives out my website info too which is fantastic. What a great start to the weekend!

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend? I'm gearing up for my sister's arrival. I plan to make sure this is the best holiday she's ever had! She's interested in seeing older villages, etc (especially the pubs.. lol) and I'm planning to take her to Rye and Hastings. I'd like to go to Brighton as well. Any suggestions? We hit all the castles last visit so we're just mainly doing sight seeing type stuff. Ooh I'm planning on a day trip to France as well.. shh, don't tell her, it's a surprise! :D

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
keiara

Here are my artist picks for the week! The above fantastically gorgeous little purses are made by my friend Debbie of Wychbury Doll. Debbie says I'm her number one fan and I'm PROUD of that fact! Her textile work is fantastic and her dolls are beyond amazing. I have several :D Do yourself a favour and check out her website to see more pictures of her incredible cloth dolls. The rock troll in the upper left is MINE! I also have three seated faeries (including Midnight and Aurora). And my collection is about to grow very soon...! I love this chick ;)