Afghanistan jade

I did some accidental bead shopping in Helsingborg yesterday. In an effort not to begin calculating how much I spent I'm going to talk about something completely different.

This is afghanistan jade. Like many other "jades" it's not actual jadeite or nephrite, but a fancy stone called jade. According to Wikipedia, the reason for this is that the Chinese and Koreans use the same word for jade as for pretty/decorative stones in general. That is, anything fit for jewellery is "jade", or yu. Just using the word yu does not on it's own signal true jade, zhen yu, but if translated to English, the word for yu is jade. I don't really speak a word of Mandarin or Cantonese so I'll just trust the sources about this, but I have seen some Chinese auction listings that hint towards this being a factual source of confusion. (I also think it's an important story that can reflect that there are many reason a stone is called by a descriptive name, it's not just always that the seller is trying to scam someone as some people sadly seem to believe.)



Afghanistan jade is not the same as afghan jade, which is serpentine, according to the seller who says that the stone is most likely a dyed calcite or limestone [source]. In fact, unlike Afghan jade, Afghanistan jade doesn't even come from the country it's named after. I wasn't planning on buying this stone. I hadn't even seen it in the shop prior to placing my order, but then I saw it and thought it was pretty. The price was very reasonable so of cause I had to buy a strand.


I'm glad I did because these beads are very pretty with a lovely fresh green colour. A sweet colour that makes you smile. The beads are not uniform in appearance: the colour is very even, but there are natural variations in the stone. Most beads are slightly transparent while some are fully opaque. Some beads show lighter banding and a handful have light brown/taupe flecks. About three beads or so are half sand brown, half green. I'll probably cull those and use the all-green beads in one design and the sand/green beads in another: sometimes it's nice with colour variations, but sometimes I like a more uniform colour.


(That last pic is taken in strong sunshine: hard not to get all the colour washed out, but I think you can see the difference in opacity more easily in this photo.)

Button as pendant

When looking at buttons in the nearby craft and embroidery shop, I stumbled over this fun thing. Yes, it's a button made of a wooden ball with a simple wire loop bail glued to it. I bought one of them, choosing a mid-sized dark brown coloured button from the three different sizes and just as many colours available. Think it might make a fun pendant, an alternative to putting a wooden bead on a headpin. Not as cheap as using a bead and headpin, but you eliminate the problem with headpin "heads" being too small for the -- usually -- large holes in the wooden beads.

I'm not sure how easy it is to find wooden balls to make a few of these buttons/pendants yourself, though. That might be a cheaper option if you can find the supplies.

The essence of autumnal colours

More things I bought yesterday. I own too much synthetic satin ribbons already, but when I find a pretty colours I just have to get a metre or two. These ribbon are often fairly inexpensive so I don't ruin myself doing this -- and I hope the colours will be inspiring. Something I'm very much in need of right now.

Well, this time I was looking at the ribbon display and these three ribbons were sitting more or less next to each other. Thought they looked nice together so I grabbed the rolls. Now I have a couple of metres each of rich autumn colours: burgundy/auburn, chocolate and copper.


As it turned out, the ribbons all have different widths. I was only looking at the colours so while I did notice the difference in sizes I didn't really reflect on whether it was a good thing or bad thing. Hopefully it might come in handy when I make something with them. Right now I have no idea whatsoever what to make with them. Just a faint hope that the lovely, intensive hues will be inspirational, kick start my creativity somehow with their eye candy.


As I might have mentioned I also got bead mail yesterday and one of the items I bought happened to match two of the three colours, my half a mini hank of opaque tangerine picasso charlottes. I only ordered half a hank as I was afraid the tangerine would turn out to be an ugly orange shade I'd never use. But as I said to the seller, I'm sure that I'll be fond of the colours and be wanting more. Now I'm kind of wanting more...



But I'm really not sure I'll end up using the beads with the ribbons just because the colours match. I might not even use the ribbons at all as I fell anything but creative right now. I've got lots of ribbon to show that I buy them more for their colours or some vaque design idea then for actually making finished jewellery. Still, I keep hoping that even if I end up not making anything with these ribbons, I'll at less be inspired by the gorgeous intense colour combo.

Pewtersmith in the making?

Ok, I just have to explain one thing first: in Swedish we normally don't make any difference between tin (= tenn) and pewter (= hårdtenn, literally hard tin). Therefore I'm sometimes unsure whether to call something tin or pewter. As with this sheet of metal. Silver is called silver even when it's alloyed with copper to make sterling silver: tin is not called tin when alloyed with antimony and copper to make pewter -- but in Swedish it is. Therefore I sometimes write tin and sometimes pewter when referring to this metal.


So this was one of the things I got in the big parcel yesterday, a 100x166 mm tin sheet, 0,5 mm thick -- I choose the thinnest one as it was the cheapest... A soft alloy consisting of 92,5 % tin, 5,5 % antimony and 2 % copper. I've always been very fond of tin/pewter, not least due to it's long history. I've also seen some fab works by pewtersmiths over the years, which has also made me appreciate tin. I've been wanting to work with tin for years now. Who wants silver when you can have tin?




The necklace is not made by me. It's one my mom bought for me once, made by a Swedish artisan (don't know the name). This heart shows some of the things I'd love to learn: how to engrave or diamond cut pewter and creating a contrast between the shiny carved recesses and a mattened surface.




As with other pewter items, tin jewellery is often stamped. It increases the value to have a stamped year code, the word tenn (= tin, pewter) and the maker's own stamp. In this case, the artisan has engraved his or her initials. If making jewellery, I'd like to do that too. And not just because it increases the value. Pity these stamps are so expensive...




But I digress... Right now I'm sooo far away from making my own tin jewellery, talking about hallmarking and stamps is getting ahead of things.

I have a second piece of pewter jewellery too.

This is a cast tin pendant, part of a series depicting the churches in Bjäre hundred (härad). As a kid I used to sing in the children's church choir in Hov so therefore I wanted to buy this necklace even though it might otherwise be more logical to buy the pendant for the church in the parish our hamlet lies in. Not being christian, that wasn't very interesting to me, I wanted it as a memory of the years in that choir.


Apart from the other above mentioned techniques, I'd also be interested in learning some easy casting methods. Perhaps never creating something as spectacular as the component and beads below, but having some fun water-casting (as in the old new year's eve tradition) and sand-casting. That last one is a small pewter button, one of the many Norwegian pewter buttons I own. I like the often folkloristic motifs that are used as the button often are made to be sewn to traditional or rustic knitted clothes.

But for now I only have one thing: this soft, pretty thin sheet of pewter. I must get a saw soon so I can at least cut out pendants and shapes. And my own drill -- being able to make holes is very useful. Don't have any gravers, but I have papers to acheive that matt surface I want. And I've got lead-free tin solder. Then I guess I must find a good book or online tuts for more directions. I'm usually self-taught, but if I had the money I'd love to take a course in pewter jewellery making.

A walk down memory lane

No piccies today. I've had other things to do so pics of my new loot have to wait. But I still wanted to mention today's events.

We went to the nearby village to pick up a much awaited parcel containing among other things pewter sheet, oxidizing liquid, steel wool and tin solder for me and leather scraps and a stone tumbler for my sis. And when there, after carrying this 10 kg package to the car a few km away and then waiting for a friend, we got an impulse to walk to a craft and embroidery shop we haven't visited since childhood. We used to have so much fun going there, buying craft supplies, embroideries and yarn. At least I think we did because the memories are fading. What I remember best is the storefront as we drive by the shop often, the main street in Båstad also being the road you have to take when going from Bjäre northwards. So I've passed by year after year without actually visiting the shop.

Felt very nice to visit it again today. Didn't buy much as I'd already spent much money, but I ended up buying some pretty satin ribbon I hope will inspire me with their rich colours, some beads on sale and a couple of old, old pamphlets about a craft that hasen't been trendy since the 70's or 80's: stocking flowers. And if I won't make any stocking flowers, the shapes are also used for making another type of flowers I've seen in one of my Japanese craft books where wire shapes (petals, leaves) are dipped in a tinted acrylic dip and then assembled. Don't have that particular dip, but a good thick epoxy resin will probably do just as well.

And unusually enough I didn't even buy one ball of novelty yarn. Not even one on sale. And I forgot to ask about crochet yarn for a necklace I'm making for mom (got the beads in the mail today). So: didn't buy much, but it was a very nice shopping experience.

The name of the shop? Broderi & Pyssel on Köpmansgatan 89 in Båstad.

Philosophy tags -- words, more words

I keep saying how I'm not really interested in word charms and beads -- and then I buy some... But I thought these Philosophy tags from Tim Holtz' Idea-ology line were kind of cool. They had a bit of old time feel about them with the font used for the numbers and a somewhat more "rough" style than most word/affirmation charms. And industrial or army type of atmosphere.

So therefore I bought a package and split it with my sis, who also liked these. Like with my Diane Hawkry word bead, I just felt that this time it was made in a way I liked. And as with my dream-create-inspire bracelet, I found a couple of words I liked, which didn't sound too bland, common or pretentious. At least not when I used them and when combining them -- of cause the words on their own are so common they're cliché.

'Wander' was the one word I haven't seen that often in this type of charms. I like to wander. And to daydream*, which is intellectual and imaginary wandering really. Unlike the journey, wandering has no goal and so the wanderer is sometimes seen as being less than the traveller, who doesn't walk about aimlessly, undisciplined.

...and then it makes me think of this one verse the whole time, "I wandered lonely as a cloud". I'm not from an anglophone country so Wordsworth's poem is not one I hear very often. It might be so well-known it's like a cliché to everyone who have had to read and analyze it in school. I haven't done that. I first heard about the poem in a cookbook of all places (a lovely book by the way, Sannas kokbok by Sanna Töringe). So for me it's still a "new and fresh" poem. And I still only know the first stanza, never really read the whole thing...


*Sadly daydreaming is still concidered lazy and rather unproductive by many so that may account for why I don't see that word in affirmation charms that often, but I disagree. And I'm not the only one. Of cause, it depends on how you daydream and some of what I see as daydreaming, others see as a contemplation or meditation, excersices to rejuvinate and gather new energy. Also, you can daydream while working if you like me have a somewhat tedious seasonal job like setting and picking potatoes: it's either that or talking to the others on the machine or work would be extremely boring and slow.

Sometimes I use that daydreaming time to design jewellery in my head of explore colour schemes. Or contemplating what beads to buy next week. Besides, you got to dream. It's like magic: it might not be real, but sometimes you need that little spark in life, either to cope or to get inspiration.

But if the word daydreaming sounds lazy to some, heck, then just call it visualisation -- that's very productive, at least according to the psychologists. Einstein, da Vinci, Beethoven -- they all daydreamed "about their area of success" according to Wikipedia.

SoftFlex Trios giveaway

This is the last week of eight with the SoftFlex Trios giveaways over at SoftFlexGirl's blog. This time it's the new Festival of Lights mix that's on stake: high quality beading wire in the colours Dark blue lapis, White quartz and 925 Silver (from the Extreme range). All wires are 49 strand except for the silver wire with 19 strands.

This is really a winter mix with the dark blue together with white and silver. There's a pretty necklace by Jamie Hogsett in their project ideas page using this Trio. Perhaps gives you a better idea of how the wire look when used together.

Winners will be announced tomorrow (26 July) at noon so be sure to get over to the blog soon for a chance to win this package.