This is on my mind...

This year my recent change of work has put me firmly back in the hub of full on retail which has meant there's been little time to reflect on the joys of Christmas. Tonight at work, we'll pull down Christmas, make it disappear as though it never was and leave the store plastered with clearance signs ready for the mania that is the newer tradition of the Boxing Day sale. Yes, I know there are those of you who feel Christmas has become too commercialised and feel that we've lost the 'true' spirit of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for sympathy here as I've discovered there is still 'spirit' to be found behind the cash register. I love being part of the excitement of customers mad rush up to Christmas, I love hearing the stories of  their loved ones who will receive the items I'm ringing up, I love the joy people get from being able to give gifts to others and their delight in looking forward to spending time with family and friends they may not have seen for some time. For myself, I'll get to catch up with my family too, some I've not seen for too long. So these things may not encompass everything the season should bring, but if it means families and loved ones come together with a spirit of sharing and giving, it can't be all bad. Merry Christmas to all.

This is on my mind....

Inspired by Rhonda from Down to Earths blog (link at right) here's my contribution to todays "This is on my mind..."
This morning the house seemed too big & too empty. Yesterday was Jenny's (on the left) last day with us. She's been studying here in Australia and living with us this past year. We've been involved with a school homestay program for a few years now and it's given us an opportunity to meet a lot a fabulous young girls who've stayed with us anywhere from just a couple of weeks to more than a year. We'll miss her quiet presence, her ready smile & will cary the best hopes for her future.

Secret Santa gets me inspired!

 I'm so glad my hubby is not with me at the island tonight. Before anyone has a moment to think anything negative about this statement, just hold those thoughts until you see the state of my bed currently!

What can I say, I like to fiddle with bits while I'm in wind down mode just before sleep, and well tonight it got a little out of control!

Quite a few years ago now, I made my first necklace for my mum's birthday. At the time it was because I couldn't find anything that would really suit her premade. She prefers to have necklaces that were a bit longer than what was in vogue at the time. I discovered a passion for beads and often experiment with designs while sitting on the sofa watching the TV with hubby, or late at night when I'm having trouble sleeping.

Normally I'm inspired by new beads I've bought, tonight it was a combination of a needed gift for my Secret Santa from work, and when I bought the beads to do that I also fell in love with some lovely faceted Smokey Obsidian & some large "chips" of black agate which just seem to reflect the light beautifully off all its uneven surfaces. (I have to confess here that I really love to work with semi precious beads. The weight & polished surfaces always inspire me and as a "touchy feely" sort of person, I love the feel of them when I'm stringing combinations up. It does make things a little costly though, but I always figure that if I'm going to put the time in it may as well be for something really beautiful, also as most of the pieces I make are for family, I like them to be special, that and if the receiver needs them adjusted or wants the design changed they know I'm only too happy to recycle my own pieces.) I thought these two strings would look great together but had no idea when I bought them how they would end up. The picture below doesn't really do the colour of them justice, but you get the idea.

                                          

The Secret Santa pressie was easy and really no fuss. I just bought some fairly inexpensive (5 strands for $20, a good buy from my point of view) round faceted glass beads in a smokey sort of colour in two sizes. More than I needed for the job, but great colours for future use. Then for a "highlight" bead I bought a large black round timber bead that had a chinese design carved into it for the necklace and a smaller version for a bracelet to match.  I just thread some black hat elastic through these, tied the knot off and forced it into the middle of the carved beads so it couldn't be seen. I've only recently started using hat elastic with a prior similar design I made for myself that looked dressy to wear to work, but easy for me to get on in a hurry when I'm running late. I don't think it takes away from the look of the piece once it's on, but it really makes a big difference in making time, and it's handy to get on when you don't have someone else around to assist with finicky tiny catches!

Total cost for my Secret Santa (which had a twenty dollar limit) has worked out so far at about $12 so I may just make a quick pair of earrings to match as well if I have time.

                                                    

So that was all very quick and controlled but then I started thinking how the leftover beads could work back nicely with the other semi precious beads I'd bought. I do this a lot as I've found the cheapest way to buy beads is to buy them in strands, but I find I rarely use the entire strand in one design as I like to mix combinations that highlight the colours or shapes. I also frequently mix in some less expensive beads (normally chinese crystal or glass) to keep the costs down. This means I've got a stockpile of beads on hand to experiment with when coming up with a design. So after dragging out so of the afore mentioned stockpile, I ended up with a very messy but creative workspace, in the middle of my bed! Anyway I'm thrilled with the outcome, I was able to mix some gold metal beads that I bought really cheaply and had tucked away back with it.

It's still not finished but I think it will make a perfect Christmas gift , so you can't have a really good picture of it yet!  But here's a sneak preview below with the Secret Santa one.

And finally, just because he was so cute a picture of a large green frog that was sitting out front when I came home tonight, the shot's a bit dark, but I didn't want to frighten him with the flash. It reaffirms my decision to try not to use any nasty chemicals in the garden every time I see one of these!

This is on my mind...

Rhonda from Down to Earth (you can see a link to her blog down on the right hand side) has started a Friday post I'd like to join in on. You can read her posts to get the full background but essentially it's where we all talk about the things we've been wanting to do. For me it's been a long work week & I can't wait to get back to my little island shack! I don't think I've mentioned on this blog yet that my little blue shack isn't yet my full time life, just my little bit of hope for the future at this stage. I'm looking forward to a stroll on the local beach at sunset (the view above) with a cup of tea in hand after a fruitful day of gardening, knowing I'm planning and living at least a little in my dreams of tomorrow. One last day of the real world today & then off to paradise!