Whimsy by Kelly on Etsy

Thank you very much to Kelly from Colourscape for including my vibrant green earrings 'Lupin Vale' in her beautiful Treasury named 'Whimsy'.

'Lupin Vale' earrings

Sunday Snaps

In the garden...always a rose

...new earrings listed on Made It today..

Just a quick Sunday Snaps today as I'm having issues uploading photos at the moment...hope to get it sorted out soon.

My Creative Space - Working with Silver

Long silver earrings are a favourite.

I've had these long elegant sterling silver earring hooks in my stash just waiting for the right beads to come along.

These new earrings using brushed sterling silver beads are called 'Elegante':

Silver beads populate my desk this week. Here are some others from the current stash:

I look forward to getting my hands on these.. 

Have a safe and happy Australia Day tomorrow.

Sunday Snaps

In the bedroom....

....always a book...just finished!

...finally made something for myself...

... keeping the alarm clock company...

...garden raindrops... so welcome.....

....new earrings 'Amelie'

Sunday Snaps

Murphy's summer haircut

.... on my desk...purple again

....Aquilegia in flower

..still in the garden... ground cover 'Isotoma'

...new earrings 'Blue Bells'

My Creative Space - New Earrings

Enjoying the meditative nature of wire wrapping - some new earrings made over the weekend named 'Iris':

I've been in a bit of a creative whirl in the past few days and this is what happens when you pile up your desk with a gazillion components that overbalance:

A container of silver beads overturned, landed in a box of beads on the floor, got stuck in my rug and those that were airborne scattered across the floorboards and rolled under furniture and into the most obscure places. I think I've found most of them but a part of me wonders whether I'll be discovering little silver beads for months to come!

My Creative Space - Silver Earrings

It is good to be back into some creativity - working with my hands and diving into my stash of silver. I miss my creative time if I've been away from my creative space for a day or so.

Some new creations using silver plated beads and sterling silver:

'Exotic' listed on Etsy

...and 'Always The Sun' also listed on Etsy

 

My Creative Space - New Earrings

I've had some small Iolite beads for about a year and have been itching to use them.

They have now been incorporated into a pair of sterling silver earrings:

 I've named these earrings 'Sultry' as the gemstone Iolite is such a unique colour. Depending on how the light falls on the stone it could be called purple/blue or blue/grey.

One of my interests in making jewellery is learning about the history and meaning of the semi-precious gemstones I use in my designs.  Iolite has quite a story and was used by the Vikings and other ancient mariners on deck on overcast days to determine the position of the sun for the purpose of navigation.

I've also learnt the word Iolite is derived from a greek word which means 'voilet'. Due to its use at sea, it used to be called 'water sapphire' and 'Viking's compass'.

Whilst we will no longer need it to guide our ships home, Iolite is now apparently known as a stone that supports the healing of the eyes, stimulates memory and helps with sleep imbalances.

There you have it.... a clever semi-precious stone.

For me....I just know I love Iolite's colour and unique beauty and it was great to finally get a chance to use Iolite in one of my pieces.

My Creative Space - New Creations

I hope everyone enjoyed a very happy Christmas with family and friends!

In between some cooking, shopping, tidying up and spending time with family, I've managed relaxing time in my creative space to make a few gifts. I made this necklace for my mother who wanted a long turquoise necklace with a silver pendant:

I also pulled out some lovely lampwork beads to make another colourful pair of earrings. I've named these 'Candy Stripes':

Have a relaxing Boxing Day.

My Creative Space - Red Earrings

On my desk today are some more new earrings - made today using coral and shell.

I've named these new earrings 'Moroccan Trail' -

I've used a combination of sterling silver and silver plated wire, different sized small nuggets of coral and round shell beads.

They have a bright ethnic feel and I can see them complimenting a summer dress or jeans with a casual shirt or tank.

My Creative Space - New Earrings

In my last post I mentioned how I've grown to like using wire and I've been focussing on the use of wire in earrings this week.

I made these earrings using freshwater pearls and fine sterling silver wire:

I've named them 'Snowflakes' and hope to list them in my Etsy shop soon.
What is happening in your creative space this week?

My Creative Space - New Earrings

The focus of this week for me is new earrings with an emphasis on wire wrapping.

Wire wrapping is meditative and I've grown to like it more and more as time passes - which totally surprises me.

Here is a pair of sterling silver and Malachite earrings I've named 'Monaco':

I adore the shades of green and the individual markings of each Malachite bead always draws me back to this unique semi-precious gemstone.

My Creative Space - New Earrings

Time in my creative space has been a bit tight this week. I've started a new necklace and finished this pair of earrings -

I've named them 'Blue Bonnets' and they feature sterling silver and navy blue semi-precious gemstones in the shape of teardrops. I'm itching to get some other creations started this week and I hope to return to my creative space tomorrow.

My Creative Space - New Earrings

Here is a pair of new earrings from my creative space this week.

The have acquired the name of 'Iceland' - cool, crisp and full of light!

My Creative Space - New Earrings

I've been working with silver wire and doing some wire wrapping around semi-precious gemstones and glass beads this week.

Here are a couple of blue wire wrapped earrings with some coral and sterling silver pairs made earlier in the week.

I've now got a stash of finished earrings that need to be photographed and uploaded to either my Made It or Etsy store... a spare few hours would be wonderful - I'm sure everyone can relate to how quickly the time passes when you get into a 'zone' of creativity. I sometimes get so lost in creativity that the day disappears before I realise!

My Creative Space - Revamps

Every now and then, I cast a critical eye over pieces in my collection and select a few that scream out for a revamp. I've been keen to re-work a couple of pieces I made many months ago and here are the results:

'Alice' earrings before:

'Alice' earrings after:

'Inspiration' necklace before:

'Inspiration' necklace after:

I'm happy with the results and think it was worth the extra time to give them a makeover! I hope to list them soon.

Happenings This Week - Lunch + Earrings

This photo is the view from our table at Sydney Rowers Club during a family lunch this week. We were sitting by the window and my 6 year old niece Emma snapped this photo of a quiet little bend in the Parramatta River.

Otherwise...in My Creative Space there were more earring adventures this week. These 'Candy Stripe' earrings will be perfect for someone with a love of colour.

My Creative Space - Earrings in Blue

I was keen to make earrings this week and with our cold winter Sydney weather I wanted to dive into blue - perhaps hoping to bring on spring and summer with thoughts of blue skies and the ocean.

 Here is what evolved - a mix of silver, Czech glass, Howlite and a splash of red.

Howlite (included in 4 of the earrings above)  is mostly seen as a white to grey gemstone with grey, brown or black veins but looks like Turquoise when dyed blue - as the pattern of veins are similar in each stone.

Howlite is apparently known as a very calming stone and also evokes creativity. Have to admit I adore Howlite ... and to me it means summer and warmth.

As it is only 15-16 degrees today... I eagerly await a warm Sydney summer.

My Creative Space - Working with Coral

My stash of Coral has been out on my desk today. I have been out most of the day but managed a little time to make some earrings using coral and sterling silver. I have named them 'Coral Drops' and they feature organic nuggets of coral on the bottom, smaller rondelles of coral on top along with 3mm sterling silver round beads and wrapped sterling silver wire. They are a nice size and very lightweight.

Coral is such a beautiful substance and always looks great with sterling silver. I plan to make a few more earrings and necklaces this week.