Cory is a fan: casualee

I always see things that with I had a house, a garden, outside space etc. so that I can decorate it to feel sweet and cute.  Here is one such item!!:

These are miniature fairy doors and items by casualee on Etsy - there's a great range of shapes and each are whimsical and magical!  Absolutely adorable.  Also sold are little windows, bridges, decking and gardens!  Everything your little garden habitators will need.

Exciting News!

Exciting news for Coryographies... my jewellery will soon be being sold at a lovely shop in Islington, London!  I won't give away all the details yet, but stay tuned for all the gossip ;)

Also in upcoming news, I'll be unveiling a new bookshelf necklace as well as my April discount on April 1st!  I promise there won't be any April Fools jokes to go along with... but will there be a new giveaway to enter?  Make sure to check back and see!!

And the winner is...!

Thanks to everyone that entered my giveaway this month!  I'm very pleased to announce the winner from my magic hat...

In this very official way, I wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper for every entry they made.  There were about 25-30, so not bad odds!

Here we go!



And the winner is...

Christmas Pie Crafts!  I will be getting in touch with them to let them know they've won the giveaway.  Congratulations!  I'll be sending you a free Tea Shop Bookshelf Necklace and matching Teapot Earrings!

Thanks again to everyone who entered - if you didn't win, don't fret!  I'll be doing another giveaway very very soon.  Check back soon on how to enter!

~Cory

Only 3 days left to enter the giveaway!

There are only three days left to enter my giveaway!  Have you entered yet?

Make sure you entered correctly so I can count your entries! :)  You need to comment on this post telling me how you entered.

Reminder: 

The way to enter: there are three ways to enter your name in the prize draw!  Do all three and get your name in the draw three times!  

The first way is to follow my blog.  The second is to follow my Facebook page.  The third is to follow me on Twitter (@Coryographies)!  Do one, two or all of these, and then comment on this post saying which ones you voted by!  Make sure you let me know which ones you voted by, so I know how many times to enter you in the draw.  If you're already following one of these, it counts in the current draw as a vote - just mention to me which of these three voting methods applies to you, and your name will go in my magic hat!

You can enter the draw until midnight GMT on Sunday, March 25th - I will draw the winner and notify them on the 26th!  Check back here on the 26th to see who won, along with some riveting pictures of the prize draw, though I will notify you myself if it's you  to make sure you're aware and so I can get your address to post your prize :)

Good luck!

P.S. You can be from anywhere in the world and I'll pay postage to send it to you... I wont make you pay to get your prize or anything ;)

Your prize will be a Tea Shot Bookshelf Necklace and matching Teapot Earrings!

I've returned!

I'm back from Japan and back to work - happy to return to the workbench (desk?) but sad I'm no longer in the lovely land of the rising sun.  Now to work on these orders!

This is not what my work area looks like

Cory is a fan: Desertknapper

Now I know lots people's idea of a beautiful big rock is something like this:

Meh.  It's alright I guess.  My idea is something a little more like this:

Yeah!  Woo!  Rhyolite stone core.  Gorgeous stone, knapped by flint knapper Mark, who lives near the Great Mojave Desert and uses traditional flint knapping methods to create some beautiful pieces such as this on his Etsy shop:

He makes the arrowheads into necklaces as well, and I'm tempted to get one despite not knowing a whole lot about North American archaeology, despite being North American and studying archaeology in North America and taking classes called things like "North American Archaeology".  Hm...

Make a Japanese tea set from polymer clay

Since this month is 'tea' month, and I'm off and away in Japan, I thought I'd make an appropriately themed post!

Here is an instructional video (not made by me!) on how to make a Japanese tea set from polymer clay.  There are some really good tips in here, and I may have to try and make it myself :)  Beware, the instructor's voice is calm and soothing and may make you very relaxed... ;)

Off to Japan!

Tomorrow I'm heading off to Japan with my husband to attend a conference.  We'll be gone for a week, so I've left a note on my shop and my shop items that I won't be back in the workshop until the 20th!  So we'll be trading in our English Breakfast for green tea for a while, but there will still be posts appearing here so keep checking! :)

Cory is a fan: Poppa's Boats

I've fallen in love with these boat-shaped shelving units from Poppa's Boats, and as soon as I showed my husband his first question was, "How much to get one shipped over here?" 

The one that first caught my eye was a bookshelf, and we all know I'm a bookshelf enthusiast, but the one I've really fallen in love with is this gorgeous blue wine rack:

How beautiful is that?  I can just see it in my kitchen or even in the livingroom, and no doubt it would be a great conversation piece!  The beautiful blue gives it a lovely nautical feel as well.  I hope my future house is somewhat by the sea... although being in Britain, can you ever get that far from it?  I doubt you can live anywhere and not hear seagulls... and therefore nautical themed items are justified :)

Bubble Tea!

Once thing that I love and haven't been able to have since I lived in Canada is bubble tea!  Bubble tea is a Taiwanese drink (usually cold but you can have it hot) made of really milky sweet tea in different flavours with tapioca pearls (the 'bubbles'). 

I really miss going out for bubble tea with friends - in England, cafes don't stay open very late (most are closed by 6 in the evening), so if you want to go out with a friend in the evening the usual spot is a restaurant or a pub.  But buying a meal or alchohol is expensive, and I like sitting somewhere quieter and not so dark as a pub.  Bubble tea cafes are often open late, have tables and a few food items to order if you're peckish, and you can sit and have a chat with friends in an easy relaxed atmosphere for a few dollars.  It's really nice!

I think the UK would benefit from bubble tea catching on and becoming popular (they'd also benefit from cafes opening later, yeesh)...  here is a video of how to make your own bubble tea!  I think I will have to try and buy some pearls online (or the alternative coconut jelly which was always my favourite!) and make it myself!!

Speaking of bubble tea, I've seen some very cute polymer clay sharms made to look like bubble tea drinks, such as these from FatallyFeminine!

Craft tip: Writing on polymer clay



Here's a tip for writing on polymer clay: a fine tipped CD writing pen doesn't smudge, and can stand up to being covered in varnish! 

Some of my items, for example these Penguin Book Earrings (£8 in my Etsy shop!) require some detailed 'mock writing' (too small to attemt the real thing), and I used to try and do it with my tiniest paintbrush and black paint.  But I recently discovered the usefulness of pens for writing on CDs - so hooray, I'm able to write with much more control!  Try it out yourself :)

March Giveaway!

This month is the month of Coryographies' first giveaway!  And in following the tea theme, the prize will be a lovely package of my tea items: a Tea Shop Bookshelf Necklace and matching Teapot Earrings!

One winner will be selected very officially from my upturned cloche hat:

The way to enter: there are three ways to enter your name in the prize draw!  Do all three and get your name in the draw three times!  

The first way is to follow my blog.  The second is to follow my Facebook page.  The third is to follow me on Twitter (@Coryographies)!  Do one, two or all of these, and then comment on this post saying which ones you voted by!  Make sure you let me know which ones you voted by, so I know how many times to enter you in the draw.  If you're already following one of these, it counts in the current draw as a vote - just mention to me which of these three voting methods applies to you, and your name will go in my magic hat!

You can enter the draw until midnight GMT on Sunday, March 25th - I will draw the winner and notify them on the 26th!  Check back here on the 26th to see who won, along with some riveting pictures of the prize draw, though I will notify you myself if it's you  to make sure you're aware and so I can get your address to post your prize :)

Good luck!

P.S. You can be from anywhere in the world and I'll pay postage to send it to you... I wont make you pay to get your prize or anything ;)

Tea Making Tips!

Are you sure you're making your tea correctly?  Here's an instructional video from 1941 that will put you straight!

March Sale!

Ok, so January's sale was 5% off with a special coupon code.  February's sale was a free pair of tiny bookshelf earrings with any two bookshelf necklaces purchased.  So I've decided for March to have a bit of a theme month:

A 'tea' themed month!  Expect celebratory posts about our beloved beverage.  Also, my cute Tea Shop Bookshelf Necklace is regularly £30, but will be reduced to £25.  Be sure to check out my other tea items as well!

So we can celebrate a tea-flavoured month by adorning ourselves with our favourite comforting cuppa!