Octoberfest 2013

Rita of Toltec Jewels has again organized the Octoberfest ~ and the reveal is right now!

For once there will be no jewelry from me... it has been incredible crazy here lately and I just didn't have the energy to create anything this week.

But rest assured, I have some eye candy :)

Two weeks ago we celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada. Due to the general craziness I haven't posted any of the pictures from that weekend, so here we are now.

Before you go trying to guess what this might be (you don't want to know what my mom thought it is!) ~ it's supposed to be a turkey. With a little bit of imagination you'll see it (the mango is his head, the olives the eyes)

It's a veggie turkey!

• the child was saying something... and yes, he needs a trim - actually he doesn't anymore, he got one last weekend :) 

• a golden Thanksgiving! 

• hello from hubby!

•  beautiful rose with a cute natural candle holder (a little pumpkin :) )

•  On Thanksgiving Monday we went to Balls' Falls - they host a festival the whole weekend, with a bit of a pioneer village and lots of fun

•  the blacksmith shop, one William was the most interested in! actually hubby had to come and check if there is something interesting happening, we wouldn't come out :) 

•  good information :) 

• they have lots of old (I mean *old*) engines... all in perfect working condition. Think Ford engines from early last century! The child learned a bit about how the engines work

•  an interesting old book - 'how to...' the barn edition :) 

•  this gentleman was patiently cutting wood using this 'machine' (similar to the old sewing machines) to handle the saw... it was very much like sewing with a small blade... 

• ... and this is the incredible result!

•  hubby admiring an old Waterloo engine - this, ladies and gentlemen, is a tractor! 

•  the child running away so nobody can take a picture of him!

• ... when couldn't run anywhere else - he simply hid behind his hands! 

•  Happy Thanksgiving!! (I caught him :) )

I hope your autumn treats you well (our just ended a couple of days ago, with flurries, frost and cold grey weather)!

Thank you, Rita, for organizing this event - it's a great gathering.
Thank you all for visiting - and please make sure you check what the other participants have been up to!

You can find them all at Rita's place ~ having a nice chat about autumn and maybe sharing a pint of beer and some sausages!

Socrates' three filters

One day Socrates met an acquaintance who said:

- Socrates, I've heard something about one of your students.

- Just a moment, answered Socrates. Before you tell me what you've heard, let's filter the information.
The first filter is 'the truth filter'. Are you certain the information is true?

- Not really, I just heard it, I don't know if it's true or not.

- OK. The 2nd filter is 'the goodness filter'. Is what you're trying to tell me something good about my student?

- Err... no, quite the opposite.

- You still have a chance with the 3rd filter, 'the usefulness filter'. Is the information going to be useful in any way?

- No, not really...

- So: if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor useful, why would you say it?!

A timeless advice: as current today as 2,500 years ago :)

Focus on Life ~ Week 43: In the shadows

If you're looking for the Echo Creative Club reveal - please check here!

Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime is hosting a year long challenge which is... sublime... as you'd expect with such a studio name. The challenge is named 'Focusing on Life' and every week Sally is sending a prompt on what should we focus the following week.

This week she's musing about the arrival of fall and the inescapable loss of light (in the Northern Hemisphere) and she asked us to look for intriguing images created by light and shadows.

The whole week has been gray - there were no shadows, because there was little light: everything has been a continuous gray shadow (and downright depressing - it's a good thing I didn't have time to think about it :) )... today I got the same gray... except for 15 minutes, just a moment ago.

And that was my moment!

In case you wonder ~ a couple of years ago I applied spring decals on the living room windows: butterflies and flowers. That was my way of going to an incredibly dark and humid winter... and I left them there, they make me smile :)

Now I had some huge butterflies flying away in the sun, or their reflection on the sheers, to be exact!

Thank you for stopping by ~ please visit the rest of the group to see what lurks in the shadows :)

Echo Creative Club - October edition

Welcome to the October edition of the Echo Creative Club - the lovely brain child of Jeannie Dukic.

As you well know by now, Jeannie is sending each of the designers one of her polymer clay components and we ask our muse to kindly help in creating something that would make it justice!

This month I chose the cherry blossom ~ matching some incredible new 'blooming' I am doing right now (which I will be able to reveal soon, I hope...).

It started like this:

Then Thanksgiving (Canadian version) happened and I had to move my stuff from my desk onto our places (seeing that my desk is really the dining room table :) ) and the day after Thanksgiving I said to myself "let's start working"... then I promptly panicked, as I could not find the cherry blossom! Out came Theresa's glass cab, Cynthia's tribal mask, Natalie's ceramic sets... and at the bottom of the basket there smiled to me the pink beauty.

I was so happy to have found it that I ignored my self-promise to never touch the brass wire I still have around. Since I have no gold-filled wire, brass it is - it had to match the gold in the middle of the blossom!

I sketched one idea and realized it's not going to happen with this brass; I was out of antique bronze (which is soft and nice and usable)... back to the drawing board to find another idea. While I was working away on Cynthia's gorgeous piece I turned ideas in my mind and one of them clicked!

The focal was born - and I didn't like it. The concept - yes, the result?! not really. It was clear to me it's both the gauge (too thin) and the size of the focal itself (too large). Out came the 18 gauge, the bracelet mandrel, ring mandrel, the hammer (the wire it's not only hard, it's also springy - I had to hammer it down to convince it to stay at the size I wanted it to be) and ta-daa, success:

Cherry blossom by Jeannie Dukic, brass, died jade, seed beads

For the neckpiece I decided to use one of my favourite tricks: half metal, half fabric:

Double wire wrapped jade - links again!

For the fabric side I went for a new idea: cotton cord (the one used for Kumihimo) and embroidery floss in many, many strands :) All braided in a 4-thread braid - I liked it!

4-thread braid & brass - messily wrapped 

And when we put all of them together we get: Golden Spring:

For some strange reasons I figured out my fingers need more beating and I made one charm, then another... I'll finish them as earrings now :)

I seriously need to learn a better way to photograph long necklaces... hope you got the idea :)

Many thanks to Jeannie: for giving me the opportunity to participate in her special club, and for providing her amazing art components. I love working with them!

Thank you for stopping by and please check everybody else's creations - it promises to be a great gathering!

Alicia Marinache <- you are here
Charlie Jacka
Dagi 
Jeannie K Dukic
Lisa Lodge

Antiquity Travelers' 2nd Blog Anniversary party!

As you may recall, Cynthia of Antiquity Travelers is celebrating her 2 blog anniversary in style!
Just a few months ago I received an email from Cynthia, asking if I would take part in a grand celebration of her anniversary ~ jewelry-style. I haven't had the chance to meet Cynthia face-to-face, but I had the opportunity to grow (remember my 'bloom' word of the year?!) a virtual friendship with her during this past year, year and a half.

I was incredibly honoured to be part of this group ~ filled with artists I came to respect and call my eFriends too. Of course I said 'Yes!' and this is what came in the email not so long ago:

I had no idea what I wanted to make all I knew it was it's going to be delicious!

Lately I've become obsessed with links - blame it on Cindy Wimmer's new book and on Patti's constant creations (she's posting daily one or two more beauties she made with Cindy's links from her book!). I stood there, looking at the package, and trying to visualise links... what kind? how? why? Existential questions, as you can see :)

And then... it just came to me and this Tribal Dance was born:

Tribal Dance

The links are made of silver plated copper wire (very soft to my hands, very soft!), on a jig, an infinity link with a lovely double scroll. All kept together with scraps of the incredible blue sari silk.

The main link is looking somewhere between Minnie's ears and a round gift package - I haven't decided yet :)

Did I ever mentioned how impossible is to capture a long necklace?! something I need to learn to do in a better way - but it'll give you an idea of how the necklace is draping: the focal is about 2 in long and the whole necklace is quite long, doesn't need a clasp (I like them better that way for the winter, less opportunities to loose them under all the clothing required)

And here she is again: the leader of her tribe, with ribbons in her hair, dancing away in a sacred dance: an infinite and ancient custom of her tribe.

Wow ~ Cynthia, my dear, that just came while I was typing away... apparently I am better with words at 3:15 am! And this is truly honouring your style: the Ethnic Boho :)

Please make sure you visit our group to see what everybody made with Cynthia's generous gift!

Happy Anniversary, Cynthia! Thank you for the opportunity to party along - and thank you for a priceless friendship. I learned a lot from you these past 2 years and I am very happy to be able to say 'I know Cynthia! She's my friend!' :)

Our host: Cynthia Machata        Antiquity Travelers

Janet Bocciardi          Honey from the Bee

Christine Altmiller      One Kiss Creations

Bobby Rafferty          Beadsong

Therese Frank           Therese's Treasures

Alicia Marinache        All the Pretty Things <- you are here

P.S. I feel I need to explain why Her Majestic Chiefness doesn't have any adornments ~ Cynthia lovingly provided those gorgeous seed beads and the equally lovely gemstones. However Her Chiefness (I need to find her a name) refuse categorically to be adorned with anything but the silk ribbons in her hair. I tried to argue with her, but if there is one thing I've learned in the past few years is that it's never a good idea to put your stubbornness against an inanimate object's stubbornness! You learn how to let it go and I let her be what she wanted to be: a simple dancer :)

The frog race - fable

There was once a bunch of tiny frogs, who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.

The race began… No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

They shouted, “Oh, way too difficult!!! They will NEVER make it to the top” and “Not a chance. The tower is too high”. The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher….

 The crowd continued to yell, “It’s too difficult! No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up…

But one continued higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! And he reached the top.

Everyone wanted to know how this one frog managed such a great feat.
His secret? This little frog was deaf!!

The morale? Be deaf to the pessimism of others. It can take your dreams from you.

Stay positive. 

~Author Unknown

Code it Pretty: Add Pin It Buttons to Your Blogger Posts

I've been trying for a while (not in a very determined way, mind you) to add a Pin It button to the blog. Now - Blogger (Google's blog app) is not known for easy customization and I do have friends who swear by Wordpress. It's just that I have so much information already in here, I don't even want to think to move it over (I have moving things: virtually or physically).

Tonight I was determined to succeed - probably because my piano practice was going down the drain and I can't for the life in me remember more than a few measures (I have 4 pages to memorize until next week!).

I've searched 'how to add a pin it button to blogger' and I started following advice... and following... and nothing worked. Now I was almost mad: I *must* succeed, something *has* to work properly today!

Then ~ I found it! I simply ignored the part about the time and I kept following the very easy instructions. Now I have a Pin It button next to each and every one of my pictures on the blog. Tadaa!! Victory!

This is the very helpful article, in case you want to add it to your own blog, hosted through Google's Blogger:

Code it Pretty: Add Pin It Buttons to Your Blogger Posts: Update: May 2013 Many more Pin It options for Blogger have become available in the year since this post was written — including new, ea...

... and the winner is...

The 2-years blogo-versary has passed and the giveaway has ended. Thank you all for participating ~ and thank you for joining me on this amazing adventure!

There was a heart to be won :)

Now... without any further delay... drum rolls... the winner is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More treasures

No matter how many times I tell myself I don't need more gems, more beads, more stones... I end up buying more. Mostly because some of the deals are too good to pass, and sometimes because in my area we have just a handful of Gem Shows a year ~ you miss them, you'll wait until next year. Last (but definitely not least), I just come up with new ideas I need special stones for :) I know I'm not alone...

Anyhow ~ this is what happened recently.

First, I have been asked by 2 dear eFriends to participate in their own personal anniversary events: both Cynthia of Antiquity Travelers and Therese of Therese's Treasures had a similar idea and I was one of the lucky few to be given the opportunity to work with their choices.

Cynthia's is celebrating her 2-year blog anniversary with a small blog-hop and her package arrived first:

• a beautiful red silk bag... what can it hide?! 

•  OMG ~ look at that! A gorgeous tribal 'mask' (handmade in polymer clay by Jana of Happy Fish) with lovely matching reclaimed sari silk (look at that incredible blue!), along with seed beads and a strand of gemstones. In love!

•  Yes, definitely in love: my uncle used to make such tribal masks (larger, for interior decorating, carved in wood) and Cynthia's tribal figure just sent me back in time! Now all I need to do is incorporate this childhood memory in a piece of jewelry... not sure what yet, but I am confident I'll work it out. You'll have to come back on Wednesday, October 23rd to see what we have created (and how close we stayed to our own styles, or borrowed from Cynthia's "Ethnic BOHO"!)

Therese had a blast over the summer learning to fuse glass. She decided that having a blast is something one must share and share she definitely did. She is celebrating her own birthday with a blog hop as well and her package arrived this past week containing this:

• totally, completely, 100% swoon ~ it has a beautiful texture too, you can't really see it, but in the upper-right 'corner' and bottom-left one, the blue areas are waving, a little bit like the ocean... It is such a gorgeous piece, I've been going back and forth with ideas ~ nothing pleases me so far! I'll figure it out. The day when we will reveal the work made with her glass cab is Saturday, November 16th ~ please mark your calendars and make sure you'll visit too :) 

A couple of weeks ago there was a sale on lampwork glass... I have a very unhealthy (financially speaking) relationship with glass: I cannot resist it! Show me an art bead and I suddenly must have it. Oh, the conversations my two "I"s have... they drive me nuts :) This time I succumbed to these beauties made by Heather Behrendth of Lampwork Glass by Heather:

How could one resist? I haven't seen that many musical notes on a staff in glass and these are just perfection.

And, of course, there was the Ancaster Rock and Gem Show. It's very close to my house and it happens only once a year, so I can't miss it, can I?!

• This is how the 'loot bag' looked like ~ after taking off the child's rocks (he completed his collection with some new beauties... he actually had a list of what he wants to buy!) 

•  Of course I couldn't pass this beauty, a blue Argonite with the most surreal sky-blue tint I've ever seen... no, couldn't have passed it. 

•  Rose quartz cabs ~ a special plan was devised for them :) 

•  Jasper cabs - same size as the Rose ones (what the angle of the picture can do with the image :) )

•  My favourite: Amazonite (cabs)

•  I finally got a sandstone in the proper size (have been looking for one for a couple of years now) ~ different 'landscape' on each side. Can't wait to get to it :) 

•  Apparently I am in love with Labradorite ~ I have about 5 of them now... still waiting for me to clean the studio and get my new desk in, so I can start working properly (note: my current desk is the very first one we bought in Canada, it can't really withstand metal working so I was gifted a wood-desk for my birthday... ouch, that's almost 6 months ago :) )

•  These little donuts were way too cute to pass by ~ various stones: hematite, jasper, quartz

•  3 strands of 3 very different stones: larimar (the chips on the right), amazonite (the top right bag), and jasper (bottom right bag) ~ and yet they look almost identical! 

• And a splendid Amethyst ~ it'll end up being wire-wrapped, most likely. I had no vision for it, I just knew I can't leave it there, it has such a lovely colour :) 

And there you have it ~ please pray I actually make something with them. I sure have some ideas, some plans... all I need is dedication now.

What kind of treasures have you recently acquired?