The Joy of Serendipity

I’ve settled into a routine now the kids are back at school.   There’s too much housework in there for my liking.   And cooking.   But there is the healthy addition of regular exercise (and I’m feeling better for it) and barring multiple long phone calls each day I’m even managing to make some jewellery!

It feels like it’s been a long time  since I’ve had time to play at my bench.  The only times I’ve sat there in the last couple of months has been to do a specific piece – a  special order or a client’s repair.   Playing is far more fun. 

I get to go through my boxes (and boxes!) of gems, looking for something that ‘speaks’ to me, often finding in the process a special stone or two that I’ve been meaning to do something with.  All these end up on my bench and I start to move the stones that inspired me to pick them out of the box.   

Sometimes inspiration strikes quickly and I act on it immediately.  It doesn’t always work, so I take the layout apart and start moving things around again.   Serendipitously, the unrelated thing that I pull out as well, often ends up as part of the end design.

Here’s a case in point.  

I was going through my “browns” box (yes, I keep the majority of my stones in a very unglamorous system by general colour, so that when I need that colour for a project I know where to look), and saw some flat caramel brown slabs of carnelian.  They’re smooth and lie flat, their colour is rich and warm.   

 As I looked at them my muse (or inspiration) said, “oh yes, those ones”.   So they ended up on my bench.   Earlier I had been putting away some small stones and saw a little packet of vermeil rimmed pearls.   “Ahh”, I thought, “I wanted to make some earrings with them”, so they had stayed on the bench to one side.    I had received some big red jasper hearts from a supplier a couple of days before and felt like I needed to do something with them too.  So they too were on the bench.

I decided to start work on the carnelian before I got off track (so easy for me to do) and firstly they really wanted to be with gold to complement the warm tones.   I did this, but the effect was, well,  to be truthful, a bit boring.  “Hmmm”.  I looked at them more.   I glanced at the hearts.  “Ahhhh”, I thought,” I could use a heart as a feature”.  I went through them and found a heart in the same caramel brown tone and placed it in position. “ Hmmm, yes, I like that” was my first impression.     Then I happened to glance over and see the little vermeil rimmed coin pearls…. “white could give it a lift” popped into my head.   I picked them up and placed them, immediately , one on either side of the layout and straight away I knew this was how it was supposed to be.  This was what the carnelian (and perhaps even the pearls) wanted.       

I made it up and yes, it was perfect.   

So yes, I talk to myself.   I “hhhmmmm” a lot and “ahhhh” a lot.  But the end result usually works and pieces that are the result of these happy little accidents are often, I feel, my best work.  They’re not forced, they just want to ‘be’.   Three cheers for serendipity! 

Till next :)

Annette

Scone Roundup

I had a brilliant day at Scone last weekend - the day was fair and bright, the breeze was low and the people numerous! Who could ask for more!? It was great to catch up with some previous clients who I haven't seen for a whole year. And although a little sad, to part with some really gorgeous pieces (like the necklace I featured last week - it went within an hour of opening!) My helper Trista was superb, as usual and I couldn't have done it without her :) Here is a picture of our set up at Scone:



I have my last booked event until spring (for the time being at any rate!) this weekend at the Tamworth Handmade Market in Peel Street on Sunday 17 May. Its always an early morning, having to leave in the cold and dark, however its all fine after set up and the first caffeine hit of the day! I will be helped out by Kasia, a Tamworth girl who makes some pearl jewellery and am planning to catch up with my net-friend Melanie from Armidale who is coming with some of her jewellery! I'm looking forward to the whole day!

I always have time to check out some blogs and found some funny quotes from courtrooms on the EP Designs Blog - they're good for a giggle. And on the Liv'nGood Jewelry Blog there was a great article on successful blogging - well worth checking out with tips for everyone.

Needless to say not much else has been done in between packing, unpacking, finishing orders and running a household and yes, its the dreaded Thursday run-around tomorrow LOL.

A new bracelet, however, is pictured - lustrous pale blue freshwater coin pearl and iolite gemstone two strand bracelet.

Till next :)

Some feminine teamwork

I'm feeling a little behind this week. I seem to have my hayfever back in full swing (darn those 10 cedar trees along my fence that are flowering!!) and it's so tiring! Add to that children who have still got a cough after weeks and I'm fondly remembering what a sound night's sleep used to be like LOL!

Thank goodness the children are old enough to help me do some basic things these days. Langdon has become quite good at mowing and as he is my ONLY child that doesn't get hayfever, he does ALL the outside jobs at the moment! The girls are suffering like me but they're not adverse to helping me tidy and clean and they absolutely love helping me with my work. I wish they were old enough and skilled enough to help making jewellery - but they're not. So, I often get them to help me with more 'chore-like' jobs such as refilling my packaging.

I had a little factory going the other day - just before the Spring Gardens Festival my packaging drawers were empty so I had them making up boxes, cutting ribbon, lining boxes with tissue, putting care cards in organza bags, making up bonus partner bags, putting labels on bags... you get the picture. It was a huge help. The job that would have taken me a good half a day by myself was all done in just over an hour. Great teamwork girls!

I was recently reading on the Business Mums Magazine Blog how work at home mums manage to blend family and work. If you find yourself in the same position as me - of getting the kids to help out with your work, why not leave a comment to share your story on the Business Mums Blog.

I've seen notices of it everywhere but was still startled to see my whole local town looking decidedly PINK over the last couple of weeks. Even the men working in the rural supplies were wearing pink shirts when I ventured into town on Monday! Of course this month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there are lots of fundraisers going on worldwide for this cause. One of my great blogfriends is Michelle of Michabella Creations. She has got a pink theme going as well with a good portion of all her sales going towards this charity. She has done some very pretty pink and sparkly jewellery too of course! Do check it out!

I haven't made much in the last week it seems, but one new piece is pictured above. Red seems to be an eternally appealing colour for jewellery and I often get requests for something in red. Now, barring rubies and very expensive large garnets, rubelite and so on, the best red impact at a reasonable cost is often found by using coral.

The necklace above is sponge coral (treated of course, as coral will bleach when removed from the water) in a lovely brick-red colour. This type of coral usually only has a very low sheen or is even matte, due to its fibrous structure, so it is really lifted with the addition of some fantastically gleaming white keshi pearls as I've done above. The red and white presents a classic look, however the top drilled keshi petals give it just that extra touch so it looks modern and of course, eminently wearable!

OK, off to rub my eyes, try to clear my blocked nose and wish those cedar flowers would all blow OFF!

Till next :)

A day out at Dunedoo

I had lots of fun at the fundraiser yesterday that was held in Dunedoo. All the ladies were very welcoming and my display was set up in plenty of time with the help of my assistant, Trista.

As there was a fashion parade included in the day's events, I approached the woman organising it and she allowed me to select some jewellery for the models to wear down the catwalk :). The shoes at another stall were absolutely divine - but with only a sample shoe for each style the models didn't get to wear them!

A couple of my pieces found new homes in Dunedoo and one heartwarming purchase was by a mother for her daughter's upcoming deb ball. The daughter's eyes just sparkled as she was trying various necklaces on. It's such a delicious moment seeing the spark of recognition at finding the perfect piece.

I am sure that before I know it, my daughters will be at that stage too - and I really must slow down occasionally and enjoy them while they are young :) I've spoken before on how they're little art-addicts - always drawing and now I've found the perfect holder for their works. Its an art file found at Officeworks that comes in two sizes and was mentioned on the A Good Sort blog. Thanks for the heads up ladies (they're always so organised)!

I have now had my last scheduled show until spring so (hopefully) have lots of creating time before the new show 'season' arrives. I will also be using this time to concentrate on my online presence too as after all winter here is summer in the other half of the world!!

Today's piece is just divine - smooth, velvety chocolate colours in the sardonyx stones which I have kept simple with the addition of a little silver and some white freshwater pearls. This keeps the piece fresh and adds a little interest without detracting from the gorgeous patterns in the stones. Its finished with a little sterling silver toggle clasp that reflects the shape of the stones, just for that extra touch of something special.

Have a great day!

Ironfest preparations and pyrite

Ironfest is only a week away....and I'm in my usual spin trying to think of everything I need to take (I need to switch off the creative part of my brain and start making a list! lol). Today is my personal deadline for creating new items that will need to be ready to go with me so I have some bench time planned for the balance of today - children allowing me of course (yes, it's school holiday time... AGAIN!)

I had a long chat with the woman I am sharing my booth with at Ironfest, planning how to do the set up and display and what we would need. Last year we received many compliments on our set up but of course I want it to be even better this year! I am a big fan of Hilary Johnson's blog and was particularly impressed with her set up for a one day event, which she featured in her blog recently. It looks so chic and attractive - I'd want to wander over and have a look!

Today's picture is of a new piece - a simple necklace, yet it has a wow factor - simply in the gorgeous pyrite stones. I love the green/gold gleam of pyrite as well as the slight patination with the black host stone peeping through. The pyrite has been perfectly complemented by the green/gold small baroque freshwater pearls. Interestingly a gold clasp looked awful - it clashed with the pyrite tones and actually weakened the whole necklace's appearance! However I found a brushed sterling silver clasp worked in brilliantly - it doesn't overwhelm and with the satin finish it isn't competing in the shine department.

Lots to do here so I shall sign off for now. Have a great day!

Autumn, the Great Art Grid and a quiz for every day

The cooler weather is here and I can see my loungeroom being re-arranged very soon so that we can access the fireplace! (We have a 'summer' set up where the lounges face outwards to look at the view and a 'winter' set up where we turn away from the cold and face the fire. Does anybody else do this?)

I have been busy making things for Ironfest which is rapidly creeping up on me. I have received some new stones lately too which are proving to reveal themselves as very one of a kind pieces of jewellery :). I have included one of them above - it is grossular garnet and is a beautiful deep green with sections of the cut stone falling away into crevices where the skin of the crystal shows through. A very 'honest' piece in its rather natural state, it looks like it has just been found on the bottom of the ocean where some goddess or nymph happened to drop it. Matched with some beautiful, glowing, olive green freshwater pearls, it is truly a bold, statement necklace.

Lots of things have happened in the last few days - I have taken on a new 'bonus partner' Dream Candles. The idea behind this is to provide little gifts and items for each other's customers, so I am looking forward to receiving Michelle's little packages soon. I have also joined the iCraft community and set up a little shop there to make me a little more accessible to those on the other side of the world! It is a similar idea to Etsy with lots of very talented artisans already populating its pages.

I must tell you about a great idea that Corinne from Day Dream Art Studios has going. She is currently creating a "Great Art Grid" of small pics of fellow artists/artisans work and her aim is to get to 100 - she is well on her way to her goal. The grid is very beautiful to look at and should you be an artist or artisan, why not participate!?

Of course, even though I have been pretty busy, I always manage to find some time to 'surf' around my favourite blogs. I noticed a post on the Tall Poppy blog that asked what sort of goddess you were with a link to a site to find out for yourself. Well, what a treasure trove that link turned out to be... it looks like there are hundreds of quizzes there on all sorts of topics. One of my favourites was Are you right or left brained? (I'm 40% left (organised) and 60% right (creative) which explains a lot about my workspace!!!) There are so many fun ones to do, I bet you can spend quite a bit of time there trying them out. Have fun!

Rose quartz 'charm' bracelet

Here is another bracelet in the "charm" style ... this one has the underlying structure of rosy-pink rose quartz linked together to form a handmade chain of argentinium sterling silver. The "charms" are vibrant purple freshwater pearls, glowing white freshwater pearls, peridot the colour of new grass, icy rock crystal quartz small nuggets and dark amethyst balls.

To add some extra interest I have added Karen Hill Tribe (handmade in Thailand of high content silver) charms. Near the clasp there is a little elephant, then a cute decorated moth, a horseshoe for luck, a jolly looking turtle, a rose bud and a fan. The colours are inspired by the season of spring (even though we are in autumn here in the southern hemisphere) as we could always do with a little lightness and brightness in our lives.

Rose quartz is a perennial favourite - its soft pink glow flatters most complexions and it is universally considered a stone of love. For a great read on the metaphysical qualities of rose quartz, visit the The Modern Goddess at her blog post here.

Till next :)

Look out here's 2008!

How was your Christmas? Ours was the usual routine, but the children do make it a special time! They were to bed early on Christmas Eve as they couldn't wait for Santa to come, and as expected, he came sometime through the night as their Santa bags had lots of pressies in them the next morning :)

Then there was usual ripping and tearing of paper frenzy before going to my in-laws mid morning... for more ripping and tearing before lunch! The kids played happily with their gifts all afternoon and in fact the whole time since (although I will not be surprised when the "I'm bored" statement is eventually uttered!).

My girls (the twins) are still on a high, as their birthday is just around the corner - on New Years Day. This of course means a huge bonanza for them at this time of the year, although the rest of the year is a little light in the present department!

It is really hard having children with a birthday on a public holiday so close to Christmas (I feel totally sorry for those who have their birthdays actually on Christmas Day!). You want to do something for them that is special, but in our case, everyone is tired after the festivities of New Years Eve and most of their little friends are involved with family things or away on holidays.

Last year we had a pre-party for them the week before school broke up and that seemed to work well. But you still have to do something for their actual birthday too.

We always have a cake (two actually) and have in the past had a New Years Day brunch or lunch with friends and relatives that happen to be around. This year, we are going out for New Years Eve and the children will be staying with Grandma. So we are proposing a BBQ style lunch at our house with the cake afterwards. (This gives us time to sleep in a little and get everything prepared ;) ). I've been looking at what I can cook and found this scrumptious looking recipe on the My Day Off blog. Perfect for a hot summer day when everyone is a little tired!

I've included a picture of a beautifully bright coin pearl bracelet that would be perfect for New Year's celebrations. The colours in the photo are quite true to life and set off beautifully by the silver.

Coin pearl earrings and a busy family week

Another busy week - lots of enquiries, orders to finish and things to do with my family. To add to the mayhem, it was the end of year dance concert and I spent two days sewing costumes and a day at rehearsals/concert. My girls looked like very pretty little ballerinas and my son looked suitably funky for his hip hop performance.

Two of the children received medals for their work during the year which I was so chuffed about, but number three missed out and my heart nearly broke when I saw her disappointment. As soon as people started to disperse there was an outpouring of tears, but wasn't she brave to hold it all in during the proceedings! She recovered remarkably well (and quickly) thankfully. Although it is a hard lesson to learn (especially when you are six and a twin), it was one she coped very well with. She still wants to dance so her desire hasn't been dimmed by her disappointment.

Are you getting ready for Christmas? It is now December and thoughts are flying around in my head about gifts (although I haven't managed to 'catch' any of those thoughts yet!). Although I don't often look at jewellery sites (I wonder why LOL), I saw this one and what a great idea! They take a digital image and 'photo engrave' it onto a flat pendant of silver or gold. What a great idea for a long lasting memory!

Today's pic is of a simple yet stunning pair of earrings. Palest natural pink freshwater 'coin' pearls with gorgeous lustre are linked together onto 12ct gold fill studs for a fresh, elegant look. These would look particularly stunning on a brunette (mmmm, maybe I need to make ME a pair ;D ! )