FULL FOGGY HEAD

My heads is always full of ideas. When I actually get down to blogging, all those wonderful things I was going to say disappear into the fog of my full brain. All I can do now is record what I've been making during September and October.

 

 

I know, a whole herd of bracelets. In the current economic climate, they are all that seem to sell. I comfort myself with the thought that having to create individual bracelets each time, is challenging my creativity. There are some amazing beads in this collection. I need to go bead trauling again, as my stock of special individual beads is running low. I bought a few glass fired beads recently which are locally made. They are beautiful but pricey and not everyone understands the quality or how special these hand made beads are.

This necklace was made to match the bracelet below (featured in an earlier blog). Matching sets are not always a given, as I have loads of beads and gemstones but seldom loads of the same. I was very pleased to be able to make a matching necklace and that it came out so well. The client was so pleased, which always makes my heart so happy.

Well time for bed now. I've been here for ages as it has been so slow. We're looking after Liam again tomorrow morning and I also want to get some reading in before I fall asleep. I'm busy with the last book in the series A Song Of Fire & Ice - A Game of Thrones by R R Martin. I'm loving my Kindle. It's the most useful item I've purchased in years. I've now discovered that I can lean the Kindle on the screen of the cardio apparatus at the gym. So now I can do my hours workout and read my book. WONDERFUL.

 

BUSY BUSY BUSY TIME

Nossob Camp - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

I was preparing to go away, went away, got back and its was hectic. Not being a very organised person of late, going away is quite an effort. As we have pets, a garden and with security always a concern, we get housesitters in when we're away. I was spoilt and had domestic assistance three times a week for years. But when I was forced to retire, Jane retired as well. I now do all the household chores, let me rephrase, I don't do them all when I should and droll ones not at all. Hence, when we go away, it's like having to spring clean. This time we went to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, so packing was also a job, as we were camping.

The Kgalagadi was worth the work. It took has two days to get to the Nossob Camp. We arrived at about 15h00 on the second day.



Our accommodation

Rich got stretches and mattresses from the family for his 60th. Before anyone thinks this is a strange gift, don't. It was a request. Rich has had an op on his knees and getting up from a mattress on the floor is not as easy as it used to be. The stretches were absolute luxury.

Camp cooking

When I go away, no matter how many lists I make, I always leave something behind. I have a pair of pants that require a much thinner belt than the one I usually wear. I tried to wear the pants without the belt. All's well when I sitting down, but walk anywhere and the pants fall down. I resorted to keeping my pants up with nylon cord, that Rich secures things with. I wasn't allowed to cut the rope. Rich couldn't resist taking a pic of me crossing the camp in my classy pants.

This was a very peaceful getaway. There was no 3G reception at all. Not getting regular reports from home really allowed us to just relax.

Rich and I were last at this national park 36 years ago. Incredible isn't it. We came to what was then known as the Kalahari Gemsbok Park in 1976. We managed to get to the first camp, Tweerivieren in our Fleetline Kombi. They'd had floods in the park, the main road through the park is in the river bed. So, with our not having a four wheel drive vehicle, we had to turn around and go home. It was great to eventually get there and obviously the roads to the park had much improved.

Me with my classy belt

Some of the smaller Sociable Weaver nests

Pale Chamting Goshawk



Part of a Pride of Lions


No rain at the park this time. We're told it was not as hot as it usually is and we had quite a bit of wind. Even a bit of a sand storm one day. We went to a nearby hide in the early morning and spent the rest of the day in camp trying to hide from the wind. We'd had sparkling wine to celebrate our getting to the Kalahari at last, hence the goofy smiles.

Only when one gets home, do you realize how incredible these wild places are. The lions roared every night, so close they could have been in the camp with us. There were Black Backed Jackals in the camp every night and we had regular visits in the day from a African Wild Cat, as well as the pestiest Ground Squirrel. The electricity generators get switched off at 20h30 every night and the stars in the sky are incredible.

Mommy Ground Squirrel, we named her Madam. Here she's in the front section of our tent.


 

CREATIVITY

Creativity feeds the soul. One can feel this while one is being creative. One's mind switches off from all the stresses and stains of everyday life. I find even making the simplest of pieces relaxing and comforting.

These bracelets below are made from clay beads, wood beads, hand made and painted African Trade beads, with rhodinite charms and spacers. They are simply strung on beading elastic and have an ethnic look and feel to them. They also weigh nothing. I can happily wear all of them, not at once, although I could. I've kept one or two for myself purely because they go with so much and are great for casual wear. They don't get in the way. I named the range Mali and they sell for R100 each. (Excluding packing and postage).

Mine

Mine

Mine

 

 

Ione, a very dear and old friend of mine seldom wears costume jewellery. I always feel so bad as I make so many pieces but know that they really aren't her scene. I'd taken quite a lot of my jewellery with me on holiday. Mainly because I love wearing my jewellery but also as I wanted to show my sister Glynis what I'd been making. She's been a great supporter. Ione and her Mom dad a look at what I'd made but didn't comment much.

 

Ione and Norbert slept over on their way back from Germany to Port Elizabeth. I decided she had to have something I'd made and as we'd spent some time with Ione's parents in Kenton one weekend, I decided that Ione's also had to have something. I'm under that Uthene is more adventurous than Ione, below are earrings for Ione and a necklace for Uthene.

 

Ione's Earring's - sterling silver hooks, crystal briolettes and stick pearls.

Uthene's necklace - a resin pendant, glass beads and African Zulu teething beads.

 

 



I seem to have bracelet mania at present. Although, I must admit they sell and I also love bracelets. I've always worn plenty. The button bracelet, named Giggles went immediately for R150. The buttons are larger than I've used before. I tried to use "beigy" buttons with writing on. Hence the giggle button and the one with a dragonfly. The blues bracelet came about because of the cone shaped blue bead. The other beads in the bracelet blend in and the discs are from a disadvantaged community upliftment project. "New trolls", is a twist on the usual use of troll or Pandora beads.





Giggles - SOLD

Treasure



New trolls

I've keep so many pieces myself and sometimes, if I love something about a piece but am not wearing it much or ever, then it's time for re-cycling. This beautiful silver butterfly was bought from a store long since closed.

The original

Re-mix the updated version

When I'm scratching through my stash or tidying up, I pick out beads and other things. e.g. when we were away in November last year, Jocelynn picked up an old Saint Christopher charm. I added other pieces to the treasure jumble, a key, I'm partial to keys, (I bought a whole lot in Port Elizabeth one year) and a watch. I had to take in three necklaces with watches in recently to have new batteries put in. The storekeeper never said anything about the watch necklaces but I could just see she was dying to say something, either she was shy or just courteous.

Here are some earrings, just to prove that I make more than necklaces and bracelets. Earrings don't sell well, even though I have now started making them with sterling silver ear hooks. Most are fun and some are serious.

More soon and a bit on my latest craze.

THE BLOG

Why blog?
Reason - "why something happens, or why someone does something."
Motivation - "eagerness and willingness to do something without needing to be told or forced to do it. the reason why you want to do something."
Objective - "based on facts, or making a decision that is based on facts rather than on your feelings or beliefs."

I started reading blogs, probably in about 2007. I wasn't sure what blogs to go on and found a lot of them rather boring.

As my interest in beads and jewellery components grew, I started to look for blogs and websites on hand made and ethnic jewellery.

I now have favourite sites I visit for various reasons.

As the amount of jewellery I made grew I realised I needed a market. I didn't want to go into the traditional retail market, as I wanted my jewellery making to remain flexible. I never make exactly the same item twice, either, all pieces are once offs.

So I decided that having one's own blog was a good way to advertise. Mmmmm... I have 8 followers... So I blog to keep a record????????

Zelyne contacted me one evening and said she needed something for her heart. I made three different necklaces incorporating Rose Quartz and Amazonite. These were then presented to Zelyne who then chose one with some changes. The necklace is made of different layers using chain, charms and strung sections of Rose Quartz and Amazonite. It was difficult to present the piece in a photograph. Maybe Zelyne will model it for us one day.

For Zelyne - ORDER

This necklace has one of my first ice resin pendants in it. The picture is wary and brooding. I haven't marketed this piece as it often matches my mood.

Brooding

Bevan was at the Boere Mark one morning and brought me a few old pieces. Amongst them was this old Saint Christopher coin.

Time Travel

The is quite a demand for more feminine pieces. This was made with with glass pearls, shell flowers, opaque glass beads and silver metal charms and chain. It sold on first display. A matching pendant was also ordered by the same client.

White Garden - SOLD

Eastern Promise was made using turquoise, shell, glass pearls, bone beads, brass charms and chain.

Eastern Promise

This pendant has wire set in glass. The pendant is made by Martini Art & Design martiniglass@vodamail.co.za. The glass discs are from The House of Beads and were from a community project assisting the disadvantaged. I used gunmetal and brass chain.

Fenced

I love this bracelet and should probably keep it for myself. So much of this piece comes from old broken jewellery. To me a piece made from old jewellery is so special. Who knows the history it carries.

Turkey

This piece is based on a design seen in Easy Beading Vol 6. The designs all come from BeadStyle magazine. Another feminine piece that I thought would sell quickly.

Dream

Another of my ice resin pendants. This was made with such care and forethought.



Peace

An ice resin pendant made at the same time as Peace above. Also made with a lot of forethought and scratching through my bead and semi precious stone stock. This sold the day it went on sale.




Joy - SOLD

Mmmmm! I've made a similar design before and to me the other one was better or appealed to me more. But I love the mother of pearl disc and the tree of life charm poke to me. This sold very quickly. So it appealed to someone.

Life - SOLD

I found this pewter heart tile at Jimnettes mosaic department. Sometimes a piece takes days to evolve. Rich drilled holes into the tile for me. The little red glass studded heart attached to the tile cost me a lot more than I wanted to spend, but for me it finished off the piece. It's actually a charm from a range of Pandora lookalikes.

Lovey

I've been collecting these beads for ages. Every time I buy a mixed box from Beads Direct I get a few of these beads in the mix. I love buying mixed bags of beads. You get some rubbish or unwanted beads but it's like a lucky packet, you get some treasures. Each of these is wired with a head pin with some needing seed beads. At first I attached them to every link but the effect was spoilt as you couldn't see the individual beads. I had to remove them all and start again. Time consuming but worthwhile in the end.

Recall

These clay beads have been around for a while. I bought about six strings of multi coloured clay beads from Beads Direct a while ago. If I don't concentrate on a particular theme then the Africa in me comes out.

Lucki

 

I'd made Claire a bracelet like this. Her aunt saw it and ordered three for her granddaughters. I had to go out and buy mixes of buttons as I didn't have enough in pinks and blues. I made these happily but they are time consuming. Each button is wired and then attached to the chain with a jump ring. The are about 36 buttons in each bracelet. The result is so rewarding and they jingle softly. I hope the girls enjoy and love them.

Street Chic - For Margaret - ORDER

Street Chic - For Margaret - ORDER

Street Chic - For Margaret - ORDER

Some of these beads are from my lucky packet stash. To me they are so special. Like little works of art.


Greco

Well, there's loads more to show and say but let me get this published. You'll note there are some glitches in the type face but I'm publishing anyway.