Stability

 I know this blog seems dead and gone but it isn't. I have been traveling...moving...for a year now. Actually more than a year. I started packing my house back in Jan 2022. Since then I have been moving from place to place, often with only two suitcases. Most of my things are scattered in three different countries. Some I will probably never see again.

Just this last month I moved into an apartment I hope to be in for the next year. I spent the last few weeks getting my area set up to create, and I started making things again this last week. I hope to have my shop up and running soon, within the next few weeks if possible.

I have been playing a lot with my acrylic drops as you can see from this photo. I love these little swirls of color and I have trays of them all around me to pick and choose from as I create. I invested in some nice jewelry trays back in France and made sure they were one of the things I packed to bring with me. I am not sure if I will be able to find replacements when they run out so these may be a limited item. I love how good my drops look in these.

I have also been experimenting with my resin wings, using different methods to make a variety of styles. Each time I make a new set of wings I feel I get closer to perfecting the process. I now feel very confident I can make good, solid pieces that are worthy to put into my shop. When I first made my wings for my flight-of-dreams collection I made so many duds I had a whole box full of them. Now I rarely make a mistake. 

I hope to write a post on the making of my wings soon. And I am not only making wings, I am also going to add other whimsical items.

Stay tuned!

How Life Gets in the Way

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Autumn Tree

Hello all, I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer despite the high temperatures in so many places. I have been fortunate with the house here on the mountain. Since it is built into the mountain the downstairs maintains a nice cool temperature even on the hottest of days. It’s like built-in air conditioning without the cost! Though I think we pay for it in the winter.

Kumihimo Beaded Bracelet

I am steadily working on my new collection but I must admit it has been hard. Though I had high aspirations of working on design ideas when I was on my trip to the US, that was not the case. But I don’t regret this. I enjoyed every minute of my trip and all the people that I was able to visit. Then when I arrived home I was sure I would be right back at it but jet lag reared its ugly head and I wasn’t functioning for a good two weeks if not more. When I finally had a clear head I hit on another problem. My muse had left the building. I could not come up with one good idea so I spent the last month frittering my time away on a bunch of disconnected pieces.

Finally, I feel like I have a theme going and ideas are starting to arrive. Of course, as soon as this happens I have to leave again. A week away in Bretagne to go to our dear friends’ wedding. It’s true that I am looking forward to seeing them and attending the wedding but once again I am off course. I am not sure how to solve this problem. Each time I leave, when I return it seems to take forever to find my place again. I told myself that I would release four collections this year. Right now I think I will be lucky to get three done. I know there is no way to do four. Who knows, there might only be two.

A row of mica resin leaves.

All of this to say…I am sorry for any delay. I am here. I am working daily to make new pieces. This is a whole new way of working for me so I guess it will take time for me to find my groove. Does anyone else have this problem when they go away?

Finally

Another failureLast time I wrote here everything was still in upheaval. I was deep in the throes of unpacking and tying to settle into a life of living in two places. It took quite awhile to sort everything out and get to a point where I could create again. But time smooths most things and I fell into a rhythm. And finally, yes finally, I managed to complete my collection. The break-thru moment was when I was able to create the resin pieces I wanted. There are a lot of methods out there and I discarded them all. None satisfied me on their durability or looks. Now I am able to make pieces that I feel comfortable selling. Once this was accomplished I started to play 😉 I am constantly amazed at just what you can do with this amazing stuff! It’s like the strongest glue you can find. It is an amazing glass substitute. You can add things, build on it, just so much you can do!

sparkly, pink and bubbles. What's not to like?

So now my latest collection is finished and I publish it in two days. I am so excited to finally be here. I have learned so much along the way and gained much valuable experience. Making a collection is nothing like making one piece of jewelry. It involves a lot of planning and failure but now I feel confident to go forward with that knowledge and make another collection! And that is exactly what I am doing. I am already hard at work in my head, planning and designing a new collection. So I hope you enjoy my latest one “Flight of Dreams” and be sure to check back in the future for my newest creations. I will try to do better about posting my experiments along the way. I get so lost in the process that I often forget to take photos.os.

The End is in Sight

    So today marks one week until our move. Soon I will be back in a city. A new one for me and one that I love a lot. I will be living right in the middle of the beautiful and quaint city of Colmar. I will have a park for my front yard and another park for my back yard! I am hoping that the green will help me adjust to leaving here, where everything is green and the view from my window is breathtaking. 

I probably have a million photos of this view and it never grows old. It will be hard to leave it behind. This move will be good for me though and I try to remind myself of that when I grow sad about leaving.    

    Despite the move I have still been busy creating. This last week I worked hard creating over a dozen resin pendants with coral suspended inside as mementos for a friend from his father’s collection he had gathered in younger years.

 This was good practice for me. I have been slowly learning how to use resin properly and after this last bit of work I am feeling very confident with my abilities. This is a good thing because my new line of jewelry will involve a lot of resin. If you follow me in my facebook group you have been seeing a few peeks of what’s going on behind the scenes in the creation of my new line. I will be sharing more peeks there and soon hope to start an email newsletter sharing more. If you are interested in knowing what is coming up and when be sure to subscribe and join the group. I have plans for giveaways in the future and special discounts and if you want to be informed when the line will be released. Click here to join CymberRains Creations.

      This will probably be my last post until after the move. SO until then. See you on the flip side! 

Of Moving and Still Being Creative

   I have been quiet here since I finished my website, mainly because my life has been filled with things having nothing to do with my art. My husband and I have made a very big decision. We are selling our house and moving to the nearest big town here, Colmar. It is a much needed change but not done without some regret. I love this house up on the side of the mountain. I love the view, the quiet, being so close to nature. But I also crave the city, being close to what I need. I do not drive. This has been a true hardship for me. Since we are SO far out into the mountains we are the last stop on the bus line. It only comes to the town four times a day and makes running into town for a quick errand impossible. There is no post office of grocery store here. I am truly in the sticks! I am also alone most of the time since Frenchie works in Switzerland and stays there during the week. A change was needed.

   So we are finishing up our big remodeling projects. The bathroom is almost finished and the same with our new bedroom.  We will be moving in two weeks. There is still much to do so it is taking away from my creative time but I have not stopped at all! I live to create and so I find little times to sit and make. It keeps me going.

    I have changed my thinking on how I create and have decided that from now on I will create groups of things that run along a certain theme and release them all at once when they are finished. This is very exciting for me. It gives me a lot of room to brainstorm and come up with a great idea with lots of fun making more than just one piece. It is a great challenge also to make a group of pieces that are cohesive.  It is with this in mind that I have started working on my first themed set. My dear sweet daughter created a face group for me so I could discuss my upcoming lines. She is a great support for me and I think my biggest fan, haha! If you are truly interested in the work I am doing I suggest you join my group. I will be featuring giveaways and contests in the future once i get settled in my new home and things start rolling smoothly again. You can find my group here:  CymberRain’s Creations.

   I have been quiet here since I finished my website, mainly because my life has been filled with things having nothing to do with my art. My husband and I have made a very big decision. We are selling our house and moving to the nearest big town here, Colmar. It is a much needed change but not done without some regret. I love this house up on the side of the mountain. I love the view, the quiet, being so close to nature. But I also crave the city, being close to what I need. I do not drive. This has been a true hardship for me. Since we are SO far out into the mountains we are the last stop on the bus line. It only comes to the town four times a day and makes running into town for a quick errand impossible. There is no post office of grocery store here. I am truly in the sticks! I am also alone most of the time since Frenchie works in Switzerland and stays there during the week. A change was needed.

   So we are finishing up our big remodeling projects. The bathroom is almost finished and the same with our new bedroom.  We will be moving in two weeks. There is still much to do so it is taking away from my creative time but I have not stopped at all! I live to create and so I find little times to sit and make. It keeps me going.

    I have changed my thinking on how I create and have decided that from now on I will create groups of things that run along a certain theme and release them all at once when they are finished. This is very exciting for me. It gives me a lot of room to brainstorm and come up with a great idea with lots of fun making more than just one piece. It is a great challenge also to make a group of pieces that are cohesive.  It is with this in mind that I have started working on my first themed set. My dear sweet daughter created a face group for me so I could discuss my upcoming lines. She is a great support for me and I think my biggest fan, haha! If you are truly interested in the work I am doing I suggest you join my group. I will be featuring giveaways and contests in the future once i get settled in my new home and things start rolling smoothly again. You can find my group here:  CymberRain's Creations.