Hello readers and lovers of statement jewellery, how nice to meet up with you here again. 'Rio?' I hear you ask,'why Rio?' Well, why not Rio, it's just as good a place as any to draw inspiration from. I watched this movie last week as a form of escapism from the sad dreariness of the atrocities being reported with such depressing regularity on the news, and was simply blown away by the imagery and colours. What a fabulous riot of colour! Stars and SpikesIt was Thanksgiving and imagery of the Stars and Stripes were everywhere. Perhaps influenced by that, came Stars and Spikes. I love unusual shaped beads, adding to the drama of the piece. The howlite beads in this necklace have been dyed a deep orange and to contrast with them, I used blue mother of pearl stars. The leaf spacers were left over from a previous necklace, and seemed to fit snugly into the side of each star. The central bead is an acrylic bead, made to look like turquoise and although it doesn't quite succeed in its mission, it is a pretty and worthy centrepiece to this bold and bright necklace. RioTo my mind the ultimate travel destination, the Rio carnival has something to do with the colours on this page. I took delivery of two strands of graduated howlite spikes this week and converted them into three necklaces with the addition of other beads. Highly colourful, these necklaces would not look out of place at a carnival, but will look just as nice in the unfussy neckline of a plain dress or T shirt. That's this week in a nutshell folks. I hope you liked my instant-cheer-in-a-necklace effort, and that there is a smile on your face at the end of this blog post - goodness knows we need it.
Have a good week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx
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Hello readers, it has been such a long and heart wrenching week with the events unfolding in Beirut and Paris. The world has shrunk and is suddenly a scary place to live in, with one bunch of people blaming another, and violence erupting around innocent bystanders. In the words of Albert Einstein, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." My thoughts are with all the victims of the horrific attacks, as well as all those who will undoubtedly suffer serious discrimination as a result of the actions of a few mass murderers in the name of religion. It seems almost frivolous to talk about jewellery with the next breath, however, life goes on, and this is a jewellery blog. I almost had nothing to talk about, I couldn't bring myself to pick up my beads, my heart was so heavy. I made some earrings in a desultory manner, just to keep my fingers and mind occupied. Eventually, I picked up a hank of tiny African trade beads and began to string them. My subconscious seemed to crave colour on these depressingly grey days, glued to the television, watching events unfold with retaliation and retribution going back and forth until I was reminded of that age old question about the chicken and the egg. The term "Trade Beads" typically applies to beads made predominately in Venice, the Czech Republic and other European countries from the late 1400's through to the early 1900's, and traded in Africa and the Americas. The Venetians dominated this market and produced the majority of the beads sold during this time. One of the most intriguing aspects to these beads is how they survived over a hundred years of wear and travel, back and forth through at least three continents. Another mystery is who wore them before and who will have them next.......after us! I managed to get an eight stranded necklace from the hank. The bright colours were cheerful and uplifting, and I certainly needed it this week. I recently acquired a few Tuareg pendants all the way from Rabat in Morocco. The one I used in this necklace is made of ebony, inlaid with 0.925% silver. Carnevale Tuareg culture has a long matrilineal strain: the Tuareg consider themselves descendants of a great female ancestress, Tin Hinan. Historically, women have held positions as tribal leaders, and they still enjoy great behavioral freedom. They go about unveiled (while the men cover their faces), they may divorce at will, own the family tent and control their own property. Amulets are worn to ward off evil, to protect family and livestock, and to cure diseases. They are traditionally worn by both genders and are part of everyday wear. Religious symbols may be carved into the amulets, and they are expensive. Silver is traditionally considered as pure and lucky, while gold is thought to be malevolent, unclean and wasteful. I love the versatility of tribal necklaces and am just as likely to pair them with T shirts as I am with more formal attire. There's also the allure of wearing accessories with a meaningful backstory. HabibiHere's another necklace, this time with a silver Tcherot amulet. The word Habibi means loved one, or darling. I added multicolour African vinyl beads, Krobo beads from Ghana and some polymer clay beads I made myself. The unique thin, multicoloured disc (heishi) beads are made with vulcanite, a vulcanized hard rubber and traces of vinyl. These beads were most likely produced in Europe (Czech Republic or Germany), and then exported to West Africa.The tcherot amulet in this necklace is three dimensional. That is all I could bring myself to make this week, readers. I unconsciously used bright colours in an effort to cheer myself up and hope you have enjoyed them too. Take care and stay safe, I cannot see this crazy conflict ending any time soon. In the meantime, have a good weekend, and I'll catch you next Friday, same place, same time xx Hello readers, and thanks for joining me in wishing Caprilicious a very happy fourth birthday. Every year I have made Ms Muse a special necklace with my most favourite pendants and beads. This year, I decided to celebrate Caprilicious' fourth birthday by learning a new technique and use it in making a birthday necklace for my muse. Pearl Hibiscus I purchased a tutorial by Barbara Becker Simon to make the hibiscus flower clasp and spent a week carving and embellishing it. To do this, I needed tiny wood carving gouges and I spent a while surfing the net to find them in the UK. The clasp is made in bronze clay and is large and showy. The central 'stick' part of the toggle is a stamen and was a lot of fun to make. I looked for the perfect beads to go with it, and my eyes fell on a beautiful strand of stick or Biwa pearls in my stash. Stick pearls are made by inserting long strips of shell or a nucleus into the mantle of the mollusc. This allows an elongated pearl sac to form quickly. Once they have been nucleated, the mussels protect their flesh from the irritants by secreting nacre, the calcium-carbonate compound known more commonly as mother-of-pearl. Over the course of 2 to 7 years, the mussels deposit layer upon layer of nacre around the central nucleus. It is from pairs and groups of closely-spaced stick pearl sacs merging together that more or less flat pearls reaching an impressive size are harvested. Lake Biwa in Japan produced pearls like these regularly for some years, so it is possible that a technique learned from there is being acknowledged by calling these pearls Biwa pearls. You can read more about it in this article. The pearls in the necklace are V shaped and have a pale peach lustre. The clasp can be worn to one side - or at the back with the hair up, to display it to its best advantage - it most definitely warrants displaying. It is set off by a couple of enamelled beads from Rajasthan and little garnet beads between the pearl sticks. Mini Tribal NecklaceHere's one more in the mini tribal series. I added a little crescent shaped pendant to tiny green seed beads to make a vibrant necklace. Blue MangoThe little paisley beads of blue howlite are set off by the lost wax bronze African beads. The peridot beads are just the right shade of green and go perfectly with the howlite. Peony PetalI love labradorite - at first glance it is a pale grey insignificant stone - only when it is moved in the light does it come into it's own. The flash of colour that emanates from deep within the stone are like mini fireworks. I teamed labradorite with pale pink beads - the colours are so sophisticated together. New MoonThe pendant for this necklace came from the Banjara people in India and I teamed it with colourful beads in lucite, gemstones and polymer clay to make a vibrant necklace. The coins dripping from the lower edge of the pendant rustle pleasingly when moved. And that's a wrap folks, in this, the final week of Caprilicious' fourth year. I am going to celebrate Diwali this weekend with a few friends. Have a great weekend and I'll catch up with you next Friday, same time, same place xx Hello readers, thanks for joining me again this week. Still in an introspective mood, I have spent time thinking about how and why I am here today, writing to you about my intense involvement with Caprilicious and jewellery making. The story goes back to five years ago - I was quietly pootling along, minding my own business, having taken a class or two in a jewellery school near me, making gifts for friends, when Wham! life threw my family a curve ball. My youngest sibling, my much loved brother passed away suddenly at the age of 46 - there was no inkling that this was about to happen and it was a major shock. I returned to the UK and the day job. But readers, I found I just couldn't do justice to a caring profession when I was walking around in a thick fog of sadness. Apart from my husband I was on my own, with very little support. Of course I carried on, but when I got back home after work however, I found that I had acres of time with nothing to fill the long winter nights. In danger of falling apart I had to find something pretty darn quickly to fill my time. And so, I brought out the beads and the wire and made a whole bunch of 'things' - that's the best word for those early attempts. But of course, as time passed, the 'things' began to resemble something that I might actually wear. A short while later, I was having a chat with a friend who said that I ought to set up a Facebook page - 'You are so ready', she said. So I bestirred myself and soon after, a Facebook page called Caprilicious Jewellery was in the pipeline. I started off by posting a few photographs, and earned a bollocking from my friend - 'for God's sake take better pictures', she said. That was the next hurdle. I spent ages researching how to take a decent picture with my little Canon IXUS. I had a very small start up budget which I had already blown on supplies and tuition, so I had to do all the work myself - I found Picasa and Weebly and wrote my own website, bought a domain name and even started this blog. I had eleven comments almost straight away on the blog, be still my palpitating heart! Wow! I had arrived!! HA! They were all spammers, as I did not have the know how at the time to switch on comment selection, but the plus side to it was that I found out where to buy fake Raybans, weight loss pills and penile enlargement agents, sometimes from the same outlet. SInce then, I've learned many interesting techniques, opened and closed online outlets on Facebook and Etsy, had two successful exhibitions in Bangalore, and have not lost my enthusiasm for jewellery one bit. I've continued to write and modify my website and enjoy posting this blog religiously each week on a Friday. I've recently acquired a fabulous new DSLR camera, taken lessons on how to use it and set up a little home studio, having decoupaged a second hand dress form and put up a backdrop to ensure that I never get another bollocking from my friend again. My latest endeavour has been to set up a soldering station and warm connections will be the direction in which I will take Caprilicious in its fifth year. I love wire, and the ability to connect two pieces of metal without the application of heat is a very tricky and intricate process, but now the time has come to add another string to my bow. So, why do I feel the need to sell my jewellery, to put my heart on the line in an already crowded market and risk rejection, time after time? It certainly isn't for the money it brings - thankfully I am not dependant on my income from Caprilicious. Any money I make here is used to buy more supplies, although I dream of a successful business by the time I am ready to retire from my day job. I am intimately connected to each piece I produce and it gives me so much pleasure when someone likes my jewellery enough to put their money where their mouth is. To actually part with their hard earned cash for my work is a validation of my efforts. Caprilicious is my alter ego, and people who buy from me are almost buying a piece of my soul - they are my soul sisters. I send their jewellery out as soon as possible and then wait with bated breath for them to mail me and tell me how much they love the piece of my soul that they hold in their hot little hands - and so continues the Caprilicious sisterhood. I make most of my jewellery of an evening, sitting with my husband in front of the television, and I never know what I am going to make that day. It all depends on my mood after a day at work and the beads that choose to emerge from my stash. Now that the Infection Control Police at the day job have brought in the 'bare below the elbows, and no jewellery' rule, I don't have that many places to wear my pieces - I have to share them with the other Caprilicious women of the world before I end up needing a new house with enough storage room for all the stuff I create. I make around two or three pieces each week - it would be rude to hide them all away in a cupboard and so I put them on my website for anyone who fancies them to enjoy. Time is a great healer - that cliche is certainly correct, and I am not as manic about my requirement to keep myself busy any more. I still think of my brother, of course I do, but the pain in my heart has dulled with age. I have made many new friends since starting Caprilicious - women I would never have met if I had carried on walking in my narrow path as a medic, and that is a fantastic byproduct. I couldn't imagine not knowing Rachel or Neelam, Bernadette or Divya to name but a few and it's amazing how this has happened. I am usually quite reserved, and to make friends literally out of the ether was extremely unexpected. Also, I have found it easier to start a conversation when I am wearing a piece of Caprilicious - people seem to come up to me and talk about my jewellery, and when I tell them I made it, that is usually the beginning of a long chat. In a strange way, the jewellery seems to do the talking - well, perhaps that's why it is called 'statement jewellery'! This has been a slow week for Caprilicious - I have a few projects in the pipeline, but nothing finished, photographed, and blog worthy. I will have something - in fact I should have plenty for the blog next week. In the meantime, I made a necklace with a Chandiya - the pendant comes from the Banjara peoples of India and is so called because of its shape - a crescent moon (chand). The Banjaras are said to be descendants of the Roma gypsies of Europe who migrated to India through the mountains of Afghanistan and finally settled down in Rajasthan. The colourful stream of the Banjaras began to travel down to the South in the 14th century. Thanks to the number of cattle they owned, the Banjaras worked for the Moghuls, transporting provisions and arms, setting up camps on the outskirts of army encampments. I made polymer clay beads to resemble resin amber and Yemeni ebony prayer beads with a silver inlay - the 'silver' in my beads is aluminium wire. I spent time refurbishing the pendant and restored a missing end cap with faux amber and added a bunch of hotfix crystals where they had gone missing. This yielded a handsome piece of jewellery, very ornate, yet easily wearable. This is my output for the week. As I said, I have a few things in the pipeline, which will be on next week's blog. Until then, have a fabulous week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place
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