My new baby, Sophie :)

Recent Casts: Works in progress

Love, love my beautiful orchids!

Cast from a dehydrated slice of paw paw.

This is quite a solid, heavy cast, but I like it very much. It will become a bangle.

Beautiful leaf-it will become a pendant.

These leaves leave a very strong smell on ones hands after handling, but they are very beautiful. Trying to decide if they become two pendants or a pair of earrings...?

This lovely little anthirium will probably become a ring. :)

Phalaenopsis Orchid Pendant

Finished Phalaenopsis pendants. These are two of the flowers that I posted (before they were clean) two posts back. The bottom one has been oxidised and the top one has not.

New market starting on Saturday :)

Looking forward to this, hope to see you there! :)

Some of today's casts... :)

So... about three and a half months after building (and sharing) my mushroom tree, I have finally cast it! It is not altogether perfect, some parts have not come out and a few mushroom heads are missing (must have come loose when I poured the investment) but still, they were a bit of a gamble from the start, so I am very pleased that some are good and complete.

 Aren't these orchids beautiful?! I just could not resist them. The casts will make beautiful pieces once cleaned up. :)

How rad are these star shape tea light holders...!?

How rad are these!? A friend of my mom's spent the evening showing us how to make these very cool paper stars. I love! :)

Shopping Time :)

My amazing friends Berna and Elmien have arranged this great event for us. I'm looking forward to next Wednesday, hope to see you there!

Sentimental Jewellery: Jan and Isabella

I love, love, love to make pieces like this. I love to take peoples memories and precious moments and turn them into a treasured little works of art that they can keep near and dear throughout their journey.

I Hold You In My Heart-Ultrasound Jewellery

Although I made my first Ultrasound Jewellery piece for a friend of mine over two and a half years ago, The Baby Expo was the official launch of the Ultrasound Jewellery to the public.

The pieces recieved a great response at the show and I look forward to meeting many beautiful little in utero babies and helping to make special keepsakes for their parents.

Baby Quinn

Baby Oscar



The Cape Town Baby Expo 2011

After much hard work and many late nights of preparation, The Baby Expo has come and gone. I had a really good time and I learned so many new things and met so many lovely people.

My super star sister helped me to set up and also to sell.

I was there too... :)

Frangipani Brooch/Pendant

This pretty frangipani (which is much prettier in real life than in the photo) can be worn as either a brooch or as a pendant.

I have a couple more frangipani casts locked away, waiting their turn to be turned into jewellery, but I can't wait till the trees are full of flowers again and I can cast many more! I have always and will always love a frangipani! :)

My lily in the September Ideas Magazine

My long awaited Ideas Magazine arrived today. I am very happy to have my work in Ideas, but I was a little disappointed with a few things. Firstly they printed my blog address as '.co.za' instead of '.co'. Secondly, they have a little icon at the bottom of the page that says 'go online to http://www.ideas.co.za/ to see how Andrea made this pendant' but if you actually go online and try to find anything related to me or the pendant, there is nothing there yet! (Apparently it will be online be by the time the magazine hits the shelves, but I feel it should be there in time for the subscribers, who get their magazines about 10 days before it's available in the shops.)

There are a few other things that leave me a little puzzeled, but I think some sleep would be more helpful than dwelling on these problems. Despite the errors and other little things that leave me wondering, it is always a lovely thing to have one's work in print, so thanks to Ideas for putting me in their magazine!

Marvelous Mushrooms

My sister came to visit a few days ago and she brought some mushrooms. I have wanted to try to cast this kind of mushroom for quite a while, so although mould making was not originally part of the plans of that day, I decided to steal a few and build a tree. It will probably be a week or so till I make enough flasks to fill my kiln, but I am looking forward to seeing the results of these mushrooms!

The lovely mushrooms

Work to be done

Some new casts waiting to be turned into beautiful jewels!

This pod is particularly dear to me-I collected it while on holiday in Thailand, about seven years ago. It was a very special time as I got to meet up with a wonderful Australian friend whom I had not seen in 10 years. We spent a month exploring all we could of that very beautiful country-it was a truly magical time. I plan to turn this pod into a ring (/weapon of self-defence, should the need arise).

Bluegum worm: I plan to turn these mini bluegum pods into stud earrings, but I discovered that they make a rather nice worm. Think I need to cast a lot more and look into bracelets and dangly earrings.

New Iris Pod Pendants

New iris pod pendants, fresh from my bench. Hope you like :)

Facebook page opened today!

There are a few friends who have been telling me (for the longest time) to open a facebook page for "The Lovely Ones". I am not entirely sure why it has taken me so long. Anyway, I hope they will be happy now, I certainly am :) 

(I still need to figure out how to put the little face book button on to the blog, and how to link all these pages to each other, but I think I have accomplished enough for one day; that will have to be another day's task!)

Going through some old pics...

Wild Peach

These wild peach necklaces are one of my most favourite things. You will be seeing many more of these :)

Creativity 2011 Finalist

A little while ago a got a phone call to say that I have been selected as one of 25 finalists in the Ideas Magazine, 'Creativity 2011' competition! All finalists work will be published in the September issue. Can't wait to see all the entries and of course the overall winner :) My lily pendant is the piece that got me a place as a finalist.

Paw Paw Flower Pendant

The first pendant that I have completed from the flowers that I gathered from my mother's little paw paw nursery and cast.

Little Lady

I was in the garden looking for things to cast when I came across this pretty ladybird.

My new favourite thing to cast? My Mother's paw paw flowers...

My mom bugged me for quite a while to cast some of her paw paw flowers, but now she is begging me to stop! They are super lovely (smell so good) and cast really well. I do like :)

The First Rainbow :)

This rainbow was a couple of weeks ago already, but it was the first rainbow that I spotted for the season. I do love rainbows. They always fill me with joy and delight.

Beautiful Things

I am very excited to be sharing the first casts to come out of my own studio. It is true that I did my own casting in college, but this is different. These casts are extra special and the start of many great things to come.

Frangipanis have always been one of my favourites. The flowers are so bright and beautiful, they smell so lovely and they twirl delightfully to the ground when you spin them; how much more lovely can one flower be?

The ferns have been coming out very well too. Looking forward to making many more of these.

So Beautiful!

I came across this video on the Signature Illustration Blog. Do go and have a look, it is very lovely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OBk3ynRbtsw

Friends and Farms

Spent a few days with friends at my friend's family's farm (near Reitz) in December. It was very, very lovely.

The Finished Markers

Materials: silver, resin, glitter