March was a most up-lifting month for me.

After months of depressing back pain and physio I was successful enough to find some relief in the form of nerve block injections... not a nice process to go through though mind you!

I had some excellent news at the end of March ... I had been playing seriously with seed beading since the end of 2010 and jumped at the opportunity to put my new skills to use in the form of a competition entry called 'Cool Britannia'. It was based on the Jubilee and Union Jacks as part of the Brighton Bead Shop being open for 25 years.

Imagine how chuffed I was to receive an email from Jo Porter - the owner/designer of Beads Unlimited - aka The Brighton Bead Shop, telling me I had won a runner up prize.

There really is nothing like finding sucess in design competition to give you a real boost. You can find images of 'Cool Britannia' by clicking on the link below.

http://www.beadbarmy.com/2011/03/25-years-of-beading-bliss-the-winning-entries/#more-2876

Please feel free to leave a comment on the Bead Barmy Blog.

I'm hoping to bring some of my 'seedy' designs to my shop soon so keep your eyes peeled for them.