The duck that didn't like water leaves float for England!

A little story to tell you..... Are you sitting comfortably?...then I'll begin...

About a month ago we had two mallard ducks coming to our pond everyday. They were quite handsome but never seemed to go in the water. One of them would sit on the bank under the weeping willow tree while the other one would sit on either the fountain in the mornings (they knew the fountain switched on in the afternoon - I'm sure one exposure of that was a big learning experience!!) or on our duck float.

The duck float is something that I encouraged John to build last year. It is not glamorous but the idea is that duck can use it for nesting so their nest is in the middle the pond and so safe from raccoons etc etc. I think John spent about $8 getting the parts to build this float and it was a proud moment when he launched it and secured it in the pond. No ducks went on it last year however which was quite disappointing, but this year Mr Mallard seemed to have it as his favorite lounging spot.

We were enjoying watching the mallards that didn't like water and so one day, I was emailing my friend Marion in Germany and told her about them and how happy they looked on the float. I sent her this photo:


Yes, not an elegant float but functional. And the perfect spot for a duck that doesn't like water.

Fast forward to the end of May this year, and Marion sends me an email entitled "you could have helped". It was all about the scandal of the MP's spending tax payers money. The issue that caught Marion's eye was that David Cameron asked Sir Peter Viggers what on earth a "nesting float for ducks" was. Apparently Sir Peter had bought one for 1645 pounds!

Here's the link Marion found to the story in the telegraph complete with photo:

Now OK. Their Swedish duck house is a little more elaborate than ours (but did cost a little more than $8) - and theirs actually includes a "house"..... but can you say that that duck looks any happier than ours? And maybe it is a little bigger than ours too - but you can still fit two ducks on ours as we often saw:


So the sad part is that I think our ducks saw the photo of the Swedish duck float online and we haven't seen them since at the pond! Call it coincidence if you like or float envy but since Marion sent me that photo, they've disappeared. I think they are on their way to England now.... Look out for them!!

Anyhow - in memory of our little duck that didn't like water, I've just finished a little keepsake. Maybe this will get the whole sad story out of my system - and bring a smile to Marion's face too!

Yes, a solid silver duck float and still costs less than Sir Peter's!!! For all those MP wannabies - your very own duck float ring!

Toot, Toot, Toot!!!! (blowing my own horn!)

I just came second in the Bead and Button Bead Dreams 2009 competition!!!! Yeah!!!!

You may remember that I entered this competition in the spring along with the Fire Mountain Gems one that I am currently making pieces for.


The winning piece for Bead Dreams was my "remember the little things" bracelet. This is the bracelet that reminds you to take time to:

Stop a little; Entertain a little; Indulge a little; Celebrate a little; Care a little; Work a little; Pamper a little; Love a little; and Play a little.


Each of the nine squares on the bracelets depicts a little bird doing the "little thing". The reverse of the square shows the word of his action.

It feels great to get this recognition. And to go with all this fame is also a cash prize! Guess I'll be buying some more metal clay!!!

So time to do square number 4 now "celebrate a little".

Business Matters - What's in a name: Full-time or part-time name?

Last week I mentioned why I thought names for pieces you create are so important. If you want to sell online, every piece really needs a name but I wonder how many of you just give your pieces part-time names?

While you may list the name online, do you also show the name of the piece when you do a show or when your pieces are in a gallery? When the piece is being seen "live" do you take it's name away and leave it untitled?

I think a lot of people do and something is then lost. Maybe it's just the logistics of having these small printed names on display with your art and ensuring they won't blow away - but I encourage you to make your names full-time.

I don't do many shows but when I do, watching people react to the name of a piece is great. They come up and look at the jewelry, but then they notice the words! And then they try to put it all together and see why I named it that way. Then they smile and start talking to me.

So then what about when people buy pieces from you? Do you include a little card with the name of the piece on it? I didn't used to, but I found people would request that I did this. They are buying because the piece and the sentiment behind it means something to them - so why not remind them of it's name as it's all part of it. I don't send names with all my pieces but for those that are more meaningful, I do - like "you are the missing piece" or "special delivery".

A fellow metal clay artist friend Sue McNenly has found a way to name her pieces that always means the name is "full-time". She's just started framing her pieces and the title then is written on the mat. The two of us find we have lots in common in our styles and backgrounds and decided recently that we were twins separated at birth. You'll see the similarity in her work and their names!

Here's the first one: Be Home for Dinner


And Picture Day

"Picture day" was a traumatic day once a year for Sue when she was a little girl. It was the time when she and her sisters would have their "proper" picture taken and meant they had to sleep with hard rollers in their hair the night before!!!!

To see more of her work, go to her blog or website.

So tell us all. Are you a part-time namer or a full-time namer? More on this subject next Wednesday.

If you would like me to feature your work in this series of "naming", please let me know. I'd be happy to show how you approach this.

New website launched! Take a look.

I've just redesigned and launched my new website www.birdlandcreations.com

I've built all my previous sites for myself and others using iweb, the mac web builder software. It's easy to use but really isn't very good for search engine optimization - so I bite the bullet and built my new one on Rapidweaver. I enjoyed it. I like the challenge and all the design features.......

Anyhow, I hope you'll go and take a look. Here's a preview. Click on the link at the top of this post to see more.


I've included a page in German and will add one in French too, to welcome my lovely customers from Europe. Even though the whole site isn't translated, I'm hoping they will appreciate some information in their own language.

And to encourage you to see more, I'm offering 50% off my "if friends were flowers, I'd pick you" earrings. You can buy them on the site for $40 - and hopefully it will then be chance for me to see if all the behind the scenes set up is working OK.


Let me know what you think.

Through to the final....

Six of my pieces have been selected through to the final of the Fire Mountain Gems 2009 competition! I only entered six - so I guess them all getting through is good!!!

The first stage was to send photos but now I have to send the pieces. I only have three of them left, so I guess I'll be busy making some new versions!


Fingers crossed xxxx. I came third in this competition last year - so it would be nice to improve on that this year......

The pieces I entered are:
Special delivery
Feed the birds
Jack in the box
Remember the little things
Animal Tracks
Stuck on you.

Sunday's spotlight - T.W.T.W.T.W

By guest blogger Pete

Well! Last week's busy week is over but what a great week it was. The preparations for the 50th anniversary of my Ordination went off far smoother that either Pam or I anticipated. Fin, my other son-in-law- downloaded the hymns that Ruth and some of the members of San Francisco Grace Cathedral Choir had recorded for my service. The local Church organist took time off work to play them during the service on the internal sound system. Very useful to have relatives who know something about computers! That, plus the vineyard wine from John and Ruth at the meal afterwards , made her presence at the celebration unique and almost real. After the service we all retired to the Church Hall, where we ate too much and chatted continuously. Friday was the actual day of the anniversary and to this event came old collages, ordinands from the past, other clergy, family and close friends from a number of years ago.

The following Sunday was the Parish celebration and the main surprise here for both Pam and me was the unexpected arrival of Pam's sister. For a number of years she has lived in Sidmouth but last year moved up into the Midlands. Neither Pam nor I had seen her for something like 13 years. After a small reception in the hall after the service she and her husband plus three other close friends from 40 years back came back to our home for a picnic lunch. The weather during the whole time was absolutely wonderful.

Little competition for you - just for fun. What does "T. W. T. W. T. W."stand for?

Now for a continuation of the DVD/Video Player/Recorder saga. It's now two weeks since we last saw our machine. The firm I bought it from assured me that the maker's policy was that of replacing a faulty machine with a new one. Now it transpires that the maker has suddenly changed policies and they're to do a repair job (not the future tense!). We're hoping to get it back for Christmas. I hadn't better tell you the name of the maker involved nor the name of the shop I bought it from but I've learnt my lesson and this was the last time I abandoned Sony for a cheaper Japanese job. It would happen when all the cricket is on and I can't record any of it for future enjoyment.

Keep working on the conundrum! It's probably easier for UK readers than others.

Couple more new hands

Here are a couple more hand pieces...

My protector:

and another "a bird in the hand"....

Hold my hand....

I've been doing a few hands lately....trying different positions and looking at how hands can express emotions.


For this simple one, "Hold my hand", I tried to make it look more like a child's hand. Most of my hands that I've previously made have had long fingers, to give an elegant look - but for a child, I thought it needed a smaller, square shape.....


You can wear it palm up or down....

If only I could fly........

OK - so this is not going to be a daily snoopy blog - but Snoopy is very sad today - so I thought you could send him good thoughts.

Empty nesting

Oh dear! Poor Snoopy.

(If the missed the story, click here)




Left alone, after he looked after them.....read them bedtime stories..... and kissed them "night-night".

Baby Quentin Quail is born!

I have a new baby Quentin Quail :-D

I have to let you know that Daddy Quentin put on his running shoes and is running to France right now to his new home - but he left a little one in his place. As with many babes, it looks like he has yet to grow into his top knot of feathers and his legs and feet!

So what about a name? With my blog post series on naming, we need something good for him...... Quentinette? Quentino? Quentessential? what do you call a baby Quentin? All suggestions gratefully received!

Business Matters - What's in a name: Why name a piece

For the next few weeks for my Business Matters posts on Wednesdays, I'll be discussing the idea of naming our creations. I look forward to your input too!

If you've seen any of my work, you'll probably tell that I'm a big fan of naming. So to start off this series, let's look at "why name a piece"?

Imagine...."oh what a sweet baby. What's her name?" ...
"Untitled".

or think about cars.....Car manufacturers spend a lot of money coming up with simple (in most cases!) names that give off a certain impression when people mention it...think of what "mini" conjurs up or "beetle" or "magnum" or "440"....Each name appeals differently to different people...and while the name might not make you buy or not buy that car - it has a big influence in initially grabbing your attention.








"Stuck on you" or"frog necklace"

So too with your art/craft. Naming a piece is the first verbal communication opportunity you have with a viewer or buyer. Why throw that away by using "untitled" or a bland name.

People buy art and handmade items because it stirs something within them and the title of a piece can really work towards pulling the viewer in and seeing it from the artist's perspective.

It also shows that the artist has bothered to spend some time considering a title...they thought their creation was worth that effort and I think that comes across to the viewer.

We were recently in Madrid and went to the Reina Sofia Museum of contemporary and modern art. Looking round, I felt kind of let down when the pieces were "untitled". I understand that some people think this leaves interpretation of the piece to the viewer, but it was also a lost opportunity when I could have had the chance to learn something more of the artist and understand their thinking when they created the piece...........And then there were those pieces which had a title that seemed intriguing or odd to me. With those, I looked closer and spent longer, trying to find meaning in that title and consider where the artist was coming from in naming it that way. The title was a grabber for me and made me stop and consider the piece in greater detail than I would have otherwise.







"Special delivery" or "mailbox necklace"

So until next week when I'll talk about how to choose a name, why not try to spend just an extra minute on choosing the name for a new piece, considering the impact this can have on viewers and potential buyers.

I would like to feature other artists' creations in this series and look at the choice of names or help choose a name for a piece. Please let me know if I can feature some of your work.

Not for cat lovers!

I just started my day laughing at this video! Hope it doesn't offend anyone! Give it a whirl. It'll start - or end your day off with a giggle!!!



The people who did the video said they did it for publicity to find homes for all the kittens. The "love taps" are gentle and don't hurt the kittens!

(and for those of you who know how much I love patting cats on the head - you'll appreciate why this appeals to me so much!)

Nesting birds

I'm busy creating some secret custom pieces at the moment so I can't show you them yet. Anyhow - I thought you might enjoy a couple of Snoopy cartoons with nesting birds! The last one is in today's paper....I suspect there may be more:















Isn't Snoopy just the cutest! His expressions are just perfect!