Fabric bracelets with silver beads

The silver beads are made by pushing gum nuts into molten silver.

Streaky Bay dunes

Camped in the sand dunes near Streaky Bay I collected what I found around our camp site: rocks, shells, shark eggs and calcified plant roots (rhyzolith). I love the combination of the natural material with glass beads. The beads I got from a glass bead factory on our trip to the Czech Republic in August. The finding is a ring and t-bar catch made from rhizolth and silver.

I couldn't find anything on whether these formations are protected - doubt it though, because they are everywhere and not particularly old. They only form under certain conditions and I was just lucky to find them at Streaky.

Bat's wing coral tree

In April Barbara came visiting us on Lucy Creek Station. One afternoon we went for a drive and found the "bean trees" Lori had told us about. The beans are amazing, shiny red with a quite hard surface. I promised to make a necklace for Barbara - finished just in time for Christmas (or her birthday, haven't quite decided yet)

The image of the flowers I took in November - when we left the station.

Dots

I had started these earrings a while ago in Alice in our caravan - had in mind coins, bracteates (thin pieces of metal, worn as jewellery from the 4th/5th century on). A few weeks ago I enameled them.

Carved ring

Yesterday I had a visit of a ring I carved years ago. I adjusted the size for a friend. It's a quite heavy, robust piece with writing all the way around it. The nice handmade feel inspires me to rekindle the design.

Neck piece

At the last flea market in my hometown Bad Säckingen in June I found these lovely wooden dear. They originate in the Erzgebirge, former GDR. A lady at the stall who almost bought them before me told me that these carvings were almost the only thing they used to have back then that allowed a bit of creativity. I worked on the neck piece at my cousin's holiday house in Ticino. The most beautiful landscape in southern Switzerland! Unfortunately the micro torch I had bought previously wasn't getting hot enough to solder - so I had to improvise. It worked out fine. The piece was meant to go into an Adelaide exhibition, made it there in time - but didn't survive the long flight undamaged! One of the dear wasn't attached to the silver anymore. Easy fixed when I get back to Adelaide later this year.

Edelweiss

Yesterday's flea market finds! On three different stalls I found these wonderfully carved 'Edelweiss': a pendant, a set of clips and some stringed beads. The ear clips were from a 91 year old, the pendant a 86 year old's heritage and the strand came without background info. They are all carved bone.