A winter's day of sunshine and cooking

It's another gorgeous winter day here on the Great Dividing Range. There are bright blue skies, not a breath of wind, but the air is bracing and there was a big frost this morning. The type of day when you just want to sit outside and soak up the warm sunshine and read a book (which is exactly where I'm going after this post!!) I hope you're having lovely weather where ever in the world you are too!

Thanks to everyone for the wishes on the show and the hints on surviving outdoor venues. Unfortunately it wasn't as successful as I would have liked - poor positioning meant no-one had reason to come near the traders area, unless they specifically wanted to have a look and there weren't too many of those! I would have been lucky to have had 100 people walk past in total over the whole weekend. But you live and learn and at least I got to see the showjumping, which was fantastic.

This means that all my work at my bench last week basically went unseen, however it holds me in good stead for two little shows I have coming up in the next month. Maybe I will take it a little easier as the children start their term break tomorrow and life is no doubt going to be busy as each of them vie for my attention. It will be time to change my name from "mum" by the end of the break I'm sure!

On the farm, the 70+ heifers are due to start calving this weekend so no doubt hubby will be in a grumpy mood for the next six weeks LOL. This doesn't always relate to problems the heifers may have, but just the general tiredness that comes from frequently checking out cow's rear ends. After six weeks it really takes it toll and hubby is due for a holiday!

I have also been doing lots of baking recently - I stumbled upon a cute little blog on 'sweet treats' (that I've since lost!) and wrote down their recipe (handed down from the blogger's grandma) for oatmeal cookies. I made them this week and the children are consuming them gusto. A neighbour's banana muffin recipe also got the thumbs up and our favourite apricot and choc chip biscuits were happily monopolised by the boys of the house. I just saw a great looking recipe on Your Cheeky Monkey for a muesli slice too which looks pretty yummy. Maybe that will be the next one I have to try out!

Well on that note, I think I will grab my book and head out into the winter sunshine. Ooops - almost forgot - the piece at the top is a bit scrumptious too - a necklace of black spinel and Kingman green turquoise faceted nuggets with silver.

Till next :)
Annette

The Glamorous Oscars

A good proportion of the jewellery world this week are talking about the jewellery that the stars wore to the Academy Awards - and in particular Angelina Jolie's amazing Colombian emerald earrings! Although her little black dress by Elie Saab (a favourite designer of mine) was lovely - who noticed it with those glowing green HUGE earrings!

My first reaction was - 'What are her earrings?' *peering closely at the TV screen* 'They couldn't be emeralds...they're too big' *squinting, nodding my head no* 'But they look like emeralds...' *eyes widening and total disbelief crossing my face*... LOL

There were quite a few necklaces in evidence, and two huge statement pieces - Amy Adams wore a vintage (1950's) bib-style necklace of what appeared to be cabachon rubies, emeralds and sapphires; and of course you couldn't miss Taraji P Henson's 19th century diamonds.

I must say that these necklaces far outshone the dresses they wore - perhaps that is why stylists pick earrings and bracelets instead - that way the designer's dresses get noticed?

The Academy Awards were a very glamorous affair overall - although a few choices were made that may not have hit the mark completely, the general feel (at least to me) was hollywood style glamour. Was there anything that stood out for you?

It's been another busy week for me. I finally finished the gemstone - facts and lore - information on my website. I added in four new pages covering jade, jasper, jet, kyanite, labradorite, lapis lazuli, larimar, larvikite, lava, lepidolite, malachite, moonstone, moss agate, muscovite, nebula stone, nevada stone, obsidian, ocean jasper, onyx, opal, peridot, prasiolite, prehnite, pyrite, quartz - rose, rock crystal, smoky -, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, rhyolite, ruby, sapphire, serpentine, shell, sodalite, sunstone, tanzanite, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise, unakite, variscite. Woohoo, that was a job and a half. Please check it out if you want to learn more about stones!

I also got busy creating - this time pieces for my winter range. I can't believe I have my first show this weekend - the International Women's Day event being held, this year in our shire at Binnaway, a sleepy little town between Coolah and Coonabarabran.

Hilary from 57 Design Studio , a fellow jewellery designer whose blog I have read for quite a few years now, is in the midst of renovations and also has a show on this weekend. Glad to know I'm not the only one who will have to change tack after a while off and get organised for a show!

On my progress around my favourite blogs I found a post on The Tall Poppy that talks about a site called Outrageously Healthly that encourages and inspires a healthy lifestyle. I know I'm still carrying a few extra pounds from summer holiday indulgences - and designing jewellery, after all, has never been the most active way to spend the day!

Today's picture was selected in honour of little black dress events the world over - a sizeable necklace with lovely big balls of black tourmaline and an asymmetrical feature of rock crystal quartz and smoky quartz. A necklace that is bold, clean and 100% impact.

Diamonds falling from the sky, freecycle and a timeless black necklace.

Yay! Some progress made in the last few days with all those orders and remodelling jobs and I feel quite liberated from my to-do list now! I still have plenty to do of course - I'm starting to get a hankering to create some new things and I really want to re-do my website.

I belong to a huge number of groups and forums some of which I have mentioned before. The wonderful thing is with such a diverse group of places is that you can sometimes find out things that you never would have found for years! One such place for me is a rockhounds group and through there I found the following article "Diamonds Rained Down During Ice Age". The article details claims made by Allen West, a retired geophysicist, that after a 3-mile-wide comet hit eastern Canada about 13,000 years ago, rocks (including diamonds and some precious metals) were blown out of the Candadian earth and rained down over the eastern United States. It's only a theory of course, but wow, what an explosion that would have been. And it's certainly being a nice neighbour sharing your wealth in that way LOL!

On the idea of sharing - have you heard of Freecycle? I had kind of heard of this before but found details on it on the Busy Mommy Product Review site. Freecycle is a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and in this day and age of high pollution, the perils of greenhouse effects and a shortage of natural resources, it's a worthy idea. I did a quick search and found there are 151 freecycle groups in Australia and one is in a neighbouring town! Certainly something to investigate.

A picture of a simply stunning and classical necklace today - the black stones are agate – thick cut slabs in rather soft geometric shapes that have the most wonderful dark gleam. These are enhanced ever so slightly by balls of argentinium sterling silver (tarnish resistant) for some added shine and sparkle. Finished with a gorgeous sterling silver clasp that you may want to wear it on the side as a feature rather than hiding it to the back! These stones sit so beautifully around your neck and feel cool, heavy and smooth. I can see this necklace being worn with a charcoal suit and crisp white shirt for work, or a linen day dress in white or neutrals or even a little black dress at night. Basically it speaks about refinement and pizzaz.

Meanwhile, down here on the farm..... lol. Ah well, if I couldn't live vicariously through my clients, then it wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

Till next!

Obsidian

Obsidian is a volcanic glass and is named after the Roman, Obsius. Used in jewellery for thousands of years, it can be black, gray, brown, red or green. It often has inclusions and when the light reflects off these you can get a golden, silver or even a rainbow sheen. Main deposits of obsidian are Ecuador, Indoniesia, Iceland, Itay, Japan, Mexico and the United States.

I love the dense and glassy look of obsidian and it is magnificent for creating dramatic jewellery. In a recent necklace (see below) unusual triangles of obsidian have been set against contrasting shining sterling silver. See the whole piece HERE

There are other versions of obsidian of course, such as snowflake or mahogany obsidian but I'll do those another time!

Metaphysically, Obsidian has strong properties. It exposes flaws, weaknesses and blockages and nothing can hide from its power! It is helpful for highly sensitive people and it can provide deep soul healing. Very effective for soaking up negative energies it stimulates growth on all levels and opens new horizons. For healing it gives insight into the cause of illness, aids digestion and detoxifies. Specifically, black obsidian is a creative stone, protective and supportive during change. Often used by experienced practictioners during meditation and scrying, it is matched with clear quartz to help ground and articulate what is revealed. If held briefly above the third eye (brow) it breaks through mental barriers.