May: The Month of Emeralds

I adore emeralds: it's no secret. The emerald is my birthstone and I am delighted by its colours whether the palest green like pond water to the dark translucent greens that one can see in the Tower of London in the Crown Jewels of England. Emeralds also remind me of one of my favorite places, India, as do rubies. Say the phrase "emeralds and rubies" and India instantly springs to my mind with all its beauty, strangeness, and mystery.

It is a joy to work with emeralds whether they are gem quality or opaque or totally included and rustic. The very knowledge that they are emeralds still imbues them with mystery and exoticism (I have some very crude uncut emeralds that a friend brought me back from Mexico; they are rather rock-like, but I still cherish them).
I am still trying to organize my new studio, but did have some time for the emerald bracelets that you see here. As you can see, I do like mixing emeralds of different quality for a unique texture and range of colours. An AA emerald may be beside an included, opaque stone, but each acts as a foil for the other.
I will be writing more information on emeralds, their history and the beliefs surrounding them. By the way, the largest cut emerald is known as the Mogul Emerald, dates from 1695,and although it was discovered in Colombia was carved and set in, yes, India! I will be going to see it soon, for it belongs to the Smithsonian's National Gem and Mineral Collection.

Snowy on Pearl

Base : Pink Orly 42005
Sponge : Natural White French Manicure Sally Hansen
Pearl : Round (Small) purple, yellow and blue
Pearl : Heart (Blue),
Beading : Silver

Bead Dreams 2009 finalist!

 
Again WoooHooooooo!

On April, 23rd I received a notification from B&B that my Christmas Eve Necklace made the final of Bead Dreams 2009 and will be exhibited at the Bead&Button Show that will take place on May 31 - June 7, Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, WI.

This year in addition to the Bead Dreams and Convergence exhibition there will be two displays displays from Japan. The first one is an exhibit of 10-to-15 top award-winning pieces from the beadwork and jewelry contest held at the Hakone Open-Air Museum. The exhibit will include pieces that have won Awards of Encouragement.

Moreover, TOHO Beads and TOHO distributors are exhibiting a portion of the "Treasures of TOHO Emerging Artist Competition." The contest aims to cultivate new artists who produce artistic designs using TOHO beads. This is the first time a portion of the "Treasures of TOHO" will be showcased at the Bead&Button Show.

Don't miss Bead&Button Show, the largest jewelry and bead show in the world!

Jewelry I sold recently

I did promise that I will not make any more jewelry until I sell at least a large part of the my previous creations. The last 2 years I've been on a race to make jewelry without to stop, and not only I burned out a bit, but I also ended up with a serious amount of silver jewelry. So far so good, I've only made a few pairs of earrings on commission, so I've been a good girl. My fingers are itching to work again, but not just yet.

In the meantime, Dawanda seems to be keeping me busy as I've started selling there more, even without any additional advertising. People seem to just somehow find my jewelry, which is great! Thank you everybody for that!

I've been asked what all I've sold this year, so here are a few pictures of jewelry sold through Dawanda and my blog (no direct and custom orders shown here). Hope you like them.

Finally! Getting a Little Work Done!

The work that a move entails is mind-boggling! But finally things are starting to calm down although I still don't have a place for everything and everything in its place. Here's hoping that will happen soon.
My new favorite necklace is the one above made from chalcedony, big faceted slices of chalcedony in soft aqua and yellow colours. The lampwork beads are some of Suzette Celestin's best and echo the colours of the chalcedony (or do the colours of the chalcedony echo the colours of the lampwork?). You will find it listed on our Chalcedony Jewelry page.


These faceted rectangles of rutilated quartz have streaks of black in them that emphasize the iciness of the rest of the stones. The pretty flower embossed sterling beads are a nice contrast to the quartz and add a touch of femininity to the bracelet - the double hearts a bit of sweetness! On our Rutilated Quartz jewelry page. Finally, the blue lace agate bracelet gets its softness from the lampwork beads that have just a hint of pink in them.


April is almost gone; my favorite month is May with its warm, warm Spring weather and flowers everywhere. May is fresh and inviting invoking all the wonder of the summer that is to come.
Enjoy!

Got myself a new car

I'm so excited, I just picked up my new car from the dealership this afternoon. It's a small Ford Fiesta, 2008 model, and I love it! It fits me like a glove. I don't like big cars (at least to drive anyway), so this is just perfect for me. And what more, this is the first car that I buy as NEW. All my previous cars - although some very good - were used cars. However, in keeping with the tradition of buying a European car (instead of the very common Japanese ones that are all over the place in Cyprus), I bought the Fiesta.

I know I shouldn't be excited about material things with all thing spiritual going around me, but I just can't help it, love this little car and I'm all exited about it :)

Easter in Cyprus is this weekend (Orthodox Easter) so I'll have a few days to enjoy my new car and take it for a drive before I go back to work next week Wednesday.

JUST CALL ME NANA!!!

The last week has truly been eventful! My first grandchild decided to arrive a full month early! Since they are about a thousand miles away, I got a ticket and jumped on the first plane I could get out of Arkansas that same day, arriving after 10:00 p.m. in the hospital lobby pulling my carry-on luggage. We had lived in suspense already the last 3 days - worrying about mother and child. My grand-daughter and my only child's first child was born the next day, on a Thursday a bit before 5:00 p.m.
Although she is still in neo-natal, she was a fairly good size and absolutely beautiful. She should get to go home tomorrow.
I know that I usually communicate readily through e-mail to my customers - and respond fairly quickly. However, this one time, I did not even take my laptop computer with me and was almost totally out of touch. I apologize, but know that my customers will understand, in fact already do understand.
Please rejoice with me at one of the happiest times of our lives.

Selling off some of my Russian beading books at Ebay

I bought a bunch of Russian beading books in 2007, books that I never used, since I'm working wire wrapping at the moment. No idea why I bought them, so don't ask me! From the time I was doing beadwork, Russian beading books had a hold over me. They're just so different from what we have around here or in the US, and they're all full packed with clear diagrams (I wish ours were like that!). I don't speak Russian at all, but I never had troubles following directions from these types of books. I have in my personal collection the big White Russian Book, you know the famous one that I guess everyone has who is into beading, and it's one book that I used ad nausea to make my beading necklaces and bracelets.

The books I'm selling are all new, hardly flipped through them once. I've listed them at Ebay, so if you're interested, you can get them here.

Paket lengkap in jar, 1 jar isi 100 pcs,total 144 jar,14.400 pcs,Rp.331.200, hanya ada 3 set!!

Rhinestone, Not 15 styles.
We can supply 10 styles only.

RS-01, Boat Rhinestone
RS-02, round rhinestone, diameter 1,5-2 mm...SOLD OUT
RS-03, flower not available!
RS-04,round rhinestone, diameter 3-3,5 mm, bigger than Z-02....SOLD OUT

RS-05, Heart Rhinestone
RS-06 Rectangle Rhinestone
RS-07, Triangle Rhinestone
RS-08, Moon Rhinestone
RS-09, Blossom Rhinestone
RS-10, Tear Rhinestone
RS-11, butterfly rhinestone, not available!
RS-12, round rhinestone, not available!
RS-13, Square Rhinestone
RS-14, Star Rhinestone......Black Colour SOLD OUT!
RS-15, Comma Rhinestone

All styles have 12 colours : Red,White/silver, Skyblue,Pink, Green, Brown, Purple, Golden, Darkgreen, Darkblue, Rose,Lilac

Click on the picture to see it bigger.

Price :
A. In Plastic Bag, Rp. 5000, contain +/- 100 pcs
B. In Love Box, Rp. 19.000, contain 9 storage, +/-225 pcs
C. In wheel Box, Rp. 25.000, contain 12 storage, +/- 300 pcs
D. In Storage 2x6, Rp.48.000 , contain 12 storages, +/- 1200 pcs
E.Paket Lengkap,10 styles, semua warna,kecuali BLack Star Habis (diganti warna lain). Rp. 249.000, +/- 12.000pcs