A lovely start to 2010

Can you believe we're into 2010 already!?

Did you have a good Christmas? I hope you got lots of presents that you wanted/liked and had a joyous time with your family or friends! How about New Year? Did you celebrate with parties and fireworks or had a quiet night in?

I like the idea of staying up to see the new year in, but I inevitably get tired trying to stay awake and am really far better off sleeping! This year was no different. We dined with friends but retired about 10.30pm and although briefly awoken by firecrackers going off when I assume it was midnight, I dozed straight back off. Still haven't made any resolutions either. Have you?

Of course, my girls' (twins) birthday is New Year's Day and it would be a bit rude to party the night before and not on their birthday. Well, that sounds reasonable at any rate! So, this year, they had a small party hosted by our ex-neighbours who now live on the coast. There were two other little girls who they have known since birth (plus all the boofy brothers LOL). One of the mums bought them all big glittery flower hair clips and I love this pic of them line up waiting to get to the food ... a veritable garden of flowers!!



The best news of all for the past week is that we've had rain, and not just a token sprinkling. But good, decent, soaking rain that went for days! Brown paddocks are already looking green, dams are almost full and the lawn that we had been desperately trying to water to bring back to life a couple of weeks ago is so long that it will be a job and a half to mow it! Our tally for the year's rain is still far below average for 2009, but we've had a nice start to 2010 - let's hope it continues throughout the year! From a farmer/grazier's point of view, it would be so nice to have a good year!! Here is a pic I just snapped from our verandah of our nearest dam... it's almost full :)



For today's pic (top) I don't usually make these, but a client requested some hair vines for her upcoming wedding. Made with swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls and gold plated leaves, I still have a couple of matching hairpins to finish before sending these to her - but she is thrilled with them so far. Someone else who is stepping sideways slightly from traditional jewellery making is Dana who makes gem trees. She has a great pic of a partially made gem tree on her blog. I love seeing the things we get drawn in to - is it by accident or design!?

I hope you're all either still enjoying holidays or recovering well from the partying! Till next :)

Annette

Spring jewels and farming life

Another week has rolled around - gosh they seem to go so fast! A combination of more time spent weeding and pruning in the rose garden, co-ordinating a large buy of gems for a group of fellow jewellery designers and keeping the good ship 'family' afloat has just swallowed up the time.

Oh and did I mention Facebook? I've been quite avidly trying to stay away from potential time-drains such Facebook and Twitter as I really spend more time than I have to spare on forums and checking out things online. But I succumbed to the temptation and joined Facebook this week. I still have very vague notions of how it all works, but I have worked out how to put up a personal page and a business page. I'm surprised at the number of friend requests I have had from people who I don't know! And for only being up and running a couple of days I'm surprised with the number of fans my business page has already attracted. BUT I can see time disappearing with continued use, so I'm trying to be sensible. So far. *ahem*

Two blogs that proved interesting reading this week for me were Silver Rose Blog which had an interesting bit on International Friendship Day. What a lovely idea- but I've never heard of it!!! So much for being 'international' ;). The other is Your Cheeky Monkey - Monique does some great work and I know my girls would adore these Tote Bags made out of rescued furnishing fabric!

Onto farming life, I had a request for a picture of the darling little calves that we have dotting our paddocks at the moment, so I have obliged:



They're actually quite difficult to get close to - a little skittish - so photographing them proved more of a challenge than say, the dog ;)



This is our working dog, Patch :) He's a very tall short-haired border collie, with, would you believe by his size - a pedigree? Maybe he had deerhound as one of his ancestors and he's a throwback?

Spring is only a couple of weeks away now so I've started loading the new spring-inspired stock onto my website. Lots of work ahead, but satisfying :) If I can find the time to do it of course!! The picture above is one piece that went up yesterday - a torsade of plump pink-peach freshwater pearls, sparkling rock crystal quartz and lovely big drops of faceted rose quartz. It would look great with a floaty dress in spring or summer or even as a bridal piece.

OK, best be off. That nose has lifted off the grindstone a tad too high and I'd better get it back in place ;) Till next!

A visit to Qurindi, a pearl and gem torsade and a tagging game!

I'm running a bit late with my blogpost this week...so much to do (as usual) and so little time to do it in (even MORE usual)! One day I'll be organised....HA!

I've had quite a social week this week, even though I couldn't really spare the time. But some things just have to go on the backburner for a little while don't they!? Of course I'm rushing around like a 'headless chook' now (one of my Dad's favourite sayings lol).

I am attending the Christimas in July market in the main street of Quirindi this Sunday 27 July. Not having been to Quirindi (apart from driving through it once or twice) it will be a whole new experience, with lots of new people to meet and show my jewellery to. It will be an INCREDIBLY early start as the market opens at 8am - and I am two hours drive away! But it finishes at 3pm so I will be home at a decent hour at least. Of course I always feel the compulsion to make new things for a show, so I have been busy at the bench for the last couple of weeks in readiness. Naturally, being a new 'crowd' everything I have will be new to them, but I like the 'fresh' feeling of having new things even if I am the only one who knows!

Today's picture is one of the new necklace - isn't it absolutely GORGEOUS? (Detail pic up the top)! I'm always deeply enamoured of my new pieces - only slightly biaised, promise ;). A beautiful torsade of three strands of deep lime & bronze-green freshwater pearls, deep mint green keshi pearls, faceted smoky quartz rounds and labradorite wheels and little nuggets of peridot. Scrumptious!!



On other notes, I must thank all those people who commented on my bridal necklace shown recently - such wonderful comments and obviously lots of people like bridal! I admit I do too, even though my wedding was almost 20 years ago (!) and so I thought I would share Michabella Creations bridal earrings page - she has some lovely designs that would look very chic and elegant.

I have mentioned the wonderful Mom Bloggers Club before. Well, through this site I met Celeste, who has 'tagged' me. I am supposed to list six of my quirks and then tag six other people. Well here we go on the quirks.

1. Although my mind is organised my studio rarely is!
2. I have to have a deadline or things won't get done.
3. I love to make lists.
4. I love to cross things off lists, even if it means I have to add on things that WEREN'T on it(but I've done anyway) so that I can cross them off *snicker*
5. I still haven't mastered the URGENT vs. the IMPORTANT (i.e.from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that I read well over a decade ago).
6. I stay in my PJs far too late in the morning in the effort to get something done first!

Here are the rules:

1. link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

OK, guys, consider yourselves TAGGED:

1. Jennifer - Happily Ever After Land
2. Cindi - Moomettesmagnificents
3. Regina - Margarita Bloom
4. Sarah - In the Trenches of Motherhood
5. Angie - Seven Clown Circus
6. Rebecca - Musings of a Mum of 4

Till next!

One step forward, three steps back.

It's been a week of mixed achievements - I finally put aside a day to start completing orders and repairs and felt so wonderful after a day full of finished jobs (and ticks on my list) that I came to a grinding halt.

Oh well.

Plus I have gained a few more orders in the last couple of days so I really need to get into the studio...but the children have just started the school holidays, the house looks like a tornado has been through it (no, just three children feeling footloose and fancy free) and I have a client booked in to visit in about 48hours time! Hmmmm.

A couple of orders in my partially completed and to-do piles are for weddings. I love weddings and all that they entail although it can be a very stressful time for the bride and groom. Stacy, a fellow blogger from Skwiggazine, is preparing for her imminent nuptials and has selected a retro black and white theme which should look great.

Jewellery is just one of the things that the bridal party need/want but I've found brides either take one of two approaches - either they leave it completely up to you or they micromanage the design process. The first can stress me as a designer as I worry that they will like it and it will be "right". The second can also stress me as what they are thinking of may not actually work. Ah well - human nature is a funny thing.

I thought since I've been working on bridal orders I would include a picture from a wedding I did a little while ago. To emphasise the detail of the plunging back on this dress we did a long silver chain from which hung natural peach toned freshwater pearls that alternated with faceted rock crystal topped with a little green peridot. The chain wrapped around the bride's neck once and then hung down the back, glinting, sparkling and swaying when she moved. The great thing with this design is that the bride has been able to wear it just wrapped around her neck as a 'normal' necklace in a multi-strand version with or without a drop. Do you like it?