Why Not 1.

Why not be just happy about the most simple things in life? Just like...

- Compliments about the new ring I bought yesterday
- 5 pieces of pogácsa free of charge from the baker in the morning
- Sizzling indian summer in Budapest
- The hottest (or so they say) chili paprika bush which will provide components for the gulyás we plan to cook in the garden on Saturday
- The book written in the unique style of Amos Oz
- The textile seahorse that turned into a cute brooch today
- Killer Callanetics lessons together with one of my best friends
- My friendly cactuses on the balcony that I got from the Mom of another one of my best friends
- And: why not?

Green wedding earrings

I didn't really believe I could make earrings for a wedding - natural pieces of jewelry tend to be more ethnic than that but my friend again helped me to discover more of the possibilities and what I can do. She has been talking to me about her need for a nice pair of earrings for a wedding but I tried to avoid this task for lack of confidence in being able to make something that can work with a cocktail dress.

Well, in the end she succeeded and here is the result with the matching hairband. Actually I am happy she convinced me! We agreed on using my (and as it turned out, hers too) favourite mineral: tiger's eye combined with glass beads and a piece of shell.

The happy face in the end was well worth it!

SOLD

Theoretic questions about going on a holiday with your dog(s)

We are back from holiday but I promised myself that I will share one impression with you on the blog.

The subject is: where can you go with a dog?

The answer could be simple: anywhere! This is what I see in Austria for example - it is totally normal to go shopping to the mall with your dog by your side. In Hungary you just cannot do this. Malls are forbidden area for dogs, but to make you happy some of them organize one day per year when they open their doors to your best friend too. Wow, I should be impressed I guess...

But I know, I might be wishing for too much so let's just stay outside and discover our beautiful nature together. But forget about lakes, even the most remote and empty ones have huge signs at their entrance: dogs are not allowed! Well, first of all, we wanted a holiday to spend with our little "family" together so leaving them in the car is out of the question, just as leaving the lake is. This is what happened to us at every lake during our break.

Funny thing is, in the end we could enter all of these areas with our dogs and also swam with them in the cool water. So if the people who are there or even who take care of the lake don't bother, why the warning sign?

This all also leaves a theoretic question in my head just as the "dogs forbidden" parks of our country. What is the real reason behind? Dogs are dirty? Well, I travel on the tram with a lot of people who are much dirtier than our dogs. Dogs will piss in the water? They don't even do it in front of us when we go for a walk but they search for a hidden place. Dogs spread diseases? And what about men who forget to wash their hands after going to the restroom?

So the end was happy as you see: we were not forbidden. Only in theory. As long as it stays like this, I will leave my questions theoretic too.

SOLD

Marti

This won't be a long post as it seems that Blogger does not want to work properly today.

So I decided to just recommend one great contemporary film to you, made in Romania in 2010: Marti, dupa craciun ("Tuesday, After Christmas"). We saw it yesterday and loved it. All very realistic with extremely long cuts it was a bit like sitting in the couple's living room and watch their lives change.

Go and see it if you have the chance.

Hungarian flowers

The most beautiful flowers grow in Hungary. They come in every shade and on any item of clothing, our traditinal blouses and skirts are full of embroidered flowers. I even have a such embroidered jewelry-box which I got from my boyfriend probably in the first month of our relationship and this box always reminds me how wonderful our traditional culture is and how much we must nurture it as our treasure.

Nurturing sometimes means giving the culture new directions, presenting it in a new form, in new context, but not depriving it of its true self: its deeper meaning.

The reason why I love this pair of earrings is exactly because by making it I can express my respect for my own culture.

By showing you the flower I used for this hoop-earring I am also showing you my brand new price tag which of course is green, at least partly. Do you like it?

The color of friendship

Soon I'll be a bridesmaid first time in my life! And guess what, we will dress in green. It is not my wedding though and yet I am so excited - not about the formalities or the event itself but the things that are the basis of all this, the love they share, the passion, and of course, what will make me become a bridesmaid: friendship.

We met under quite funny circumstances five years ago. During these years so many things have changed and we have changed a lot too.

This is what I was thinking about when making these earrings today. Something simple, something colorful, something unique - just like our friendship.

SOLD

Step into the world

Some of these beads have been waiting so long that my heart was aching every time I looked at them in my bead collection. Now it was their time.

In my first post here I already mentioned that green is my favourite color. No wonder that this time again I built up the necklace around one single green bead, made of ceramic.

The best advice I ever got or read anywhere was not to create average stuff for average people because that is not what I am supposed to do. I have been thinking about this advice for the last days and I try to incorporate it into my works as much as possible.

I am sure that anyone willing to buy and wear handmade jewelry cannot be average, for they could as well buy plastic jewelry in Tesco which could still look good - but never unique or valuable. There is so much to discover in the world as well as in ourselves that we just cannot stop at any point in our life to develop in this process and we should never be afraid to get deep into what and who we really are - opposed to what and who the people and the world wants us to be seen. You just cannot spend too much time or energy on this. Be brave, step out of that circle you live in, step into the world, step into your world and find out what is there!

Normally I love delicate and bold jewelry too but I prefer bold pieces. This wooden necklace is an example for that.

I will put it on sale soon hoping that its new owner will wear it in good health and that my necklace will make her a little bit more herself: a braver, less average self.

SOLD

Mississippi

This weekend I had the chance to step a bit out of who I am and be somebody else. Not a different person 'cause it was still me but in the clothes of somebody else I was able to discover somebody else too inside of me. Tired of the fast lane, tired a bit of the same office, same email program, same faces every day, this was the best thing to happen.

We were at a masquerade party and I dressed up as Lady Gaga - don't ask what I was wearing...

This one evening gave me such a push, a big portion of creative power. Today I could hardly wait to get home and start working, I had so many new ideas in my head. Even though I made two earrings and one necklace I still feel like I could go on making jewelry for hours more tonight.

Here is one of the earrings I made: a pretty little ladylike piece for those who love rockabilly - or at least love being a young woman.

SOLD

A lively brooch

Green and purple - two colors that people don't usually think of as matching. But when they are paired in the right shade they can do wonders, it's the celebration of colors!

My favourite is green: light green, moss green, grass green, bluish green, "winsor" green (as I read it somewhere)... It is a very lively color and no wonder as it is also the color of life itself. Purple can be very clean and very dirty too. Here I linked the two shades with the silver bead, also a cold tone of the color palette.

I would love to see more color on people, we tend to be so boring in this sense, especially in winter. Everybody has at least one color that would bring the best out of them, go find it and wear it!

About the brooch itself: after doing all the preparation it was really fun sewing it, I just had to think well about it beforehand to have everything needed and to go step by step. It is really just a question of planning ahead. I want to make another one sometime and then publish a tutorial here so you can also make your brooch at home if you have the patience for it.

SOLD

Winter earring

Today I compiled a shopping list before going to my usual jewelry supply shops. I was already running out of time as they were almost closing (I don't know why they close so early, at 6PM) and I had to come out of both of them without having the most important things in my hands. So I searched further and found a really great store nearby. The staff were nice and friendly, even when I entered two minutes before 6, and I found all the things I was looking for and even more! Fortunately there was not much time left to take a look around, otherwise I'm afraid I would have spent more than just whatever was on my shopping list.

But these earrings were not made today. As you see, they are also winter creatures. Again I used the lotus flower as the basis and added everything else to it. I think that paired with a matching colour and material this little crop sells just about anything - so light, so special, so feminine.

Here it is - another photo taken with the help of my two lovely (and kind of hairy) assistants: Marvin and Indy.

An announcement

On this windy Saturday I thought about showing you one of my very early works. It again combines two of my favourite colours: green and white. This pair of earring can be worn as a statement, no other big jewelry needed if you want to keep it low-key but you can still add up a bold bracelet or necklace to it to create a more ethnic look (the kind I just LOVE).

It is not heavy but due to the size of the beads it is not the lightest wear either. You will notice it's there.

And a piece of good news: some days, maybe around two weeks ago I announced here that I decided for my ears to tolerate earrings again. For the last couple of months for an unknown reason they started to turn against my earring-mania and I could not wear any without my ears getting red by noon. I still don't know the reason. But I am happy to report here that my decision somehow just worked and I can again wear earrings! Isn't it wonderful how our inner self can control our body? Maybe I should try the same with my migraine...

Some of my faves

Three of my favourite materials here: wood, ceramic and shell. Two of my favourite colours: green and beige. And in the background: one of my favourite scarves, from Mexico. If I ever go back there I will buy it in every colour combination that exists, for sure.


SOLD

Green earrings for Kata

To start the blog off I present here one of my very first works which I made not for myself. As for most beginners, I also experimented (and still do of course) on myself to make my technics more polished and find my own path, materials and style. I am still well on my way to get there so please do not get over-critical, but still, any opinion is welcome unless it expects more from me than what I am currently able to do. Hopefully I will improve from one piece of jewellery to the next one, thank you for the patience!



The earring was a present for the sister of my boyfriend whose only request was something green. In the end she only received it for Christmas accompanied by a bracelet as even though we both live in the same city we just could not find the time to meet. I was happy to make something green, this is my favourite colour but after a certain point you just cannot afford to have one more green thing on you without looking like a total idiot.

My overall philosophy is avoiding the usage of any artificial material as much as possible. I prefer working with wooden beads, ceramics, textile, or whatever I can find during the long walks with our dogs in the woods or on fields. The one thing I cannot wear on myself and also hate to see on others is plastic, please do not expect me to work with anything such.

Later on I made another pair of the earrings you see here but this time using pink as the base colour matched with black and of course the small beads were slightly different too. Unfortunately I failed to take photo of that one before giving it to my sister - I might do it next time we visit her at home.

So welcome to the blog and come back again! And do not hesitate to ask for any jewellery you would like for yourself, I wil be happy to make it for you!