Hearts

I am not a real "lover" of hearts. They do not really appeal to me - I appreciate the sentiment but they just do not do it for me. Or so I thought - I have been cleaning and sorting my supplies after a "flood" in my basement in June 2013. In order to restore the mess and remove the mold all my belongs were hastily dumped into boxes for storage in my back lane (in a very large container) - as best as I can tell no thought was given to what was placed with what - 150 boxes plus furniture later my basement was stripped and then rebuilt -

Well we are not replacing all this "stuff" - it is a perfect opportunity to sort and get rid of things I do not use or need. In the sorting process I began to find hearts - my intension was to get rid of them and then I began to see a trend - more and more hearts began to appear.

Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. I have had heart issues for the past 3 years.... maybe these hearts were a message. So I began to build a necklace with all these hearts that I do not collect........

Thanks for visiting and sorry I cannot get the photo to appear.

SIgnature Style

I have been posting on Facebook quite regularly lately and am trying to decide if I have a recognizable style yet. Have a look and tell me what you think please. Click here to go to my facebook page - it would also be nice if you could "like" my page while you are there.

Have a great day!

Here are a few pieces I have completed recently.  Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Do you see a style?

EYES

My eyes are something I have always taken for granted. I have worn glasses since I was 18 months old. (Not sure how they even test your vision at that age but photos confirm.) I have also been diabetic for the last 6 years. My numbers have been under control - that is until the last 4 months or so. This has dramatically affected my eyes. I cannot read a normal type book, the computer screen is a challenge, the list goes on. I am hoping we have caught this in time and the change is temporary. The visor is not a good look.

in the Groove

Hi All,

I am just home from lunch with my daughter (always a good time). We got to talking about inspiration and the process of making jewellery - how long it takes to make a necklace, for example. It occurred to me that the actual construction is getting easier. That does not mean that the creation is necessarily faster, sometimes yes - sometimes no. I guess it depends whether inspiration joins me. How about you - what is your experience?

Bracelets vs Bangles

I am unable to make much jewellery these days. A water leak in our basement has resulted in the complete gutting of my workspace. Most of my tools and jewellery supplies are now locked in storage, until September, when necessary repairs will be completed.

So, by necessity, my jewellery designs have become very simple indeed.

What is simpler that a stretchy bracelet? I often string on stretchy cord as an interim step to a finished piece. (Let the beads decide if they want to live together.) That has me thinking about some of the tutorials I have enjoyed lately regarding bangles.

Ethereal Bangles by Kristen Robinson was a very enjoyable online class. (It does not appear to be available any longer.)

Fanciful Devices has a great tutorial on stacking bangles, available here.

These are so much fun to make because you get to choose what to include and you decide where it is to be placed. There are many interpretations of this available on Etsy.

Since I do not have access to metal wire, at the moment I  am working with the concept using stretchy cord as a temporary stringing medium. In October, I intend to replace this stretchy cord with metal wire.

Here are a few examples.

These lovely beads are mostly from shipwreckdandy. I love her work.

Semi precious stones........

Wood?

I will try to put up more stretchy bracelets as they are done. I am short of beads but will have to make do........

Once I have access to all my tools, supplies and workspace again, I can hopefully make some of my bracelets into bangles.....
 

Inspired by Reading Book Club - The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer Purcell

Thank you Andrew - this book club is becoming a great way to make a habit of blogging. (I know once a month is not great but it is at least regular.) I love to make jewellery and to learn new techniques but marketing has me blocked. I will keep plugging along.

I LOVED this book but my inspiration came from the intro and not the story itself. whenever I see a historic painting I always try to design a piece of jewellery for the subject to wear. The image created of rich New Yorkers coming to Sharon Springs was just too good to pass up.

Life in the last half of the nineteenth century (the Victorian age) in upstate New York, played out much more slowly than it does now. The experiences described by Josh Purcell in his book, 'The Bucolic Plague", centre on the small resort town of Sharon Springs, where well-off New Yorkers came to "take the waters", which were thought to be beneficial. It was a popular destination each summer, attracting more than 10,000 visitors who had their pick of over 60 hotels and rooming houses.

Prominent women of wealth arrived with plenty of luggage so they paraded about wearing all their finery and beautiful jewellery. These pampered and fashionable ladies were able to afford their luxuries and enjoyed being members of high society.

This life of the moneyed elite, very evident by the clothes and possessions they flaunted while visiting Sharon Springs, inspired me to create this simple, classic necklace of pearls and "diamonds", which would have been the very definition of conspicuous consumption. I used 2 strands of pearls, plus a focal of a glittering, sparkling rhinestone fur clip, to evoke the lifestyle and mindset of those who made their annual pilgrimage to Sharon Springs - to "take the waters".

Maybe she would have worn my necklace with this dress??????

Dinner anyone?

Here it is......

 I normally knot my pearl necklaces but I am trying to master crimp covers. This gave me a chance to try them out. I still need more practice but I love the necklace.

Inspired by Reading Book Club - A Rumor of Gems by Ellen Steiber

Again, thanks to Andrew - I never would have read this book if it had not been on the list. I am not generally a fan of fantasy so would likely have given this a pass. I am very glad I took the time to give it a chance.

In Ellen Steiber's book of 2005, A Rumor of Gems, she describes the port city of Arcato as an old and magical town where gemstones mysteriously begin to appear, as if falling from a robe worn by Alasdair the shaman, one of the four main characters. Although the novel is set in the modern world, I strongly feel that if any stones were to fall from a garment, they would be roughly cut.

I have always wanted to use chain in a necklace and decided to incorporate crackle agate and pyrite spacers to fashion a piece of jewellery that might have existed for centuries. The chains have a patina that would help to 'age' them. To impart the impression of stones falling from a sleeve or from a fold in a garment, I decided to use agate beads that have irregular facets. These 'rough cut' beads also have holes that are off-centre that helps to give them an impression of falling. My wish was to create a necklace, of chain and gemstones, that evokes an image of mystical power that could be used in spells for good and for evil.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy it.