Rainy days and school holidays

My life this week has been a whirlwind of visitors and cooking, children darting everywhere you turn and a laundry mound that is rapidly becoming Mt. Washmore!

Our school term ended last Friday with a talent show at which two of my children participated. My son, who has been playing the piano for six months got up in the very first spot. He was embarrassed - at 11 remember how you got embarrassed about everything? The realisation that he rushed a bit and made a few small mistakes made him (after it was all over of course) want to do it again - but better this time! We had to explain that life is a lot like that - full of occasions where we wish we could do it over again differently! You've just got to give it your best shot when you have the chance.

One of the twins also played a couple of short pieces on the piano and considering she's only been playing for less than three months, was very brave to get up there in front of the whole school and associated parents!

Since then, the weather has been, whilst not bitterly cold, definitely wintry and drizzly. The washing hung on the line for four days as it just never cleared long enough to dry it. Children on holidays + mud = more dirty clothes, so the piles of laundry have been steadily rising.

We've been inundated with visitors which is fairly unusual. One of the things about living out in the middle of nowhere, is that most people don't visit very often at all. It's just too far out of their way to pop in. Things must have changed, or maybe they're bored with the wet weather too, and we've had people in and out every day this week.

This has also meant mounds of cooking. Over the past few years I've managed to reduce the amount of time in the kitchen (outside of mealtimes) to only cooking a batch of biscuits every so often to keep the children and husband happy. Well this week I've done deserts, roasts, some of my 'special' meals, biscuits, cookies, scones, pancakes..... And just to add to it, hubby brought in a huge bag of grapefruit to make into marmalade.... *sigh*.... so 17 jars later....

Needless to say, there's not been much time for surfing around the web and checking out other blogs and sites. Although I did get time to see the gorgeous work of Gretchen of Chichiboulie. Gretchen lives in the north of France with her family and does some gorgeous design and illustration work. To look at her art makes you feel young and fancy-free (like a child on school holidays perhaps!?) Do have a look at Gretchen's Boulie Blog - it's beautiful!

So the upshot of the past week is that I'm basically feeling over-domesticated. I'm ready to hide my head in the sand to get five minutes peace and my bench is looking very neglected - even though new stones have arrived that are just screaming out to be made into something. Perhaps next week will be quieter?



The picture for today is a necklace I managed to make BEFORE the school holidays - I love the slightly eclectic and rich combination of oranges, yellows with a touch of green and red. Made with carnelian, sardonyx, agate, sunstone, citrine, garnet, prehnite, calcite and freshwater pearls in green, bronze and russet.

Full of impact, life and colour it's perfect for taking my mind off the semi-feral children that come with a term break. Do you agree? :D

Till next!
Cheers
Annette

The trauma of being offline

Arrrggghhh. I've been offline for over a week with my satellite dish going 'fizzzzzzz....kaput'. Now, I know I've had trouble going on holidays (read that as "away from my computer" but I've had time to get used to the idea beforehand, and of course, lots of activities to keep me busy while away. But this was awful.

I could use the computer but couldn't CONNECT with anyone. It really made me realise how many acquaintances I've met online and while I may only briefly touch on these lives, how important they can be! So I'm feeling very out of touch and in a flurry to catch up.

Of course, it was great on the creative front once I stopped staring at the no connection icon ;) I made some great new pieces and the orders didn't stop just because I was offline, so some are already gone! I was doing a tally the other day and realised that almost every piece I've featured here on my blog has gone, usually pretty quickly!

Today's piece is from my 'week off'. A prime example of how simple can be totally stunning. Big overlapping discs of poppy jasper - chocolate with raspberry overtones. Yum!



In my short time of catching up I notice more and more people are turning to twitter. I know a bit about it but can't devote the time that I know it would take, as with my personality (the all or nothing type) it would become totally addicted! I did see a great how-to article on getting started with twitter at Tilda Virtual Services, for anyone who's ready to jump on though!

Catching up with my artisan friends I see that Teri of S&T Creations, who I feel like I have known online for years is tackling a big re-organisation of her studio. I can sympathise, although in chatting to a friend the other day I realise my left and right hemispheres really battle with one another - if I'm feeling creative then chaos HAS to reign in my studio. However if I need to do some bookwork for the farm, then everything has to be neat and tidy so that I can think logically and not get sidetracked. Consequently my studio is alternately neat or chaotic depending on what I'm doing LOL.

And I really want to mention the most wonderful fibre artisan - Sara of Woolies. This woman makes THE most adorable handmade and knitted toys. I'm totally in love with Raspberry, the knitted teddy. Don't you just want to take him home!

Till next :)

Courage and Success

In my wanderings around the blogosphere, I found the following quote on Donna-Marie Coggin's blog:
“The difference between a successful man and a failure, is not one’s better abilities or ideas, but the courage one has to act on them”
-Maxwell Maltz

Then I ran into this post on Lori Anderson's blog that epitomises one boy's courage.

And it put me in the mind of success. Sometimes you have to stick to what you believe will work, with your passion and your ideals. It isn't always easy and it isn't that straightforward, but success, when it comes, is just so, well, satisfying!

Our local community held a music festival last weekend - the yearly jazz festival, whilst enjoyed by those who went, was a big drain on the community resources - there were never enough people to help organise, set up, pull down and access was rather tortuous through the national park. But the scenery was gorgeous!

So after last year's festival the committee decided to go biannual and this year run a low-key music event close to town to encourage more townspeople to attend. A lot of people didn't approve and some people said they wouldn't be going.

The day dawned clear and bright, the sun was shining - but it wasn't too hot and all was in readiness. The clouds came over - threatening but nothing too drastic and all continued on as scheduled. People turned up in droves.

Then mid-way through the evening the heavens opened - the stage got wet and dangerous and there was even a black-out. Oh no!!! However, the headline act, in true professional style, just pulled out some smaller equipment from their vehicle, set up in a shed and kept playing. And everyone had a marvellous time (even if they were a little damp!) The town is now full of praise for the event, the organisers are thrilled and for their courage at pursuing their goal, are smelling that sweet, sweet smell of success!

The picture for today is a bright and fresh gemstone bracelet of rock crystal quartz, carnelian, garnet, freshwater pearls, and citrine.

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.

Photography and magnesite

Christmas is over for another year, in fact another year is almost over - only hours to go until 2009 shows its face!

Our christmas was very family oriented and the children had a wonderful time, as they always do. Did you receive anything you just LOVE? I did! I received an autographed copy of the wonderful book A Grain of Sand by Dr Gary Greenberg. I've mentioned it on my blog before as a wonderful look into something so mundane yet so startingly beautiful that you will never look at sand the same way, ever again! Not just a gorgeous coffee table book, there is wonderful information on both Dr. Greenberg's microphotography and on sand itself.

I was contacted by a fellow who saw my admiration of macrophotography and sent me a link to his photos on flickr. He has taken some wonderful shots of stones that would make great wall art.

Bright blue-greens are always popular in summer and I found a great strand of treated magnesite (pictured above made into a necklace) that gives that wonderful aegean green colour. I haven't dealt with magnesite before and was interested to learn more about it. It is commonly found in a massive form (more rarely as crystals) in white/grey/yellow-brown. Fairly soft at 3.5-4 it has been used for sculpture for thousands of years. (A small Mesopetamian lioness sculpture made of magnesite c. 3000-2800 BC was sold by Sothebys in 2007 for over US$57 million!)

Metaphysically it is said to bring deep peace to meditation. It promotes a positive attitude, stimulates ideas yet has a calming effect on emotions. Said to detoxify the body it acts as a muscle relaxant, treats bone and teeth disorders, speeds up fat metabolism and helps deal with fevers and chills. Sounds like I should save a piece for the medicine cabinet! ;)

My family (and I imagine half of Australia) are off to a New Years Eve celebration tonight. If you have such a gathering to attend I hope you have a wonderful time and I look forward to catching up with you in 2009 ;)

Happy New Year!

Colour

I was looking at some fellow artisan's work today (Cherished Dreams - who makes some exquisite children's quilts and wall hangings) and found myself drawn to one in particular that was bright, cheery and fun. The image on the hanging is quite serene, but the colours really grabbed me. I am sure she won't have the piece for very long at all!

I do one of two things when it comes to colours - either tonal (classic) or I go all out and mix it all up (the result can be heady or eclectic). Interestingly, when I DO mix it all up, I haven't successfully used a colour wheel - for some reason it always looks wrong! I find that I am drawn to mix certain colours up and 99% of the time my 'instinct' works and people love them. Sometimes these combinations are happy accidents, and sometimes they take a lot of work (experimenting) to get not just the colour combinations but the percentages of those colours in the finished piece right.

I do a number of pearl and gem torsades that are popular and have featured them often here on my blog, they can take an incredibly long time to get the colour proportions 'just right' - but they look effortless (until you try one!)

I've included a new cuff bracelet today - all freshwater pearls but in such striking colours - bound to go with anything you throw at it, don't you think!?

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 :)

Aerobatics, a bracelet and Etsy considerations

How was your Easter break? As planned we spent ours at Parkes, with our faces pointed to the sky watching aerobatics. My face is sunburnt with "airshow" face as we call it in our house LOL.

Here is a pic of hubby in his plane as he is getting ready to take off. Nice plane, heh!? Its a Giles 200, the prototype in fact and it goes FAST. A high performance aeroplane that hubby is still getting used to!



Not much achieved in the jewellery stakes, although I DID take some bracelets to make whilst I was sitting around and waiting. I set them all up before I left so I didn't have to think - just do! I have included a picture of one of them at the top of the page. Following on from my last blog post, I tried to let a child's creativity out - throwing some colours together that I wouldn't normally try and I think it works in a slightly eclectic way! The main structure of the bracelet is dark navy dumorterite balls, which have been linked together with argentinium (tarnish resistant) sterling silver into a handmade chain. Then 'charms' of lilac coloured freshwater pearls, dark amethyst, dusky pink rhodonite and pale green aventurine. Finished with a little sterling silver toggle clasp. The combination took a while to get 'right' - I didn't want the green or pink overwhelming the rest of the bracelet, but on the other hand it was too plain with the blue/purple combination. The actual 'making' took about two solid hours, so these style of bracelets are pretty time consuming to do. I was completely out of this "charm" style, so I managed to get a total of three done over Easter. I will post pics of the others over my next couple of posts.

I have been seriously considering opening an Etsy store. I reserved my store name waaaay back when Etsy first opened, but I just haven't had the push to do it since I already have my own webstore. I always get busy and then it goes back to the bottom of the pile! I know of lots of people who have stores there, and they report varying degrees of success. There is so much talent there, I guess it may be easy to get lost unless you regularly put up new stock. Cigarboxbeads, an Etsy seller herself (she creates incredibly detailed beadwork), is currently featuring some of her Etsy finds on her blog - it is a great place to get an idea about the huge range that etsy offers without getting overwhelmed!

Have a great day!

Christmas cards and Variscite

Yes, its that time of the year again....I have started to receive Christmas cards from well-meaning (and organised) friends that serve to make me feel very inadequate!!! They must write them in the middle of the year and send them out on the first of December!? I usually stumble around and eventually find some suitable cards, then hastily write our yearly letter (summary of our lives for the last twelve months) and post them off in the absolutely last post available (that postmarks them before Christmas Day)....if I'm lucky. *sigh* Okay, I might not be as organised as I would like but at least I have started looking for cards! I found these very nice ones at Jenni's Papercraft Designs. I note she made them back in November. I wonder if she sends them out before Christmas Eve?

Last week was an absolutely mad week with 2 days out in neighbouring towns (140 and 100kms away - each way) respectively. Add to that two visits to friends/neighbours, a P&F meeting, a Christmas drinks party, delivering and making orders.....you get the picture I'm sure! I was seriously considering doing a pre-Christmas show in Mudgee, but I just don't have the time. Instead, I am concentrating on getting all the orders done this week so that I can spend the week leading up to Christmas with my children. I felt I actually missed out last year as I was so busy with work, so I won't be making the same mistake this year!

Do you like the necklace pictured today? I have to admit I am a 'green' girl. I just love green. When I look at my stock the green far exceeds other colours - I just can't help myself and have to buy green stones!!!! LOL, this reminds me - I received a great sweatshirt today that I ordered from a favourite geology related site - UnEarthed Tees, who I have mentioned before. It says "As a matter of fact I do have rocks in my head, I'm a gemmologist" Ha ha! Ooops, off the track there....

OK, today's necklace is a simple yet totally stunning piece. Grand in size, elegant in shape and vivid in colour. The wonderful stone used is granny-smith-apple-green variscite, together with lightly oxidised sterling silver bars and tiny silver balls.

Variscite was first described in the early nineteenth century and its name comes from the Latin name for Vogtland "Variscia" in Germany where it was found. Very early beads of Spanish variscite that date from around 4500BC have been found in the Italian Alps, along with articles of green jade that seemed much admired and desired. (Maybe they liked green too!) Deposits of Variscite are also found in the USA and in Australia and it is often confused with green varieties of turquoise. Gemmologically it is a phosphate mineral and its colour comes from chromium. Metaphysically, it is classed as a 'worry' stone - it is used extensively to calm busy minds and nervous systems, helping with anxiety, stress, depression, fear and worry. It also encourages truthfulness, courage and hope.

Till next time :) By the way, don't forget free worldwide shipping if you need a special piece to wear for Christmas!

I've been SHOPPING :)

Ahhh, shopping, don't you LOVE it. The highs of finding something new, hearing that little angel on your shoulder going "goodie goodie" and then the expectaction of waiting for the items to arrive (since I only ever seem to shop online, the whole shopping experience is somewhat extended!). Then when the goodies DO arrive, the anticipation has built and you rip open the box to see the treasure inside! Ahhhh, bliss.

OK, well, maybe I'm a shopaholic? But I KNOW there are many of you out there that are the same. Nod your head .... that's right ;)

So, what have YOU been shopping for? I've been shopping for stones and pearls - I told you I needed more last week! I've revisited some of my favourite suppliers and even found a new one that I am sure will keep me salivating for years.

Someone sent me an email the other day saying there was only 51 days left to Christmas! EEEK. Its even less than that now! I really will have to think about gifts soon. I've just had to have a look at my favourite gift store, Tonic Gifts, and found the Action Hero's Handbook - now I know my son would love it as he has always aspired to be Indiana Jones and I can see my hubby sneaking the odd peek too ;) Michelle from Tonic Gifts also has a great article on her blog about christmas shopping which is well worth a look before we plunge headlong into the fray!

The pic for today is a necklace of huge amazonite balls (they really are big!) separated by white freshwater pearls. The toggle closure, although you can't see it in the pic, is also made of amazonite - how cool is that! I call this my "Wilma" necklace - as in the Flintstones ;) . The amazonite is a beautiful aqua blue colour and really quite magnificent, especially in such a size! Meaning "from the Amazon", this sodium feldspar has been used for ornamentation for thousands of years, with articles of amazonite being found in treasure hoards from ancient Egypt. Metaphysically it is considered a soothing stone, calming thoughts and the nervous system and protecting against electromagnetic pollution.