Valentine's Day Giveaway!

It’s a brand new year and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

What better way to celebrate than with my first ever giveaway?

Here’s what you can win…

Stunning Rustic Australian Mookaite Earrings – completely handcrafted

in my humble little workshop.

Each and every link in the chain, and those delicate little leaves were crafted by my hands in sterling silver. And with lovely, rosy mookaite beads to add a dash of colour.

At a total length of 10.5mm, they swing delightfully from the ears

and brush lightly against the neck.

Oxidized and brushed back to reveal a rustic, antique hue of silver.

“The landscape of the Australian outback,
captured in a stone.

Mookaite is so very reminiscent of the rich, red earth that envelops this sunburnt country.
It sticks in your pores
and doesn't let go of your heart.
It simmers beneath the midday sun
and keeps you warm as the sun sets
and the stars sparkle in the midnight sky.”

And here’s how you can enter:

1. Follow this little blog of mine [1 entry]
2. Mention this giveaway on your blog [1 entry] 
 (you may use the images above for this purpose)
3. Follow me on twitter @mariannmonika [1 entry]
4. Tweet about my giveaway and link
to this giveaway blog [1 entry]
5. Become a fan of my facebook page [1 entry]
6. Update your status with a link
to this giveaway blog [1 entry]

Leave a comment below for each entry you make.
There's a total of 6 chances to win!

If you already follow any of the above, you will still gain an entry, just let me know!

Entries close on Saturday 5th of February.

The winner will be drawn on SUNDAY 6^th of FEBRUARY, so be quick to enter!

 But there's plenty of time for shipping and gift-giving on Valentine’s Day!

Good Luck!

--- Mariann ---

xoxo

A Helping Hand...

... we all need one sometimes ...

These earrings from my 'Pollen Series' are heading to incube8r gallery in Fitzroy, Victoria.

All of the incube8r galleries

[ MELBOURNE - BRISBANE - SYDNEY ]

have set up display cubes for handmade artists wishing to donate to help the victims of the extensive flooding in Queensland.

100% of sales from these cubes are donated

to the QLD Flood Relief Fund.

Head on down to your nearest gallery to snap up
handcrafted goodies and lend a helping hand.

Artists wishing to contribute can find more details
on incube8r's facebook page.

To all those affected by the flooding

in Queensland,

New South Wales

and Victoria

- stay strong!

We are here to help

and you are in our thoughts every day.

--- Mariann ---

xoxo

Water Rising On All Four Sides...

Queensland is flooded.

Relentless rains from heavy, gorged clouds have emptied on the northern state of Australia.

The extent of the flooding is devastating.

Whole towns are under murky water.

Fourteen souls have lost their lives.

Many more are still missing.

The Brisbane River is expected to peak at 5.2 meters. And 40,000 homes are already affected. Power has been cut, and those with warning packed up their precious belongings.

Others had no warning at all, as river banks broke their boundaries with the force of an inland tsunami behind them.

Livestock has been lost.

Wildlife struggle to survive.

Snakes slither to higher ground.

Crocodiles are free to roam.

Many of the countless families have lost everything.

Not all insurance covers flooding.

When Victoria was alight with raging bushfires on Black Saturday and 173 lives were lost in one day, fellow Aussies opened their hearts to help rebuild towns and communities.

It's time for us to return the compassion and pray for those affected by the floods.

Until the end of February I will donate 15% of all sales from my etsy and madeit shops to the Queensland Flood Relief Fund.

Please click here if you wish to make additional donations.

You can also visit news.com.au for up-to-date information.

It's hard to imagine where one can go

and what one can do to escape,

when water is rising

on all four sides.

My thoughts and prayers are with the people in Queensland and northern New South Wales. Please keep safe and search for higher ground.

I know your spirits are strong.

You will get through this.

--- Mariann ---

xoxo

Little Ideas

Whilst working on my Pollen Series earrings...

...I kept breaking sawblades when trying to cut the looped wire.

Being a jeweller means:

-:- Constantly finding solutions to problems,

-:- Committing the solutions to memory

(I should really use that leather-bound notebook for this)

-:- And jumping for joy when experimenting

and it all goes to plan

(and adding to your silver scraps box

when it all goes horribly wrong)

On this particular day...

(which was hot and sunny, then hot and rainy, then hot and sunny again)

...the problem aforementioned was solved once and for all.

You see, when sterling wire is wrapped in large loops on a mandrel,and especially when it is quite thin,it doesn't hold its shape very well when one decides to saw-pierce them into separate little circles.

Thus, sawblades are broken, other loops below the one being cut are gouged by the sawblade, and Mariann gets very upset.

So the solution was to hold the looped silver in place,

and hold it there with masking tape at opposite sides.

With the sterling silver loops held in place...

... saw-piercing them was a breeze!

I hope this helps you too!

What tips have you learned along the way?

- Mariann -

xoxo

She Wears High Heels...

... in the workshop ...

Oh, yes she does!

- Mariann -

xoxo

The Pollen Series...

... truly organic ...

My mind is so mechanical.

Observing the symmetry of life.

Calculating angles,

shapes,

and dimensions.

But I can't help but be influenced by the organic,

haphazard

side of nature.

As such, my pollen series earrings emerged.

Oxidised sterling silver, dyed coral, quartz

and some with glass beads.

Listing in the shops midweek.

- Mariann -

xoxo

Our Wedding

 Damascus Steel, 9ct White Gold, Diamonds

from Studio Tola

 The Kiss

 My niece and our family friend's little boy

Signature canvas

courtesy of Lee from Lily-Lee Gallery and Studio

I am still speechless.

The perfect wedding can do that, you know!

A big thank you to Jonathan from

Jonathan Sander Photography

for our amazing photos
and

Victoria Golf Club

Home of the 2010 JBWere Masters

-Mariann-

xoxo

Road Trip to Kyabram

I love a good old fashioned road trip.

I stare out the window,

and have only a few words to say,

as I'm lulled by the scenery that speeds past the car window.

Country Victoria is so green at the moment, rather than the parched, sandy fields that I recall from childhood weekend holidays.

It is a welcome change and so refreshing to be heading into summer with the blessing of an abundance of spring showers.

The sheep and cows were so fat and healthy.

All the dams were full to the brim.

A delightful day.

We stopped in at Shepparton on the way home from Kyabram.

 

 

'Mooving Art' Sculptures in Shepparton.

A delightful day,

indeed.

-Mariann-

xoxo

My Hungarian Heritage

Sometimes,

You find yourself.

Before you even knew you were lost.

And a new chapter opens.

But a page is taken from the chapters that came before.

This is where I find myself.

Looking to my past,

and finding a new path to a brighter future.

I was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary.

Surrounded by chickens and grape vines and nettle leaves.

Tapestry hung from the walls, with decorated plates adorned with colourful folk art flowers.

I step back to these childhood memories,

and leap forward to the designs swirling in my head,

flowing out onto paper,

being filed and soldered into the jewellery I am creating now.

Folk art tapestry of old,

created with sterling silver and stones.

From a part of me

I hope you can cherish, too.

- Mariann -

xoxo

Marianna's Day

Today is the Hungarian Name Day for Marianna.

All the days in the calendar have a name for them in Hungary.

Name Days are often celebrated as one would celebrate a birthday, with flowers and cake and big hugs from grandma.

And today, it's my Name Day.

(Simon and I - dancing a traditional Hungarian dance on our wedding day. Oh, how I love my man!)

-Mariann-

xoxo