Thank you Weezies.com!

Wow! When (top USA website) Weezies.com said they were going to review my jewellery, I really didn't expect this - amazing! I am so grateful - a great review, gratefully received :)

If you're not familiar with them, Weezies' "about us" page says:

"From the hottest indie designers and hippest boutiques, to your favorite stores and brands, we search the web for the things you want and the things you need.

We find pieces from emerging designers and items from chic fashion boutiques that we can recommend to you. We review them, use and wear them, so you'll know what we think before you buy.

We scour the web for the best deals from your favorite stores and brands to save you precious time and money. We show you the top trends and the latest in celebrity fashion, so you'll know where to buy what they're wearing.

So let your fingers do the shopping and give your tired feet a rest from running."

...says it all really, doesn't it?

Thanks Weezies!!

Click on the Weezies pic below to read what they had to say about Pallina Designs :)

This week ROCKS!!!!!!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

~ A

Highlights of my Weekend

1. The kids and Willie singing together while he made them breakfast
2. Cammie coming up and kissing my hand on his way past me to the living room (awwww!)
3. Georgia and I singing The Beatles' "8 Days a Week" while I gave her a shower tonight
4. Finally mastering how to make a 2 compartment wallet - yay!

What a great weekend - despite this miserable weather (has rained all day - currently pouring down here)!

Have had another busy creative weekend - on the sewing maching this time! Made a belt (first of many!), 2 wallets and 2 new handbags. Pics below.

What a great start to the week :)

~ A

Worrying Wait Over - yay!

I have been biting my nails for the past few weeks, as I entered the Beadaholic NZ National Beading Competition. Today the results were announced - and I won the Wirework Merit Prize - yay! I'm so excited as the quality and standard of the entries is sooooo high (click here to see the prize page, with pics).

So here is the winning entry - "Floraison Jardin" - a wire-work cuff bracelet I created from scratch :)

~ A

Fibre & Fleece

Yay! I finally completed my entry to this year's Fibre & Fleece exhibition and handed it in - for better or worse - yesterday. So I'm done - whew! I put so much pressure on myself here - my first time entering and I was too much of a chicken to enter a garment into the fashion show so have gone for a handbag entered into the exhibition instead :)

The handbag is made of 100% wool felt, wooden handles, paua shell embellishment (hand-sewn on, of course) with a 100% natural, undyed calico lining. Probably the only things on the whole bag that aren't natural are the interfacing (iron on) and the tiny seed beads I added for embellishment. Not a bad feat! The competition guidelines stipulate that all entries must contain at least 90% natural materials, so you really do have to think carefully before you start making stuff (not usually my strong point - I'm more of a "feel your way through it"/"go with the flow" kinda gal).

I'm sort of sick of seeing it at the moment, as I've spent so much time on it, but I hope it will be well-received. It has a price on it, so if it sells at the exhibition, that's great, but if not it will be put up for sale on the website and probably TradeMe as well.

So, here's the finished bag...and a few close ups on the detail. I was hoping to photograph it outside, but alas the weather did not co-operate with me (ie: it poured with rain for 2 days in a row and I couldn't afford to wait any longer before submitting it!):

Oh, and I've also just added a few more new things to the website...that's 'nuff for now - bedtime for me as I'm still fighting off this headcold...

~A

Winter....urgh...

I hate winter, I've decided. Not just decided right this minute, I've known it for awhile. But at the moment, I REALLY hate winter. I have a headcold from hell and it's knocked my creativity for six. No motivation to create. NONE at all. Urgh.

But, I did manage to enjoy the girls playing today (pic below). On a Wednesday, Keely comes with us to tap dancing (Keely's mum takes Georgia on the inbetween weeks), and they're always alot of fun. Tonight, I was really enjoying just sitting and watching them play together (Keely stays for dinner on the weeks that we take her to tap, it just makes more sense that way). So I took this picture of the girls with Cammie, who follows them around like a wee puppy :)

Cute eh? I've also managed to stay out of bed long enough tonight to add 3 new pairs of earrings to the website, that I made on the weekend. More to come, as energy levels return...

In the meantime, here's Georgia, Keely and Cammie, enjoying themselves tonight (Cammie, characteristically, pulling a face....again :)

~ A

Tummy Bugs, Speeches, New Pieces...and the AB's

Another busy week gone. Custom orders and packing "regular" orders came top of my list this week, together with Cammie being sick (again!) and helping Georgia practice her speech for school (to be delivered tomorrow, in front of her class and the headmistress). She's a bundle of nerves, poor wee thing! I'm sure she'll be fine though.

Cammie had another stomach upset on Saturday, which was very odd. He's usually not such a sickly child, but apparently there's lots going round daycare at the moment, so maybe he's picked something else up. In any case, he's back to his usual self now.

Watched the All Blacks play Ireland on telly on Saturday night. Not a very exciting game, I have to say. Quite disappointing, despite the win. We certainly have some work to do prior to the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup matches ahead.

Despite all this, I managed to get some new pieces made, including my first watch for awhile, which I really love. Hope to make another one or two in the next month, once the supplies arrive :)

Before I head off to bed, here's a sneaky peaky at the new stuff:







- A

June Competition!

Ooh - nearly forgot!

To celebrate 4 years as a jewellery designer, I'm running an additional competition on the website this month.

As well as all newsletter subscribers going into the draw for the usual gorgeous pair of earrings (I just love these!):


I also have a competition running this month for this gorgeous "Tutti Frutti" bracelet - all orders placed during June will go into this (completely seperate) draw:


Isn't it gorgeous?! Bright enough to scare away those winter blues (if you happen to be living in the Southern Hemisphere like me, that is....otherwise, it's very spring-like LOL).

Good luck everyone!

And, congratulations to the winner of the May giveaway, Carolyn of NJ, USA! Your gorgeous new earrings are on their way!

-A

Wedding Day Memories

Wow, that weekend flew by quickly! And we had an extra day off too, seeing as it was Queens Birthday weekend and a public holiday today (Monday). Mind you, Cammie being ill for 3 days with a nasty tummy bug has meant that the days kind of got eaten up...luckily, he's all better now and back to his boisterous, noisy self :)

I've just finished uploading my new "Bridal Collection" onto the website. I've been on abit of a creative streak this weekend, making up new designs to add to the Bridal Collection. All this bridal stuff got me remembering my own wedding day - so much so, that I actually dug out my wedding necklace from the depths of my bedside drawer and had a lovely little reminiscing session last night.

What a day that was! Willie and I got married in Edinburgh, Scotland on Waitangi Day (6 February) 1999. I chose Waitangi Day as it's a public holiday in New Zealand and I thought it would be cool to have a day off work for our anniversary when we went back to NZ to live (has worked out well so far too!). Of course, as it was February, that meant winter in Scotland and I froze my butt off all day! For some reason, fashion was at the core of my wedding dress decision (have no idea why....!!) and I decided on a Victorian-style wedding dress made from ivory satin with a lovely filmy overlay with an empire line and short sleeves...crazy! Even the gorgeus emerald green velvet wrap I was wearing didn't really help to warm me up much. It actually SNOWED after our photos were taken! Luckily, I was fortified with lashings of Tawny Port and defrosted soon afterwards :)

Did I mention that I made my own wedding dress and wrap? Being ever frugal (and we were on a fairly tight budget), I decided it would be cheaper to buy a sewing machine and make the dress myself rather than buy a ready-made dress (that, and I couldn't really find what I wanted). I was so proud of myself :) My veil belongs to my Mum - she was given it by her grandfather for her first Communion and also wore it on her wedding day.

Here's a pic of us on our wedding day and also my beloved necklace (kind of proving that I've always been a fan of the Victorian era in jewellery):





My wedding necklace is still pristine, kept with the receipt, in it's original box. It is so beautiful! Cream glass pearls with a gorgeous Montana blue glass focal. I remember looking high and low for matching earrings, as I was determined I wanted dangling ones, yet I didn't want long ones, and I would prefer teardrop shaped ones but couldn't find them anywhere!! I'm not kidding - I looked for weeks! If only I could have made them myself, I would have...but those were the days before my journey into jewellery-making began.

I still love my wedding necklace :) I hope that one day Georgia might wear it on her wedding day. Fingers crossed!

-A