Handmade gifts

There's nothing quite as special as receiving a gift that was made from a friend. I met Diane Foster at the Julie Arkell workshop in France. She lives in Manchester, England. Diane knows how to make just about everything. She takes workshops of all kinds whenever she gets a chance.

She calls the little glass and silver bobbles "dobbers". She even made one for Mabel but I've decided to keep if for myself. The pictures behind the glass are hard to see in my photograph but they are really crystal clear. There's one of Mabel and a suffolk puff I made in the workshop. There are even surprises on the backsides. I asked her how she made it and she said she soldered two flower arrangement glass drops together with lead free solder (with silver content).

The necklace has a great weight to it. I think I might never take it off...