Tuesday 28 January 2014

Eye Candy

I have been asked by a number of people from the "Grow Your Blog" hop to include some photos of my jewellery. Well here are a few pieces to hold you over till the weekend.. Hope you like them.

 







Monday 27 January 2014

My Week!

Hi everyone, I am enrolled in a class all week, here in hot and humid Puerto Vallarta, which leaves me wiped out at the end of the day (I must be getting old :)). Today was the first course day and I am reasonably pleased so far. 

This is my first box clasp, made using copper and German silver before putting it in a liver of sulphur solution long enough to obtain a pleasing patina. After removing the clasp from the solution, I neutralized and polished it. I am already hard at work on another clasp, this time using silver.


I plan to shift my focus back onto the blog hop by Saturday. I want this hop to be fun as well as meaningful so I will reply to all of your comments by the week end as well. Have a great week!

Friday 24 January 2014

Grow Your Blog

It is a trying experience figuring out how to add the link to the sidebar - sorry this is all new to me, but with persistence and effort, I hope to be able to add the link to the sidebar sooner rather than later.

A big thank you to 2 Bags Full for hosting this hop. Like so many others on the web, her generosity and thoughtfulness inspire me!

In the late 90s, I was co-owner of a successful ISP that grew from 300 to 75,000 customers in less than 5 years, and that included satisfying the needs of 18,000 very demanding business customers.  It was a hectic time, hiring and training 80 staff  members with the goal of delivering services in a timely, efficient and profitable manner. Whew!

Since 2000, I am no longer involved in that type of high stress environment. After selling the company, I began to direct my time and efforts towards more creative and passionate pursuits - like travelling and making jewellery. Who knew there was so much to learn and so many very excellent teachers to learn from? In person, I have attended classes in Canada, the U.S.A and Mexico. I have visited artisans in their homes and workshops and taken many on-line courses.

Every day, it seems, someone is offering new insights or developing improved techniques about some aspect of jewellery making. To me, jewellery making appears to be a hugely diverse world that continues to be  growing at an exponential rate  Keeping up with this rate of change seems overwhelming and it makes me a little bit uncomfortable with just how quickly things seem to be changing. In all honestly I would prefer to concentrate my efforts solely on making jewellery, but blogging and sharing information and ideas is just as important to me as is making jewellery. So I recognize that I need to push myself sometimes to communicate more using tools and techniques like facebook entries, blog entries and even a website.

I am a jewellery designer from Alberta, Canada. I love classes and tutorials of all kinds and take as many as I can. I started out in a metal smithing class making chains and have moved on to wire wrapping, enamel, sinking/raising, forming, metal clay ... the list goes on and on. This is the year for me to push myself in new directions and get more involved in the internet community. I hope this hop helps.

I am looking forward to checking all of your blogs and seeing more of what everyone has to offer.

My pledge this year is to be more active on facebook and so far that has been going well. (You can see some of my pieces by clicking the facebook link on the sidebar.) I am keeping to a pretty reasonable and  regular schedule and will attempt to do the same here. My aim is to share with you my ideas and experiences at least twice per week. Let's see how I do.

Being happily married to the same wonderful man since 1979 has been both a challenge and a joy. He continues to be supportive of just about everything I do. Together we have raised 2 children who have been my inspiration in life. They are both married to terrific partners. They assure me that they are practicing but, so far, we do not have any grandchildren. Oh well, all in good time.

My degree is in business with a major in computer science. All that I learned in the 70s and 80s is viewed as obsolete by today's standards. In fact, one of my COBOL textbooks is now on display as a museum exhibit in a computer lab at the University of Alberta! Most everything I know about computers from that time is now relegated to the history books. As I said earlier I was involved on the ground floor of the internet in the 90s, but much of that too has fallen by the wayside. What has been invented or introduced in the most recent 18 months, at most, seems to be what is important to learn about today, if you wish to stay current with technological advancements. Similarly, jewellery making seems to heading this way too.

My current passion is jewellery design / creation. I prefer chunky, bold pieces that make a statement. While some of my work is simple and easy to wear. some of it requires a strong personality and sense of style to wear. So be it! Be all you want to be! I tell my customers that it is all wearable, you just have to go for it and confidently express yourself through choices in fashion and complementary jewellery!

I am hoping to connect with some of you during this hop and, even if we only meet once, I am sure it will be fun.

Enjoy!

Wednesday 22 January 2014

This is Daunting!

This is daunting! I have never been much of a writer. My husband, yes, my son, definitely, my daughter, certainly. In fact, my children both make a living performing some sort of writing task. Me, the wife, the mother, not so much. But, I want to communicate with you. I find that as I communicate even as little as I do, I am beginning to enjoy this. I like sharing and I certainly like your feedback. (As I am sure we all do.)

I am currently working on skill building in my jewellery making. Over the year I have taken many classes, both in person and online. They have been amazing. I am very shy in class and therefore often ask few questions. When I get home all my questions rise to the surface and I put the newly acquired skill away and forget it. Well, the time has come to dust these skills off and put them to use. Right now I am working on patina, chain making and resin. I am also trying my hand at ceramic beads. Hopefully I can show results soon.

Hearts


I am not a real "lover" of hearts. They do not really appeal to me - I appreciate the sentiment but they just do not do it for me. Or so I thought - I have been cleaning and sorting my supplies after a "flood" in my basement in June 2013. In order to restore the mess and remove the mold all my belongs were hastily dumped into boxes for storage in my back lane (in a very large container) - as best as I can tell no thought was given to what was placed with what - 150 boxes plus furniture later my basement was stripped and then rebuilt -

Well we are not replacing all this "stuff" - it is a perfect opportunity to sort and get rid of things I do not use or need. In the sorting process I began to find hearts - my intension was to get rid of them and then I began to see a trend - more and more hearts began to appear.

Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. I have had heart issues for the past 3 years.... maybe these hearts were a message. So I began to build a necklace with all these hearts that I do not collect........

Thanks for visiting and sorry I cannot get the photo to appear.

Monday 20 January 2014

SIgnature Style

I have been posting on Facebook quite regularly lately and am trying to decide if I have a recognizable style yet. Have a look and tell me what you think please. Click here to go to my facebook page - it would also be nice if you could "like" my page while you are there.

Have a great day!

Here are a few pieces I have completed recently.  Enjoy!!!!!!!!





Do you see a style?

EYES

My eyes are something I have always taken for granted. I have worn glasses since I was 18 months old. (Not sure how they even test your vision at that age but photos confirm.) I have also been diabetic for the last 6 years. My numbers have been under control - that is until the last 4 months or so. This has dramatically affected my eyes. I cannot read a normal type book, the computer screen is a challenge, the list goes on. I am hoping we have caught this in time and the change is temporary. The visor is not a good look.

Thursday 9 January 2014

in the Groove

Hi All,

I am just home from lunch with my daughter (always a good time). We got to talking about inspiration and the process of making jewellery - how long it takes to make a necklace, for example. It occurred to me that the actual construction is getting easier. That does not mean that the creation is necessarily faster, sometimes yes - sometimes no. I guess it depends whether inspiration joins me. How about you - what is your experience?