My Creative Space - New Necklace

I made this necklace a few weeks ago and just uploaded it to my Etsy store today ( I'm a bit behind at the moment...).
The beads are glossy and faceted Agate beads and range in colour from orange to burnt orange to rusty brown. I've combined a number of different shapes and sizes to give the necklace a particular line as it wraps around the neck.

Some info about Agate:
- It is known to attract strength and protect from stress and the draining of energy.
- Agate is one of the oldest stones in recorded history.
- It is mined in many locations including Uruguay, Brazil, United States, Mexico, Madagascar, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Scotland. Probably the most famous place that agate is mined is Idar-Oberstein in Germany where it has been reportedly collected since 1548. 

Sunday Snaps - For the love of Purple

On the lounge...

 on the table....

 ....on the wall

 ...in the garden

 ...in the garden again...

 ....still in the garden

...in my creative space

My Creative Space - Working with Pendants

Throughout the year I've been on the lookout for new components and in recent months the focus has been on pendants. Over time, I've been able to gather a great selection of pendants:

Materials vary from resin, sterling silver, silver plated base metal, brass and pewter.

This owl caught my eye and was incorporated into a long necklace using brass chain:

This necklace 'Wise Owl' features brass chain and yellow, cream, white and green Howlite beads.

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 - Working with Black

I haven't made many pieces in black lately as I always end up preferring to work with colour. I was tempted back to black however by some stunning semi-precious gemstones. The good thing about a black necklace is it will go with just about everything and looks great both dressed up or down.

This new necklace named 'Noir' features lovely smooth & glossy Agate beads graduated in size.

I was tempted to keep this one myself but decided to list it in my online Made It store...I'll just have to make another one later.

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 - Working with Colour

 I love working with colour!

Red, orange, yellow, green, brown & cream look great together particularly when using bright shades of red and orange.

Here is a new bracelet called 'Citrus':

 

I'm also working on a pair of earrings to match this bracelet - something happy and bright.... I'll be back later.

Sunday Snaps

In the garden..

....red resin & coral beads on my desk...

.....what have you been up to Murphy?

...out in the garden again...

as always..cut flowers to take inside

Sunday Snaps

On my table today...

...on my desk...a new necklace in the making

......out in the garden again

...always a book 

..no description required

My Creative Space - Working with Orange

Some stunning Agate beads have been on my desk over the last week - their colour being a unique burnt orange to rusty brown. Agate can be dyed any colour and the added colour beautifully highlights the inner markings within each stone.

Here is a new creation named 'Josie':

I'm very behind in my Reverb12 posts... I'll have to play catch up later in the month!

Sunday Snaps

My Gardenia finally flowered

Fred fish in the outdoor pond. 

Wire covering stops local  birds (mainly Kookaburras) from having him for breakfast.

Lovely new beads

In the Garden

Garden Buddha

Day 3 - Reverb12

Day 3 of Reverb 12 - 'What Do You Really Wish For'

I joined up for Reverb 12 on the 1st day of December but I've been out of action over the past few days and haven't really been able to bring together time and energy for a whole range of stuff ... including my blog.

My lovely Dad is very unwell in hospital and he is dominating my thoughts. What I really wish for right now is to somehow protect him from suffering, turn back the years, buy back precious time together, hear his voice, see him smile and laugh...that's what I wish for......

In amongst it all..poor Murphy had to visit the Vet. A (hopefully benign) lump has appeared, he needed some vaccinations too (... which meant needles....I got the 'death stare') and had to have an unpleasant examination of a certain area. This all meant he was not a happy boy at the end of the consultation!

But.. to finish on a happier note, true to form he got home to a few treats and he was smiling again...

In the words of poet and artist Khalil Gibran:

 'Love gives naught but itself 

and takes naught but from itself. 

Love possesses not

nor would it be possessed;

for love is sufficient

unto love'

My Creative Space - A New Necklace

It was time to put away my red and blue beads and give some other colours a bit of a go!

I have a great little stash of Rose Quartz beads and they have been out on my desk this week. They are a very light pink colour and look great on their own or combined with other coloured gemstones or pearls.

I'm not an expert on the spiritual qualities of gemstones but from what I have read Rose Quartz apparently gives inner peace and helps in all matters pertaining to love in all its forms. It is reportedly a stone of unconditional love that opens the heart to all forms of love: self-love, family love, platonic love, and romantic love and is a very soothing and happy stone that brings gentleness, forgiveness, compassion, kindness and tolerance..... quite a good wrap for an unassuming gemstone!

Here is what I came up with - named 'Pearl's Rose'. I've used freshwater pearls to compliment the Rose Quartz beads in a double strand necklace:

Some of the Rose Quartz beads are lovely and smooth and others are faceted to give them a little texture. I'm happy with how this necklace has turned out and have loved working in this colour scheme of soft pink, peacock grey and cream.

My Creative Space - Working with Blue

I've had these great polymer clay and Lapis Lazuili beads in my stash for many months and have been itching to use them in the same creation. I've also added some blue freshwater pearls which compliment the larger beads really well.

Here is what I came up with:

This necklace has acquired the name 'Blue Jeans' as the shade of blue in the polymer clay beads reminds me of blue denim.

My Creative Space - Working with Red

I've had a busy week but managed to scrape together a few hours in my creative space and the outcome was a eclectic asymmetrical red necklace named 'Rouge'.

The inspiration for this necklace developed entirely from one ceramic red bead ( almost like a ceramic version of a Matryoshka doll) which I used as part of a pendant at the base of the necklace. I then went through my stash of red and pulled together coral, glass, Cinnabar, Jade and Howlite to compliment the pendant and develop the rest of the necklace.

Here is 'Rouge'

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.

Inspiration on a Monday

'Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime;

therefore, we must be saved by hope'

Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971

My Creative Space - New supplies

The weekend is always a good opportunity to get a few things done.

I've had a bag of new supplies set aside to price and today I managed to get some lovely new beads organised and stashed in zip lock plastic bags -an accessible and easy storage option.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on these to develop some new creations!

Inspiration on a Monday

'Thoughts lead on to purposes; 

purposes go forth in action;

actions form habits;

habits decide character;

and character fixes our destiny'

Author Unknown

My Studio Space

I've spent some time today adding some new items to my Etsy store - typing the listings and selecting photos.

The first one is 'Ivory Lilly' - an earthy asymmetrical necklace in brown, black and cream -

I've also added some new Lapis Lazuli earrings called 'Lapis Light'

I've also been busy organising some new supplies .. no photos just yet but I'll take a few snaps when things are more organised.

My Creative Space - Working with Blue

The weather in Sydney was overcast with drizzly rain today and I was itching to escape to my studio space.

I recently sourced these lovely faceted blue Chalcedony beads.

Here is my tray of beads set aside ready to go:

Here is the double strand necklace finished:

I also had a chance to make a similar necklace in olive green today and I plan to list both necklaces in either my Made It or Etsy store soon.

My Creative Space - Working with Blue

I make a lot of multi-strand necklaces as I've always loved their timeless appeal and that textured, layered look.

I have a big stash of blue glass beads and I've had them out on the desk this week.

Here is a new necklace called 'Beach'.

It has a lovely oval shaped toggle clasp too -

Blogtober has now drawn to a close and I've made it!

When I started out, I was looking forward to the challenge but not really sure that I'd squeeze in the time each day to write, take photos and put together a new post. I've learnt a lot along the way, discovered some great new blogs and become more organised in the process.

Thank you to anyone who has visited my blog during the month of October.

I hope to keep up the regular updates through November as I prepare a whole lot of new creations prior to Christmas. I'm looking forward to new creative challenges.

To anyone who remembers me blogging about 'Choctober' - the intention was good and I started out very strongly but I didn't quite make it!

I'm starting again for 'Chocvember'....

My Studio Space

Here is a peek into my little creative studio space... my desk, books, folders and beloved purple chair.

My desk is in one corner and behind it is shelving with my supplies and stash of beads.

 As anyone who makes jewellery knows, the challenge is keeping everything organised and within easy reach when looking for a particular component.

When I first started making jewellery, I used to pack up after each creative session so my desk top was tidy and I could start with a clean slate the next day. Nowadays, I love to have my desk top full of supplies as I actually thinks it helps me creatively. I do have to stay on top of it though as it quickly becomes overflowing with beady stuff.
I have some pictures and a white board which I'll put up soon.

Almost the end of Blogtober!
Thanks for taking this Blogtober challenge with me.... 1 more day to go!

Inspiration on a Monday

'If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away'

Henry David Thoreau, 1817 - 1862

American writer

Sunday Snapshots

For the month of October, I've been reminiscing about a holiday I had in Italy.

The reminiscing was prompted by sorting out my photos in preparation for making a holiday album.

Here is the album:

Here is a snapshot of the album in progress:

The whole process has been time consuming - but well worth the effort.

As I finish each page, I feel as if I've re-lived that particular part of the trip... and taking the time out to put the photos in some kind of order is a nice way to spend a quiet afternoon... along with a good 'cuppa' and some music playing.