Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Oh, tourmaline...

"When one's emotional experience is defined by the rising and ebbing tides of the events of life, happiness is often short-lived.  However, Watermelon Tourmaline teaches one the meaning of joy - that unbounded happiness is not caused by any external circumstance but is instead the natural condition of being."


from "The Book of Stones" by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian


No wonder I love this gem so much.


I'm addicted to Watermelon Tourmaline...


it soothes my soul and makes my heart happy, 


and it's ever-so-pretty to look at :-)


I wear my own set of rose cut watermelon tourmaline stacking rings all the time...


Watermelon Tourmaline stacking rings


And you have kept me busy creating your own beautiful, unique ring sets too!


Watermelon Tourmaline Stacking Rings


Watermelon Tourmaline Stacking Rings


Watermelon Tourmaline Stacking Rings


Watermelon Tourmaline Stacking Rings


*le sigh*


I just want to wear them all at once...


Rose Cut Watermelon Tourmaline Stacking Rings


Almost too much loveliness to bear!


Though I started with 15 of these beauties...


Watermelon Tourmalines


there are six that remain should you wish to create your own unique set...


Watermelon Tourmalines 13 Jan


Available in my Etsy shop :-)


~*~


The past month has been occupied with:


selling a house,


daily visits to the hospital as somebody I love fights the battle of his life
(and I can say, unequivocally, that cancer of the brain is the MOST evil, heartbreaking, soul-destroying disease...),


starting school for the first time...


Indie's First Day at School
(despite never having spent a day away from me in her four short years, India has taken to school like a duck to water!  On her first day, there were no tears...until it was time to come home! LOL  My heart is absolutely bursting with pride for my beautiful little girl ♥),


seeing my work and words published here...
Bead Design Studio,


and restoring antique furniture.


There is a magic about breathing new life into something that is timeworn and unappreciated.


This sweet little antique corner table has beautiful bones and I fell in love the moment I saw her...


Antique Corner Table - Before
(and she cost me all of $12...!)


After many hours of laborious sanding and painting, sanding and painting, sanding and painting...
(did I mention there was lots of sanding and painting...?)


she has a new coat to wear and renewed personality that the years had stripped away...


Antique Corner Table - After


Details


Details


Details


Details


Next on the restoration list is an antique dresser...then two antique boudoir chairs...then the dining room table and chairs...then...then...then...


I think my newfound obsession stems from an unquenchable need to make something better, to heal what is broken...


...because, despite ever fibre of my being wanting to, I cannot make somebody better, I cannot heal their broken body.


It is a daily battle to understand and accept what it out of my hands...


I am trying hard to learn the lesson of watermelon tourmaline,


to not allow the ups and downs of life to dictate my happiness,


but rather, to find contentment in simply being...


~*~


With all of the above craziness occupying my every waking moment,


I completely overlooked the fact that February 1 was my first year anniversary on Etsy!


This call's for a celebration, lovely people...


...you have made it an amazing, unforgettable, fun-filled first year...


...you have allowed me to run my business self-sufficiently and to be completely self-funded, and I am grateful beyond words!


So stay tuned, I will dream up something special...


just for you :-)


Friday, December 30, 2011

Quietude...

As the year end approaches,

I find myself in a quiet place...

a state of rumination,
reflecting and letting go.


Quietude

Gosh, what a year.

2011 has been the hardest year of my life.

Hands down, the hardest.


Web

Hope and heartbreak has been the recurring theme,

with December bringing more heartbreak than I thought I could possibly bear.

But if there is anything I have learnt this year,

it is that no matter how tattered your soul may feel,

there is always a chance to heal...

if you allow this of yourself.


Sprout

~*~

This week Anthony and I clocked up six years of wedded bliss...
(and I can say, without an ounce of doubt, that we will still be blissfully married in 60 years time...the health Gods willing!)


Bliss

Despite the turmoil around us this past year
(and really, just about every year of our marriage)

we are stronger,
more in love,
more devoted

than ever.


Roses

When you marry the man who has a heart as expansive as the sky,
and as warm as the sun...

the man who knows just what to say,
just when you need to hear it...
(or when to just be silent)


the man who worships you for all your shortcomings,
yet never makes you feel as though you are anything less than perfect...

the man who takes the heart you have entrusted him with,
and cradles it away in his own stronghold of flesh and blood...
(where you know it will be safe, cherished, always...)

the man who tells you that you are beautiful,
when you are feeling anything but...

the man who makes you feel like a queen,
every day,
yet who you would still be utterly content to spend the rest of your days with should you ever become paupers...

...then you will never, ever spend a day unhappy in your married life.


Roses

If you know a man like this, ladies,
grab him and never let him go!

But sorry, this one is already taken ;-)


Love Note
(Of all the anniversary gifts I received this year, I cherish this one the most...)

~*~


In other news,


India is still a princess...


India


and Jett still loves dirt...


Jett


Jett


*le sigh*


Such a girl.


Such a boy.


India & Jett


Oh, and let me introduce you to Bruce...


Bruce - The Water Dragon


He is our resident water dragon...


he hangs around in the yard (or the pool),
and jumps up on the window sill outside the lounge room when he wants some dinner...


Bruce - The Water Dragon


I love his armour...


Bruce - The Water Dragon


And if you ask India, Bruce would make the best pet *ever*...


~*~


And finally, in studio news...


My Etsy shop has been closed for a few weeks,


though I hope to re-open sometime in January.


I won't be accepting any custom orders,
at least not in the immediate future.


I just don't have the heart for custom work.
(Nurturing my family and caring for the terminally ill is just about all my heart can bear right now)


Though these two hands of mine cannot remain idle,


so there will be new work...


...soon.


Ring Preview


~*~


Good bye, 2011...


...see you on the other side, my friends!


Much love,


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Time for play...

Spring is in full swing here in Sydney,

so trips to the playground are a daily event.

Our favourite playground has a view...

I mean, LOOK at that VIEW...!

The playground with a view

Spider Girl loves climbing...

Spider Girl
(note Jett sitting quietly on the slide...bless his cotton socks!)

Spider Girl

...when she's not busy keeping a look out...

Looking for ships in the ocean...

Cute toes

...or counting...

She of the Wild Hair

Jett likes the slide best...

Not a good idea, Jett...!

...bottle in one hand, and he didn't spill a drop!

Ok, so that's how it's done...

And, of course, there are the swings...

Push me, Mum!

...which is MY favourite!

The swing is MY favourite

;-)

I hope there's been a big dose of fun in your day too!


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

She of the pink boots and the wild hair...

These boots were made for walking...


...and jumping...


...and shouting...


...and leading...


...and stomping on Autumn's leaves...


...and collecting sticks...


...and the odd, stray golfball...
(living near a golf course must have some perks!)


Only She could get away with wearing ballerina-adorned pink boots...


I hope She is always so fashionably carefree ♥