Diva's Weekly Challenge #45

I really enjoyed this challenge and I LOVE punzel! Once you do it, going back to Chainging just seems a bit anti-climatic. It's like chocolate - a little is good, but a lot is better!

My big problem now is my camera. There seems to be a yellowish oval blur right in the middle of the lense! I have no idea how it got there and I can't get it off. So I took the picture above with my phone. Not so great, but better than nothing, I suppose :)

Anyway, I'm hoping everyone has a great week and had as much fun doing Punzel as I did!

Diva's Weekly Challenge #44

Hello! I'm back with another entry in the Diva's Weekly Challenge, courtesy of the fact that I now have 2 whole days off a week! I feel a huge creative spurt coming on...yay!

This 'tangle within a tangle' began with a string made from Assunta, which is a very challenging tangle for me, but I love the way it forms Cadent in the middle. By the way, who needs diamonds? Auras are a girl's best friend! :)

Diva's Weekly Challenge #39 - 'Love is all you Need'

This is my first entry in the Diva's Weekly Challenge. When I think about love, I remember a girl named Cecilia who was taken away from this world too soon. Although I know she's in heaven, happily sitting at her Father's knee, I selfishly miss her. I love you, Cecilia!

January Gemstone of the Month: Spinel

Happy New Year everyone! Do I have resolutions? You bet I do! They are, in no particular order, as follows: Eat less sugar (no brainer), read my Bible regularly, give my children more life experiences, blog more, and watch every episode of Psych ever made. Some important, some not so important, but all worthy endeavors nontheless! So in order to fulfill at least one resolution, I have decided to add a regular post to my blog: Gemstone of the Month.

One of my favorite gemstones is Spinel. To help you with its pronunciation, let me put forth the following scenario: Elle Woods is at the gym (wearing fabulous pink workout wear, of course) and decides to take a spin class. Unaware of the rigorous nature of spinning, she is, not surprisingly, pedaling as if taking Bruiser on a leisurely ride down to the shops. The instructor, not liking her oh-so-casual attitude, yells, "Spin, Elle, spin!" There you have it. And since the most prized color of spinel is a beautiful, deep, dark pink, I think my story is most fitting!

Aren't they beautiful? Spinel has its own branch on the gemstone family tree, next to Corundum (Ruby and Sapphire), Beryl (Emerald and Aquamarine), and Diamond. It is a hard stone, rating an 8 out of 10 on the mohs' hardness scale, behind only Diamond and Corundum. This makes it great to use in jewelry that might take a beating such as rings and bracelets. The most important Spinel deposits can be found in Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), and Sri Lanka. Spinel was recognized as its own mineral just 150 years ago; before that it was classified as Ruby. In fact, many of the famous rubies are actually spinels, such as the "Black Prince's Ruby" in the English crown (see picture below), the 361ct "Timur Ruby" in a necklace in the English crown jewels, and the drop-shaped spinels in the Wittelsbach crown of 1830.

Spinel comes in various colors, such as orange, red, pink, blue, violet, dark green, and black. I enjoy using black spinel in my jewelry designs. I love the sparkle it gives my pieces and the fact that it is harder than other black stones, such as onyx, which is simply dyed quartz, or jet.

I'll leave you with an image of one of my necklaces, made with Black Banded Agate, Black Spinel, and Sterling Silver. Even though it's mostly black, it still has a fabulous sparkle and shine, thanks to one of my favorite gemstones, Spinel. Whaaat!?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone out there had a terrific holiday! I did, especially since I bought my own presents this year instead of trusting my gift-giving challenged husband to do it, which makes him just as happy as me! :)

This Christmas has been doubly great, as I've increased my dabbling skills yet again. I am now becoming quite talented at plastic toy assembly! Yay! I had the fantastic opportunity to put together a Zhu Zhu pet habitat, a Magic Rise Oven, and last but not least, a Disney Princess Castle.

And if that is not enough, I am also now dabbling in the art of Lego design. Anyone ever play Creationary? That game should come with a warning to Moms everywhere who can't tell a brick from a plate and need their 9-year old daughter to explain how to make a round light bulb out of square legos!

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday and I hope you enjoyed your day, too!

Dianne LeMay Studio now selling on Etsy!

Well, it's taken a while, but I'm finally selling my jewelry on Etsy. I'm very excited to be taking this next step! My pieces celebrate the unique beauty of opaque gemstones, pairing them with various transparent stones and sterling silver.

British Columbia Jade, Peridot, and Sterling Silver

Peruvian Amazonite and Sterling Silver

To see more selections, please take a look at my Etsy shop at http://www.diannelemaystudio.etsy.com/.

Yorkshire Mysteries!

Forgive me for not posting sooner, but I've been very busy making felted bracelets and my adult line of jewelry (which I'll be blogging about soon!). I've also been busy getting my young adult novel Yorkshire Mysteries, Book One: The Pilfered Pouch sold on Barnes and Noble.com as an ebook. My ebook can be read using Barnes and Noble's Nook, which is also downloadable for use on ipads, iphones, droid phones, and computers. My novel is the story of two young girls living in 15th century England.

Synopsis:
Bess Cardwell is wealthy, blonde, petite, and quite unhappy. Her mother died when she was only three years old, and ever since her father re-married and had another daughter, she has felt out of place and thoroughly ignored.

Jasmine Bowles is a butcher’s daughter, whose own mother died just one year ago. She is opposite to Bess in both appearance and circumstance, but is just as miserable.

When Jasmine accidentally knocks Bess down in the crowded streets of York, the two girls take an instant dislike to each other. Fate, however, will bring both girls together again as Jasmine witnesses the theft of Bess’ pink pouch in the marketplace just one week later. She sees the thief who stole the pouch and a mysterious man in black who ran after the thief. The following day, Jasmine is shocked when her friend, Harry, reveals to her that he has found five pounds, a pink pouch, and a dead body in the blacksmith’s stables!

The two girls will join forces to discover why Bess’ pouch was stolen, how Harry is involved, and who is the menacing man in black? The will also find out, along the way, that friendship born from misunderstanding can sometimes be the most enduring of all.


I wrote this book years ago and am extremely excited to finally have the opportunity to sell it in the Barnes and Noble marketplace. Now I might have to put my Dabbling aside and concentrate on writing the sequel!
To purchase, please go to:  http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Yorkshire-Mysteries-Book-One/Dianne-LeMay/e/2940012712943/?itm=1&USRI=dianne+lemay

The Fantastically Brilliant Fun of Needle Felting!

I found my new favorite thing to do - needle felting! No pesky sewing maching or trying to thread a needle with an oh-so-small eye...  Needle felting is basically attaching fibers together using a special barbed needle tool. In my latest creation, "Hooty Hooty Night," I used a base of wool felt and attached more felt, silk roving, and various yarns by needle felting. I then made my little felt owl and hand-embellished the lot. Stay tuned for more needle felting by me, the Happy Dabbler - Brilliant!

Felted Bracelets

Pay no attention to the little girl in the picture above! Look at the BRACELET. Hmm, I shouldn't have picked such a cute model, huh? :) That's my four year-old Jamie wearing my latest creation, a needle-felted and hand-embellished bracelet.

I made one for my eight year-old daughter, Elise, and one for myself. They're so much fun to make and really great to wear. If I can keep from dabbling in something else, I plan to make a bunch to sell at this season's Christmas fairs. What great gifts for all the little girls in your life!