Hello everyone, Caprilicious Jewellery wishes you all a very Happy New Year. May the coming year be full of grand adventures and opportunities and the world be a better place to live in. 2023 has been dire for some countries around the world and for the economies of many. Covid was bad enough, but no one could have imagined that there were lower depths to which humanity could sink. However, here we are at the end of 2023, and many people are worse off than they were after the pandemic. As a glass half full person myself, I'm hoping for peace around the world this year - it's time we cast aside hatred for people who do not think or pray in the same way that we do and embrace humanity as a whole. Spare a thought for those who are suffering at this time in lands far away from the greed of their leaders, hungry for power, money and land, who are using their people as pawns in their shameless manipulations. Leaders the world over appear to be moving politically to the right, which is a scary prospect for the rest of us. I've been back from India for just about a week and have suffered terribly with jet lag - I have a couple of days off in the first week of January and then my nose goes back to the grindstone with a vengeance. I have a couple of months of hard work, and then go back to India again for my nephews wedding, this time with hubby in tow. I thought I'd show you some of my pieces from 2023, a lot of which are sold out - I met a few of my supporters in India and they got snapped up so quickly that I was surprised at how soon they flew off my shelves. This is a medley of those that are still on the shelves and some that were sold on earlier in the year. Clicking on the pictures will take you to the item, if still in the shop, and the use of the code HAPPY2024 at checkout will get you a 20% discount on everything on my pages till the end of January '24 - a HAPPY NEW YEAR, indeed!! Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year filled with hope, health, and happiness - with a generous sprinkle of fun, jewellery, and all the little things that make life worthwhile. Have a wonderful celebration and I'll catch up with you in 2024.
Until then, xx
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Hello everyone, how are you? Are you all enjoying the stumbling beginnings of summer? I do hope the weather makes it's mind up and plays ball pretty quick - I'm fed up with grey skies and sweaters. The flowers are showing up, though - we took out two box plants at either end of our little border on the front of the house, and the extra sunlight, although weak, has caused the rest of the plants to turn into a jungle. I'm just going to let it happen this year, and see how it all grows. I was going for the cottage garden look, and most definitely not a jungle! Hubby bought two lovely pots to replace the box shrubs but I'm yet to find plants to put in them. ScherezadeThe Sultan Schakhriar, convinced that all women were false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining hubby with fascinating tales, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally allowed her to live (after which she promptly took a lover - she loved to live dangerously, this girl. However, that's another story). This was the brief introduction that Rimsky-Korsakov wrote (not the last bit, though), intended for use with the score as well as the program for the premiere of his beautiful, haunting piece of music that I have loved since hubby introduced it to me. I watched the ballet set to this music, and there came the inspiration for my next piece. I have put the ballet on here for you - for those who love classical music, start from the beginning with the orchestra, but those of you who love the dance form, you will find the actual ballet if you fast forward to 12:26. Do have a look, I guarantee you will love it. I saw these pink dragon's vein agates on a website and the markings on the stones excited me, and I've held onto them for a while now until I found the perfect idea. The beetles wings seem to set off the colours, as do the crystals. I reckon it is fit for a princess or Shezada - which is where the name Scherezade comes from. I was on my way to my camera, when I saw Wilfred sitting on a chair in the living room - I got him to try it on, but he wasn't very impressed, for some reason - philistine! Right, folks, that's me for this week. Have a fabulous week and I'll get to you as soon as I can.
Until then, xx Hello everyone, how are you today? The sun is shining as I type this, and I actually feel like going out - I've spent the last couple of weeks holed up in the house, not doing anything more strenuous than picking through old photographs I collected from my mother's cupboards and remembering old times. Fortunately, I was able to get a couple of weeks off work, thanks to my colleagues and a sympathetic GP, and now it's time to pull myself together and go back on Monday. In the meantime, I sat in front of the TV and vegged out. Eventually, I picked up the piece of bead embroidery I was working on and decided it was time to put the finishing touches to it. The piece is heavily influenced by this print of Kandinsky's 'Spitzen im Bogen' or 'Points in the Curve' that hangs on a wall in my living room. I've often stared at it, wondering how I could use it in a piece of jewellery, when it occurred to me to turn it on it's side and convert it into a necklace. The pendant can be brought closer to the neck by removing a couple of links in the chain which is very easy to do. The dichroic glass cabochon glows like the centre of a flame, and there are many varied elements in the piece - a dyed howlite donut, rose quartz, dichroic glass, Swarovski crystal rivolis, an amethyst coloured rectangular crystal, and a multitude of Czech and Japanese seed beads. Trying to match Kandinskys sense of colour was going to be impossible, so I just went with my own. I think that's colourful enough, don't you? The pendant back was padded out with felt and covered over with Ultrasuede in a bright pink, to be just as vibrant as the front. I took photographs of the piece every night before I put my beading tray away and will leave you with a video made from these images. That's me for this week, folks. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you next week, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello people, how's tricks? I'm panicking a bit as I am totally unprepared for Christmas and I haven't a single gift wrapped or card written. Cards are an outdated institution, in my opinion - they get thrown away after a couple of weeks, making it a colossal waste of paper at the time when everyone is talking about climate change. There you are, I feel better already, I've successfully talked myself out of writing any cards again, this year. I shall put some money away and give it to charity later on in 2022. A win win situation. GranadaThe pomegranate is visible all over the city, of Granada in Spain, replicated in wood, metal, stone and fabric. This is no surprise as Granada in Spanish means pomegranate. The Catholic Monarchs took the fruit as a symbol of their final victory over the Moors of Al-Andalous and it remains part of the Spanish flag even today. In Greek Mythology, this ancient symbol carries the weight of life and re-birth. Its origins hark back to Iran and Afghanistan and it remains as the symbol of Armenia signifying fertility, abundance and marriage. It is mentioned in Holy Scriptures on several occasions. Some think that even the “Forbidden Fruit” of the creation story might have been a pomegranate. I finally received the little clasp I was waiting for and could finish off the necklace I made for my beautiful pomegranate pendant. It is set with garnets and an amethyst and the back is as pretty as the front. The necklace has been woven with shiny garnet coloured Japanese Miyuki seed beads with a spiral stripe of silver seed beads on one side of the necklace and gold on the other to match the dual tone metal elements. Once I had it finished with it's dainty clasp, edged with tiny micro pave set diamante I realised that it was long enough to slip over my head, but the little clasp just finished it off perfectly. When I first saw the pendant it reminded me of a pocket watch - which in turn always reminds me of The White Rabbit in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Once that image was in my head I couldn't get rid of it - hence the long wait for the perfect clasp. My oldest friend who lives in Boston picked up this necklace from Caprilicious and wore it as soon as it got to her - I posted the picture she sent me on Instagram and got a request for another soon after. I thought it would be a while to source the beads, but I had some in my stash. I shall now go and wrap my presents - I have junior doctors and secretaries to thank for working so hard all year long. Have a good week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello folks, how are you doing today? I'm very excited today as I have a finished piece to show off - it was commissioned by a lady in Bangalore and I thought I should finish it early although I'm only hoping to go there in February. It started off with beautiful handmade glass poppy beads that came from Rostovskaya Oblast in Russia, and resin roses and evolved into a beautiful piece of jewellery that I am pretty proud of. I used the blue beads in 'Rhapsody in Blue', which you can see on the website if you follow the link. These pieces are difficult to make, because they take so long - painstakingly sewing the beads on one by one with thread that seems to have a mind of its own, doing its best to thwart me at every turn by getting itself tangled with the beads already sewn on, or knotting itself in spite of a load of beeswax being rubbed onto it. However, the result is so 'WOW!' that it's worth all the effort, in my opinion. The lady wanted it narrower that the other one's I've made previously and I have complied with her request - I just hope she likes it. It's always an anticlimactic moment when a large piece of jewellery is finally finished and photographed - there's a slight depression and a feeling of apprehension that I may never get another idea again - a 'now what?' feeling. It usually passes after a couple of days when I spy something lurking in my stash or something arrives in the post, so I don't think I should be worried - however, bad habits are hard to break. It has always been my mission to make beautiful objects with just a few elements. I try to use just a few expensive items in any single piece, in an effort to make jewellery that appeals to everyone who likes to wear a statement, and to keep costs low so that I can pass it on to the people who like my jewellery. I guess it's more challenging than when there is a spread of precious metal, expensive cabochons and faceted stones to pick from, but I prefer to take a couple of simple bits and bobs and create something intricate using as much skill as I can muster up and then some. It gives me so much happiness when a piece is finished and someone actually likes it enough to pick it off my shelves. I don't tend to take on commissions unless they are for people who pick up my pieces regularly - it is a joy to create for them as I know there is pleasure on both sides of the equation. That's me for now folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello, and good day to you, lovely people out there in the ether. It's nice to see you here, in a world far removed from Covid, disease and death, where only pretty things and fun jewellery exist in a surreal, parallel universe. Now that lockdown is opening up in the UK, cautiously but with a ponderous certainty, we are all praying that the public health bods have got it right, and that the government has finally paid attention to the science. I have no wish to flirt with death, or carry it home to watch as loved ones suffer. It has taken me three weeks to cover this tapestry of a bracelet with beads and I now declare that not another bead will fit onto it. I showed you some pictures in the last couple of weeks and here are some of the most recent. The last picture shows the piece of velvet that was encrusted with beads, carefully following the paisley lines of the design. It will probably take all of next week to convert the strip of fabric into a bracelet. AzureThis necklace was created from the memory of past holidays - remember them? We went away in silver tin cans to warm blue seas and people-watched on beaches. The blue agate and electroplated quartz in this necklace would be perfect on holiday. Here are some pictures from one such holiday - I invite you to people-watch with me in the warmth of the Cinque Terre, not far from Florence. The Cinque Terre, five towns, is a string of five fishing villages perched high on the Italian Riviera in the region Liguria, which until recently were linked only by mule tracks and accessible only by rail or water as cars can only reach them with great difficulty from the outside via narrow and precarious mountain roads. It comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the centuries, people have built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the Ligurian Sea. Our trip took us on a train from one village to the next, watching the beautiful (and not so beautiful) people sunning themselves on the rocks and diving into the azure sea to cool off. One would have to be closely related to a mountain goat to live there - climbing those steep stairs and paths would kill me off, although it was fabulous to visit for a day or two. Blue and silver are almost made for each other, don't you think?
Anyway, that's all I have time for, folks. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello folks, how are you today? It has started to rain again across the UK -and I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for that. Hubby has suffered terribly with hay fever and at one point his breathing was so bad that I thought I'd have to take him down to A & E. The beautiful May flower has been in bloom all over the UK and there has been so much tree pollen in the air that even I have been sneezing and spluttering from it. I've spent most of the week ministering to his needs and soothing the fevered brow. This week I felt like making a mood elevator - something to wear when you're feeling Bleh! Something showy, colourful and bright that would do the talking so that everyone would know you're in the room even if no words escape your lips. After all, if jewellery, clothes and make up are mere camouflage that brighten dull areas and hide lumps and bumps while accentuating your good points, a showy statement necklace that is easy to wear and draws more attention than your red nose, puffy eyes or dull hair is just the ticket. I wanted something light and easy to wear yet showy, and settled on making a necklace of Lava stone beads - they are formed when volcanoes erupt, much like obsidian stones. The lava shoots out of a volcano and runs down its side. Once this incredibly hot liquid rock dries, it becomes a lava stone. Because of this process, lava stone is considered to be a stone of rebirth. Naturally formed holes and irregular surfaces are characteristic of the stone, making each bead unique, and because they are basically pumice stone in a very compact form, they are very light. Let's face it, who wants to wear a heavy necklace when they aren't feeling well - yet that's precisely the time when a statement piece is an absolute necessary camouflage. Lava beads are believed to promote strength and fertility and are a grounding stone that strengthens one's connection to Mother Earth - believers in the power of the gemstone think it grounds and stabilizes the root chakra because of the stone’s strong connection with the earth. When the root chakra is stabilized, the body and mind feels positive, safe and anchored to the earth. A quick rummage through my box(es) of beads, looking for elements that would go with the lava beads revealed Tibetan beeswax resin pendants, resin beads, turquoise tyre shaped beads, two kinds of chank shell beads with silver bead caps, and little silver plated haematite spacers. Three strands, and yet so light, I love this necklace. It's versatility means that it can be worn with all sorts of outfits - T shirts, shirts, jumpers, drab grey dresses; indeed, the drabber the better. It makes me smile and uplifts my mood almost immediately. Heat of the MomentThat's me for this week, folks. I'm working all weekend, and hopefully it won't be too busy. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello lovely people, how are you? We are already ankle deep into March and this year seems to be shaping up very much like the last one. However, for some folks, things are moving, just a little bit. As of today people in care homes in the UK can have one member of their household visit them indoors after having a Covid test. It won't make a difference to me because I don't know anyone in a care home, but I'll bet this news is making thousands of people very happy - I'm not sure if they are allowed to hug the people they visit, but at least they can get past talking to them through a closed window. Anyway, surely this means that things are moving in the right direction? I haven't anywhere to go apart from work and the supermarket and nobody wants to visit me - or they can't even if they want to, unless I move to a care home. I draw the line at that move though - I'm not ready for that just yet! Having spent the most part of last weekend on the Earrings Show, I went back to work, right into the thick of it. I have been attempting to perfect the art of not needing any sleep - or at least needing very little, so I can read my books, play with social media, make jewellery and watch a bit of TV after work. Some of these activities can be done together fortunately, so multitasking is the name of my game. It feels like all I've done this week is to add little beads, one by one to the Woodland Fantasy sans Lizards necklace and finally my persistence has paid off and all the beadwork is finished. Here are a few pictures of the work in progress - if I carry on at this pace, it should be finished, lined, edged and the beads attached to the back by the end of next week. For some reason, I've been obsessing about these tiny beads - I haven't played with any of the other things I so loved in the recent past - wire, or polymer clay or metal clay. I must remedy that soon, but the joy of painting with beads is so uplifting that I don't seem to want to create with anything else. I have orders for another necklace and a pair of Shibori earrings, so it may yet be a while before I move back to older techniques. That's me for this week, folks. I shall now go and get all dressed up to go to the supermarket - heaven knows there's nowhere else to go. Have a good week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello, good people, how's tricks today? Once again, it's lovely to touch base with you and I hope over the years that I've earned the compliment you pay me when you come back to look at the Caprilicious Blog. This week we are going to have a short post as I have been working on stuff, but it is as yet unfinished. An enquiry came in about 'Woodland Fantasy', from a young lady who said she'd been eyeing it up for a while but in the end couldn't bring herself to make the final gesture of purchasing it because she had a dislike of lizards. Lizards, by far get a really bad press - I myself am not particularly a fan, but they have an incredibly sinuous shape and are beautiful to create with - the ones in this necklace, I thought were pretty cute. Unfortunately I couldn't just whip them off the piece, which would have been an instant win win situation for both of us - I'm not able to add or subtract elements once the necklace is given its backing, so I did the next best thing - I agreed to take on a commissioned piece, sans lizards. The lady said she was into saving bees - so I sent away for a couple of pretty cloisonné bees and started the piece off with a labradorite cabochon I brought back from Jaipur. This piece of Labradorite is particularly beautiful - I've shown you three pictures taken from three different angles and the flash of blue is clearly visible when the light shines on the cabochon - it looks like sheet lightening to me. Labradorite can display an iridescent optical effect (or schiller) known as labradorescence. Thanks to the parallel formation of mineral inter-growths within the structure of the stone, light bounces back-and-forth, which creates its distinctive shimmery, ethereal effect. Not only is this visual appearance extremely attractive, but it also represents the energy of the Labradorite crystal healing properties. By guiding you toward the light and out of the darkness, Labradorite is meant to open your eyes to the magic and possibilities that surround you. Labradorite was first found in Labrador, Canada. According to native Canadian lore, Labradorite is said to contain the Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis. It is believed that the lights were “set free” by one of their ancestors who broke through the rocks with his spear. According to the legend, the lights that remained were set into stone, and thus Labradorite was born. Deposits have also been found in Madagascar, China and the USA, Finland, Russia and the Ukraine. Herpetophobia is a fear of reptiles - lizards and snakes. I'm not a fan of creepy crawlies myself, and I totally understand this. When I trained to be a clinical hypnotherapist, we were taught to cure arachnophobia or a fear of spiders with NLP - to get the person to imagine they held a spider in the palm of their hands and the spider was wearing red lipstick and false eyelashes and fluttering it's eyes and smiling at the person whose hand it was sitting on. A more disgusting image I cannot imagine! I would've told the instructor straight away that that thought wouldn't have cured me at all and he'd need to tailor a different strategy for me, if I was a sufferer. I've heard of kissing frogs to find your prince, but this might just be taking it a bit too far. I also found myself some Zen time by making a pair of stud earrings - I dangled a silvery grey baroque pearl from the lower edge of each stud. Simple, but effective, I think. That's me for this week, folks. At close of play on Friday I have a week off to play with beads or whatever else I fancy. Google tells me that at this time last year I was in India, having myself a fabulous old time. It saddens me that I cannot be with my mother who, at 93 cannot last forever - I know that that particular clock is ticking, but there's not much I can do about it. We make do with video calls at the weekend, but obviously, it's not the same.
Have a wonderful week, friends, and I'll catch you next Friday, same tie, same place. Until then, xx Hello folks, thanks for joining me once again. As always, it it lovely to have your company. I've had a couple of weeks off from work and it has been heavenly lazing around, lying abed till 11am, watching movies on Netflix into the wee small hours. I do feel guilty about not achieving anything but I've firmly squashed those thoughts - I reckon I deserve a break. After all, at this time of year I'm usually sunning myself in India, visiting with my mother and family. Both hubby and I have had our first dose of the vaccine with absolutely no problems. I went around the corner to Coventry, but when I tried to find a place for Mike, we were offered centers in Birmingham and Leicester. I had to keep logging onto the site morning and night for three days and finally got him a spot in Kenilworth which is easily accessible, although it is just over 12 miles away. We have a car and the ability to get there, I wonder how other people are managing. It seems crazy to me, as there are two vaccination centers where I live which we couldn't get into, but Public Health England - or whatever they call themselves now probably have some reason for the craziness.
Rhapsody in BlueA jazz composition written by George Gershwin in 1924, this piece of music was written for a solo piano and a jazz band, and synthesizes jazz with classical music. The opening bars are as well known around the world as Beethoven's Fifth, and it is an American classic. I hope I've done George Gershwin justice when I named my latest necklace after his beautiful piece of music. While the placement of the larger beads was fun, I have to accept that sewing in the 'greenery' in between was extremely tedious - the dark spaces of felt board between the larger beads needed to be obscured and it seemed to take forever and a day. However, once it was done, it was very pretty and the memory of the tediousness of the task seemed to vanish. The picture of a wildflower meadow is one I used for inspiration when I set out to make this necklace. That's me for this week, folks. I'm back at the grindstone on Monday and working all weekend. I'm afraid my muse has gone on holiday, so I shall content myself with making a few pairs of earrings in readiness for the Earrings show on the 28th. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx |
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