My most recent clay and bead jewelry
The forecast promised 65 today. While it didn’t get quite that warm due to the clouds for most of the day, by around 4:30 p.m. the sun was finally out and it had warmed up to 52. Compared to -25, 52 feels quite tropical and the sunshine was lovely! It might have been Mama Nature saying “April Fool’s! I’m just going to make you think it’s finally spring when it really isn’t!” but I don’t particularly care. Every beautiful day we get is a gift and must be lived as it comes.
I’ve been working on freelance writing jobs that are more involved than anything I’ve done before and while I’m enjoying doing them, by the end of the day I don’t even want to open my laptop again. I decided it was time to take a little break and express the creativity that’s been bottled up inside me and continually building for the past several days.
My youngest daughter, Jaycie asked me to make her a turtle necklace after seeing my prototype clay owl necklace so I’ve been working on that since the weekend. As my owl necklace had clay feathers, I asked her what clay “beads” she wanted her turtle necklace to have and she said “river beads.” She explained what she meant and I drew up a couple sketches of the design until she picked one she liked. I finished painting the beads today and when she got home from school I further customized the necklace by having her pick the color embroidery floss she wanted as the chain. She was extremely pleased with the end result as was I and she’s been wearing it all evening.
With Jaycie’s necklace complete, I went back to work on my newest owl necklace to replace the one I accidentally broke this weekend. I made new clay feathers that were larger and even found my Dremel tool this afternoon to etch a word into the back of the owl. I decided to incorporate some of my new beads and jewelry making supplies into the clay necklace and my second owl necklace is quite a lot better than the first! I hope it stays together but I know that even if it falls apart, I’m learning as I go and will improve with each new creation. I also made a pair of earrings and while they’re not perfect, I think they’re lovely and look forward to making many more!
I grilled some hamburgers for dinner out in the sunshine and the smell still lingers in my hair just as it always does in the summertime. There will be more nice days soon, I have faith but I also know that even when the weather isn’t quite so nice, I’ll have no shortage of things to keep me creatively busy inside.
The back of Jaycie’s turtle and my owl pendant
Lidancie Arts 