Rose and Raven Handmade Jewellery

Silver Tree of Life Necklace

2011-01-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

This Tree of Life necklace features a beautiful circular charm cast in pewter and plated in fine silver along with a little white glass pearl.

The Tree of Life is very symbolic and represents different things to different cultures and beliefs - wisdom, knowledge, family and nature. I personally just love this depiction of the tree and its many spiral branches.
This pretty piece is available both at my Etsy (US $) store and on my Rose and Raven website (UK £'s).

Vintage Style Jewellery on Etsy - Weekly Discount Sales

2010-10-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

New weekly sales specials with 20% discount off selected jewelry items in my Etsy shop!

Everyone loves a sale don't they and with Christmas approaching at a rapid rate, what better than to get some of those gifts sorted and save a few pennies too?

From now until further notice I'll pick 3 different pieces each week and discount them by 20%. You can find these sale items by popping over to the Rose and Raven on Etsy shop and click on the 'Weekly Special Sales' category in the sections located on the left hand side.

This weeks pretties on sale are:

Oui Necklace in Antiqued Silver

Chatterbox Necklace in Antiqued Brass

Bicycle Ride Necklace in Antiqued Brass

Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter if you'd like to be notified of latest designs, offers and special 'subscriber only' discounts. Don't worry - you won't be bombarded with emails! Sales and discount news will only be sent at most once a week.

Silver Bird and Brass Birdcage Necklace

2010-09-17T05:33:00.001-07:00

An oh so sweet little spotted sparrow bird in matt silver sits in front of her birdcage. The birdcage is antiqued brass and contrasts nicely with the silver of the bird. Teamed with a little pink glass pearl this is such a sweet necklace perfect for everyday wear.

Pop over to Rose and Raven on Etsy to see this Bird and Birdcage Necklace.

Fall into Autumn - lots of Acorn Necklaces

2010-09-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

I showed you the Golden Acorn necklace below - well here are a few more in various colours. Available are Powder Green, Soft Rose Pink, Pale Gold and Midnight Blue - all from Rose and Raven on Etsy.

Golden Acorn Necklace in Antiqued Brass

2010-09-04T02:47:00.000-07:00

This pretty little necklace features an adorable detailed brass 'acorn' cap and a pale gold Swarovski glass pearl. Perfect for autumn!
The little acorn measures 14mm x 13mm and hangs from an 18" antiqued brass chain which fastens easily with a toggle clasp. You can view and purchase this Golden Acorn Necklace at my Etsy shop.

I do have these in other colours - pop over to Rose and Raven at Etsy to see the full colllection.

Love Letter Envelope Locket & Bird Necklace

2010-09-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

This vintage style necklace features an adorable brass envelope locket which is being carried by 2 little birds. The really cool thing is that the envelope opens to reveal a removeable 'I Love You' note - how sweet is that?The necklace hangs on an 18" antiqued brass chain and fastens easily with a toggle clasp. You can view and purchase the Love Letter Locket Necklace at my Etsy shop.

To see the full collection of modern and vintage style jewellery pop over to the Rose and Raven at Etsy shop.

Little Bird Locket Necklace

2010-09-03T01:54:00.000-07:00

This sweet little bird and locket necklace has become one of my best sellers. I purposely kept it simple which makes it perfect for everyday wear. The circular antiqued brass locket opens so that you can place a picture or little keepsake inside and an adorable brass swallow swoops in front.
It hangs from an 18" chain but I can alter the chain length to suit at no extra cost. You can view the Little Bird Locket Necklace at my Etsy shop.

Pop over to Rose and Raven on Etsy to see more of my collection.

Featured on Anna Kay blog..

2010-07-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have had a lovely blog feature on my jewellery by Anna Kay Creations. Check out her Etsy shop too - she has some really pretty items....

Winner of the My Pretty Perch necklace is.....

2010-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah from Wrapped up with String - congratulations!!

Your necklace is on it's way to you. Thanks to everyone that entered and maybe you'll be lucky next time x

Win a Bird on a Perch Necklace

2010-07-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

Well Summer is finally here and hasn't it been hot?! To celebrate I'm giving away one of these adorable vintage style 'My Pretty Perch' bird necklaces. They are available in Aqua as shown, Rose Pink or Scarlet Red.

To enter all you need to do is add your name and email address to my newsletter list. This will also give you the latest news of exclusive offers and discounts on jewellery at Rose and Raven. The closing date is Wednesday 7th July and the winner will be chosen at random on Thursday 8th July.

Yes I'd like to enter the draw

If you know anyone else that would like to enter the draw please share it - thanks xx

Good luck!

New website

2010-06-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

After much faffing about I've finally got my Rose and Raven website up and running. It will stock most of the same items that are available in my Folksy shop but it has the advantage that customers won't have to sign up to purchase as they do on Folksy.

The other great thing is that I can give out discount codes which can be redeemed at checkout so you can save a bob or two! If you'd like to receive discounts and offers please pop along to the website and add your name to the mailing list. Don't worry - you won't be bombarded with mailings - maybe one or two a month.

And the winner is.......

2010-05-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

Samy from Samy in Wonderland. Well done - you've won the Springtime in Paris locket necklace. Please could you email me your address and I'll get it sent out to you.

Thanks to everyone that entered and sorry you weren't lucky this time. Keep an eye on my blog though as there will be a new giveaway in the next couple of weeks.

Folksy Friday - Bluebirds

2010-04-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

Time for another Folksy Friday selection and the theme this week is bluebirds (including a shameless promotion of my bluebird necklace!) :))

Giveaway - Springtime in Paris Locket Necklace

2010-04-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

I promised I would do a giveaway a few days ago so here it is. This lovely vintage style necklace featuring a brass heart locket, an antiqued brass Eiffel Tower and glass bell flowers in sunny lemon and lilac could be yours.

The locket opens with space for 2 pictures inside and hangs on an 18" chain.

If you'd like a chance to win this all you have to do is be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment to say you'd like to enter the draw. You can also email me if you would rather at racheldawes21[at]googlemail.com - remember to replace the [at] with @. The winner will be chosen at the end of April.

Happy Birthday hubby!

2010-04-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Today is hubby's birthday so we had a little birthday tea for him. It was just us and the boys and my Mum & Dad but it got me thinking how important it is to spend time with your family. My Mum and Dad have always been quite close to our boys and I think it's lovely that even though the boys are almost all grown up (they're 15 and 17) they still like to spend time with us.

I hope you've all had a lovely Easter weekend. I haven't eaten too much chocolate which is more than can be said for my youngest son who's polished off 3 creme eggs, 4 mini flakes, a box of truffles and one egg!!

I've joined a challenge on Folksy to list one item a day throughout April. Here's my listing for the day - Floral Cascade Earrings...
I also thought I'd feature one other listing from my fellow Folksters. I have a thing for collage and I love this fabric collage brooch from Pants and Paper...

I'll post my day 5 entry tomorrow along with another Folksters listing. I also have a giveaway planned so pop back tomorrow won't you?

Rachel x

Folksy Friday - An Item a Day..

2010-04-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

Over at Folksy some of us have entered a challenge to create and list at least one item a day in April. My Folksy Friday is showcasing some of the gorgeous things that the talented lot from Folksy listed yesterday. Enjoy!

Tea and Scones

2010-03-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful here yesterday so it was lovely to get out in the fresh air and not be shivering for a change. Hubby and went for a drive to a little village called Heydon which is about 10 miles or so from Norwich. It's like stepping back in time as it's very olde worlde and has been used as a filming location for several tv period films and dramas.

I had a scrummy cheese and herb scone in the little tea shop - hubby had a piece of lemon drizzle cake. I'm not really a cakey person - I love savoury things (unless it's chocolate which always wins hands down!). We thought we should really have a walk to burn off those calories so we went for a wander around the grounds of the beautiful Heydon Hall. I would love to live there - just imagine how many craft rooms you could fill up!
I meant to update my blog last week as I wanted to share some good news - my son got the job that he went for. He had the interview on the Friday and they rang him up on Saturday to say he'd got it. We're all so pleased for him - it was his very first interview so he did really well. It's a part time job as he's still at college so he's working Fridays and Saturdays and every other Sunday. He started last week and really enjoyed it. My baby boy is all grown up!

Keeping warm!!

2010-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

I've spent most of the day indoors wearing a woolly hat and gloves with a blanket wrapped around me and cuddling a hot water bottle. Oh and wearing my very snuggly warm ugg-like slipper boot thingies. Yes it was a sight to behold and my hubby wasted no time in dishing out the not very funny remarks!!

The reason for this was that last night I thought I could smell gas in the airing cupboard where our boiler is. I got everyone else to come and have a sniff and the consensus was that yes, possibly it may smell a bit like gas but they weren't sure. So I rang the emergency gas line and half an hour later a nice man came and turned off our heating and cut off the gas supply. I had to wait until late afternoon for an engineer to come and check the boiler and test the gas for leaks. There wasn't a leak thankfully. I just wish the gas man could have tested it last night then we wouldn't have spent all day with no heat and no hot water.

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Changing the subject slightly, I was recently nominated for Sunshine award by the lovely Beccy from Designs By Reis. Thanks Beccy - I'll decide who I'm going to pass it on to soon.

I've added some new pieces of jewellery to my Folksy shop - some more floral earrings, these really cute vintage tortoise earrings and this pretty Fairytale Locket and Key necklace.

Folksy Friday

2010-03-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

The end of the week again and time to have a look at some of the things I've found on Folksy. I went for a house theme this week. I tried Picasa for the first time and the mini collage I made went slightly wrong as the pictures should be square! I'm impressed with Picasa though - editing pictures is so easy and I can get a lovely bright white background which I seem to be having problems doing with Paint Shop Pro at the moment.

1. House from Strangelord

2. Little House Key Wristlet from Magenpie

3. Paper Mache Little House from Niche

4. Pixie House Coin Purse from DinkyDaisy

I hope you like my selections this week and pay a visit to these Folksy shops.

A new week!

2010-03-01T02:32:00.000-08:00

Tinker (left) and Pickles.

It's a week now since my beloved cat passed away. The first couple of days were awful - I've never cried so much in my life. Losing Pickles has hit me harder than any other cat we've lost. I think it's because I'd spent so much time with him over the last 7 months. He was a perfect patient - he graciously allowed me to shove tablets down his throat 3 times day and inject him once a day (although he did occasionally have a little grumble!)

We had Pickles cremated and have now got his ashes with us. I was very worried about how his little brother would cope. We've had them both since they were 8 weeks old and Pickles was very much the big brother. He would always look out for Tinker, wash him and generally follow him about. The first few days Tinker kept looking for him and was a bit unsettled but today he seems much more relaxed. We've been giving him loads of cuddles and playing with him to keep him occupied.

As they say - time is a healer....

A very sad day.

2010-02-22T04:15:00.000-08:00

This morning we had to have our beloved cat Pickles put to sleep. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in July last year. At that time we didn't expect to even have him for a month but he surprised us all and lived for 7 months. He had 2 embolisms in that time but he got through them with lots of love and care. Sadly today the third embolism was too much for him and we had to make the heart rending decision to have him put to sleep.

I am completely distraught. Although it was the right and only thing we could do in that situation, my heart is breaking not only because I shall miss him so so much but because I know his brother will be crying for him soon when he realises that he's not here.

Pickles was the most beautiful and adorable cat I have ever had the honour to know. We developed such a close bond in the time that he was ill. He had to have several tablets and an injection every day but was an absolute darling and never made it difficult. I am trying to take comfort from the fact that he was spoiled rotten and lived the life of a lord. He was so happy and to look at him you would never have known that he was so ill. He was doing everything that he did before he was diagnosed - running up and down the stairs, chasing his brother and playing with his toys. This morning was no different - we even commented on how well and bright he was. That is the nature of the beast though - blood clots happen so quickly and with no warning.

Folksy Friday time again!

2010-02-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

It's Friday again and time for me to showcase some of the lovely things I've found on Folksy today. I'm planning a revamp of my banner (yes again!) and I'm going for lovely soft colours of aqua and pink. They look so pretty together that I thought this would be ideal for the theme this week.

I love the gorgeous colours in this Butterfly and Flower felt headband from Lupin Handmade

A beautiful floral chintzy bag from Lilly and Roses

These resin earrings from Nelli D are so cute but then so is everything in her shop!

How about these lovely peg magnets in hot pink and aqua from Mymiyel

I love this pretty body warmer - if I had a little girl I'd definitely get her this. From Angelic Folk... Finally we have this gorgeous floral bunting from Hollie Lollie...

Folksy Friday

2010-02-05T02:50:00.000-08:00

Another week almost over and I thought I would showcase some of the fab finds on Folksy today. Looking forward to the spring I thought I would focus on leaves - it's my favourite time of year when the new leaves start to appear. So to kick off is this lovely leafy oven glove and apron set from Pidgeonstitch - the colours are gorgeous aren't they?
Next we have these stunning earrings in fine silver and copper from Ali Bali Jewellery. I actually had a hard time choosing which piece to feature as they are all gorgeous.

Finally I love this bag in black and cream from pipdesigns. Check out the shop - there are lots more gorgeous bags.

2010-01-28T15:12:00.001-08:00

I don't know where January has gone to but to be honest I'm glad it's nearly over. It's such a grim month don't you think? Practically every day has been grey and cold - I just want to see some blue skies again. I've felt really uninspired creatively which I think must be down to the weather.

I've had a couple of lovely reviews on other blogs which really cheered me up though. Thanks so much to the lovely Katherine of Flutterbies Jewellery for showing my Dragonfly Earrings. Big thanks also to Slava who kindly featured some of my jewellery and lampwork beads on her Craftdom Blog.

Have you been watching Celebrity Big Brother? I'm so glad that Alex Reid won - he has changed a lot of people's opinion of him. I must admit that I, like lots of others had preconceived ideas of him due to all the media hype but he proved himself to be a really decent guy. Far too good for the likes of Miss Price in my opinion!

So what have I been up to in the jewellery department? Well I've been setting up a new shop on Folksy which will be the home of my altered art style charm bracelets and earrings. I didn't think they really sat well with my Rose and Raven range which is more vintage inspired so I thought it was best to keep them seperate. The new shop is called the Raven's Den which you can find here. Although there's not much in there at the moment I'm hoping to fill it up over the next couple of weeks.

I've listed a few new things in my Folksy shop - some birdie pieces including these earrings inspired by the American poet Emily Dickinson.Well have a good weekend everyone and I'll let you know when the new shop has been stocked up!

Another one bites the dust!

2009-12-31T06:55:00.001-08:00

Another year comes and goes - far too quickly for my liking. It must be true that saying that time goes quicker as you get older. I just want to grab hold of it and slow it down. Wouldn't it be great if you could do that? We could make all those special days last longer - the family get togethers, birthdays & days out.

So now it's the time for new year goals. I don't like resolutions - I prefer to think of them as things I want to achieve - it seems more positive that way.

I want, no I NEED to be healthier both in terms of food and exercise. I want to make some time for arty things like collage and painting. I want to be more organised and keep my Etsy and Folksy shops regularly stocked up with new items.

Talking of new items I added a few necklaces to my stores. I love this Calla Lily - the shape is fantastic and the matt white gold plated finish is so elegant.

These postcard charms are adorable - perfect for a gift for a loved one, perhaps Valentine's Day or just to treat yourself.

And how cute are these little silver birdies? An adorable bird outside her birdcage - perhaps making a bid for freedom?

Happy New Year to you all and I hope it brings you peace, love, good health and happiness.

Folksy Friday

2009-12-11T02:57:00.000-08:00

I love browsing through Folksy - there is such a diversity of handmade crafts and unique items. I thought why not have a little section on my blog to share some of the wonderful things I've found. So here are a couple of my favourites this week.

I love these adorable paintings and prints from Sascalia - this Three Little Owls print of an original painting is one of my favourites. More gorgeous artwork can be found in her Folksy shop - http://www.folksy.com/shops/sascalia

Next is SoapyChica - her handmade soaps look divine. I particularly like this set of 4 bars - they all sound scrummy especially the coffee one. More soapy loveliness can be found in her Folksy shop - http://www.folksy.com/shops/SoapyChica

Revamped blog

2009-12-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

I've decided to have a revamp of my blog design. I wanted something a bit softer and more feminine so I found this fab site with free backgrounds and all sorts of other goodies - check out Shabby Blogs. So I've gone for the pink look for now although me being me, I may well decide it's time for another change in the not too distant future! For now though I'm happy with the look - what do you think?

I've had a bit of a change in my shops on Folksy and Etsy too. I redesigned my banner going for a pale blue damask which I think reflects more the direction I'm taking with my jewellery at the moment. I've also redone some of my pictures using soft coloured backgrounds instead of white. The trouble with me is that I can never decide on something and stick to it, so next time you look everything may have changed again!!

I've added some new jewellery pieces to the collection over the last few days - mainly necklaces and earrings.

I'm loving lockets at the moment - I think they're so feminine and romantic. This necklace has a vintage blue rose porcelain cabochon with a gorgeous blue rose.

Vintage beads

2009-08-18T04:34:00.000-07:00

I love using vintage components in my jewellery - they really make a piece extra special and unique. I made this bracelet at the weekend and incorporated some vintage brass charms, vintage faux pearls and lucite moonglow beads. I had this sweet little heart pendant/locket that I found at a collectables fair and it went perfectly with the colours.

I am flattered to have been featured in 4 Etsy Treasuries recently and one of them made the front page - how cool is that?

Update on furbaby!

2009-08-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

My precious little cat is doing so well at the moment. The medications have kicked in and he is eating well and is much more energetic and playful. Getting him to take 3 tablets a day can be a bit of a trial sometimes but we've found some fish that he loves so I hide the tablets in that.

I was taking some pictures yesterday and he decided that he wanted to be in them too! How cute is he?!

I put some more of my jewellery on Etsy. I really like how this Tarot Cat Charm Bracelet turned out - I wanted to make it quite celestial and mystical so I added little clusters of hematite stars.

My poorly cat

2009-08-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we found out that our darling 6 year old tabby cat has got advanced heart disease. Those of you that have pets will probably be able to imagine how I feel knowing that he won't be around for too much longer. He and his brother are the most adorable, sweet natured cats and it will break my heart when I lose either of them.

But I have to try and stay positive and enjoy the time we have with him. He's started on medications which I hope will slow down the progression of the disease and make him feel more comfortable.

As I was trying to keep myself busy yesterday while he was at the vets I made some earrings up. I used little silvertone frames which I had decoupaged images into and filled with epoxy resin. I think I have settled on resin now as my first choice when making these picture charms. I have wasted far too much time and money on other glazes which although they look nice and shiny they aren't durable at all.

I used images from an Italian tarot card deck featuring cats. I have a couple of bracelets using these too which I made a couple of months ago and haven't got round to photographing yet. These ones are The High Priestess and The Moon.

I also did some with pretty images of hummingbirds and another pair with an image of Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. All these earrings have sterling silver earwires and will be available on Etsy and Folksy.

Also yesterday I came across a website where a member had featured one of my bracelets as a recommendation. The site is called This Next - you can check it out here http://www.thisnext.com/item/D82BE9A4/CE41126F/Peacock-Charm-Bracelet-at#comment-thread-CE41126F.

Back to creating!

2009-07-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well what a horrible week I've had - turns out I did have swine flu after all!! I felt yucky for several days and didn't do a thing. I was sooo bored - I wanted to get back to creating but I just didn't have the energy or the inspiration. Thankfully though I'm fine now. I made several new pieces of jewellery and I went into the studio yesterday and made some lampwork beads.

I've just listed several pairs of these earrings on Etsy - I think they're so sweet and all the different colours look gorgeous together.

Finding time!

2009-07-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm trying really hard to keep up with all the promoting that's necessary for online sales. What with Twitter, blogging, forums, facebook, adding items to Etsy and Folksy there doesn't seem to be much time left to actually make anything!

I think I'm understanding Facebook at bit more now - come and have a look at my page - even be a fan if you like!! You can find me here - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Rose-and-Raven/102295845846?ref=nf

I've not really made much jewellery this week as I haven't felt 100%. I've had a sore throat and a headache - hope it's not swine flu! I managed to get these listed on Etsy today - Alice and the Deer earrings and Klimt's Tree of Life necklace.

Working with resin

2009-07-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've been making some pendants and bracelet charms today. I'm veering more towards using resin at the moment as I love the finish it gives. I've tried loads of different varnishes and glazes to coat my picture charms but none of them have the shiny hard finish that you get with resin. I thought that Diamond Glaze, which is really popular would be the answer at first but I've found that although it gives a lovely clear shiny finish it can be marked really easily.

Using resin is quite a time consuming process though. Your pictures have to be really well sealed, particularly the edges, otherwise the resin will seep into the paper causing a wet looking stain. Once you've got your resin in the frames you have to babysit for a good 20 minutes I've found to make sure there are no air bubbles coming to the surface. These need to be dealt with asap. I use a little butane torch and gently wave it over the resin - this normally gets rid of them.

Some of the charms I use are a bit of a pain to fill with resin like these ones in this bracelet I've just listed on Etsy. I've found that a little bit of clear acetate works well to protect the picture and looks nice too.

What background to use?!

2009-07-07T17:44:00.001-07:00

Well I've just added some more items to my Etsy shop. I've been playing around with backgrounds. I was going to go for a slightly patterned background for my pics and I have done some on a pretty scrapbook paper. I think it looks OK for earrings but the bracelets seem to get a bit lost.

I normally use my light tent and white paper for my lampwork beads but this method makes the silver too shiny and I lose the detail. So I took a couple of pieces outside this afternoon and took pics in the shade. I edited the white balance and I think they look quite good. The detail is still there and the silver is not too bright.

It's important to have consistance in Etsy shops so I want to get it right so all my pictures have a similar look. The first pic is an Alice in Wonderland charm bracelet but I don't think it stands out well enough on that background. The second pic of the Raven Charm Bracelet was taken outside in natural light. I think I'll retake the other pictures and see what they look like on the white.

New beginnings!

2009-07-06T02:43:00.000-07:00

This is my first post on my brand spanking new blog which I've set up for my handmade jewellery. Some of you will know me from my lampwork beads website/blog - Earth and Fire Beads.

I've been making jewellery for several years which I've sold through a gallery in Scotland. I wanted to move away from sterling silver/lampwork beads and create a different style. Besides, my lovely customers make such gorgeous pieces with my beads that I thought I would leave it to them!

I have to confess that I used to be somewhat of a snob when it came to the sterling silver/silver plated issue. Sterling silver is still my favourite to work with and I would always use it when creating with lampwork beads and gemstones. But I have to say that I think plated metal has a place too. Yes I know that it's not going to last as long as a piece made with sterling silver but not everybody necessarily wants nor expects their jewellery to last forever. You may spend £30 -£40 on a pair of shoes but you know they won't last forever either!

So I look at things differently now. I still put the same amount of care into a piece made with plated metal as I would one with sterling silver - it just means that I can keep the cost down more for the customer.

I love the antiqued brass/copper findings that are available - they give such a wonderful vintage look to jewellery.

I've started putting some of my pieces on Etsy. I'll be adding more items over the coming weeks. I have several charm bracelets to list including some Alice in Wonderland pieces.