Updating Jewellery

As I've stated before I love to revamp people's old pieces. A friend asked me to put on some new clasps to a heap of her necklaces a couple of months ago. In with the package was a simple gold tone piece. My friend says, 'Oh that's just a Vinnie find'. So I asked if I could play and make it into something more wearable. With permission granted I made this:

into this:

Personally I love the result. I've wanted to try the geometric peyote shapes for a while so used this as my opportunity. Following the simple instructions from Diane Fitzgerald's "Shaped Beadwork" I made them using 2 colours of delica beads. I took off the discoloured bits of chain, removed the hand made hook clasp and chucked the plain joiners between the filigree sections.

I'll do some more of these geometric shapes. I loved doing them and they work up really quick.

Oatley 101 Society of Artists Inc

On the weekend I spent my time with beading friends and making some new friends at the Oatley Society of Artists. They put on several art shows a year. August is their main show where the members not only display and sell their works but are judged and awarded. I went with a friend last year to check it out and was impressed with the quality of their work. The society asked a couple of my beading friends - Neva from Nifty Creations, Caroline and me (yaay!) to display and sell our artisan jewellery. It was a great weekend. So many friendly people. I also sold some things including my 'Dragonfly Garden' (enjoy wearing it Linda) and also another couple of my favourite pieces including;

The Matrix

Vitrail Silver

Ambrosia Flash

We have been asked back for the November show and am excited that I can make some new pieces.

In Loving Memory

I don't talk much about personal things on this blog because it wasn't set up to be a personal diary. This entry will be personal.

My beautiful sister passed away on March 30th. I've talked about her once before, here. I loved her very much. She was loved by pretty much everyone who met her. She spent her life giving. She battled anorexia in its various stages for 30 years. Anorexia isn't just not eating. It stems from an inability to understand your worth. It includes an absence of self identity. It often begins as obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. My sister never wanted to be skinny. She didn't regulate her food to be thin. She just didn't think she had enough right to take up space.

Roslyn was a special soul with a gracious, gentle, loving spirit. You will be missed.

Mandalas

Because I was in a little 'nyah' period last year, I bought myself the book 'Beading - the creative spirit' by Rev. Wendy Ellsworth. The first project she gives is making mandalas. So I set to. I made one with the seed beads I had using size 8 beads. It's actually really fun. Here it is.

Well the idea is to make several 'geometric' mandalas so you have time to get into the zone and play with colours etc etc. And I thought to myself, 'what will I do with all these mandalas?'

Well....

This little pot has been sitting on the coffee table in our house for as long as I have memory. No idea the story or where they come from. A little pot of coasters - wood with cork inside. I almost threw them out when I moved house because they were old and scrappy but at the last minute I kept them. A small thing that has always been in your life you know.

So I thought that I would make the mandalas to replace the corks. I used size 15 beads (for those who like to know these things ) and glued them down a couple of days ago. I'm quite pleased with them.

The set....

The individual coasters.....

The next project in the book is to make a personal mandala. This is going to be a challenge but I have some ideas floating around. Hopefully I'll have it started by the end of the year. I already have a place where I'd like to hang it in my house. Hopefully a story about that will come soon.

My Beautiful Sister

I drove my sister to Newcastle yesterday. She'll be staying there for a few weeks. We stopped off at one of the suburban shopping centres for lunch. As we made our way to the ladies, a cleaner saw my sister, recognised her and said hello.

I asked my sister how she knew the cleaner. She replied that it was probably because her clothing is distinctive and then told me this story.

She said that a while ago, while waiting in line for the toilets the cleaners had been working. (The above lady being one of them.) She said the cleaner walked into one of the cubicles and ..... 'argggh'. She called the other cleaner and ..... 'eeewwww'. 'How can people do that and leave that? Some people are so disgusting', they said.

Well, my sister, having overheard this conversation felt sorry for the cleaner. She said she bought a $1 card and wrote in it, 'Thank you for all the hard work you do in this centre. You do a wonderful job.' Then she left it on the cleaners cart. She doesn't know whether the cleaner saw her leave it there.

Such a small action that would have made such a big difference to the cleaner's day. Also, very much something that my sister would think of doing.

I am so lucky to have such a beautiful person as my sister. Just had to share.