Ooo, Rocks!

Last night I decided to bust out my stone boxes full of iolite, sunstone, and tourmaline.  The idea was to make more earrings, but that idea didn’t pan out.  I did end up going back to work on my “Rock on a Rope” collection.  This weekend, I hope to take photos and start listing them on Etsy.  I also need to calculate the prices too.  I’m hoping this will be a more affordable collection, because I want everyone from any walk of life to be able to purchase a stone that speaks to them.  This collection is also a way of introducing stones and their energy properties to the masses.  It’s also been a good way for me to freshen up on my stone studies.  I just happened to buy a stone book for my Kindle.  That’ll be more helpful than lugging around my favorite stone book everywhere.  I’ll have a baby to lug around in 2 months and a bit.  Yikes.  It’s scary how time flies.

From the left, prehnite, rough watermelon tourmaline, rose quartz, larimar, and pink tourmaline.

From the left, iolite, sunstone, iolite-sunstone waiting for their chainmaille bit and chain. ♥

Sporting my iolite and sunstone necklace with iolite-sunstone focal bead.  Of course, the focal bead is from my crazy pirate rock lady.  And I really don’t look pregnant from the chest up.  Hehehe.

Playing Catch-Up

This week, I’ve been focusing on all the things I’ve been neglecting around the apartment.  Mostly the apartment in general.  I’ve had more energy this week entirely (must be getting enough sleep for once), so I’ve been tidying and putting stuff away.  Tonight I need to tackle the pile of skirts in front of my closet door.  I’m really enjoying the challenge of maternity fashion and the challenge of not looking frumpy and lazy.  As long as I have my basic t-shirts and tank tops that are long enough to cover my bump, I’ll be happy.  Oh, and of course, plenty of knit skirts with an elastic waistband.  Part of me feels its time to go through my closet and say goodbye to the cute summer dresses with plastic boning because 1) when will I get a chance to wear them again? and 2) I think it’s time to focus on more versatile pieces of clothing.  The knit dresses from last summer and prior are fine because they’re empire waisted, but the tight corset A-line dresses that don’t require a bra because they’re lightly padded need to go.  I’ll keep my 2 favorites and donate the rest.  It’s hard to let go, but I’m starting to realize I like more flowy fabrics and clothes are starting to become more of an investment than anything else.  It’s like the difference between fashion and style.

“Fashion is something so ugly, we have to change it every six months!” ~Oscar Wilde

I feel really good about the direction I’m going in with all these rocks. Sometimes I need to take a step back from the chainmaille and focus on other designs with chainmaille bits (not exclusively chainmaille). I may question it but I know better and just go with the flow of things. Exactly how I’m dealing with married life and being pregnant.  It’s a simple design, but oh so versatile. I can already imagine all the yummy sets I can make… Necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. I’m not a matchy-matchy person so it’s hard for me to make sets. But when the concept is so simple and begs to be done, that’s hard to resist. But ideas are one thing and getting into production mode is the next challenge.  I’ve been wearing my Iolite-Sunstone necklace this week.  I was reading up on the three stones because there’s Iolite, Sunstone, and Iolite-Sunstone.  I adore this necklace because the focal stone is an Iolite-Sunstone followed by the iolite and sunstone to make the chain.  Hmm… no pictures that will do it justice.  Need to play with the camera soon.

The Artist’s Way ~ Week 4 Recap

Morning Pages ~ Everyday except Thursday, but only once got to 3 pages.

Artist Date – Monday; went to the bookstore, David’s Bridal, and got a cookie.

The reading deprivation really didn’t work because I love reading blogs and stuff.  This week was so long and boring, I decided to bust out my copy of “7 Highly Effective Habits for Teens” and then started a day early reading about Week 5.  But like I said in an earlier post, I understand the concept of not reading when you want to create.

Something creative has been awakening inside of me again, though.  I started slowly working on a chainmaille necklace whenever I’m on the phone or when I have a few minutes to make a little bit of chain.  Then I came up with an idea I need to test out and design.  I’m really excited about the idea and wondering why I didn’t come up with it sooner.  So yes, the system is working.

I’ve been meaning to write out what my ideal environment is, so I’ll describe it here.  I thrive on natural, unobstructed daylight.  With Gilmore Girls playing in the background, I’m as happy as a clam before it’s steamed in a garlic butter sauce.  That’s pretty much what I did before dinner tonight.  Watched an episode of GG and worked on a pendant I’ve been meaning to make more of, but never had the time or patience to sit down and make it again.  This morning, I also cranked out a pair of Can Can earrings in happy spring/Easter bunny barf colors.  It’s been a good jewelry weekend for some reason.  I’ve also been drinking a lot of chamomile tea instead of my usual Tazo Zen Green tea.  I guess I’ve needed the zen?  I haven’t had any since I was sick with a horrid sore throat that lasted for a solid 2 weeks during the holidays.  Yeah, that sucked hairy monkey balls.  And ever since then I haven’t been able to drink it until now.  Crazy.  Right, ideal surroundings… chamomile tea, Gilmore Girls in the background if I’m not creating something new, daylight, and probably Jesse peddling around nearby (silently because I’ll train him not to disturb me while I’m in artist mode).

Here’s the pendant base I made.  Haven’t decided what kind of stone to display yet… no, I take that back, I decided on an iolite because I need to wear more of it.  Next one I make will be with a garnet.  Then a smaller pendant to showcase smaller hanging stones.

Oh yeah, I should tumble my fluorite necklace that I upcycled with a new focal bead.

Drooling Over Iolite

My favorite crazy pirate rock lady never fails to deliver the best and sometimes unusual stones I’ve ever found.  It’s really quite amazing, I must say.  Normally you find average sized iolites, really tiny and faceted iolites, but not this time…

Yes, can you say, “HUGE”?  :D  So awesome.  Just plain awesome.

So yes, last night I was sitting at my desk and decided to poke around to see what I had lying around.  I picked up my stash of iolites, newly acquired from the Pasadena Bead Show, and something hit me.  I picked up the hunking strand of iolites, picked out the best one that called to me and made a pendant.  Dug around some more and made a chain.  I loved this stone so much, I even wore to sleep.  I almost never do that, but the energy of this thing has been so me.  It’s been perfect.  Iolite is believed to help you find your inner self and separate your mind and emotions.  Yup, definitely been needing that kind of positive energy.

I already sold a set to a friend… just need to finish off the pendant and dump it all in the tumbler to make it shiny.  I definitely need to make another of my absolute favorite pendants that exclusively shows of good sized teardrops.  I did make one with an iolite drop… wore it once before I sold it to my dentist.  I think that was the design I was testing out and decided it was a good design when Sashi was like, “OMG, that’s an awesome necklace!”  Anything Sashi-approved is good for me.

So yeah, these are my drool-worthy iolite teardrops…

And my favorite pendant EVER… maybe, but I love it regardless…

…

Noooooooooooooooooooo, I blame Jesse for making me too busy to NOT UPLOAD A PICTURE OF THIS EPIC DESIGN!!!

Note to Self:  Take more pictures of inventory before selling them!!! /slap