Sneak Preview: The *Desert Flower* Ring in Turquoise

There blooms a flower

in the rolling sands of the Sahara.

Delicate,

yet strong...

radiant,

and robust.

Her petals turned skyward,

kissed

by the desert sun.

She basks,

glowing,

honouring the endless blue.

The desert winds,

rugged and relentless,

push,

and drive,

testing her tenacity,

her fortitude.

Yet she remains,

her stance is resolute,

steadfast.

She is unwavering in the face of adversity.

She is strong.

She is beautiful.

A ring to celebrate your beauty and your strength...

Coming to my Etsy store soon! :-)

Sneak Preview: The *Safi* Earrings in Turquoise

May I present the latest pair of earrings from my *Moroccan Odyssey* Collection...

The *Safi* Earrings in Turquoise

Moroccan-inspired motifs in shades of yummy turquoise,

complimented by some impossibly delicious cobalt chalcedony briolettes...

(these babies absolutely *glow*!)

Turquoise and cobalt were just made for each other!

~*~

I'm starting to have a nice little collection of *Safi* Earrings...

they look so cheerful hanging out together...

Nothing like a dash of colour to brighten your day,

and make you feel great!

May your day be filled with glorious colour, my friends! :-)

Sneak Preview: The *Safi* Necklace in Turquoise

The past week has been busy with visitors...

Family flying in, flying out...

The house has been a hive of activity,

but it is a happy house for all of the laughter, and chatter, and excitement.

The kids are loving all of the extra attention...

Grandparents were made for spoiling them! :-)

~*~

Amidst the bustle and business, I have found some time to create...

...my *Moroccan Odyssey* Collection is slowly coming to fruition...

~*~

The *Safi* Necklace in Turquoise

There is something so beautiful about turquoise...

...it is serene and happy and uplifting all at once...

...and it seems to compliment almost every colour of the rainbow!

(or at least every colour in my wardrobe!)

The chain and bail are sterling silver, and I have given them a lovely patina to really make the turquoise 'pop'...

I like to wear the *Safi* Necklace layered with a few other necklaces...

...but it looks just as nice by itself!

~*~

I foresee silver and fire in my immediate future... ;-)

What do you have planned for the week ahead?

My creative space...

...is a riot of colour!

But then again, when ISN'T my creative space a riot of colour ;-)

In between cleaning, unpacking, and settling in to our new place in Melbourne,


I've managed to spend a few (exceedingly) late nights playing with these Moroccan motifs...

I love the versatility of this simple little design...

Eventually, it will be earrings...

Pendants...

And even rings...

I must be trying to wash away the Melbourne grey with all this colour.


How I am missing the West Australian sunshine!  I had forgotten how grey and cloudy Melbourne can be...day, after day, after day...


At least the sun decided to make an appearance today so I could take some photos!


~*~


My silver and tools are still packed away in boxes.  I am itching to start up the torch and do some soldering!


This chunky beaded rope is just calling out to be finished off with some custom made silver bead caps...

See what other creative people are up to at Kootoyoo, and add your link if you'd like to play along!

My creative space...

Lady Spring has been blessing us with glorious sunshine, warm breezes and the eruption of wildflowers that Western Australia is renowned for.  


The scent of renewal and awakening drifts through the open windows in the house, and my mind swirls with endless ideas and inspiration.  

So many ideas...

I have been dreaming of ways to combine metal and beads...

...the lure of metal is irresistible...

...it haunts my dreams, distracts me, delights me...

...and I feel the only cure is to create!

~*~

 But alas, my metal must wait...

Our move from Perth to Melbourne in less than a week away,


so with all but a few of my beads, tools and notions packed away, weaving a few components is all I can manage...

...just playing with ideas...

...and new concepts, based on old ones...

...they won't be completed until after our move to Melbourne, but my hands cannot remain idle...as if packing boxes isn't keeping them busy enough!

~*~


Now that my *Marrakech* Cuff is completed, of course I have to make another one...


...in turquoise AND orange...

...I just love colour, I can't help myself...


...I try to enjoy using neutrals and browns and blacks...

...but colour is what really makes me happy :-)

~*~

What does your creative space look like today?

My creative space...

...is turquoise and orange...

...however, I think I may have a problem, because...

...I can't stop making things...

...in these colours...

...h...e...l...p...!

More creative spaces over at Kootoyoo.

Victoriana Pendant

It has been some time since I have played with wire...

Having been inspired by the likes of Iza Malczyk, Magdalena Borejko and Emily Gray, (who are all creators of the most exquisite wire jewellery you will ever see!) I decided to get back to wire this week and learn some new techniques.

I want my jewellery to (one day!) be a successful fusion of beadwork and wirework...

...I have so many ideas for combining the two mediums but, alas, my wirework skills still leave much to be desired.  So more learning is required!

I have mentioned previously that I don't like tutorials...but this week I bought two!  One from Iza and one from Emi Kaz on the Jewelry Lessons website.  Emi's tutorial was for a 3-D Layer Vine Ring, but I set out to create a pendant instead.  I really just wanted to learn how to create those gorgeous, swirling, organic-looking vines that I so admire in the work of the aforementioned artists.

Not wanting to dig into my stash of sterling silver wire, I opted for copper to practice with.  A few hours later, and my 'Victoriana' pendant was born...

It's far from perfect, and I need to practice, practice, practice a LOT more...but I learnt so much from creating this pendant.  I used Emi's tute for the central wire-wrapped briolette, and the rest of the pendant was made up as I went along.  As always!



The pendant measures 62mm x 26mm...

Everyone else has gone to bed, so I am off to do some beading (my fingers are sore from all that wirework!)


Thanks for looking, and be well!

Sea Star Necklace & Earrings

As I mentioned in my previous post, my Sea Star Necklace and Earrings set is on its way to its new owner in Papua New Guinea (how cool is that!)


Here's the necklace:

And the earrings to match:

When time permits, I will be making this set in different colourways.  Any suggestions?


Thanks for looking, and be well!

My creative space...

It's that time of the week again... 


Thursday means it's time to take a peek inside my bead studio to see what I'm working on.


This Sea Star necklace and earrings set is one of my latest custom orders:

I wear a pair of these earrings all the time, and they always draw compliments.  Everyone loves a starfish!


Head on over to Kirsty's blog to see what other artisans are creating today.

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!