How I Spent My Christmas Vacation...

Some people lolled on beaches all week. In my usual fashion, after procrastinating most of the week, I finally buckled down and starting making jewellery on the 23rd for the last market day before Christmas.

One of the perks was walking into the market on the 24th to an almost-set-up table at 4:57 a.m.

While at the market, I had plenty of time to play...

...and sell. Who woulda thunk that rhinestones and bone skulls would go so perfectly together?

I did surprisingly well for the day before Christmas, considering most people dash in for their turkeys, vegetables, pies, candles, chocolates and flowers -- everything it seems but jewellery -- and immediately dash outta there to the malls to do final shopping. Me, I dashed off to the bank and then to the Charles Dickens Pub for an incredibly good ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Four cheeses on it, something like that, including Gunn Hill, which is located about one or two kilometres south of me here in the wilderness of Southern Ontario.

Christmas Day I finally got off the desktop and into the other room to make jewellery and binge watch Death in Paradise on my laptop which has external speakers.

I made all of these in two days...

Alas, the triple wrap bracelet above has sold already, but I'm getting more leather and beads in so I can make lots more of these.

Please email me for details on any of the above bracelets. I still have lots, and while some are one of a kind, some styles I have sufficient beads that I can make more, and I can always adjust the size up or down to fit you perfectly. Email me here.

I hope everyone was able to spend time with family and friends or, like me, hunkered down in restorative peace and quiet. Thanks for looking!

Necklace Design Evolution...

...from a serendipitous combination of beads, through the design and finding a buyer, and then altering it a couple of times to fit.

Back in July, while gathering up beads for the Gem Expo, these beads - hand-carved matte Afghanistan jade, dyed serpentine lotus flowers and watermelon tourmaline slices -- magically came together almost by themselves.

I finally got around to making the necklace in late September. Part of my internal debate was whether to go with gold or silver/pewter spacers and clasp, but I dunno, the greens are all on the cool side and I use very little gold and/or brass in my jewellery anyway.

I sold the necklace within weeks. However, it needed radical shortening because the new owner is so tiny -- quite apart from the overall length of the necklace, she was drowning in all the large beads. I lopped off two of the watermelon tourmaline slices and used them in the earrings which, silly bobo me, I forgot to photograph.

I also noticed when Gizella tried on what ended up being a too-short necklace that those narrow spacer beads weren't working between the tourmaline slices. There was such a sharp curve at the bottom of the necklace that the coin slices weren't able to lie flat. I needed to use round spacer beads for the wire to transition more curvily between each of the tourmaline slices.

Something else to consider with this particular design was Gizella's delicate bone structure. Because her collarbones are quite prominent I had to figure out where the longer beads would lie, both structurally and for comfort.

Here is the finished necklace, the second restringing with round spacers. I recommended she wear it a couple of times and different necklines to see if the necklace is now too long.

Speaking of The Gem Expo -- it's ONLY ELEVEN DAYS AWAY! See you there!

Something really cool I just heard about: Chris McGyver, owner of Honeytree Apiaries in Burgessville (aka B-ville), Ontario, just won Grand Champion Honey plus other awards for his honey and beeswax at this year's Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Chris sells his honey and beeswax candles every Saturday at the Woodstock Farmer's Market and Sundays at the Stratford Slow Food Market.

Thanks for looking!

Afghan Turquoise Necklace... & My Desktop Is Dead -- Again...

This is not good! Geez, just what I need when I'm a day and a half away from leaving for the Gem Expo. I am not used to this laptop -- in fact I haven't touched it since I got the desktop fixed back in March, I guess it was. Early April? Man, time has flown.

Anyway, I've been busy restringing and pricing beads and, of course, this is when I get all my brilliant ideas for jewellery. This is also when I find all the beads I knew I had, but had no idea where they'd got to. I did take a break to make another small batch of peach freezer jam -- in fact I have to go put it in the jars now -- and strung this necklace:  hand-cut Afghan turquoise, carved yellow jade lantern beads and bone birds.

Necklace, $75, plus shipping and handling, or... Oopsies... this item SOLD at the Gem Expo. I will be getting more of these bone birds in soon. 

Better yet, come and try it on at The Gem Expo, being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on King Street, Toronto, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 25th, 26th and 27th. Hope to see you there! Sign up for their newsletter and get $2 off the admission fee, plus read about silent auctions and classes on the website.

Thanks for looking!