Hello folks, how are you? I've been sweltering in temperatures around 28 - 34 degrees C - if I had any need of a fried egg, I could cook it on the pavement. However, it is lovely to be with my family and I am getting ready for mums birthday celebrations this weekend. My sister and her family will come down from Pune where they live, cousins will arrive from Canada and Chennai and we will have around fifty people from just the extended family at the party. Between us, we have also managed to invite over eighty friends and the numbers at this party, which once looked as if it wouldn't go ahead have gone well past a hundred. We've chosen the poolside of Le Meridien, as we've had a party there in the past and they did us proud. My sister in law has worked hard to set it all up and I have been tying up all the loose ends over the last few days. CaftanThis was the last necklace I made before I left home, I bought the tasseled caftan pendant at the same time as my two silver Sufis, and it would have been churlish to leave it behind in the box. Besides, it is very pretty and I couldn't resist it. It has been a relaxing couple of days while I've been waiting for all the excitement to start. I have a little room that looks out onto a balcony surrounded by fruit trees and this afternoon I was held prisoner there for over two hours.
Apparently the thing to do would have been to phone someone downstairs, and they would have let the dogs loose. The dogs would have gone ballistic at the sight of the intruders and the unholy row unleashed would have got the monkeys running for their life. I was content to peek out at them at short intervals and they eventually got bored looking at fruit they couldn't eat and left of their own accord. I wonder what they did in India when there weren't any mobile phones, I can't remember, it's been so long. Smoke signals?? India is mobile phone crazy and everyone and his dog has one, and they are on them, thumbs twitching away 24/7 That's me for today folks, have a fabulous week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place,
Until then xx
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Hiya readers, thanks for coming back to the Caprilicious blog today. Easter came and went and everyone scoffed their chocolate eggs and hot cross buns - squillions of calories all in one large collective gulp. I was curious about the Easter egg and tried to find out it's significance. Apparently, the custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. For Christians the egg is a symbol of Jesus' resurrection, and when they are cracked open they symbolise the empty tomb. Eggs are rolled by children as a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb and they are painted (originally red, but now in every colour imaginable) to commemorate the blood of Christ. The Easter bunny is a throwback from pagan times when the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Eostre, had a hare as her companion. The hare symbolises fertility and rebirth, and so does the egg. Later Christians changed the symbol to the Easter bunny which is fluffier and cuter than a hare. While everyone else was eating their eggs, I was being industrious and making up a few pieces of jewellery for the Handmade Fair. Everyone who reads this blog know that Caprilicious is going to the fair, but if you've just joined us, welcome, I have put this poster on these pages just for you, in case you should wish to come to it. This week I was attracted to shiny - all the beads that came out of my stash were shiny, quartz chunks and needles electroplated in a precious metal or titanium vapour. I felt like the proverbial magpie that is supposedly attracted to shiny objects. It started with a remake of my fantasy flower out of bronze clay. I went very slowly and carefully and was rewarded with a large flower that fit in the palm of my hand, about 5" across when I finally opened my kiln up. Here it is, strung on a necklace of Titanium coated quartz needles. By this time, 'shiny' had engraved itself deep into my psyche and everything I was compelled to make was that way inclined. Without ever making a conscious decision, I was soon well on the way towards making part of an evening wear collection of necklaces. Both the Hamsa pendant and the beautiful tassel came from Turkey and I made all the clasps myself, to add further interest to the jewellery. The brown rough cut nuggets in the tasselled necklace are gold vapour coated quartz and they have a lovely dull sheen that a still photograph cannot really do justice to. While my bronze clay flower was going through it's cycles of creation and drying before going into the kiln I sat with Mike and watched a couple of old musicals while I stitched beads around an ammonite fossil, to end up with this cuff bracelet. The bracelet has an aluminium form inside it to keep it flexible, light and adjustable. I also put together another version of Berber Sunrise, with faux amber beads, some of which I made earlier right here at Caprilicious and others that I bought in India. The pretty little green patinated beadcaps came from the USA and the enamelled bead came from Morocco. And that's a wrap for this week, folks. I aim to finalise the way my stall looks this week - it has to be stylish but simple to set up and I have a friend who is going to show me how to do this as she is a 'visual merchandiser' and knows all about these things. Have a lovely weekend, I'm on call at the day job and hope it won't be too busy. Take care of yourselves and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place,
Until then xx Hello, readers, nice to chat with you again. It's been a long hard week at the salt mines, complicated by a horrendous accident at work when I managed to pour a boiling hot cup of tea over my legs and end up with a scald injury and blisters. Mike had to come and rescue me from work and drive me home, and I spent the next couple of days doped up on pain killers, curled up in my bed. All I can say about this sorry episode is that thankfully I am not male or my family jewels would have been in jeopardy, with the risk of being cooked by the hot tea. As it is, I am having to go in to work with a rolling gait like a drunken sailor due to all the swaddling around my injuries to prevent the blisters from chafing. I need to get better soon as I fly out to Boston USA, mid next week and I am keeping my fingers, and toes crossed that all will be well. Before the week went pear shaped on me, I made a few pretty things that I shall show you in a minute. But first, I was ever so proud of my little polymer clay tutorial for the use of chalks on polymer clay - for some reason it caught people's imagination, and two of the great and the good featured it on their blogs within the same week. First, it got a mention in Pearl Blay's Beading Gems Journal - Pearl writes a daily journal with a lot of helpful tips for jewellery makers and I follow her blog every day. And then, within the week, it was noticed by The Daily Polymer Arts Blog, which is another blog, this time for polymeristas, written by Sage Bray of The Polymer Arts Magazine that I follow faithfully. The Silver SufiBack in early April, I made a necklace using a whirling dervish pendant. I loved the pendant so much, I imported yet another from Istanbul and made a second necklace. As you can imagine, it can be quite difficult to take similar ingredients and make two entirely different pieces of jewellery within a short space of time. The first one stays on your mind and try as you might, it feels as if it is almost impossible to get away from it and think up another design. I decided to use uncut rough nuggets of lapis lazuli so that I could get as far away from the first piece as possible. A couple of Murano lentil beads and a bamboo coral nugget provided interesting accents. I also remade Essaouira - the first necklace I made drew so much interest and so many requests that I felt compelled to send for more beads and remake the piece as best as possible - being a handmade piece of jewellery, it is never the same as the first one, just similar to it. Moulin RougeI am enamoured by the instantly recognisable work of MargitB, a polymerista from Germany. To my mind, she is a pioneer in the use of chalk on polymer clay. Her use of colour is unerring and joyous and I made the beads for this necklace heavily inspired by her work. She wrote a little tutorial on Flickr and I used it - the beads that resulted reminded me of my visit to the Moulin Rouge. I went there in the mid-nineties with my friend Sheela and it was one hell of a riot of colour. The Moulin Rouge is credited with the invention of the Can Can and although it was over twenty years ago that we went there, I still remember the atmosphere and the colours of the spectacular show. Zen FlowersZen is a school of Buddhism that developed in China, the essence of which attempts to understand the meaning of life. It puts a great store on meditation and gardens have been built to encourage a calm and meditative state of mind in countries where Zen Buddhism is practised. The gardens have eight elements, each with a symbolic meaning - these elements are bridges, islands, flowers or plants, sand, stones, trees, water and waterfalls. Each one of these can be simulated using stones and natural driftwood, planted in sand or pebbles raked into concentric circles representing tranquility, balance and style. Lotus, iris, azaleas, rhododendrons and flowering cherry are the few flowers actually found in Zen Gardens. The beads in this necklace were made using a tutorial for faux ancient Roman glass by Ginger Davis Allman and the centrepiece, from a book by Ronna Sarvas Weltman. I think they go well together, and so did Ginger. I sent her a picture and she sent me an email that had me beaming from ear to ear. This is what she said Neena, I'm glad Ginger liked it and I love her comments, though living in the UK for so long (and being my mother's daughter) made it difficult not to feel a bit embarassed at her exuberant enthusiasm - we are not used to such extravagant praise in Britain! Next week I fly out to the USA to visit with one of my oldest friends from medical school in Boston, attend a Big Fat Indian Wedding in Cleveland, meet a load of class fellows from medical school who will attend this wedding and generally have a good time - or at least, that's the plan.
That's all I have for you this week folks, see you next week with a quick catch up, same time, same place xx It's Friday, and we meet again. Hello, readers, I am so glad to see you. This has been a busy week at the day job and consequently I am tired and exhausted at the end of it. The weather is slowly warming up and I spent a bit of time in the garden, weeding and clearing out the detritus from the winter and feeding my plants. People who aren't used to seasonal changes in the garden cannot understand how miraculous the regeneration of the garden feels like in the spring and how much it uplifts you. I thank goodness for my garden and Caprilicious this week - they are a balm for my soul. As it gets dark later and later on in the day, it is wonderful to be able to sit out in the garden with a cup of tea and watch the cats (yes, they are now just over one year old now and not kittens anymore) play in the greenery that is only just breaking free of the ground. Once it gets too cool for that, we go indoors and then I get to play with my beads and wire while Mike idly flicks through the channels looking for something on the TV to round off the day. I am completely addicted to these two entities that keep me sane and punctuate my day with pleasurable moments that make it all worthwhile. MarrakeshI fell in love with all things Moroccan a long time ago and even made an effort to import one of these tiled Moroccan Zellige fountains for my garden. Unfortunately, the deal fell through. Oh well, it was simply not to be - but isn't it ever so pretty?? It has a tap in the mosaic wall from which water pours into the trough below and is recycled by a pump - not good if you have bladder problems, which, fortunately, isn't a worry, for the moment anyway! The beauty of the distinctive pink walls of Marrakesh which are made of a red clay and chalk is the inspiration for this necklace. The slab nuggets of quartz have been electroplated with titanium and a couple of gaily enamelled Berber beads are accents that are reminiscent of a Bedouin tent. SophiaA tassel from Istanbul with an opulent bead cap, decorated with Hamsa hands and cubic zirconia arrived last week and went straight into a necklace of amethyst beads. The pendant calls forth memories of beautiful Byzantine architecture conjuring up the Aya Sophia on the banks of the Bosphorus. I attempted to get the necklace to match the opulence of the pendant, using pyrite, shiny crystals and a couple of bronze clay beads I made in my kiln, as well as a baroque crystal dangling from a chain at the back. Tassel necklaces are extremely fashionable at the moment and never let it be said that Caprilicious hasn't got its finger on the pulse. The gemstone beads in the necklace are pretty too and are in the colour I call 'Iced amethyst crush' rather than the usual deep purple that is the norm. Steel and RustI bought the stripy lucite focal bead in India a couple of years ago and had it stashed away. I brought it out and fondled it regularly like a worry bead, without any idea what to do with it - just knowing that it was pretty was enough for the time being. And then, I set eyes on this picture - a picture of rust growing on a steel door and that was it, like a thunderclap, I suddenly knew what to do with it. The fabulousness of the mouldable colour of polymer clay swung into action and I made the beads in order to create this necklace in the colours of Steel and Rust. Birds Do It, Bees Do It.......This lampwork glass bead is almost translucent. Heart-shaped, with a sprig of blue flowers on it, and wrapped in about twenty-five feet of wire it makes a very pretty addition to the series. That's me for this week, folks. I did start a wire dragonfly, but I soon realised that it was going badly when it began to resemble a cow, with wonky wings at that. Note to self: Don't try to make anything when mentally exhausted. It only turns into a mangled lump of rubbish. I have had to cut it up and rescue the bead, which was rather pretty. The wire went into the bin.
Thanks for dropping by, it means a lot. Have a lovely week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx Hello readers, thanks for joining me once again on this fine Friday morning. Ms Muse and I have been working hard this week, arms moving in a blur like bees wings - I had a few days off from work in combination with a Bank Holiday, and in consequence, we have a lot of pretty things to show you this week. I have decided to take Caprilicious to a craft fair in June, and quite a few little pieces were made up in readiness for this event as I am trying to be well organised and prepared for it in advance. As a consequence, Greased Lightning had nothing on us this week. I did slow Ms Muse down by making some of my regular pieces as well - beads kept on coming at me through the post and I couldn't resist using them. Jewels from the SeaI've been hoarding this pendant made of a cross section of a conch shell, wound around with sterling silver wire, garnets and blue jade for over two years now - I wanted the perfect beads to carry this beautiful and unusual piece of jewellery and when I saw these sea urchin spines, I just knew that I had found a match. In most people's imagination, a sea urchin or cucumber is quite an attractive object - however, there is a sting in this tale. Sea urchins are actually covered with spines, which are made of a calcified skeleton and multi-functional - they keep the creature from desiccating and away from the harmful effects of UV radiation, they help it move and also protect it from predators. The urchins in the picture to the left have been denuded of their spines to make them pretty - in actuality, they look like the creature below, which is a purple sea urchin. They cluster in shallow waters where currents bring food to their mouths, but if stepped on by an unwary human the spines can break off into the skin of the foot - the tips themselves are not poisonous, but there are tiny organs between them that release venom. According to an article I read, their gonads are pretty tasty and are thought to be an aphrodisiac by the Japanese - there you are, another tidbit of useless information - just when you thought this blog wouldn't amuse you! Follow the link by clicking on the picture to read more about this most interesting fact. Anyway, back to the spines, which are ever so pretty and tinkle gently when jingled against each other. They are delicate but robust, and one wouldn't believe that these pretty objects are capable of causing any harm - but you just need to take a swim in the coast off Hawaii to find out just how mean they can be to the unwary human who treads on them ( but looking at it from the urchin's viewpoint - serves them right, eh?? After all, who likes to be stood on by the equivalent of Ten Ton Tessie?). They come in many sizes, and this particular one suited this pendant beautifully. NishikigoiNishikigoi or the koi carp is thought to be a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good fortune within Japan. The koi signifies perseverance and strength, due to the fish’s tendency to swim upstream, and resist simply going with the flow against poor odds. A hand carved alabaster pendant of a koi carp pond, complete with lotus leaves and seed heads, was wrapped in copper wire and hung on a necklace of rose quartz nuggets. MayuriAnother peacock feather, all beaded up like a Rastafarian with little iridescent beads, hung on a necklace of Indian Agate beads. I never tire of this bird and it's beauty. SandstormWanting to use some of the polymer clay beads I had made earlier, I was inspired by this image of the beauty of a sandstorm - as I write this, I am aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and to me sitting safely in front of a computer, the image is fabulous - the poor people who live through the sandstorms no doubt hate them - as do the people who tread on a sea urchin - it is no laughing matter! And then, just as we were beginning to wind down for the week a parcel arrived from Istanbul - Ms Muse was at it like a ferret up an entry and I had no peace until these last two necklaces were made. I was unable to think up any more imaginative names for them, so in spite of her whining at me to whizz another one up, Ms Muse will have to put up with Topkapi 2 and Topkapi 3. If you wish you can take another look at Topkapi 1 here. Setting myself a challenge with some extremely pretty heart shaped lampwork glass beads, 9 feet of 20g wire each and unlimited amounts of fine wire, I made pendants using the same design, and the aim was to make each one slightly different from the other. So late at night, while we watched the last movie on the telly and the cats snored gently on the hearth, I made these three pendants. Hung on Nepalese threadwork necklaces, I think they look very pretty and are similar, but different from one another. They now form part of a series called Birds Do it, Bees do it...... See, I told you I'd been busy! Ms Muse and I are taking a well-deserved rest today and then a few polymer clay pendants are on the cards for the weekend. Have a fab week, and catch you next Friday, same time, same place
xx Hello readers, and thanks for joining Caprilicious today. It has been a hard week, I worked all over the weekend, and one day seemed to run into the other seamlessly. I did have time to play with clay and a few beads though, and here are the pieces of jewellery I made. PaterosThe focal bead in this piece is a lucite bead which resembles a salted duck's egg yolk. One of the methods by which these eggs are made is called Pateros. The duck eggs are buried in clay taken from termite hills, mixed with salt and water, and slowly dehydrated in this mixture at room temperature for over two weeks. The salt enters the egg shells by osmosis, and at the end of the curing period, the eggs are dyed a pretty pink with food colouring to distinguish them from ordinary eggs, and then hard-boiled. The eggs have a salty smell, the whites are gelatinous and the firm yolks are a bright orange-yellow in colour. The yolks are used in Chinese Moon Cakes and as a condiment in bland rice-water gruel and are a delicacy. I made the black and gold heishi beads as well as the faux amber beads from polymer clay, and put this necklace together. I ran a little competition on the Caprilicious Facebook page - people had to guess why the piece was called Pateros to win a discount on anything they wanted on the Caprilicious website - and only five people made the connection - congratulations! Ms. Muse was going crazy this week - I wanted to make necklaces for the last couple of tribal Afghani pendants I had - but she could see the pendants that had arrived from Istanbul last Friday and was itching to get to them. She stamped her little foot and tossed her ringlets - 'I'll thcweam and thcweam until I'm thick' she said, paraphrasing Violet Elizabeth Bott out of the Just William books. I paid no attention and went serenely on my way, collecting materials for and assembling my necklaces - and I must have done a halfway decent job despite her non-cooperation, because one of them was bought within minutes of me posting it on the website. So have a look at my Tribal necklaces first, and then I'll show you what she helped me make. JaipurThe Funky TribalI love this pendant - it is just the right size and colour and I teamed it with purple and gold marbled beads. Midnight in MoscowAnd then, finally, it was time to let Ms. Muse loose on the Turkish beauties. The first was a beautiful 22K gold plated bead cap, studded with rhinestones and little Hamsa hands, with a tassel of teal blue crystals. Teamed with titanium plated quartz needles which remind me of the night sky in Red Square, and a large blue agate, this necklace is arguably the best piece Ms. Muse has come up with in a while. TopkapiThe Topkapi palace in Istanbul is one of the most beautiful places I have visited. I was in awe at the huge uncut emeralds, some weighing a few kilograms that are in the treasury. It also houses one of the largest collections of Kaftans or robes from the middle East. This pendant is an enamelled kaftan with tassels - it was so unusual, I just had to buy it for Caprilicious. I hung it on a simple necklace of creamy white faceted shell pearls, and a few steel grey ones left over from a previous necklace as accent beads. SufiSufism is a religion whose roots are in Islam. Jalaluddin Rumi is the best-known scholar, poet and founder of Sufism. 'Sufism espouses a well-founded and thoroughgoing interpretation of Islam, which focuses on love, tolerance, worship of God, community development, and personal development through self-discipline and responsibility. A Sufi’s way of life is to love and be of service to people, deserting the ego or false self and all illusion so that one can reach maturity and perfection' Dervishes appear to whirl in a hypnotic trance to the untrained eye. However, it is actually a ritualistic dance where the Dervish performs a ritual or a 'Sema' in order to be one with his God. The Dervish in this pendant is beautifully fashioned, with Arabic calligraphy across his robes. Hung on a necklace of black onyx, I think he looks sumptuous. A bronzite flower, given to me by my friend BN and the enamelled bead caps donated by another friend, Sheela have only enhanced the beauty of this necklace. Gather Ye Rosebuds
This pendant was made in stages over a few weeks - it is meant to resemble a piece of ceramic pottery - I used alcohol inks to colour it and then coated it with resin to give it a beautiful sheen. The 'rosebuds' - agate beads - were added at the very end. It must be something about spring and the new shoots poking their heads above ground that make me go all floral with my designs. Whatever the reason, I like this little necklace and the earrings I made with the leftover clay to go with it. That's it for this week, folks. Have a fabulous week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place
xx |
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