Monday 6 December 2010

Its beginning to look a lot like.....

....Ok, so that's a really predictible title for this time of year, but you know what? I really don't care! I LOVE christmas, I just love it. The songs, the food, the wine, the pressies, the snow (oh yes!), the wine, the look on my daughters face when she sees what Santa has left, the wine, the good cheer, the wrapping of presents, the wine, the tacky decorations, the mulled wine, and of course the SPARKLES! (and did I mention the wine...?)


Swarovski crystal AB bauble by Starstruck Designs

Christmas is the one time of year when I can guarantee my husband wont bat an eyelid at me adding sparkles to everything. From tinsel on the Christmas tree, to lights in the windows, to foil hanging decs in the hall, to edible glitter on our food (ok - so I still have to try and get that one past him, but if anyone can do it - its me!)

This is the first year that i've actually put together some Christmas themed pieces on my website. There is the bauble above, and then this Christmas tree decoration:



Both modelled on my beautiful Christmas tree (sorry - I don't do the whole "matchy matchy" thing!)



I've actually been surprised at how many orders have come in over the last week - not for Christmas presents, but for brides getting married either over Christmas, or very early in the New Year. There have been a few orders from the new side tiaras collection, in addition to some snowflake pins, and snowflake necklaces and bracelets. Of course, there has also been a run of orders for Christmas party accessories, including a lovely customer, who having recieved her Christmas tree decoration, asked to have it make into a necklace for her party this weekend!

Thursday 25 November 2010

Working hard.....whilst the baby is ill.

Or not working hard.

Or perhaps working even harder than normal, but being a lot less productive whilst the baby is ill...?

As a little reminder, to those of you who aren't familiar with my utterly gorgeous little boy - here he is. A series of photos during and after a feed. Sometimes I manage to do these with 1 hand, and you might just be able to spot the cables of my laptop at the edge of a photo!



He's been really poorly this week. In fact on Monday we had to rush him to the hospital with a temperature of over 40C. But the antibiotics started to work very quickly, and here he is on Wednesday, along with what we "lovingly" refer to as his Kitchen Carnage:



So this week has been really difficult. I've managed to make all the client orders that were due, including a necklace and bracelet set that I love so much i'm having to make one for myself! And some hairpins, earrings, and a side tiara. But mostly this week i've been blogging, because that is relatively easy to do with 1 hand!

So i'm sorry...so SO sorry to all of you that are expecting some wonderful, sparkly post from me. But this week has been about my family. The essential part of work has been covered, but the "mum" part of me has really been called upon over the last 7 days. In so many ways. And you know what..? sometimes I think its really important to remember why we do this. Who we do it for. I LOVE my job, but gosh my babies are gorgeous.....

Tuesday 23 November 2010

So you want to save yourself some pennies?

C'mon...honesty time...who else has been buying their weekly shop in Asda in order to get their sweaty mitts on those £40 discount voucher books? With Christmas coming up, and my 25th Dec table looking set to house over a dozen family members, i'm trying to economise.



Let's face it - these days we're all looking for ways to save money. I might have already been lucky enough to have my wedding day, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the expensive nature of the day, and the struggle that every bride and groom experiences when it comes to sticking to budget. "Friends" Anyone...?




So when a little birdie whispered in my ear about a fantastic money saving website for brides, my ears pricked up!

How would you like to save 15% off your bridal tiara?
Or save 10% off your wedding stationery?
Or get a FREE engagement shoot package?
Or perhaps up to 40% off a designer bridal dress is right up your street?

If any of these sound like they might be helpful to you, then you really need to checkout these Wedding Discounts. The website is continually being updated, and so you need to keep checking it for the latest special offers and discount codes.

Grab yourself a bargain my darlings....!!!

Thursday 18 November 2010

That whole vintage asymmetric thing...

Over the last few years i've seen new trends start, and take a good strong hold within the bridal industry. Particularly the vintage, and "vintage inspired" look. Glittering diamante, sumptious pearls, and good strong nods towards the early part of the last century are found at weddings all over the place right now. At the forefront of this, has to be the amazing Kirstie, from Flo and Percy



Flo and Percy Flo and Percy Flo and Percy


The asymmetric look has been desireable for many years, and works fantastically well with the vintage trend. So....what do you get when a self-confessed magpie decides to combine both of these aspects? You get a 20 piece asymmetric headband collection, that's what! And the three photos below are just a taster of what you will find in our new collection of bridal side tiaras:



Side Tiara by Starstruck Designs Side Tiara by Starstruck Designs Side Tiara by Starstruck Designs


Oh.My.God. How excited am I to finally be able to say that!? Some of the componants that have been used in this collection have been in my possesion for quite literally AGES! I have been so keen to put together this collection, and now finally I have the time to do so.

As much as I loved owning a bridal shop, I can't help but be so grateful now to have the time to design new collections. I've been working on this one for a while and am so, SO excited to finally be able to open the stage curtains and reveal it in all its glory!

And is the vintage trend around to stay? Who knows? But I think its certainly going to be a favourite with brides for a while yet!

Friday 12 November 2010

Admitting defeat, with a small success

Well, I lost the blog. Totally. No matter what I tried I couldn't get my blog to integrate with my website. So theres been a change of plan!

If you can read this then its because i've changed my mind, am still hosting the blog on blogger, and am going to link to it from my website. Cop out huh?!

But on the success side of things, I exhibited at a Ladies Christmas Gift Fayre tonight. It was fairly busy, and I got lots of compliments, as well as a few sales, which is always good! And it would seem my dress was something special, as I got many, many comments on it!



Of course, I was wearing a custom made Starstruck necklace, had on a pair of grey heels, and I absolutely DID NOT stand with my feet pointing in like that!

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Can you see me?

I am currently trying to add this blog to my website. Wow, that's causing a real headache, believe me! DNS, CNAME, FTP, domains, sub-domains and directories... a foreign language? It certainly seems it to me!

I've found so many different articles online telling me how to do it, but none of them seem very clear. I am so confused! I think that i've done all the things i'm supposed to have done. The blog should now be viewable at www.blog.starstruck-designs.co.uk Except that when I try and view it, I get an error page.

Of course, there's no point me posting here and asking for help, because until I get it sorted, no-one can actually read this....

So if you are reading then I guess i've cracked it and no longer need assistance.

Pat on the back and glasses of bubbly all round!

Thursday 29 July 2010

How confused and diffused am I?

Ok. So I use a forum - in fact I frequently post on 2 boards on that forum. And I have a personal account on Facebook, as well as a business page. And I use Twitter And of course I have this blog.

How on EARTH am I supposed to keep up with all of them? I already Tweet my FaceBook Page updates, can I tweet my blog updates automatically as well? And is it totally awful to duplicate my blog writing on my Facebook page? I feel like I am spreading myself so thinly, any yet I know of so many others who seems to effortlessly manage to do all this and more.

In between looking after the 2 babies, doing the washing, cooking the dinner, making orders, answering emails, updating the website, ordering supplies and fending off business-2-business callers, I really am trying to keep up with all this Social Media.

And I think I am supposed to talk to my husband at some point...

Saturday 15 May 2010

Simply Celestial

Have you read "The Celestine Prophecy"?

Its a great book. Not as good as I thought it would be, but I think that all depends on what your expectation is. I took away a single thought from it, which turned out to be hugely instrumental in a big decision that I made in life. I think I should read the book again as I am sure I would find a different meaning in it this time. I think its the kind of story that has a different meaning, and a different implication, depending on the stage of life you are currently at.

Anyway, I mention it just because a friend of mine referred to it tonight. I had been thinking of her today, having not spoken to her since around October last year, and decided to give her a call. During the course of our conversation, she told me that she had only been thinking of me, just minutes before I called her. Coincidence?

We had a similar moment about a year ago where she was stood in a shop, deliberating over accessories for an important outfit, and thinking how great it would be if I had been there to help her decide, and at that exact moment I walked into the shop. Actually it was that incident that prompted her to tell me about "The Celestine Prophecy", and to lend me her copy. Fortunate?

I'm not even sure why I felt it was important to blog about this tonight. Maybe I just needed to write it down. I miss her a lot.

Sunday 9 May 2010

So its Sunday again....

...and that means the end of week 2 of my "Project a Day". So how did I fare this week? Not so good to be honest. We've both been ill, although thank goodness the children seem to have both escaped it. Then over the last 2 days Austin has been incredibly funny with his feeds, yesterday he fed more than normal, wanting both sides at each feed and getting very cross if he didn't get it quick enough! Then today he seems to have been really off is food, and even when offered to him he's refused with quite a tantrum. To be honest i'm exhausted by it all!

I have managed to make something almost every day, there is just 1 item on todays blog that I didn't make this week, but its the right colour so i've included it. I have missed yesterday's though. I'm afraid that there is no pink item for this week and I am just too tired to make one now. I promise to make 2 pink items next week though!

So what have I come up with this week? Piccies below - each of them linking to that item in my Folksy shop:


Red and blue crystal heart earrings Swarovski Filigree bracelet
Peridot leaf and flower pendant Swarovski Crystal Flower Comb in Blues
Swarovski Amethyst and Blue Zircon Crystal Bangle Ivory pearl and crystal flower hairpins


On the upside though, it turns out that Aliya can pronounce "Swarovski" far better than a lot of tiara designers that i've met, and she can also pick out clear AB from clear crystals. She knows that AB stands for Aurora Borealis, and she can pronounce it too...not bad for a 4 year old! I'll make a magpie out of her yet!

Friday 7 May 2010

In Lieu of actually making anything

I'm going to blog instead.

I should be making something. But i'm tired, too tired to even shift my lazy bum off the sofa and go and get any materials. No materials, means no creating. But my laptop is close at hand and it takes very little energy to click away on the keys, so i'll compensate for my lack of creativity by writing here instead.

I had planned to put together a gallery of images of all the pieces i've made this week and publish it on Sunday, but i've come up with a little pendant design that I love. Not only do I love it, but it seems to have won the hearts of a few others as well. It has been "favourited" 4 times on Folksy, and independantly blogged about twice!


Swarovski peridot leaf and flower pendant Swarovski peridot leaf and flower pendant


I've had the Swarovski peridot leaf pendants for so long. I'd always planned to use them in a crystal bouquet, but never got around to it. To be honest i'm not sure how commercial it would be anyway, I think a bridal bouquet would be more likely to sell if the leaves were in clear crystal. But I love the combination of bold sparkle, with the soft glow of the Mother of Pearl carved flower in this design. I just wish the leaves came in lots of colours, but sadly the shades are rather few and far between.

This was Wednesdays offering...i'll blog about the rest of the week's projects on Sunday.

Thursday 6 May 2010

Poorly sick in this house

My husband was ill on Tuesday. I thought he was putting it on a bit - all the huffing and puffing from the sofa was a bit irritating. However at about 2am Thursday morning I was made to eat my words when I came down with the same thing. I've ended up spending all day in bed, just sitting up for long enough to feed the baby, and then going back to sleep again. Now I am feeling a bit better, and I was inspired to search Folksy for some cheerful "get well soon" ideas:


Cosmo Cards - Get Well Soon card Stardust - Cheer Bear Necklace
Any Dots and Co Wrapped up with String

Its my first attempt at a Treasury, so I hope i've managed it ok.

Now i'm back off to bed again - am not good at being ill, and I know that in an hour or so, the little one will be awake and wanting a feed...

Sunday 2 May 2010

Project-A-Day...week 1

Week 1 only has 2 days in it, yesterday and today, but i've managed to make a piece each day, according to my colour chart - and i've photographed them and listed them on Folksy! Get me! So here they are, projects 1 and 2:

May 1st was a pink cluster pendant, created with a venetian glass heart and a variety of Swarovski crystals and pearls in shades of pink



May 2nd is a set of three hairpins with a white lucite flower and a jet black crystal in the centre.



Am quite pleased with both of them, although todays planned idea was originally based on a jet and clear Swarovski crystal filigree. But we've had a busy day (Meadowhall shopping and sushi!) and time wasn't on my side so i'll have to save that idea for next Sunday... Watch this space...

Saturday 1 May 2010

What a timewaster....

Its true. I am a complete timewaster. Sometimes I just can't help myself, an idea pops into my head and I just HAVE to see it through. So today's complete waste of time has been putting together a colour chart for each day of the week, all ready for my "Project a Day"....



So these are the colours I am planning on sticking to as I make an item on each day. How pretty it looks. How much time did it take me? Not telling.... lets just say "too long", and that i'll probably have to start my projects tomorrow.

What a waste of time. (But SO satisfying to see!)

Friday 30 April 2010

New Ideas and a Thank You

First of all, i'd like to say a big Thank You to Beccy from AloeVera.net for the absolutely top tip about Networked Blogging. I have added the widget to the right hand side of my blog - and hope to see more followers through that!

Next, a little bit of info about an idea i've had, inspired by an Etsy Virtual Lab that I attended yesterday. I'm going to try a "project a day". Goodness knows how long i'll be able to keep it going - there isn't always a lot of time in this house! But my idea has gone one step further, in the hope that I can maintain a little bit of structure to the project. I'm going to allocate a colour to each day of the week, and the project that I make that day will be in the allocated colour. I suppose that gives me a bit of a starting point.

So now to choose my colours. I bit more thought is required I think...

Thursday 29 April 2010

Fabby little flowers...

I've been spending money I don't have on Etsy, and bought some absolutely gorgeous lucite flowers recently. They arrived yesterday and inspiration struck so as soon as Austin fell asleep in the afternoon, I set to work with my new materials. Of course typical of me, I ended up making a necklace with materials that I already had here! But it was the arrival of the new pieces that set the train of thought up for the design, and I will use them in something eventually.




The design is listed on Folksy: http://www.folksy.com/shops/Starstruck along with some other pieces that i've made recently.

I do love those little lucite flowers. I have loads of them now, all different shapes, sizes and colours. Some are even 2 tone - I really want to use them in something. AND....I have new things arriving soon! A little musical charm that I am assured actually works, and some little tiny charms that have already inspired the title of a new design: Strawberry shortcake. No idea what the design will be yet, but I know what it is going to be called!

Wednesday 28 April 2010

Etsy and/or Folksy?

I've had an Etsy shop for a while now, but it's only ever had 1 item in it - needless to say I didn't make much! So this week I decided to add some more of my work. However every time I worked out the £ to $ conversion my irritation mounted. And so started my quest for an Etsy equivalent that allowed me to price things in sterling. That's when I discovered Folksy.

Folksy seems a lot smaller than Etsy, so less competition I guess, but less consumers too. And it costs more than Etsy, ok, not a great deal more, but every penny counts at this stage! Nevertheless, I've opened a shop and am gradually listing bits and pieces. It will be interesting to see which shop gets more views, and more importantly, which shop makes the most sales!

So I'm interested to hear any thoughts on the matter - which one do you prefer? Etsy or Folksy?

http://www.folksy.com/shops/Starstruck
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StarstruckDesigns

Before I go I'll apologise for the lack of any photos. I'm blogging from bed, on my iPod touch, whilst feeding the baby. I am woman hear me ROAR...!

Monday 19 April 2010

Crystal Bouquets Updated

I've been working on the website today. Couldn't really do much more as Austin decided he wanted to spend as much time as possible in my arms, and protested rather loudly if he found himself anywhere else! So it was down to some 1-handed web design, wow that takes some time!

I had a couple of new bouquet designs that needed to be uploaded, as well as the Mini Lotus design in a different colourway, and a buttonhole and corsage to match the Posy Bouquet. You can view these designs in all their glory here: Crystal Bouquets


Of course, as with all of my work, these are created with gorgeous Swarovski crystals, the Mini Lotus also uses cream Swarovski Pearls. I think these bouquets are fab for bridesmaids, and can consist of any combination of Swarovski colours. You can also see it in teal shades on my website.

I do have a couple of other pieces that I really want to upload to my Etsy shop, but I can hear the baby boy waking up again so that might have to wait until tomorrow...

Thursday 15 April 2010

First necklace made!


Now that my chain has arrived i've been able to complete the necklace design that I started a few days ago - Woo Hoo! I'm quite pleased with it actually, although not so impressed with the photography, I really need to make some improvements there! Anyone with any tips, they would be much appreciated.

I found the little wired flowers a while ago and have been itching to make them into something. I was thinking that they would be great for little flowergirl clips, but do rather like them in this asymmetric focal piece. I've used a combination of violet and tanzanite crystals with lilac pearls, and I thought the heliotrope heart worked beautifully with the other colours. The rest of the necklace is a silver chain, with a couple of crystal and pearl accents at the front. It is about 15" long and closes with a bolt ring and a 2" extension chain. The extension chain is of course finished with a matching crystal drop.

Now to get my thinking cap on for the next piece!

Ooh, new goodies.

Having decided to make a start on some new ideas I was very disappointed to find that i'd run out of the silver chain that I needed for a necklace design. Of course I didn't realise I was out until half way through making the piece, which was incredibly frustrating! I immediately placed an online order for some more chain, and of course a few new pretty things "fell" into my basket just before checkout.



I have no idea what i'll do with them yet, but its lovely to have new things to daydream about!

Whilst frantically searching my office for silver chain, I reached the conclusion that it really needs a sort out. Well, actually it needs unpacking - almost everything is still in boxes since our move in October last year. The problem being that the boxes have all been opened and rooted through when i've been looking for one thing or another and now everything is a mess, and nothing is in the box that it was originally in so the box labels are pointless. Definately a job for the "to do" list.....

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Starstruck Designs is back!

This year I will be celebrating 8 years of Starstruck Designs. Eight years of making fabulous sparkly things!

Since 2005 things have been forced to slow down a bit, initially due to the birth of my beautiful daughter, then because my time was eaten up with the opening of the bridal shop Aliya Rose, and most recently with the birth of my gorgeous son. In fact he is currently sleeping in my arms and I am typing this 1 handed!

However its time to get things up and running again. Although i've still been making client pieces, there are so many other things that I want to do. It will be a slow start, afterall, typing with 1 hand is one thing, but making a tiara requires both! So watch this space for updates of my progress, sneaky peeks of new designs, and possibly details of some rather exciting extras!

In the absence of any new pieces to photograph, i'll leave you with a couple of snaps of my beautiful babies:

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