Leafy Hush

While I was doing my own bangle yesterday, I also made a couple to sell. One was in the same colors as mine - Orchid Hush (soft lavender) and pink, and the other was Orchid Hush and green so I've called that one "Leafy Hush".

The colors do seem so appropriate for "hush". I find them very gentle, quietening, and calming.  Wearing these colors really does make me feel tranquil and at peace.

What do you think? What colors do you wear that are calming?

Orchid Hush

A few months ago, I bought the book "Colorstrology: What your birthday color says about you". It's a fun book and identifies a color for each day of the year, to corrolate with birthdays and then explains what the color indicates about you and how the color can help you.

My birthday color is Orchid Hush and it is, in fact, a color I like a lot and wear quite often. It's a kind of soft lavender but with a little grey in it.....   Since I found it's my color, I've been wearing more of it - but sometimes what I wear is a little more lavender than "pure" Orchid Hush, aka Pantone 13-3805.

Orchid Hush

This morning I put on an "orchid hush" tee shirt and decided, while I had some aluminum earrings in this color, I didn't have a bangle!

Gosh! What is a girl to do, but make a new bangle for herself! And thus, my birthday bangle was born, with a little pink included too!

The Colorstology book says "How this color benefits you: Your personal color helps you vibrate to your highest frequency.  Wearing, meditating or surrounding yourself with Orchid Hush helps you stay magical and lighthearted as you build your dreams into visions of glory". Now you can see why I had to make this bangle for myself!!! Visions of glory........just bursting to come out!

If you are interested in what your birthday color is, let me know your birthday and I'll check it out.  It's a fun and interesting book by the way.  Worth a browse.  By the way, it says that my compatible birthdays are February 28th, March 28th and December 20th. Let me know if any of those dates are your birthday...

Give a little love

You've got to give a little love, take a little love

Be prepared to forsake a little love

And when the sun come shining through

We'll know what to do-oo...

Do you remember the song?  Does this really date me?? Yes, it was the Bay City Rollers.  For some reason, I remember my sister and I at a bus stop in Grantham (where we used to live), singing this Bay City Rollers song! Yes, we were still at school and young....but I'm not quite sure why the bus stop comes into my memory!!!

As I mentioned yesterday, pink and purple seemed to be the colors at the farmers market on Sunday so here is my second bangle this week with these colors.  Two styles of hearts printed in pink with a bright violet/purple background.  Definitely worthy of the title "give a little love". But OK! I confess. It is a little sad that when I looked at the bangle and tried to come up with a name, the first thing that came into my mind was the Bay City Rollers song!

And for all those Bay City Rollers fans - or maybe those who don't even know who they are, here is a quick glimpse!  Check out the tartan (plaid)!!  Maybe this bangle will have to be a gift for my sister, for those happy bus stop memories!!!

Grow where you are planted

I had a fun time again yesterday at the farmer's market.  It seemed pink and purple were popular colors so I have done a couple of new bangles using those colors today.

The first I've entitled "Grow where you are planted".  I guess as I moved around a lot growing up and then also before arriving in CA, I've been one to follow this motto.  You have to make the best of wherever you are and find some roots and get growing!

Hope you like it.

In the pink

I'm feeling in the pink today!  After flying over to the UK from CA yesterday, although I was up in the night for a couple of hours, (reading my Google reader at 4am this morning), I've felt good today and not tired at all.  We went out with family last night for dinner and they were entertaining so we stayed up until 11pm, not even noticing what time it was!  Hopefully tonight will be a good night's rest too.

So to match my mood, I thought I'd show you my latest pink bangle! "In the pink" - a pink background with pink flowers.  I did a couple of other colors too so I'll post them later in the week.

Our friends from the US also arrived today - managing to get through the volcanic ash on the way! They didn't sleep at all on the flight over, so are having a nap now.  We'll have to work hard tonight to keep them up - and ourselves!!!

Hope you've had a day in the pink today too!

Safe landing

We've arrived back in England  - got here about 4.15pm (8:15am Pacific Time).  The flight was fine - no turbulence the whole trip - and thankfully the volcanic ash from Iceland didn't get in the way. Hopefully it won't tomorrow either, as our friends land at Heathrow then but the airport said there were "likely disruptions" on Tuesday! Fingers crossed.

Quick nap and now getting ready to have dinner out with family.

The sun was shining, then it poured with rain, and now it is grey!  So, nothing unexpected.

Struggling for a name.....

I'm stuck for what to call my latest pink aluminum bangle....

The design actually happened by accident but I like it!

You see the silver lines - like the "glint" bangles, crossing at right angles?  They were a color - a darker shade of pink - before I sealed it.  But the dye I used didn't get into the pores of the surface of the aluminum.  When you anodize the aluminum, it opens pores on the surface and then dyes with small particle size can get in.  Then when you seal the metal, the pores close and the dye stays and nothing else gets in. The resultant surface layer is also stronger than before. 

 

So the dark pink didn't work, probably because its particle size was too large to get in the pores, and left the silver color of the aluminum showing through.

Do you have any ideas for a name?

Last day to mail to Europe for delivery for Christmas

Phew! Last day of mailing to Europe today - or so the US postal service says.  If you speak to them in person, they do say that Monday will be fine too - however in my experience, it depends what country you live in.  Any delay, I find, tends to be customs officers rather than the postal service.  I know that in Germany, they tend to look at every package sent and at this time of year, get backlogged and so there are delays.  But other countries seem to only select a few packages to inspect.

So it's been a busy week getting those last orders shipped, with people buying right up to the last day.  Busy in a good way :-D  It's great to get all those sales.  This past week, I've sent lots off to Germany, a few to France and one to Switzerland.  The postal lady reckons I have 'cult following' Germany and I reckon over 80% of my work is sold there. I'll have to do a tally of my sales this year and see how the percentages work out across countries. 

Fingers crossed that all the packages get there in time for Christmas.

You know I've been quite purple-ish lately - especially after my trip back to England where everyone is wearing purple - all the time!!! So I had to do a new style cuff in purple - with a little bit of pink too!

It was my sister's birthday last month - she lives in England.  I think every birthday present she got was purple....and of course they all match her new purple glasses!

This cuff is like the "adrift at sea" cuff in that the same dyeing technique was used. This one is a little wider however.

It makes me happy to be working in color.

Hope you've got all your packages sent off!

Bloomin'

I made a couple of simple pendants today in anodized aluminum.  I am so enjoying trying different techniques of printing and dyeing the aluminum. 

I thought these two were happy cheery flowers for a wet afternoon in CA.

And yes, I am still doing silverwork. I was up in my studio today working on four separate pieces...but more on those later.

Hope you like my bloomin' flowers and that they brighten up your day!

Mauvellicious!

I've been having fun with dyeing and coloring my aluminum.  It seems the pinks, mauves and purples are shouting out to me more than the usual lime green...not sure how long that will last, but they are fun colors!

I made a bangle with rivets to hold it closed with my little drawings on it:

Very feminine, don't you think? And then there needed to be a simple pair of earrings to match.

I will be going back to England shortly, so I must make sure I make some for myself to keep up with the purple scene over there!

Hope your weekend is mauvellicious!

Time to bloom

It's so wonderful to see all the flowers starting to bloom and the blossom in the trees....so I had to make some new flowers.

This one is a fuchsia (often incorrectly spelled fuschia but that spelling looks much better!).  Fuchsias  always make me think of ballerinas with the stamens and sepals looking like they are on their toes and then the frilly skirts.....  Fuchsias used to be my dad's favorite flower - wonder if they still are? So we always had fuschias around and I still have some in my garden here. As a child I always loved popping open the petals - just before they were ready!  Then the ballerinas would appear even quicker - or so I thought!

The soft pink in this one just seems to add to the femininity of the piece.

Anyone can be in the pink!

Here is my latest "Anyone" piece....as it's spring time and all the flowers are starting to come out - I thought Anyone would enjoy a little color - so its "anyone can be in the pink".

 
The phrase "in the pink" isn't used that often nowadays - but means to be in perfect condition, especially of health.   I think we all envisage glowing pink cheeks suggestive of good health, but the phrase actually came from "the very pinnacle of something" and not necessarily limited to health!

In the Pink Anyone does look sweet and all ready for spring in her pink hat and carrying her pink flower!  The hat and flower are made from polymer clay.

Are you ready for spring?  Are you feeling in the pink?