cynthia's own semi precious necklace.

I couldn't resist. you remember I recently made a semi-precious necklace for my precious friend? it made me so terribly sad to ship that beauty away, so I ended up making a similar one for myself.

another trip to let it bead in downtown portland? check.

(close up view).

the fixins': 2 sizes of gold filled chain, cloudy citrine, sunstone, tiger's eye, smoky quartz, 2 shapes of aquamarine, and lepidolite.

(cynthia's semi-precious necklace).

this one was a long one for me, about 26 inches total. I love it. held back a couple of extra citrines for matching earrings.
right now I'm into placing the beads randomly...next year I'll probably rip the whole thing apart and make it structured!

never said I wasn't flighty.

a semi-precious necklace for my oh so precious friend.

so I have this friend. she's amazing. we've been friends for over 25 years, since high school. we live far from each other, but thanks to a shared and enduring love for Barry Manilow, we meet in Las Vegas every year to swoon at his concert. what does this have to do with a necklace?

for a few years now, I've been making jewelry and wearing it during these Barry pilgrimages. my friend always comments on my necklace or my earrings, saying she'd like me to make her a necklace. since her jewelry style is very classic and elegant, and mine is a little funky, I always thought she was just being kind. she's lovely that way.

well, that may still be the case, but recently she gave me a specific list of semi-precious stones and some sample necklace pictures, so she was in for it. she was getting a cynthia creation whether she liked it or not.

off I went to let it bead in downtown portland [sigh, I so love this store]. here's the raw materials of what I started with [citrine, lepidolite, iolite, sunstone, & smoky quartz], along with some delicate gold chain...

(the makings).

and here's what I shipped to her today...

(the necklace).

some closeup views...

(the necklace). 

(the necklace).

the citrine was by far my favorite stone; the cloudy yellow is gorgeous. I machine-sewed a fabric pouch, wrapped the necklace nice and tight and nestled it inside...here's hoping she loves it as much as I loved making it for her.

(handmade fabric pouch).

embossed thank you card.

this was my first item that I stamped and embossed. It's a thank you card I gave to my cousin after a visit to her home. 

embossing was an interesting and semi-painful experience but I love the result. the owl is stamped on transparent paper, embossed, then cut out and adhered to the card. 'thanks' is also stamped and embossed. used one of my favorite papers, BasicGrey's Figgy Pudding, as the main paper inside and out. the leaves are cut out from Cosmo Cricket's Nature Walk paper, and hang over the edges of the card.

gratitude.

somehow today didn't go the way I anticipated. I got very wrapped up in a work project that didn't really mean very much, and when it didn't perform the way I wanted, I behaved badly. I really hate when I do that and wonder why I can't stop and breathe through it.

and then something ordinary happened. I took the cats out in the backyard and watched them laze in the sun while I did the same, and suddenly the other nonsense melted away. we were at peace. the garden and the dragonflies were too. bliss.

(hellebore)

trying to hold on to this feeling.

lovely office pendant.

using my favorite fabric [which also adorns the tops of the roman shades in my office], we made a hanging light pendant. stiff metal screening from a home improvement store was wrapped into a cylinder shape, which we lined with thin parchment to disperse the light. next we covered the whole thing with the oh so lovely fabric.  when the light is on, you can see the outline of the metal. a touch of the unexpected...a little feminine, a little rough.

(cyn's office pendant]

the only down side is that it hangs over an easy chair behind me so I don't get to stare at it all day.

purple.

I'm starting to notice a trend in my posts so far...purple. while I enjoy that color, I wouldn't say it's my favorite, not by any means. anyone who knows me well will instantly conjure up 'blue' if asked. my home is filled with varying shades of blue: my home office, guest bath, master bath and bedroom, even the exterior paint and a good portion of the garden.

(even when it's fading blue, I love it)

the only solution I can arrive at is that there's something going on in my subconscious. or perhaps it's just pure coincidence. makes me wonder what else is rattling around in there.  shudder.

yummy Oregon marionberrys.

marionberry season is wrapping up here in the Pacific Northwest. named after the Oregon county in which they originated, these are probably my favorite local fruit. ultra sweet and firm, they rarely last in my house more than a couple of days...we pop them like candy.

the picking season is only a few scant weeks but for me the anticipation begins every spring. i'm already thinking about next year's crop...

(oregon marionberries)

tree of life necklace.

I crafted this elegant 15" necklace to feature pearlized smoky-lavender-colored beads, ending in a lovely pendant of stylized leaves. dangling from the clasp end is a sweet Tree of Life charm.

so lovely to celebrate the coming Fall...as we join nature by surrounding ourselves in richer, moodier colors and rediscover feminine loveliness.

handcrafted of sterling silver hand-twisted links and finished with a sterling lobster clasp.