Candy Girl by Caprilicious

Acanthus Spinosus or Bear's Britches

Hello folks, I'm happy to meet up with you again after a short break. I have been kept busy by the organisation of a memorial service at the chapel in the hospital, as a lot of people couldn't get to my friends funeral, it being a working day. For some reason it has fallen to me to organise it - invitations have been sent out and the hospital Chaplain has been ever so helpful.
We were meant to be in Amsterdam this weekend, but one look at the queues in Schiphol airport, which at the moment are about 5 miles long to get through security, convinced me that this was simply not the time to go. Hubby fell ill as well, and we managed to get a refund from the hotel and a voucher from the airline. Unfortunately, I couldn't cancel my annual leave at work as all my clinical committments have been cancelled and can't be reinstated. Perhaps that's just as well - I need a bit of a break and recharge.

I thought I'd show you a picture of one of the last flowers in the garden - this is a Mediterranean plant with large spiny leaves and a tall spike of flowers called Bear's Britches.

---

I started a half thought out piece of beaded embroidery - this is inspired by a Kandinsky print I have on my wall - I'm only able to block in a little bit at a time, so it may be a while before it is finished. I shall take pictures as I go, to track the making of this pendant. 
I'm excited to see how this one will evolve - one thing's for sure, it will be extremely colourful. 

---

I bought a hank of whisper pink crystal beads when I was in Prague - although pink is not a colour I usually go with, I couldn't resist the beauty of a fistful of these lovelies. Looked at singly, the pink fades to almost clear glass, but in a multi strand necklace, they are delectably pink.
​Once I brought them home, however, it was another story - I didn't know what to do with them, so they remained in their box, waiting for me to find inspiration. I was idly browsing through some beads on the internet and these pretty faux-stone pink beads took my fancy. I put the two together and the resulting piece reminded me of cotton candy, the spun sugar sweet on a stick that I was treated to as a child at the annual school fete.

Candy Girl

I even found pink beading wire as the usual grey or silver wire running through the crystals would have muddied the pink. The box clasp is set with a shiny black agate and can be worn to one side as well as the back. I felt the black added a bit of gravitas to what would otherwise be a very girly necklace. 

With this one, I had to admit defeat - no photograph can ever express the beauty of the crystals as they shimmer in the light.

That's me for this week, folks. I'll probably be back in a couple of weeks once the memorial service is done and dusted. Have a wonderful week and savour the last weeks of summer, before the oncoming autumn. Catch you soon,
Until then
​xx