Charms - How do you like to wear yours?

I have been making a whole bunch of different types of charms lately: little lightweight charms on lanyards for cell/mobile/iphones; Tibetan silver and gemstone for zipper pulls or bag and purse charms. Some are very
small, some are extra long, but I was wondering which type of charms you like best.
   Personally I'm a bag charm girl. I have a mobile phone as old as Noah, and the last thing I want to do is decorate it! But bags are a love of mine, and bags deserve jewelry. I would collect charms, if I could. In fact, if I didn't have such self control, I would probably keep every charm that I make!

My favourites at the moment must be these adorable little owls.

More of my charms can be viewed in my Etsy shop. 

The lovely thing about a charm is that you can do almost anything with it, as regards to making as well as wearing. They can be as simple or elaborate as you like. Cheap and cheerful with a few colourful acrylic beads, or dressed up by adding chain, ribbon and semi precious gemstone; hung on phones, bags and purses, or dangled from zips and belts.

I really would like to know how you wear yours...

Colors of Fall. Harvest Calls.

Although the mornings turn a little cooler , the evenings a little darker and the wind acquires a certain bite, fall seems, to me, altogether a season of warmth. Every where you look nature is taking on a warmer tone. The sun is low in the sky. Harvest radiates gold. Orange prevails. Pumpkins glow. Leaves darken and turn a stunning range of hues, from pale yellow through to dark burnt red.
  Inspiration is all around - for the photographer; the crafter; the jewelry designer. Shapes. Colours. Textures.
   As always, I am inspired by nature. But I am not the only one.

  Jennifer Hawkins of Grey Girl Designs  has created a fabulous treasury of finds on Etsy inspired by Autumn called Colors of fall.  Here are just a few.

Enjoy.

~cherie~

Greeting Card by overthefenceart

Leaf pin by LunaEssence

Photography by TorriPhoto

Felted Ring by katinytis

Autumn Light print by aprilbernphoto

Orange Poppy  Wreath by LeatherandRoses

Leaf pendant necklace by BamalamCreations

Miniature leather books by RilegatoaMano

Bamalam Photography

I know I'm making even more work for myself, and I spend too much time at my laptop as it is, but I've now made a dedicated Facebook page for Bamalam Photography to keep all my images and art in one place. Many of the pictures I'll be posting have been taken over the last two weeks, as I've been on a bit of a session with my Canon just lately. The summer may been cold and not good if its a tan that you want, but low light and damp have made the gardens and hedgerows flourish, and that's been good for me.
   So if its photography you like then perhaps you'd care to pop over to Facebook and take a look at what I've been up to. Maybe you could even 'like' my page - that would be nice.

Bamalam Photography now on Facebook

Pink - A photographer's friend

So this morning I feel we should celebrate the colour pink.
   Pink is found in so many glorious shades within nature. It can be subtle and off white, it can be vibrant, verging on purple. Pink smiles at you delicately, or it slaps in you in the face - depending on its mood!
   As a photographer and jewellery designer I cannot deny the beauty of pink. Though sometimes it's vibrancy deceives the camera's eye, when you get it right, it is a truly wonderful colour.

Summertime

The sun shines, finally. The sky is blue. Hazy sunbeams and a warm glow have teased my camera from its case. Petals beckon. The greens are lush. Blossom hangs heavy in the hedgerow. When the sun shines a simple daisy becomes a thing of beauty. Buttercups blaze with light. Sun flares speckle the lens. Ah, summertime...

Daisy Haze

Golden Nectar

Crab apple blossom

Crab apple blossom

Share. Help. Reward.

'Liking' and 'Sharing' or 'Following' and 'Retweeting' are the tools with which we help small businesses on social networks. It takes no effort on our part: a click of the mouse, nothing more. But with our simple 'click' we can do so much, because that click means so many things. We are showing our appreciation; endorsing; complimenting; encouraging; showcasing; hosting; advertising; spreading the virtual word: all the things that a small business needs to grow.
   We don't ask anything in return for this service we give - I, personally, enjoy it. I like, share and retweet all the while, expressing myself as I go. 'Hey, look at this - I like it. I like it so much that I'm going to share it - because I think its worth sharing, and I think you might like it too.'
   And if I share it with you and you do like it, then why not share it with someone else, and so on. We are spreading the word and helping someone out with every click.
 
But when you are the owner of a small business, just starting to build your social network, HOW do you get people to begin liking and sharing, following and retweeting in the first place?
   Well - bribe 'em, I say!
   What, of course, I meant to say was, reward them.
   We happily offer our customers rewards for repeat custom; we tempt buyers into our shops with coupons, sales, free postage days. So why not reward followers in the same way?
 
So, without further ado I'd like to announce our GEMINI OFFER on Facebook. Until 21st June there is a 10% discount for every shopper who buys and shares from our Etsy shop on Facebook
    Just pop along to Bamalam Creations - Inspired by Nature (Like our page please) and browse.
 
    You promote us, we reward you!
    Shopping and sharing. Fun and simple.

   Happy shopping!

A Charmed Life!

Charms are so versatile. From the traditional bracelet,  to belt dangles, zip pulls, phone charms, and hand bag charms. You can put a charm on virtually anything and it will look good. Make them simple, make them chunky. Wood, gemstone, silver, bronze, enamel. You name it and you can make a charm from it!
   And there are so many to choose from. This morning I decided to make a treasury of some of the charms I had browsed on Etsy. I called it Works Like a Charm! There are some interesting little finds there, from the traditional to to the not-so.

I particularly like this combination of chunky chain with Lapis Lazuli and a dog charm from HeartofaCowgirl

HeartofaCowgirl - rustic cowgirl jewelry on Etsy

So, after browsing, I got out a whole bunch of supplies and decided to do some designing. Wood, carnelian, agate, jade and a few metres of chain! I feel some little phone charms and chunky hand bag dangles coming on. Just waiting on my bronze owls and leaves to arrive in the post! Then we will see what I can create...