Pearl necklet and earrings giveaway!

I’m a bad blogger.  I realise this.  It's been months.  If you're still with me you're a total trooper and I heartily apologise and promise to do better!

One of my new year’s resolutions is to get back to blogging and so to start the new year off on a positive note,  I thought I giveaway might be a nice!  

So without further ado, here’s the prize….

(Black leather and white freshwater cultured pearl necklet (50cm length) and white freshwater cultured pearl and sterling silver stud earrings.)

Here's the boring stuff:

*Entries are free

*Entries are open worldwide.

*Entries are via this blog post or my facebook page

*Entries close on Monday 12 January at midnight (just under a week away) and  the winner will be contacted by email.

*One entry per person, but feel free to let any of your friends know who might like to win too.

*The prize will be sent out via Australia Post.  Should the winner be outside of Australia the prize will be sent via regular airmail.   Any customs or duties are the responsibility of the winner.

To enter you need to :

1. Visit my website  (www.annettepiper.com).

2. Sign up to my newsletters located in the left hand menu bar. (I’m remarkably slack with these, so you won’t be inundated!) 

3. Have a look at the jewellery while you're there and make a note of what your favourite piece is.   Then come back here and let me know in the comments below which is your favourite and why you like it.  

Easy!!

(oooh - big NB - if you have a different name to your blogger name, please add that to your comment so I can identify you if you are the winner!).

Good luck!

Annette :)

Pre-show frenzy, the piano arrives and a pretty paua bracelet

I'm in full headless chook mode (aka running around trying to be productive but not really making it!) as I try and get ready for a three day show this weekend.

Out of character, I have committed to an outdoor event, it's currently cold and wintry and the thought of leaving my tent up for three days in possibly gale-force winds is not comforting. If you have any hints or tips on outdoor events, particularly in reference to tents and keeping them down, please comment NOW! All will be very gratefully received!!

The battle with the elements is one of the reasons I prefer indoor shows. However, I was asked by a client to bring my jewels to this event (it's the Gunnedah Showjumping Festival) and how could I say no when she told me others like her would be there!

Although only a few years old it's already a fairly big event in the Australian showjumping circuit with over 200 competitors booked. Add on their support crews / families / friends and of course other people just coming for a look and you can see its not a small get together. When the ladies are tired of the horses and associated products they can come and refresh themselves with looking at some pretties! So, fingers crossed it is successful for me as well as the festival itself and the wind and rain stays AWAY for the duration of the show!

As you know, the search for the perfect piano (well, as perfect as it could be within financial limitations!) was pretty consuming for a couple of weeks. It all culminated in it's delivery on Saturday afternoon and we celebrated by having the piano teacher and her family over for lunch so she could check it out and hopefully tell us we did OK. (We did! *phew*)

There was much excitement as they brought in the pedals, then the legs, then the lid and finally wheeled in the piano.



Hubby had taken the railing down off the verandah and their truck had a ramp that could be raised or lowered to various heights so it rolled out with hardly a worry (well a small delay as it inched forward as it only just fit between the ramp and the roof of the truck).



They put it together in minutes, moved it slightly to the desired spot and it was all done! Ahh, the joy of professionals!



The children drew straws as to who would get to play to first and they were followed by the teacher :) Here is Langdon trying it out:



And here is the teacher, Telly. She is really the one who deserves a grand piano rather than our children in their current stage of musical ability, but hopefully having a good instrument will spur them on to greater achievements! If you want to see a very short video of Telly playing it, you can see it on my facebook page. (20 seconds of her playing Ballade Pour Adeline). Her fingers just FLY!



Needless to say the children have been fighting over who gets to practice on it first. If its not one thing, its another....

Before I go back into my frenzied mode in getting ready for the weekend, at the top is a photo of a bracelet I made yesterday (before the headless chook mode struck and post piano excitement) with sterling silver, paua shell and freshwater cultured pearls in blue, green and purple to reflect the glorious colours in the shell.

Cheers!
Annette :)

Eisteddfod Success!

I've been distracted most of this past week - firstly because my kiddos did so darn well in their eisteddfod (basically a competition for non-professionals in dance, speech, singing and instruments for those who asked!) then the 'high' of having won followed closely by a commitment to buy another, better piano for them.

Firstly, the eisteddfod. Well, our teacher definitely knows what she is doing and I can clearly say that her students were the best prepared out of any there. They played note perfect, their style was lovely and each was truly a little 'performance' rather than just 'playing'.

My heart was beating so fast as each of them went up to play and until the whole class was over and the winner announced the adrenalin was pumping! Of course the children themselves were fine and relatively unconcerned.

Of course, very proud parent here as you can tell (sorry!). If you know me, I am NOT one to talk about how amazingly talented my kids are - they've have never really been achievers so it has been a wonderful boost to everyone to have this success under their belts!

As they did so well, Hubby gave approval for the expenditure on another piano for them. The teacher has been warning us for a while that their skill has exceeded the capabilities of our current 80+ year old Beale Elfin (a small Australian made 'parlour' piano). So there's been lots of phone calls around the State looking for pianos.

Tomorrow we are off on a two day sojourn to look and try out an 8 year old baby grand. Hopefully it will be wonderful, we can get it and I can get back to something a little more productive than having a phone dangling from my ear and dreams of pianos!

I am sure I will need a dose of inspiration to get back into creating next week - and I think one of the best places for that is at the Additions Style blog. Valerie always writes posts that pushes my brain into 'what if I did this ....' I highly recommend a visit there if you need a creative push!

Since I haven't created anything brand new this week, I thought I'd show you a piece that I made just before the Scone show earlier this month that found a new home while I was there. It's a lovely mix of freshwater cultured pearls in cranberry, wine-purple, lime and khaki green with a sprinkling of peridot and garnet. Yum!

Watching children create

Another week has flown by and school holidays are coming to a close. I waved my hubby and son off at "O-dark-hundred" this morning as they took off for Perth and the Red Bull Air Races. They left 13 hours ago and in another hour they will have crossed the continent and arrived in Perth - which I find mind blowing in a small, two seater aircraft! They have phoned me at every stop - Broken Hill, Ceduna, Forest and Kalgoorlie. They will be gone for about 5 days so it's all girls in the house which the younger two are thrilled about. It also means that my guise as Farmer Piper has reappeared - I'm almost getting used to it!!!

In an effort to have some time with the girls yet still be productive, I let them loose on my bench today and let them create a piece each which I then made.

I am constantly surprised at what they come up with - their sense of colour is superb and they keep that while thinking outside the square. I watched with amazement as they went through boxes of stones looking, collecting and discarding. The results were combinations of 1) black lava, golden topaz and grass green peridot with a sprinkling of gold and 2) red bamboo coral, Peruvian amazonite and silver. They also chose the clasps and length and stood at my shoulder making sure everything was just 'right'. I remain impressed!

I'm a member and ambassador of the wonderful Australian group Connect2Mums. We had our inaugural conference last year and what a fun time we had - the ultimate in social networking! There was much laughter and lots of dancing at a nearby nightclub after hours that had fantastic duelling pianos. The 2010 conference is coming up at the end of July - Monique has blogged about it and put up a photo of the C2M leaders from last year's event which I've copied here

I'm third from the left - it's rare that anyone gets to photograph me but at least I'm all dressed up here ;)

If you want a dose of colour inspiration, check out Julie's site where she features lots of scrapbooking layouts. The colour combinations are just fantastic :)

Today's picture is of some golden-wheat coloured freshwater pearls in a funky stick shape. Eye catching and different, yet light and easy to wear.

Till next :)
Annette

Farmer Piper on Duty!

I've been MIA here I realise. But life, which was already chaotic (see last week's post!) has been raised to a whole new level this week with my responsibilities increased to 'farmer' status by my husband's absence overseas.

This week has included checking troughs, fences and moving stock - with the help of the younger man of the house of course :) I also had to do the farm bookwork which I hadn't done for the last 5 months (ooops). And, I almost forgot, my first time doing my new P&C (school) responsibity of working in the local saleyard canteen! I even got up at 6.30am to bake some fresh blueberry muffins to take along. Yep, a bit keen I admit LOL.

So, it has been a busy, busy week!

Needless to say there hasn't been much happening in the jewellery department. I did help a lovely gentleman find an aquamarine necklace for his wife's birthday and took on some remodelling jobs, but that was about it. I did, however, receive some gorgeous gems from a supplier I only deal with occasionally. I am thrilled with my selection and look forward to the beautiful new pieces that I can feel will spring from these wonderful gemstones.

Summer is almost at an end here with autumn due to start on Monday. The last week has been much cooler in the mornings and some days were a pleasant, mild temperature all day. Quite different to a couple of weeks ago when we were still in the high 30s/low 40s.

I love autumn - the crisp feeling to the air and the cooler days mean you can enjoy the sunshine without feeling like you are going to shrivel up! And cool, almost cold nights mean we can use our duvets again. Time to snuggle up with a good book - reading is a challenge when even sitting there means you break out in a sweat.

I looked out at dusk this evening and saw the bright moon in the still blue sky, with a little high cloud. I grabbed the camera quickly so I could share the sight with you. Isn't it lovely.



It will be busy again this coming week as I play farmer again, then hopefully I can get back on track - I can feel my bench calling me.

Today's pic is of a stylish pair of earrings - a bit longer than I normally make but perfect for a special dinner with your hair worn up? A large oval white freshwater pearl linked by chain to a bright apple-green chrysoprase pebble, more chain and then to stud fittings.

Till next :)

Gardening, cooking and renewable energy...

Another week has flown by. I'm getting worried. I'm sure I'll turn around in what seems like a couple of weeks time and Christmas decorations will be up! Someone told me the other day that it was only 130 days till Christmas. Since that wasn't TODAY, its even less now....

We have continued to have quite glorious winter weather here - lots of blue skies, sunshine, soft breezes and mild temperatures. I have spent more time in the garden planting gazanias (I think that's what they are - ask my neighbour - I just do as I'm told!) underneath my roses to help keep the weeds at bay. The knowledgeable neighbour assures me that they will form a thick mat and choke out the weeds. BUT I have to be very conscientious for the next few months and water them regularly (not my strong point, I'll admit). Oh the responsibility! LOL

I also seem to have spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking - brought on by an abundance of eggs from my mother-in-law's very happy chooks (chickens). Everytime she pops in, she brings another couple of dozen eggs so I was up to NINE dozen and really had to step in and do something with them as the odd boiled egg or omlette just wasn't enough. So I've made an almond and carrot torte, a mega-sized chocolate mud cake with chocolate glaze and two slabs of chocolate brownie. That used up two dozen. Then we had a crustless quiche one night and I made double to have for lunches so there's another dozen gone. The torte and cake have already been eaten, so no doubt the family will want me back in the kitchen cooking as soon as the brownie is polished off!

What do you think of renewable energy? Specifically wind power? We have two companies in our town at the moment attempting to sign people up for wind turbines. The turbines are an impressive 80 metres high - and that's just to the hub - plus the blades on top of that! Massive. They came out to visit us today and we find that we're not quite high enough, although we could be considered for a secondary development once the main wind farm is established on a nearby ridge line. There is lots to consider though, one of which is our very scenic views will change quite radically to very scenic views with masses of wind towers. I like the idea of green energy but I'm not 100% about having it surrounding me every time I go outside.

I have also spent some time at my bench although I haven't got as far as taking photos of the new pieces yet. But there are some bright and fun pieces for a lighthearted touch of summer. I really struggled doing the first one - it is a completely different mindset to doing 'bright and fun' compared to 'understated elegance'! But after hours upon hours of moving stones around I achieved the first one and the rest just happened :)

I've been busy loading some recently made stock onto the website now that spring is just around the corner too. AND I've been on facebook, but I'm keeping it under control. I only pop in for a half hour in the morning. I'm happy to say I've already exceeded 100 fans in a week which I'm pretty impressed with!

Today's picture is of a very pretty bracelet - I try to avoid the word 'pretty' as it is just so easy to use for so many things, but it just suits this piece! Palest pink faceted rose quartz and mauve-pink freshwater pearls linked together with 12ct goldfill.

Holidays and vacations seem to be in the air in blog land - two new blogs I've started to check in on recently - Critical Mass and Shwanda.com have both been away and there are lots of wonderful holidays snaps to admire. I love seeing what people go to see and do in other countries!

I also saw on the Michabella Creations blog that she won a print - it's just the most adorable little dachshund picture! I've seen old family photos and recall stories from when my parents had one of these cute (if somewhat strange looking) little dogs.

And continuing the "green" theme - Cherry Mag has a great articles Top Tips for Keeping Green Around the House which has some great, sensible advice.

Ooops, nearly forgot again!!! I have been very remiss in not mentioning a recent award I received! Thank you to Super Mommy to the Rescue for a Friends Award :)


the Rules:

This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. I will pass this award to some of my bloggy friends that I find exceedingly charming…

I would like to pass this award onto:
Julie at Momspective
JenJen at Gotta Love Mom
Jackie at 3 Little Ones
Tess at Six Feet Under
Jennifer at Its A Beauty Filled Life
Tammy at Cappucino Confessions

Till next :)
Annette

Working up to spring and summer brights

I'm feeling all summery. I think the weekend of glorious weather - bright, sunny and mild - after some very cold, grey days. Plus the fact that I managed to spend a good proportion of that spring-like weather outside in the rose garden (weeding - yuk! and pruning - ouch!) may have had an effect. Now that I've recovered from the sore back from bending over and the stiff hands from gripping weeds, of course! A good dose of Vitamin D perhaps?

I'm currently finding myself being drawn to all things bright and cheery - like this gorgeous clutch by TiLT Creations and these pretty earrings by Kandi-o Designs and even this swimsuit that Brittany featured on her blog.

To match my mood, I've pictured some earrings made with natural apple green turquoise with fat white freshwater pearls. A fresh, bright mix, perfect for spring/summer!

I'm ordering new stones for summer designs at the moment and of course I'm being drawn to lime green (variscite, green turquoise, peridot), Aegean blue (Peruvian amazonite, Peruvian blue opal, turquoise, larimar, aquamarine) and some coral pinks too .... I love how colour can affect your mood and outlook.

I'm not the only one loving brights - in the latest jewellery news, I've heard that a very rare 5 carat vivid pink diamond is due to go on sale with Christies Hong Kong office in December and they expect it to reach a "stratospheric" price! Ahh to have that sort of cash lying about. Vivid pink is pretty hard to get in natural gems and the colour of this particular beauty is stunning.

Down on the farm, the heifers are almost finished calving and weeks of checking them three times a day is thankfully going to stop! The calves are terribly cute though :).

Of course, after calving we start thinking of our annual holiday. Yes, I know we've only just had term break, but hey, we can dream! I found a great post on the Tilda Virtual Services blog about surviving the school holidays - darn it, should have read it a month ago ;)

I guess I should get busy and before I know it spring will be here :) Have a great week everyone!

Winter mistaken for spring - but not for long!

I did it, I did it! I spent two whole days in the most disorganised room in the house (see post last week) and it is now pristine! I threw A LOT of stuff out, re-organised and moved things around and I feel so much lighter in myself!

Hubby is really pleased as he finally has his table back in his possession and although he hasn't finished re-organising that little area it is well on its way.

Of course, the rest of the house is suffering somewhat in comparison now...but I think I'll attack that another day.

The weather has turned very icy here - although the skies are a vivid blue and the grass is green due to rain we've had over the last month. So it is easy to lull yourself into a sense of spring from the warmth inside the house - until you go outside of course! Then you feel the wintry bite and retreat inside very quickly.

The springlike looking weather has inspired me to work with a burst of soft, pretty colours so I thought I would share these delicately coloured earrings that are of new jade (serpentine), freshwater pearl and rose quartz.

I found a great group - Unique Women in Business at the by Earth Expressions blog. I love the idea behind this group - it's fantastic to see women banding together to help each other towards success!

Recently, I received the same award from two fellow bloggers - Miriam from Angelshair and Terry from Magicalbeadstalk gave me this:



The rules of the award are:
Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award."

So here are my 15 newly discovered 'lovely' blogs!
thirtysomethingLand
Theta Mom
Mommy Words
5 kids, 2 labs, 1 lizard and a hermit crab
Piece of Cake Decorating
I'm Still Standing
Shabby Chicks
Paris Couture Antiques
My Insanity
Inca Kids, Fair Trade & Sustainable Living
Keeper of the Cheerios
Click Here
The Crazy Suburban Mom
Sweet Serendipity
Witchetty Art

Gosh, that's a list and half!

Cheers for now,
Annette

Organisation and Mookaite Jasper

It's a dreary, grey winter's day today - brrr. Its hard to get motivated when the weather is so dull and cold. Overall though, Australia has it so easy in the winter stakes. Imagine having snow and ice for months each year! Whilst we would all say, oh, but wouldn't it be great to have snow.... I think we'd tire of it pretty quickly as the numbness from the cold set in! So, even though this is a mild winter by some standards, I'm not planning on getting too far from my fire today :)

I must admit that I am feeling the need to organise my life again. It's really not as drastic as it sounds. It's just that stuff tends to build up - how do I aquire so much "stuff" anyway!? Then before I know it, I'm digging under stacks of papers looking for that form that had to go back to school. Or I'm moving piles of things around trying to make space to write out a note. Whilst in general things aren't that bad, some areas are getting a bit TOO random for my comfort zone!

Our study for example is a multi-purpose room. It is where hubby and I do our bookwork and work on projects, have the computers and store textbooks, trade magazines/books, accounts and papers associated with clubs we're involved in. I also can't bear to throw out packaging boxes etc - they always get used (evenutally) so I have a cupboard full of those. Plus I store my display materials for jewellery shows which gobbles up quite a bit of space. The room is quite large (a converted garage) and the children love to play in there too.

This is the room that probably bothers me the most but I have to think of a plan of action before just launching in and getting in a bigger mess LOL. Maybe I need to take some pointers from the Organise Your Life Now blog!

I don't seem to have had a lot of time for checking out my favourite bloggers this week - will have to remedy that soon. I did come across a funny post by Amanda at Household Six that shows you do have to be rather careful of your language around young children :)

Today's picture is of a gorgeous necklace of big slabs of mookaite jasper, large freshwater pearls and deep red garnet.

I love the rich colour of this mookaite - a light heathery-purple through to a rich maroon. Mookaite is an Australian jasper (actually radiolarian siltstone) found under the Mooka Creek bed in the Kennedy Range in Western Australia and is often spelled in a variety of ways - eg. mookite, moukaite and so on. It often comes with a mustard-yellow combination but these ones are all in the purple tones (except for just a touch of yellow on the stone right at the very end if you look closely). Its a jasper that you don't see all that often which only makes it all the more special.


Till next!

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

Quirindi last week, Merriwa this week...

I feel a bit like that old saying about tours "if it's Tuesday it must be Rome" LOL. Although I'm not quite going to such exotic locales, doing two, two-day shows a week apart is surprisingly tiring - I keep feeling like I've forgotten something and my to-do list never seems to finish!

Last weekend was Quirindi and I had such a wonderfully warm welcome from the organisers and lots of ladies I met on my recent appearance there in July. I was tickled pink when one woman told me that she saw the advert for the Quirindi Show - it mentioned 'jewellery' and she had hoped it would be me! :) There were only a few other exhibitors selling items that were non-sideshow alley and they were lovely, friendly people.

Lots of beautiful pieces (a lot of them new, including the piece featured in my last blog post)have found new homes where I am sure they will be loved!

This weekend I have Merriwa Show and get to see all my lovely clients from that district and maybe some new faces too. This is the 100th anniversary of the Merriwa Show so it promises to be a big weekend. I hope the weather holds out! Once again I will be located in the Fairfax Pavillion so come and say hello if you're at the show.

I am very behind on my blog reading however I was doing a scan of the Small Business Diva's blog and found a wonderful quote I would like to share: “Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time.” Thomas J. Watson, 1874-1956, Founder of IBM. Something we can all aspire to.

I must also say thank you to Elaine from Commotion from the Ocean of Life blog for her award (received while I was on holidays thus my tardy response!). This blog is a great read and one that I love to catch up on. Thank you!!!



The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

So, in the interest of sharing the love downunder, I've picked some Aussie blog favourites:

1. Tickiboo
2. Ickle Kids
3. La Toriana
4. My Day Off
5. Marnie B
6. Small Business Diva
7. Australian Women Online

Ooops, almost forgot today's jewellery picture! This is a beautiful banded agate and freshwater pearl bracelet that tinkles as it moves. I've used Argentinium sterling silver to help prevent tarnishing and keep the silver wonderfully shiny. A timeless combination of black and white means this one will be worn for many years to come!

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!

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 ! )