Finding the solution

Can't believe we're almost at the end of January. I've had an active few weeks, creatively, and I wanted to share with you one of the latest projects on the workbench. This is a necklace that's a collection of both ancient and modern techniques -- kumihimo or Japanese braiding, wire wrapping and polymer clay findings.


What's interesting about this piece is how it evolved. I've been playing with kumihimo for about six months, starting with making my own disk and experimenting with different fibres. There's something very rythmic and soothing about the braiding process. Adding beads creates a whole new look that varies with density. Good to experiment but sometimes it's a challenge estimating the finished length. Since both cords used the same selection of beads, I thought they'd work well together as a single necklace if I could figure out a way to join them.

No luck finding anything the right size commercially -- drove myself a little crazy looking in the process. So I decided to make my own using polymer clay. Perfect solution since it's lightweight, can be shaped and textured as you wish and there are virtually no colour limitations. I'd describe the look of the piece as edgy organic.

Thanks to several kind friends, I was alerted to a problem on the Buy Bling page. The necklace catalogue was not displaying properly. Hopefully I've now fixed the problem. Please do let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the images. Here's a link Buy Bling if you feel like browsing.

Happy New Year

I'm so glad the holidays are finally over. Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy seeing family and friends and a change from normal routine can sometimes be as good as a rest. That didn't happen to be the case this year since we were nursing a sick pet.

Our cat spent five days in kennel over Christmas while we were out of town. Normally, she's fine with boarding but this time she came home listless. As the week progressed, she got worse -- stopped eating, drinking and the prescribed antibiotics just upset her stomach. End result: she spent New Year's at the emergency clinic, hooked up to intrevenous to bring down her high fever and build up her her fluids. By noon the next day she was doing better and was able to come home that night. Her appetite is coming back and she's started getting into mischief again -- always a good sign.

This is the story behind this necklace. In the catelogue I've called it "New Year's Morning". Alternately, it could have been named "Waiting for the vet to call".

I took advantage of the holiday break to add some new bracelet stock as well. Enjoy the browse at the buy bling site.

All the best for 2010.