Getting ready for the Christmas Fair

 

Been busy working on my displays for Moor Hall School's Christmas Bazaar on Friday.  The twisted willow, from friend Debbie's garden, is perfect for the silvery necklaces and bracelets, and the easels show off the earrings very well.  

Silver torque

 Twisted silver-plated copper wire torque, with labradorite centres to flowers, and seed pearls.  To fasten, like the gold torque, the two ends hook around each other.

Gold torque

 
 Thought it was time to use some of my wire stash.  Using the wire twister I produced a long length of the gold plated copper wire, and without any idea where it would take me, just decided to go with the flow.   After coiling the first end, the idea was to make a matching coil on the other end, but it seemed a shame not to use the excess wire, so I turned it into a leaf shape, and coiled all the single pieces of wire at the end.  I did think about filling in the leaf shape with a finer gauge wire, but decided, in the end, to keep it all simple. As if by magic, the large coil slots together with the leaf end to close the torque. 

Crazy for Agate and Jasper

Crazy Agate and pyrite spacers with antique bronze on copper findings.

 Each stone is beautifully marked and coloured

Three stretchy bracelets made from blue impression  jasper and picture jasper (which looks almost like wood)

An 'at home' sale, and more creations

 

Held an 'at home' jewellery sale for invited friends and neighbours, over Friday evening and Saturday.  It's really an excuse for a get-together and a good chat over a cuppa.  When everyone had gone, and I was putting the jewellery away, it gave me a chance to assess what was selling well, and what I needed to replace in time for a forthcoming craft fair.  More stretchy bracelets and more necklaces.  So, I set to yesterday afternoon and produced this gold, baroque pearl and  faceted sterling silver spacer bead necklace and earring set.  At the last minute I changed the fastening as the original one seemed far to big for such a lightweight, delicate necklace.  I also made another four stretchy bracelets using labradorite, charoite and chalcedony nuggets, and another one with mother of pearl.   The double strand, flash silver coated copper chain has three clear quartz drops.  Didn't know how to display it for the photo.  Ended up hanging it from some twisted willow in my lovely Greek pot, which Mike carried back in his luggage, after a very happy holiday on Thassos.

 

Sent for two small, table top easels for my earring displays, and they arrived in time for my 'party', and are perfect. 

 

One or two people have asked me if I'd give a talk to their clubs, on jewellery making - taking along some of my work for sale.  I'm thinking about it.   If I do, I'd like to talk about the actual gemstones, where they are found, and their history etc -  I think that would make quite an interesting talk.  After all, it's really the geology aspect which got me started in the first place.





Crazy Quartz

Three stretchy bracelets, made of crazy quartz, one with pyrite haematite spacers, another with both haematite and pyrite between the quartz, and the third (centre) with silver spacers.  They feel lovely on the wrist.

Loving Labradorite

 

 

I'm really hooked on Labradorite at the moment.  Known as Firestone by the native Americans, it was found on the island of St Paul, Labrador, Canada, and some other locations such as China, India, Russia, Scandinavia, Australia and Madagascar.  At first glance, out of the light, it just looks like a dull, grey stone, but move it about under a light, or outside in the sun, and it becomes quite mystical, irridenscent with flashes of blues, violets, greens, golds, pinks etc, almost like oil on water. 

 

Yesterday I made this necklace to wear at my Confirmation, which took place yesterday evening at St Editha's, Amington, Tamworth.  The flashes of colour in these particular rounds and the little nuggets inbetween, are particularly good.  I just added antique bronze fastenings.  Now I will have to buy a dress or top to really compliment the necklace!

 

Here's a shot of my stall at the recent Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Craft Fayre.