Chrysocolla and Black

faceted black agate bracelet

I love these bracelets...I'm going to have to keep one for myself... but which one?

I'm off to Ikea/Starbucks for coffee and to find some now craft storage to sit beside my little desk! wish me luck

chrysocolla bracelet

precious things

chrysocolla bracelet

No you haven't stumbled onto another blog by mistake, this is is Meridian Ariel, not in an alternate dimension either. But I have captured a muse and have been inspired to drag out some beads and play around with colours. Yesterday I crafted three bracelets, and today another three. I haven't dragged my bead boxes out for weeks, months even and 6 different bracelets in the span of two days. I think I may need a lie down, or another coffee at any rate.

faceted black agate (my favourite)

and did I mention the sketching? because I have been drawing, sketching and painting too, only a little bit but still that counts. Bust mostly I'm in love with these cute bracelets, the black agate and the chrysocolla ones are my absolute favourites and I'm really trying not to snaffle them up for myself.. but they are calling me, whispering things to me... oh but the turquoise one is pretty too...

erm something starting with a v (sorry I forgot I'll look it up later)

they may find there way into my etsy shop tomorrow.. if I don't hide them away... "My Preciousssss" ... ahem yes where was I?

chrysocolla and snowflake quartz, deep red jade,
and dyed turquoise

spellcheck thinks chrysocolla = Chrisco (ahem its a stone not lard)

Working for the Weekend

snowflake quartz, teal glass, and metal bracelet

This Sunday I have a table to fill at a pampering event in town to raise money for H's school. M signed me up for it and to be honest I'm quite terrified that no one will want what I am selling. I have been working hard the last few days to make as much jewellery as I can to fill the table. I plan on bringing some of my painted pages as well so have bought a few frames to put them in and hopefully create some sort of display by draping the jewellery over the framed paintings.

faceted black onyx bracelet

I'm note sure if I will sell much, but have promised to give %20 percent of my profits to the school instead of paying for entry. We shall see hoe it goes, perhaps I should make some cupcakes as well.. at least I know that my baking will sell if nothing else does. I should be working away at some beading now, but I'm waiting for a delivery of some findings and have a huge amount of housework to sort out. arghh

red quartz and carnelian pendant

My favourite pieces are the onyx bracelet, the beads are so gorgeous and the red quartz and carnelian pendant. If they don't sell I will put them up on etsy, and if not then well I will just have to keep them for myself. The phone charms are something new I have been playing with, although I probably wouldn't use one myself I do like how they turned out. I best get going and do some sorting out, and make some vague attempt at cleaning the house.

red coral and turquoise bracelets

nephrite jade and red jade pendant

deep rose candy jade, snowflake quartz, and metal bracelet


a few phone charms, teal glass, strawberry quartz, red jade and onyx

and a key chain made with new jade and white quartz

Jaded

toadstool- red and white jade

holly berries- red jade

turquoise and red jade

into the pink - deep pink jade and sterling silver clasp

A sample of the jewellery I have been making over the last few days. I think I may be addicted to those red jade beads, I don't even wear much red, I normally keep my colour choices in the bruised realm, purples, blacks, greys, and browns with the occasional green or teal thrown in. I need to order more beads though, as I have woefully run short of onyx and the last time I went to a bead shop they no longer had my favourite rounded square silver beads. I should be adding these to my etsy shop soon but I'm not holding out much hope as I haven't had a sale for ages on there, but you never know.

The jewellery is photographed on the title page for the sheet music Requiem by Johannes Brahms, I stained it with tea and was going to paint some blue birds on it but M says he wants it framed on the wall as it is. I have painted on a few of music sheets, one of which I gave away ages ago, the other was of some little houses and ghosts which I hated... well not so much hated but didn't like but the painting has grown on me and I like it now. I do that often though, make something and not like it then hide it away for months and forget about it.

Time to tuck H into bed.

thanks for popping by my blog.

Its all Done with Smoke and Silver

smokey quartz and sterling silver braclet

A few pieces of jewellery I crafted yesterday in a attempt to get some more stock for they esty shop and to take up to the shop in town that has been selling my jewellery for me. I adore the hill tribe silver toggle clasp on the smokey quartz bracelet. And the red and white polkadot bracelet looks good enought to eat.

I'll be posting again later today or tommorrow... a bit about Halloween, homesickness for the states, and the state of the house (we have a fence now!) brownies, and the school PTA...

Polkadot bracelet- red and white jade

pale faceted rose quartz and sterling silver

Deep Blue Sea

blue quartz and silver bracelet

How fantastic are the blue quartz beads in this bracelet? They arrived yesterday and I couldn't stop playing with them until I created this. I know I am one for not linking fussy jewellery but these beads really do stand alone. They are synthetic quartz but beautifully cut into faceted pillow shapes and pair beautifully with my favourite sterling silver seed beads. The bracelet reminds me of the sea.

crystal quartz, onyx, and red jade bracelet

I know another black and red theme but I saw necklace in a magazine and I had to do something with the faceted quartz crystal beads I ordered the other week. It looks quite effective and sits nicely on the wrist.

lace agate and white jade pendant

Last but not least is a red lace agate and white jade pendant that I made for the diabolical that was the Marehay Show. It didn't sell but was often looked at. Too expensive for the venue I suppose though I really love the piece, its very pretty though the light escapes every time I attempt to photograph it. I will be placing it for sale on etsy Friday.

Dyed Turquoise

dyed turquoise and onyx bracelet

I found these lovely square dyed turquoise beads on a trip to Spellbound Beads in Lichfield on Saturday. The string of beads was reduced as it was missing a few and they were also having a sale on semi-precious beads so it was meant to be. I love the pairing of the turquoise and the black faceted onyx.

dyed turquoise and sterling silver

With the remainder of the string of beads I made this simple one, I love the feel of the beads they sit well on your wrist and the colour is so vibrant. I could have spent all day digging through different trays of beads before being shouted at by H that he was a) hungry b) thirsty and c) board to tears. oh well next time then.

oh and to round off my playing with bead I made this simple little key chain with some lovely purple beads that Bobbi sent to me ages ago as a gift with an order. I can't remember what stone they are, my brain is frazzeled and caffeine deprived, but seeing as I broke my normal keychain I needed something to carry my keys.

Rhymes with Orange

orange agate pendant

I put together this pendant a little while ago in the blissful quite of H being at pre-school for a few short hours this morning. It made with a large facet cut focal bead that was labeled "agate" but I have no idea if it is natural or dyed, I'm assuming it is dyed because its such a fantastic orange color. I have also included a few onyx beads, and a fire opal, I think its lovely... if only I had something to wear with it.

the back of the pendant

Purple Jade

dream agate

I have some beading mojo back! Apparently I just had to order some more beads and some toggle clasps and I'm a happy bunny. I'm totally in love with the purple jade beads in the purple jade bracelet.... I have a thing for purple but they are such a lovely mottled mauve-y purple colour how could I have not ordered them, they look fantastic paired with my favourite rounded square silver beads.

The fantasy dream agate beads are very funky too, its a shame that the sun is hidden today because they would look great with a little sun shining through them. They will be going up for sale in the Etsy shop on Friday. And speaking of shops did I mention that I have a small display of my jewellery in a framing gallery in town? Well I do and I'm so proud of it I hope they sell but this town is a bit hit and miss with things like that, all I can do is wait and see and keep making things. Happy Crafting!

purple jade

p.s. am I the only one with "Purple Rain" on my internal radio?

Some Jewellery and Some Thrifting Finds

strawberry quartz and silver pendant

I made the pendant yesterday to match a strawberry quartz bracelet I made for myself a few posts back, I love it, its jangly yet simple and non fussy, which is perfect for me, I love simple clean lines of things, except for my chicken scratch handwriting obviously. I like pink though I don't wear it all that often and yesterday I wore the jewellery with a pink summery top, M wasn't sure what to make of me, as I was deviating from my normal dark colours, blacks, greys, and purples.

prehnite and black agate bracelet with flower toggle clasp

I need to order more toggle clasps as I have only a few left to play with, of them I made the green prehnite and black agate bracelet with this lovely silver plated flower toggle clasp. And the lovely golden rutilated quartz and sterling silver double strand bracelet, with a sterling silver clasp, its truly lovely and I am so very tempted to keep it for myself, but seeing as I have already kept the pendant something should really make it into my poor neglected Etsy shop.

golden rutilated quartz and sterling silver double strand bracelet

Which brings me to the last two images of some treasures from a thrift shop in Santa Rosa that we brought back with us. The clock is a reproduction but its lovely and we got it for $10 and its sitting happily on the mantle above the fireplace. M and I are totally enchanted and amused by it, amused because across the street was a shop selling shabby chic rustic white furniture, mirrors and clocks, etc, and we figure the clock we got for the thrift store would have been more that $75, the clock is only battery run but I think my dad would appreciate that we bought it. Clocks are one of his hobbies, he finds them normally broken ones and fixes them. The buttons are a lovely shade of lilac and will eventually adorn a java jacket that has been abandoned in mid-knit, I will get back to it eventually honest. I think the buttons were around .25 or .50 cents. I probably would have brought back half the contents of the thrift shop if I had a big enough suitcase. I wish the charity shops around here carried things half as nice.

clock

liliac buttons

Watermelon Candy

pink candy jade and nephrite jade bracelet

As part of fufilling the Cupcakes, Candy and Ice Cream Challenge I wrote for the Mumsnet Crafters blog I thought I would use these delicious cotton candy coloured faceted pink "candy jade" beads, which I believe are a dyed type of quartz. My intention was a simple pink and silver bracelet, but apparently the beads had a mind of their own and paired up with some rogue nephrite green jade beads I had kicking around in my beading box. Once they got together I was powerless to separate them again.

strawberry quartz, peridot, and silver bracelet

Next I settled down to crafting a bracelet from a strand of delicate rutilated "golden stranded" quartz, the beads ignored my attempts at taming them and I found myself holding a string of strawberry quartz and half a dozen coin shaped peridot beads. So today's theme appears to be pink and green, I am wearing a green skirt after all, but paired with a black blouse so not everything is the colour of watermelon or watermelon candies I should say.

I may do some painting as well for the challenge, a nice little cupcake , or an ice cream melting in the summer sun. Everyone is welcome to join the challenge, there is no true due date, if you feel inspired by the thought of cupcakes and candy then please leave a comment here or on the mumsnet blog. You don't need to be a mumsnetter to join the challenge, you just have to feel inspired and being possed of a sweet tooth won't hurt.

Most of all have fun crafting. And remember a knit cupcake is far fewer calories than a real one. ......mmmmm...... cupcakes......

p.s. the light is terrible today, all grey and overcast so the pictures aren't so great.

Storybook Pages

toadstool

Before I begin this quite possibly random post I would like to announce the winner for my 200th post give away.. drum roll please! The winner is Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey. Thank you to everyone who left a comment, new visitors, and old friends. I appreciate every comment that is left and I try to visit and comment on everyone's blogs. Last night I was babysitting for a friend, so instead of vegging out on the sofa watching Indiana Jones I dragged my paints over and some storybook pages and set to work. My favourite is the Toadstool above, and the little red heart, I haven't flattened them out yet, and I might just get M to take some scans of the toadstool and the cherry blossoms because I think they would make great prints, or stickers, or something... any ideas?

The toadstool was the last thing I painted and to me Its just perfect, in a way that I don't normally think my well my anything is, I guess I'm my own harshest critic. The only painting that I'm not happy about is the doll one, based on one of those little momji (sp?) dolls, she didn't want to be painted apparently. This morning I finished working on J's watch, which I hope she likes as much as I do. Hopefully I will get some more beading done before , H gets home and chaos descends on our little house.

teapot

cherry blossoms

doll

J's watch final assembly

The Poison Apple Tree

The Poison Apple Tree

Is there ever an evil queen around when you have some poison apples to sell?

I can't seem to leave these vintage story book pages alone. And as I have a special fondness for drawing trees I really couldn't resist combining the two. As for the apples the tree just needed a splash of colour, there for some blood red poison apples on black tree limbs. The tree calls to me, its dying leaves whisper when the breeze is still. It says it needs a mount and a frame and I'm inclined to agree.

I have also been dabbling in a bit of monochromatic bead work, The bracelet below is Black agate, white jade (or possibly white quartz as they look pretty much identical), and silver, I am so tempted to keep it for myself, I have a lovely black blouse it would go great with. I am in dire need of some more silver beads so I have come up with a diabolical plan to drag M and H to Lichfield for the day tomorrow and disappear to Spellbound Beads for just a little while... honest.

Then I really must get to work on the garden, the poor little bean plants and pepper plants in the green house are desperate for re-potting, but at least I have some beautiful lilacs to sniff.

monochrome bracelet

lilacs

The Ticking of Limes

This morning I dragged all my beads out, and there are quite a few now as I got 3 lots of beads in the post yesterday. The first creation is a watch that I have a commission for, I'm happy with it so far but I'm waiting on some more clear quartz beads that I may swap for the ice flake quartz used in this first attempt at a beaded watch. The second is a watch using white quartz and lime jade, though I think the oval jade beads are more of an acid lemon colour than a lime colour. Its very summery and bright.

My intention is to do some painting and drawing later this afternoon or once I have had more coffee to keep me going. I need to sort the house out its an absolute and utter tip but we are having the bathroom done and its such a mess everywhere I have lost the will to wield duster and hoover.

Some recipes will be popping up soon and this post makes 197 so I think that calls for a give away when I hit 200.. don't you? Any Ideas for a give away? I thought something along the lines of a commisioned bracelet/earrings or possibly a small painting... give me your ideas please.

iceflake quartz and white jade beaded watch

white quartz and lime jade bracelet

Candy Apples and Holidays

red carnelian bracelet with apple toggle clasp

I made this bracelet last night while M and I watched Torchwood and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. And as usual the sun has only made an appearance after I took the pictures. We are off on our trip to San Francisco and Idaho tomorrow, well down to H's favourite hotel and flying out on Monday. Thank god we aren't flying with BA this time, though M says he wants to have a look around the new terminal 5.

We will be back at the end of the month, the day before my birthday, so my present will be jet lag! Thank you all for reading my blog, if I get the chance I will update while we are away, so check back from time to time. And of course I will post lots of pictures when we return.

San Francisco here we come.

And Idaho too.