Hello folks, how are you today? I'm a happy bunny - I've never been busier at work and that makes me enjoy and appreciate my leisure time much more. I was in London for a couple of days at the brand new Royal College of Obstetricians and Gyaecologists - the building is new, not the College itself. Well, actually, the building isn't new either, it is a refurbished hop storage facility connected by an atrium to an office block. I'm told the architects won awards for the refurbishment and they deserve it - it is rather nice. It's in a rather seedy neighbourhood, though, compared to the original building opposite Regent's Park and our spirits were all dampened by the 'park' opposite which looked more like West Side Story was about to erupt at any moment. I was stuck in one of these little booths for two days examining junior doctors, and although it wasn't fun, I met some interesting people, including the actors who were there as make-believe patients. As we were very close to The Shard, my colleague and I decided to go to dinner at T'ing, the restaurant on the 35th floor. I wore 'Sunshiny Day' to dinner, and here are some pictures from high up in the sky. Blackberry KissesI've been planning this necklace in my mind for a long time. The amethyst cylinders are interspersed with handmade glass beads in a deep purple, embellished with peach and purple coloured floral motifs. The faceted pyrite beads between the amethysts brighten the necklace, and the piece would be perfect to wear to work or in the evening to a tea party in the park. That's me for now, folks. Have a good week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place,
Until then xx
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Hello folks, nice to find you here again. It's been a busy week for Caprilicious. Last Sunday I was on the Earrings show and seven pairs of earrings found a new home, as well as Surfers Haven. I was so busy at the day job that I wasn't able to post all of them out immediately - the last parcel went out to South Carolina on Thursday. People have obviously been procreating furiously during the lockdown period, we are up to our eyes in babies and consequently, I am exhausted. I still managed to put my Christmas tree up and decorate it and that was the extent of my creative endeavours this week. However, I did spend some time thinking about what I will make next, so at least next week will be more fulfilling. Costume jewellery, and women who wear it are of two kinds in my opinion - there are those who don't mind spending a whole load of money on lots and lots of inexpensive but showy, sometimes quite pretty and highly visible jewellery - usually made of plastic beads, acrylic 'gemstones', and base material that falls apart after being worn a few times - however, it looks effective when worn new, is inexpensive and fulfils the requirement for variety. In my experience, when one buys inexpensive goods, one doesn't tend to place any value on them and they get stored all higgledy piggledy in a basket or drawer. When they are next picked up, they may have lost stones, bits might have fallen off and the metal may be tarnished with a strange odour. And then there are those who would spend their money on a few select, more expensive pieces - handmade, beaded, individualistic, made to last pieces. I include silver jewellery and semi precious stones in this category. There is, of course the jewellery made of precious stones, gold and other precious metals bought for their resale value, to show the wearers wealth and status - this started in cultures that needed to liquidate their assets on and off, and when banking facilities were either untrustworthy or non existent. My mother always thought about the 'resale value' of any jewellery she bought, although I've never known her to sell a single piece, ever. I was always told that it was the round diamond that kept its resale value - so when I eventually picked an engagement ring, I chose a rectangular stone as I have no intention of ever selling it. I thought I'd show you a piece of jewellery from my personal collection and tell you a bit about its history. It came to me from Santa Fe, from an estate sale and I just love it - a vintage Squash Blossom Necklace. Squash blossom necklaces like the one in the adjacent picture were originally made by the Navajo people, and the name is due to the flared flower silver elements that closely resemble the trumpet shaped flowers of the squash plant. However, it is more likely that they represent pomegranates - the Spanish were thought to have brought this imagery to other parts of the world when they colonised it and the Indians copied the flower from the buttons of the Spanish soldiers' uniforms. The Squash Blossom is an art form made by many Native and non-Native artists throughout the Southwest and beyond. Metalsmithing came first to the Navajo tribes in the late 1800s when they began to make bridles and other ironmongery for their horses, and eventually came in useful when they began to wear their wealth on their bodies. The central semilunar or horseshoe shaped pendant is called a Naja and there are so many variations of this pendant. The Naja is a stylised crescent shape that might have been brought to Spain by the Moors, and from there to the Americas. The crescent shape is a classic Islamic talisman which the Moors used to affix to their horses bridles to ward off the evil eye, and it is thought that the Navajo may have seen it on the Spanish/Mexican army horses and adopted it. The floral elements in my necklace are made of Turquoise from the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise mines in Arizona. I have talked about this before on the blog - commercially available turquoise beads are mostly dyed howlite. The Sleeping beauty mines produce turquoise that is a clear robin's egg blue. Turquoise is very important to the Native Indian and has a very mystical and almost sentient quality. It is given as gifts and carried by hunters, warriors and tribesmen for protection, and used in offerings to the rain God and in water divining. The old medicine men of the Navajo prefer turquoise from the Kingman mines that have a matrix, dark markings, and spider webbing which they think brings them closer to the spirits. The turquoise elements in my necklace are held in hand carved spiky individual settings that resembles embroidery, and are called petit point settings. Zuni Petit point has been made since the early 1900s and is a unique form of turquoise jewellery created by the Zuni Indians. A Petit Point stone is a tiny stone hand cut by a Zuni Indian lapidarist. Petit Point is unique to them and not made anywhere else in the world. The little silver beads in between the turquoise are also handmade and are called Navajo pearls - they are hollow, seamed silver beads made by the Navajo people in multiple sizes, the smaller ones are generally used in Squash Blossom necklaces. My necklace has Petit Point settings and is reversible - it is set with coral on the back. Let me show you the piece we have been talking about in all its glory. I hope you've enjoyed a potted history of the Squash Blossom Necklace. Have a fabulous week, and I'll catch you next weekend, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello folks, how are you. I'm glad you've come back to the blog today, just in time for me to tell you about an exciting new piece I've been making over the last week. We are coming to the end of summer, but my muse has taken me right back to spring and cherry blossom. It all started with a small packet of tiny mother of pearl flower beads that so look like cherry blossom that dropped through my letterbox - they are so pretty that I couldn't risk them falling deep into my stash and never coming back out again. I had to put them into a necklace straight away, well before a disappearing act occurred. To remind me of exactly what I was after, I had to look for images of cherry blossom - some are pictures I've taken myself, and the others are from Pinterest. And then I was ready to roll - kinda! Starting with a sheet of Lacey's Stiff Stuff and a Vintaj Art Nouveau brass lady from my stash, I dressed a necklace form I cut out, with a length of cream crushed velvet. 'Why cream?' I hear you think. 'Won't it get soiled easily? Why would anyone want to make a piece of dirty jewellery?' Well, all I'd say to doubters is once the piece is encrusted with beads, there won't be space for even a single molecule of dust. The velvet is cream because I think the beads will show their true colour on a light background rather than a dark one - only time will tell if I am right.
I have yet to fill in all the white space with beads, and that should take me a few days. Cherry blossom grows on bare branches, so that spared me from having to devise a way of sewing leaves in. Each flower is a modified Peking knot which is an embroidery stitch, much like a French knot. I researched this for days, because I wanted to make five to seven beaded flowers without having to stitch each bead in separately. That would have been so tedious, given the number of flowers I needed to put in. We went along to the Temperance Art Gallery and Cafe to see how their art exhibition was coming along, and to have dinner on one of their Italian nights. It was on a Wednesday, and they were participating in the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme. The place has a lovely bohemian ambience - I took a few pictures for the blog. Woodland Fantasy was displayed prominently in their window! That's me for this week, folks. Have a fabulous week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello folks, it's lovely to connect with you again. The sun is shining, the garden is blossoming and the birds - well the birds have procreated and are doing unspeakable things all over our cars and making a nuisance of themselves, especially the pigeons. The world is settling into an uneasy new equilibrium and no one knows what comes next. There are fierce pitched battles between the two opposing factions - those who think it's just another flu and we should get back to work, and those who run around flapping their hands hysterically, swallowing large quantities of Vitamin C and zinc, chloroquine and azithromycin. I think it's best to keep a weather eye on developments, but plod on, trying to keep it together while taking as much care as I can. I entered 'Hope Springs Eternal' into the Creative Hope Jewelry Project and decided that I would donate the proceeds from the necklace to the NHS. It is now on the website and I will put it up for auction at a dinner dance planned in October and hand the money over. This week, I planned a Hamsa pendant - I've written about the Hamsa in a previous blog post and I'll tell you a bit more as I go along. I researched designs thoroughly for a couple of days before deciding that the project was a goer. The plan is to make a Hamsa pendant and then find a way to hang it - I could just hang it on a beaded necklace, or could make a choker to carry it. Will it eventually be a single pendant, or part of a totem? The possibilities are endless and I had to take the plunge and get on with it - this was my original sketch and you can tell that drawing is not my forte. Oh well, we're all friends here, so I don't feel embarrassed to display my lack of talent. I had a piece of orange 'stiff stuff' left over from the last necklace I made and didn't want to waste it. I had to cover it with blue velvet as I didn't want the orange to peek out between the beads. The palm and fingers were outlined with diamante cup chain and I was ready to embellish it to my hearts content. An eye was embroidered onto the palm - It would appear that there are two types of Hamsas - one with an eye and the other without, the former is a symbol that wards away evil and the latter a mere good luck charm. The Hamsa with the eye symbolises protection. It is believed that the eye will watch over you and scare away evil. I thought, 'in for a penny...Let's go the whole hog, belt and braces,' and proceeded to put in the eye. The evil eye is a curse or legend believed to be cast by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury. Talismans or amulets are created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called "evil eyes" and if you've been a tourist in some parts of Europe or the middle east you will have one of them somewhere in your souvenir collection - you can't get away from them in the markets and bazaars. As a child, growing up in India I came across the 'evil eye' phenomenon - Just about anything that went wrong was blamed on the power of the evil eye. My grandmother worried when we got sick, or 'lost' our homework once too often and attracted a scolding from school (miss, the dog ate it) - if we were bad, she worried that someone's evil eye had got us and if we were good and were praised excessively, which was rare, she worried even more that some jealous,malevolent spirit would cast it's evil eye on us out of spite and cause problems for us. Poor grandma, she was one worried lady. To get over herself, she would sit us children down in a row, grab some sticks out of a broom made from a palm frond, light the end with a match and mutter incantations over it while making circles with the fire over us. She'd then put the sticks behind a door and spit three times in its general direction - and the fire - oh! It crackled and spat, and we knew that each crackle, the louder the better, was a spell she had got rid of single handedly! Our hero! One summer holiday, we'd been particularly naughty, and after a spate of bollockings my cousin and I decided to get rid of the evil eye we were sure had cast a spell on us - we found a palm frond, but instead of pulling off a handful of sticks, we lit the whole thing, saying the spell out loud and dancing around it in the knowledge that we were about to go with impunity once the evil eye had been dispelled. Fortunately the gardener was around as was the hose, or the bonfire we made would have caused major problems. Needless to say the evil eye stayed with us the whole summer as the number of bollockings we got seemed to multiply. That's me for this week folks. Who knows why I decided to embark on a Hamsa project at this time - maybe in my subconscious, I'm a believer and I'm out to fight the Corona virus with my protective amulet. I suppose it can't do any harm, much like sucking on a lemon or eating loads of avocados, which are some of the remedies being bandied about by people I've spoken to. I am, I hasten to add, not a believer, but it is a pretty symbol and will be a lot of fun to make - I have been meaning to make one for a while now. Onwards and upwards I go! Have a great week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello readers, I'm glad to see you back again for another installment of the goings on at Caprilicious. I've had another quiet week, working away at the salt mines, getting into the swing of things and gently acclimatising myself to the change in time zone. I've been going to bed every night at 10pm like a little old lady, leaving Mike to watch telly on his own till silly o'clock as is our norm. I'm slowly getting back into the zone though, and by next week I will be keeping him company late into the night twiddling my wire and playing with my beads. This weekend I am going to Bristol for a polymer clay meeting - loads of us are descending on this poor unsuspecting hotel and we are going to wallow and play with clay all weekend, guided by experts from the USA and UK. It always reminds me of the Roald Dahl story 'The Witches' - a bunch of women, muttering incantations and hovering over a modern cauldron - the oven, making magic out of lumps of clay. Of course, polymeristas are all lovely people and everyone is all smiles and bonhomie and not in the least witchlike. Ths year I have decided to take the plunge and apply to take Caprilicious to some expensive and upmarket shows. Before I went to India, I read about Kirstie Allsop's Handmade Show at Ragley Hall in May 2017. She usually holds the show at Hampton Court in London each year, and this is the first time she is coming to Warwickshire. I saw that there was an application form to enter, as the show is quite closely curated, and was pleasantly surprised when I made the cut. I've only rented a tiny space as a test case, and have agreed with the organisers that I might want to go to Hampton Court in September if it goes well. Ragley Hall in Alcester was originally built in 711 AD and changed hands with the fortunes of it's owners a number of times. It is now owned by the 9th Marquess of Hertford whose parents saved it from falling into disrepair and it is now run as a thriving business with events, weddings and tours as well as a farm. The event itself will be held under cover, which is important as May is likely to be rainy and sometimes chilly if we are unlucky. I was asked if I wanted to provide promotional material for the goodie bags for Press and VIP's - well, I suppose in for a penny and all that, so I agreed. They asked me to provide a photograph of what I planned to send them and I sent a picture of the earrings I propose to make. They require 250 - 300 pairs so I can see that I will be making earrings each weekend for the forseeable future! Fortunately I picked a design that is simple to make, but quite effective, in my opinion - what do you think?? I have a tutorial on how to make these on the website, mainly as an aide memoire and I am so glad I did that, as it can be quite easy to forget the exact way of replicating a design after all the trouble taken to fathom the best way to do it. Video of last years show at Hampton Court I'm sorry this post is so short, but I'll have loads to tell you after Polymania next week. Have a fabulous weekend and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello readers, thanks for joining me. This will be a short post - I am having to use computers and laptops that I am not familiar with and I will wait till I get back home to give you a full report. I am basking in the sunshine and to me it feels tropical (my mother says it is cold and has a fan heater in her room) - it is 29 degrees C in the shade at 11am and we are getting ready to go to a wedding - well it is actually a 'non- wedding', as it is more of a partnership ceremony. I love Indian weddings, the colour and the noise and the atmosphere reminds me of a garden full of peacocks preening around, cackling and calling, making a racket to attract attention to themselves. I will get a chance to dress up in my glad rags, wear a whole load of jewellery, and go for the full Christmas tree effect - we don't tend to dress like that in the UK, the watchword being 'understated'. In India, the word understatement doesn't exist, or if it does, it is disregarded entirely. Once the festivities are over and done with it will be time to gear up for the beading workshop at Itsy Bitsy. And then, for the main event - my exhibition. So you can see I'm going to be a busy little bunny for the next couple of weeks. Once I get to the 8th of February, I shall heave a huge sigh. All the mayhem will be behind me and I can relax for a while. Working with unfamiliar computers is proving to be very difficult, so I will sign off now. I have loads of pictures I will show you as soon as I can, but just now I will end here - catch you next week, same time (ish), same place
xx Hello readers and lovers of statement jewellery everywhere, it is nice of you to drop by the Caprilicious blog. This week I've had time to put together a few multistrand necklaces - getting ready for Bling season in the main - there are only 89 days to Christmas and it will soon be the time of year for pretty things and gifts. I hope that some of you will be sufficiently enthused by what you are looking at to pick up your gifts from Caprilicious. I am happy to gift wrap and send the parcel to an address of your choice with a little card from you, all you have to do is ask. The Shaman's Necklace'Shaman are spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements. Unlike some other mystics, shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent. The elements are chaotic, and left to their own devices, they rage against one another in unending primal fury. It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos.' Labradorite is a Feldspar with a rich play of colours called Labradorescence, first discovered in Labrador, Canada. The North American Indians call it the Stone of Shamans - it is meant to aid clarity of thought, protect against negativity and from misfortune, thus bringing balance to chaos. I love it because it shines so beautifully when moved in the light -at one angle it is a boring grey stone, but move it a bit and Wow! it flashes with such brilliant colour one is simply carried away by its beauty. Combined with rare and beautiful grossular green garnets and a copper wire surround, the labradorite is superb. IsabellaInspired by Isabella Rossellini's shirt necklace in Death Becomes Her, this is my first 'Bling' necklace of the year. Ms Rossellini would look beautiful in a sack, but when she rose out of the water and glided over to her robe purring like a little panther, I just knew that one day I would make a necklace like hers. With plenty of crystals and hammered gold tone links, it shines beautifully, and although I haven't gone overboard, it is still pretty opulent. RougeCoral, freshwater pearls and an ornate clasp - my muse was in seventh heaven. A pair of earrings complete the parure which is going to be worn with a black and cream lace dress and a little black net fascinator at a wedding. Daytime Bling - MonetThis painting of water lilies by Monet has so many beautiful colours, and I have been collecting pictures of them to use as inspiration for a piece of jewellery for the longest time - here is the picture, and the necklace - You like?? I love... MoonlightThis necklace was made for a moonlit walk along the edge of the sea, the breeze blowing in your hair, scarf and skirt billowing - dancing in the moonlight. The pearls and blue jade are ethereal, lending themselves to romance on a moonlit night. If I knew the lady in the picture, I would offer her this necklace. La PrincipessaStarThese two pairs of earrings are so organic, they almost made themselves - I just took the wire where it seemed to want to go and after a while, the earrings appeared as if by magic - they both started with the same material in the same quantities, but ended up being so different. The difficulty with organic designs is to know when to stop with the curls and squiggles and say "The End" ! That's it for this week folks. I have to report that my kittens are pretty useless at being helpers - they sleep most of the day and when awake fight with one another or eat me out of home and hearth - I sound like my mother complaining about her 'helpers' !! I go to my third Polydays in the Cotswolds this week and am sure to bring back some fabulous ideas to Caprilicious. See you next week, same time, same place xx Hello readers, how nice of you to drop by - autumn will soon be here and the colours of my new statement jewellery collection are reflecting this. No, they are not brown and grey - they are bigger and brighter than ever, to zhush up the autumnal hues of rust, must and dust that most dress designers pick as being suitable for us during this season. I will let you in on an open secret - I am a very shy person - and when I tell people this, they laugh at me disbelievingly. I am even intimidated by hairdressers because I cannot relate to them, and small talk with a stranger is a no go area for me - I usually come out looking like someone else's mop - they seem to have a pack instinct when they see me coming - there's no 'Hello moddom, would you like a coffee?' - it's all snip, snip, snip - and when they've finished, they make me look like the person they perceive - a raggedy Orphan Annie type on a bad hair day - and that's cos she's exactly who they see when I slink in, looking apologetic for breathing the same air! At the age of - well, older than many of you - I am now qualified to tell you how I overcame this using my passion for jewellery, and perhaps you will find you can do it too. 1) Spark A Conversation - EffortlesslyThis is where Caprilicious comes in - wear one of your pieces of statement jewellery and you will find people coming up to you and complimenting you on what you are wearing. It doesn't have to be a massive piece of jewellery and you don't have to be blinged up to the eyeballs. Take Glamour Puss - one of the pieces I made this week - all it is is a piece of pink and black agate - but it is presented on a pink stainless steel torque, wire wrapped, with an extremely shiny Swarovski crystal square wrapped onto it - a definite conversational opening gambit if ever there was one. Glamour PussObviously, no one can guarantee that people are going to walk up to you - you may have to do the walking - find someone in a nice ensemble and tell them you like it - instant spark! they will compliment you back ( people love a compliment and usually reciprocate - I'm sure you've noticed that) and Bob's your uncle! 2) Have Something to Say PreparedWhen someone compliments your jewellery, don't just mumble your thanks or go the 'this old thing??....' routine- smile widely, tell them a little story about it - perhaps even how clever you were to find it - if it's a piece by Caprilicious and you have read the blog, there's a backstory all ready for you to tell. At Caprilicious, I attempt to make jewellery that is interesting and different - I have the occasional daytime, everyday piece - but even that is usually different from the norm - you have plenty to talk about. These little lampwork beads were turned into daytime earrings, but they are so pretty, I'm sure you will be noticed when you wear them. I turned the leftover beads into bracelets with braided leather, so you can have a whole ensemble if you want one. They are made to resemble the spinning top I had as a child - I was only allowed to play with it if I promised to be very, very careful (?), and eventually it was used by both my siblings, probably with the same proviso, and in turn, by their children. It still exists in my mother's cupboard - waiting for her great grandchildren, I guess! Unfortunately, their toys of choice are likely to be an internet enabled mobile phone, so mum has wasted her efforts to save what has now become an antique heirloom - perhaps it will be worth something one of these days. Spinning Tops3) Ms. Attention - To - DetailBe Little Miss Attention-To-Detail - wear the right piece for your neckline, to coordinate with your outfit - and if you are in Caprilicious Woman mode, dare to wear jewellery in a completely contrasting colour to your outfit - after all, an orange necklace with the outfit in the picture would be drowned out by the colour of the vest - the blue necklace is definitely the better fit. 4) Get Up Close and PersonalOnce you have complimented someone about their jewellery, and received one in return, you have chatted about your sources for said jewellery and smiled at each other, you are fast becoming friends - after all you have found something in common - your love for pretty jewellery! Introduce her to someone you know, she reciprocates - and before you know it, you have a networking session going on right there, under your very shy nose - did you know that was going to happen?? I did! There are a few more tips on Reggie Darling's fabulous blog - Reggie's Advice For the Tongue-Tied Guest at Table Amongst Strangers, and I recommend this post to you. And of course, you must never get so carried away by your success by turning into a Conversation Hog! Click on the link to find out how not to do it. 5) Be Different - and Revel in ItWhen I was younger, all I wanted to do was to be like everyone else, to merge seamlessly into the background - I blame my mother for this (as I type I can hear her grumbling in the background 'you blame your mother for everything') - I was expected to be a Little Miss Muffet - but I was also expected to go out and fight my corner in the world of modern medicine when I grew up! And then I ended up in Britain, and have found that a lot of the time I stick out like a sore thumb, and there is no Marks & Spencer camouflage that works. It took a bit of getting used to, but I'm over the worst. I'm happy to be me and revel in being different. I wear Caprilicious all the time, and that helps me walk tall ( I'm only 5'2") and people come up to me and talk about my jewellery. I like to take the stuff I make on test runs, but sometimes they get sold before I get a chance - here's one of the pieces I made last week that lasted fifteen minutes on my pages... FreyaIt is most definitely evening wear, and I didn't have an occasion to wear it before someone from work snapped it up. A statement jewelry piece by Caprilicious will give you confidence, help you stand out in the crowd of 'samey people', and allow you to start a natural conversation - the death knell to shyness. The end result is a helpful, natural connection. The best part? It’s a great excuse to start shopping!
That's it for this week folks. Have a good weekend and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx Hello all you Caprilicious women out there, I hope you are all relaxed and ready for the weekend, ready to go partying in your statement jewellery. I have some exciting news this week - Caprilicious is due to have a second exhibition in January 2015. I am negotiating with the good people of Raintree, where I had my first exhibition, to find us a suitable weekend at the end of January when I am due to be in Bangalore visiting with my mother. Lipstick on your CollarThat's right, I've made this necklace before - last time, I used the jasper I acquired from my friend BN with a coral pink howlite - I happened to have some pale, blush pink howlite lying around and a few black veined jasper beads left over from last time and they just seemed to cry out to be put together. I am by no stretch of imagination a 'pink' person, but I just love the combination of pink and grey/black - very cool and sophisticated. You wouldn't catch me in a pink outfit though - one has to draw the line somewhere! There are plenty of greys, blacks and whites in my wardrobe that could be accesorised beautifully by this necklace when I take it out for it's test run. ParadisoFor the longest time, I thought seahorses were mythical creatures, like unicorns, phoenix', dragons, dinosaurs and pixies - only kidding, honest. I love the little critters, they are the cutest and I am always on the look out for them. I found an aventurine carved into a seahorse, so smooth and shiny - an instant love affair. With a little wire bail, and the addition of agates and glass beads as well as pearls, it was transformed into a cruisers necklace - or for someone going on a holiday to an island paradise. I used the colours in this photograph to make this necklace. SalomeDo you know the story of Salome?? It is from the New Testament - Salome, who by all accounts was a raving beauty and a femme fatale, who is hailed as the embodiment of female seductiveness and an icon of sensuality , did the Dance of the Seven Veils at her step fathers birthday bash - he offered her anything her little heart desired, and Salome, being as thick as two short planks, looked to her mom for an answer. Her mom had dumped her first husband, and married his brother - she was extremely put out that John The Baptist had denounced her marriage as unlawful; and he didn't just say it once - he raved and ranted and denounced her from the rooftops, unfortunately prophets just don't seem to know when to stop - to silence him she decided to get her daughter to demand that John be beheaded. Salome could have asked for anything - gold, diamonds, pearls - but being a bit sweet and unworldly, she said 'what shall I ask for mommy??' and chose to obey her mother. The king had no choice but to behead the hapless John and present her with his head on a plate. But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them: and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she would ask of him. But she being instructed before by her mother, said: Give me here in a dish the head of John the Baptist. And the king was struck sad: yet because of his oath, and for them that sat with him at table, he commanded it to be given. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. My necklace is named Salome - I'm sure it wouldn't have looked out of place during the Dance of the Seven Veils - men will lose their heads over the wearer - but hopefully in a nicer way than poor old John. I've tried to put nuances of sensuality and fiery desire into this magnificent necklace and the haematite gleams brightly in contrast to the hand carved black jade and the paisley howlite beads in the second strand of this piece. Warrior PrincessHer face is hand carved of ox bone, she wears a sterling silver and marcasite helmet, her helmet straps are fastened and she looks calm, yet resigned, as if off to do battle for a cause she believes in, wearing her regalia. A beautiful faceted citrine teardrop dangles below her chin - she is The Warrior Princess. I teamed her with citrine and carnelian freeform nuggets, pearls and blue goldstone beads to make this piece. Now that I've decided that there will be an exhibition, a bit of anxiety has started to creep up on me - yes, I know I'm being silly, and that I have five months to go - but I'm just a ' have everything ready ahead of time' type . So, I made some earrings - they will go on the website, and eventually make their way to the exhibition, or not, as the case may be - but at least I will have them ready in time. These are sweet, and helped me watch one of my favourite movies 'The English Patient' for the n'th time as my pliers moved rhythmically along with the soundtrack. And then, with mental calm restored, now that I have enough earrings, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the truly righteous. Now all I have to do is to remember to carry them along - one time I did a jewellery party at my friend Gerry's house, and I left all my earrings and other little bits behind in the cupboard at home. That's all for this week, folks, I hope you have enjoyed looking at my bits and bobs - if you have, do leave me a message - I'm beginning to think I'm talking to myself. One of my kittens, Wilfred has found a spool of wire and is chasing it around the room, whilst Charlie has bumped into a wall and got a huge bruise on his nose - £50 to the vet and a clutch of tablets later ( I'm so in the wrong profession), he looks like a rugby player after a particularly violent scrum. Thankfully he is a kitten and not a child, or they would have had me up for non accidental injuries! Catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx Hello readers, thanks for stopping by to read about the statement jewellery made at Caprilicious this week. It was my privilege to provide a piece of jewellery to the Children's Unit at the hospital as a raffle prize - the manager who requested it of me was very complimentary about the piece I handed in - I was quietly pleased with it myself, and the reaction on the Facebook page was heartening when I posted some pictures there. The carved jade flower had been lying around in my stash, just waiting to be used and this is a very worthy cause, very close to my heart. If you're wondering what the mention of statement jewellery in the opening line was all about - I've been reading blogging guides - and the theory is that a googlebot, which in my imagination looks like the picture above, worms it's way into a website and if the raison d'être of the blog is mentioned in the first few sentences, the botworm gets the message - and when people look for 'Handmade Statement Jewellery', the Caprilicious Jewellery website comes up in a Google search - having done this for a few weeks, I was quite gratified to find that I haven't been misguided by the bloggers guide. However, I don't know any woman who goes to Google when she wants to look for handmade statement jewellery! I certainly wouldn't do a Google search to look for jewellery, would you?? What beats me is that knowing this fact doesn't make me chase the botworm any less frantically - just shows how competitive I really am, I suppose, and also that I like to test a theory before I accept it as common wisdom. AnatevkaAnatevka was a fictional shtetl in Imperial Russia where the musical Fiddler on the Roof was set. We went to the Eutin Festival in Germany, where they had this musical on, inspiring me to create this necklace. I acquired a necklace of hand knotted shell pearls in beautiful colours of bronze/ cream, peach and shades of grey - the pearls are large and very beautiful, and though I normally would have cut up the necklace to restring the pearls, this one was so well made, I couldn't bring myself to wantonly destroy someones painstaking work - in fact, I had to agree that I couldn't have done it better ( a rare admission for me ). I decided to make a pendant for it, and string it onto the necklace directly. An agate druzy cabochon, surrounded by wire lace, with pearls and crystals thrown in just grew and grew until two days later, my muse declared it finished. Although wire lace looks pretty, it is hard work on the finger tips which resembled Shreddies by the time I was done - but hey! I love the way it looks, so won't complain. The pendant is very baroque in appearance, and suits the necklace - and the name! If you want to know what shell pearls are, here's a link to a very well written article I found during my research - I couldn't have put it better myself. And with this, I decided to put my Lacemania aside for a while - and my fingertips heaved a huge sigh of relief!! I've had two new helpers this week - Charlie and Wilfred have moved in with us - they must have been techies in a previous life, they are fascinated by the moving cursor on my laptop screen, and keep trying to help me type this blog and won't take no for an answer. They are also interior decorators of sorts, and are helping me to remodel my house and change the decor, by systematically destroying anything they dislike - Mike's 40 year old German oil lamp (he's had it 40 years, but it was an antique when he first bought it) is something they have taken a dislike to - only he refuses to part with it - the boys are most annoyed that it is now out of reach! Silver MonsoonWith my fingertips sore and out of commission, I decided to give them a rest. I have these peacock feather pendants in from Indonesia - the ends have been fringed, much like a Rastafarians dreadlocks, with beads, and I love the effect. I used shards of electroplated quartz needles in the necklace, strung with spacers of crackle quartz in a deep peacock blue and a couple of enamelled beads from India. The quartz needles remind me of the silver rain that sheets down during a monsoon - the rain in the UK though persistent, is usually gentler. DurgaDurga is a wrathful form of Parvati, otherwise known as Mrs Shiva, and the mother of Ganesh the elephant God. Kali is an even more angry form - women of all ages, at different times of their cycles have fleeting resemblances to one or another avatar of this multipurpose Goddess. According to legend, Parvathi was peed off at something- or someone (possibly, but not necessarily hubby), and she knitted her brows together in a frown - a third eye originated there ( watch out - the gaze from that third eye when provoked into opening can burn you into a frazzle). When someone else peed the already irritated Durga off, she went wild, hair unbound, arms akimbo - and she didn't stop until she killed the annoyance, hung his head around her neck and drank his blood. She laughed and laughed, and did a dance that a whirling dervish would have envied, until suddenly to her horror, she found that she was trampling on her poor husband Shiva - Oops! she said and stuck her tongue out - and an ancient photographer took her picture (or maybe the wind changed and her facial expression stuck), so she is doomed to being immortalised as the crazy one with her tongue stuck out, hair wild, with strings of demon's heads hung about her person. This story, I am sure will resonate with my female readers - we've all been there, pootling along, minding our own, when along comes this nuisance - whether we turn into Durga or Kali depends on the irritant! Anyway, I digress - this necklace is made of a pendant from the Banjara tribe in India, with two paisa coins from 1962. I put them on a rope, which can be tied so that the pendant sits where you would like it to and can be worn with all sorts of necklines. It looks like something Durga might like to wear - well, she's most definitely a Caprilicious woman.................... That's it for this week folks. Charlie has destroyed a bunch of silk flowers I had prettifying a dull corner of the house, and the two brothers are now flicking the flowers around the house like crazed confetti - I'd better go and rescue what's left of those poor flowers. Have a fab weekend, and I'll catch you next week, same time, same place
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