Much of a muchness

Things that make you go 'hmm'…

Tag Archives: jewellery

Excuses, excuses

16 Comments Posted by Diane on January 27, 2010

Well, the huge mountain of ‘things that need doing’ which I have been trying to run away from (and which must be attached to me by a long length of elastic) has finally smacked me in the back of the head and I have been forced into doing something about it. Consequently, I have been working on the e-commerce web site I am designing for a friend and am almost cross eyed with the twin joys of html and css. The site will eventually sell hand crafted jewellery and the other thing I have been doing this week (and continue to do) is processing dozens and dozens and dozens of photographs (which I confess up front – I took) which are basically not very good so they need lots of TLC and Photoshop to make them useable. Removing backgrounds, adjusting colours, removing specks (hint- always clean computer screen before starting THIS job) cropping and more cropping – it has been endless. Still, I think it is taking shape and starting to look very good (even if I do say so myself.)

So not much else to report. I am continuing to post a photograph to my 365pix project every day because that is quick and easy but I may have to go AWOL here for a bit while I concentrate on getting the web site finished. Sorry I’m not checking out your blogs at the moment too. Anyway to avoid this post being a complete waste of time for you, here are a few random things I found today while I was putting off starting work (still procrastinating)

This makes me ashamed of my measly Photoshop efforts – from the National Geographic

This is fun and maybe the shape of things to come who knows? Don’t click it

I read this on the BBC web site today.

“In 1778, the third Duke of Chandos arranged a christening for his new-born son. The whole of fashionable society, including the Royal Family, was invited, and the Duke commissioned a lavishly embroidered christening robe. At the moment of baptism the child was uncovered and found to have suffocated under weight of the robe, upon which the Duke died of shock.”

I have already put this on my Facebook page, it never fails to make me smile, so I am adding here too. Love it.

I found this photograph yesterday of my youngest son when he was tiny. I adore it..

That’s it. Back to work!

Blogs, Cool links, Families, Interesting facts, Photography, Silliness, Technology, Videos, web design children, jewellery, National Geographic, wasting time, website

Quel méli-mélo!

24 Comments Posted by Diane on October 22, 2008

So the pooch is called Milo. I was embarrassed to take him to the vet for a check up and have to confess he was unnamed, so we finally bit the bullet and picked a name. Why Milo? Well, mainly because my friend Jenny, suggested Snowy (who was Tin-Tin’s dog – as in “Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin!” and in French, Snowy was called Milou – anglicized to Milo.

I tried to film Milo playing in the garden but it is so difficult as he only seems to want to play with my shoes and the bottom of my jeans (a problem Snowy seems to have too) but I did manage to get this short movie of him earlier.

His name also reminds me of a French phrase I always liked – ‘Quel méli-mélo!’ which roughly translates as ‘What a jumble!’ or ‘What a mish-mash!’ or a ‘What a muddle!’ and which describes one of my posts beautifully :-)

I remember a few years ago gazing longingly into a Cartier jewellery store window and seeing THE most beautiful necklace and matching ring, bracelet and brooch – which needless to say was completely out of my price range. It was called the ‘Méli-mélo’ collection and I have always remembered (and coveted it!)

It’s so aptly named as it’s a wonderful mixture/jumble/concoction of various precious stones. I have a birthday on the horizon if anyone is feeling generous….. :-D

Milo is also a chocolate malt drink from Australia

and the first name of the actor who plays one of my favourite characters in my favourite TV show ‘Heroes’ – Milo Ventimiglia who plays Peter Petrelli.

On a more serious and sensible note, my favourite shop, Falkiners, which I am sad to say I have not visited for quite a while, has been reborn as Shepherds Bookbinders. It will be hard to think of it as anything but Falkiners, but while perusing their excellent web site, I noticed they now have a blog which contains new products and news of workshops etc. I highly recommend a visit. They have just brought out an instructional ‘Handmade Books’ DVD which sounds very interesting and I also want a deckle edged ruler and the new 2009 diary book blocks are in and there is new paper to tempt me and an archive of traditional tools from Sangorski and Sutcliffe and gorgeous reindeer leather from Finland…. did I mention I have a birthday coming up…? :-)

Birthdays, Book arts, Bookbinding, Books, Cool links, Handmade books, Humour, Illustration, jewellery, Pets, Silliness, Videos birthday, Cartier, Falkiners, jewellery, Meli-melo, Shepherds Bookbinders, Snowy, Tintin

7 more things about me…

16 Comments Posted by Diane on January 17, 2008

This album is much bigger than I usually make. It measures 12″ x 14″ which I think is a good size for an album but not so good for me when making it! Manouvering large pieces of gluey paper and trying to keep them straight and stop the glue getting onto the front of the paper is a nightmare, they seem to develop a mind of their own and twist and stick together despite my best efforts.

I have been tagged by Kylee over at Bijoux and Banter to tell you 7 random things about myself. I think I did this meme a while ago but being me – hey! there is always more weirdness to report… :-) Kylee makes beautiful jewellery which she sells through her studio, Lunes Bijoux, in the Aude region of France. I am envious – a limitless supply of jewellery and living in France….

So here we go

1 I have a degree in Metallurgy. Never used it other than as a springboard to do other things. I guess if I had studied precious metals (see above) things might have turned out differently.

2 I love science fiction. Anything from Doctor Who and Torchwood via Star Trek and Isaac Asimov to Sunshine, The Matrix and Heroes.

3 I adore old movies too. My favourites are ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and ‘The African Queen’.

4 I hate parking my car. I can drive happily for hours but hate parking when I get there. My confession is, in over 25 years of driving, I have never parallel parked and I once drove to Exeter in a Range Rover but as it was too tall to get into any multi storey car parks and the others were full – I drove straight home again.

5 I enjoy building flat pack furniture. Sad but true.

6 I count things. If I am sitting waiting for something, I count tiles, panes in a window, books on a shelf…

7 I collect automata. I have about 8 so far because they are quite expensive but the detail and the skill that goes into making them is astonishing. I have bought some of them from the ‘Cabaret Mechanical Theatre‘. In fact I bought my first one from them when they were based in Cornwall. It is made by Paul Spooner and this is it.

Some of other favourites were bought from a beautiful gallery in Abbotsbury in Dorset called Dansel Gallery which sells contemporary handmade furniture, jewellery and other lovely things made from wood. The caption on this one says ‘Though always keen and eager, the sheepdog never mastered the herding of carniverous sheep…’

This one says ‘Only when it was sure it was completely alone, would the camel reveal it’s secret survival pack’.

These are the rest of my collection. On the left is a wooden articulated slug which wriggles when you turn the handle. The leaflet that came with it said ‘All the fun of a slug but without the slime’. Exactly :-)