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Beautiful Handmade Statement Necklaces and other Fabulousness from Neena Shilvock - Inspirations and Designs From the Week Gone by
Hello readers, lovely to see you here again. This week, I've been reading a really interesting blog by women who aren't afraid to communicate their ideas, position, or mood through their apparel and accessories. They call themselves The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, Valerie and Jean, and their blog is just so much fun - I just hope I age as irreverently and with as much zest for life! If you have a moment to spare, I urge you to take a look.  My mother brought us girls up to be quiet shy types, to be obedient wives and sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam while we ate our strawberries and cream (or was it curds and whey?), like the Mother Goose character. She got a bit confused along the way though, and gave us a good education and the ability to use our brains. Unfortunately for her, as we grew older and escaped from mum's sphere of influence both my sister and I turned out to be more and more like Longfellow's little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead than Curly Locks or Miss Muffet - " When she was good she was very, very good, And when she was bad she was horrid." Unfortunately we revert to type on occasion, but that is happening less and less these days. On Making a Statement and Having a Blast Role Models?? What does it mean - to make a statement? - all statements claim something or make a point. According to the OED, one of the definitions of a statement is "the communication of an idea, position, mood, or the like through something other than words". What sort of statement do you think these two ladies are making? Relaxed, fun, irreverent, devil - may - care, idiosyncratic, all of the above? Any more thoughts? Put them in the comments section, why don't you? I am so going to be like them as I grow older - Miss Muffet be damned; sorry mum! I have been busy tying up loose ends in preparation for our end-of-summer holiday. Having had a very indifferent summer, I am not looking forward to the rigours of winter, but Heigh Ho! one just has to plod on. By the time you read this, I shall be on a flight to Nice towards the sun, sea and pebbles - I'll be sure to send you a postcard! Butterscotch and CaramelWhat's the difference, I hear you ask - well, apparently butterscotch and caramel are very different things. Caramel is made with granulated white sugar, milk and/or cream, and butter. Butterscotch on the other hand is made with brown sugar and butter. Toffee is butterscotch that has been cooked to the hard-crack stage - and all of them are yummy and very bad for you and your teeth, as is usually the case with anything tasty! These carnelian lentil shaped beads reminded me so much of those toffees I often longed for as a child and pestered my grandfather for, until he gave in and bought them for me. I added bronze lost wax cast beads from Kenya, and some blue magnesite paisley shaped beads for contrast.
Basket Weave EarringsTwelve tiny pieces of copper wire were wired together, their ends hammered into little paddles to form hoop earrings. Although they look easy to make, they were actually difficult - try holding twelve 2" long pieces of copper wire in a row flat enough to wire together and you will understand why I invented some swear words that day.  Until I found this tool, lurking at the back of my tool kit. It is a ring clamp, and is meant to hold a ring steady while it is being worked on. It has two movable ends on a hinge, padded out with suede leather to give a good grip and a removable wedge that is inserted into either end to hold the ring securely. Hooray, I found a use for another one of my tools, bought long ago with a project in mind, lying unused and forlorn in a cupboard until now!  Hoops are in fashion just now and I think these are simple (OK, they look simple), light and interesting. I wanted to add some dangly bits which is why I created a wiggly border in the first place, but it just didn't look right and I gave up after a couple of attempts. Smitten Romantic and pretty - that is the statement that will be made by the wearer of this necklace - pale apple green jade and whisper pink rose quartz leaf shaped beads, interspersed with freshwater pearls, carrying a cottonwood leaf. The bail has gemstones in pinks and greens as well as an amethyst nugget dangling from it on a 'S' shaped squiggle that was formed and hammered into shape from a length of no tarnish silver plated wire. The cottonwood leaf skeleton was electroplated with copper and coated with silver in the USA and I bought it there at my last visit in May. I envisage it worn by a woman in a flowing gown with a deep neckline, perhaps even a bride, a romantic hairstyle with curls escaping from it, long slim arms with tinkling bracelets - is that you I can see in my mind's eye??
Right folks, I have to go wash my hair and paint my nails now in readiness for my holiday. Have a fabulous week, and I'll catch you next weekend, a bit later than usual at the Caprilicious Jewellery Blog
xx
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