New Work!! Finally!!

chunky heart ring sandblasted
Originally uploaded by howlindoggie

Here are a couple of new Pieces (chunky Heart ring & The 3 Sakuras) that I have been sitting on for a few weeks. It seems that I tend to do this with every piece that i made for my production. I guess i need to feel that i have made it as I had originally seen it in my head and from my sketches, although some pieces don't even make it to paper, if I get excited about it and can't wait to wear it or give it to a friend, as is often the case.

I have several friends, who( I know enjoy my work) are my 'testers'; which means they get given new pieces from time to time, to see how they wear.

I'm pleased with how this ring has turned out, as i have started making my production rings a little smaller and less chunky than I make my own. I will make one of these, but more like 3 x the size & chunkiness of this one. I also think the pendant works well (i enjoyed making these two pieces!!)

I'm on a roll with new stock at the moment, so expect to see quite a few new pieces from now as I have had a lot on the plate in the last 6 months, so New Work took a bit of a backseat. But now I'm back at it! YAY!!

Red Ovid Ring

Red Ovid Ring
Originally uploaded by AndesCruz

I swapped some work with Andes Cruz. It is this beautiful red enamel ring (Red Ovid Ring). The piece that Andes wanted of mine was The 3 Sakuras (see photo).

Collaboration with Umbrella Prints

Modish and Scoutie Girl have recently written about the collaboration between Umbrella Prints and myself.

It has certainly been a lot of fun collaborating with these wonderful women. I feel honored to have been asked.

Danny's Last Vacation

we spent the last few days of april down at the beach house (our secret location: magic beach)

the weather was interesting, which made for some great photos.

we will always remember danny. especially when we are at his favorite beach.

Our beloved companion Danny (the howlindoggie)

Yesterday at 4.45 pm we had to give the ok for our wonderful dog Danny to be put to sleep. He had been losing weight for a few months now and the vet thought it was because of arthritis, but little did we know that he had developed many little tumors in his lungs. He had developed a cough which the vet thought was kennel cough (even though he was vaccinated annually) and was given antibiotics. He just got worse very quickly and stopped eating. No food for 3 days and difficulty breathing. So after xrays and an ultrasound, it was revealed that he had all those tumors in his lungs.

We could tell that he was suffering and had enough. The vet suggested a biopsy and that he "may" improve a little for a few weeks with some chemotherapy. We decided that we did not want him to suffer anymore and decided to have him put to sleep. He fell asleep in our arms and after having such a loving companion for 12 years, he is gone. Danny was the most beautiful dog we have ever met.

In honor of Danny and all beautiful doggies i will donate 10% of all my sales to the RSPCA in Sydney, Australia.