A creative burst

Creativity has been flowing since my big pre-spring clean up last week! I'm still feeling refreshed and have energised and consequently I'm starting to see the new pieces for spring come together in soft, muted and pastel colours. A couple of quite bold ones appearing too! I'm glad I'm getting a bit done now as the next two weeks are school holidays. Trying to concentrate with three children rumbling around - playing, fighting, practicing the piano, practicing dance and of course, just being children (AKA sweet but annoying) will be difficult!

There was a great response to my new blog finds list last week - its great to check out new places and people, isn't it!

With my creative rush I haven't had a lot of time for browsing around, however I did venture onto Kelly's blog at Macaroni & Glue. She's a valued member of Creative Bloggers but I haven't looked at her paper goods in a while. Last time I did there was an emphasis on retro style but I'm impressed to see she now has a fresh, modern style going as well under another shopfront on Etsy. Great work Kelly!

I always try to return the favour of a comment if I can and while I was doing so at EP Designs, I notice Elena has a "pink Saturday" feature. What a great idea, particularly if you feel drawn to a colour. Of course, mine would have to be green ;).

Today's pic is a really chic necklace - quite modern yet I think it will fit into any fashion era comfortably. Made with matte black onyx given a lift - subtle yet full of impact - with the addition of sparkling faceted gems - grass green peridot, golden citrine, rich red garnet and deep purple amethyst. Do you like it too?



Back to the workbench before the holidays begin! Till next :)

Ironfest 2008

A few weeks ago I featured a piece of matte black onyx leaves with little gemstones dotted through it, like little glimmering pieces of fruit nestled amongst the leaves...well, it sold and because I just love these matte black onyx 'leaves', here is another piece using them. This one is matched with small nugget shaped freshwater pearls in their natural pink/mauve colour. The pearls have a brilliant lustre which is emphasised by the flat black onyx and the pearls continue in a twin strand once they have left the onyx. It is very glamorous and very one of a kind. Do you like it?

I am starting to get ready for Ironfest at Lithgow which is on in three short weeks time. Going for three days, this festival celebrates all things metal with a heavy presence of blacksmithing arts, as well as being a medieval fair with quite a few people dressing up for the occasion. The Australasian Jousting Championships are held over this weekend, there are battle re-enactments and the odd cannon blast reminds you where you are! Lots of street performers and entertainment and a good range of artisans showing their work. As we did last year, I will be sharing a booth with a friend who makes predominately Swarovski crystal jewellery and beadweaving so we present a complementary front. Here is a pic of Michelle at our booth last year.



If you plan to be in the vicinity, please drop in and say hello! Ironfest is on 25-27 April 08 at the Lithgow Showground.

Have you ever heard of Everything Skwiggle? It's a support site dedicated to artists and designers. We often work independently of others and networking with our peers is something that we SHOULD do, but rarely actually DO it. Everything Skwiggle provides a place where you can go and chat about things like getting exposure and advertising and get general support and advice from people just like yourself along their own artistic journey.

A sophisticated black and white necklace

I have featured a very sophisticated necklace for today's post - I just adore it. And really, how can you go wrong with black and white!? I think the lucky new owner of this piece will wear it day in and day out - after all it will go with any colour you can throw at it and will dress up or down for any occasion. The black is onyx - done in a wonderful, tactile matte finish - smooth and velvety. Matched with white quartz in a funky yet complementary cut and a groovy sterling silver clasp reflecting the shapes of the stones. The stones are separated by argentinium sterling silver balls (argentinium is tarnish resistant so will keep its shine with very little (if any) maintenance).

For once I have actually loaded a picture and put it on my site at the same time - so you can check it out in more detail here. Don't forget my free worldwide shipping too!

A bit quiet in the jewellery stakes this week, but there are things percolating on my bench so I'm happy to have things just mosey along ;)

I can't believe my son is going to be into double digits tomorrow! Yes 10 years since my life changed irrevocably and husband and I became a "family". It is great to see the excitement in his eyes when he thinks about his birthday tomorrow and his party on the coming weekend. I think tomorrow will be fun, but I'm not so sure about the party - keeping a keen eye on lots of children whilst they are madly running around is usually pretty exhausting! I was looking at Tonic Gifts recently and Michelle has such wonderful taste in prospective gifts. She is pretty cluey with kids gifts too having categories for babies, children, tweens and teens! I found a great book called 52 Cool Tricks for Kids - which would be perfect for boys around the age of my son.

Necklaces are back!

Wasn't it great to see the Oscars recently - I love watching the guests sashay up the red carpet. And thankfully, some of the world's most stylish actresses have realised (after many years of bare necks) that necklaces can be a great accessory and even a feature! I noticed Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Laura Linney, Jennifer Garner and Keri Russell had all donned a necklace. There were still ladies hanging onto the bold bracelets but the tide is turning!

I also saw this last week and jotted it down, although I can't find WHERE I found it apart from a notation that it was New York, so apologies to the author...
"In a sea of delicate barely there chains and charms, the dramatic singular statement necklace makes a comeback this spring."
So, all looking good from my end, since statement necklaces is often where I'm at!!! :)

Speaking of fashion and glamorous evenings, I found this gorgeous looking product called Diamond Dust on one of my fav sites Beauty Banquet. Think a sweeping long black dress with halterneck and slightly plunging front and shimmery shoulders.... yum!

To go with that image, how about the necklace I have pictured above? This is amazing matte black onyx in various petal shapes, dotted with little gems of peridot, garnet, amethyst and citrine, looking like tiny fruits nestled amongst the foliage. As the front of the necklace is so dramatic it is connected to a sparkling silver chain which would make it perfect to wear with a dress whose neckline is close fitting around the sides/back.

Well, I'm ready for a night out, how about you?