to affinity and beyond.

i have a strange affinity to buying jewelry. i say strange because i don't actually wear any. i wear some time to time, now and then, mostly just some statement necklaces but otherwise, they all just sit in my ikea tree looking pretty. i've come to gradually realise this over the years and have toughened down on what i buy. i used to get a whole heap of cheap assortments of things but never ever wore them, because that's what they were, cheap and thus never looked nice. now i buy more in investment pieces, ones that stand out, not necessarily with a hefty price tag, but ones that i will knowingly feel special in, like i've made that extra effort.

the above photos are an assortment of things i've gotten over the past year or so and naturally all from etsy. i find that being a handmade site, i will always find something new and unique with reasonable prices.

1. a ceramic skull ring from mixko. this was made in limited edition so none of these are available anymore in this style. they do although have some left over with rhinestones in their eyes, which i personally thought was a bit distracting. they also had at one point a baby doll head ring in ceramic which was creepy but slightly calming.

2. a beautifully crafted copper cuff from jewelstreet. i fell in love with this one straight away and asked if it was possible to reserve it. she was awesome enough to say yes (that's another thing about etsy, they are all so lovely). i prefer silver, which she said she would be able to make up if i wished, but i couldn't afford it at the time as it was quite a bit more. but i had to have this cuff no matter what colourway it is.

3. this piece is amazing. i love it because as a child i used to love collecting the christmas beetles in qld where i used to live. but now in vic i haven't seen one at all, so this was a great way of showcasing them. also because it has been set in resin you can import it as it comes from the usa. it was made by kolosstudios. they have a wonderful selection of pieces and if bugs isn't your thing, they have cast other things in resin also.

4. super cute faux moss ring from adornjewelry. i was jealous for a while when i found this because in the states they have such a cute variety of moss jewelry and of course with import customs i would never be able to own such a thing, until i came across this. i thought it was so clever because it will also never die. i got quite a lot of complements when i wore this and it was fun to play with while bored as well as the texture is nice.

5. this necklace was so amusing when i stumbled across it and i laughed for a while then bought it straight away. i felt very gansta. haha. it comes from nat1489 and is still available. i love wearing it. i still find it amusing and i got it quite some time ago.

6. this is one of the most recent purchases. well ben got it for me for my birthday. it was handcrafted by jewelerjim and he's super! the ring wasn't in my listed size but he remade it all for me again with no extra charge. it is such a beautiful ring and looks amazing on. i've worn this ring a lot more then some of my rings i've owned for over year, but i've only had this one for over a month. he has such beautifully designed pieces in his store, some way out of my price range, but still amazing. if only.

another thing i love about etsy, is that, if a piece isn't in a limited edition collection, it will still be there months to come, if the seller sees fit to continue making it. compared to consumer fashion, where it's there one week and gone the next, never to be seen again. this is one strong ill wishing emotion i have towards it. ben will say something like, think about, next time, or i will want to check out my bank balance and then when i want to get it, it's gone. the amount of times it has happened to me it's not funny. especially in this year alone, where i have only done online shopping, then it's open to the world and not just the locals. so i'm very close to learning my lesson, if i love it, wait a day or two, then get it. if money permits. oh how money pains me.

what are your favourite pieces new and old? are you like me, where you own lots of things but never actually wear any of it?

- her.

metamorphosis.

FINALLY, finally, finally gotten around to taking photos of my necklaces to post up on etsy. it's been quite some time. i did take some a few weeks ago, inside, at night, with some bright lights but it made everything orange and not even photoshop could fix it. so i gathered up all my motivation for the month and took them today. i've only uploaded a few for the moment, as spreading them out over time makes for the best exposure.

on sale now at rupert and sherlock.

the set of necklaces above is my metamorphosis series. the center necklace is the base then you buy the attachments separate to suit your mood, mix and match. i was quite pleased with myself when i thought of this one. plus it means not having to spend lots of money on buying a new necklace each time. so far i only have the two turquoise nugget attachments shown here, but there will be quite an assortment to come.

the necklace im wearing in this photo is one yet to be released. it is made from the most beautiful faceted druzy agate in a wonderful navy colour. i bought two lots of these beads lengths before i even started using them. i adore them so much. this one is my own, as i said in my previous post, i make them then end up keeping them myself. but luckily i have still quite a few leftover so it will be making an appearance in my etsy store.

i will also be updating my photos on my already existing cuffs plus adding some new colours i have made up. plus some limited edition ones (they have vintage heart shaped studs on them, available in limited quantity....minus the ones i keep for myself...)

so please check out my store regularly for new items. i am also open to doing custom orders or wholesale. i have also updated it so postage in australia is now free and it's express! if there is a listing with postage still charged, contact me to change it or i will refund it after payment.

- her.

druzy-licious.

a. necklaces by beijo flor. b. necklaces and bangles by sparklecouture.


for as long as i can remember i've had a love for druzy and agate slices alike. i remember when i discovered them and found it such a treat when i could buy one or two at the new-age healing stone faerie shops (you know the ones) when i went to the mall with my mum and grandma for the movies and shopping. i still have those somewhere, in a box. but my love for them has re-surfaced and i can't get enough.

i've been trawling ebay and etsy to find supplies of them wholesale so i can make my own necklaces, for my own use and for sale on rupert&sherlock. the trouble with this is that, each stone is unique and different, so you will never ever be able to have them all. a bit like pokémon. i am constantly finding new ones that amaze me and make me need to buy them, otherwise someone else will and it, will then obviously, not be mine. which is not an option. i find them ever so much more fascinating than diamonds, to my partners approval (he doesn't really agree with the whole diamond thing).

i have a small collection at the moment of both slices and the geodes but am at a loss at how to use them. i want to make it a bit more interesting then just linking them on some chain as a pendant. i've made one so far that i adore, but the problem is, i now keep it for myself. quite a few necklaces i've made with the intention to sell, ends up on a hook in my bedroom instead and with agate it's even worse because there's only ever one of that style... another issue is that a lot of my slices aren't drilled but i haven't quite managed to drill them myself yet. i tried one form of drillbit with no results, so now i'm waiting for some new ones from china. bunnings has nothing and they referred me to a hobby shop and i assume that would cost a bit of money. no thanks. i need all my money to buy stones. as some of them can end of costing quite a bit. especially at the quantities i want to buy them...

what are your favourite type of stones and gems?


- her.

i got lost.

sooooo. it's been a while. quite some while. i tend to do that. i have a very short attention span. my mother always hated that. by the time i got to early teens she kind of gave up on me. in a sense that when i wanted to start new things, she would say why bother? cause i would just end up quitting them early anyway. which is fair enough on her end cause i'm sure all the jazz ballet, trampoline acrobats, piano lessons ended up costing lots of money in the end. i remember when i was in high school i wanted to join basketball. but she said i would just quit but i'm stubborn so i wanted to prove her wrong. geez, was that hard. first of all the other girls playing in the team were the 'a-group girls' of high school where i didn't fit in. then i never had my own top. for some reason when they ordered in new ones for the season i just didn't get one, so i had to either borrow one from the team that played before us in the younger grade, or find a yellow or white shirt. bullshit. then because i wasn't 'one of them' i never got passed the ball, regardless if i was open. BUT i stuck it through, i don't even remember where we placed, that's how involved i was in it by the end. funniest thing though once, i went with my two best guy friends and i didn't have a uniform, he although had a yellow shirt. so being the wonderful guy he is, he let me borrow his shirt during the game, while he wore my shirt! the buttons were pulling across his chest and he couldn't move his arms much. bless him.

but i digress. i knew this would happen with the blog. i tried to make myself post regularly, but i just can't, it's not who i am. and i have lots and lots of time on my hands, i'm at home everyday. but, i have some hope. i've come back to it. which is a good sign. i also have lots and lots of things to update with seeing i've been gone for so long. i've made tons of necklaces and my cuffs have picked up also. I made lots of purchases to show off, mainly all online from the UK. i've actually made like 4 orders from asos.com in the past month or something. addicted.

a quick timeline of the past 2 months and time for some photos. too much text is daunting when i go on other blogs.

february - fairly, umm, boring? nothing happened much. saw taking back sunday and jimmy eat world. they were both fairly amazing.

march - received a big wholesale order for my cuffs, 60 of them. i was so happy and joyed that i was able to do something with my time and that my cuffs were getting out there. they went to the states, then onto europe for a show, i can't wait until i receive a response on how it all went. was also my birthday. went and saw alice in wonderland, was a bit disappointed, lots to say about it, but not the time. oh, saw owl city at the hifi. loved it so much. great production, i thought it was just going to be adam onstage, but he had 2 strings, 2 keyboardists one of them a guitarist and a drummer. it was beautiful, hes also adorable.

april - less busy, saw frank woodley and david o'doherty for the melb comedy festival. and just spring cleaning, in the wrong hemisphere.

i've made lots of necklaces to post up on etsy, but i'll dedicate a post on that when i photoshop the images, cause they are all yellow from the camera. bah.

photos:

a friend i made. he came into my home and our hearts. then i moved him into our lemon tree.

i made heaps of these the other night. hilarious. i photoshopped the stick out on the others so it looks better.

i'll write up a more dedicated post to something next time, rather than the load of crap i've just done. sorry. i got carried away. it's been a while

- her.