Tag: creativity

Garnet – the January birthstone

On this last day of January I thought I’d share a little information about this month’s birthstone. Garnet as a gemstone has been popular in Jewellery for over 5000 years. Most of us recognize it as a deep red stone however, it does come in many other colours such as greens, orange, pink and yellow. However garnet has some other interesting uses outside of jewellery and you can read about them here:

http://geology.com/minerals/garnet.shtml

Have a great day! 🙂

Music loving Fab Friday!

It is a truly fabulous Friday here in Winnipeg. The weather is mild and the sun is BRIGHT. I have the day off and after running a few errands and cleaning a few things around the house I am working on some Drakestail business and enjoying some cuddle time with my dogs. I’m feeling really great about today however, that is a very rare occurrence for me in the winter months. I usually struggle through each day feeling slow and low due to lack of sunshine in the sky. Even with daily extra vitamin D and spending time outdoors daily and a blue light at my desk I still have a rough go from mid-November through til March normally.

One thing I try to do when I am feeling particularly rough is to queue up 4 or 5 stellar dancing songs and let loose in my house. Sometimes I just gotta shake what my mama gave me! The cat usually stares at me like I’ve lost it and the dogs follow me around, tails wagging, grins on their faces not really sure what’s happening, but playing along nonetheless. I give myself 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted, cut loose, rip up the floor nonsensical dancing. No matter how rough I felt before, that always puts a smile on my face. It gets my blood pumping and gives me a burst of energy. It also often has the bonus side effect of stirring some creativity in me. Which is great because when I am feeling slow and low creativity is often nowhere to be found.

So… what are some of your favourite, go to, feel good songs? The ones you cannot help but sing along to, cannot help but shake it a little when they come on the radio, I want to know! I hope you all have a fab Friday and if the weather isn’t being as good to you wherever you are, try my shake it trick. I am sure it’ll help!

 

Have a fab Friday and a great weekend!

In November I was fortunate enough to spend 3 weeks visiting various stunning places in Jamaica. Needless to say since I’ve been back home I am missing the ocean breeze and those gorgeous sunsets. So for this FabFriday I am simply sending out good vibes to all. I hope you have a great weekend, be good to yourself, and enjoy a fabulous Friday!

New Year is here and GREENERY is the colour for 2017!

If you’ve followed our blog for awhile now you may recall we like to start off each new year sharing the pantone colour of the year with you. And I must say I am rather smitten with their selection for 2017! It brings to mind FRESH, NATURE and CALM to me and I cannot wait to incorporate it into some upcoming projects I have simmering in the back of my mind.

How fantastic is GREENERY? I just look at it and it makes me happy. If you are curious about Pantone’s past colours of the year or want more details about why they selected it here is a link to Pantone’s webpost about it.

I am so thankful for all the happiness 2016 brought me. Here are some of my highlights!

In February my fiancé Craig took me to Las Vegas for the first time. We got to hike in Valley of fire state park. It was a very memorable day for us as we’d never seen such stunning bright rock faces before.

In March I started a new business which is blooming nicely! In April I went back to Las Vegas for the Arbonne annual training conference which was AMAZING! I learned so much about business and about personal growth that I can apply to Arbonne and to Drakestail and to life in general.

In May I traveled to Ontario to meet my adorable niece Everly who had been born in March. She loves vintage shades just like her auntie!

In August I took 5 full weeks off from my day job and focused on my other endeavours which was actually life altering for me. This same month Craig and I hit the road for 12 days. We did some camping and scuba diving in Alberta. We brought the dogs and the cat on this road trip and had a blast! I also reached my goal of achieving master diver status before the end of the summer. 

In November I ran away to Jamaica for 3 weeks, spent the first week with my dear friend then we were joined by friends and family and Craig and I were married on a beach by the ocean.

Captured by Photos with Ashley - November 2016 in Jamaica

As a side note, all the lush Jamaican vegetation in my wedding photo feels like a great fit to the colour of the year for 2017. Who knew?!

As grateful as I am for 2016, I am really looking forward to the year ahead. I have set some goals for myself in each of my businesses and at my day job that I am excited to work on. I am wishing a fantastic year ahead to you and yours, I cannot wait to see what fabulousness 2017 will bring!

Jewellery for a brave adventurous princess

My niece CC was born 5 years ago this July, I had been debating what to gift her. Over the years I have tried to stick to educational, not traditionally “for girls” type gifts as she’s a brilliant young human being and I’ve always wanted to encourage that mind to grow. She’s part dreamer, scientist, astronaut and princess all rolled into one (among other things). I admire CC immensely. She has no biases and places no limits on herself. She is a marvel to watch. Not having children of my own, I hold adamantly to the rule that I need to follow her parents’ lead. I pay attention to how they speak to her and discipline her and try follow suit, consistency is magic for kids! This year, leading up to her birthday I was chatting with her Mom about gifts and party plans. Though I live far away I like to keep in touch as much as I can. CC’s Mom told me that CC had requested a princess dress for her birthday party so I asked if gifting her a set of princess jewellery would be acceptable. Mom agreed, jewellery would be perfect!

As you all may have noticed by now, I LOVE pearls. Diamonds just aren’t my thing. So I thought a set of classic pearls would be great for CC. A little bit of me, gifted to her. Something she can keep over the years. I made them slightly long so they should last the next few years and if ever it becomes necessary I can always adjust the sizing of them down the road. She can have this set of pearls forever, if that’s what she decides to do. This set is made with gold Swarovski crystal pearls in 6 MM with silver filled findings. A very classic colour for pearls in a classic, simple design. At the time I didn’t know what dress CC ended up picking for herself so I wanted a versatile set that would go with anything.

Mom reports that CC LOVED her jewellery and wore it all weekend long.  Nothing makes an auntie happier than hearing that!

Drop earrings on shepherd's hook
Drop earrings on shepherd’s hook
4 inch pearl bracelet
4 inch pearl bracelet
14 inch pearl necklace
14 inch pearl necklace
Swarovski crystal pearls
Swarovski crystal pearls
CC showing us her pearls!
CC showing us her pearls!
CC showing us her pearls!
CC showing us her pearls!

Jewellery Designer’s Home Office!

Well I moved into this house in April 2015 and have been struggling with how to properly set up my jewellery making space. Finally last weekend I think I got my office set up the way I want it! I am so excited by this. I will admit it took me awhile. I tried a couple different configurations and furniture/storage options before I got to where it is now. I am always bargain hunting for furniture and feel each space needs different pieces to make it work. I often buy and sell on sites like Kijiji or Facebook Buy & Sell groups.

My home office is a small space, about 2.3 meters by 2 meters and I run two businesses out of it so I had to be strategic about what was in there. I had this 1950s dinette set from my old apartment that doesn’t fit in my current kitchen but I love it immensely and I recovered the chairs myself so there was no way I would part with it. That instantly became my desk. It gives me a nice big surface to work on and also extra chairs for any consultations I might need to do.

Last summer, on Kjiji, I found this stunning 1900s era printers cabinet, tiny narrow drawers, perfect for jewellery supplies, tools and stones storage. That came home right away and helps me keep stones, wire and tools are neatly organized. My sweetie had a small black 2 drawer file cabinet that he needs to keep so that became the printer stand. To jazz up the old cabinet, I displayed some jewellery on top.

IMG_6316

 

Two weeks ago, thanks to my cousin and IKEA I found the missing piece! Two shelves with a bar and some hooks. I believe this is meant for kitchens but right away I saw it fit into my home office. On the shelves I have displayed jewellery that I still need to photograph as well as some of my favourite nick knacks and reference books.  The hooks hold some bags that I need in my other business with Arbonne and also my camera bag. You can also see my “printer stand” in the bottom right corner.

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Having the pieces I haven’t photographed out and on display helps me in two fabulous ways. First it keeps them in view, every day so the task of photography doesn’t get forgotten. Second, seeing the pieces I have designed before helps my creative process. New design ideas often feed off of previous ones. Before I set up this shelf I had all my completed pieces stored away in my carrying cases and I’d only see them when I brought them out to art shows or to sales. Now I see them everyday and I love it.

IMG_6321 IMG_6318

I believe all I need now is a cork board (I’m in the middle of making myself one). I plan to use it for story boards. Fashion photos or colour palette displays that help inspire me. The contents of the cork board will change frequently as I use up 1 idea and move onto something new. I also need a short 2 level book shelf I can use for books and some paper materials I need in my other business. I haven’t located that perfect short double shelf yet, but I have no doubt I will!

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