My Kingdom for a Workshop!

You need to eat cheese with this blog post because it's a whine!  I'm grateful for so many things:  being my own boss; living in such a beautiful place; living in a cute little apartment and not having to drive to work...lots more, but I need to get to the whining part.
Being a very visual person, I need my beads and findings out in plain sight to get inspired.  Because the only furniture my dogs don't think is theirs is the kitchen table and chairs, I need the table to eat.  I can keep a little spot clear that's big enough for a plate and water glass but every once in awhile people actually threaten to visit and that requires a mad flurry of cleaning.  Then it looks so good clean, I don't make any jewelry for a while because everything is all neatly filed away in drawers.
And metalwork is calling, along with silver clay, of course.  Copper and bronze clay is calling too, but the only way I could put a kiln in here is to put it where my microwave is, and I'd starve to death if I wasn't able to nuke frozen food.  My kitchen island has the accoutrements of every sophisticated kitchen - tumbler, fire bricks, a butane torch and an anvil. 
Some people dream of kitchen renovations.  I dream of being able to fire clay or anneal copper without setting off the fire alarm and choking the dogs.  The time of year probably has a lot to do with my complaints, because the furnace runs when I open the windows or the door and the only thing I'd like more than a workshop is a furnace that runs on air.  I dream of a nice, warm working area with great ventilation and lots of counters.  Nice, open trays full of gemstones, beads, and pearls, with clear drawers for findings.  I'd build a wooden holder for all of my pliers and cutters, instead of having them in a tacklebox under my table that creeps out and trips me when I'm not paying attention.

Ah well, it's great to dream, but Dewey hates change and he gets very suspicious if I do anything differently.  Better get back to counting my blessings...

Pretty Coral...Is It Worth It?

Coral reefs are home to an abundance of sea life, providing food, shelter, hiding places and areas for reproduction.  When most people think of coral, they think of the little branches in our aquariums, little white sticks, or beautiful red coral beads.  But coral is a living, breathing organism and we are systematically killing it. 

In poorer areas of the world, fish are captured from the reefs both for upscale restaurants in Asia and aquariums in North America.  Some fishermen use dynamite and collect the stunned fish from the surface.  Of course, the reef is not just stunned by the blast, it is destroyed.  Some fishermen pour cyanide in the water and collect the stunned fish that float to the surface.  The fish recover but the reef cannot.  Reefs are bulldozed off the coast of Africa to crush for roads.  And probably the biggest killers of all, pollution and global warming are changing the acidic level of the ocean and killing the reefs.  It's hard to believe, isn't it, that we puny humans can destroy something as big and powerful as an ocean?

I can do my infinitesimal part to save the world by practising the three "rs" and trying to buy local when possible, to support small farms instead of factory farms and to be one less person buying goods that were shipped across the country or continent.  I'm probably not as consistent as I'd like to be because cost is always a factor.  But when it comes to coral, I am now adamant.  As much as I'd like the beautiful red beads, real coral will never be a part of any of my jewelry. 
There are many organizations devoted to saving the reefs and one of the most recognizable jewelers, Tiffanys, has lent their name to a new one called "Too Precious to Wear."  Tiffanys will no longer sell coral jewelry.  A plethora of information and organizations is available if you google "reef destruction" if you would like to learn more about how these beautiful reefs are vital to the health of our oceans and our world.

The Death of Coral Reefs

Autumn Dance

Man, I like copper!  So warm and rich  and it complements so many other colours.  Pair it with warm beads and it's autumn; pair it with cool colours and it's perfect for summer.

This bracelet was fun to make because I got to hammer, use my torch (I'm a budding pyromaniac!) and just put the whole thing together with no idea how it would turn out.

So here it is - Autumn Dance - dancing between the ancient and the funky new, and the somberness of fall with the joy of knowing the seeds will wait and spring will always come.
Copper, glass and gemstones - $35

Bubbles & Butterflies

Whoo Hoo!  Finally had time to get some work done! 

I had a whole bunch of watch faces in my stash and lots of ideas in my head, but when they finally made it to my work (kitchen!) table, they had ideas of their own.  The first watch was supposed to have a pearl and crystal band but I'll have to try that one later and see what it ends up as the third time.  Butterflies kept creeping onto this band and they didn't want pearls.  Time To Fly
The band is approximately 7" and the watch is stainless steel.  Clasp is magnetic (it's upside down in the picture) and the band is all Swarovski crystal and Swarovski crystal findings.  $22 CD


Bubbles

Okay, thought me, we'll put the pearls on the next watch.  Apparently my left brain and right brain don't communicate, because the next watch not only made me go upstairs and root out a stash of funky clear beads that look like gasoline puddles, it made me learn how to do a Peyote stitch. 
I really enjoyed making this - the clasp is right at the watch face ("Life Is Good") so that it can be worn upside down or rightside up, whatever your fancy.

The bubbles really look like bubbles, although my pictures don't show it properly.  It's a very happy, good-mood watch and very unique and pretty.
Stainless steel watch, silver plated  "Life Is Good" clasp, 7 - 7 1/2" in length, clear, resin beads.
$20

Time to think about Christmas presents!

Up West

Prince Edward Island sits in the Gulf Of St Lawrence and to somebody "from away" like me, it seems to be divided into three distinct sections.  The north-west of the Island is a medley of Irish and Acadian settlers; the eastern end seems to be more Scottish and the centre, which includes Summerside and Charlottetown, had a more sophisticated nucleus of old merchant, shipbuilding and fox breeding families.  Like any urban area, families from east and west, and like me, from away, have gravitated to commuting distance from employment.
If you live "across" (on the mainland of Canada) and go to western Canada, you go out west.  If you live on Prince Edward Island and go to the western end of the Island, you go "up" west.  Being directionally challenged and someone who can get lost in a small mall, I assume the "up west" is because you're also going north, but I wouldn't want to be quoted on that.

Anyway, still on my turquoise kick, only this time it's so-called "white" turquoise.  Whatever this gemstone really is, it's a beautiful creamy colour with brown and black, interspersed with real turquoise chips and sterling silver beads.  The feather charms on the agate pendant are silver plated.  Because it has a real western flair, I've named it "Up West." 

Sterling Chain

In my mind, this is one of the prettiest necklaces I've made, and one of the hardest to photograph.

It has a large Swarovski Graphic crystal part way down the side and picks up a diamond chain and small oval link chain.  The three chains end at a smaller vintage crystal just past the centre if it's worn full length.  The beauty of the large round link chain is that you can clip it as a shorter necklace with the three strands in the centre.  If I hadn't been so anxious to get it up on my blog, it might have photographed better outside, but not in the pouring rain that we're getting today and supposed to get tomorrow. 

Special thanks to Designs By Sheila in Saskatchewan for the idea of putting the swarovski crystals with the large chains.