On the beach

I opened up my mobile phone today and it was full of sand. I really shouldn't take it with me when I go beachcombing, but having a camera, even if it's just a crappy one, makes so much difference. I get to record for posterity all the weird and wonderful things I encounter on my daily walk.

Seagulls puzzle me. In the early morning they stand in lines, slowly advancing towards the sea. The ones in the front row move towards the back when they reach the shore, entering a moving-but-not-moving cycle that is strange and slightly disturbing ("The Birds", anyone?):

I also find dead things, washed up on the shore, like this strange, hairless and bloated rat. Yeah, it's probably disgusting, but I'm kind of fascinated at the same time:

And jellyfish are always a pleasure to look at (from afar), but what I wasn't expecting was this mammoth creature! I found it on the shore, and it was HUGE (shame I didn't think of putting my foot in the picture for size reference):

And last but not least, a little glimpse at the messages people leave in the sand. Seems like this one was enjoying his/her holiday in the sun!

Another Round of Etsy favourites

Etsy is a source of neverending desire, so I thought I'd share a few of my lustful fantasies with you, once again. Let's get started...

Wonderful and cool blue rain bath salts by sudznsaltz. His wife, the lovely lady behind marinebiochic07.etsy.com, makes the perfect face cloths to go with them. Just looking at them makes me feel refreshed, and since the Summer heat still hasn't left me yet, that's not a bad thing at all.

This amazing brooch was made in sterling silver and lapis lazuli by NakedJewelry. The process applied to the beautiful silver is called Reticulation, described by the artisan as "a metalsmithing technique that causes the top layer of fine silver to buckle and wrinkle through a process of controlled chaos!". One of a kind indeed. This would make a fantastic addition to a simple black dress, maybe with a ring to match and a loose hairdo. This is just one example of all the mouth-watering lovelies you can find in their shop.

Gaialai makes outsanding lampwork beads, and they've been on my wishlist for a long time. My hands are itching to make earrings one day out of these black and white beauties. I'm quite the fetichist when it comes to beads, sometimes when I buy exceptionally pretty beads I can't quite bring myself round to using them. That's why it was so hard to use some of Maudie's quality lampwork pieces for a necklace I'm working on, it's just so hard to create something that lives up to the beads' expectations! Here are the culprits, some fabulous autumn themed rondelles:

Going Custom

I've been working on a few custom orders lately for some Miss Cristal customers. Mostly they're earrings to go with necklaces I had for sale. I must admit custom isn't my fave type of chore, I have so many designs in my head I want to focus on that it's difficult to concentrate on more mechanical things. And for some strange reason I don't enjoy making earrings that much, I suppose it's because I have to make two of each and it's always a pain to get an exact replica of anything handmade.

So here's a sneak preview of a few of these custom pieces:

Green and silver earrings to match my Butterfly Nonsense in Green.There's a red version if anyone's interested.

Cute red crystal earrings with dragon charms to match my Red Dragon Pendant.

Back to work I go... Got Metric on repeat and The Age of Innocence is almost finished, patiently waiting for me on top of the disaster area that is my workbench.