Busy busy...

Can't believe it's been a week since I last posted - where has the time gone!?

What have I been doing? Well, mainly, working on custom orders and doing abit of creative writing :D It's been years since I last did any writing, so I've thrown myself into it (with my usual "devil may care" gusto) to the exclusion of most other things, except a large custom bridal order I've been working on.

The custom bridal order is now finished and looking fantastic, so it's time to move onto the next one...

The creative writing will probably be an ongoing thing (mainly because I keep changing things...!) but I've been lucky enough to have Lisa motivate me and provide me with much-needed feedback, which has helped to keep me focussed (because I tend to flit from thing to thing...you may have noticed).

Today, I've managed to finish my Year of Jewellery themed piece for August. Our theme this month was "1960s" and I must say, I was at a total loss as to what to do. After speaking to my Mum (who was a teen in the 60's) it seemed to have been predominantly about the clothes and less about the jewellery, which didn't help me much (!!). So I abandoned all hope of actually doing a piece that would look at home in the 60's, and settled for a 60's-inspired-piece instead.

I chose the Beatles (the Fab Four!) as my inspiration and retained the black/white theme as well as the geometric shapes (circles, in my case) and put them all together to make this very retro bracelet:

I'll list it on the website when I get a minute...

For now though, it's back to the grind. A woman's work is never done (in my case - laundry and housework beckon...).

Hope you had a great weekend!

~A

100 Things

I've seen this done recently on a few blogs, and thought I'd give it a go myself...not an easy task, let me just say right here and now! And I did kinda cheat on some of them, but all in the name of entertainment :)

So, here we go - 100 Things You Might Not Have Known About Me...

1. My favourite colour is emerald green
2. My favourite gemstone is (suprisingly!) emerald
3. My engagement ring was handmade for me in Edinburgh and features an emerald surrounded by diamonds
4. I have 2 other emerald rings also (told you I loved the colour!)
5. I am 5'11" tall (but wish I was more like 5'8"...)
6. I have never taken an art or craft class in my life
7. The first thing I remember making is a birthday card for my Mum - I was in primary school
8. I have one sister, who is 2 1/2 years younger than me
9. My sister and I were very close, growing up
10. I love colour and have more coloured clothes in my wardrobe, than black
11. I don't like patterned clothes, preferring block colours instead
12. I went to a Chris Isaak concert once, and very nearly pinched his bum (What?! He was dancing right in front of me! A friend stopped me...will never forgive you for that Owen - that could've been my claim to fame!)
13. I used to bite my fingernails (stopped when I was 13)
14. I'm actually quite shy in real life (with people I don't know...my friends and family would disagree)
15. I had a crush on a guy at my high school for 3 years...I never spoke a word to him
16. I have pale skin, with freckles and I hate the sun!
17. I'm more likely to be cold than hot (I hate winter)
18. I'm quite sensitive and have to learn to take criticism constructively
19. I was brought up to have a healthy respect for my elders and authority figures
20. I was brought up Catholic, although rarely go to Mass these days
21. My kids both go to a Catholic school
22. My husband is Scottish, and Protestant
23. I had Hyperemisis Gradivarum during both my pregnancies
24. I love a good argument
25. But I don't fare well in them...my brain doesn't work as fast as my mouth
26. I hate public speaking with a passion
27. My favourite takeout food is Mexican or Thai
28. I don't like curries or anything too spicy-hot
29. I have never smoked
30. I have a short attention span
31. My husband was my first love
32. I'm not really a dog or a cat person - I like both
33. I wear both gold and silver jewellery, equally
34. I am extremely sentimental (I horde stuff)
35. And loyal to my friends/family
36. I feel guilty that I haven't made the quilt I planned to make for my son (who's now 5) but not guilty enough to actually MAKE it
37. I made a beautiful quilt for my daughter when she was a baby - it is still on her bed and she loves it (she's now 8)
38. I met my husband at work
39. We moved in together a week after our first date
40. We were engaged for 18 months before we got married
41. He never actually proposed to me...we just both assumed we would get married
42. My husband was going through a divorce when I first met him
43. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in February 2009
44. We have a "rescue dog", "Lucy the Wonderdog", (a Lab) who we all love
45. Lucy is so named because when we first got her, she would frequently "escape" from her run at the back of the house and be waiting for us on the front porch when we got home from work
46. Lucy fell in love with my husband...if she wasn't a dog, I'd be very jealous...
47. I lived in London for 3 months when I first left New Zealand in 1997...I hated it
48. One of my most glamourous jobs in London was being a "hostess" at Westminster Abbey (for a corporate event)
49. I was a teenage model
50. I left my hometown for Auckland in 1988 and had a brief modelling career
51. I was voted "Miss Personality" in the "Miss Central Auckland" contest in 1989 (I was 18 years old)
52. I competed in the "Miss Auckland" contest in 1989 but did not place
53. Although I appreciate the experience that modelling gave me, I didn't enjoy it and don't miss it
54. I tap-danced competitively for 3 years in my youth
55. I loved it, although used to get extreme stage fright
56. I still have the medals I won during my dancing days
57. At primary school, I made lifelong friends
58. The only sports I'm any good at are badminton and volleyball
59. I hate making phone calls (always have)
60. I used to work in the stationery sales industry
61. My first job lasted for 6 years, in the freight forwarding industry. I was 16 when I started.
62. I may have an addiction to the internet...maybe
63. I'm an inherently tidy person
64. My husband is an inherently messy person
65. It's too soon to tell which way the kids will swing (tidy vs messy)
66. I hate ironing
67. I listen to my iPod pretty much everywhere
68. I love music and have very eclectic tastes
69. I went to a Robbie Williams concert when I was 7 months pregnant with my son
70. Surrounding folk at the concert were afraid I was going to go into labour (apparently Robbie has that effect on pregnant women?) - I told them I wasn't that excited
71. I don't usually drink (and usually get drunk pretty quick). When I do, it's wine or Glayva (or whisky)
72. I'm a nightowl - I rarely get to bed before 1am (the best time to create is between 10pm and 1am, for me)
73. I don't like grapefruit, marmalade or anything sour
74. I have a VERY sweet tooth
75. If I could get away with it, I'd have 3 sugars in my coffee, but my husband says it's bad for me so I humour him (when he's around...)
76. I have a very low tolerance to sugar (ie: I get hyperactive)
77. I talk too much when I get nervous
78. I was always getting told off at school for talking in class
79. At high school, my favourite subjects were English and history. My most hated subjects were maths and science
80. I will never turn down a friend in need
81. I am not very competitive
82. I love watching sports (most of them)
83. My favourite sports are rugby, motor racing and cricket
84. As a child, my first "most hoped-for" occupation was race car driver
85. As a teenager, I wanted to be a journalist
86. I'm not very politically-minded, but I vote at EVERY election (thanks Suffragettes, for this privelege)
87. I'm a great multi-tasker (usually)
88. I love to help people and will usually go out of my way to do so
89. I suffer from migraines and general headaches all too regularly (it's a family trait)
90. I'm anal about having a tidy studio to create in, or work desk (at my day job)
91. I get withdrawal symptoms if I can't create - holidays are hard on me, I have to make myself relax
92. My ideal holiday would be a craft retreat
93. I hate to swim and have an inherent fear of drowning (so much so that I can't put my face under the water in the shower)
94. I love to write and am usually working on a story at any given time. I've never, however, finished one. Or let anyone else read one.
95. Lemon Meringe pie is my favourite dessert...followed by Pavlova
96. I've loved peaches and ice cream since I was 4 months old (ask my Mum)
97. My kids are a constant source of joy in my life (and so worth spending a cumulative 18 months throwing up whilst I was "baking" them!)
98. I'm close to my parents (and work with my Mum in my day job - she's my boss!)
99. My most favourite person in the whole world is my Nanna, who died in 2005. I miss her and think of her daily. I often have conversations with her late at night, when I'm creating.
100. I am constantly amazed at the amount of friends (online and in person) that I've made since I starting making jewellery.

So, there you have it! I did cheat abit with some of them (like, dragging them out abit), but man! 100 facts is one helluva lot!

Hope you enjoyed :)

~A

Winter? I don't think so...

Sometimes, a New Zealand winter surprises me. I spent five winters in Scotland, and ever since we returned to New Zealand (which was eight years ago this year) not a winter has gone by where I haven't thought to myself "How I survived those five winters, I'll never know".

Winter in New Zealand can be wet. It can be frosty. It can be windy. But usually not all at once. This winter, for instance, it's been frosty. Which means blue skies, heavy frosts overnight, definately very chilly, but very little rain and wind. Which all, for me, falls under the category of "manageable"!

I can deal with the cold if the skies are blue and cloudless :)

This weekend, I didn't get much time to do very much in the way of creating. Friday night I made a new bracelet and necklace (no pics yet - hopefully this week!), but that's been pretty much it. Spent the weekend doing housework and laundry, and some much-missed "family time". Fantastic stuff!

Yesterday (Saturday) we went over to Whakatane for the afternoon to do some shopping. We had lunch there and took the kids to the park, down by The Heads (the Whakatane harbour entrance).

Whakatane Heads - "The Lady on the Rock" (harbour entrance):

A fishing boat coming in over the bar (in the half hour we were there, at least 8 boats came in - good fishing on Saturday, I think - the carpark was full of empty boat trailers):

The kids head to the playground, STAT!

Today (Sunday) we went for a walk along the beach at Waiotahi (5 minutes drive from our house). We weren't the only ones - there were a few people out enjoying this glorious weather. We were in t-shirts, for goodness sake - in winter!

The kids and Lucy (our Labrador) meander along the beach:

Just look at that for a "winters day"!

Not a day goes by when I don't feel grateful for what we have here, in our little corner of the world.

We are truly blessed :)

~A

Congrats to Karen Nolan!

Woot woot! Karen's comment number was drawn out of a possible 48 comments to win the blog giveaway above - well done Karen! As soon as I get your delivery address, I'll send the lovely brooch out to you :)

Thanks to everyone who entered - it was great fun, I'll definately be doing another blog giveaway (perhaps next month? It seems a great way to kick off the month!).

Well, I've been busy tonight. I've made a bracelet and a necklace and will be posting them onto the website as soon as I've downloaded the pics.

I've also finished my Bead Swap piece (will share that with you once we're all finished!) and also my Year of Jewellery themed piece for July ("Precious"). The August theme for the Year of Jewellery is "1960's" so that gives me VERY wide scope...watch this space (I'm really gonna enjoy this theme!).

Remember my friend Lisa (she of the amazing "Supernatural" fan-fictions?). Well, Lisa has a brand new website totally dedicated to her stories! To see them, and the videos that accompany the stories, just CLICK HERE!

And it's thanks to Lisa that this song has been stuck in my head - and on my iPod! - for the past few days! She uses it in one of her vids and I'd forgotten how much I really loved this song :)



And - I've had the most AWESOME day! I found out that Pearl Jam (one of my most FAVOURITE bands!) are coming to NZ in November! Woot woot! So, I'm going online when ticket sales open on Tuesday next week to get tickets. And then I'll be counting down the sleeps...I'm so excited!

Time to have a coffee and calm down :)

~A