show me the light

it had been five months since any outing (with the exception of a couple of medical appointments i only just made it to).  and i could feel my soul withering with every extra day that passed.  i felt that if i didn't escape the house something inside me was going to die...and so i escaped.  and payed for it - bigtime.  but at least i got to see this magical sight, the amazing light thrown by approaching dark stormy skies on a river still as glass.  

things can only get better!

this is the first crafty adventure i have had in a long long time - and i figure that things really can only get better!  let's just call it 'organic', shall we?

i'm quite a fan of these tree pendants (well, anything tree-ish for that matter), and had some jewelry-making supplies lurking in a cupboard that hadn't been put to use properly yet.  it seemed a good project to try and ease me back into the creative realm...something that looked a little forgiving, not too complicated and that i could do sitting in bed.  the best tutorial i found was by camille sharon -  she's an engaging, fun and natural teacher.  

i decided to start out with torched copper wire - the torching gives a 'rainbow' sort of effect - simply because it is much cheaper than silver alternatives.  (put it this way:  i anticipated some failures.)   the amethyst chips used came from a bracelet a friend gave me which fell apart a few years ago now.   i'm going send her the reincarnated version - figuring it will at least give her a laugh.  

dash robin deliciousness

most people who know me well know that i have a bit of a thing for trees. so it was not exactly a shock to find i was swooning over these little brooches by the talented kate allan of dash robin the second i laid eyes upon them (serious amounts of self-control required to resist buying the whole series). they were bought with the intention of giving one to a friend but it took me - literally - months to come to the point where i could bear to part with it! now it is finally with its rightful owner and i can at last share.

as for mine, i have grand plans...in my mind i have a sketch for a bag that is designed specifically to show off this (and other) brooches. watch this space.

waterlogged wonderland (the green series)

i had so much fun playing with some of my images from the flooded parklands the other day that i can't resist posting a few more - in shades of green this time. amazing what you can do deliberately changing exposures and mucking around a bit in iphoto and picnik.

really enjoying all the lush new growth and incredibly beautiful colours everywhere (as well as the overcast days...music to my eyes, if there is such a thing). thinking that it's probably enough water for a little while though - hard to believe that this land of overflowing dams is the same drought-ridden one which was driving us in the direction of recycled water not too long ago.

wood and water