The World of Mars and Skewiff Scheduling

Well thought I'd better pop in and let everyone know what I'm up to at the moment as my blogging schedule is a little skewiff!

Side Stage View from Humber Street Sesh

I've been a busy bee in August; hanging out with my husband and friends when they all played a festival - they had sofas in front of their stage... and cover (it rained a lot in the afternoon) so guess where I stayed for most of the day!

Wales... for once in this pic it wasn't raining!

I did a bit of Pandora shopping before heading off on a whirlwind trip to Wales to catch up with family, celebrate a special Grandmother's birthday and generally chill out, with good food & drink and more bad weather unfortunately.  I also came home with some very special pieces of jewellery... but I'll save that story for later!

New Glass!

In other news - I bought some more glass and I've had my 2nd lampworking lesson - only 2 years after my 1st one! 

Pootling along by myself for the last few months, I decided it was time for some expert guidance in getting shot of some bad habits and attempting to learn some good new ones.

My own torch!

I've also taken the plunge and bought my own torch, after much umming and ahhing and driving friends and family insane with my constant, Shall I? Shan't I? questioning.  And, er, that is where the rest of my time has gone this month... I've been creating a little space for myself in my kitchen so I can make beads at home!

Alex Cramariuc - Elements Silver Set

Oh and I've also been gazing adoringly at my new bracelet made up of Alex Cramariuc Elements Silver Set... I did mention that Alex was the one designer that might break my New Years Bead Resolutions Budget and I was right, worth every single penny though!

So that's what I've been up to so far, I have a few things planned for the blog but my scheduling will remain a little skewiff whilst things settle down and I concentrate on not setting fire to the kitchen, or me, or the visiting cats, or anyone who tries to make a cup of tea at the same time... More on my progress later!

So that's me, what have you been up to?

Packing dilemmas & Pandora shopping!

All last week I'd been trying to find a tiny sliver of time to pop into town and indulge myself with the Pandora 3 for 2 ring offer, a 5 day window and I live within busing distance of town; it should have been easier...

Yesterday (the last day of the promo) I was determined to get there before the offer was over; I knew I definitely wanted 2 of the Pandora rings, so it made sense to pick up a 3rd for free!

Back in April I'd tried on a lot of Pandora rings I liked at the Hugh Rice Blogger Event - not all of which I showcased on the blog; so there was going to be a big choice to be made to settle on just 3, and not 6!

It's actually quite unusual for me to be so keen on a set of fashion rings.  When choosing rings I've always tended to seek out jewellers who work to a much smaller scale and craft rings that are not produced in their many thousands.

Pandora Spinel Ring

However, I fell in love with this Silver Spinel Ring from Pandora, this was my first choice and there was no way I was leaving Hugh Rice without it a 2nd time!

Last April I'd also spotted a lovely star ring but I couldn't decide whether I wanted to wear it on my thumb or my middle finger.

Pandora Spinel & Star Ring Stack

Pandora Spinel & Star Rings

Here I'm wearing it stacked with the Spinel ring, but it also fits on my thumb - bonus!  I think it will match my Starwheel charms from Elfbeads beautifully next time I change my bangle to match.

Elfbeads Starwheel Silver Charms

Ring shopping for me has to be done in person and not online, as even when I know my ring size, I have to try on rings in person as what I often love in the tray, I don't on the hand.

So which ring made the coveted No.3 spot?

Whilst I tried on all the lower priced rings I liked in order to make a financially sensible decision... the one I fell for was at the more expensive end of the scale due to it including 3 little wraparounds of 14ct gold on the twisted silver design.

What can I say... I love mixed metals in jewellery!  There was another silver and gold band that I liked that might have pushed me to buying 6 rings in total, but luckily for my bank balance they didn't have it in my size!

Having spent considerably more than I first intended, off I went... now all that's left is to decide which of these 3 rings are coming with me on my trip!

Have you indulged in any of the previous 3 for 2 ring offers from Pandora?

Spot anything you fancy today?