My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: jewellery


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It seems to be that time of the year again .. revisiting uncluttering & getting rid of things.

A few years ago I gathered up a great supply of garden items no longer needed and in the process met an energized fellow gardener!  She was happy to collect the items for her gardening business and we spent a happy few hours talking about gardening in general.

At the end of our conversation I mentioned that it was a good time for me to get rid of things no longer needed at which point she said that she is in the space of accumulating things.

Of course, this led me to thinking of the various times that I’d become interested in various hobbies to such an extent that I searched out items pertinent to each interest and the accumulations began!

Sewing .. oh the fabrics I bought!  And although I created many fun items, including draperies, I stockpiled lovely things which I’ve since given away.

I love reading, particularly mysteries and stock up on these at the annual Friends of the Library book sale.  This is a safe hobby, as I donate books, once they are read, to the blue box reading program.  Whew.

Another hobby was making beautiful glass garden totems and so a few years ago I sought out lovely glass items and began making many of these which sold quite well the first year.  Now this hobby no longer interests me and I’ve donated most of my supply to thrift stores.

An ongoing hobby for many years has been gathering a wide variety of beads .. not rare and costly types, just beads which sparkle with many colours!  I’ve made a variety of items with these, garden bling, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, many things.  I used my earnings from sales to pay for my fiddle lessons!   Time to get productive again????

Now I’m wondering if I should continue with this hobby or just package everything up and get rid of it.  But .. the big but .. as I go through my supplies, looking at the vast assortment of tools, findings and beads .. I start to have second thoughts.

So I went searching online for some advice on giving up beading and did find a good blog:

https://unclutterer.com/2008/04/04/saying-farewell-to-a-hobby/

And then I look at some sites that I marked as favourites and thus I know I am hooked on beading and cannot give this up right now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-MHCsHUoSI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPifdgbVxAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0be3CH9xdp0

using peyote stitch;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsbdSIB3T0

peyote and hematite:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pepp-zbklOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8PQkRN6hI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS1l41t_W8I

good explanation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7bdJg172X4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOEYQI0REM

good video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQeaxnPR8Kg

viking knit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvQmDZ89rfg

viking knit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOcTXqBul-g

Beaducation, good, wire weave:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cS_z_tem-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiNOJGH7

MGs

So I guess I have answered my own question and will keep on beading – for now, anyway.

It is an overcast fall day here in Victoria (I don’t think that winter has officially started yet).

Right now I will take a break from uncluttering and go outside to fill up the bird feeders for my little feathered friends.

I am kind of proud of myself for what I’ve done this week!  3 huge bags of gardening books to donate to 2017 Seedy Saturday!  So now I am down to just one shelf of treasured gardening books and I hope other aspiring gardeners will love the books I’m donating.

Plus, I have gathered a lot of miscellaneous items no longer needed and these will fill my car next week as I take them to a thrift shop.  Slowly creating lots of lovely space in my craft rooms.

Feels good to just dance my fingers across the keyboard and see my thoughts fill the page.  Cathartic and just feels good to do so.   In my declutterings I have found a few short stories that I’d written over the years and they still kind of resonate with me so perhaps I will revive that little hobby.  It doesn’t take much space at all and is very creative and freeing!

🙂

 


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A Few More Pics of the Mineral & Gem Show & Back to the Garden!

So here are the rest of the pics I took on Friday, at the 2nd Annual Victoria Gem & Mineral show at the Pearkes Arena .. when the light shines through this, it is stunning!

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Who knew there was such a diversity of quartz …

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I could have asked how these were shaped – but that would have taken the mystery away.  The skull to the left of the pink quartz was intriguing.

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Purple Haze (reminds me of the Purple Haze lavender farm at Sequim!  I was all set to go there but my passport had expired .. wah .. )302

For some reason, this made me hungry!  It just seemed to be so edible, like a slice of bread or a cookie.

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Lots of love and  $$$$$  tied up in minerals …

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Now these really caught my eye .. at first I thought that these were sculpted metal .. .however, they are created with varying gauges of fine silver and gold wires.  So very beautiful .. I tried to take some closeup photos of several “works in progress” but couldn’t get clear views with my camera.  This young artist is fabulous .. I couldn’t find a web site for Drala Designs … but there is an e-mail if you would like to contact him:  icjakobll@gmail.com  .  Since I’m always curious and always seeking knowledge, I searched for the meaning of “Drala” :  A Tibetan word, “drala” means “without aggression”. When you invoke drala, you begin to experience basic goodness reflected everywhere – in yourself, in others, and in the entire world.

Here is one pic that is clear .. showing some wire in progress.

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Such beauty ..

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Bamboo, Bead & Bling …love that store.  Amazing free jewellery classes: http://www.bamboobeadsandbling.com/

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I’m not into gold but if I was, here is a bargain! 311

Sigh .. and it is back to the garden .. to watch  my beans growing.  These are Spanish Musica – delicious and a “bazillion” beans on each plant.  I plan to just keep serving these up and not freezing them this year!  (well, maybe a few!)

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It’s been a bumper crop of fruit in Victoria .. we have 3 different apple trees and I’ve been freezing chunks of apple (washed, put briefly in a sea salt water mix) spread on parchment paper on a tray in the freezer and then bagging them for tossing in a roast in the winter.  And lots of applesauce, yum, yum!!

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Bzzzzeeeee ….I will look at this photo in the winter and dream of these happy summer days in the garden.

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My s-i-l gave me this Irish dirt years ago and I must use it in a pot .. one of these days .. there was a packet of seeds somewhere .. .I’ll have to have a search for it.   Anyway, just another gardening moment .. Sometimes I have to just stop and look at what I’ve been doing … getting lost in the rhythm that is creativity ..

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My darling little JaneE Kat .. she will be 21 in December!  Little Garden Kat …

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Yesterday was quite a windy day …really strong gusts continuously . . a sky shot to say “salut”

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The joy and magic of a garden is so fun .. it seems that one day I’m planting a seed and just a short time later, as in my lovely beans .. there are 8 foot plus vines growing up to the sky and I’m surrounded by the vital energy that surrounds them.

Speaking of energy, a few years ago I heard about music for plants .. how it helps them grow.  I believe this and think my music (that I always play) in the garden affects everything that grows.   A good subject for tomorrow!

🙂

 

 


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More pics from the Victoria Gem & Mineral Show at the Pearkes Arena

I have always loved beads and anything that sparkles .. .DH has always said that I must have been a crow in a former life .. that might be true!

The show started on Friday and is on till today .. although I would like to go back, I think it best if I don’t …I made some excellent purchases on Friday and have enough (not really, but … ).   Anyway, I sure had some interesting discussions with some of the artists and surprised myself with the quantity of photos that I took.

So here are some to share (and there are more for tomorrow!)

This young lady sells a variety of items, which include cabochons, created by her father in Mexico .. I really like her earthy display< and I had purchased a few items from her:

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Here is a closer view:

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Amazing variety … so many that I just did not know which one I would buy .. so many to choose from.  (her Etsy name is in the photo above, if you would like to search for her products).

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Aren’t these just so very delightful!  This is the “Earth Meets Spirit” table – the artist was so very helpful and she actually weaves these delicate designs out of polymer clay!  Incredibly beautiful.

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And this sculpture from her table was fantastic!

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Here is another view:  She made this octopus for her mother .. isn’t it just amazing .. and I hadn’t noticed till now that she incorporated beautiful seashells into the design.

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I bought an assortment of pieces of minerals & petrified wood from her and she very kindly gave me an extra piece – so I will enjoy making my purchases into jewellery for myself!   I love meeting kind people .. such good energy.

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This table was interesting … The vendor explained to me that the seeds have a variety of lines on them .. beginning with just a few .. all the way up to (I think) 20 plus lines.  The more lines, the more value or energy, I believe.  The couple are from Vancouver and his wife creates the jewellery (if one can call this jewellery, I’m not sure).   And when his lovely wife returned to the table I said (can you believe this) so this is the wife then.  OMG .. I do not speak like that.  Not surprised that she didn’t hang around to chat.  Was I channeling someone from back East?  Another argh moment in my life.

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The vendor artfully arranged everything so I could take a photo .. he was so sweet!  http://www.shopinnercircle.ca is their website for more items.225

I had a learning visit with this artist .. her card shows a website which has been replaced with “www.outdesigns.rocks” if you care to visit and see more.

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See the beautiful rock in the centre, the one with many layers and has a rose tint?

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It is a Fireworks obsidion- from looking at the outside, would you have guessed the amazing beauty within?  (like people, right!)

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We had an interesting discussion about sculpting, how to look at things, ideas.  It was very fun.  By now my creative mind is twirling with possibilities!  Power surge.

Now this vendor, Alex Kuznetson was a real gem!  I purchased some fossilized items, he carefully wrote the name down of each type, wrapped them individually and put them all together into  a paper shopping bag for me.  He treated me like a customer who spent many hundreds of dollars, yet my purchases were meagre.   I really liked this interesting and elegant guy … he was so sharing of information to myself and another shopper!

Anyway, I will just list the photos that I took of his tables .. enjoy …

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So I still have more photos for tomorrow!

It feels so energizing to blog again …I’ve missed it and the joy it brings to me when I just let my thought go for a flight.   Although I’ve loved to write since I was a kid, it’s been like a decadent pleasure that I haven’t always allowed myself to experience.

A friend and I took a writing course years ago, no procrastination, participants had to sit around a big round table and write something.  We had 30 minutes.   I was scared and excited about the actual writing.  Wow, I thought … I’m actually going to write something for real, no putting the activity away for another day.

I have the story with me somewhere in my writing supplies.. it was about a couple of young kids fleeing something at a circus.  As I wrote, I was there, it was a captivating experience and I totally loved being there.

The instructor told us that writing bring out the answers to questions we have in our lives.  It is all there .. we just have to write, write and write some more.  How rich is that!  The treasures within.

I have many more things to write about .. my love of music and learning how to properly play the violin, my attempts at art, my love of creating funky jewellery with wire and beads, my soap making ventures.   Creating via sewing.  So many interests enrich my life.

Anyway, here it is .. a sunny Sunday morning and time to get on with this day.

🙂