Memories of lala Land

Hello readers, nice to see you all here again. I am back at the day job after my fabulous holiday in the South of France, and it has felt very surreal, almost as if I am in two time zones and alternative realities. The Cote d'Azure certainly is a lala land, which doesn't seem to have any connection with reality - Ferraris and Lamborghinis jostling with Bentleys and impossibly svelte women and well oiled men with rippling biceps posing and posturing on the promenade by their yachts. 
I allowed the colours from the holiday to creep into my designs this week, I simply couldn't help it. The weather outside my window at home is not terrible, but the predominant colours here are green and gray, with a bit of blue. However, my muse this week was having none of that, she was still basking in the sunshine of the Promenade du Paillon. The spray fountain for the kids was amazing, but when we enthused over it, one of the locals observed sourly that it wasn't so much fun when the children ended up in A&E with broken bones from skidding on the film of water that remained on the floor - Ah well, you can't please everyone, but it did make for some lovely, colourful photographs.

Énergie Solaire

These two pendants were made using a couple of slices of solar quartz, which are cross sections of a stalactite, coloured in bright yellows, greens and blues. I used sterling silver wire to surround them in a very simple setting as I wanted the beauty of the stones to be the focus of the pendants. I did put in a few swoopy swirls and curlicues, though - I couldn't help myself!

Mandarin

This pendant comes from China - it is marketed as blue jade, but methinks they missed out the word 'dyed' - nevertheless, it is very pretty and serves my purpose well. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff that comes from China has to be taken with a large pinch of salt, and I have to decide whether the piece is pretty enough for me to permit the vendor to attempt to pull wool over my eyes. As I do not pass on the deception to my customers, a beautifully carved dyed pendant is a 'must have', in my opinion.
Once again, the brights in my stash seemed to want to come out and play and the pendant ended up teamed with three strands of red opaque crystal beads, Ghanaian lost wax cast bronze beads in a dull gold, and blue turquoise hexagonal beads. 

Aren't these colours fabulous together? I like necklaces that can be worn day or night and this one certainly fits the bill.

I was commissioned by a friend to make her a crystal necklace - party time will soon be here and I made this one for her.

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That's a wrap for this week folks. Truth be told, I've had difficulty getting back into the swing of things after such a fabulous week on such a brilliant holiday. The month of September promises to be busy with a lot going on at work, including all those New Year's Eve party babies, conceived as a result of a lot of alcohol and very little thought or time for contraception - yes, September is always a busy month in maternity units up and down the UK. 
Have a lovely weekend and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place
xx