The Patter of Rain on a Tin Roof

As I type this I hear the patter of rain in the background. Rain against a tin roof - there's nothing like it, especially when you really need it! Australia is such a big country - and while the central part of the eastern coast has been literally submerged in wet weather we have remained dry. Living on a farm makes you attuned to the weather and what it can do - and the lack of grass is having an effect, with the need for supplementary feeding. Changing the stock into new paddocks is more to give the cows a change of scenery than more feed! So, I am enjoying the raindrops for as long as they last and wish those affected on the coast could blow some more this way!!

Have you ever looked at where your web visitors come from - I've been watching my blog visitors lately and its amazing the way they find you, the most random searches - albeit for me it is something to do with either gemstones or jewellery. And the locations! There are some places I've never heard of (which I actually find rather embarrassing!). In the last week I've had lots of visitors from the UK, whereas my visitor list is usually dominated by US or Australian locations. I wonder why? Where do most of your visitors come from?

I must thank Anne of The Tall Poppy for a recent award - the Welcoming Blogger Award! She reckons I'm always popping up and welcoming newbies along and I must admit that I do like doing that - after all, you never know who you could meet!



Of course I've been doing the rounds of my arts/crafts online buddies and this week I must draw attention to two outstanding artists.

The first is Carol of The Blue Cat. Carol stumbled on my blog a few months ago, followed me over to Creative Bloggers and has been a stalwart supporter there. I love popping into her blog and seeing her gorgeous artwork - she has an affinity for our feline friends and imbues such personality into them that they are just adorable! She sells on various online marketplaces and they're certainly lucky to have such a talented artist on their books!

The other talented woman is Sayo - a fellow maker of jewellery and I just love her big silver rings with a lovely big fat natural crystal! It really appeals to the gemmologist in me I guess!!! Do check out her blog where you can see her great work - bet you buy a piece ;)

I would also like to urge any ladies downunder to join the marvellous Connect2mums network - I have already made some wonderful friends there and I'm sure I will find a lot more. It is so wonderful to have such a network for those of us down here in Australia as usually our only option for such camaraderie is based overseas. Of course, in true spirit of my above award I'm welcoming everyone aboard!

OK, I had better include a picture of something I've made recently. Ah yes, a torsade. I only make these occasionally as they are very time consuming - getting the colours just right and not just the combination, but the percentages of each colour. The last one I featured here on my blog sold the first time it was seen in real life, so I decided to make another. This one is a little more subdued in the colour, but very delectable! Made with freshwater pearls in sage, bronze-copper and cranberry, rich red garnet and some sparkling smoky quartz.

Till next :)

Supporting each other ... and a rose quartz charm bracelet!

Supporting fellow businesses and artisans is really important - apart from a networking perspective, supporting them through times of economic doom and gloom is important.

Heather on her blog Heather's Ramblings recently posted on The Stone Soup Challenge. Using the folktale, Stone Soup, as inspiration this movement is encouraging artists and crafters to spend a little each month and purchase from one another.

In the tale Stone Soup, a stranger comes to a starving village and looks for food. He puts a boiling pot on the water and adds a stone, telling everyone he is making stone soup. Gradually, the villagers come forward with ingredients to add to make the soup. The contributions are items that the villagers are hoarding due to their fear of starvation. Each villager only contributes a small amount, but the end result is a soup that feeds everyone.

It's a wonderful example of co-operation and grassroots economic stimulus and I for one have already joined in! Please visit The Stone Soup blog to learn more and spread the love!

Another way to support each other is to network. Through Melissa at the Business Mums Blog I found out about the Business Mums Conference in June which would be a great networking and learning opportunity for those in Victoria.

I had a wonderful time at the Dunedoo Show last week :) I met lots of wonderful people that only live a stone's throw away ... but in a different direction than I usually go! A big thank you to the Show Committee for having me and for already inviting me back to next year's show.

Of course I'm supposed to be finishing off my winter collection working with rich and darker colours ... but creativity leads you on a journey of its own and this week has been no exception with pinks calling to me *sigh*.

So from this creative burst of pink, is the bracelet pictured above. A handmade chain of soft-pink rose quartz faceted discs and argentinium sterling silver (argentinium is tarnish resistant - brilliant stuff!) with little 'charms' of purple amethyst, grass-green peridot, freshwater pearls in white and bright pink and sterling silver charms of flowers, dragonflies and a butterfly. Very spring-like (in autumn - oh well!).

Catch you on the flip side!

You find the nicest people on the net...

There really are some special people out there in the world and I feel fortunate that the internet has allowed me to find some of them! I have 'net' acquaintances worldwide and find myself getting concerned when they are in unpleasant weather cycles, I worry with them when they are going through problems with their families and feel happy when they share their celebrations and milestones. Others are artisans or businesswomen and I get to see their beautiful creations, their businesses blossom and their goals met.

Do you know some wonderful people that you have met online too? Someone who has enriched your life just a little bit - either personally or professionally? Here are just two kind souls I have met:

Debi from Who Says 8 is Enough is an amazing woman. She has NINE children (yes, you read that correctly) - a mixture of her own and adopted children. She is so giving and loving to her family that she is quite inspiring. Goodness knows HOW she manages to find time to write her blog .... secretly I think she lives on an hour or two sleep a night and lots of caffiene to be able to do all she does. Her youngest children are twins who are almost two and Debi has featured some of their first artwork.... doesn't it just make you go "awwwwww" ;)

Elena of EP Designs is creative and talented. Elena recently participated in a pay-it-forward 'game' - a concept meant to share the love by giving and receiving gifts. What a lovely way to make you feel great!

Of course there are many, many more women just like Debi and Elena out there - why not go looking through some new blogs and discover some of the fun characters that are waiting for a visit from you!!

Update on my back - thanks for the recovery wishes and I glad to report it is much, much better. It's perceptibly better each day so back to normal can't be far away (never thought I'd look forward to doing a sit-up lol).

The website is nearing completion - won't be long now!!!

The picture for today is a necklace of multi hued fluorite which has a tactile matte finish, along with shining sterling silver balls. Simple, but oh so yummy.

Till next :)

A foray into making rings

It's been a week of achievements and some moments I could have well done without! Well those bad moments were when I was suffering from a bad case of the flu - but I am almost better now and rather embarrassed at my lack of inner strength in the face of feeling unwell. And to think I tell my children to be 'brave'!

My son also dropped my camera *eeek*. I loved that camera and it took such lovely shots (after taking me two years to work out how). But I bought a new camera and since it is the same brand it's not so different to use *big sigh of relief*.

Feeling well again has also brought a buoyancy to my outlook, helped along by some great fellow bloggers at the Mom Bloggers Club. What a great group of upbeat, fun women! So you can add them to my list of networking sites from my last post!

Overall I feel very lucky to have fallen in with a such a variety of women in my endeavours to network effectively. I can learn something new, be inspired or just laugh along with them. I was reading the very inspirational Pink Heels blog today and came across this wonderful picture

now take a good close look... doesn't it just makes you giggle? I wonder what men think of it? It MUST have been designed by a woman :D

As far as achievement goes - well I finally made the foray into making some simple little rings. Clients have been asking me for well over a year to make some rings but I haven't had the time to practice and despaired of ever being good enough to confidently sell them. I did briefly entertain the thought of making traditionally styled rings but I eventually decided on a more 'fun' type of ring - something casual yet refined, sturdy but not heavy and a bit different to the average type you find. The one's I have made so far are all made with Argentinium sterling silver and pearls/gemstones. I have shown them to a couple of clients this week with great feedback, so will have to spend some more time making some in a variety of sizes. Do you like the couple you can see here (below and at the top of the page)?



Show Reminder: Charity event at Dunedoo - chicken and champagne lunch in support of the World Youth Day - St. Michaels School Hall, Dunedoo, this Sunday 15th June. I'll be there with my jewels, along with local exhibitors of shoes and clothing.

Till next - have a great day!

Sites to sell and network in

It's been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks down here on the farm :) My daughter broke her arm a few weeks ago and after numerous trips to the Base Hospital (140km away) the cast is now off. Yay! My inlaws have been away so husband has been doing lots of extra running around looking after their property and it seems the children have had extra curricular activities all the time!

But not one to rest on my laurels, I finally did what I have been meaning to do for almost two years and that is open an Etsy store. Yes, you heard me - TWO years. Three days off it in fact. That's pretty awful isn't it. I was spurred into doing it by a great little networking group that has now officially become an Etsy street team called eSMArts. Cool, eh. Check out my *new* Etsy store here.

AND I joined an Australian Etsy-like site called Made It and have a few items listed there too. And of course I've been on the Canadian version - icraft - for a couple of months now.

I'm sure you remember me mentioning Posh Mama, that great social networking site for mums and Everything Skwiggle for the creator in all of us. Well, I've found a couple of more - Divapreneur and Indie Inspire Co.! I'm also a dedicated member of a couple Aussie networking sites too - the WAHM network at the BlogWhammy group. I have met the loveliest people through these sites, found the most interesting blogs and made quite a few customers too! One blog that I was checking out today was EP Designs. I'm not really into shabby chic but Elena does it with style!

Golly. It's a wonder I have any time to create at all!

But I do :)

Above is a pair of simple yet stunning earrings. Beautiful flat nuggets of aquamarine hang from sterling silver earhooks. Simplicity at its best.

Have a great day!