Hello, folks, and welcome to the Caprilicious Blog. I received a fabulous email from someone yesterday saying how much they loved the jewellery and reading the blog. It was great to read that, as I often think I'm totally wasting my time and that all these words are going out into the ether to be forever lost. Just that one kind soul has given me the will to carry on - if nothing it keeps the writing muscle in my brain from going rusty. I used to blog every weekend until I took up a management post at work alongside the clinical work I still do. I haven't much time to play with beads and metal, but when I do, it is just as much fun as ever. This week I pulled out a number of strands of coral, lapis and turquoise dyed howlite, to go with a bunch of artisan created Nepalese charms that I have had in my stash for nigh on 6-7 years. They were amongst a bundle of beads I picked up at an exhibition - ever so pretty, but I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to do with them - until now. NavyaBright and pretty, this necklace is strung onto a toggle clasp so that it looks like the layered necklaces that are so popular, without giving the wearer the dilemma of working with multiple clasps and tangled up strings of beads. It will go easily over a white shirt, or in its neckline, just as well as it will brighten a roll-top collar in the winter. A necklace for all seasons, then - there can't be too much wrong with that! Our fridge has died (well, it's getting aspirations beyond itself and has decided it is actually a freezer - everything is frozen solid, including large containers of milk) so we have no fresh food in the house. We decided that until the repair-guy can bring the part back to sort it out, we would eat out. We're off to Pestos for a nice Italian 'small-plate' Sunday Lunch today in a few minutes. It would appear that the Universe is conspiring to sabotage any diet or weight loss plan I might have - every time I even think the word 'diet', people invite me out, my social life picks up immeasurably and now, even my fridge is working against me. Woe is me! Thrice woe! It would appear that I'm destined to remain a roly-poly for a while longer. That's me for today, folks. Thanks for dropping by. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll catch you shortly,
Until then xx
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Hello everyone, it's lovely to chat to you again after a busy week. I was invited out to lunch last weekend and was able to wear the Kandinsky necklace - I must say it felt really good and I got a number of compliments. I realise that it looks much larger and more intimidating until it is worn - and then, it just feels like a piece of fun around your neck. Just right for a dull November evening and a simple outfit. I received a strand of faux turquoise teardrops in the post and wanted to use them straight away. I've tried to control the bead buying sprees I used to go on and consequently only pick up componenets that I fall in love with at first sight. Once I have them in my hot little hands however, I can't control the urge to use them straight away. The amethyst I used in the necklace are light in colour, but they are plump and juicy cylinders that have been gently faceted to reflect the light wonderfully. The combination of turquoise and amethyst is classic and beautiful. Sea SpriteChristmas is coming, and the goose is getting fat - that is if it hasn't been affected by Avian flu. I'm not celebrating this year, but for those of you who are, remeber that Caprilicious offers a free service - I will pack and send your gifts out for you if you message me. I'll even include a card from you and any message you care to send. 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 folks, hope the Bank Holiday weekend finds you well and out and about, having yourselves a load of fun. I am working tomorrow so that's taken a bit of the shine off of it, but equally, I'm not in the mood for a good time just now, so it's OK by me to have to work the blues away. I've been making a necklace with a number of bezelled elements, and every evening, I sit in front of the TV after work and sew tiny beads onto a felt backing. The piece isn't ready yet and I'll probably carry on sewing well into the next couple of weeks before I have anything to show for all the effort that's going into the piece. In the meantime, I have a little necklace that is very pretty and very versatile for you today. Kiara was made to carry a little mandala pendant that is set with abalone, turquoise, amethyst, garnets and carnelian. The amethyst beads have a matte finish and have been spaced with turquoise and electroplated ceramic square beads. I think this one is very versatile, it can not only quite easily be worn to the office, but will easily go to dinner of an evening and bring in the compliments. The turquoise beads lift the colour quotient and echo the blues in the pendant. That's me for today folks. I hope you have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday/Saturday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello everyone, how are you today? Britain has been basking in a heat wave and although I've been busy and locked into the hospital, it's nice to know that outside, someone, somewhere, is lying on a patch of grass, basking in the sun. Life has been crazy busy and I simply didn't have time to get to you last week, but here I am at last, bright eyed and bushy tailed. The garden is enjoying the weather, and hubby is spending loads of time outdoors, watering the plants. I have friends coming to stay with me from the USA in four weeks time and I'm hoping the garden will still look nice, and all the flowers aren't spent by the time they get here. With all that's going on at work, I had no time to pick up my beads or pliers, but when I received a few beautiful pairs of earring beads, I wasted no time in putting them together. One pair is already spoken for, but the others are loaded onto the website now. Here are a few pictures of my simple, but beautiful earrings. These acid green beauties are made with Cymophane, an opalescent version of chrysoberyl. I've never seen these gems before and scrambled to pick them up as soon as I saw them. This is the second time I'm making them and I think they are ever so sleek, sohisticated and elegant. As they are so simple, the fact that they are long won't be a reason why you can't wear them during the daytime, and to work, if you so choose. In fact I see them with a white shirt and jeans, just as easily as a little black dress. The flowers in the garden are calling out to me to make another floral piece and I have the whole thing planned out in my head. In the meantime, I have the weekend off, but loads of prep to do for a presentation next week. Long lie-ins, lazy brunches in the garden, out in the sunshine - and a laptop by my side, constantly reminding me that I'm playing hooky, instead of preparing for the next week - I'm going to feel like I'm back in school! That's me for this week, folks. Have a fabulous week and I hope to catch up with you again next Friday, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello people, how are you? As this blog post is published, I will most likely be waiting in line for my PCR test to come back in Bangalore airport, or if I'm very lucky, on my way into town towards home quarantine for a week before I can get out and enjoy meeting people for a couple of weeks. I go with major trepidation, mixed with excitement at the thought of seeing my family. The prospect of catching the awful bug does not fill me with joy, as you can imagine. A landmark trial from Imperial College, London indicates that exposure to a single nasal droplet is sufficient to become infected with Covid-19. I am not keen to catch the damn thing, and even less keen to spread it to a 94 year old mother - just imagine the shame of it, if I'm instrumental in finishing her off!! Eep! It doesn't bear thinking about - needless to say I shall be extremely careful. I spent the week preparing for my holiday, getting clothes together and tying off loose ends at work. Packing is always a last minute exercise and I've just got my suitcases weighed and ready to go tomorrow morning. I still have bits and bobs to throw into my hand luggage and then I'm leaving on a jet plane, leaving my lovely hubby behind for a few weeks. Forever AmberThis week, I took delivery of a string of rough nuggets of amber - to my mind, amber is a mystical substance, known since at least 320BC, and is the fossilized resins from extinct coniferous tree trunks. Trees usually release a form of resin to make their trunks resistant to the attacks of parasites and insects. These resins also heal internal damage, keeping the tree healthy and safe. Over time, the resin evolves as an organic fossil which we now call Amber. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree mass, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material, trapped as inclusions. Amber can be coloured from yellow to a dark brown/ green. The most valued form of amber is one that still has traces of the organic life which at one point was trapped in the tree trunk. Being light and buoyant, amber floats in water and is found on seashores, especially the ones in Northern Europe. Amber is commonly found on the beach after a storm. In the Baltic regions, several glaciers destroyed resin-bearing trees. When buried, the resin in these trees fossilized as amber. It takes many many years for a piece of amber to be formed and I had read somewhere that when lit using a match, one can prove that the substance is truly amber rather than a synthetic imitation made of plastic if it burns without an odour. It can also be dissolved using alcohol and chloroform, but as I don't have the latter and wouldn't waste the former on such an errand, I pulled off a tiny piece from one of the nuggets, held it with tweezers and lit it with a match - and hooray! it burned with a gentle flame, minimal smoke and disappeared when the flame died down. This is certainly not plastic. To bring some bright colour into the piece I added a flower made of blue dyed howlite, electroformed into the shape of a flower, and added some simple lapis beads to the back of the necklace for comfort. The piece is light, belying its chunkiness, and I love it. As I walked back into the house I saw this tree trunk with lichen growing from it - or are they mushrooms? Whatever it is, it's beautiful and I had to take a photograph or two. Well that's me for now, folks. I will be imprisoned in my mother's house all of next week, so I shan't have much to say. I'll catch up with you when I get back from India, at the end of the first week in March.
Until then, stay safe and keep warm xx Hello everyone, how are you all today? I'm just getting over the food coma that was Christmas and now that I'm fully awake, it seems like Covid strikes again with Omicron running rampant all over the place. The hospitals just now are heaving, fit to burst at the seams and it would appear that lateral flow tests are the new toilet rolls and have become very scarce. Once again, it won't be possible to count the number of cases accurately during this spike - how can we, when there aren't enough lateral flow or PCR tests? Oh well, ce'st la vie, I guess. I've been doing my best to stop the chattering noises of alarm going off in my head by trying to murder my eyesight. The project I've embarked upon can only be made a couple of inches at a time as it consists of glittery faceted haematite beads which are black, with a black central hole, sewn together using black nylon thread in a pattern called the Cellini Spiral. I made a piece approximately six to eight inches long, and found that I had run out of one of the sizes (my eyes heaved a massive sigh of relief) and had to send for more beads. I'm hoping to make an entire circlet that glitters all the way around the neck - it will look absolutley stupendous. African QueenThis is a necklace for a woman who want's to feel like a queen - the soft sea green African turquoise beads at the centre of the piece are gently faceted, and are offset by the vinyl trade beads that came to me from Ghana, via the USA. Vinyl beads are made from vulcanite, a vulcanized hard rubber and traces of vinyl. Older ones were made from recycled records and added a splash of colour to many African necklaces. I added a melange of colourful beads on either side - coral, faux amber, turquoise and lapis all went towards raising the colour quotient of the piece until I thought I'd achieved a perfect balance between regal and vibrantly playful. The clasp is made of a piece of moss agate, carved into a rose. Siren TooI have started to put together pieces of jewellery that have been comissioned by ladies in India who are part of the Caprilicious family. I had two of these silver comb pendants- I picked them up in India in 2017 and it took me a whole year to be able to bring myself to release one of them into circulation. Being a bit like Gollum, I sat on the second precious beauty till 2021 - a lady in India saw this photograph and wanted a similar necklace. Now that the day grows nigh, I thought I should make the necklace up, ready to travel in February (fingers and toes crossed).
The little birds on either side of the comb are gilded - if you'd like to read more about the original piece, here's the link to the blog post related to it. It's always a compliment when people like the pieces enough to request another made to order, but I'm always careful that there shouldn't be too many of the same - I like the cachet that being a one-of -a-kind/limited edition jewellery designer brings. Well, folks, it is time to draw the line under 2021 - a something and nothing of a year. Perhaps 2022 will be better? Have a wonderful New Year celebration, even if it is a sticky bun and a glass of sherry in front of the TV - stay well, and stay safe. Have a wonderful week, and I'll catch you next Friday, 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 people, how are you? Lovely to find you here again, and I hope you enjoy your little glimpse into life at Caprilicious. Last week it was storm Arwen, this week it is Storm Barra - a different name with the same result, driving rain, tumultuous winds and bone chilling cold weather. We are now besieged by the Omicron variant of the Covid virus and have to wear a mask everywhere - not that I ever stopped, as it is mandatory in the hospital and I wear one anyway in shops and the supermarket as a matter of course. I've had my vaccine pass for ages and now it has become mandatory for everyone. Through all this my fingers have been busy, producing the gifts that I require for the festive season and getting ready for the Caprilicious showcase on the Earrings Show on Facebook on Saturday evening and all day on Sunday. The Mandala NecklaceCarl Jung described a mandala as “a representation of the unconscious self”. A mandala, which means a “circle” in Sanskrit is a geometric design that holds a great deal of symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. In their most basic form, mandalas are circles contained within a square and arranged into sections that are all organized around a single, central point. Kelly Dietrich says, on her blog devoted to Mandalas (and I had no idea that there was that much to say about them!) that 'there are five components to a mandala - symmetry, geometry, colour, number and intent' and that they are used for meditation and yogic practices. Philistine that I am, I picked this one because it was pretty. However, what redeems me is that apparently you ought to pick a mandala that appeals to you - it is your subconscious mind doing the work for you, so I managed to get it right, after all. I hope you like it too. I teamed it with discs of turquoise dyed howlite, with little electroplated, faceted haematite beads sparkling between them and a couple of Bali beads as an accent. A couple more pairs of earrings for the Earrings Show were put together during the week - one is a symphony in pink and the other in green. I've named the pink ones The Pink Panther earrings - anyone who's a fan of the Pink Panther movies will know that it was actually a jewel, targeted by the cat burglar played by David Niven. This will be my last appearance on the Earrings Show this year and if you have a moment, do come over and join me - there's still time to get your orders in for Christmas. Click on this link to take you straight to the show - Caprilicious is on from 2030hrs on 10/12/21 to 2030hrs the next day. Our tree was up and trimmed this week. I stood in the cold and rain to get this picture through the glass of the porch to share it with you on the blog (can you hear those violins?). That's me for today, folks. Do join me on the Earrings Show if you can on Friday night and Saturday , it's lovely to see a familiar face. I'll catch you next Friday here on the blog, same time, same place. Until then xx Hello, good people, and thanks for joining me once again. It has gone cold in the UK and set to get worse. However, what we experience here, especially in the Midlands where I live is piffling compared to North America, so I shouldn't really make a big deal of it. Moaning about the weather is part of the British psyche and I've lived in the UK long enough to participate in the national weather angst! I saw this picture on Facebook and thought it was so cute, I had to save it for everyone here. I've made one of the prettiest necklaces using a bunch of tiny seed beads, and I've been so keen to show it to you. Unfortunately, I suddenly decided that I absolutely needed a particular clasp when I saw it used by another beader - I've been hunting for the selfsame thing all over. It's quite difficult, hunting down something when you don't know where the other person got it from, what it's name is, or what to put in a search engine when looking for it. I can't remember who the lady was who had it on one of the pieces she had made, or I might have asked her, although she might not have told me. But, determined as I am, I spent days looking for it and finally struck gold. Hubby was pretty annoyed with me, as I seemed to be on the computer all the time - he was probably just looking for a bit of attention. However, I've had a hard week at work, and the last thing I needed of an evening is conversation. Watching rubbish on the telly while beading or scrolling through various shops on my phone in silence seems to be the better pastime than making an effort to chat. Never mind, next week is likely to be better and I will stroke his ego and give him some attention at the weekend. As I said last week, I'm going on the Earrings Show in December - the 10th and 11th is the Caprilicious show, so I've begun to salt away a few pairs of earrings specifically for that. I always like to have lots of stock, so that ladies who like earrings have something new to look at, and I like my earrings to be as different as possible to what the others display. I make the components myself rather than assemble what I have bought from others, and therefore it takes a while to put them together. Anyone who knows Caprilicious knows my love of peacocks - this pair was made using purple crystals at the centre of the eye, surrounded by silver lined seed beads in four colours. I'm not sure the camera picks up the way these earrings glow - silver lined beads have an ethereal sheen and I think this is a very pretty pair of earrings, as light as a (peacock) feather. I picked up two pairs of stick beads of lapis lazuli and turquoise - the beads themselves are so pretty, I felt that they ought to be presented in as simple a manner as possible. I spent a few months wrestling with the idea of adding little embellishments to the tops of the beads but in the end, have presented them simply with little micro pave bails and sterling ear wires that enhance rather than detract from the beauty of the stones. Unfortunately still photographs do not pick up little nuances, such as the glow of the silver lined beads, the little glints of pyrite in the lapis beads or the glints from the micro pave diamante - some degree of movement is required for that. I'm looking forward to this weekend which is going to be about pampering - long lie ins, soaks in the bath, and generally a relaxed time, both to get over the week I've had, and to get ready for next weekend when I'm going to be on call again. 29 days to Christmas, folks! Hubby is buying me a new laptop in the sales and I'm half excited, while the other half of me is a bit anxious about losing all the photographs stored on my old laptop. Yes, they are sitting in cloud storage as well, but there's nothing like being able to access them straight up from the computer. Oh well, I'll just have to grin and bear it. That's me for this week, folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx Hello everyone, and how are you today? It's been the mildest November, ever, and I'm just hoping that the rest of the year remains as wonderful. Thank you everyone who picked up pieces of jewellery during the birthday sale - they have all gone out and should be with you in the next couple of days. I spent some time making earrings last week - as well as the beginnings of another necklace which I will have to hold on to for another time as it isn't quite finished yet. I'm on the Earrings Show again in December and feel the need to put together a few new pieces for the ladies who browse the show. We went for a little drive last week and fetched up in a quaint little courtyard outside an outfitters for bikers called The Idle Torque - there was a little cafe, and an organic butcher, a vegetable shop, a blacksmith and a schoolhouse. We sat in the courtyard on a crisp autumn morning and had a cup of tea from the cafe, when a little cat joined us - he was so friendly, I was quite envious. We've ended up with a very standoffish cat at home who only comes to us when he wants to and when his tummy tells him that it's running on empty. What we would have loved was a friendly lap cat that draped itself over us like a mink stole, but alas! it was not to be. There were some fierce looking hombres standing around in leathers, ponytails, piercings, hobnailed boots, and strange hairstyles and beards - they looked a bit intimidating to say the least, and I thought we ought to leave, but when Mike said hello they ambled over with gap toothed grins and waggly beards, and were friendly enough. I followed my first beading pattern this week - the first time I've ever followed any sort of pattern. I fell in love with a picture on Pinterest and it led me to DragonflyDesigns UK on Etsy. The colours in the earrings were so attractive I bought the pattern - after all how hard could it be? Well, I started the earrings and cut them up a few times, and then the whole lot skulked in a corner waiting for me, until I decided not to be such a coward and allow a beading pattern to win. The earrings are called Tequila Sunrise and are actually quite complicated to make for a beginner, but with perseverance, they turned out to be very pretty. Tequila SunriseThe Real Tequila Sunrise!
A Tequila Sunset has the same ingredients as the original Tequila Sunrise, but with a splash of soda water mixed with grenadine to give the drink a red hue at the top instead of the bottom. Here's the Caprilicious version for you. Tequila SunsetI also made a pair of South Western style earrings using turquoise and a lavish fringe with Czech dagger beads - they are light and ever so pretty, and the movement - OMG! I am blown away! They are lined with leather and they are worthy of any cowgirl princess. 37 days to go to Christmas - have you ordered your turkey yet? What about your presents? Don't forget that Caprilicious is happy to wrap your gifts and send them out to your friends - all you have to do is mention it on PayPal and it will be sorted out for you. That's me for now, folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx |
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