Friday, May 27, 2011

New in the Starzyia Madeit Store



Ruby Bliss Butterfly Bracelet

one of the bargains to be had at my madeit store where prices begin at $8!






Plum Bean Earrings


Coral Isle Bracelet






Trinity Rose Earrings


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Happy Weekend!






Thursday, May 19, 2011

Bright Colours, the Mystery is Solved


When I returned from Adelaide, the first thing I did (business wise) after re-opening my two stores was start ordering some new supplies. I found myself attracted to some very bold and bright colours, which was unusual for me, and so I went on my facebook business page and promised my fans 'more colour'. But I wasn't sure why I was working with bright yellow for the first time in my life.



The supplies started to trickle in and this week in particular I began to create and list my 'more colour' designs.





Then last night, I suddenly realized what was behind it all.... I was choosing colours that my late Aunty can see and enjoy, with her vision impairment the pale colours all blend in and she can't distinguish one from another. So I guess I am making things that might bring her seal of approval.





Although I did list this last pair of earrings today, more my original style, in my madeit store. They are called Midnight Sun, because the flower design is helianthus, the wild sunflower native to America.


So far the bright colour trend seems to be something my fans are welcoming, so thank you for supporting me. I will keep working the 'more colour' angle, as well as producing some of the classic, elegant and vintage inspired pieces from before.









Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Enchanting Etsy Finds


Every day should be enchanting, wonderful, truly worth living, no matter what you have going on in your life, find the magic and you will endure with joy. Here are some of my favourite enchanting handmade items...


The top image shows the necklace Magic of Home by Australian etsy seller jewelflyt, I love the feeling of nostalgia for home depicted inside this witches' hat pendant.






I find these earrings by beautyspot bring me great serenity, but also awe for the simple beauty, and remind me of the wonderful symbolic meaning of deciduous trees which denote harmony in nature.






The robin's nest terrarium necklace by WoodlandBelle is made to order, and is part of the seller's star line up of beautiful terrarium necklaces.






Blackberry Patch necklace by MySelvedgedLife, one of my very favourite etsy sellers, and so hard to pick just the one creation from this shop.





And from fellow Australian seller sageandmage I had to include the ritual potion, but you should check out her sacred jewelry and other offerings today (if you have not already, and hey if you have, why not do it again!)




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More of my favourites can be viewed on my profile page at etsy!








Thursday, May 12, 2011

How Do You Like Your Vintage Postage?


There are so many options when I am creating vintage postage stamp jewelry.... something for every taste.

Do you like your vintage 'dirty'? The necklace above is a postmarked 1973 stamp from Singapore and is stained, giving you the feeling the letter it carried went through some trials to reach its recipient.



The ladybird stamp here, is from the UK, and is heavily postmarked, so you clearly remember its origin as a postage stamp.




But I also have a large range of absolutely immaculate postage stamps for use in jewelry, these are free of markings so that you can concentrate on the beautiful image, this necklace features one of my grandmother's Polish postage stamps.


I am working on some images suitable for men's jewelry or cards for men, and some sets of stamps to sell in my store called Trains, Planes, and Automobiles... as well as some very historic sailing ships.

So how do you like it?




Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Most Beautiful Monday, sorry I'm late!


I like to make these posts on Monday, but I've been busy taking photos for my very dear friend, Diane, who lives in America, it is our dream she will one day come to Australia and join me on my walk around the river and lake at the end of my street. I have even created an album dedicated to her on facebook, called Diane's Daily Dose of Australia. Not sure whether these will inspire her or torture her, maybe a little bit of both.



I love this stark white path through the dark, bare trees, it looks even more like a fairy tale setting when its a grey or misty day, the section ahead curves and is flanked by black, leafless trees so I'm hoping to get some enchanting pics when I am not looking into the sun.


If you want to come to Australia, why not make the trip, the more the merrier... Oprah did it, why can't you?



Friday, May 6, 2011

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Second Look at April... Memorable Moments


The start of April saw me in Adelaide, where my mother and I were working on closing up my late Aunt's house. This was very difficult, of course, but I can now laugh at my astonishment when cleaning my Aunt's gas stove, grill, and oven. I began with wiping the grill, and removed the tray, only to find.... a pile of straw mulch, sand and pebbles inside the grill chamber! I was absolutely stupified, and in a daze kept repeating the questions 'how?' and 'why?' over and over in a small whimper. The act of cleaning the grill lead to me knocking the rubbish into the oven chamber, which then had to be cleaned, and then the rubbish spilled onto the floor... one job leading to another, as I wondered, how on earth aunty had gotten this garden waste in her grill? She used to get meals on wheels and never used the stove except one hot plate to boil the kettle, the rest of the time she used a toaster oven to reheat her meals. A mystery indeed, but definitely something to laugh about now that the job of cleaning is long over.





Of course we had booked our flight home to Perth for April 5th, and so it was soon time for us to say goodbye for the last time to the home where my grandmother and aunt had lived for 36 years. Very hard. I admit I had tears in my eyes leaving the house, and again as the plane taxied onto the runway, saying out loud "goodbye Adelaide, goodbye house, goodbye Aunty". I think I would have been a complete emotional goner at that point if it weren't for the small child who shouted 'faster, faster' during approach for take off, and then 'weee-heee' as we lifted into the air. Bless the little darling for making me laugh.


Not so happy about the last thirty minutes of the flight... rough turbulence on descent, and as the air stewardesses were walking past my seat and the plane lurched roughly from side to side, one said 'Oh my God!'. NOT what passengers want to hear coming from the staff!


By early evening we were home, and found that the leaves were changing as the first signs of autumn came over a city that had been ravaged by a long, hot summer. We arrived home to the news that two of Perth's water supply dams were empty and the third at 24% of its capacity! Please pray for rain for us.





A big thank you to Pack And Send who couriered our family treasures home from Adelaide, they were a complete delight, so friendly and helpful unlike the first two companies we rang. We spent a lovely afternoon unpacking the family china and tea sets, but admit the rest of the things are still in the front lounge...


I spent the day before ANZAC Day researching both my grandfather's military records on behalf of my parents. But wasn't happy when my mother served Bonox for lunch (if you don't know what bonox is, imagine meat coffee and you won't be that far off)... I sat under the back patio and ate Maltesers out of my purse.


Finally, I decided that for my lovely cat Roman's 18th Birthday today, I would hold a Mayday sale for both of my stores (etsy and madeit) you can save 20% until 11pm 2nd May (Perth time).