This beautiful antique steel cut button was rusty and a bit bent when I purchased it, but some sanding and a light application of the hammer left it just right for this 'enchanted night' necklace. Vintage Japanese cotton pearls and hand made hematite beads combine with a modern chandelier drop. 
I am back knitting and sewing for now, so who knows what will appear next, it is nice to never be bored.
It was only after I photographed this pair that I realised they were not opposites - and had to rehang the roses :)
It was fun to draw balls on sterling silver wire to form the basis of these earrings - gifts 
My beautiful hand sewn owl and crocheted sari silk nest were my Art-of-the-Month 
The tin covers are another Etsy purchase and brighten my desk at school, the happy puppy is also a gift from Jacky - I just love his squishy nose!
Bright vintage style ATC's received from Gaby; I so enjoy swapping with this kind 
Cheerful ATC's from a swap with Doreen, very beautiful the felted card too. Thanks Doreen! 
Yes, at last I have used the bezel making skills I learnt in Stephanie Lee's wonderful class back in march. This bracelet is a gift for a special person. Can't say who yet, as she may read my blog.
As I post these I am chuckling to myself at the contrast between the grunge metal appearance and the Dancing Ladies a few posts back. I was over-the-moon when the two pairs of Dancing Ladies I listed sold fairly quickly - just love the thought of someone on the other side of the world wearing my art.
The rains have arrived very late here in Western Australia, but the heavens are making up for it now. We have had three freezing cold days with winds and flooding rain, days where my face feels cold each time I stick it outside and all four fur-babies jostle for places in front of the heater. Nights where I cannot turn over without disturbing at least one fur-baby snuggled as close as he can get. Normally I would whinge about the cold, and the wet, but our farmers have been so desperate and the season change so late I am joyful, grateful that we are not to have a drought.
An added bonus is the wild weather is just perfect for creating (and even doing school work). The last two junk pins sold quickly, the one above was started at the same time. I have been making earrings and hat pins too. I love hat pins, they are perfect for holding my scarves in place as I dash between classes - arms full of books, and the inevitable hot tea. I made some traditional ones with bright beads last week, and this week I have made the steam punk version below.
I have really struggled to create since the art retreat, a combination of too many other things to do and some hang-ups. Everything I started seemed to be a copy, I was lost in technique and have not been able to get my ideas to flow. Finally this week I sat down to play and the pendants above emerged, beautiful beads with simple sterling silver joins. They had no purpose other than play so I have given them one, a give-away. Just leave a comment and one of them may be yours - I will use a random selection method and do the draw on Sunday 26th April.
These memory wire bracelets were a lot of fun to make; I have such a lot of beautiful beads that don't work with my vintage/grunge/earthy styles, and spend way too long just looking at them. The bracelets will appear on my Etsy very soon. If you are in my Etsy store you will find some fantastic sale items as I am having a clean out.
I can't seem to capture the translucent nature of the paint on this canvas or the many layers, but never mind, it was a piece I enjoyed making, a piece where I learnt a lot about product and planning ahead.
Despite the fact we have a multitude of pet baskets and comfy chairs, for Charles to rest in, he has made some interesting choices this past week; the box I was dropping work into as I marked and then the shelf. I know, I should have scooped him off and growled, but it was too cute I ran for the camera instead. Don't you love how he is pretending not to see me?
I have quite a few projects 'on the go' at the moment but it seems the only thing I can finish is earrings. I love the teeny tiny ladies watch faces I have used for the five pairs above and the way their little hands swing lightly below. I have listed one set on Etsy, if you would like any of the others listed please let me know.
The bird earrings have so many 'almost too good to use' components, blue mother of pearl fetish beads, sterling silver hand made nests, and glass leaf beads.
I seem to be drifting at the moment art wise, I have some tough decisions to make with work and some personal challenges and while art is my respite I just can't seem to focus long enough to complete a large project. This week yielded a couple more pairs of earrings, I like these the contrast between the mechanics of the watch and their delicate structure. I am can make my own ear wires now so am using up the sterling silver ones I bought last year. These will be for sale on my Etsy very soon.
It was time to boost my card stash too. The top ones feature lots of 'little bits' off my desk mounted on inchies, then on backgrounds made from the skeleton leaves I collected below the lemon tree. I then coated the whole lot in my beloved shellac.
I don't remember who the little boy on the chair is by, but the other stamps here are Lost Aussie by the very talented Marie. 
I set off to make a few pieces of jewellery for friends this weekend, and just kept going. The zips have reappeared, I have wrapped quartz, fabric, lace, glass, string, thread and more. It was so soothing matching colours then simply wrapping wire around each piece, I like the feel of all the different textures beneath my fingers combined with the supple copper as it runs through my fingers. All of the pieces here are now for sale at my Etsy store. I will show you the others when they have arrived at their new homes. 
The beautiful skeleton leaves I photographed these on were collected from below the lemon tree this morning; the snails and slugs were enjoying stripping them clean just for me. I think these ones (the leaves, not the snails) will become the background for some journals.
This is a bracelet I made for my Sister-in-Law, in fact, this is my SIL's hand. I loved this bracelet, light, bright and simple to look at - but very time consuming to make. Wrapping the wire with the constraint of the little chain loops was harder than I anticipated. None-the-less, just looking at this one makes me smile.
Due to popular request (giggles) my Christmas ‘bling’ appears here. The sterling silver necklace features a rare filigree spoon handle; I have two different ones and have not yet found more. The heart and amythyst piece above the spoon is a silver brooch given to me decades ago – and now looks silly on its own against my large body
The wonderful large beads are hand made in Nepal and their caps are engraved sterling silver, the smaller round beads are vintage speckled glass.
Christmas Day was bliss, lovely family, huge quantities of delicious food (Which is always calorie free on public holidays), delightful gifts, bubbly and an adorable neice who got so much joy from unwrapping gifts and playing with new toys.
The last few days I have felt very fragmented, and while I have other projects on the go, I sat down last night and made these pins. I think the reason I find them so soothing is that they join fragments, they are the jewellery version of a jig-saw, where I get to choose the picture.
I really don't, but I know their stories and that is more important. The rose above was a gift from my Aunty J, a frequent visitor to Australia, it was for my birthday on her last visit and she in back now meeting her great neice for the first time.
This lovely rose is a standard and it was a housewarming present from my parents when I bought this home six years ago. Gosh the time has flown.
And, this rather common (but heavenly scented) rose is the best of all. My house has only had three owners and the ones who built it planted this, and its twin, when they moved in. The poor things were not looked after by the previous owner, a bachelor rumoured never to have stepped off the footpath, and yet they survive. I look at them and smile, thinking of the first owners delight in their home. This was one of the first three houses in my town (city now) to have a tile roof - the original tiles are still there, and while I am now considered to be centrally located - it was the outskirts of town ... How much one rose can make me think.
I wonder about the teaspoons I use for these necklaces and where they have come from? This one is on etsy, and those green egg beads are delicious, I keep picking them up and running them through my fingers.
I made a couple of pairs of watsonia earrings for friends and these ones are also on etsy. 
If you have ever wondered what a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel looks like after his Mum locks his tail in the car door, I can show you. For other breeds you will have to do your own research! Seriously, his poor little face was miserable 20minutes later and his tail was still wagging - see how it is blurred? Archer's tail wags from daylight to dusk and beyond - is that a cav' thing I wonder?
What a chaotic weekend this one has been. It was the last week of school term and my last week with my year 12 History class before their mock exams. I had quite a lot of marking to do for them and lots of last minute practice assessments. 
When we visit England we flit from place to place and person to person and the opportunity for long cosy one-on-one chats is limited.
gift for my Mum 
I am enamoured with these little pieces of smoothed rock, and the way they contrast with glass and crystal. I sold the last one, but am planning on wearing this one myself.
I am not sure I will get into the creative zone this weekend - I should be doing other things, I guess the next post will tell how strong my will power is.
