Certificate 2 - Yay!

I finally applied for my certificate and now I have something to show for my time attending Tech College last year. And yes, I am going to frame it and hang it on a wall! 

This was a big deal for me, I left school the first time 40 years ago! (oops showing my age now!) so going back into a formal learning environment definately challenged me and I was often out of my comfort zone. 

I'm so glad I did it though :) 

 

We're heading off to Queensland this week for our 4 wheel Drive holiday that I wrote about earlier.

As it's a charity drive they'll be some fundraising auctions along the way. I'm donating the jewellery below - hope it gets some bids ;)

We'll be in some remote areas so I doubt I'll be blogging - I'll update when we return.

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Bali

In July we had the pleasure of a week's holiday in Bali.
Aussies, particularly those of us from the West are very spoiled in that it's a mere 3.5 hours flying time to Bali. We can be in a tropical paradise in the same travel time that that it would take to drive down to our State's beautiful South West Wine Region.  That and the fact that there are in excess of 60 Perth/Bali flights per week make it a popular international travel destination when we're not travelling locally.

Jewellery making readers of this blog know Bali as the place that those intricate Granulated and Filigree Sterling Silver Beads come from. And while Bali is the home to many talented Silversmiths it is so much more.

 

It's a place of contrasts - it's a place where you can trip over the uneven pavements and jump over the open drainage holes while making your way into the latest designer stores, or you can find yourself bargaining vigorously for a pair of "faux" designer sunglasses that end up costing a mere $3 in the markets.

Left: Gridlock Bali Style   Right: Kuta Roadside Temple

It's a place where you can pay $10 for a glass of wine in the hotel or opt for a cool Bintang Beer straight from an Esky for under $2 from a local beach bar while sitting under the shade of a tree on Kuta beach.

Left: Under the Shade At Kuta Beach   Right: Legian Beach

I looked out from my 4th floor balcony of the hotel and looked over thatched rooftops of people's homes. But it's not all shopping, eating and drinking. Away from the shops, and the motor bikes and scooters, Bali has beautiful countryside and culture to explore - Kintamani & Ubud and lots more.

View from our 4th Floor Hotel Balcony - The Haven, Seminyak

We took a day trip to the Ubud Area, renowned for it's Art Markets. I bought this beaded Wicker Basket. The bead weaving is done in 2 drop peyote stitch. This was a stitch I enjoyed in my Bead weaving days.Having bought this,  I was thrilled and horrified at the same time. Thrilled to own a piece of this work (I got it as a pressie for my daughter) but sad at the low price we paid for the hours of work that this would have taken. We paid 100,000 rupiahs which is about $12AUD.  Having said that, our driver said we paid an OK price (as in weren't ripped off) but 80,000  rups would have been better!

 

Bali's a great holiday with lots to see & do and lovely countryside and culture to explore but by far, the greatest asset Bali has is the Balinese people :) Pin It

Up, Up and away .........again..........

Sterling Cast Ring - plane cast from son's old Micro Machine Toy

Barely a month home from our holiday in Broome and I was back in the skies again flying to Singapore!

This time my daughter choose me as her travelling companion for her very first overseas trip and treated me to my ticket to Singapore for Mother's Day. It was a quick trip of just 4 1/2 days away, to fit in with her R and R from her job in Port Hedland.

It was great to spend time with her and we had a fantastic holiday, saw as many sights as we could cram into the time there, and when we weren't sightseeing we were shopping...well I'll rephrase that - she was shopping and I was keeping her company while she parted with her hard earned cash although I did pick up a pair of shoes or two for myself :)

Planes and airports play a big part in my life it seems, Husband and daughter are both "Fly in, Fly out" workers, so I'm doing the airport runs on a regular basis, I could pretty much put the car on "auto pilot" and it'd find it's own way there.
Early June - back out at the airport - International this time, to see my son off to London.
He's doing the backpacking thing around Europe for the rest of the year. Pin It

Beautiful Broome!.

In April we went up to Broome for a five day break. It's a couple of hours or so on the plane North of Perth.
Broome is just magic and has everything I love about our State's Northwest, I just love the colour of the ocean, the colour of the rocks and the pindan (red sand) and the fascinating plants! Here's some pics.......

From the plane as we crossed over the coast descending into Broome.


and the view from the veranda of our room at The Cable Beach Club - our own personal rainbow!


A neat twisted tree - have no idea what it is...


At Gantheaume Point - my favourite spot at Broome - loved this cool rock!

The beautiful Cable Beach


and finally can't go with out a Broome Sunset - taken from the Sunset Bar while enjoying a glass of wine!

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In the Press!

I was very excited when my rubber and Sterling Silver earrings were featured in the current issue of Local Lifestyle magazineScoop.

Here's the cover- click on the images for larger versions of the pics:



and here's the feature - I love the styling:



And a close up...



The earrings are currently in stock at Behind The Monkey

In the middle photo you can also see a Rose Necklace which is also available at Behind the Monkey and was designed by talented Perth Local, Sarah Gazia. Pin It

Broome Holiday

First of all - here's the reason we went to Broome - to celebrate our daughter's 21st with her - she went off backpacking in April and got a job there and hasn't moved on....yet....
Here she is with her new best friend Dom............!!!!



Our baby has grown into a delightful, independent, young lady whom we are so very proud of :)



Words can't describe the beauty of the coastline in the Kimberley - this pic was at Gantheaume Point, not far from Broome.



Apart from seeing our lovely daughter, the lure of the ocean was a bonus for Mr GetSilvered.......here he is showing off his spoils from a day on the beautiful azure ocean



But it wasn't all blue skies and Azure oceans - we had fun at ladies day for the Broome Racing Carnival - nothing like the combo of alcohol, horses, designer labels and red dust! I won $45 on my first bet.....and promptly lost it all on subsequent bets, but it was better than losing my own money!



The hat was too big I might add (I'm the short person!), and is a little worse for wear after being shoved in the suitcase for the trip home!

Finally I'll finish this post with another shot taken from Gantheaume point - I honestly think this is God's own country and my little holiday snaps no way do it justice :)

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