Etsy treasury.

Very exciting, one of my Valentine's felted brooches made it on to an Etsy Treasury. Quick have a look! www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id108931

Miss you already Mum!

My Mum stayed with me for three weeks in the holidays and today she went home and I felt really sad so I went to my workroom and made some earrings. Love the little glass leaf beads and the way copper goes when I bash it. Until April Mum, see you then. P.S. all my earrings will be on Etsy any day now, although I do go back to school tomorrow so please forgive me for any delays.

My first run since the hop-eration!

Well I did it! My first run since my knee hop-eration. Must have been about four months I guess since the last one and it was more of a plod than a run but a start none the less. My knee actually felt okay but I had a really bad kind of stitch pain in my lower back on the left side. My spine must be out of whack from having a bad knee for such a long time. But I ran (plodded) through the pain and managed 45 minutes. Not bad!!! I've also made some more felted heart brooches which I'm rather pleased with. So not a bad week all in all. You can see them here: www.facebook.com/renee.clothier or www.etsy.com/shop/RenJewels.

Cysts, cysts and more cysts!!!

It seems that if I were to name a theme for me for 2009 it would have to be CYSTS! My first one developed after my knee injury in May after I munched the cartiledge and then a cyst grew on the damage in the knee capsule. OUCH! Then I had my annual mammogram and I have an unusual breat cyst that needs a biopsy and to top it all off now I have a cyst on one of my ovaries. None of the medical personnel seem overly concerned so I'm following their lead and will try to have a good Christmas and not worry too much also. My gyno doctor says that all of these cysts are not connected in any way but I wonder if some people are just more prone to developing them?! Anyway...I am keeping myself busy making jewellery and have finished all the Christmas presents I'm going to do for now and so yesterday spent the day with my jewellery tutor and made myself a ring. I'm really pleased with the results, hope you like them too.

Breast lumps and keeping busy.

Have just had my annual mammogram (I have them every year because I'm prone to cysts) and I still have lots of cysts but there's also a lump that looks a bit different. So I have to have a biopsy, which I've also had before so I'm keeping positive and keeping busy. This is one of those times when been a crafty craft maker is a good diversion technique. Here's the latest offerings, again using recycled copper that my brother in law gives me from his spouting jobs.

Latest installment!

YAY, my latest jewellery making installment. Am really pleased with how these turned out and they were much quicker than anything I've done before. Must be getting the hang of this jewellery making mallarky!!! It also helps to make multiple items along the same theme.

Thanks for a fabulous concert.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending a Pearl Jam concert in Christchurch, and they were accompanied by Ben Harper and Liam Finn, with the added unexpected bonus of Neil Finn doing a set with everyone. It was brilliant. Not only is Ben Harper still the sexiest man alive but I have a new found respect for Eddie Vedder. What a lovely man! As my brother said (he went to the Auckland concert), he's the kind of guy you'd love to have round for dinner. He was so concerned about everyone's safety, I just thought he was groovy. It was the best concert I've been to for ages and the rain didn't come until the end which was also good!!!

I love Wednesdays - Part 2

The latest installment from Wednesday jewellery making nightclasses is my Clematis neckart piece. Why is it that I keep picking designs that I think won't be too hard and then they end up taking ages to finish? I go along to class and think, "this week I'll have it finished" and another week goes by and it's still not finished! Someone did say I should crawl before I tried to run (or however the saying goes!) but I guess that's not really my way. It was worth it though, am feeling very pleased with this little effort. On to making some Christmas presents now, and these really are going to be easier...I hope!

Garden Art

My very clever husband made this garden art in the weekend with only a few terrible splinters. They are representative of our little family (Awww cute!) I was making Christmas wreaths for the Mistletoe Market. So a very crafty weekend we both did have.

My new book.

Just received my new book from Damien Rice (you might remember my book buying addiction!) which again arrived really early, nice work guys! It's The Art of Jewelry Design, from Idea to Reality by Elizabeth Olver. It's amazing and I love it!!!! So it's highly recommended but the reason I mention it here on my blog is that there are some pages about keeping a visual journal, which I already do. But there were some really cool ideas such as "A visual journal need not necessarily be in book form" and that got me thinking that maybe my "work bench" is a sort of visual journal. So here's some photos of it. The white board at the back of the bench that everything is pinned to, is a large artists canvas. Things can be removed or moved as I find other bits and pieces. A work in progress if you will. It also sometimes has pictures of shoes and clothes I'd like to own. I know that's a bit consumerist but then I do love clothes and shoes as much as crafts! Oh and other things that inspire me like the Greenpeace sticker and art work from a Damien Rice CD.