The Bella necklace...

I created this necklace as a result of two needs: first, to give my Mother a black and white/monochrome piece; second, to create a necklace which was inspired by Bella, our black and white Wicklow Collie...

She seems to have approved the results. I have used here lots of Czech glass beads with a black and white "Dalmatian" pattern and several cute shapes: square, sphere, disc, oblongs, swirly, flowery and polka dotty etc. I bought them in a lovely shop in Prague some years ago - whose name I can't recall right now. I also used Swarovski crystal cubes, Swarovski black separators with embedded strass chatons, black obsidian round beads, clear polished glass beads and more of my little Japanese treasures: several black glass beads with millefiori pattern from the 50's ( made in Osaka) and a beautiful Tonbodama by Japanese bead artist Naomi.

Below, some details of the Czech glass beads that are so "Bella"...

The Japanese millefiori are adorable, small and cute. I have them in several colours. Again, click on the picture to magnify and appreciate the details...

The big tonbodama represents Bella's heart, flowers, nature, grass, some kibble maybe, all little things that make her happy.  Black and white were used not only because she is black and white, but also to convey the way she sees the world: not much colours, a bit faded, but still full of joy. The millefiori are cute, because Bella is... cute! That was it. Simple as that.

The Natsu 夏 necklace...

A short post to mark my coming back to the world of blogging... And the creation of another necklace after a long hiatus. During this time I've been struggling to stay awake (with not much success so far!), been to Rio and back, and not much more. Except for pampering our little Bella more and more every day.
I made this necklace as my Mother requested. She had a long Murano lariat that broke. She gathered the beads and sent them to me, asking me to do "something" about it.

I decided to make a new, longer necklace and reuse most of the beads, also adding some new elements, such as: Swarovski crystals (essential, in my opinion), Brazilian lemon quartz pebble and lantern-shaped beads, small round yellow jade beads, and three fabulous tonbodama, by Naomi, a very skillful Japanese bead artist. My aim was to give these tonbodama a new "home" and I thought they would get along really fine with my Mother's original beads.

Tonbodama are exquisite glass beads that combine different types of coloured glass and can be inlaid with several delicate patterns. In Japanese the word tombodama literally means "Dragonfly bead", as they seem to display the colours and reflections of a dragonfly eyes:  蜻蛉 (tonbo) meaning "dragonfly" and 玉 (dama) meaning "sphere, ball". The art of glass beading was introduced in Japan around the 3rd-4th centuries AD, from the Eastern Mediterranean via the Silk Road (mostly China and Korea).


I decided to call it Natsu 夏, which means Summer, because its colours remind me of that season, the early days of Summer. Also it has been assembled in August, which is midsummer here in Ireland. The predominating hues of yellow, blue, green, bring to mind the blooming buds and rays of Sun. Swarovski and Murano transparent beads elements bring some water and dew into it. To appreciate the details better, please click on the pictures to magnify them...

Below, a detailed view of the lovely lemon quartz pebble beads, and the lantern-shaped ones - which I am not 100% sure are lemon quartz, but certainly some kind of quartz/crystal.

A view of some of the old Murano transparent aqua beads, with a nice organic shape, some yellow round Jade beads and glass yellow ones at the left. Aqua Swarovski coated bicones were used between the Muranos and lemon quartzes and can be seen here...

The tonbodama are these beautiful big round beads in green, yellow and blue with inlaid flowers and roses and swirly golden patterns.

Below, they can be seen in more detail... I absolutely adore them.

Again, the lovely transparent Muranos, some Czech faceted crystals, lemon quartz and Swarovski elements... The Muranos look quite old and battered but are still shiny and bring a lovely vintage flair to the piece, coordinating well with the tonbodama and lemon quartz.

Bella loves Murakami...

I received my Takashi Murakami pillow two days ago! It's so adorable. Bella however, thought it was for her of course! Whenever something arrives with the postman, she thinks it belongs to her. In this case, the pillow is soft, cuddly, clourful and warm. Just the way she loves it!

I took some lovely pictures of her trying to have it...

My little JList haul...

I have ordered some goodies from my favourite Japanese supplier, JList! They arrived today and I am super-pleased...

Matcha diet Coke... Probably the best diet Coke ever! The subtle matcha (green tea) taste makes it a must-drink for Summer. This diet Coke even tastes less sweet than normal, and much nicer with that refreshing hint of green tea. I only ordered two bottles to try and will have to get some more:

A gift for my Mother... It's a banana holder! She always complained that the bananas she brings to her shop get all mushy and bruised on the way... This is a cool, albeit a bit weird, little gadget for protecting bananas "in motion":

And finally, we got a present for our new house and these oh-so hot Irish Summer days (ha ha...). This is a katori buta, a ceramic pig where you burn mosquito coils inside. You can hang it to a tree or leave it outside in a Summer day and the burning coils (pretty much like incense, that is) will keep the nasty biting bugs at bay. It looks very cute and is a very traditional object:

My very own Shikon no Tama...

This month I have decided to celebrate Inuyasha's last anime series and last manga books. Yes, it will be over. I will miss it a lot, for I am a big fan of Rumiko Takahashi's work, and especially Inuyasha that I have followed for some years already. This week I will order the last DVD box (series VII). As for the books, I am not sure where it stands so far, and how many more volumes are expected.

Since it's celebration time, and the last shards are to be found soon, I have decided to make my own Shikon jewel. Thus, the name of the piece is simply Shikon no Tama (Jewel of the Four Souls), a globe of light composed by these 4 principles (=souls):

- Courage,
- Wisdom,
- Friendship,
- Love.

I will not go into the plot details though, since it would take a long time. At any rate, if you found this post today, it's probably because you already know Inuyasha anyway! My version of the jewel is a bit elaborate perhaps, in comparison with the original artwork by Takahashi-san. It pretty much complies with my own style of jewellery-making: a bit "baroque" perhaps, mixing several materials and trying to convey a meaning, rather than the object "per se". Thus, if you find that it's not at all like the original Shikon (and most certainly it isn't), please bear in mind that it is simply the result of my own personal interpretation.

Here is my Shikon then:

The following materials have been used:

- One round hand blown Murano glass sphere with gold foil;
- Two faceted Czech crystals surrounding it, with Aurora Borealis coating;
- Several Swarovski bicones and two small pendants in different shades of topaz;
- Several tourmaline chips in shades of forest green, aqua, yellow and pink;
- Several vintage Swarovski molted champagne pearls;
- Small glass pearls in deep green that I brought from Prague last month;
- Small round Czech fire golden beads;
- Toggle gold-plated Bali clasp, all threaded on a metallic champagne wire.

To have a better look at the pictures next, please don't forget to click on the thumbnails to magnify:


Two close-ups of the Bali toggle clasp. The small Czech fire beads and dark green pearls can also be seen.


Two pictures showing close-ups of the Murano focal bead and the faceted Czech crystals, along with other various elements...


The above photos show detailed views of the Swarovski regular and top-drilled bicones, and also the small pearls, Czech fire golden beads and vintage Swarovski pearls. These are quite old, but still have an amazing shine and smooth texture.


These pictures display a nice view of the faceted Czech crystals, as well as some of the bicones and pearls. I have decided to include them because I really like the golden reflections and iridescence generated by the AB coating and facets. A nice play of light.


These three shots focus on the Swarovski vintage pearls. They measure 10mm each. I have included tourmaline chips between them, which made the threading process a bit harder and longer since the holes are too small, as are the chips of course (the smaller they are, the harder it gets to even hold them). Tourmalines are quite expensive when compared to other minerals, but do have a wonderful translucence. The colours (in this case yellow/amber, pink, dark and aqua green) go really well together - to my surprise, I must say!


More detailed shots of the tourmaline chips... and, below, two more views of the piece:

Tsukimi necklace

I made this necklace this week, by Sunday or Monday. I called it "Tsukimi", which, in Japanese, means "viewing the Moon". It uses bluish-gray colours and seems a bit different from my previous work, since I use no focal beads or pendants. Still symmetrical though, but a continuous line of several Swarovski elements, gemstones and glass beads (that I brought from Prague).

It is a "lunar" piece, due to the choice of cool hues that reminded me of the surface of the Moon, thus, its name "Tsukimi".


For this piece I have used:

- Tibetan silver hook clasp;
- Several kyanite round gemstones;
- Several chalcedony round beads;
- Swarovski elements in different shades of blue: cubes and bicones of different sizes;
- Several Czech glass glazed beads in bluish-gray;
- Two small fluorite beads near the clasp.

Some details of the above components to follow...


The 1st picture shows a detail of the silver clasp, the two small fluorites I used close to it, the lovely light blue milky chalcedony stones, along with some Swarovski bicones and a Czech glass bead. Second shot shows the Czech beads in detail, as well as two sizes of Swarovski cubes interspersed with some small bicones. Finally, the 3rd picture shows the string of beads: kyanites, chalcedonies, Czech glass beads and Swarovski elements, quite a simple structure. The necklace itself, since it is composed of mostly minerals, is quite heavy and I had to use a sturdier and thicker Beadalon wire, which, due to its gauge, is not quite easy to work with (the beads seem to "slip" though them a bit too easily, and crimping is very hard since the surface is so smooth and slippery). I much prefer the lighter, thinner wires due to their flexibility and slightly rougher texture.


Another detail of the gemstones, Czech beads and lovely Swarovski elements with an AB coating. Chalcedony is the stone with the light blue tint and milky texture. Kyanite is the dark blue one, a sapphire-like shade of blue almost, very vitreous and speckled with silver/metallic streaks.


Kyanites and chalcedonies in detail once again, and a nice close-up of one kyanite bead, a small fluorite with its pale green and purple streaks, and one of the small Swarovski cubes.


I love the AB effect on the aquamarine coloured cubes (larger ones). The kyanites are also splendid, but unfortunately I have ran out of them!

Some more views of Tsukimi: