Sweetie Bird ring

Made a sweetie bird ring!

You may recall I've tried a couple of rings before but this was a new style for me. It has a sterling silver band for strength and then the fine silver sculpted bird on top. Now I've done this one, I want to do lots more! Don't you think he looks like a little sweetie?

And talking of sweeties, today is the last day to enter Quentin's caption competition. Its been running now for 4 different weeks and the final week's caption will judged tonight and the winner announced tomorrow. I've looooooooved reading the entries! So amusing. Thanks to everyone who has entered...wish you could all have won. Thanks also to the judges! So hurry to the blog here or else enter on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/birdlandcreations

The winner will be announced here tomorrow.

Autumn time....

I'm feeling like I'm ready for cooler weather now.....after the long weekend, it feels like we are leaving summer. The weather here isn't exactly in tune with me - but nevertheless, I thought I'd share a more "autumnal" piece with you today which was made with sage leaves.


You may also notice from today and yesterday's blog posts that I've found out how to make collages! I'd seen them on other people's blogs and thought, "I should learn how to do that!" - so you may well get to see more collages in the future. Hopefully making collages won't get quite so addictive for me as making kaleidoscopes is for my dad :=D

Doug the Dog

I was recently asked to make a dog for a customer but not as jewelry. She wanted a dog that she could carry with her in her pocket ... or that would sit near her on her desk...or watch over her at night...


And so I created Doug the Dog (get it "doug" as in "dug"??!). He's a happy little dog with a big smile on his face. I've been training him and he now lies down - as you can see in the picture. Needs a little more training to get him to sit but I'll leave that up to his new owner, Cindy.

Sunday's spotlight - Crooked and Twisted

By guest blogger Pete.

A week ago last Thursday, Pam and I set out to visit a friend of a good few years, who now lives in Chesterfield. Chesterfield was our home in the late 1960s and early 1970s and we have many fond memories of it.


To the east of the town lay the Derbyshire coal mines - gone now!! The picturesque mining villages remain - picturesque in appearance but not even utilitarian to live in. Quite a few from the mining community lived in Chesterfield and the Markham Pit Disaster in the 1970s hit the town very badly. On that occasion the pit cage dropped from the top of the mine shaft right to the bottom, killing all who were in it. All that almost immediately after the annual 2 week holiday period when most of the important maintenance work would have been undertaken.


To the north of the town - now unseparated from it by any green belt area - lies Sheffield. At one time this was the steel making centre of the U.K. but I'm not sure what it is the centre of these days. When we lived in Chesterfield the skyline from the city centre was a mass of flats. It's a long time since we were last there but I think they've all gone now.


Derby, the county capital, lies to the south and this is well and truly separated from Chesterfield by green belt areas and smallish villages and towns. Derby and trains used to be synonymous but I think that link has gone also.


Chesterfield is the gateway to the National Peak District (lying east and south of the town), which is one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. Here you can see Derbyshire at its very best with views to take your breathe away. There are hills and valleys where ever you care to look and some of the most attractive villages in the country. Eyam, one of the villages in the Park, was also one of the plague villages centuries ago and was the place referred to in the nursery rhyme "Ring a ring of roses".


Ask most people in the UK what they know about Chesterfield and the answer would be that the Parish Church has a crooked spire. You really have to see this spire to believe it. If it was built today the "'elf and safety" people would soon have had it pulled down. How it came to be so crooked and twisted can only be surmised. Popular opinion says that they used green timber to build it and when the timber dried out so the spire twisted.


Chesterfield used to have plenty of heavy industry to employ its citizens but all that has gone now. In the area we lived such major factories as "Chesterfield Tubes" and "Brian Donkins" flourished. Now these factories have been replaced by rows of guppy style flats and employment is not so plentiful.

Chesterfield can still boast of what, I consider, to be the best open air market in the country. Different days bring different types of market. Thursday is flea market day when most of the stalls sell a wide assortment of 2nd hand collectibles and rubbish. You have to be there to see it. You don't have to buy anything to really enjoy an interesting morning wandering around the various stalls.

When we first arrived we had a cup of coffee sitting out in the shopping arcade. We hadn't been there for more that a few minutes or so when we were accosted by two people. It's over forty years now since I married them. Good place for reunions, Chesterfield.

If you're ever in the Peak District then do give Chesterfield a visit.

Wild Bird imitating a ....

It's been a while since I embedded a little YouTube video and I just came across this one about the Lyre bird. My pet parrot Harold got quite excited listening to it - hope you enjoy it too. I love the "camera shutter" part... And all these sounds, to attract a female! I hope she appreciated it.

Cuteable Feature

My little "sunday paddle" necklace was shown on Cuteable today - another Friday Flickr.


All the items today were chosen by Cuteable's younger daughter! What excellent taste she has!!!

Wherever you live...

I got some older pieces back today. They had gone to a gallery a couple of months ago and some had sold and the rest were going to be put on sale - so I decided to take them back and try and sell them on my own sites instead. It seemed there were a few house pieces.....so I've re-photographed them and will put them up on my websites.

The Street where I live:


Stay at home:


Cobblestone Hill:

I used to do a lot of houses and architectural types of pieces. I enjoyed doing them a lot and still do.... like Miriam's castle more recently:

Do you think my style has changed???

Week 4 Caption Competition

This is the last week for the caption competition. All the quails have to leave home this week but they did get together for one last photo.

Hope you'll think of a caption for the photo and enter the competition. You can write the caption here in the comments section or else enter on facebook (Click on the NOTES tab).

The winner will be announced next Thursday and they win their very own Quentin Quail as a bookmark or necklace or....

Looking forward to your clever captions.

Here's the piccie:

Week 3 Caption Competition Winner

Last week's winner, Deb Gassman was the judge this week for the caption competition. Thanks so much for being our judge Deb.

Here favorite caption was " Quentin eyed the odd egg with deep suspicion"

So the winner this week is Bob. Congratulations Bob! Glad you won. I'll be in touch.

Thanks to everyone for entering. I loved the entries - so many good ones..... Here they all are:

1. Quentin noted"at least there is one good egg!"

2. Quentin was worried he'd never get to feel "Empty Nesters Syndrome".

3. "Full house"

4. Quentin waited with "egg-citement" for the "eggstra" "eggstraordinary" egg to hatch.

5. Quentin sighs and looks forward to the day when he can truthfully say he's an 'empty nester'.

6. Cuck-oo!

7. After numerous failed attempts, Quentin has finally set aside a goodly nest egg for his retirement.

8. Self control was never Quentin's strong suit.

9. Oh no! She swore she took those damn pills!

10. Hmmm... My kingdon for yet another clever name!

11. Quentin eyed the odd new egg with deep suspicion.

12. Well, this one appears to be 'Sans Quentin'?

13. Twins?

14. Oh, right! Where is she when there's another mouth to feed?

15. Late Bloomer!

16. Quentin fought off the rest of the pack to get his Easter Egg back!

17. Slow and steady wins the race.

18. "Quentin Jr. you'd better get your tail feathers outta that egg and get ready for the first day of school! Don't make me come down there."

19. Quentin says: C'mon, let's learn to fly!

20. It was a good year for Quentin and Queenie!

21. Quentin said "Come on Quyen - try and keep up "with Queenie, Querida, Quintessa, Quinto, Quinn, Quinlan, Quintana, Quilla, Quade, Quiana, Questa, .......

All the Quentins leave home this week - but I have one more caption competition coming up for them. I'll put it up later today. Hope you'll all enter the final week.....

The second mouse.......

"The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!"


I recently found this saying and liked it! So voila! My latest necklace - "The second mouse!"


It's a little reminder that sometimes it's OK to be the second mouse....ie while the early bird suggests you shouldn't procrastinate because you could miss something, at the same time, don't foolishly rush into things like the first mouse....

Can you apply this to your day today? Hmmm I'm going to give it a go this evening ......

Anyone can ride a horse

The other morning, my hubby was about to go off to a meeting and he was telling me what was on the agenda. As he discussed it, he said "I must remember to try not to get on my hobby horse about..."

Not sure if you use the term "hobby horse" here - but basically he was meaning to say he would try not to get carried away and express strong feelings/get in a lather about the issue.

But all I heard was "hobby horse" and thought "anyone can ride a horse" - even if its a hobby horse!

So out comes my latest "anyone can...." piece!


Hope you like it - little anyone having great fun riding his horse - and definitely 'getting carried away' on it.


I've often been asked if I make horses and never felt that inclined to - all that body and getting it the right shape etc - but the hobby horse was perfect! Just a head!


Did you have a hobby horse when you were growing up? Did yours have wheels on it or just a stick? Did it have a name?

Hope you like anyone's latest adventure!

August in Books and Movies

Time to recap on the month in terms of the movies I've seen and the books I've read.

Movies first:

The Duchess
The Wrestler
The feast of love
Seraphine
Seven Pounds
Intimate Stories
Fracture
Big Blue
Phenomenon
Julie and Julia
Same Time, Next Year
Mr Brooks

Hmm. It's tricky to say which was my favorite. Julie and Julia was better than I imagined...a sweet little tale....the Wrestler had way too much wrestling in it (what a surprise!)....but I think I like Fracture best. Quite a complicated story - you have to pay attention - no half-watching. It was clever. Definitely worth watching - as are most movies with Anthony Hopkins in them...


And books. Yes I read more than usual - and all of them were read, not audio books! You can tell I haven't been driving to the city but instead, a couple of flights!:

Peony in Love
Sunday's at Tiffany's
Wesley the Owl
Death at La Fenice

Death at La Fenice was a good story - read it flying to Boston - perfect for a flight - start and end in one reading. A mystery with a good bit of intrigue, good characters and a taste of Venice. I liked it.
Wesley the owl was sweet all about a woman hand rearing a barn owl - but it got annoying in places too. Sunday's at Tiffany's was another quick read on a plane and Peony in Love should have ended after the first third!

So that was my month. My regular drives to the city start up again this week so I need to download some audiobooks. Any suggestions for me? I have two I'm just starting to read but none to listen to.... And what was your favorite movie of the month too?

Playing Cat and Mouse - silver necklace

Just finished a delightful commission for a wonderful customer of mine in France. She cares for many, many dogs and cats and has bought the "home is where the dog is" necklace and lots of other pieces too. I was happy then when she asked me to make something for her - and she asked for a necklace with a cat and mouse on it - the rest was left open for my interpretation.

So here is the necklace:


I think it is quite a different piece for me. The cat is not as whimsical as usual - or whimsical in a different sense.... but I like the look and line of it.


I think the last cat that I made I didn't like much so my mind was already thinking of doing it differently - and it did! Problem was that I made the mouse first in my usual whimsical style but then that didn't match the cat, so I had to make another mouse! The first mouse is now going to become another necklace that I'll show you later.


Anyhow, the customer loved it and it's on it's way to France. Hope it's a good cat and doesn't cause too much fuss! Maybe the quietest of all she'll be caring for!

Sunday's spotlight - 999 or 911

By guest blogger Pete

Yes!. It's an emergency. The orchids are definitely on the decline and, although obviously stressed out, look as though there is no chance of a recovery. (Readers of last week's blog will remember that the givers of the orchids told my wife that they flourish best under stress). I'm afraid that I've not had the heart to shout at then again; but I did remark that they've got two days to go and that remark was made yesterday. If you're an orchid miracle worker then it's now too late. Why didn't you answer my plea of last week?


Every true blooded, right minded, upstanding, conscientious, humble, intelligent, etc, etc, English man (like me - i.e. one who supports and follows the noble game of cricket) is now rejoicing with a joy not experienced since 2005. We beat the Australians in the final test match and regained the Ashes by two games to one. With a football team that would struggle to beat the Orkney Islands, true blooded Englishmen can walk with heads held high once again. It might not be the winning that counts but it is the Australians who are now mourning. There's something really special about beating the arch cricketing rivals from Australia.









With the art group starting again soon, I've been doing some preliminary work on my next project. One of the scary things about painting is that you are never sure what the finished product will look like - at least "I'm never sure" although I expect for people like Monet it was probably a forgone conclusion. I've included a scan with this blog of my work so far. It's a ink sketch of Lincoln Cathedral based on a photo I took during the recent photo walk in the city. The group doesn't start until next month but I'll update the scan as I go and keep you in touch with developments unless............................................


I've always thought that the colour black has had a bad press for decades. It may well be a dominant colour that can easily swallow up other colours and details in one gulp but it's also a colour with such a contrast that it can be used to emphasise other colours and achieve an effect that you won't find elsewhere. I hope the other photos in this blog illustrate that. Any comments welcome.


A thought for the end of this blog. Why don't the Americans learn to play a game that demands skill like .....................? I'd better leave it there or else the "blog boss" will be making more remarks about my addiction to a certain game. "OWZAT"