Artists' Trading Card (ATC) - September

Where has this year gone?  It seems it was March just the other day.  Here is the ATC for September, focusing on a much more Autumnal feel. The background is more mixed media, using book pages and dripped acrylic paint.  The fruit and berries have had glossy accents on them to add some shine, but this isn't very clear in the photos.

The gemstones are echoing the autumnal colours, with citrine, botswana agate, dyed shell, tiger's eye, red agate and two shades of mookite.  The gem for September is Lapis Lazuli, which is a beautiful deep blue.

On the back, there is the poem for the month and part of an autumn wreath stamp with leaves and berries.  For the first day of September, the weather is lovely with blue skies and sunshine.  

March Birthdays

March has been a month filled with birthdays for friends and colleagues and it is times like these that I am really pleased I can make gifts. Above is a memory wire bracelet with aquamarine, apatite, peridot, amazonite and lapis lazuli for a colleague.

I also made a card for her, using the Altenew 'Simple Flowers' stamp set, which has a lovely 'retro' feel. I was pleased with the end result. 

 Another colleague was given this memory wire bracelet, with aquamarine, agate, apatite, amazonite, tanzanite and lapis lazuli.

 I made her card using the Altenew 'Half tone circles' stamp set in shades of blues.

 A friend had their 40th birthday, so I printed some wrapping paper using a Blockwallah stamp 'Curious fox' (as she likes foxes).

 I also stamped the envelope...

...and the card (apologies for the bad lighting!)

Inside the card, I used my dies and die cutter to create the 40 (using glitter card) in a silver circle. I made her a beryl stretchy bracelet with sterling silver spacers, like mine from the previous post, and bought her a Blockwallah Curious Fox stamp. some fox material and a few other bits and pieces which I think she liked.
A good thing about making cards and presents is that it is unlikely they will be duplicated!

More kumihimo necklaces - finally completed

 I have made a few of these kumihimo (Japanese braiding technique) necklaces now and have finally finished three which just needed the ends completing.  I chose colours that I wear at work in the winter.  The purple one above uses 6mm faceted and plain gemstones.

 The blue one uses 6mm faceted and plain gemstones too...

...whereas this blue/green one uses gemstone chips.  I wanted to use the Chartreuse S-Lon cord in a piece of jewellery, so decided to try it out here.

Here's a close up of the purple stones which include amethyst, fluorite, agate, lavender amethyst.

 The blue one has aquamarine, different agates, lapis lazuli and sodalite in it.

The blue/green one has peridot (which matched the Chartreuse cord beautifully), amazonite, apatite and aquamarine.
I really enjoy the repetitive aspect of kumihimo which does become a relaxing and meditative activity.

Update on the wall situation:  the wall man came to have a look at the damage and said that a fence would be cheaper, but a wall could be put back, although not with the old bricks.  However, this would involve foundations four bricks width each side, so would mean the raised border would have to go and I would need to save the plants I wanted and then start again.  We are waiting for the quote...

Winter Blues bracelet

My latest bracelet was for a friend whose birthday was way back last September. I did give her a present at the time, but then said (as I find myself doing quite often) "I'll make you a bracelet with your birthstone in it!".  I tried to make a bracelet incorporating lots of blues and greens and using a silver toggle clasp but wasn't happy with it and having taken it to pieces twice, I decided to give up and make a macramé one instead.  It was so much easier and I was happy with it straightaway!  It has Lapis Lazuli (one of September's birthstones) and Sodalite (the blue and white stone) and two small quartzite or agate (I'm not sure which) on the knot ends.  I think my friend liked it, even though she had to wait several months to receive it!
I have been busy working on some blue polymer clay beads and some royal blue glitter beads which I am going to use in several macramé bracelets, alongside gemstones too.  I am also busy making all sorts of exciting things for one of the three blog swaps I have signed up for.  I will post photos eventually, when the recipients have received their parcels. 

Happiness is...

 ...lots of things, but making jewellery is definitely one of them.  I have been experimenting with some chunkier designs and am gradually starting to use my 'stash' to make into necklaces, bracelets and earrings.  The one above was made using labradorite, lapis lazuli, fluorite, shell, turquoise, blue/green jasper and a wooden flower as the centre bead.  Due to the labradorite and fluorite, it does sparkle in the right light and it certainly adds interest to a t-shirt and cardigan combination!

...buying new gemstones and designing new jewellery.  Above are some purple dyed agate circles which are going to become pendants, with only a few other gemstones (amethyst mainly) around them and the beading wire plaited.  They have the most beautiful patterns on them and it seems a shame to detract from the patterns,  so I shall only add details to the plain coloured ones.  I'm really looking forward to getting started.
I am pleased to say that the snow here has finally melted and the temperatures have finally gone up into the positives by day.  The poor garden is looking very bedraggled and sorry for itself, but hopefully, if we don't get any more snow, things will soon start to improve.

Jewellery (and problems with comments)

 Although I haven't been doing much felt making at the moment, I am making jewellery.  I love the way you can create a piece of jewellery and wear it the next day.  Above is a bracelet I made for my friend from Canada who has just been visiting England for the first time for three years.  I used amazonite, mother of pearl, labradorite, botswana agate, shell and zebra jasper, all in neutral shades.

The necklace is for me and is completely different from anything I have made before.  Usually, I have much more delicate designs, but I was trying to make a chunkier piece.  Initially, I tried to make an assymmetric design, but it just wasn't me at all, so I had to revert back to symmetry.  This design has a lot of different gems in it; lapis lazuli, keishi pearl, jade, blue-green jasper, shell, fluorite, labradorite, turquoise and kyanite.  I hope it will complement a lovely blue-green cardigan that I wear for work.  I am going to make an amethyst necklace next, leaving the wire showing at the back and maybe even plaited.

Incidentally, just to let my lovely followers know, I am having trouble with the comments on my blog.  For some reason, they seem to disappear and just show a white screen when you click on them.  I am hoping to find out what is happening and get it sorted as soon as I can.  (Technology, eh?  Brilliant when it works and a complete pain when it doesn't!)

Jewel colours

Owing to my recent felt making, I had to check my stock of lovely merino wool and ordered some more to replace some I'd run out of.  When I opened the box, I was greeted with this selection: turquoise, aqua, sky blue, purple and royal blue.  In gemstone colours they would be: turquoise, amazonite, chalcedony, amethyst and lapis lazuli.  What a gorgeous treasure chest of colours!

A jewel colour

A wonderful deep purple-blue that is in my garden at the moment. It is nearly the shade of lapis lazuli, but as it has a purple undertone, perhaps it is more a quadruple A tanzanite. Whichever it resembles, it is a stunning colour for this time of year. The plant is Caryopteris cladonensis 'Grand Bleu' which I planted to replace a Caryopteris cladonensis 'Heavenly Blue' which was affected by a soil problem I had. (Hopefully, having replaced the soil, this plant will continue to do well.)

It also has the added delight of scented leaves which have a slightly minty but certainly herby fragrance. It is good to have shrubs that can be relied on to perform during this rather changeable and unsettled weather we have. Although my garden is small, I have managed to fit quite a lot in, but it does mean that walking down the path can be rather a hazardous experience as there are lots of pots to negotiate your way past. If only I could have my half-acre plot...