Busy as expected a month before Christmas

It's been another busy week - as expected for this time of the year! I watched my children appear in their school play, had my show in Tamworth in 45+ degree (C) heat, did a morning's baking, celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary, loaded lots of new stock onto the website, almost caught up on my outstanding 'to do' list (we won't talk about the current to do list!!) and have even found some time to entertain a guest visiting from the USA and, amazingly, to make some jewellery! Gosh, I sound like a powerhouse LOL.

But, we all know that I'm just another mother - getting stressed, worrying over my children's schooling and activities, ignoring the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and going gray during the whole process (darn dye never lasts long enough!!)

That's the good thing about being creative, you switch off from the mundane and lose yourself in the creativity! Of course, the school bus eventually brings the children home, or the phone rings, or the computer beeps and tells me there is another message .... and life is suddenly back to normal.

Nevertheless, I keep hiding out in the studio and eventually something gets done. The pretty blue earrings photographed above are from a recent creative burst. Very chic, they are made with royal blue lapis lazuli topped with a small blue sapphire. I'd wear them, would you!?

Next week is my annual show in Coolah so I'm trying to find the time to make just a few more things before hand. Glutton for punishment, eh!?

'Till next
Annette :)

Finding things in common

I'm feeling like I'm back in the swing of things down here on the farm - i.e. I'm starting to get stressed at what I have to do before Christmas is upon me; my bench is piling up with "to do's"; and afternoons spent running the children around to after-school activities is slowly driving me to screaming point. All in all - back to normal LOL.

We're in the midst of some REALLY hot weather this week - it was easily in the low 40's (celsius) today and so very dry. We did have a splatter of rain in a storm but not enough to cool things off. Considering we're still in spring, this could pose a certain worry for the summer that is still to come!

I've managed to catch up on a little bit of blog reading and one thing that I love about reading blogs is the things you find you have in common with people - even if they seem so far removed from you. Whether that be in location or occupation or social status! It's great to find out that a fashion editor in London saves up her special buys and gifts 'for best' (even if 'best' rarely if ever arrives!). And the novelist in rural England who is an AWOL blogger and resident of a very dusty house because life keeps getting in her way. And even the European chef who couldn't decide WHAT to take (foodwise) to a party (nice to know even the professionals can't make up their mind!).

Do you follow a blogger who you've grown to see isn't that different from you after all?

Nancy from Tole4Thee noticed she had something in common with Victoria Beckham. Read her story here as it makes you realise we're really all just human beings sharing the planet!

I've started to make some jewels this past week as I have my first show since my holidays this weekend, at Tamworth. In aid of the Australian Brain Foundation, this annual Christmas fair is eagerly awaited and it is the first year I have been able to get in. I'm hoping for a day of meeting lots of new people and introducing them to the wonderful world of natural gemstones and pearls.

Perhaps someone will fall in love with this new bracelet of Hubei turquoise and sterling silver. It would look great winter or summer, don't you think!?

The upcoming festive party season

I'm getting back on track (finally!) and been checking out what has been happening in the jewellery world.

There have been a few star-studded events recently and I was pleased to see the gals at the 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards glammed it up and donned their jewels! And the First Lady's (Michelle Obama's) appearance on the cover of the US Glamour magazine has her frocked up for the party season wearing a big statement necklace.

Yes, unbelievably the festive party season is just around the corner. Eeek. This means our already overfull diaries are going to be even fuller as we work out HOW we can squeeze another Christmas drinks invite in!

I love the opportunity to get dressed up, glammed up and out and about, as out here in the country those opportunities are fairly sparse. But the festive period is different. Everyone starts to unwind from the year, the pressure of school eases, the kids are excited by the upcoming present-fest and all that extra daylight and warm weather has to be taken advantage of!

I must admit to loving the maxi-dress for these events - they hide a multitude of (body) sins, look feminine, are comfortable and are perfect for wearing something sparkly with! The earrings I've pictured above would be great with a colourful dress - not competing with it, but just adding some gleam! Made with pink and regular amethyst they are long and elegant and thankfully light (I find some long styles are just too heavy for me).

If you feel a little worried about the whole party scene, do check out the great post Unleash Your Inner Party Girl at Cherry Mag - lots of great advice!

Have you started to receive your festive occasion invites yet? In fact have you even THOUGHT about Christmas yet - its less than six weeks away now!

More beach photos

Morning sky at Woodgate Beach


I can't believe another couple of weeks have passed - in a blur! The first week was just my fuzzy 'holiday head' where I was quite content just to kick back.... Then last week we went to Temora for the NSW Aerobatic Championships where I was contest secretary. This involved very long days, extremely hot weather, very little sleep and lots of brain power.... but I survived LOL. We got home yesterday and I'm still exhausted. I'll get back on track soon, promise!

In the meantime here are some more holiday pics (click on them to see them larger!) :)

Shells on the beach


Morning sun filtering through the trees along The Esplanade


Kangaroo on the beach


Till next :)
Annette

The beach holiday plus kangaroos

Hello all! Have you had a busy couple of weeks? I’m sure you have! I’ve been having a wonderful time kicking back at our beach house in Woodgate, Queensland and relaxing – reading books, running along the beach and exploring what the tide has brought in each morning and generally enjoying family life without the stresses of the every day. Above is a photo of the beach from the entry nearest to our house taken just after dawn. Don't you wish you were there too!?

I mentioned in my last post that I wondered if I would have an unexpected animal popping up in any of my photos – and I didn’t. But I did catch a pic of kangaroos on the beach. This was taken during my early morning beach walk – they don’t go down when the sun is high, preferring to sit around under the shade of trees on people’s front lawns! Apparently they go down to wash in the salt water to remove parasites from their fur. Clever animals.



Here is another one a bit closer this time...this one had just been down to the water and had hopped up to the dune between the beach and the street.



On the return journey I attended the Connect09 Seminar on the Gold Coast where I met so many wonderful women – I knew most online but it was so great to actually meet these people in person, such as the warm and funny Cheeky Monkey herself, Monique, the inspirational Cath from the Squiggle Mum blog (check out her winning the Top AusMumpreneur 2009 award!) and even some people I only know from the C2Ms Goodie Bag group. I saw that Melissa from Business Mums Blog was talking about how great goodie bags are and I have to agree!

I haven’t had much time to do blog surfing this week, but I did see a post by Karen at Winding Threads that talks of addictions – hers is fabric and we all know mine is gems! But we’re quite happy to have these certain addictions in our lives LOL.

No gemmie news this week - I'm sure there has been some but I haven't caught up yet! So, till next week,
Cheers!
Annette

Finding Treasure and off on Vacation

We survived the dust storms last week with nothing worse than a very thick layer of dust on everything, even inside. It cleared here about 4pm in the afternoon and you could finally see further than a few feet in front of you. The dust apparently continued east visiting Lord Howe Is and some also went visiting up to northern parts of Queensland. Just as we felt like we could breathe again, we got a second one - but this happened overnight so by the morning it was a creamy yellow and cleared mid- morning. I was still hesitant to hang out washing though in case it came back! It has been very windy but no more dust to date. Thank goodness!

Don’t you love the idea of finding a treasure trove? A few weeks ago I heard of a rare gem carving being found in an archaelogical dig in Israel. It is a highly skilled minature gemstone carving of Alexander the Great found in Tel Dor on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, which was an important international port in ancient times. A tiny 1 centimetre long and half a centimetre wide, it is believed to be carnelian, Greek in origin and was found in a building dating from 323 to 146BC.

Now for the great part – it was found by an archaeology student from Philadelphia who was working on her very first dig! She was working on the techniques she had been taught of leveling the floor with her trowel and found the gem, realizing at once that it was different in size and shape than the rocks in the ground, and when it was cleaned up - bingo, a once in a lifetime find! Apparently there are only 20-30 such carvings (probably once set into a ring) in museums around the world and is the most significant find to have come from the area in years!

So do you think you could find some treasure? I saw a great post on Cherry Mag about gem fossicking in the outback and the writer found a nice little handful of garnets!

We’re off on holidays at the end of the week – our annual getaway north to warm weather, the beach and .... eeek! ... no internet connection. I love this pic

that was posted on the blog Casual Cottage – apparently this little squirrel just popped up in time to have his picture snapped by the camera (set on the timer and sitting on a rock) instead of the happy couple behind. Wonder if anything like that will happen on my holiday!?

Pic for today is suitable for some holiday glamour against lightly bronzed skin – fluorite gems cut into a marquise shape in a glorious array of colour.

Amazing dust storm and sharing creativity

Wow, we're in the throes of an amazing dust storm - woke up this morning and the light was orange, it faded to yellow and now its a creamy colour but there is a thick layer of dust everywhere and the gale force winds are blowing more of it here by the second!

The dust has been blown in from central Australia and it caused quite a bit of consternation this morning in Eastern Australia with the eerie colour and low visibility. You can taste the dust every time you breathe and we'll all be in for a thorough house clean when it stops. I heard a woman on the radio this morning say its reminiscent of the dust storms of the 1960s. Is mother nature trying to tell us something?

The end of last week passed in a blur - I had so much to do and it just didn’t get done – but that’s what happens when show season comes around!

I went to the Merriwa Show last weekend and had a blast but I think I’m still recovering :) They certainly kept me on my toes and it was lovely to catch up with clients from previous years. I love how they keep on coming back for more.

Lots of new pieces found new homes and that means they didn’t even get seen by a wider audience as they didn’t actually make it to the website. But I know they’ll be loved by their new owners, so that’s okay. If you make something do you like to know its going to be loved by its new owners too?

I saw this fantastic quote on Jill’s blog Liv’nGood Jewelery, the writer certainly loved her jewels:

The jeweler allows me to wear the sapphire blue lake on my finger, the emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go. Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows. And if I have to work late, there’s nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky.
~Astrid Alauda, “Office With No Windows”

Artisans, artists and crafters all get a real kick out of selling their work – its kind of like sharing a little piece of their creative self with the world. Check out the wonderful repurposed work of Elena, these funky fob tabs by Melanie and these cute 'my little monster's' by Monique – isn’t such diverse talent a great thing to be able to share!

Today’s picture is of a wonderful necklace of ametrine sticks. Ametrine being a combination of citrine and amethyst and these stones have a beautiful high polish finish. Featuring a big silver toggle clasp to wear on the side or the back it is both classic and just a touch flamboyant.

On a completely different note, have you all noticed how fast your children are growing up? My son, at 11 ½ is just past my nose! My girls aren’t far behind him, either! Yet I know they’ll still worry me even when they’re taller than me and looking completely grown up.

Jamie of Destination Handmade got a terrible fright recently when her 19 year old who is away at University was briefly held at gunpoint for his bag and wallet! Hearing this sort of thing just makes me want to freeze the children as they are – at an age when I can still be around to protect them!

So, note to self for today - don't take Mother Nature or your family for granted!

Till next
Annette :)