Glam Sticks and Stones

  Continuing my sticks and stones series I am going to look at glam, sparkly sticks and stones in my quest to find fashionable walking sticks and fabulous jewellery for every occasion. 

  Today I am looking at Glamsticks (a link to their website and SM is provided below) which makes glam, sparkly walking sticks (folding or non folding), crutches and White canes.  Glamsticks was established by  Debra Deboo and is now owned by Sharon Farley-Mason. GlamSticks won the Disability Motoring Product of the Year 2011.  There are lots of designs - Chameleon, SparkleStick or GlitterWings to name but a few, or for an extra £5 you can design your own. As each stick is hand painted and the diamanté put on by hand they do take several weeks to be made, but they are well worth the wait.

I think the most important thing to note about the founder and owner of Glamsticks is that as they are disabled and understand that the sticks/ crutches need to be both comfortable and stylish. There is no point having an eyecatching stick of it is uncomfortable to hold. In the about Glamsticks section Debra stated that she "wanted to look fab" and Glamsticks certainly do that. Hospital sticks, whilst they do the job, are grey and don't make you feel better or glamorous. Whilst a sparkly stick won't make you better it will certainly make you smile and feel glam.

Jewellery wise you can either look like a glitterball and go for all out sparkle - paste jewellery can be found at all price points from QVC UK, Debenhams, Accessorize down to Claire's Accesories. Swarovski is more expensive but if you just wanted to put all the focus on the stick and one piece of jewellery that would look great too.

All views expressed in this blog post are my own. 

Glamstick links:

Website: http://glamsticks.co.uk

Twitter: @Glamsticks 

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/GlamSticks/

Jewels of June: A Sparkling Ring Review

    I purchased this multi stone gold plated ring from an Etsy shop, Jewels of  June. The central stone is green agate (5x5mm) and the side stones are Moonstone and Rose Quartz. The ring does not look symmetrical which adds to the unusualness and quirkiness of it. There are 3 (3mm) Rose Quartz stones and 2 (4mm)Moonstones. The ring band is 1.5 MM wide and 1 MM thick. It is 14k gold plated on to sterling silver. It is extremely comfortable to wear as it is extremely light and the band is thin (I have neuropathic pain in my hands and cannot bear the feel of most rings on my fingers but this one doesn't make the pain worse).

As the shop is in New York it took around 2 1/2 weeks to arrive. As I wanted the band to be made smaller she had to cut and re gold the ring which added on a few days. The customer service was good as she kept me informed of where she was up to with my ring and the package was sent track able. It came in a Jiffy bag, a little cardboard box, a card telling me how to care for the ring and a little hessian bag to keep it in. 

I would use this seller again and recommend her to friends. Her customer service is great, the ring is well made and unusual and the price is reasonable.

I purchased the item myself (£51 inc shipping & 12.31 customs)

The Etsy shop and ring can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/294764829/multistone-ring-agate-ring-rose-quartz?ref=cat_gallery_15

#Bee Mine 2: #earrings, #bracelets, #rings

 

Following on from Bee Mine 1 is ...... Bee Mine Part 2. Bee jewellery has become part of all jewellers portfolios - it is almost impossible to go in a jewellers, either online or on the high street, and not see an ubiquitous bee something. Having looked at Pinterest and Polyvore I have made, what I think, is the best of the bee jewellery around at the moment at various price points. 

1 Is a gold toned bee hair band from Net a Porter by Jennifer Behr (£100).

2 Alex and Ani ring wrap Bee in rose gold from Zappos.com (£20).

3. Alex Monroe Rose Gold Baby Bee Charm Bracelet (£210). 

4 Alex Monroe Honey Bee Stud Earrings (£126) Alexmonroe.com

5 Sharon Kazzam Bee Accented Drop Earrings (£6,825) barneys.com

6 Alex Monroe Bee Signet Ring (£165) Alexmonroe.com

All views expressed in this post are my own and the photo is mine. The jewellery images are from Polvore.

#EarthyJewel Pink Chalcedony Pendant

  I  decided to widen my gemstone jewellery collection as, after careful consideration, the majority of my jewellery is either labradorite or moonstone. After perusing Etsy I thought this pendant would be a pretty and cheap (£10.27 inc postage) way of venturing into a paler more summer colour palate. 

                                                     

The stone is natural pink chalcedony and is 12mm. The stone is faceted on one side so the light bounces off it and the other side is flat so rests comfortably against the chest area. It is made of 18k gold plate and looks a very bright gold which sets the pink off perfectly. There was a choice in necklace length - 16, 18 or 20". The only problem I have with it is the clasp. It is S shaped and as I have grip/ coordination problems I have difficulty forcing the jump ring into position through the S. As it is a S clasp I cannot fasten my magnetic fasteners to the necklace without it being obvious and the S dangling down. 

The seller, based in India, was very helpful and the postage was around £3. My necklace came in a plastic box so was very well protected. I would buy from this seller again. The price of the item was reasonable, the design is unusual and the stone cut and setting looks more expensive than it actually was. The only downside is the clasp for wonky hands like mine! 

                                                     

                                               

                                                  

I purchased this item myself. 

Earthy Jewels: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/218876749/natural-pink-chalcedony-necklace-pink?ref=hp_rv

Jewellery As Art - jewellery trees, displays & holders. #WIN

Life is too short to keep jewellery closeted away in dark jewellery boxes brought our once every blue moon. Instead how about displaying jewellery as a piece of art, on walls, on stands or draped artfully in vases, teacups or jewellery trees. Vintage cups and saucers, vases and pots artfully displayed can be sourced from that old favourite- eBay or from your local charity shop 

                                                

You could make your own piece of art by covering a picture frame with wallpaper and screwing in some curtain hooks, or put a piece of foam on a picture frame, cover with material and use pins to secure the jewellery. Or, if you are lazy like me search eBay, Etsy or Sass & Belle have a vintage version just like I would make if I was artistically inclined! 

            

Sass & Belle's website have some quirky, fun and eye catching jewellery display items and ideas and more display items can be found searching Ebay UK and Amazon UK .  I found the rabbit and unicorn ring holder on Sass & Belle's web site, they are adorable and not expensive. The rabbit ring holder and unicorn jewellery are quirky but would look great on any dressing table. 

They are all statement ornaments which would make a statement out of your favourite pieces of jewellery. There is a lot of choice and so many great display choices so I hope these have given you a few ideas. Happy shopping!



If you want to win a deer jewellery holder just subscribe to this blog and leave a comment closing date 01/08/16
                             All views expressed in this post are my own and either my own items bought by myself or stock photos. 
These items can be found on Sass & Belle's website: https://www.sassandbelle.co.uk/
or resellers on Amazon and EBay can be found by searching Sass & Belle

#safetypin Campaign

After the historic or disastrous, depending upon your political stance, Brexit vote just over a week ago the #safetypin Twitter campaign  has become a way to speak out out against racism against immigrants which appeared to have have been legitimised by the leave campaign. 


Whilst wearing a safety pin may give immigrants or those being harassed some comfort and a feeling that you won't verbally or physically abuse them, unless you speak out and challenge these abhorrent views then wearing a safety pin may make you feel good about your self but will do little for those the campaign is meant to help. 

I shall be wearing my safety pin with pride.  It may not be flashy or sparkly, but sometimes small and understated  makes more impact and also speaking up against any racist incidents I see.