A Friendship Beyond "Prize" !!! :D

I started noticing Andrea Victoria Paradiso and her jewelry and sculptures done mainly with Polymer clay, on Facebook , some months ago.. and as is my usual practice, I sent her a message because her work was brilliant, and moved me...

The reply was quite friendly, and a few days later we had a chat..and I was thrilled by the warmth with which she chatted.. I began to look forward to her status updates..and she sure had some really funny ones.. seemed like she has a lot of fun and interesting people for friends too...

And then there was this contest she started, inviting everyone to guess something she had made.. and there were some killer tips.. :P ..by now, knowing Andrea, I knew it could be anything ... !!

But despite some really weird guesses, I hung tough, and made it nearly sane, to the other end... The contest was so much fun, I actually would not have minded if it kept on for long ...

And I made my guess that it was an plant of some aquatic types, which was set inside a glass ... and guess what ...??? - it came close...

 And this is 'IT' - Andrea's Amarylis. ...just spectacular. !! And added to that , was the fact that she so generously decided to announce a winner and then declared the rest of us - about 13 of us who took part in the contest ,as runner ups..and all of us got beautiful jewelry designed and handmade by this beautiful soul.. !!

 This is my prize..and all the others were just as unique and stunning ..!!

It arrived yesterday around 1.00 PM.. yesterday ..and I just knew when the bell rang, that it was my parcel. She also sent me a huge jar of Ren wax , that she ordered online for me.. and sent it along with this package.. I just had to reimburse her for the wax and half of the courier, which was still a steal... 

So this is my bounty..the packaging was so pretty , my daughter wanted the ribbon, and the velvet pouch ...She told me.."Amma u get a pretty necklace.. so I should have the pretty ribbon and the pouch" - not jealous much .. haha...

She did not forget to include the hand written note that I had requested.. 

I just feel enriched for knowing Andrea.. feel like I can show her my creations and get honest opinions..and her warm comments just give me enough heart and courage to keep on trying and work on my creativity.. Now ..the tough question is...what can I offer her in return ??

Earrings Redesign!

A pair of earrings that I had for years ..!! They were used just once because the hooks were too fragile.. And they were just kept in my box of rejects... It was the color combination of almost pastel blue and purple that I liked the most.

So I decided to give them a new look. The hooks are German silver . I also added some beads on a long white metal eye pin. The tube beads are almost an identical match to the purple-blue combo, except that they are a darker shade.

I also added tiny white metal  to give the tube bead extra oomph.

Looks good to me..and they match perfectly with a new salwar -kameez...!!

Painted Glass Disc Necklace

 I had been hoarding these glass disc - shaped beads for some time.. had an idea of incorporating them in a really eye-catching triple strand design...

Just last month, though, my daughter started  glass painting, and that is what gave me the idea.

The plain glass discs with gold rim , would actually look great if painted on... !!

So when we had an invite to a wedding, I thought it would be apt to make it as a gift for the bride- to - be.

I painted nearly identical pairs of floral motifs - each pair was different, with a single one for the center piece.

 I added pink and mauve and fronds of green, as I had complimenting mauve crystals and light green seed beads.

Then linked the beads with wire work. Added dangles to the center bead with yet more copper wire.

All the motifs are hand painted.