Creativity and Inspiration

After an extended holiday my creativity has returned in force and I have so many new pieces from the last week. It had been hard to try and sit at the bench and create when I just wasn't ready and so I didn't push it too hard - and success is the result!

Many of the new pieces were sitting in my 're-do' pile. I hadn't been happy with how they turned out the first time round, or had grown bored with them before I'd even finished. The pile was getting a bit wobbly it was so high, so I am pleased I have decimated it now!

It can be difficult to stop yourself from repeating your first error when you are re-making a piece, so I found I had to deconstruct each one completely before looking at it with a fresh viewpoint. Some are so entirely different and I love the new looks I have come up with.

Of course as these are pieces from quite a time span the colours aren't necessarily seasonal, as I should be working on my winter collection. And there is an awful lot of green. But as I love green it was really no hardship to work with them ;) But I shall have to pull out the muted tones and rich colours soon otherwise my winter collection may look decidely spring-like!

One of my new creations is pictured above - a mixture of lime green chalk turquoise, black lava, freshwater pearls, peridot and sterling silver. All combining to make one eye-popping statement necklace!

Long term readers may know I had a 'fling' with Etsy. Sure enough, I found I didn't have enough time to do all I had to do as it was, so I haven't had any items listed there for ages. However I still SHOP there :)

A very talented maker of vintage inspired stationery, Kelly of Retrocrafted Paper Goods posted about a great giveaway she is participating in for a group on Etsy. Head over to her Macaroni & Glue blog to find out all about it - it sounds easy to enter and wow, what prizes!

Inspiration is such an intangible thing. I actually have no idea why I became so inspired over the last week (but I'm awfully glad I did!) Some people get inspiration from nature, from art, from music. I often get inspiration just looking into stones. Jenny from Assential Scrapbooking has been inspired by some new products she can use in her business and sounds as excited as me! I'd love to hear what inspires you?



P.S. I am pleased to report the bushfires in Victoria have calmed down with no further outbreaks. The cool change has definitely helped. An outpouring of generosity has been received from the Red Cross reporting over AUD$100million in donations received - now the hard work of rebuilding lives begins.

My back, ouch, my back!

My back is 'out'. OUCH. There I was, basking in the afterglow of a great show in Merriwa... I leant over to get something out of my handbag and it got me. A great big pain in the lower back. This isn't something that happens very often although it has been known to be a bit sore for a day or so. But this is ridiculous. Makes me really want to do situps to help protect it. But of course I can't. I can hardly sit down, bend down, lie down .... sheeeeesh. Anyway, it IS improving so fingers crossed by next week I'll be fine and dandy (and able to do some of those situps....)


Merriwa was fantastic. The weather was beautiful (if even a little hot) and there were lots of people who had travelled for the centenary celebrations. As I left on Saturday evening there were people piling into the showground and utes, trucks and akubras everywhere you looked. It seemed the whole community had turned out. The ladies pavillion had a few more exhibitors like myself too - Chris Mathews, a colour and image consultant from Dubbo was next to me and was on a mission to get the ladies into red lipstick (of the right tone of course) and day 2 even I, rather shyly, tried it too!

I saw lots of clients and familiar faces from last year and the committee always go out of their way to ensure we had everything we needed and were as successful as they could manage.

A question I often get asked, and of course, was asked at Merriwa, is how long does it take to make a piece of jewellery. I saw this article on Heart Harmony entitled 'it takes time to create quality' and this is so true. Even though the article is on photography, which is often seen as even more instant than jewellery, the idea is still the same.

For me, there is the time to find the stone/pearl that will feature in the piece plus the time it takes to get to me (often weeks). Firstly I weed out anything that isn't the best it can be (eg. too many inclusions, surface marks etc.) Then the creation process can vary from minutes (if lightning strikes / the stars are all in alignment lol) to days. The construction can be straightforward (under an hour) or it can be very labour intensive (hour upon hour). The piece then has to be checked to make sure it sits correctly, has the right 'look' I was after etc. before it is completely finished off. Sometimes it's not right and has to be redone. My pieces aren't churned out - each is one of a kind and I take alot of time to make sure the item is of the best quality.

Today's piece is one that inspiration was relatively quick to take but execution took a while to get the look just 'right'.

This necklace is extra long and can be worn wrapped twice or three times around your neck. Wear it at different levels or the same for extra looks. It looks particularly stunning as a choker and longer length. The smoky quartz gems in the piece are smooth clear orbs of smoky brown colour, the mother of pearl discs have a wonderful sheen and the peacock freshwater pearls have a gorgeous lustre. Lashings of 12ct goldfill balls were added in various sizes to add a richness whilst not taking away from the gems and pearls. Do you like it?

Well, the children are now on holidays for a fortnight and spring has most definitely sprung. Trees are in blossom, flowers are budding and lots of green, green grass in evidence everywhere you look. Once my back is feeling better there is lots of work to do and I'm steadily working on my website too (heee heee - so excited to unveil it shortly!).

Till next :D

Age old dilemma: time desired vs. time available!

Sometimes I just want to sit at my bench and create. But last week it was destined not to be - for the majority of it at least. There was always some other call on my time that seemed more immediate. I have promised myself a far more creative week next week though!

One thing I DID do, however was finally upload some new items to my store. I just wish it didn't take an eon to do it. I really must try and do it a bit more frequently - I tend to get a slew of emails from clients when I finally take the plunge of sitting for hours in front of the computer to upload new pictures!

What do you think of today's stones? Aren't they gorgeous? Stunning quality crazy lace agate, but with very angular patterns instead of the standard rather orbicular ones, they are intriguing and completely unique. Very unusual colourings in the stones too - think butterscotch, forest floor, autumn berries and even a Japanese painting! I decided elegant was best with this muted assortment. Matching with simple rondelles of sterling silver - the combination has created a contemporary classic.

By the way, did you know that February is "Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Month" in honour of those of us who work from home. Gee, I wish I would have read this post on Small Business Diva about three weeks ago - I could have been in my PJs/robe without being guilt ridden!! Ah well. I guess I will wait until next year.