Welcome to my Etsy Shop!

Are you excited?

I certainly am!

I don't think I slept a wink last night.

So, without further ado,

Welcome to my Etsy shop!

 The first nine pieces from my *Moroccan Odyssey* Collection are in the shop now...it only took me all morning to list them!

The *Safi* Earrings in Saffron

The *Safi* Earrings in Azure

The *Gateway to Marrakech* Necklace in Turquoise

The *Sahara Sun* Necklace

The *Casablanca Belle* Necklace

The *Moroccan Trinkets* Necklace

The *Moroccan Trinkets* Necklace

The *Desert Flower* Ring in Turquoise

and finally,

The Limited Edition *Desert Flower* Ring in Sky Blue

Phew!


It is lovely to see the collection coming together, 
and I can't wait to add yet more pieces very soon!


I'm also holding a special giveaway to celebrate the opening of the shop.


Stay tuned, details coming soon! 
I hope you're as excited as I am ;-)

Sneak Preview: The *Desert Flower* Ring in Azure

My Muse is happy...


...and so is my husband.


My beautiful new workbench has been put to good use this past week.

The torch was re-ignited after an extended period of quiet...


...filing, sawing, dapping... 


...silver shavings sparkling...


...and a bench pin which is beginning to look as though it is worn and loved.


*sigh*


What joy!  What fun!


I loved every exhilarating minute!


And the fruits of my labour...

The *Desert Flower* Ring in Azure

A statement for your hand at 35mm wide...


...substantial yet delicate...


...a feminine flower...

Wrought of sterling silver and beads in shades of cobalt and azure...

I loved creating it...


...but I love wearing it even more!


~*~


Would you like to see how this ring came to fruition?


I'd love you to come along for a ride down memory lane...


Let's go!


~*~


It all started with an idea...


...one of those persistent, lingering ideas...


...unrelenting in its pursuit of manifestation!


Silver, saw...

...and a circle is borne...
(uh hello, someone needs a disc cutter...if you're listening Santa...!)

...dap, dap, dap...


...a soft, sweeping, sensual curve...

...ring-a-ding-ding...


...ready for soldering!

...a platform for my beadwoven motif...

...a satellite dish for your finger...?
:-P

...and finally, modelling a perfectly pretty patina...


...ready for an injection of beadwoven colour! 

~*~


To re-live the process of creation is oh-so-satisfying...


...makes me want to go back and do it all again...
(and I will...I WILL...as soon as I finish typing this!)


No wonder I can't stop smiling! :-)

More Moroccan magic coming soon!

P.S.  My lovely husband came up with the name for this ring...isn't he clever?!  I think should ask him to christen my creations more often ;-) LOL

Solaris necklace...and another starfish

My latest custom orders have been shipped off to their new owners, and I'm still waiting with baited breath to find out whether they are happy with them.  The suspense is killing me!  I need to know that they love what I have created for them.  I need to know that I have read their minds correctly and have brought their vision to beaded fruition.


So whilst I'm waiting impatiently, I will show them here and ask what you think.


The client wanted a necklace to wear to the office.  She liked my 'Angelus' necklace but didn't want the large angel-like pendant hanging from the centre, and she wanted it in beige tones, not silver.  The result is a VERY simple necklace...so simple, in fact, that I had to ask my husband to tie my hands behind my back so I wouldn't embellish it anymore.  


Less is more, less is more, less is more...  


The Czech fire-polished beads in copper lustre add a little sparkle without being too over-the-top.  The finished necklace reminded me of rays of sunlight (ok, so you might need to squint your eyes...and use your imagination a little...), and so I have named her 'Solaris':

A sweet little seven year old is the recipient of the following necklace.  She loves the ocean and all its creatures, and turquoise is her favourite colour (well it is this week, but she reserves the right to change her mind...she is seven, after all).  So a starfish was in order.  But this starfish is different to my other starfish...because it has a backside!  It hangs from a looooong tubular herringbone rope so that the little darling can slip the necklace straight over her pretty head.  What seven year old wants to be fiddling with a clasp!  

I am still planning on offering a free tutorial for my starfish, particularly now that I have my swanky new 21.5 inch iMac complete with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and the works.  So I will try to squeeze it in somewhere between designing my website, fulfilling custom orders, creating new designs, entering competitions, looking after my two babies, loving my husband, cleaning the house, brushing my teeth... 


Did I mention that I've given up sleep?


Be well!