I'm here!

Wow, sorry it's been so long. Nothing is more annoying than someone starting a blog and then never updating it.

The holdiays were a big zoo- I started a new job and placed all of my rosaries into a retail shop here in
Drumheller, so I've fallen really behind on updating my website. I took a few weeks off of making rosaries in December (aside from a few custom pieces), but I've got 4 brand new rosaries to post on www.avamaxine.etsy.com as soon as I get them photographed.

The good folks at Riverside Value Drug Mart in Drumheller have been kind enough to make space for my rosaries in their shop. They've got such a wide variety of things there- it might sound unlikely to sell rosaries in a drug store, but you have to see all of the neat stuff they sell. It totally works! It's good to have friends with retail space :)

I also had the good fortune of discovering Ebay- seriously. I'ma gonna need me an intevention. But I found the BEST stuff online- semi-precious stones that I've never seen before, vintage rosaries that I can rebuild. Drooool.

One of my new favourite kind of stones is picasso jasper: PRETTY!

I also bought some green turquoise. I'll post more once I get back into the swing of things.

Retail Madness

So believe it or not, I usually have a hard time during the holidays. Christmas is a tough one for me, because while I absolutely love the message and the meaning of Christmas, I really struggle with the rest of it. It's tough on me financially, and I usually feel splintered from my family and long for the Christmases of my childhood when we'd all be together. And now that both my mom and dad have passed on, I feel pretty lonely. This will be my first Christmas without my dad,  whom I was especially close to.My husband's family are all far away, and I know that he misses them dearly too.

Countering that, I now have a baby girl to help stir up some joy in me. While I am a practicing Catholic, I don't really have a problem with the idea of Santa Claus or reindeer or any of that stuff. I know many Christians would argue that Santa is blasphemous and takes away from the true message of Christmas, but I think it's okay as long as we don't loose sight of the truth. Really, Santa is based on a saint, and his whole schtick is to spread cheer and joy and make little kids happy. How can I argue with that?

Don't get me wrong, the ridiculous over-marketing and commercialism of the holiday is enough to make me want to barf. Example: Shopping in Wal-Mart the day after Halloween and hearing the cheesiest, schlockiest Christmas music piped over the speakers.

Sally is too young to really understand anything about Christmas. We went shopping at Cross Iron Mills today for something to do, and I forgot how insane Christmas shoppers are. Sally seemed stunned by the throngs of busy people. She was eager to get out and walk and run in the mall, but it was just so busy that she kept getting knocked around. I felt bad for the kid. She did enjoy the pretty lights and decorations though, and she was particularly enthralled by a shining star and light strand display. She lifted both arms over her head and tried to touch the sparkly things, cooing and talking a mile-a-minute. She's so funny.

But it waswatching all those people clamour over racks and shelves and each other, clutching SO many bags of stuff that I actually felt grateful that we don't really have disposable income right now. My husband and I are going to spend a little bit on Sally- maybe 2 toys, and I usually like to support a few of my favourite charities. I'm going to try extra hard to keep positive by spending time with those that are close to us and by remembering to take a few moments to pray when I feel sad.  I'm going to remember all the incredible blessings God has given me- my little family, a roof over my head, food in our bellies, friends that love us. I've got no reason to feel badly, and when it comes to missing my mom and dad, I can take comfort in knowing that they are safe in heaven and free of illness and pain. All the presents in the world can't top that.

God Bless,
A

A Brief History

Maaaan, I am feeling stoked. And buzzed from the giant mug of chai I drank to power me through finishing a rosary this evening. It's after midnight, but I can go to bed knowing that I don't have to worry about this order! It's for a friend's son's confirmation, and he likes red and black. So, I made him a rosary out of dyed red agate, smoky quartz and black wood. It's pretty sweet. And he's a teenage boy so I didn't go overboard on the bling either.

I thought I'd post some pictures of my very first rosaries that I ever did! I thought they were the greatest things in the whole world, not because they were particularly unique or even well made, but I taught myself how to do it and that was a big accomplishment for my awkward fingers!

Check this out:

I'd lay all the finished pieces out just like this and stare at the pretty colours and sparkly beads. And even though these beginning rosaries were made out of the most basic of materials, with no caps or crystals or anything, each one would take me nearly a DAY to complete. And the findings/crucifixes were just the cheapest of base metals- the supplier I work with makes their crosses and centres available in several different grades of material. I now use pewter or sterling, but back then I could only afford the tin and nickel. The white rosary on the far left is the very first one I ever made, and it took me 2 days and is truly pitiful. It's the only one that I have left from those days, and it hangs proudly in my bedroom in all its gnarled glory.

My dad was always my biggest fan, and he'd insist that I email him pictures of any new rosary I'd completed. I'd even pack them all up with me when I went to visit him, and we'd look through them and think of ways to improve them. It's stuff like that that is hard- I've made so many pieces that I know my dad would LOVE, and sometimes I make rosaries using his favourite colours or stones just because they remind me of him. I so miss his excitement and support and interest in my life.

This is a rosary I made a few months after my first examples above:

Carnelian and brass filigree. I still love this rosary, and I still love carnelian and gold together. This rosary went to a good friend of mine. I was really proud of this piece, it was the first time I took a few risks with the design and it looked so opulent. This rosary was the very first true 'Ava' rosary (re: blingy)

It's interesting watching the progression of my passion. When I started making these a few years ago I had no idea how much fun I'd have, how fulfilled I'd feel and how many eyepins I'd spear my feet on.

To many more beads, eyepins and sparkly things!

A

Brrrr.

Well hi there!

I'm a mombie (mom zombie) this morning. Kid was up all night with a boogery nose and a cough, so that means I was up all night rocking her and wiping that boogery nose. Aaaand, it's about -30 here in Drumheller (and forget the windchill, it's probably -2000) so I'm tired AND my feet are freezing.

But the good news is that I've ordered a bunch of new beads and I got some great stuff off of Ebay. I'm pretty new to the Ebay world in terms of my rosaries, but I think I got some great stuff, including some sterling crosses and a couple of vintage sterling rosaries that I intend to rebuild.

After many requests I've decided to branch out a little, so I'll be making rosary bracelets, vehicle rosaries (mini rosaries that you can hang from your rear-view) and the like. The good news is that these won't take me as long as a normal rosary and I'll be able to sell them for a little less.

My Etsy shop is quickly emptying! I can't keep up with the orders it seems. I have a few rosaries that I need to photograph and put online, but finding a quiet moment is a big challenge. Speaking of time, I see a busy, sick little baby trying to pull the contents of the bookshelf on her head so I gotta go!

Xo
A

Le Sigh

I'm taking a break from making stuff tonight. I have to share this link with you so you can see where I first came to love the elaborate and ornate rosaries that inspire my own!

Check this out- Baroque Pearl Rosary

Seriously. Amazing.

I actually bough my dad a sterling replica crucifix from this website and built him a rosary with it. It cost me a mint but it was worth it. I actually haven't purchased any other supplies from this site because it's so pricey, but I absolutely would love to! Maybe someday I'll get lucky enough to get a commission to use some of these gorgeous replicas.

I like this site too- Antique Rosaries. It totally satisfies the history nerd in me.

And of course, I like to check in here too.

If anybody knows any other sites that deal with beads or rosary parts, please feel free to share!

Xo
A

Snore.

I'm not too sure why I think now is a good time to sit down and update the blog! I had a request to make 4 'feminine' rosaries for some older ladies who are quite devout. I've got 2.5 rosaries completed so far- and I've been working so late at night lately that my eyeballs feel like they might drop out of my head. I'm really, really tempted to just call it a night and go snuggle in bed with the hubby, but I know I'll regret it later. Plus, hubby is snoring, and I'll likely just lay awake thinking evil thoughts about him anyway.

Alright, time to go back to work. I've got pearls and crystals to bead! And What Not to Wear is on the tube, which provides good background entertainment for me.


I'll post pictures when I'm done!

xo
A

Busy!

Holy moly, I've been super busy with rosaries! I find myself gently 'encouraging' Sally to go to bed a little earlier so that I can get to work on my stuff. I have an order to ship tomorrow that I needed to get done before I started work on another order, so I had to finish it this afternoon while Sally was awake. Wow. Try telling a 13 month old little girl that she can't touch sparkling, pretty-coloured beads. She looked so desperate to get her hands on everything that I started to feel kind of bad, so I gave up and packed it all away. I know that I personally would be super bummed out if nobody let me play with shiny, pretty things.

I'm trying to think of a cool way to make a kids rosary. It would have to be a pretty seriously constructed rosary, with fimo beads or something. I'll have to think about this one. If I could find little angel beads or flowers or something cheery, that would be awesome.

If any of you every wonder where you can find great beads online that ship out of Canada, I absolutely recommend www.beadfx.com. They are a little pricier than some of the US companies, but the quality is always solid and they ship super fast. Whenever I buy Czech glass I always get it from these folks. Plus, I don't get dinged hardcore on the exchange rate.

Sorry blog, I gotta go. But if anybody knows of any online bead stores that they think I should check out, please share!

xo
A