Black Daisy Designs

Best quote ever.

2012-01-25T13:05:00.001+01:00

Orange Fish Tree - Art Print - The Epic Tree Collection
by Typeposters

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

(A. Einstein)

♥
/anna-karin

Gold?

2012-01-21T21:22:00.000+01:00

'Holly' from my previous shop, Små Blå
14k goldfilled with Emeralds

I dug out my old stash of gold-filled wire and findings today. I didn't have very much left but I did manage to make a pair of simple hoops, a pair of creole style smaller hoops and a Can You Reach Me ring. It felt good to do a bit in gold so I'm thinking that I might get some more gold filled wire. I'm actually already plotting designs with sterling and gold filled mixed, so yes... definately more gold filled.

Oh, and while I was at it I checked out the price for genuine gold. *cough* Yeaaahhh.... I'll stick with gold filled, thank you very much.

♥

/anna-karin

Svenska

Jag grävde fram mitt gamla lager av gold-filled material idag. Jag hade inte mycket kvar, men jag lyckades att göraett par stora och ett par mindre kreoler och en Can You Reach Me ring. Det kändes bra att arbeta lite i guld så jag funderar på om jag inte skulle ta och skaffa mig lite mer gold-filled tråd. Jag grunnar redan på några designs med både silver och gold-filled, så jo ... det blir definitivt mer gold-filled.

Åh, och medan jag var på gång så kollade priset på äkta guld. *host host* Eeehhhh jomenvisst serru.... jag tror nog att jag håller mig till gold-filled, tack så mycket.

"Gold Filled är nästan i samma klass som rent guld. Skillnaden är att man har en basmetall som kärna och sen ett mycket tjockt lager av äkta guld över. Metoden är speciell och man använder sig av hetta och tryck för att få tilll delarna. Detta är inte så vanligt i Sverige och det verkar inte finnas ett svenskt ord för det än. Detta ska ej blandas ihop med guldpläterade delar då guldpläterat fort tappar färgen och inte kan bäras av allergiker. Gold Filled kan bäras av nickelallergiker då guldlagret är så pass tjockt att inte någon nickel ska kunna irritera huden. Guldlagret slits heller inte bort och guldet behåller sin vackra färg och glans i år efter år, bara man sköter om det någorlunda bra." Källa: Pärlguiden

♥
/anna-karin

Facebook = extra-special-super-duper-mega-deals!

2012-01-20T09:52:00.000+01:00

På svenska längre ner.

Are you "liking" Black Daisy Designs on Facebook? If not you really should. I will soon start to add extra sales, special offers etc on Facebook - but only to those who "like" me.

I'm not completely clear on the structure yet, but here are some ideas:

Monthly sales
A "Special product of the month" with huge discount
For new pieces that I upload on FB - "Buy before listed in shop and receive a special discount"

So - go ahead. You know you already like me, now go ahead and "Like" me. :)
*bwahahaha.... wow, that was cheesy*

Black Daisy Designs on Facebook!

♥
/anna-karin

SVENSKA!

"Gillar" du Black Daisy Designs på Facebook? Om inte så borde du verkligen göra det. Jag kommer snart att börja lägga upp extra reor, specialerbjudanden etc på Facebook - men bara till de som "gillar" mig.

Jag är inte helt klar på strukturen ännu, men här är några idéer:

Månads-reor
En "Månadens produkt" med stor rabatt
För nya produkter som jag lägger upp på FB - "Köp nu innan den är upplagd i butik och få en extra rabatt"

Så kom igen. Du vet att du redan gillar mig, gå nu vidare och "Gilla" mig. :)
*bwahahah.... ojj, bara lite smörigt va?*

Black Daisy Designs på Facebook!

I received a darling letter....

2012-01-19T14:27:00.002+01:00

Svensk text längre ner!

Yesterday evening I got the sweetest convo on Etsy. It was from a - dare I say it? - a ... fan (!) *giggles* expressing her love for my jewellery. It turns out she's been reading my blog for over a year now (winks and waves) and now she had to approach me regaring something. May I just say that I find it so amazing that people out there are actually reading my ramblings. I feel humbled and proud and filled with re-newed responsibility. I avoided starting a blog for the longest time because "no-one would read it and I have nothing to say". But, of course, I jumped on the band wagon and pretty soon realized it wasn't about who read my blog or not, it was about me having my own space. And in a way, the blog has become my third child. (A child I neglect for weeks on end occassionally but ... you know what I mean. :)

But I'm digressing. The author of this lovely letter had a little... request from me. Or maybe I should say she had a longing for something she hadn't seen for a while and she was begging me for more.

"It has been a while since you produce any more jellyfish earrings, but I had to write you this note, expressing my nostalgia (and longing) for them!"

Do you remember the Jellyfish earrings?

These Turquoise and white Sapphires were the first one I made (and they are still available HERE)

Then I made this custom pair in Rhodonite and Amethyst to a lovely, lovely customer. She was such a trooper. We had MAJOR problems finding pink cabs for the bodies but she just patiently waited.

In between the Turquoise and Rhodonite jellyfish earrings I made these in all Labradorite. Ok, they're not jellyfish', they're squids but I figured it's same element and same design style so for me they're almost jellyfish earrings. :)

"Sometimes, I think to myself that, maybe you do not feel confident based on your audience, or that your muse is being too fickle, but you must bring them back again(please!) So that is why I write to you to make more."

So.... how do I continue from this lovely letter? What do I do? It just happens that I bought material for two pairs of jellyfish earrings early last year, but I never got around making them. But the cabs and rondelles are still packed together, destined to become sea creatures for your ears. One pair in Lapis Lazuli and one pair i Prehnite.

I guess I'll be posting some pictures of Jellyfish earrings in the near future. :)

♥
/anna-karin

SVENSKA!

Igår kväll fick jag det sötaste convot på Etsy. Det var från en - vågar jag säga det - ett... fan (!) *fnissar * som uttryckte sin beundran för mina smycken. Det visar sig att hon har läst min blogg i över ett år nu och nu behövde hon närma sig mig angående något. Får jag bara säga att jag tycker det är så fantastiskt att det finns folk där ute som faktiskt läser mitt babbel. Jag känner mig ödmjuk och stolt och fylld av förnyat ansvar. Jag undvek att starta en blogg under en lång tid, eftersom "ingen skulle läsa den och jag har ingenting att säga". Men, naturligtvis, hoppade jag på tåget och ganska snart insåg att det handlade inte om vem som läser min blogg, det handlar om mig och att jag har mitt alldeles egna utrymme. Så på ett sätt är bloggen som mitt tredje barn. (Ett barn jag försummar i veckor i sträck ibland men ... du vet vad jag menar. :)

Men jag kommer bort från ämnet. Författaren till det här brevet hade en liten ... begäran från mig. Eller kanske jag ska säga att hon hade en längtan efter något som hon inte hade sett på ett tag och ville se mer av.

"Det har varit ett tag sedan du producerar några nya Jellyfish örhängen, så jag var tvungen att skriva till dig för att uttrycka min nostalgi (och längtan) för dem".

Kommer du ihåg Jellyfish örhängena? Eller Manet örhängena som vi säger.

Dessa i Turkoser och vita Safirer var de första jag gjorde (och de är fortfarande finns HÄR)

Sedan gjorde jag en beställning för detta par i RODONIT och Ametist till en helt underbar kund. Hon var en rikigt trooper. Vi hade enorma problem att hitta rosa cabochoner för "kropparna" men hon bara väntade tålmodigt.

Mellan Turkos och RODONIT örhängen jag gjorde dessa i bara Labradorit. Ok, de är inte maneter, de är bläckfiskar, men jag tänkte att det är samma element och samma design stil så för mig så är de nästan maneter örhängen. :)

"Ibland tänker jag att, kanske du inte känner dig så säker baserad på din publik eller att din musa är för fladdrig, men du måste föra dem tillbaka igen (please!) Så det är därför jag skriver till dig, att göra fler par. "

Så .... hur fortsätter jag från ett sånt här underbart brev? Vad ska jag göra? Av en händelse (!) så är det så att jag köpte material för två par manet örhängen till, i början av förra året, men det blev aldrig av att jag gjorde dem. Men cabochonerna och rondeller är fortfarande kvar, packade tillsammans och avsedd att bli små havsdjur för dina öron. Ett par i Lapis Lazuli och ett par jag Prehnite.

Jag antar att jag kommer att publicera några bilder av maneter örhängen i en nära framtid. :)

♥

/anna-karin

More and more and more...

2012-01-16T11:47:00.000+01:00

Right now my Muse is working overtime and I'm giving my all just to keep up.

And I confess - I'm failing. But my head is buried in silver and cabochons and brass and shapes and colours... not focused on photos and descriptions ... so I'm falling behind. I think I have maybe 30-40 finished or semi-finished pieces waiting ... and she is not showing signs of slowing down. LOL

But I'm not complaining. It feels simply splendid to sit down in my studio, immediaty get an idea and find out after finishing it, it actually worked.

It's quite amazing, really.

♦ Svenska ♦

Just nu arbetar min Musa övertid och jag har fullt upp för att bara hänga med.

Och jag får väl erkänna - jag misslyckas. Men mitt huvud är begravt i silver och cabochons och mässing och former och färger ... inte fokuserat på bilder och beskrivningar... så jag hamnar obönhörligt på efterkälken. Jag tror jag har kanske 30-40 färdiga eller halvfärdiga smycken som väntar ... och min Musa visar tecken på avmattning. LOL

Men jag klagar inte. Det känns helt enkelt fantastisk att sätta sig ner i studion och omedelbart få en idé och få reda på efter att ha färdigställt smycket att idéen faktiskt fungerade.

Det är ganska fantastiskt egentligen.

♥

/anna-karin

Bunch of new stuff....

2012-01-13T19:33:00.000+01:00

A whole bunch of new listings are available in my Etsy shop. Some of these aren't what you usually see in my shop, but as I've mentioned before, I'm expanding my inventory. But, I'm going to list loads more over the next few days and there will be quite a lot of my usual style in that batch. :)

Svenska!

Massor med nya varor i min Etsy shop. Kanske inte produkter du är van att se i min butik, men som jag sagt tidigare - jag håller på och bredda min produktlinje. De kommande dagarna kommer jag dock att lägga upp massor med nya smycken och av dem kommer de flesta vara i min gamla vanliga stil. :)

BRACELET

Brass filigree bracelet

NECKLACES

Dainty sterling silver pendant necklace

Petit sterling silver and turquoise pendant necklace.

Lily pendant necklace.

EARRINGS

South Sea shell pearl earrings in teal.

South Sea shell pearl earrings in deep mauve.

South Sea shell pearl earrings in deep forest green.

South Sea shell pearl earrings in sage.

Bohemain brass filigree earrings

Brass filigree post earrings

♥

/anna-karin

Taking photos....

2012-01-13T14:16:00.000+01:00

.... lots and lots of photos.

♥
/anna-karin

My no.1 priority.

2012-01-05T18:57:00.000+01:00

I - need - to - make - more - jewellery.

Loads of jewellery. And I need to list said jewellery. And to do that I need to take photos.

AND THEN THIS DARK AND GREY AND GLOOMY AND MORDOR LIKE WEATHER DOESN'T HELP.

The last couple of weeks I've tried to take photos of some new stuff. FIVE TIMES!! And I've scrapped all of those photos because they were rubbish. That's about 500-700 photos I've deleted, people. 500-700 photos!!

And don't tell me to get a light tent. I've got one. And believe it or not - my photos turn out even worse when I use the light tent than without. So no... I just need sweet, lovely daylight. Softly slipping through my curtains, gently laying itself on my jewellery, bouncing off said jewellery and into my camera.

Now is that too much to ask for? *grumblegrumblegrumble*

♥

/anna-karin

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

2012-01-02T21:20:00.000+01:00

I'm gearing up for 2012. I have good feelings about this year and I intend to prove myself right. Since my Winds of change posts (here and here) I've had this rush of creativity. Heck, I actually made a necklace and a bracelet on New Year's morning. 2012 was but mere 1½ hours old and I was busy in my studio. That gotta say something, right?

I'm streamlining, simplifying and I'm now creating with my newest motto in mind:
If I believe something could look nice, well then god darnit I'll make it.

That's why you will see bracelets like this one in my shop soon.

And earrings like this pair.

Montana Agates always looks nice, so I'll keep making things with those.

And I'm using my recycled silver instead of buying new silver sheets. And I don't even bother to trim the edges... because I think it looks nicer like this.

I'm feeling more confident than I have in a long time. I feel like I've stopped apologizing for my pieces not living up to par (to my own imaginary critics). And if/when that little insecure creature poppes her head out again and asks:
- But what if they won't like it?

Then I'll just turn around, stare her blank in the eyes and say:

- Well frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

♥
/anna-karin

What I've picked up during 2011.

2011-12-31T13:44:00.001+01:00

Most important of all is to feel well
My daughter is becoming increasingly bossy by the day. In a funny way. Go figure.
Having my son live with us is beyond wonderful.
I'm married to one of the truly good guys out there.
Shoveling snow can be kind of therapeutic.
But summer is still my favorite season.

Brown stain is impossible to get out from fabric.
I can make my own jewellery displays!
I can live a whole weekend without coffee and still be nice! Who knew?
Homegrown veggies are a blessing.

Having a bunny is far, far... far more entertaining than I ever thought it would be.

I really, really don't care for cilantro. Bleurgh.
I do however care very much for Mojitos.
A cat can be missed for a long time. I still love and miss you Spock.

Car payments are still a nuisance.
I can cut the teeth on a bunny!
I still think I'm hilarious.
Pinterest is too much fun.
Apparently loosing weight, becasue "I really want to" doesn't work.
Excising is still boring.
Dieting is still boring.
Dancing all night is still fun.
And I still have the bestest customers in the world.

To all of you out there - friends, customers, accuaintancies, strangers - I truly wish that 2012 will bring you nothing but joy, love and happiness.

Happy New Year darlings.

See you on the other side!

♥

/anna-karin

Winds of change part 2

2011-12-27T14:13:00.000+01:00

I feel I need to elaborate on my thinking from yesterday.

For very long now, I have been making all the findings and all the elements in my pieces on my own. Ok, not the chains. I draw the line at the chains. But otherwise - everything has been hand made by yours truly. And with all this thinking going on the last weeks, I started to wonder about this.

WHY has it been so so important for me to say that my pieces are 100% handmade?

The answer has not been easy to find. Sure - there's the ego thing. "LOOK... I've made all of this, ain't I clever?" But that is only part of the answer and after much soul searching I have to admit that I think I'm guilty of doing the one thing I always tell others not to do.

I've been comparing myself with other artisans.

But not just any artisans - oh noooo - I've focused on the best of Etsy. Of course. *eyeroll* On the silversmiths that have empty shops all the time becuase the sell out everything they make. The silversmiths with a fan base the size of a small country. The silversmiths that have become legends among other silversmiths. THOSE are the ones I compared myself with.

Excuse me while I laugh at my own naivety.

What I seem to have forgotten in this blinded worship is, that these artisans all have their own distinct style. Styles that appeal to a broad range of customers that collect things of beauty. That gladly pay an arm and a leg for the gorgeousness. My style is ... that I don't have a style. I'm all over the place. I like super modern - I swoon over victorian. I adore simple - I love over the top. You could argue this would appeal to an even broader range of customers, but... somehow it doesn't. My theory is that, if you are going to spend a small fortune on a piece of jewellery, you want other people to know or recognize the style. And if they don't - you at least want them to swoon when you tell them who it is. It's the same mechanism as someone wearing the latest Dior dress, Jimmy Choo shoes, Vuitton bag etc. Be it on a smaller scale.

And THESE are the ones I decided to compare myself with and emulate.

*falls off chair laughing*

Man, I can be silly. Get me right, these artisans are amazing and we should all aim for the stars when we try to evolve... but just becuase they make their pieces 100% by hand doesn't mean that I become one of them by making my pieces 100% by hand too. Which brings us full circle back to style. Looking at the other artisans I can say that they DO have a distinct style. And it's not in their photos - it really is in their pieces. It's their style.

And to put it brutally - I can never be one of them becuase I don't have a distinct style.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not cutting myself short. I'm not pitying myself. I'm super proud over all I've done with Black Daisy Designs. Back up just a few years and I had never even touched a jewellery plier and now I'm about to start a REAL company designing, producing and selling my own jewellery. In many ways that is a success story. No wait... that IS a success story. But this also requires me to be honest. To think. To act. To adjust. And this is me trying to think like a business woman.

Take a step back.
Evaluate the situation.
Identify the problems.
Find solutions to the problems. DON'T overdo it. Keep it simple.
Implement the solutions.
Adjust.

Gosh.... I thought this was only going to be a short little addendum to my post yesterday but it turned out to be much more. LOL Well... it is my blog so I can do what I want. But it is so very helpful putting it down in writing like this. I get to read through my own thoughts time and time again and it's amazing how much you can learn about yourself that way. I suppose it's like keeping a diary or a journal, a way of keeping track of my somewhat erratic thoughts.

♥

/anna-karin

Wind of change is blowing

2011-12-26T18:49:00.000+01:00

There are big changes blowing in Black Daisy Designs' direction. Big. As in - possibly life changing big. That big. As of Feb. 1st, I am only working half time at my day job and will spend the rest of my time at home, creating.

And I'm a nervous wreck.

As you all know the sales on Etsy has plumethed and my sales are now about a 1/10 of what they were last year. So I choose this time to quit my day job! Smart move, lady. *eyeroll* Oh well, why make it the easy way, when you can make it the tough way, right?

Anyway - this is a major change for me so I guess you wont' be too surprised if I tell you this has been occupying all my thoughts for weeks. I've been thinking and thinking and thinking... and even though I have been talking about it here earlier, I now feel like I've reached a definate conclusion.

I need to change my inventory.

*letting the last sentence sink in a bit*

I read an article a couple of weeks ago from one of Etsy's most successful sellers. I can't remember who it was but she said something that stuck with me. (Probably because I've been thinking the exact same thing.) She said "personally I wouldn't list anything above $50 on Etsy today". She made this statement based on a lot of different parameters such as; the economic situation in the world, the search change Etsy made in August and the fact that high end pieces don't do as well on Etsy as on other venues any longer. I can't verify this, but I've had a hunch there's been a shift and that lower priced items are selling more than more expensive. Ok... this has always been true, but... I still feel that expensive jewellery don't do as well as before.

So, new inventory. But don't worry, I will continue - to some degree - with my usual silversmithing type of jewellery, but my main focus will shift towards simpler, easier stuff. I will use some pre-made findings and elements so I will not be able to claim these pieces to be 100% handmade. By doing this I will be able to cut my prices - a lot - but I hope I still will be able to keep the Black Daisy Designs feel, to these new pieces. By doing this I'm also hoping to gain some new supporters here at home. Swedes tend to like more modern, simple pieces over elaborate, extravagante stuff. And if they buy big elaborate pieces, they almost always buy costume jewellery insted of handmade, quality jewellery. I think this is because Swedes are generally very fashion forward and don't want to spend a lot on something that might be out of fashion next season. I think.....

So - with all this in mind - am I a moron for quitting my day job now? Probably. Could I've done it any other way? No. Which leads me to the change of inventory. For this to work, I need to sell stuff and if that means I have to change direction and inventory - so be it. Etsy is still too important for me as a venue to just drop it. I don't know if this is going to work, but I'm working with what I've got and I'm adjusting.

So - bring on the changes. I'm ready. Sorta....

♥

/anna-karin

CRRRAAAZZZYYY SALE!!!!

2011-12-26T10:20:00.000+01:00

Sale runs this week until Sunday 1 Jan. 2012 and only in my Etsy shop.

Make sure to use coupon code CRAZY40OFF during checkout to receive your 40% off.

I might have a screw loose, but hey.... take advantage off it!

♥

/anna-karin

God Jul!

2011-12-24T10:15:00.002+01:00

Cookies and milk for Santa!!

NO... Sixten, no. Those are for Santa. Not for y.....

SIIIIXTEEEEN.... NOOOO......

From all of us

to all of you

~ ~ ♥ ~ ~

/anna-karin

My first show

2011-12-14T00:48:00.000+01:00

Ok... so a couple of weeks ago I did my first show ever and boy was I knackered! I sold enough to cover my fees which was my - rather modest - goal, but the show was actually more about me wanting to find out if I could do a show. If I could put together a table to be proud off, if I could last a weekend and just, well, pull it off. And the answer to that, my friends, is - Yes.

My table looked exactly what I had invisioned, with oldish flavours yet clean and crisp. Cozy. I had plenty of stock with me and I think I had set my table up making the customers working themselves from right to left with something drawing them on, looking some more. I noticed several of them stopping to look and making motions as to leave, but then spotting something that pulled them in again. These customers typically made a second round of the table too. LOL

So what didn't work?

The weather!! Saturday was horrendous! Storm gusts and pouring rain. I felt so sorry for the customers coming in through the doors, they looked like freezing, drenched rats. That kind of weather don't really make people want to stop and ponder jewellery.
My location on the show. This is partly my fault because I thought the barn I was in, was a completely different one. They hadn't marked the map with the names of the seperate barns (not uncommon in these parts "EVERYONE knows which barn is which".. umm... no.) But I should of course have called and asked them. The barn I stood in turned out to be in the "food end" of the show (which was nice for me ...rubbing tummy) but not the right location to set up a jewellery booth. Oh well.... lesson learned. :)

Now - this was a learning show and I did learn a few things I'll keep in mind for the future.

Notes for future shows.

Black earring cards - I either have to mark the prices on the front with a white pen, or change earring cards. I had marked all my earrings on the back of the cards and even though a LOT stopped to look, not that many turned them over. (I did tell them of course that the price was on the back.)
It probably depends on the show, but for this show it was not the right decision to flaunt my most expensive, elaborate necklaces. I ended up removing the price-tags on Saturday on these as I noticed it scared people off.
People seemed scared to touch the jewellery. I repeatedly told them it was ok to fiddle with it... and yes, your children may touch too. But still they were reluctant. Talked this over with DH and one of the conclusions was that this show wasn't the right type show for my jewellery at all. I'll probably do better at a juried handmade show, when the customers expect more expensive things. This one is a typcial Christmas Fair/show with all types of handmade/semi-handmade/wholesale things and people wanted to buy cheap stuff. My jewellery isn't cheap and that might have been what scared them off. (see #2)

Please don't mind the background - we were setting up. :)

But the one thing that struck me was how much fun I had. I was riding on a high all week after the show and was literally aching to do another show the weekend after. LOL So... apparently this type of selling works for me and needs to be investigated further.

I did spy on the other sellers around me and I think I have an embryo of a plan for shows but basically it boils down to: bringing the right type of merchandise to the right type of show. So, what can you conclude from this? Well.... I'm expanding. (Well not literally... no, wait that too... Christmas candy... my nemesis.... *mumblemumble nom nom mumble*) But my range. I'm thinking of selling not only jewellery but also other stuff, mainly within the home decor area. (I'm going to use Frog Crossing for this expansion so expect to see other stuff besides digital images in there soon.) So to some shows I may ONLY bring jewellery but then again to other shows - no jewellery at all. I'm still noodling on this and I have to do a lot of research but I'm quite sure the right way to go is to offer a wider range of merchandise, with a wider range of prices to a wider range of customers. The economy is tough - for all of us - and we are all looking to make a bargain. If I want to do this, I have to adjust to the customers. Simple as that.

And besides, I've found something out about me. I have a huge need for ego boosts. And every sale is an ego boost. So... *giggling* I actually prefer to sell 10 things/day at $10/each, than one thing/day for $100. Of course - if I could sell 10 things/day at $100/item I'm not going to argue. LOL Also - I work better when I have a lot to do. When things get quiet... I tend to relax too much so every single thing that needs to be done, feels like a huge mountain to conquer. Stupid, I know. But that's me and I'm glad I'm finding these things out now.
So, my first show was really a success. I reached my goal saleswise and I learned a LOT! Now... onwards and upwards. I'm just going to finish this box of Christmas chockies...

♥
/anna-karin

CHRISTMAS SALE!!

2011-12-05T07:25:00.001+01:00

It's SALE time again! 20% off everything in my ETSY shop - this week only!

Just add the coupon code DEC2011 during checkout and the 20% will automatically be deducted.

Sale ends Friday 9th Dec.

Happy shopping!

Shipping times for Christmas 2011

Sweden - order no later than 20Dec

Europe - order no later than12Dec

Rest of the world - order no later than 1Dec

Orders may arrive in time for Christmas if ordered after these dates, but I can not guarantee it.
~ Made-to-order pieces must be ordered a day or two before these dates! ~

Last minute shopping? Too late to ship? Check out my PHOTO MOSAICS that'll solve that problem. Read more HERE.

♥

/anna-karin

A reminder

2011-12-05T07:04:00.001+01:00

Getting too late to ship from Sweden to your end of the world? Well... let me just post a gentle reminder about my photo mosaics. Read more HERE

♥

/anna-karin

T'was the night before....

2011-12-02T20:51:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow it's time, my darlings. At 10am the doors open to the 15th anual christmas fair at Bubbetorp Gård just outside Karlskrona in Blekinge. Wish me luck. My table is in one of two smaller barns with only five tables in each. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.... but the pony rides start just outside the doors and that means lots of mommies. LOL

Pic from the set up tonight.

♥

/anna-karin

And another tutorial - earring display

2011-11-23T12:01:00.001+01:00

I've been busy! Another display tutorial, this time for earring card displays.

You find it HERE or under the tab "Tutorials".

Enjoy!

♥

/anna-karin

Necklace stand tutorial

2011-11-21T21:24:00.001+01:00

New tutorial!

Necklace stand display - click here.

♥

/anna-karin

Check, check....

2011-11-16T18:51:00.001+01:00

► 250 business cards ordered. Check.

► 100 olive green organza bags ordered, delivered and packed for show. Check.

► Green tissue paper purchased and packed for show. Check

► 100 paper bags stamped with BDD. On both sides. Packed for show. Check. Check. Check.

► One banner - 90 x 50 cm - ordered. Check.

Yep, things are moving along.

♥

/anna-karin

Working..

2011-11-14T11:01:00.001+01:00

I'm making necklaces. And plenty of them. But now I'm not sure in which store I should list them - my Etsy store or my Wedzu store?

Decicions, decisions.....

♥

/ak

New store now open!

2011-11-13T10:06:00.001+01:00

The newest addition to the Black Daisy Designs store chain is now open. *snort* Ok... just exaggerating a bit there, but I always wanted to say that. LOL

Anyhoo... there really is a new store. I was accepted into Wedzu and I just opened up my store. Like in literally ... just now. So I only have a few items stocked and you know them all from Etsy, but with time I intend to create more wedding jewellery/accessoires that I will list on Wedzu exclusively.

Hope to see you there.

♥

/anna-karin

A-haaa!!

2011-11-11T13:50:00.001+01:00

So today me and my co-worker Marielle went on a mission. A mission to track down some wooden boxes I can use for the Christmas fair and I'm happy to report we were successful! Two, brand new boxes are stowed in my trunk and this weekend I'll try to make them look older.

Yes, you can expect a tutorial. :)

But of course, we had get lost on the way there. *giggles* Well, to our defense - we did check out the map online before we left and it turned out to be wrong. Very wrong. Actually a whole village wrong. But, like pioneers we drove on and even though the road got more narrow by the meter, Marielle calmy stated: "as long as we have tarmac we have no reason to be worried" and in the end we found our way into the little village where the carpenter had his outlet. And oh boy it smelled good in there. Fresh wood and saw dust. Mmm.... And all the wooden boxes I could ever want. I also found some excellent Christmas gifts for me that'll inform hubby about.

So even though we got lost and it did take a little bit longer than expected, we ended up having a lovely ride through autumn country side bathing in autumn sunlight.

Yep, this definately falls under the category "nice lunch breaks".

♥

/a-k

Feeling lost...

2011-11-09T21:13:00.000+01:00

... not sure what to do - how to proceed.

What will happen if I do?

What will happen if I don't?

I hate not knowing.

♥

/anna-karin

And breath....

2011-11-07T19:46:00.000+01:00

Sooo... we're back again after a weekend in Lund, in the very south of Sweden. We were visiting relatives and we had such a lovely time.

We stayed at a really nice hotel and....

... can we say upgrade?? We got a mini-suit!!

Lund is a university town so there are students everywhere... students and bicycles....

.... and old old houses...

... and loads of parks.

We had excellent weather so we could go for a long walk on Saturday

And the cousins played and played.... even at the car park.

We ate loads of yummy food and drank good wine.

And in the evening one of just couldn't keep her eyes open one more minute.

But now we're back and it's time to get cracking but I feel like I've reached the point when I don't know what's most important to do. Very frustrating. I'd really love to create some things for the shop, but all my Muse seems to think about is the Fair. *snorts* We're like two dizzy hens, blazing by to get to the fat worm first. Hehehe... Oh well... I've taken two days vacation in a couple of weeks time so I should be able to get a lot of things done then. So my Muse will HAVE to stop thinking about the fair for a little while.

Especially since I'm about to open a shop on Wedzu. Yep - I got accepted! WOOT. So far I've only registred and started to fill out all the info for My Shop but I really, really.... REALLY would like to start to create some jewellery for Wedzu soon. Since Wedzu mainly is for indie and handmade weddings I want to come up with some new fresh ideas for my shop there. Hopefully this week.

♥

/anna-karin

Making a list

2011-11-02T10:43:00.000+01:00

So, I've been working late on my day job for the last week and I just can't find the time to do much in the evenings then. It's really sad, to be quite honest. I have so much I want to do for the show and then I want to stock up my shops - both Black Daisy and Frog Crossing. And this weekend we're going away to visit a new little additition to the family - Little Liv - and to celebrate Liv's father's 50th birthday. So nothing much is going to be done this weekend either. Ack ack...

But anyhoo - I'm making plans so when I do find the time I know what I'm suppose to do. Maybe I better start a list too, just to be on the safe side?

So for the show I need to/want to make:

3-4 ceramic cabochon necklaces in different colours
5 Can you Reach me rings in different sizes
2 pairs of Linear earrings
2 pairs of copper Dandelion earrings
2 pairs of silver Dandelion earrings
2 pairs of silver Dot earrings
2 pairs of copper Dot earrings
2 pairs or brass Dot earrings
1 pair of Adele earrings
1 pair or Daisy earrings
BRACELETS!!!

I also need to:

finish my "table look". I'm looking for older wooden fruit boxes. I've found a carpenter nearby who makes crates/boxes like that but the shop is only open on Fridays and this Friday we're going away. Meeehhhh.....
finish my necklace display. Hubby needs to make a stand for my new iron cast swiwel wall hanger I'm going to use.
finish the earring displays - I've bought spray paint but hubby needs to help me with the backgrounds. I'm using some old frames we have that I'm going to spray paint white. I want to have plywood backgrounds that'll I cover with fabric and then screw small brass hooks into and hang my earring cards on.
make a tutorial of point 3.
buy small brass hooks for earring displays
As soon as my new stamp arrives I need to stamp my bags.
~~Buy some more organza bags.~~
Price everything in BBD Etsy shop with Swedish kronor. (I'm going to inactivate the whole shop and bring evertyhing with me.)
buy electrical extension cords
buy an apron
buy a receipt book
make the display trays

Most of these things won't take all that long to finish, I just need to get started. I think I'll try to make one or two of the things above each day and then move them down below on the finished list. If I can make one thing/day I'll be finished in a couple of weeks time and then I will still have two weeks until the actual show. Yes.... I like that. I'm sure there are other things that'll pop up that I need to do but... it feels kinda good to have a list I can add them to.

FINISHED!

finished my ring displays
made a tutorial of above mentioned ring display
bought fairy lights
bought paper bags
bought tissue paper
ordered stamp
bought and received the fabric for table
made new stuff - about 20-25 small pendants, 20 pair of earrings, 5-10 necklaces
packed some of the items that will be placed on trays in cellophane bags
priced all the new items in Swedish kronor
made my "About Black Daisy Designs" brochure. Hubby just needs to print it.
bought more organza bags

Soo... let me know if I've forgotten anything, will ya? :) It's not sure it'll be something I use but bring it on nevertheless. Smooches.

♥

/anna-karin

Confused Muse?

2011-11-01T16:07:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I wonder how my Muse work.

Right now I'm busy stringing seed beads on to thin button hole silk, so I can crochet bracelets with a thin-think crochet hook.

Ummm.... ???

♥

/anna-karin

Halloween and Day of the Dead

2011-11-01T09:52:00.000+01:00

A belated Happy Halloween

Source: marthastewart.com via Anne on Pinterest

Different cultures celebrate different things, for this celebration Etsy's Best Kept Secrets Team decided to celebrate Day of The Dead

Check out the amazing different pieces we made for the challenge

♥

/anna-karin

Halloween disco

2011-10-31T12:45:00.001+01:00

Yeah... I got to spend my Friday evening at halloween disco.

Lucky me, huh?

♥

/anna-karin

One day....

2011-10-28T11:09:00.000+02:00

What are you afraid off
by Darla Jackson sculpture

One day I will not be afraid. One day I will believe enough in myself, my creativity and my desire to make a change for myself and my family.

The Hands Ins Side Us
by Kait's Photography

It is a desire that runs deep. Deeper than anything I've ever felt. It penetrates every fibre in my body, but still it runs sheltered. Afraid to take place and make demands it still lurks in the dark.

Hell Gate Bridge, 2010
by Maggie S Photography

I've been through the outer dominions of hell this last year and now...

now I feel I can do anything.

But still, I hide my desire.

Of fear it will hurt those I love the most.

Of fear that they will pay the price for my desires.

I do not yet know how set it loose.... but one day I will not be afraid.

be not afraid of your light
by twenty six Mermaids

♥

/anna-karin

Stephen King

2011-10-27T09:17:00.001+02:00

It's true Stephen King weather out there today.

Scaaaaaryyyy......

♥

/anna-karin

New necklace

2011-10-26T21:52:00.000+02:00

Another piece that's been sitting on my desk since forever and I just couldn't figure out how to finish it. I kept adding more and more stuff and finally gave up. Then I realised while looking at it this week... it doesn't need much. A few green Moss Agate rondelles to pick up the green in the lovely rutilated Quartz cabochon and that's it.

Now WHY didn't I think of that a few months back? Huh?

Not listed yet - but I'll do so tomorrow. I need to get some sleep now. ;)

♥

/anna-karin

Posting from mobile

2011-10-25T09:01:00.001+02:00

Testing testing... This is so awsome. Take a pic with phone and upload on to blog immediately. How on earth did we survive PMo? (Pre-Mobile)

♥
/anna-karin

Tuesday

2011-10-25T06:40:00.003+02:00

No, seriously. Why can't I just say no and stay in bed?

♥

/anna-karin

Monday

2011-10-24T07:14:00.003+02:00

Can I just say no and go back to bed? Please. Pretty please. With a cherry on top.

♥

/anna-karin

New tutorial - ring display

2011-10-23T19:50:00.000+02:00

As you probably know I'm about to do my first show ever in just over a month. I'm a wreck already. *snort* Anyway - today I made my ring display and I remembered to take photos while I was doing it so... my luffleys, here's my brand new Suitcase ring disply tutorial. :D

Suitcase Ring display Tutorial

Enjoy.

♥

/anna-karin

Just because.....

2011-10-23T16:11:00.000+02:00

.... it was a quiet autumn morning.

♥

/anna-karin

And more new stuff....

2011-10-22T19:05:00.000+02:00

First a necklace - Black Garden. This has been sitting on my desk since forever and I just couldn't figure out how to finish it. The cabochon I planned it for didn't work out so I just left it.

Then on Thursday evening I tried it with the Black Onyx cabochon .... and everything just got crystal clear. Strange how things turn out sometimes.

Black Garden

The Copper Leaves earrings is actually a design revisited.

And revamped.

And still lovely.

It was among the first designs I did when I opened Black Daisy Designs and then it fell out of mind. It popped back this week and I have to confess I'm still fond of it.

Copper Leaves

And yes.... I have more but I need to edit the photos. :P

♥

/anna-karin

New stuff

2011-10-21T09:10:00.000+02:00

Finally some new pieces. And as usual I have plenty more to list, but I'm starting with these two.

First a new ceramic and copper necklace, this with an awesome lime green cabochon. I really love these neclaces, they are - truly - the best everyday necklaces.

In my shop now.

And here we have a pair of hoops.... eerrr .... fire hoops... fire copper hoop earrings.... oh, I don't know what to call them!! Anyway - they're listed in my shop too.

♥

/anna-karin

Doing it all

2011-10-20T09:50:00.000+02:00

As struggling artists, I think we all fight more or less the same battles: supply costs (increasing), design ideas (lacking/overwhelming), sales (vanishing) etc.etc. Add to that a full time day job, family, a big house and a big garden I can safely say that my biggest issue right now is lack of time. There simply aren't enough hours in the day. Especially since I'm one of those who creates best during day time. And day time are either for working (weekdays) or taking care of house and garden and family (weekends).

I don't think I can explain how utterly frustrating it is to sit at work and suddenly get this great design idea, knowing there's nothing I can do about it. Oh, well I do scribble them down, that's really all I can do. (My desk it cluttered with design ideas sometimes. *snorts*) But I want to get my hands dirty, I want to saw and drill and use my torch .... but I know I have to wait until I get back home. And when I get back home it's dinner time and then I'm too tired to get up in the studio. Pffft....

But, as you may remember from this post, I am doing something about this and I'm going to drop my day job to 50% and by that get more day time hours at home creating/doing the books/promoting etc etc.... But not yet for a month or two. I don't know and it's driving me bonkers. It feels like I can't plan anything. My boss said "no later than New Year" but now there's been some issues as work and I'm starting to get nervous. I know these new issues aren't of any fault of my boss - but it's very frustrating. I have so many ideas I want to try out, but they take time and there's simply no use of starting up things if I can't see them through.

In the meantime I try to juggle on as I've always done, hoping for the best. Trying to focus on the next thing instead of planning ahead. Not the best tactic - I know - but it'll have to do for now.

At least I've finished the self-indulgent piece I started HERE.... oh boy did my Muse take me for a spin with that one. Hither and dither and change this and change that.... but now it is finally finished. And we are very pleased with the result.

Almost 2oz of silver.

1 big black and grey Picasso jasper cabochon.

3 oval black and grey Picasso jasper beads.

5 Labradorite ovals

4 small faceted black Spinel rondelles

Photos as soon as the weather permits.

♥

/anna-karin

It's here!!!

2011-10-15T09:16:00.000+02:00

EEEEPSSS..... I got the invitation for the Christmas Fair at Bubbetorp Farm, yesterday. Noo... not farm... it's more lika a smaller manor house with a lot of different outbuildings. Anyway, now my head is swimming with display plans. And ... how much do I need to bring. Jewellery I mean. I have - literally - no idea. Thank goodness I still have some time to go.

And while I'm noodling on that, you can look at some photos from last year's fair.

Pretty cosy, huh?

♥

/anna-karin

About the self-indulgent piece

2011-10-13T15:30:00.001+02:00

If you remember I imitated my friend Louise O'Dwyer and started on a self-indulgent piece that I talked about HERE.

Yeaahhh...

It's not one piece anymore. It's two. *head-desk*

The first piece just didn't come together as I had planned it to and I was twisting and turning it over until I finally removed the skull and THEN saw how it was supposed to be. But - the skull and the crocheted parts fit together so well so I had to remove those too and 1-2-3 I had two necklaces on the go. And they are both pretty self-indulgent.

Yesterday I made two new elements for the chain for the first necklace (instead of the crocheted parts) and me oh my they came out amazing. Very ... foresty and mystic. Can we say matching earrings? *snort* THREE pieces. Pssshawww... I'm hopeless.

♥

/anna-karin

Worrying about the future

2011-10-12T13:42:00.000+02:00

I know I'm supposed to keep a stiff upper lip. I know I'm supposed to say "it'll be allright, I'll create in the meantime" but the total lack of sales is really getting to me. I thought maybe, maybe things changed last week as I got a few sales but it soon died again. (I think they came from an onslaught of treasuries made by my lovely team mates in Etsy's Best Kept Secrets.)

I still have very low views. I am getting hearts which of course is nice and I try to think "people are waiting to start their Christmas shopping" and "it'll turn soon". But truth be told - I've got a knot in my stomach, teary eyes and a head filled with questions and serious doubts about my craft. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I-don't-know-what-to-do. And I hate that. If everyone else is doing fine, it must be me.

Gaah, I shouldn't write here today. Feeling so depressed over the whole damn thing.

Maybe I need to take a break from it all?

I hear Pinterest is fun. And addicting.

Think I'll check it out.

♥

/anna-karin

Other venues

2011-10-10T22:24:00.000+02:00

So, Etsy is still eluding me. I'm clue less what to do really. And it is kind of discouraging reading about top-sellers complaining about low views and no sales too. And now we're talking about seasoned sellers with 10 000s of sold items. What a nightmare to have your whole income vanish just because of some changes. I really feel for them. And I've changed and tweaked my listings. I've spied on other sellers that still sell to see what they are doing and I'm not... and I can't figure it out. I really can't.

So, today I re-opened my old shop on Dawanda. I've only listed two pairs of earrings yet - easy does it... LOL - but I'll list all my made to order items there too. I'll fill up my store on Swedish Epla.se also with the made to order pieces... but then I have accounts on Artfre, Big Cartel and Zibbet. I'm very torn about what to do with these - should I start to list items or not? Maybe I'll finish listing on Dawanda and Epla and then I'll see what to do? And I'm very curious about Wedzu too and I have an account but I haven't applied to sell yet. GAAAAAHHHHHH......

Hmmm..... I think I need to sit down and make some plans. If only the days had more hours in them. And along with all this Etsy headache, I'm busy stocking up for the Christmas fair I'm hoping to attend. I still haven't got the invitation but I really can't wait until I get it and then start to stock up. I actually made 13 super-simple pendants this evening that I'm planning to bring to the fair. Bead, head-pin, lobster clasp - finally I got use of all those lobster clasps I bought ages ago. LOL

Oh well.... better get some sleep now so I can figure all this mess out.

♥

/anna-karin

Being self-indulgent

2011-10-08T20:05:00.000+02:00

I have a lovely friend - Louise - who is an amazing silversmith. I'm sure you know who it is if I say Louise O'Dwyer. She told us on her blog the other day, that she had had a horrid week in the studio. Everything she touched ended in misery.

So Thursday she decided to put all the angst aside and just make something completely fun and self-indulgent. Not something any metalsmith do easily as we always have to consider supply costs, work costs, saleabiltiy etc etc. But, Thursday she sat down and put all those "musts" aside and created for the sheer love and fun of if.

After reading her post and drooling over her amazing piece of art, I got the urge to do something similar myself today. I had just soldered the bezel for this cabochon

when inspiration hit me - warm and fuzzy - in my solar plexus. I wanted to do what Louise did - forget about silver prices for a while. Forget about saleability. Forget about Etsy frustration and just .... create.

And I am creating.

A necklace.

A dark, mysterious and kind of gothic necklace to go with the dark and mysterious Picasso jasper cabochon. Quite out of my comfort zone (if I have one... hmmm..) but it feels good to saw in silver again. It feels good to, not think about how much the end price will be for this necklace and if customers will like it not... I don't care.

Because this will be my self-indulgent piece.

I can't wait to show it.

Maybe tomorrow.

Maybe.

♥

/anna-karin

What Louise created?

This masterpiece. My jaw still drops every time I see it.

Read her blog HERE and find the ring in her shop HERE.

Etsy frustration

2011-10-07T11:22:00.000+02:00

I am so frustrated with Etsy right now and I simply don't know what to do any more. My views are dropping like a stone and the sales I've had have all been from old customers. (Whom I love and adore but I also need new ones.) I've had consistent sales for two years but now they've come to a grinding halt.

It all started with the new relevance search Etsy changed to. Earlier items were sorted by recency wich meant that if you renewed fairly consistent, you'd be on the first pages. Worked like charm for me.

Now items are sorted by relevancy. As a customer I can see the benefits of getting the exact items I'm looking for instead of hundreds of unrelated items. Thing is - I never use relevancy when I'm out shopping myself because I usually don't know what I'm looking for. I'm just browsing until I find "that" item.

So, Etsy changed in August and I confess, I didn't do much to change my titles and tags back then because - as a seasoned seller on Etsy (I've sold there since 2007) I've been through a lot of changes and they've barely had any impact on my store previously. So I decided to wait and see. It didn't take long to realise that my views were plumeting so I started to "tweak" titles, descriptions and tags just as Etsy Admin said we would and let me tell you - that's not an easy thing. It takes time, it takes trial and error, it takes stamina. And when you like me and don't even use relevancy yourself - a whole lot of imagination. I've changed most of my pieces but I still don't see any improvement in views. And I'm continuing to tweak them as soon as I figure something out.

Like - if you are a syndicated seller on Etsy (requirements: a few sales, no late payents on bills etc) your items will be searchable on Google shopping. But ONLY if your titles comply to the Google rules - for example you can not have free shipping in the title. What have I had in my titles? Yep, free shipping. So day before that I started to delete that from my listings. (I still have free shipping though, so don't worry.) But all this is so time consuming and my stomach hurts from worrying about not getting any sales.

So I turned to the Etsy Forum - a never ending source of information. And what do I find? Loads of threads about the same issue I'm having. I'm obviously not alone - some comfort - but it does raises the question about what Etsy is doing. Especially as Etsy Admins says in one thread "you have to do this" but gives the opposite advice somewhere else. And getting bounced from one thread to the other with the constant "See this thread for further info" is really getting me annoyed. Why not write one, single sheet with the new amendments sellers have to do to make sure their items are being seen by the customer. Gather all the information in a list. Don't spread it out in different threads. I know, I know. There probably excists some sort of list somewhere, but I haven't found it.

So, I'm thinking maybe it's time to start looking on other international venues? Any ideas where I might start?

Or maybe the sad truth simply is that my pieces stink. *pouts*

♥
/anna-karin

Christmas Fair

2011-09-29T11:18:00.001+02:00

Oh dear.... time slipped away from me again. Oh shoot... But I have been busy. I've made and listed a lot of new earrings (click names to direct link to resp. listing in my store) but mostly I've been surfing the net. Yep, surfing the net. For the perfect stuff.

For a Christmas Fair!

Adele

Hopefully I'll participate in this year's Christmas Fair at Bubbetop Farm just outside Karlskrona. It's a lovely old fashioned fair in an old manor house and it's stables/outhouses/barns dating back to the 16th century. I'm really looking forward to this and with my usual gusto, I threw myself into figuring out my booth. I tend to get slightly.. *cough* over-enthusiastic about things like this, so lately this has been all I've been thinking about. Literally.

Anna-Belle

So, if I don't get accepted to the fair I'll be somewhat disappointed, but I'll live. And besides, there are lots of other fairs to attend and if I'm going to do this "for real" I need to attend fairs and markets. So I need to get my display in order anyway.

*snort - I love my logic*

Daisy - sold

So, my head has been buried deep in displays and booth ideas and colour schemes and what-not. I'm starting to get a grip of what I want and I've started to buy a few things but I'm actually planning on doing most of the displays myself. So - if I remember to take photos - there just might be some tutorials here on the blog later on.

Madeleine

The overall colour scheme will be grey and white. Fabrics unbleached linen and white cotton lace. And with darker brownish details. Like the new book I'm using in my photos. That's my plan.... but knowing me I won't be suprised one bit if it turns out black and blue. Hehehehe....

Mathilde

My problem is that I like both sleek and minimalistic as well as romantic, old fashioned and over-the-top. I'm constantly drawn between them, although... I have to say that with age I think the latter is winning points. I'm lazy, and over-the-top is so very much more easy to maintain than minimalistic. Believe me.

Marie

Now all I have to worry about.... "all"...hehehe... is how much jewellery I need in my booth. I seriously have no idea. 20 pair of earrings.... or 200 pairs? 20 rings or... 500 rings? Not that I'll ever manage to produce 200 earrings or 500 rings by early December... but you get my point.

Padma

But knowing the people in the area, I know I can't produce too many expensive pieces. I'll have a few with me, to show width in design, but people tend to be a bit cheap when it comes to handmade stuff so I'll stick with simple, easy stuff. That's quick to make... which leads me back to my inital question - how many pieces do I need to bring?? Gaaahhh...

Skulls

Oh well... I'm sure I'll figure it all out. But get prepared to get assaulted with fair/market/craft show ideas from now on.

As I said -I do tend to get a bit over enthusiastic when I get an idea in my head.

♥

/anna-karin

Memory Lane

2011-09-19T17:53:00.001+02:00

The other day I was browsing through my old pictures on Flickr and it was a trip down Memory Lane. If you 've followed my ramblings for some time, you know I started out as a wire wrapper. Back then I remember thinking I was a pretty decent wire wrapper and looking at the photos today, I still think I did pretty good. My shop - Små Blå - opened in September 2007 and closed in 2009.

There are a few pieces from back then, that I still hold very close to my heart. Like the Ruby Treasure locket. This is probably my favorite piece ever and I'm still a bit sad I sold it. Over 100 small rubies cover one side of the locket, and the other side is covered in sterling silver wire and the letter T for treasure.

Ruby Treasure Locket

And my Milky Way necklace along with my Stardust necklace. In many ways these necklaces really are "me" and they almost felt like a signature style for me back then. The Milky Way was made in sterling silver and lush, white Freshwater pearls and the Stardust - probably my most luxurious piece ever - in 14K goldfilled and genuine sapphires.

Milky Way

Stardust

And my Fairy... ooh... my Fairy who I know have a wonderful new home... but that I still miss. I made her with childhood memories of my mother saying it wasn't mist raising from the fields, it was the fairies coming out to dance. And I still have the sketch I made when I first started to plan this piece, on my billboard in front of me when I work. I often sit and stare at it... thinking and planning.

The Fairy

So, going down this memory lane I started thinking, would it be possible for me, to use my old designs but creating them with my new techniuqes? The idea is very appealing and I can only think of one problem - my torch. It's just a small kitchen torch so I have to find a way of attaching pieces together without too much soldering as these are all pretty big pieces. Can we say rivets? LOL

So.... this is my new quest and if you stay tuned, I'm hoping to be able to present a lovely marriage between the old me and the new me pretty soon. Old designs - new techniques.

I still have more pieces I love and actually still have at home. I just couldn't bare to sell them when I closed Små Blå. But I'll show you those another day. :)

♥

/anna-karin

Copper and rabbits

2011-09-18T17:46:00.001+02:00

Sooo.... along with my previous decision here, I have spent the last few days making earrings in copper. And may I just say - HOLY MOTHER OF BATMAN I'M AWESOME.

MWAHAHAHAHAHA......

Ok, let me try that again with a liiiittle more modesty.

I think I've done good. Unfortunately the weather gods decided we should have an "oh so cloudy and dark day " today, so there's no point in me trying to take any photos. But the earrings look good. Really, really good.

Anyway - Sunday evening and a new work week soon to begin. But first we're trying something new for dinner. Rabbit.

Noooo.... we're not having Sixten for dinner. He's running around safely wondering if we possibly have anything yummy to treat him to. Like a carrot or a piece of fruit or a piece of chocolate or a piece of that apple pie we had yesterday. Yes... he got to try a tiny corner of the pie crust. He's spoiled rotten, that one.

No, we're having another rabbit for dinner and I cut it up all by myself this morning and put it in marinade. Never done a thing like that .... but the pieces looked allright so cross your fingers it'll taste good too. It's simmering away on the stove now, potatoes are in the oven and I only need to make the salad and the chantarelle sauce. I'll let you know how it tasted.

If the weather gods are in a benign mood tomorrow I might be able to take some photos when I get back home from work, otherwise I'll do it as soon as it possible. You just have to wait for the oh, so pretty earrings, my luffleys.

(Wow.... I really suck at modesty.)

*snorts*

♥

/anna-karin

Giving up on silver

2011-09-14T14:37:00.000+02:00

I'm done, I'm throwing in the towel. Book me a flight outta here.

Outta Silverville.

*gasp*

Ok, I'm not completely done. I'm not giving up 100% on silver but I'm definately shifting my production. Why, I hear you ask? May I reply that with a question - have you seen the silver price lately? The soaring prices of silver has actully gone so high it's quenching my creativity. For the longest time I've been hesitant about sitting down at my desk creating stuff beacuse that means I'll be using silver. And if I use silver I have to order more silver at some point. And ordering silver nowadays is a soul crushing event.

Just look at the price increase 2009-2011

Silver price 2009
Please note - it started on $11 in Jan. 2009 and ended around $17.

Silver price 2010
Started on around $17 ended on $30

Silver price 2011
Started on $30 and is currently hovering around $40

So, last week I dug out my copper, brass and aluminium sheets and looked at them for the longest time. Then I went down to my computer and by chance came across a store using brass and all of a sudden my Muse was standing beside me, shouting ideas in my ear. (And she's been quiet as a mouse that one for weeks, but now... oh lordy.) I jotted down one design after the other and rushed up to try them out. And I like it! Yep, there will be more. Plenty more

Brass Buds earrings
Actually made these in aluminium too and I'm wearing them today.
First question I got: Oohhh... are those silver? *snorts*

I will of course still be using silver in settings and always in ear wires, but there will be less of my typical style. If I continue the way I have, I'd have to raise my prices a LOT ... and I don't want to do that. I might still create high-end pieces and those will be priced accordingly but my major focus will be to create for everyday use. That's what I do best (as I see it) and it's definately what I enjoy to do.

Dimpled Brass earrings

But.... there will always be exceptions. (Hey, I'm an artist. It's my preogitive.) Like these beauties - all the brass and copper earrings I made, made me think of my thin sterling sheet and my Mattel Thing Maker molds from 1966. So after a LOT of hammering and many trips to the torch to heat the silver, these emerged. (Soon in copper as well.)

So you see.... there will still be some silver.

Snow Flowers earrings

And of course - there are always my Tattered Petals. I still have loads of silver scraps hanging around so... But please notice.... this is NOT a silver chain. It's a gunmetal chain. *nods happily* Yup yup... I'm finding substitutes.

Tattered Petal necklace

I hope you will find my new pieces exciting and fresh. I know I do.

♥ always

/anna-karin

Today

2011-09-11T10:47:00.000+02:00

It's been 10 years since that dreaded day, when the world stopped breathing for a while. 10 years of sadness, hate, fear, fanatism, war, more dead people and more money spent that we can ever imagine.

But today .... today is a day of rememberence, of sadness yes, but also of determination that life will go on. Today is about showing we are better than hate, fear, fanatism and war. That we as a race has improved and learned during our bumpy ride through history. Let's celebrate life today by remembering the dead but with a conviction in our hearts, that love is the key.

My heart and my thoughts go out to you all.

♥
/anna-karin

Shop update - Band of 15, the next 3

2011-09-09T23:02:00.001+02:00

I'm continuing with the Band of 15 rings now.

This time smaller rings, with raw and natural gems.

Band of 15 - Amber

Band of 15 - Rhodochrosite

Band of 15 - Aquamarine

♥

/anna-karin

Sinus tooth ache from hell

2011-09-07T21:55:00.000+02:00

I have the sinus tooth ache from hell right now, paired up with an itchy nose that makes me long for a good ol' bottle brush ... and just to go at it.

See the things I like to share with you.

*snorts* For real. :/

♥

/anna-karin

Shop Update!

2011-09-05T21:38:00.000+02:00

I continue my shop update with a couple of necklaces. (I wasn't happy with the photos of the other rings so hence this little short break. :P )

These are long absolutely fabulous necklaces - if I may say so myself - in copper and ceramic and a gunmetal chain.. Yep that's right folks - not even a speck of silver in these babies. Considering the price of silver and the constant up up up I'm trying to find options. Gunmetal for example is such an option. Quite a nice new aquaintance that goes well with both silver and copper. Perfect for more rustic, organic pendants such as these.

Available in my Etsy shop right now.

♥

/anna-karin

Black Daisy Designs på svenska!

2011-09-04T01:00:00.000+02:00

Sorry guys - but this will be a post in Swedish.

Så - det har öppnat ett helt nytt ställe att handla på i Sverige. Ungefär som Etsy fast på svenska då. Fast egentligen är det norskt översatt till svenska. Så det blir lite norskt ibland i alla fall.

HURSOMHELST ... det heter Epla.se och öppnar officiellt imorgon den 5 September. Black Daisy Designs har sin egna lilla shop (precis som hos Etsy) och eftersom det är första gången och ett sprillans nytt ställe så skriver jag ut hela adressen så att ni kommer ihåg det.

https://epla.se/shops/blackdaisydesigns

Jag har precis börjat lägga upp mina made to order produkter, dvs de smycken jag gör på beställning men så småningom kommer jag nog att ta fram speciella produkter som endast säljs här i Sverige. (Jag har en idé om att söka till DesignTorget i Malmö och Stockholm och då skulle det passa bra med helt nya designs.) Men än så länge så är det samma saker som på Etsy.

Glöm nu inte att bokmärka sidan och att gynna Epla.se så att det växer och blir den naturliga platsen att handla handgjorda produkter på.

♥

/anna-karin med Black Daisy Designs i Sverige.... lixom

How to unintentionally make your husband clean the house

2011-09-03T17:58:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I announced that today Saturday I was going to clean mine and DH's bedroom and then do the bathrooms "and maybe (looking at husband) you could do another room and maybe (looking at the kids) you could do your rooms?" All three replied with a "ehrm.. eehh...mmm... ".

Faces
by Black Daisy Designs

Our whole house really need a big over haul but I don't want to spend my entire Saturday cleaning so I thought if I clean one room and DH clean one room and the kids their's ... well... then we would be half way there. Clever, huh? :P

So this morning I went upstairs and started to clean our bedroom and hoped the rest of the family would see how clever my plan was. DH did. Well.... no he didn't because he went a tad overboard with the plan. He cleaned things and he picked up things and he fixed broken things and he put things away and he dusted things and he vacuumed and he ended it all with wiping the floors. And he did not just do this in one room... noooo.....he did this ALL over! He claims I triggered him into cleaning mode so now god darn it he was going to clean.

Two Friends
by Black Daisy Designs

Well.... I wasn't in cleaning mode so while he whirled about like a hurricane downstairs I did clean our bedroom as planned and .... I did some jewellery for an order, I packed a wholesale order, I went to the P.O and posted said wholesale order and bought some candy, I drank coffee, I played on FB, I did 36 different Christmas gift tags for Frog Crossing Graphics and just now, I did the bathrooms.

I think I like DH's cleaning mode.

The kids? I don't think they even understood the plan.

♥

/anna-karin

Shop update!

2011-09-01T20:15:00.000+02:00

So, the story about the update of the Band of 15 rings continues. Now with a batch of 4 rings.

All available in my shop now.

More photos of them all in my shop.

♥

/anna-karin

Head in the clouds

2011-09-01T16:28:00.000+02:00

Embrace Me
by Black Daisy Designs

We're going to talk about me going down to 50% and how I and my co-worker are going divide our work between us. Boss came by today and asked us to think about it and then we'll have a discussion next week.

Eeeeekk!!! It's happening!

It is really happening.

*thud*

♥

/anna-karin

I took the plunge

2011-08-31T09:33:00.000+02:00

I took the plunghe and maybe, just maybe got myself on deep water.

No wait, that's not right.

Sealife Digital Collage sheet
by Frog Crossing Graphics

I took the plunge and out of pure exhiliration continued out on deeper water.

Yes, that is correct.

And even though I got myself on deeper water, I'm floating on pink clouds of pure happiness.

Stormy Clouds Digital Collage Sheet
by Frog Crossing Graphics

A few weeks ago, I told my boss I wanted to drop to 50% and she agreed! So my plan is to work 50% at my day job and 50% with my jewellery.

I'm so happy I could cry.

At first I thought about finding another 50% day job somewhere but after talking to my husband we decided I need to try this. I need to know if I can do this. I believe I can, but believing isn't enough for me - I need to know. And the joy of knowing I'll be dedicating 50% of my waken time to my own business got me a bit over zealous. I started two new blogs (both in Swedish) and opened another shop. Yeah.... I know - how about thinking things through and THEN act? Sorry, don't do that. I see, I want, I act. I must've forgotten I still work full time and will still do so for another couple of months.

But anyway - the blogs may fall as they may. I'll keep updating now and then and maybe later when I have more time I'll focus some more on them. But the other shop - Frog Crossing Graphics - is still being updated and I'm having way too much fun altering my photos and drawings to let it rest too. No, I'll keep that one going. And as I take an horrendous amount of photos every year and I'm so happy I've finally found a way of using them. And the best thing is - it's a collaberation between me and my darling husband. I'll do most of the work, but he's around, adding stuff and ideas in the background.

Pond Life #2
by Black Daisy Designs

So yes - I DID take the plunge. Finally I'm on my way to start my own business. I need to make a few phone calls, sign some papers etc. but then it'll be a real, certified, registred business.

So - am I on deep water?

No, not really. I just have too little time - as always - but that'll change.

Soon.

♥

/anna-karin

Band of 15 - the first 5. SHOP UPDATE

2011-08-26T13:48:00.000+02:00

Yep - I'm finally adding some new stuff in my shop. YAY me!!

I'm starting with the Band of 15 rings. The first 5. All with shiny silver and adjustable ring shanks.

Labradorite

Crazy Lace

Green Ocean Jasper

Jade

Mookaite

♥

/anna-karin

10 years ago today

2011-08-25T06:37:00.000+02:00

And I'm still in love.

xoxo,

RIP my sweet boy

2011-08-23T19:06:00.000+02:00

Spock

13 June 2001 - 23 August 2011

He was my baby and I will miss him sorely.

♥

/anna-karin

I'm in love

2011-08-19T16:08:00.000+02:00

SERIOUSLY in love.

I want these.....

Chie Mihara: Clotilde från Brandos.se

and these.....

Chie Mihara: Olga från Brandos.se

... and I want them now.

Sigh... ♥♥♥

/anna-karin

New things

2011-08-17T20:06:00.001+02:00

I have - as you can see - a new blog layout. I got a bit bored with the last one and with all the new templates Blogger has I just had to play around.

I also have a bunch of new pieces on the way - namely 3 long necklaces and 15 rings. Yep... you read that right. 15 rings. What can I say - I got a bit wild. Hehehe....They're all finished but I still have to take some photos and write the descriptions. I'll probably start with the descriptions tonight and hopefully there'll be enough daylight left when I get home tomorrow to start taking photos.

But for now you'll have to settle for a few photos of Sixten.

Or a few photos of Sixten's butt, I should say.

Man, that bunny is fast.

HOLD STILL!!

Thank you!

Love those sideburns. LOL

♥ /anna-karin

44 is the new 27

2011-08-16T08:36:00.000+02:00

It's my birthday today!

HURRAH for me!

And I'm getting the best present ever.

The present of "not having to do anything".

As in - family will take care of everything today.

And I'm off work.

Yep.... me like.

HURRAH for me!

♥/anna-karin

Ps. Use the coupon code "44ISTHENEW27" and get 27% off everything in the Black Daisy store. Valid only today.

44 is the new 27... hehehe.... I crack myself up.

I'm back puppies!!

2011-08-12T09:55:00.001+02:00

Yup - the store is open again and slowly... very slowly getting back in motion.

So what have I've been doing? Well.....

sleeping
thinking
watched tv
spent time with my family
started a new web shop
eating and drinking good
sleeping

.... what? The web shop. Hehehe...... Well I realized I needed another creative outlet (and it's already given me some new design ideas) so as from yesterday me and my husband's new shop - Frog Crossing Graphics - is opened! Taa-daaaa..... yep... you might call this a collaboration between me and hubby. I'm an avid photographer and husband is skilled with paper and pen, so we're mixing the two up (along with some scanned images and downloaded material) to create - hopefully - appealing digital collage sheets. You know - for scrapbooking, cardmaking, iron on fabric transfers etc etc....

I spent a couple of hours listing yesterday evening and realized it's going to take some time before everything is up. So even if the store looks really bare right now, do pop in from time to time. There will be more.

And there will be more in the Black Daisy Designs shop too. I still haven't listed my 19rings ... umm... 17 rings... I've already sold two. *grins* But that is a job for the weekend. And I have a couple of simple chain bracelets 90% finished on my desk. And some copper and ceramic necklaces. So... pop in to BDD too.

♥
/anna-karin

Taking a breather

2011-07-31T11:16:00.000+02:00

I've decided to take a breather and closed the shop for a couple of weeks while I finish up some custom orders and re-focus. I've got a lot on my mind. Ideas. Changes. New stuff. I need to sort my thoughts and make some decisions.

And a few have actually already been made!

I've started a new blog! It's brand spanking new so it's not all that much there. And it's in Swedish. About shoes. LMAO Yep... shoes, another of my passions.

You'll find it here: http://skoportalen.blogspot.com/

xoxo,

/anna-karin

SUMMER SALE!!

2011-07-19T18:40:00.001+02:00

The big summer sale starts tomorrow and here are the details.

Wednesday 20 July

10% off everything in shop.

Coupon code SUMMERSALE10

Thursday 21 July

20% off everything in shop.

Coupon code SUMMERSALE20

Friday 22 July

30% off everything in shop.

Coupon code SUMMERSALE30

So how long do you dare to wait?

Add the coupon code at time of check out.

And you know the drill - no returns, no reservations, no layaways, immediate payment etc etc.

So to make it short - all sales are final. :)

Happy hunting puppies!

xoxo,

A lovely weekend

2011-07-18T21:15:00.000+02:00

So on Thursday last week, my parents and my two older sisters came down from Stockholm to visit us. It was a lovely weekend with lots of good food, drinks and nice outings.

On Friday we went out in the archipeligo and visited a small island called Tjärö. The whole island is declared a nature reserve and the buildings date back to the 18th and 19th century. You can rent a room or a little cabin and just enjoy a truly calm vacation. And they also have a very nice restaurant there called Anders Hafskrog and that was our goal for the day. It was delicious.

I love it when they visit. We always have fun and I always get reminded of how close we really are in our family. It's a good feeling.

xoxo,

Visitors from out of town

2011-07-13T22:49:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow Thursday my parents and my two older sisters (I'm the youngest of three and I'm almost 44... so you can imagine how old my sisters are.... bwhahahaha..... ) are coming down from Stockholm to visit for three days. There will be lots of talking, eating, drinking and LOTS of laughing. We're a loud family and when we all get together we do our best to talk louder than the others. Very strange really.

Anyway - I'm currently working on 19 rings - yes you read that right... 19... don't know what happened there really - and I'm almost done so I think I can say that there will be a shop update early next week. If it'll be 19 rings or not I can't say but... there will definately be rings. :)

xoxo,

Tattered Petal rings

2011-07-08T19:06:00.000+02:00

Just listed a bunch of new Tattered Petal rings.

I wonder if I've had a lot of anger I needed to get rid off? It felt so good, banging away on the silver. LOL

Anyway - this is one of the very first designs I did as a silversmith. And I still love it. I still have the first ring I made and I wear almost every day. The oxidation has worn off pretty much, but instead it gave way to a lush, deep, shiny silver tone. It actually just get more and more beautiful the more I wear it.

Some of these new ones (like TP no. 7 and no. 9) are quite heavy. TP no. 7 has 10 grams of recycled silver and TP no. 9 has a hefty 13grams.

I have more Tattered Petals on desk - but necklaces now. I was thinking a longer, simple chain with a big TP dangling from it. You like?

TP no. 7

TP no. 8

TP no. 9

TP no. 10

TP no. 11

xoxo,

The magic Button

2011-07-06T23:13:00.002+02:00

The magic button — Make Everything OK

xoxo,

Summer life.

2011-07-05T10:05:00.004+02:00

Just realized I haven't written a blog post since 24 June!! *GASP* Well, I blame the sunshine and the pool and books and the naps and the..... hehehe...yeah baby - I'm on VACATION!!! Or a staycation, is perhaps the right word.

Morning sun reflecting in our kitchen window.

And the weather's been pretty awesome so I've really been terribly lazy. But have no fears my luffleys - I'm plotting blog posts as we speak. Among others the one I mentioned in my Studio Tour - Tools of the Trade. About the not-so-common-tools I use. You know, the ones that really are for something completely different than silversmithing.

Hosta Sieboldiana 'Golden Sunburst' and Actinidia Colomitia

Oh, and I have to show you my studio. Again. I bought a new spider plant (since Sixten decided to have the old one for lunch) in pretty hanging basket (sorry Sixten - you can't have this one) and yesterday I finally found a sheer curtain with white flowers. It's so pretty. It's perfect to shade out the most glaring sunshine when I take photos. I just need to paint the little table I use for photos, white and things are looking up.

Hosta Sieboldiana 'Golden Sunburst'

I'm currently finishing up the descriptions for quite a few pieces and those will probably pop up here within very soon. Maybe even later today. :D

xoxo,

Midsummer romance

2011-06-24T22:55:00.000+02:00

Today was Midsummer in Sweden. It's competing with Christmas of being my favorite holiday... and - I barely dare saying this - but I think it's winning. It has something to do with the magic I think. And the connection to pagan times. We've been dancing around a Midsummer pole for centuries up here and before that we celebrated the solstice - when day and night are equally long. And a Midsummer night is truly magical. It's something in the air, hard to describe. Anticipation, joy, a connection to past times. I can't describe it better than that. This is of course my feelings. Many others probably don't feel anything.

But I do.

xoxo,

Sixten in action

2011-06-22T19:28:00.000+02:00

Hello, my name is Sixten... Sixten Blixten.

(Sixten the Flash)

xoxo,

Studio tour

2011-06-18T13:36:00.000+02:00

So, I'm all settled in, in my new studio now, and I'm SO happy with it. I get a fuzzy, warm feeling inside when I think about my new studio. I just love it. And believe me - it's nothing special, but compared to the dark, dungy place I was before - this is heaven. And I'd love to share this little piece of heaven with you so let's go on a little studio tour.

~ ~ ~

Hello and welcome to this tour of Black Daisy Designs' new studio. My name is Anna-Karin and I'll be your tour guide today. This tour do require some trecking so I hope you all are wearing comfortable shoes and hope you all braught water bottles as stated in the program?

Ok, let's go.

First of all - and this is very important - It's a room. A WHOLE room.

*folds out arms to show how big the room is*

The Room

With a Window!

The Window

And a Door!

That I can open ....

.... OR close.

All the things that are in the room .... are my things. My play things.

This is like my play room, come to think of it.

Let's look around.

To our immediate left we will find the SSUU - the Supply Storage Utility Unit.

SSUU - clsoed doors.

Here I keep all of my gems and cabs and books and fabrics and ribbons and extra packaging supplies and... well you get the idea. If you're like me, and have a hobby you have loved and nutured for ...*counting on fingers* ... five years now, the stash tend to grow. *blushing* Anyway - when I sit here and play I just open the doors

SSUU - Open doors.

.... and I have easy access to whatever it is I want.
And this leads us round the room to my Desk. This is where it all starts.

The Desk

As you can see I have a plethora of tools (and I'm actually planning a blog post about the more ... umm.... weird and unusual ones in a week or two) and I'm proud to say I use them all.

At least on a semi-reguarly basis.

Please note the near vicinity to the Window.

The Window

This is also where I take all my photos... errr.... well... that is where I'll START to take all my photos. Earlier I've been roaming the house for the best light but here near the Window I will have excellent light all day long.

When I'm not taking photos, the place is the designated cat-bed in the room.

Spock - mostly fur... not fat. True story.

Sputnik - mostly fur ... not fat. True story 2.

Let's continue our tour. How are your feet?

Let me know if you need to stop and rest, okay?

So, if we continue our tour in a clockwise fashion, we'll end up in the Packaging Station.

The Packaging Station

Here is where the pretties get packed up before I send them out to their new owners.

Also a very bright, happy place due to the two flower lamps that really are my daughter's but.... sssshhhh...

And if we end the entire lap we're back to where we started and this is where the PTSU stands -Pretty Thing Storage Unit - it's where I store my pretties before someone buys them. (in ziplock baggies to prevent oxidation) Also please note the exquisite and rare - hence extremely expensive - piece of art to the left of the PTSU.

PTSU

Ok... good job everyone. Now it's time to see the Soldering Stations. This will however require some trecking so I suggest a drink and toilett break before we leave.

Pheww... that felt good. Ok Are you ready?? Let's move out. Please hold on as we descend down these stairs and let me know if I'm moving too fast.

The Stairs

Ladies and gentelmen - it was hard work but here is your reward - my Soldering Station.

The Soldering Station

Playing with fire and different solutions can be harmful and that's why a soldering station always should be located near an exhaust fan of some sort. It should also be located on a surface that can't catch fire.

It also require it's very own set of tools as can be seen in the photo. Please take a moment to freely inspect the various tools. Be careful though - some of them are pointy and some can produce fire.

Ok, so now we only have one thing left to see, and that is the enamelling station. It's right over there so if we all just turn around and let me lead the way, we will be there in a jiffy.

And here we are - my Enamelling Station.

The Enamelling Station

Hmmm..... I've never thought of how much alike my soldering station and my enamelling station looks....

Oh well... enamelling - like soldering - requires an exhaust fan and a fire proofed surface and I am SOOO fortunate that we have two places with these requirements here. *cough cough* It's quite amazing come to think of if. As you see, enamelling also requires some speciality tools and please - don't hesitate to inspect them closer. But as for the soldering tools - please be careful.

And with that the Black Daisy Designs studio tour ends. I hope you have enjoyed looking into my playground and that you are not too exhasted. If you have any questions - don't hesitate to leave them in the comment box below and I will answer them promptly. Don't forget to stop by our Gift Shop on the way out so you can buy yourself a little souvenir from this exciting experience.

Thank you so much and do come back again.

Your guide,

Summer Break for daughter

2011-06-17T20:00:00.004+02:00

Today was a big day for daughter. A VERY big day. Her first summer break starts today. She's been counting down on her very own handmade calender...

....and thinking and thinking about what dress to wear. We've bought quite a lot from Silk Route 2 on Etsy (aaaaamazing quality and craftmanship) and she's been saving them all for today. She finally decided on a tunic and red leggings. It was a grey, rainy morning and considering we were going to be out doors we (=me) decided on longer leggings. LOL

Anyway - it turned out to be a lovely day. It might be grey and cloudy in the photos.... but just as the choir started to sing Idas Sommarvisa - the sun broke through. It was magical. This song is sung all over Sweden when schools are out for summer. This one and one summer psalm. It just isn't summer without them.

Idas Sommarvisa - from Emil in Lönneberga

Ok, I took a LOT of photos so... get ready.

Sigrid and her class mates are coming. They're all in grade 0.

When they're in the 1st Grade - the tradition in this school is that the girls wear flower wreaths and the boys flags. Next year when it's our kids turn, I think they'll let anyone that wants to wear a wreath, wear a wreath. No matter if they're boys or girls.

Darn cute, aren't they?

The school yard was packed with proud parents and grandparens and siblings and neighbours and what-not.

The Principle gave a funny speech.

The 1st graders are singing.

The vicar also gave a speech.

More singing - now by the older children.

Hugely appreciated by Sigrid's class mates. LOL

Sigrid's school teacher - Helena. BEST teacher ever!!

I seeee youuuu.... ♥

When the ceremony was over, we all went back to the class room and the children had prepared a little song performance for us.

The girls look a bit nervous, don't they? LOL

Her dad's an officer... can you tell? Bwahahahaha.....

There are many more boys than girls in the class, so Helena had decided that the girls could choose one song, the boys one song and the teachers one song.

First out - the girls' choice - Tre Björnar. (Three Bears)

Then... then it was the boys. And well... boys will be boys. Their choice was Fotboll.... (Football.... and now we're talking REAL football... the original version... the European version.)

The teachers went back to Sweden's favorite - Astrid Lindgren - and chose a song from Nils Karlsson Pyssling - Jag är så glad att jag har dig (I'm so glad I have you)

Then Helena went on telling us parents how amazing our kids are.... which we of course already knew. :)

Oliva - Sigrid's bestest pal ever.

A somber little Sigrid - taken by a moment's seriousness. A whole long summer break until they see Helena again.

Glad sommar min älskling!
Happy summer my darling!

xoxo,

Mamma

I'm moving!!

2011-06-11T21:48:00.002+02:00

Yaaayy..... I'm moving. Well... my studio is. But not far. Only about 10 meters north from where I am now.

This is daughter's old room.

She's moved into my son's old room, as he has moved down to his very own teenage room in the cellar.

The wallpaper are from the previous owner and they told me that their daughter found a picture in a magazine with this wallpaper and she just had to have it. (We're talking early 80s here so it's covering every inch of the room. Even the ceiling and behind the radiator. *eyeroll* ) According to him, it's hand printed in France and cost a smaller fortune back then, but she was adament to have it.

My son Oscar, hated it of course and it really didn't look good with his stuff there. But when we moved Sigrid's stuff in.... it started to look pretty cool... somehow. Even daughter thinks so. Very retro.

And here is the sacred area. My "studio". *fanfare*

Messy? Whattyamean messy?? I'm an artist. A creator. I find inspiration in clutter and..... ok... it's messy. But I get enough of order and organization in my day job so this is my sanctuary. Anyway.... this, is going in ...

Oh gosh I hate that yellow pine roofing. It's going to be painted white... aaaany day now. I swear it.

.... here, and I'm changing my views ......

(We're in the middle of moving her stuff out hence the weird, bare look.)

... from this .....

Yuck.. those brown seagrass wallpapers have definately seen their best day. You know... I have to vacuum the walls beacuse of them. Yup... they're going down too... aaaaany day now.

.... to this.

Yeah.... I can do this. *HUGE grin*