About Me

My photo
hi, I am a 40+ year old who loves jewellery and all things sparkly. I also enjoy trying out and reviewing new makeup products, finding stylish walking sticks, reading and writing book reviews. I will review anything from bird tables/ hedgehog houses to the latest fashion! My Instagram account is @sparkling_magpie

Monday 29 August 2016

Owl be yours!

Owl be yours!

Amedeo sea shell ring
£2,170 - neimanmarcus.com

Alex Monroe owl jewellery
£190 - shopbop.com

Beau Arrow gold owl jewelry
notonthehighstreet.com

Owl jewellery
notonthehighstreet.com

Silver owl jewelry
notonthehighstreet.com

Saturday 27 August 2016

Susie Wolff: Wings for Life bracelet 2015


In 2015 Rox.co.uk brought out two  bracelets in support of  Wings for Life. This is a charity which aims to find a cure for spinal injuries. As I have a severe spinal injury I bought the Susie Wolff (£48) one. David Coulthard also designed one aimed for men (£60). The bracelet is made out sterling silver plated in rose gold. The bracelet is an adjustable toggle cord bracelet so can be worn by a variety of wrist sizes as it is easy to adjust as there are no small, fiddly clasps that need fastening. The bracelet comes in a box and little suede bag. 100% of the profits go to the Wings for Life charity.


The bracelet is comfortable to wear as the wings do not stick out but sits flat against the wrist. It is extremely light. Once it is on it is quite easy to forget you are wearing it!   As someone who has great difficulty fastening clasps, especially bracelet ones I was pleased to see that the fastener is a toggle as I can hold one part in my mouth and pull the other with my hand to get the bracelet to fit my wrist.  It is enjoyable to wear and even though it is not in your face, I have been asked where it is from and what it represents so it is stands out in its simplicity.   It is also impressive that 100% of the profits are donated to charity, so often it is only a certain amount so that is impressive. 


I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own. 
Available from here: http://www.rox.co.uk/susie-wolff-wings-for-life-ltd-edition-bracelet

David Coulthard £60 : http://www.rox.co.uk/david-coulthard-wings-for-life-2015-bracelet-62394

Thursday 18 August 2016

#accessorizing for #interviews!


A very long time ago when dinasours were still roaming the earth a PR lecturer at uni told her attentive students  that when attending an interview we should wear a statement piece of jewellery that reflected our personality so that interviewers (after wading through monotonous never ending repetitive interviews) had something to associate with you, the ever hopeful candidate. So what should you wear jewellery wise?  Should you go large, gaudy,  fluorescent or tasteful? Tatty divine, Etsy, Punky Pins, Erst Wilder.com all have cute affordable, eyecatching jewellery and accessories. We were told to either link the accessory to the job or to make sure it reflected your personality. So, for example if you were going for a job interviews for a post in. Library - use an owl accessory, primary school teacher, something linked to childhood (see examples posted below). good luck with your interviews! 


All the photos are my own items apart from the cat, dog and dove. These can be found ar erstwilder.com: https://www.erstwilder.com/


Monday 15 August 2016

#Penguin mini frame #necklace #pendant: a review &#win

 This review will look at my penguin family mini frame pendant made by Riedesigned.co.uk.  I bought this last week for £9.95 from eBay UK but is also available in her shop on etsy and folksy. I ordered it on Thursday and it arrived Saturday. It was well packaged and arrived in a cute little organza bag. So all good there. 

The pendant itself is 32 x 24mm long and is a print based on her artwork. The frame is silver toned. The pendant comes on a double cord and organza necklace (18") which fastens with a lobster clasp. The only issue I have with the necklace is I can't get the pendant off the necklace without cutting it as the bale isn't wide enough to go over the wider lobster clasp. Apart from this I love my necklace and I am already planning future purchases as her items, which include earrings, hair clips, cards and other pendants are all based on her artwork, include puffins, elephants and a variety of birds, and are well priced and unusual. 



Win a mini frame pendant or any jewellery/ gift combination of the same value from riedesigned.co.uk there is a link on my blog to her folksy/etsy/eBay shops and I have review of the cute penguin mini frame picture I bought myself. Please note I shall be buying the item myself, the #competition #giveaway has nothing to do with riedesigned. There are three ways of gaining an  go to my blog @sparkling_magpie, entry:1. Follow and Regram tagging me.  2. Follow my blog (link in bio) either with bloglovin and / or email.  3. Tag someone in the comments.  This #Jewellry #jewellery  #competition is open #internationally and will close on 2 sept 2016 at 12pm GMT, good luck.

All views expressed in my blog are my own and I purchased this item myself. 
Links:
eBay http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=rie_designed&_pgn=1&isRefine=true
Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RieDesigned?ref=s2-header-shopname
Folksy https://folksy.com/shops/RieDesigned
Twitter @Riedesigned

Monday 1 August 2016

Peridot: August Birthstone

Peridot, the August birthstone symbolizes strength, morality and beauty.  It is sometimes called evening emerald due to its light green hue and is associated with peace, good fortune and happiness. It was once believed that the green stones found in Peridot is believed to have magical powers with healing abilities that protect wearers against evil. The metaphysical properties found in this lovely gem of August are fame, protection and dignity. ashes were the tears of the volcano goddess, Pele. When set in gold, peridot  was supposed to protect the wearer from nightmares. Peridot is believed to have magical powers with healing abilities that protect wearers against evil. The metaphysical properties found in peridot are fame, protection and dignity.