Beadie Critters

Did you ever wonder what a mother who makes jewellery does for her children’s school fair?

I had offered to work with the children to make items for their class stall and shouldn’t have been surprised when the teacher took me up on my offer.

Now making jewellery would be an obvious answer to what to do with them - but I didn’t want to be obvious and so spent some time making some simple critters with beads and craft wire. I had wonderful visions of what they’d be able to make, possibly with my stash of gem and pearl seconds.



I planned out what they’d need and sat down with my primary aged girls who play with my wire scraps and castoff pearls constantly to make 3 different critters – a doodlebug, a caterpillar and a spider.



Unfortunately I soon realised that sturdy craft wire and small drill holes (common in gems and pearls) didn’t go together. Then found my idea of the average 11 year olds abilities and reality didn’t match up at all. *sigh*

In resignation, I decided simple was best, so I sourced some colourful painted and dyed wooden beads, some beading elastic and then found myself at the front of a classroom last week with 30+ children listening to me instruct them in the art of making a stretchy bracelet.

It was rather fortunate that the teacher hadn’t told me that I would be “speaking to the class” as I may have run away. As anyone who knows me well can testify, when it comes to more than about a dozen people, I avoid being the centre of attention and become amazingly silent. I tend to be more a ‘doer’ than a ‘talker’. Public speaking is definitely not my thing although of course I can talk the leg off an iron pot in a one to one or small group situation!

But I survived the instructional phase at the front of the classroom and then relaxed as I got to work with a table of children at a time.

I was very impressed with the determination of the children and their skill in colour selection for their beaded bracelets and rings and feel sure that they will be able to use all their stocks of beads by the fair to make a good selection for fair visitors to buy.



But, not to be outdone, I took matters into my own hands and made a couple of dozen critters for the stall. I think they're cute (well, some of the spiders are a bit freaky I'll admit!) ... what do you think?

By the way, Dunedoo Show was huge last weekend – I’m still recovering, as well as making up orders from the day to be delivered on my way to set up at Mendooran Show this Saturday. If I survive this "5 shows in 5 weeks" stint I'll be due for a holiday!

Normality and Routine vs. Reality

I WAS hoping for a bit of normality to return to my life after the kids returned to school, however it seems that 'normality' is far from happy to return - it's off being itself somewhere else and I'm just running around from one thing to the other and not getting anything done.

The children, on the other hand, seem to have settled back into the routine of school ... the routine of not wanting to get up in the mornings and the routine of rushing off to the school bus with seconds to spare. Not to mention the routine of not wanting to do their homework.

I've been told by the girls in no uncertain terms that they'd much prefer to stay home and read. (Good for bookstores and libraries but not so good for their school reports I'm sure).

Perhaps we all need a little more R&R (six weeks obviously wasn't enough...) and my R&R is more likely to come when the children are at school and peace reigns over the house. But then a phone call from MIL, or SIL or a request from the accountant or a job to do for hubby because he can't do it - he has to go and plough ... and next thing you know the day is gone and the kids are walking back up the hill after being dropped at the front gate by the school bus. *sigh*

I HAVE made an effort with son though - his performance (at school) dropped off quite a bit towards the end of last year. Our idea that he should be made responsible for his own work (getting homework done in time, projects finished in a half reasonable state etc) kind of failed. In a world of sink or swim, he definitely sank. So now, each day after school I sit down with him at the dining table and get him to show me what he did that day, asking him to explain it to me. If he can't, I endeavour to lead him through, kind a bit like revision on a daily basis. I look at his diary, make sure his homework/project due dates have been notated and make sure he packs the correct books for the next day. I think he's entered that teen fog where they see and hear nothing that doesn't interest them, so I feel I have to do this. Otherwise he may just fall off the planet and not realise.

The girls have been fine with their homework and seem to understand everything so far, so I guess I should be grateful for small mercies.

On the creative front, I did manage an afternoon at my bench recently and made some lovely heart jewellery to celebrate the imminent occasion of Valentine's Day (the photo above is one - its a gorgeous lemon citrine pendant and chain - a whopping 1 inch across, it's big and sparkly and very desirable!

Are you expecting anything for Valentine's Day? My hubby isn't big remembering Valentines (although I do recall a bunch of long stemmed roses that arrived at my work from him one year). But he will go and pick me a red, red rose from the garden on the spur of the moment - just like he did this morning:



And that's worth more than anything, don't you think?

Till next :)
Annette

A trip to Norfolk Falls

The twin's birthday has been and gone. Reaching the momentous age of 10, they're now into double digits and asking for things like having their ears pierced! For this landmark birthday they wanted to go somewhere and do something that they had never done before.

Hubby came up with the idea of going to our local national park - Coolah Tops - specifically to Norfolk Falls. The girls were thrilled with the idea of seeing a waterfall in real life and bounced around for days in a state of excitement.

The day dawned clear and bright and we ventured down the road then up the hill, and continued up and up... and up. We arrived at the parking/rest area and while hubby proceeded to light the barbie (bbq), I headed off to the top of the Falls with the kids.



It was only about a 600m but that distance included 500 stairs! Of course, going down wasn't too hard :) We took off our shoes and paddled in the shallow stream that a few scant feet away fell 120 metres straight down!



This direction looks safer!



Eventually we had to haul ourselves away and climbed up those 500 stairs whereupon I gratefully sank onto a picnic bench!

After lunch we ALL ventured forth again, down the 500 stairs, had another paddle in the stream and then went cross-country down a very steep hill to the base of the waterfall.

Although we live on a farm, the countryside is really very gentle and we only have a few small rocks worthy of clambering over in a couple of distant paddocks. I wondered how the children would take such a challenging walk but they loved it. They scrambled down the slope, following what appeared to be bits of trails now and again, climbing over fallen trees, past small orchid like wildflowers and using clumps of native grass as handholds.

The waterfall was magnificent and the pool at the base of the waterfall looked inviting. There was a constant cool flow of air (from the falling water) but we were still ready for a quick swim. There were some shallowly submerged sharp rocks making it a bit tricky to negotiate, but we managed and boy, was that water COLD!



Can you see hubby and one daughter here close to the spray from the falls?



The walk back up that slope might have only taken 20 minutes but I can honestly say I felt like falling down when we reached the top. My legs were shaking and my breathing was more like gasping for oxygen. Of course I'm totally out of condition - too much sitting down creating jewellery last year methinks! Another paddle in the creek and then up the 500 stairs... again!

Needless to say, I hardly moved the next day as my body recovered. A few days of normality and then yesterday, we picked up Meri's new kitten. Isn't he cute!? He'll be keeping us on our toes for a few days yet, I'm sure :D



Till next :)
Annette

What Price Beauty?

I'm sitting here the day after a HUGE shopping trip to Dubbo. We left yesterday before 8am and we got home last night at 9.30pm! The drive each way is close to 150km (so a 300km round trip) and it feels like I walked the whole way my feet are that sore. Why are they so sore? Well, it kind of comes down to what you wear to town. I'm in the country and going to town still entails an element of dressing up.

This means wearing a dress or skirt and heels or the route I usually take which is dressy jeans or trousers. Presentable but not towering high heels, a nice top, necklace and earrings completes the look.

Since I'm only average height and not as slim as I used to be, I don't want to encourage the chunky image, so I like to wear a low heel to give me extra height. I bought some fabulous dress boots (like riding boots but with a small block heel) last winter and these look great with my bootleg jeans and give me that much needed height. The fact that they are pretty comfortable too and I had done a day of walking around Mudgee in them before with good results helped this choice along. Of course I forgot in this equation that Mudgee is MUCH smaller.

On arrival we spent the first hour car bound as hubby found workshops and machinery supply shops. Then, the first main street stop, the girls and I went off to find a hairdresser (the girls in dire need of a new cut) and the boys went off to the barber. Naturally we parked near the barber. We only had 45 minutes before the orthodontist appointment, so off we rushed. Three blocks later we had found a hairdresser that could fit the girls in - but not till the afternoon. So we briskly walked back to the car, doing a spot of retail therapy on the way ;)

Back in the car and off to the orthodontist. Hubby left us there with the agreement to meet us back in the nearest shopping centre in about an hour and a half's time. The orthodontist took about 3/4 hour with the wonderful news that my son is due for braces. Right. Great. Do you know how MUCH braces cost!? I'm strongly encouraging any of my children to become orthodontists as a future lucrative career at this stage....

I digress.

The shopping centre was five blocks away. And I should mention that the blocks in Dubbo are NOT small. We made it back to the shopping centre with a few minutes to spare. A quick bite to eat, more retail therapy even if it was rather rushed and then we thankfully got driven near to the hairdresser (within a block) as hubby and son went off in another direction. A pleasant hour or so later (and a big thumbs up to the crew at Rave Hair Studio - thanks Sam and Mel!) we walked another three blocks to the appointed rendevous point. My feet were starting to feel rather uncomfortable but I did my best to ignore them.

Walking another 3 blocks, we completed the main street's retail offerings and had added to our shopping tally. Back to the car, to another shopping centre and another hour of trekking around. By this point I've sworn off ever taking children shopping again as its just "I want..." "Can I have .... " "Muuuuuummmmmmm". Replied by me with "have you got your money, no? well, you'll have to miss out today" "No" and "Yesssssss?????"

A final stop at the toy shop. I thought. I dutifully wandered around with each of the children in turn as the gazed longingly at the shelves and picked out their sibling's christmas gifts. Back to the car where I melted into the back of the seat blissed out with sitting down.

"I think we'll go to the park" says hubby. What? It's 5.30pm, no one's eaten, it's an hour and a half drive home and I'm fragged. But before I can say anything over the happy squealing in the back seat, we're at the park. I DID get to sit for 20 minutes and chatted to hubby who I'd hardly seen all day, then we ventured to the playground (another walk) on the far side of the rather large park. By this time my feet were burning. Not a good sign.

"Let's go and have some dinner" is the next gem from hubby's mouth. Well at least I'm in favour of this one. And grateful when we get a parking spot just across the road from the restaurant. A slight maze to actually get to our seat, through corridors, up steps and so on, but we all had a lovely meal. When I stand up after an hour off my feet - ouch. I get back to the car and we begin the journey home. I take off my shoes. Ahhh. Home. Put the shoes back on to get back to the house. Mega ouch. I'm limping into the house. Shoes kicked off immediately. I'm still limping. It really hurts to walk. The balls of my feet are soooo sore and I have an unbroken blister too. Kids to bed and me too.

And now, here I am the next day, still with sore feet, a busy day ahead and a show tomorrow in Tamworth (the annual Christmas fair) where I'll be on my feet all day.

I'm now strongly questioning the reason why I feel compelled to dress up to go to town. And for my children to have straight teeth. (Well, I guess I do understand the last one).

What's your solution to going to town? Do you dress up or dress down? What shoes do you wear? Are they comfortable to walk around in for a few kilometres or miles?

In honour of 'dressing up to go to town' here's a pic of a nice little black onyx and 12ct gold fill necklace....it goes well with heels ;)

Silence really can be golden!

Peace has returned to the house (well, between the hours of 8.30am and 4pm it has) as the children returned to school this week. The silence truly is golden and there's one thing to be said for the holidays - it has given me a new appreciation of solitude and quiet LOL.

As we settle in for another term at school, the children have to switch from holiday to learning mode (never an easy thing) and unbelievably, as the year is well into its second half, I have to start thinking about my spring/summer collection. Eeek! It's never easy when its cold outside with heavy frosts every morning, frequent rain showers and dull skies. But we have been fortunate to have some days of brilliant blue skies and warm winter sunshine and its not too hard to think of spring then! (But at night I'm gravitating straight back to that fire!!!)

The Connect2Mums 2010 Conference is on at the end of next week. I went last year and had an absolute blast, but timing is off this year with heifers calving left right and centre here on the farm (and therefore needing round the clock watching). But I have sent along a huge box of special things for the goodie bags they're giving to everyone who comes along, and also a prize of an amethyst, rose quartz and silver necklace (pictured above). If you're interested in going to the conference (held in Brisbane) there are still a few places available, so check it out here.

On to other things, my wonderful, talented and go-getter neighbour (she really is - the woman built her own combined chook shed/dog pen, a hanging cradle for her youngest, gardens like there is no tomorrow and cooks the most divine food that makes my mouth water just thinking about it!!! Anyway....) she introduced me to the world of bamboo clothing a couple of years ago. I had never heard of it before then and couldn't believe it could be so soft and luxurious. If you have a little one, or know someone who is having a baby, I can highly recommend these babyjo bamboo wraps from Your Cheeky Monkey. My girls (now 9) still play with their wraps from their babyhood (very good for wrapping up your toys in, as well as putting around your shoulders as a cape or even just wearing as a scarf!) so its a long-term gift, rather than something they'll grow out of and not be used again.

Ah, it had to happen, I've left this too long and the peace has been shattered by the return of the munchkins.... school is over too quickly some days!

Till next :)
Annette

Term break stresses, gem snippets and a pretty fluorite necklace

The children are driving me crazy. Can I sincerely request that the teachers cease their holidaying and open the school doors so I can get some peace and quiet? My children don't know the meaning of those words, it's all about noise, noise and more noise! I even had to shush them when we were walking down the street in town the other day. They were talking so loud it was almost as if they were yelling! Ah well, at least school is back next week, so I'll just continue stoically on (I wish!) in the meantime.

I attended the new Mudgee Upmarket at the Fairview Artspace last weekend. The weather was absolutely miserable with a heavy drizzle most of the day so the gallery owner brought us all inside - I was in the entry/coffee shop (yes it smelled of great coffee all day long!) along with a sculptor displaying her 'ladies'. The rest of the artisans were scattered throughout gallery rooms, wide hallways and verandahs. There was a steady stream of people that came regardless of the weather and lots of visitors from Sydney and interstate.

When I've not been the taxi service or peacemaker with the children this past week, I've been busy finishing orders, so there is not much new in the wild flights of fancy department a.k.a. my bench! But I have seen some fascinating gemstone trivia - well, trivia might even be too grand a word, lets just use 'snippets':

New York, the city that never sleeps, has introduced gemstone facials. One spa has a preference for amethyst - that pretty purple variety of quartz - which they use as a serum, eye cream and powder. They say it reduces skin inflammation and radiates infrared rays in order to stimulate healthy cell growth. The skin is supposed to be instantly firmer and brighter and all at a mere $275USD.

Another spa uses emeralds, rubies, sapphire, citrine, and gold. Emeralds are used to correct skin tone imperfections; rubies and gold are supposed to hydrate and smooth; citrine is supposed to plump lips; and sapphire is supposed to lift. The treatment supposedly leaves a shimmer on your skin and also runs at $275USD.

Yet another spa recommends their exfoliating paste of pearls - apparently to prevent dark spots on the skin by slowing down the growth of melanin. Compared to the others this treatment is a bargain at only $120USD!

So, okay, you don't want gems pulverised and put on your face (Wise woman. Much better to wear them!) But perhaps you might like to visit a house in Texas that reportedly has a turquoise kitchen sink!?

OK, enough with the truly reported, but rather silly state of gem news ;)

Today's photo is of a newish necklace (made a couple of weeks ago) and it gathered many lovely comments at Mudgee last weekend. Little fluorite cubes in green and purple shades and lots of sterling silver.

Till next :)
Annette

Gem Mineral Found on the Moon

Life has been hectic with children on holidays but relatively quiet on the jewellery scene - because of the children! We're still in the midst of a cold snap and the sunshine is watery at best. Good weather for reading a book near the fire!

To break up the monotony (hardly!) of the term break, I have a show on Sunday at the new Mudgee Upmarket, held quarterly at the Fairview Artspace. It will be my first outing there and I'm looking forward to it.

Even though I haven't had much time to play at my bench, I'm always on the lookout for new information on gemstones. And I was fascinated to read a report earlier this week that mentioned the mineral olivine - of which peridot (pictured above) is the gem member of the family - has been recently identified on the moon in a large impact basin. Amazingly, I went on to read, abundant quantities of olivine have been found on Mars and that olivine is also a constituent of comet dust. Olivine as well as peridot itself has been found in meteorites too!

I've never really thought of gems being found on other planets but if you let your imagination go, you can't but help consider the amazing and wonderful possibilities of new gems on new worlds! I'm imagining stunning colours, colour-change stones, incredible patterns... how about you!?

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 :)

Pianos, a creative burst and a birthday!

Another busy week, but at least I feel like I've achieved more than my usual level recently.

We went and looked at the baby grand piano but son wasn't too fussed. It wasn't in as good condition as we were led to believe and son's lack of interest meant we needed to keep looking. We spent all the next day in Newcastle looking at every grand piano that was for sale. Typically all the children loved the best (aka most expensive) one we saw. It was three times the price that we originally set out to spend so we didn't say 'yes' on the spot. Consequently I've spent a few more restless nights dreaming of pianos and more time on the phone - to Sydney this time - to find out what is available down there. Naturally we have to go down there to actually see and try out what is available so I guess we'll get there eventually!

I also have had the dubious honour of turning 45 this week! The day before this momentous occasion I took the dye bottle in hand and got rid of all that grey hair that was pulling me down every time I looked in the mirror. It's amazing what a little bit of colour can do. ( I feel so much better as a brunette rather than a brunette with a badger streak!) Hubby took me to town for the day (big town - not the local village!) and we had a very pleasant day going to a couple of coffee shops, visiting some friends and doing a spot of shopping.

On the jewellery front I'm glad to say that the creative streak came out in full force and for one day I hardly moved from my bench from 11 in the morning till 12.30am that night. I could have kept going but I knew I wouldn't be able to function on any level the next day if I didn't go to bed then!

The weather has been constant cloud and drizzly rain so I haven't got the camera out yet to take any photos of the new pieces. There is a nice mix of bold colours (black, white, red, silver), soft greens and muted pinks coming up though! Instead, since quite a few people have wanted to see the farm where we live, I thought I'd show you a photo (above) of our house taken from the next paddock.



This is a more distant shot - taken from the same spot but without the zoom on, so you can the setting a little better. Rather peaceful, don't you think? (Well it is when the children are at school and there are no cows over my back fence!) So when are you coming to visit!?

Before I go, if you have little ones, why not pop over to the Australian Handmade Cooperative 4 Kids who are running a Mega Giveaway. Mon at Your Cheeky Monkey gave me the heads up on that one - she is super lucky when it comes to winning in draws that it would be a good idea to follow her around!

Till next :)
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!

Endless eisteddfod preparation ... and a touch of glamour

Its a cold, dreary sort of day here on the Great Dividing Range. We've had some gorgeous autumn weather of brilliant blue skies and sunshine and its been lovely to soak up some of this milder warmth - but it gets a little chilly when there's no sun out. Like today! A good day for staying inside near the fire and doing 'inside jobs'.

It's been a bit of a manic week with lots of running around - the children have had daily piano lessons in preparation for their participation in the eisteddfod and when you live 25 km out of town, daily trips there add up pretty quickly!

I'm sure I'm more nervous than they are - they seem remarkably unconcerned. Although they've done a small concert last year, tomorrow is their first competition and I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing all the talented young pianists out there.

It's been an alternately exciting (when they first master their song or play it perfectly ) and frustrating (when they can't be bothered or have had enough) ride getting them up to the expected standard, but I must admit I'm looking forward to hearing some new songs next week. Perhaps Bach, Haydn and Dvorak can take a breather for a week or so!?

On the jewellery front, for a good dose of bling we need to move to Europe for a while! I saw some fabulous jewels (and some rather over the top ones) photographed at the Cannes Film Festival that is currently running. Diamonds, a few more diamonds and the occasional emerald and ruby. Oh and I did see one big amethyst necklace that was spectacular. For a nice change there were statement necklaces everywhere. Plus a liberal helping of cuffs and bracelets, huge rings and even bigger earrings. One could say they were dripping in jewels and you wouldn't be far wrong!

But there must be an element of excitement for all the guests - choosing dresses, jewellery and shoes. A bit like an overblown prom I'm guessing! I saw this great post on Tiffani's blog about her daughter's prom and I just love the photos she posted showing a very glamorous young lady in her gown and jewels!

Today's pic is of some delicate drop earrings with gorgeous green peridot gems suspended under 12ct goldfill chain. Perhaps not in the Cannes bling category, but certainly enough to add a touch of glamour to most mere mortals!

Till next :)
Annette

Rose Quartz and a bit more about Creativity

I had another brilliant day last weekend at the Scone Grammar School annual fete - lots of stallholders this time and a real market feel to the whole event. People kept milling about and there was a real reluctance for people to go home! I caught up with lots of clients, some ex-Coolah residents and sold lots of jewels. It's wonderful to watch people see "the" one piece of jewellery for them. (Of course, I have a couple of clients who find "the" one, each time they look LOL. Addicted to beautiful stones - what a way to be!)

I've had a few questions recently about specific stones and realised I haven't really written about the stones themselves for a while. So this week I thought I'd do a run down on rose quartz since I use it quite a bit in my designs.

Rose quartz, a member of the quartz family, is found abundantly in Brazil, Madagascar, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the USA and in smaller quantities elsewhere in the world. Of course, the grade of rose quartz varies considerably and it is often crackled and usually turbid rather than transparent. Some higher quality rose quartz is softly glowing pink and rather than completely clear it is often as if it's just a bit misty. With a hardness of 7 it is a sturdy stone although care should be taken to avoid hard knocks or impacts as these can cause conchoidal fractures - which will look like 'chips' to the naked eye.

Rose quartz is named after its pink colour and this colour is thought to come from titanium. Although its crystal structure is trigonal, it is usually found in a massive form (so found in chunks rather than crystals).

A popular stone, its use in jewellery goes back to 7000BC in Mesopotamia where it has been found in the form of beads. The Assyrians used it during 800-600BC and the Romans used it for seals.

Many cultures believed in its metaphysical properties, notably for love and matters of the heart. Egyptians believed it prevented aging (quick, give me some!). It is still used by crystal healers in a variety of ways, predominately to restore calmness, balance and clarity to the emotions.

All in all a pretty stone with nice connotations!

On to other things, the topic of creativity has featured prominently around here lately. I worked with the local preschool on a mother's day project where the children could make a bracelet for their mum. I took in a vast array of beads and my not-good-enough-to-use-in-my-jewellery gems and pearls, some memory wire (it springs back into shape) and my pliers. Over the course of a week, the children strung their selections onto the wire which I then made into bracelets. The results were incredible. There was the occasional mish-mash and the occasional child that obviously wasn't really interested, but most of the bracelets were amazing. There were some real stars too in the colour combination category! The feedback from the mothers has been overwhelming - the preschool teacher even called me last night to tell me how thrilled the mums were.

Is this creativity innate or do you think it's inspired by things they see or their play? Do you think it fades as we grow older or it just needs topping up?

I saw a great post on the Heart On My Sleeve blog about a couple of university graduates being so inspired by the often colourful washing hanging on lines that they took photos of clothes lines in over 22 countries! Some of the pics ARE inspiring too, particularly with the varying backdrops. And if creative play inspires, then I think the cute little knitted finger puppets at Your Cheeky Monkey would be just the thing to get the children in the mood.

Given the run down on rose quartz, today's photo is of a rose quartz and freshwater pearls sterling charm bracelet. Very feminine and very spring inspired (even though we're going into winter - like I said, the muse takes me where she will, regardless of what's going on around me! *sigh*)

Till next :)
Annette

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

A late bunny story, Sydney jewels and hectic holidays

It's been a busy week with Easter and the associated family gatherings, children's piano lessons (even though school is on holiday, piano definitely isn't!) and my rostered morning at the local saleyards canteen (and the baking of the fresh blueberry muffins before I had to leave). In fact I can't believe it's already Friday - half the term break gone already!

I know Easter is past, but I couldn't resist sharing this photo and story that I stumbled upon a couple of days ago.


This is the world's biggest rabbit. Named Darius, he is just 12 months old and at 1.3 metres and 22kg hasn't finished growing yet! Apparently he eats 12 carrots, 6 apples and 2 cabbages a day. Geez, I hope his owner lives on a farm and grows her own veggies, otherwise this big boy would eat her out of house and home rather quickly!

In jewellery news - if you like looking at gorgeous mega dollar jewels (in particular diamonds), then Sydney is the place to be this month. Sotheby's is hosting an auction on Monday 12 April of Australian Argyle diamond and other fine jewellery items. Then, at the end of the month, Bvlgari is opening a retrospective of their jewels in their Castleraegh Street store from April 28 featuring more than 60 masterpieces from their archives. A visit to Sydney is sounding VERY appealing about now!

In my other wanderings around the web, I was inspired by Melanie - she normally makes bags, fobs and purses but she has recently taken a slight detour into needle felting and has been showing her readers the most adorable toys on her blog recently.

And if you have a blog but, unlike me, don't feel comfortable just chatting away into the ether, then have a read of Melissa's blog where she has some great suggestions on how to find something to blog about.

I did manage some creative time in these hectic holidays - it was night and silence descended early with the children watching an early movie and then going to bed. I just beavered away at my bench, a bright glow amongst the darkness. The photo at top is one piece that was made that night. Although its design is plain, the dark agate stones are just gorgeous - rich, glossy and totally desirable!

Till next :)
Annette

A big week for jewellery

Days are dashing past lately faster than I can keep up with! I hope this isn't an indication of life in general and getting older though...otherwise things will get pretty blurry as they speed past soon! My eldest has just turned 12 - we've already started the moodiness, the switching off (my voice just becomes a background buzz I'm sure!) and the attitude. I gather its only going to get worse so I'm taking it all one day at a time.

We've had more rain this past week - quite incredible after years of drought to have this regular rainfall. The pastures are responding beautifully and the cows, I'm sure, are feasting on the feed. Hubby has gone away for a few days flying aerobatics (at the National Aerobatics Competition) and so I'm back on duty as Farmer Piper. Fingers crossed I don't have any 'stories' (aka problems!) to relate to you on that front next time I write ;)

I had a fantastic day at Mendooran Show last weekend. The ladies were incredibly welcoming and fitted me into their pavillion beautifully - just like I was meant to be there. It was a bit on the hot side, made worse by the uniquitous Australian tin shed we were in - very practical, but hot in summer and cold in winter! But regardless of the heat lots of ladies went home with some new jewels and big smiles which is just the way I like it :) The photo above is of a piece that found a new home - lashings of freshwater pearls in all shapes and sizes and colours.

In fact its been a big week on the jewellery front. I've been very busy doing orders, remodels and sitting down designing with clients. One remodel was different - to turn a bracelet full of Pandora charms that the client no longer wears into a necklace. It is actually looking rather lovely with the charms mixed amongst black lava.

One client came over and choose a pair of elegant citrine and gold earrings to go as a gift to Italy and ended up leaving with a gorgeous pair of pink amethyst earrings for herself as well. I like the way she thinks - "one for a gift, one for me... "

I also had a wonderful meeting with one client who in her younger days (1950-60s) worked for a jewellery house in the city. She regaled me with her wonderful 'tiara' story - lets just say the tiara - which had also been designed as a necklace - got a night out on the town unexpectedly and she got to look literally like a million dollars!

Sometimes jewellery can be a fascinating field to be in - you get to meet wonderful people, hear riveting stories and get to touch on people's lives all over the world :)

Till next :)
Annette

My chaotic life

OK, time to admit it. At least 70% of my life is chaotic. It didn't used to be this way and as I love routine most of the time, I'm sure I'll get past this stage. But it certainly isn't fun at the moment.

Children and computers are the major cause of this chaos. Sound familiar?

Last year, the children would head off to school, the house would be quiet. I could do the housework and then sit happily in my studio and create or do work on the computer. Naturally when shows would be imminent it would be a busier and by the end of the show I would feel quite worn out. (Nothing has changed in that department!)

This year however ALL routine seems to have gone out the window and the result is not pretty! The children are still firmly in holiday mode - sure they're going to school, but homework? And piano practice? And chores? I spend my afternoons and part of the weekend getting tense at everyone for not doing what they're supposed to and sorting out squabbling between the children as to who is going to do what first!

Add into the mix computer problems - a hacked website that took weeks to sort out, the recent trojan virus attack and associated problems. Oh, and a husband that appears to have watched too many aerobatic sequences on You Tube and our download quota being burned up so we're reduced to a snail's pace.

OK, now that I've admitted life is chaotic, it's time to do something about it! A timetable for the children perhaps, or a timetable for me?

Do you ever join in bloggy competitions? I've donated pieces to such events but never hosted one and rarely compete in them even though some sound marvellous. I saw that Monique of Your Cheeky Monkey won some luxurious soaps from Aroma Beauty recently and I know Monique would love them as Jan makes the best soaps around! Then Monique also won a children's hat, organic wool and some sustainable hemp products. That girl should buy a lottery ticket with her luck!

The show in Dunedoo last week was great fun. I saw lots of people I know and introduced new people to some lovely jewellery! The photo above is a piece that went on the day - lovely bright discs of mother of pearl shell and some sparkling rock crystal quartz. Perfect for summer, which we're not finished with yet down here :)

Till next!
Annette

Christmas wishes

Oh my ... I can't believe its been almost three weeks since I posted here! It is rather indicative of my life of late though!

Things have been go, go, go, with many commitments for the children - an end of year dance concert and rehearsals, the end of year presentation at school, my son finishing primary school and being enrolled at the local high school - and it culminates this week with a piano recital that somehow I am organising as well!

Naturally things have been busy on the jewellery front (many panicked husbands have been calling me!) with orders left, right and centre. My Coolah show went extremely well and thankfully while hot, it wasn't 45 degrees C plus like my last outing!

I have my final show for the year this Sunday in Tamworth at the monthly Peel Street Handmade Market. I'll be there with the talented Kasia Tatar, a lady who has a great future in jewellery in front of her (I carry a few of her lovely items on my site). As she doesn't have her own site, I will have to tell her all about Ethikl - a new Australian artisan marketplace that I read about on Your Cheeky Monkey.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is barely a week away now! I certainly haven't had time to do any great treks to town for Christmas shopping, so thank goodness for online shopping ... providing they all arrive in time of course! If you're located Stateside and you're still looking for little somethings to add to your gifts, do check out the Vintage Soap Shoppe on Etsy. Angela makes the most delicious looking old-world soaps that I'm sure anyone would appreciate.

Of course, for Christmas around here I think we'd all love about 6 inches of rain - that would make us all feel better and the cows would certainly appreciate the grass! We seem to have slipped straight back into drought, which is both worrying and depressing. Any rain we have had over the last couple of months has been immediately followed by a few days of hot winds and the ground just dries up instantly. Australia - the wide, brown land indeed!

Well, since I can't make it rain and nothing I do seems to entice it, I will just ignore it as much as I can and look at my pretty gems and pearls. The torsade photographed above has lashings of pink pearls, lavender pearls, rock crystal quartz, amethyst and apatite. Far better than looking at dry, brown paddocks!

As I probably won't post again before Christmas, I wish you all the very best of the festive season and hope that Santa brings a special gift, just for you! (Just like he has for this Aussie stockman!)



Cheers
Annette :)

Amazing dust storm and sharing creativity

Wow, we're in the throes of an amazing dust storm - woke up this morning and the light was orange, it faded to yellow and now its a creamy colour but there is a thick layer of dust everywhere and the gale force winds are blowing more of it here by the second!

The dust has been blown in from central Australia and it caused quite a bit of consternation this morning in Eastern Australia with the eerie colour and low visibility. You can taste the dust every time you breathe and we'll all be in for a thorough house clean when it stops. I heard a woman on the radio this morning say its reminiscent of the dust storms of the 1960s. Is mother nature trying to tell us something?

The end of last week passed in a blur - I had so much to do and it just didn’t get done – but that’s what happens when show season comes around!

I went to the Merriwa Show last weekend and had a blast but I think I’m still recovering :) They certainly kept me on my toes and it was lovely to catch up with clients from previous years. I love how they keep on coming back for more.

Lots of new pieces found new homes and that means they didn’t even get seen by a wider audience as they didn’t actually make it to the website. But I know they’ll be loved by their new owners, so that’s okay. If you make something do you like to know its going to be loved by its new owners too?

I saw this fantastic quote on Jill’s blog Liv’nGood Jewelery, the writer certainly loved her jewels:

The jeweler allows me to wear the sapphire blue lake on my finger, the emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go. Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows. And if I have to work late, there’s nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky.
~Astrid Alauda, “Office With No Windows”

Artisans, artists and crafters all get a real kick out of selling their work – its kind of like sharing a little piece of their creative self with the world. Check out the wonderful repurposed work of Elena, these funky fob tabs by Melanie and these cute 'my little monster's' by Monique – isn’t such diverse talent a great thing to be able to share!

Today’s picture is of a wonderful necklace of ametrine sticks. Ametrine being a combination of citrine and amethyst and these stones have a beautiful high polish finish. Featuring a big silver toggle clasp to wear on the side or the back it is both classic and just a touch flamboyant.

On a completely different note, have you all noticed how fast your children are growing up? My son, at 11 ½ is just past my nose! My girls aren’t far behind him, either! Yet I know they’ll still worry me even when they’re taller than me and looking completely grown up.

Jamie of Destination Handmade got a terrible fright recently when her 19 year old who is away at University was briefly held at gunpoint for his bag and wallet! Hearing this sort of thing just makes me want to freeze the children as they are – at an age when I can still be around to protect them!

So, note to self for today - don't take Mother Nature or your family for granted!

Till next
Annette :)

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

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 :)