Bead reamer arrival

Whoopee! My bead reamer arrived today (well, actually yesterday - it sat on the front step all night) and I finally got a chance to make those pesky holes in the labradorite beads big enough to put wire through. Huzzah!

One week until the BiDM, and things are happening, but I haven't got anywhere near my table setup yet.

I have a small child on my left, in her highchair, gumming a slice of vegemite/cheese toasty finger into submission, and a husband on my right installing a light for me under my little shelf to light my little workbench. Life is good.

Just can't seem to focus!

With the Brisstyle Indie Designer's Market coming up in a week and a half, I should be building up my regular stock, right? But nooooooo, now is the time that I decide to experiment. So contrary is my creating mojo. I also want to make sock monkeys. The days are too short.

I finally got a ring mandrel, so I just HAD to try out a ring.......
And some hooped earrings...................... put some of those littler stone beads to good use!

Pearl

Facetted garnets

Aquamarine

And my first ever facetted stone pendant. 10ct of ametrine. I'm pretty darn proud of my claws. Even managed to get them even, what a miracle!

Well, perhaps tomorrow I'll get back to my pendants. There's this new ornate ring idea I have though.............

Peachy-orangy lace

My latest pendant is made of Java Lace Agate from Queensland, Australia and is wrapped is sterling silver. This cab is a lovely, lovely colour, unlike any that I've seen from Indonesia, and the sealed pocket of quartz crystals just makes it that bit more special.

I find this design so much more difficult to balance up around the stone than I do the cage technique. I tend to waste A LOT of silver each time I try this design because when it doesn't work, I snip it off and start afresh and the old wire goes in the bin (oh that hurts to say - all that precious metal down the drain). But it was worth it, I think!