Made With Love by Kat

Few things add glamour to an outfit like a great pair of statement earrings – Prada restarted the trend with their rose and diamante beauties... ...and net-a-porter are currently featuring this gorgeous pair by Marni: Yep, utterly stunning, but at £255 way beyond most people’s pre-Christmas purse strings, as are many (but not all!) of the selection chosen back in October by Elle magazine, which you can see by clicking here .  Luckily there is a host of independent designers out there who have created statement jewels that are far friendlier to your budget: These filigree and aqua jewel beauties are just $27 (£17.27) from Lazy Owl Boutique on Etsy. These  rhinestone and rose earrings have more than a touch of Prada about them, and would grace any Hollywood starlets ears. $57.99 (£37.10) from Queen Me Jewellery on Etsy. Add some cocktail hour glamour with these Swarovski crystal drops , $64 (£40.94) from Eldor Tina Jewellery on...

I've spent the evening doing lots and lots of photography so I can list some lovely new items later. But as it takes me so long to list stuff, I thought I would put a sneaky peek on here first. All items are, of course, available to be reserved if you just have to have it now! Vintage cloisonne beads with 14ct gold chain, hoops and garnet, hanging from freshwater pearl and kyanite Asymmetric 14ct gold chain, vintage bead, brass swallow, amazonite and coral earrings Asymmetric vintage marcasite, freshwater pearl and faceted rock crystal earrings Vintage earrings with amazonite drops and fine 14ct gold chain Vintage earrings with amethyst, labradorite and rock crystal

This month's Vogue magazine tells me that sorbet colours are going to be HUGE next season - particularly under John Galliano at Christian Dior. I was thrilled, obviously. Not only is Galliano a huge idol of mine but I have been working on lovely new items in shades of lavender, lilac, lemon, jade and pastel pink. My new favourites are these new Sparkling Sorbet earrings made from reworked vintage diamante earrings teamed with pale yellow jade and pretty pink rose quartz: You can buy them here Also new is a twist on the lace bracelets I've previously featured on this blog which sold less than a day after I'd listed them. Using the same lace, this time I've given it a sherbert twist with lavender and mint fabric and lace rosettes and a sparkling vintage earring. I've called it "Ruffled" and as lace is also a huge new trend I think it ticks all the boxes! You can buy it here

Earrings make the perfect stocking filler for Christmas. A well thought out pair of earrings will show how much you care, and earrings can be worn with almost any outfit, whether it's a casual vest top and pair of jeans or a knock-em-dead little black dress. I've been giving earrings a lot of thought recently. I've got lots of little vintage finds which will make fabulous new pairs that I intend to do lots of work with this weekend. But for now, here are the most recent dangly additions to my shop . A New Leaf reworked vintage earrings This Side of Paradise reworked vintage earrings Forest reworked vintage earrings Nights at the Circus reworked vintage earrings I Saw Two Ships Go Sailing By reworked vintage earrings Nightshade reworked vintage earrings And bad news for anyone who had their eye on the reworked vintage bracelet and necklace (see my last post) - they both sold about an hour after I listed them. proof, then, that if you have your eye on something you should sn...

Owl On The Sill . A little over a month ago I bought a beautiful pair of earrings from this gorgeous, gorgeous shop. There's so much more that I want to buy, but it appears those mean mortgage people need paying, so no treats for me at the moment! But doesn't mean that you shouldn't though! Buy things for yourselves! Buy things for your friends! Buy things for me! (Email made_with_love@rocketmail.com for my postal address, all presents happily received.) Just look at all the gorgeous things you could buy: Fiery Blue Moon Earrings - £17 Scarlet pendant - £14 Such a gorgeous necklace! If anyone is wondering what I would like for Christmas or, y'know, as a token of affection, this would do very nicely. Bubblegum Chalcedony and Tourmaline Earrings - £16 I think maybe these are my favourites, although it's so hard to choose. Purple Petal Hobo Bag - £25 That's right, she makes bags too. This is sooooo sweet. p.s - I've been usy working on my website which is near...

I have decided to run a wee competition through this blog - you can win a pair of brass swallow and peacock pearl earrings just like these ones which are listed in my shop: http://www.folksy.com/items/30375-The-Mysterious-Gift?shop=yes All you have to do is sign up for my mailing list and confirm your subscription (sign-up form is to the right on this blog) Closing date is Friday May 1st - so go and enter quick!

On Tuesday I published some images and thoughts about Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden and Englishness. I keep meaning to post some photographs of the notebooks that I keep all my ideas and inspiration in, but it occured to me that I also save a lot of pictures that I find onto my computer. Here's just a selection that I think illustrate what's going on in my head at the moment and might give you some hints what the new jewellery's going to look like... Clockwise from top left: swallow and flower sillhouettes, Victorian carnival poster, black and white photograph of Tom Waits by Anton Corbijn, Brian Dettmer book autopsy, image from The Wizard Of Oz, Image from Opera North's production of Mercy and Grand, a Venetian masked ball, image from Alice In Wonderland, promotional image for The Lowry's production of Something Wicked This Way Comes. On another note, I had my fastest sale ever this week - I completed a matching necklace and bracelet based ar...