New beads...

Thought I would just post a few pics of latest things I've been working on. A lot of them have already sold, which is a bit exciting! :)

Cider tasting - Reviews

Last night I had the privilege of spending a relaxing, enjoyable evening with some lovely ladies, some of whom I don't get to see all that often. Our theme for the evening was cider tasting - inspired by the wealth of flavoured ciders now available on the market, with wild and wonderful flavour combinations, most of which we had never tried. Everyone brought a few bottles of unusual cider, and we started working our way through them. It ended up being a night of very responsible drinking, as we only made it through 6 small bottles for the 4 of us in about 5 hours, but it was a great night. We decided we should document our cider tasting adventures - there is bound to be a sequel post in the not to distant future, as there are several bottles left in the fridge, or taken home by the girls - maybe I should get them in as 'guest bloggers' to tell us about the ones they took....?

So, on to our reviews.  First we tried the Old Mout Passionfruit Cider. We found it very easy to drink, "a good starter". The passionfruit flavour wasn't as strong as we expected, and we weren't sure if that was due to other flavours competing (we were eating cheese, dip, kabana etc) or the cider itself.  It wasn't overly sweet, but went down very easily.  The labeling is also not very enticing - doesn't scream 'pick me, pick me!'

Next up we tried the Koppaberg Blueberry and Lime Cider. It immediately became the favourite and remained so for the next few bottles. Again, not overly sweet, very smooth, with a good flavour balance - the sweet balanced nicely by the slight tartness of the lime. A really lovely drink! Some of the girls thought the label design was a bit masculine - they might not have picked it off the shelf on impulse.

Moving on, we tried the Sidra del Verano Apple, Blackcurrant and Cranberry. This was also a very pleasant drop.  The cranberry flavour was dominant (even one of our number who doesn't like Blackcurrant at all enjoyed this). Again, not overly sweet (which can be an issue with flavoured ciders) - and we thought the packaging was 'classy'.

Next up was the Cheeky Raskal Apple and Guava. This was very different - quite bitter, this is not a flavour for the sweet tooth. We found it necessary to make sure we 'cleansed the palette' before and after this drink - the bitterness tended to linger.  We were divided on this one - 2 of us enjoyed it, and 2 found it much too bitter and the aftertaste unpleasant. By this stage we all agreed the Blueberry and Lime was still our favourite.

We eventually moved on to the Herrljunga Strawberry and Vanilla. This was bumped to first place for most of us, 2nd for others. very sweet, but not cloying, the Vanilla flavour was "a delightful addition". The flavour lingered pleasantly on the palette.

Finally we departed from the cider, and tried Strawberry Hard Ice Tea. Drinkable for non tea drinkers, but with a discernible tea flavour. Similar in flavour to the strawberry and vanilla cider, but without the crisp bite you get with cider, and a little less sweet overall. We all found it immensely improved with the addition of a slice or squeeze of lemon.

We ended the night by individually ranking the flavours...

It was a fun night trying all the new flavours, relaxing, eating good food in good company - thanks ladies!

A Fresh Start

The last few weeks have seen a resurgence for me on the creative front. For the first time in a couple of years, I have been making beads regularly, and enjoying the process. I made 65 beads over the school holidays (probably a day or two's work for my full time beadmaking friends, but a big deal for someone who has made 10 in 2 years). I torched almost every day the second week of the holidays. I usually get about 2 hours in before my joints start to seize up or I get bored or frustrated, so as soon as it wasn't fun anymore, I stopped.  This has allowed me to make several full sets as well as experiment with new designs, so now I am preparing for an online 'trunk' sale in a couple of Facebook groups.  I have also had a couple of individual sales on FB, although I admit I am struggling to get comfortable with pricing regarding postage, bead style and complexity, quantity etc.  A lot of beads are being sold in those groups, and I still can't work out why something will sell and something else wont. I've been told for years that I under price my work, but when I added to the price to subsidise the $14 postage from Oz, sets don't sell.  I'm thinking maybe really large sets would help solve that issue.... so postage is a fraction of the worth. The advantage of FB as a sales venue is no fees for relisting, so there is much less stress involved in the process.  If I sell a handful of piece in my trunk sale, I'll be a happy camper!

So, I've finally said goodbye to this set this week - they were on the cover of a beading magazine here in Australia several years ago.