For my sister’s birthday, I wanted to make her something special. She chose this Picasso marble cabochon from my gemstone collection, and asked if I could make a pendant from it.
She wanted the bail to be the symbol for infinity – such a lovely idea!
I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product being worn. I feel so lucky to have such a lovely sister!
At the same time as I was creating her this ring, Leesa (for whom I also created this ring), asked if I could make her a ring using this divine Morgan Hill poppy jasper cabochon from my gemstone collection.
The stone matches Leesa’s colouring perfectly – it really looks divine on her.
Thank you, Leesa, it was a joy working with you as always!!
I created these pendants for a customer, one each for him and his girlfriend.
She is going overseas, and he wanted something to symbolise their love.
I created them so that when the domes are placed together, a complete sphere is formed. Each dome has a larger and a smaller solid silver sphere inside, to represent each of them.
What a beautiful and romantic gesture!
Maria, for whom I previously made this ring and this ring, asked me to make her a ring using a malachite cabochon I had in my gemstone stash.
I love this particular piece of malachite – it’s lighter than usual, and very striking!
I hope Maria enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it.
Thanks, Maria!
Blogging about the knitting we did for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital recently got me thinking about the many other craft pursuits I have. Yes, long before becoming a silversmith, craft was already in my blood! My mum is a very creative woman, and taught me just about everything I know about most of the various handcrafts I’ve taken up. My granny is a fantastic artist, I have two of her beautiful oil paintings hanging in my home – one of them I keep in my workshop, which always inspires me! My dad loved to play the guitar, as did my uncle; my grandfather was an author, and as I’ve blogged about before, three of my ancestors were blacksmiths, just to mention a few. Lots of creative juices in there!!
Anyway, back to the knitting. Even though I’m left handed, my mum is right handed so that’s how I learned to knit, back when I was six! A few Christmases ago, she gave me the most divine book, Amigurumi Knits, by Hansi Singh.
Amigurumi is more often seen in crochet, but Hansi has created the most wonderful knitting patterns for all kinds of amigurumi creatures and things – everything from tomatoes and earthworms:
To octopi and deep sea black devil angler fish!
Hansi’s book is really well written, with very clear instructions. I learned so many new techniques from knitting these fabulous creatures, I feel quite competent now! Knitting – satisfying, creative, relaxing, and very Zen. Speaking of creativity running in the family, It is a shame I can’t ask my grandpa about his experience of it. I believe he wasn’t a bad knitter himself!
I bought the most divine wooden tree puzzle from my lovely friend, Kylie, and it lives in my study where it brings me joy each day! I was inspired so much by it, that I asked Kylie how she would feel if I were to borrow her beautiful tree design for the ‘Earth’ symbol in my new Elementals range. She kindly agreed to let me! I feel honoured both that she was happy for me to use her gorgeous tree shape, and that she liked the pendant I created so much that she bought it! Below is a blog post that she wrote about it. You can read it in full over at Kylie’s Raw Toys website!
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Leah asked if I could make a pendant to match a pair of earrings I had listed in the shop. I was happy to oblige!
Leah bought these pieces for a friend’s 40th birthday.
What a kind friend she is! Here’s the matching set:
Thanks, Leah! I hope they were enjoyed!
The lovely Charmaine, who I previously created this ring and this ring for, asked me to make her a ring from this divine orange sunset flavoured drusy agate cabochon.
The colours and textures of this stone are simply amazing!
I hope Charmaine loves it as much as her previous two rings.. it was a pleasure to create it for her! Thanks, Charmaine!
The lovely Leesa, who I created this ring for, recently chose this superb black drusy agate cabochon to be made into a ring.
Very stylish and understated, it looks gorgeous!
I dropped it off to Leesa today, and she was very pleased. Thanks, Leesa!
Passionflower Vine Curl (photo credit to Simone Carter)
Many of the world’s park rangers work in extreme conditions while protecting our endangered species and ecosystems. Low pay, lack of equipment, poor living conditions and the threat of severe violence is the daily reality for many of these frontline conservationists.
The Thin Green Line Foundation provide protection for wildlife rangers around the world. Over a thousand rangers have been killed in action in the last ten years. The Foundation provide vital equipment, training and resources to rangers in the field, predominantly in high value conservation and conflict zones. The also remember the widows and children of our fallen conservation heroes, and provide meaningful and effective social support.
Supported by such diverse people as Jane Goodall, Gotye and Tex Perkins, The Thin Green Line Foundation are partnered with the International Ranger Federation, and these are the only organisations around which are dedicated to protecting wildlife rangers.100% of donations to The Thin Green Line go to supporting projects on the ground. Donations are fully tax deductable.
The Silver Forge will be donating 10% of all sales this month to The Thin Green Line Foundation, so pop over to the shop and see if there’s anything you can help with!
EDIT: If anyone would like to own the divine photo at the top of this post, Simone the photographer has very kindly offered to donate the proceeds to The Thin Green Line. Simone’s shop, Kudos2uPhotos, is full of wonderful things – pop over and have a look!