Home Naming

I was thinking the other day about the names we give things when I was on a friend’s boat called The Merling King. We took a cruise around the harbour with beautiful weather accompanying us and the captain kept referring to boat by its name which really gave it a special feel and made the whole experience just that much more wonderful! I started thinking about how naming things just made them that much more special and gave them more sentimental which was great. I think we should start naming more things in our life to make things familiar and memorable. We name our pets and soft toys as kids and obviously each other, but some other important things such as our home and phones which we use every day and are very personal objects.

I did some Googling around and found this website dedicated to naming your home. Apparently you can get pretty serious with it and change your address on postage activities, bills and even your council records. The site has some tips for naming your home – making it relevant to your passions and interests, getting the family involved and even throwing a kind of baptising party for it (sounds like an excuse to invite friends over but that’s not a bad thing!).

The site had some examples where people named their homes after their families using name combinations from their family (not really my thing but it would depend how it sounds), the area, their interests and lifestyle and the look of the home. There’s a cool little tool on the website where you can create a virtual plaque for your home and style it a little bit so I created my own for my apartment. It’s named after my number 1 passion and hobby – this blog! Aside from the I love decorating and styling my home and choosing new themes for each room each month so the name makes total sense there too! Here it is:

Taking The Right Care For Your Charms And Jewellery

Being a recent amateur Pandora collector and part fanatic I’ve grown much attached to my small collection of treasured charms. I’ve never had much experience with cleaning jewellery and some materials that I have never had to try and clean before like glass and leather bracelets. It’s not as easy as you might think to clean metals, but something that is against your skin and exposed to air can get quite dirty, even when I work in an office all day. Each kind of metal and material needs to be cleaned in a special way with a different kind solution or cleaner. Here’s what I’ve gathered for myself from the official jewellery cleaning tips and my own research.

Gold From my knowledge, gold isn’t so bad to clean as it is the less reactive of the precious metals out there meaning it will tarnish less and can be cleaned by most things. Nevertheless, gold is quite expensive and also notoriously soft and can get misshaped. To wash it from simple dust, oil and dirt you won’t need too much. Some dishwasher detergent in water of carbonated soda water to help lift the bits of dirt from the jewellery surface. Soak it for a bit then clean with something tough but not too rough, stay away from steel wool dishwashers as gold is soft and can scratch a little easily remember! If there are gemstones then they are likely glued to the sockets so don’t submerge it in solution but clean it with brushing. I’ve also read a lot of things about using chemicals to clean the gold, but in the wrong concentrations this can damage the gold so I’d stay away from home methods and go with any jewellery store formula which I’d also default to for any unusual stains!

Silver The tarnish on silver is a chemical reaction that changes the colour of the metal to an unpleasant brown and dulls the natural brilliant shine of silver. Don’t confuse it with oxidised silver than is a deep grey, done on purpose to some Pandora charms and bracelets! Tarnish results from general wear and accumulated dirt. You’ll not want to go too hard on silver with an abrasive cloth or brush as it can scratch, dulling the metal. From my experience the best way to clean tarnish is with the boiling water, salt and baking soda method that chemically reverses the change in metal! This means none of the precious silver needs to be rubbed off. Dry just by dabbing with a soft cloth. Again go to a jeweller of professional cleaner to get your more expensive charms or those with gemstones cleaned. For my couple of silver rings I’ve gotten a jeweller to clean the metal and stone carefully.

Leather From a local store I was able to find a leather cleaning solution. The instructions were simple and fairly straightforward to clean with a soft cloth. I’ve only used it for daily maintenance of my charm bracelet when I wear it and haven’t had to deal with any major stains yet (fingers crossed!). From what I know cleaning with soap is also a good way is you use only the suds when mixed with water. Also, don’t dry with heat as this can shrink the leather and make it last not as long.

Mostly I guess the best cleaning method is keeping your bracelets and charms stored safely and away from serious stains and scratches. I always remember to take mine off when I’m off at the beach or somewhere unsavoury for my jewellery! If you’ve got something really unusual happening with your bracelet or jewellery then Pandora usually does a great job at with their service policies.

Glass Charm Beads - Pandora Charms

Yes, it’s another Pandora charm post. I’ve become a total fanatic in the past few months with these charms and by far the charm that I’m most enamoured with are the Murano glass charm beads. These are one of the most intricate and detailed types of charms in Pandora’s collection, made using the ancient art of glassmaking that was popular in Venice. The method of making glass layers glass on top of each other, allowing for various patterns and colours to make up a complicated design.

 

Pandora makes extensive use of the Murano glassmaking technique to create some truly stunning charms. Many of my favourite charms have a base glass pattern, stained with dyes and then a clear outer, thicker layer of clear glass that plays visual illusions with the patterns of the glass trapped within it. Here are a few for you to see the effect:

 

There are also heaps of charms using the layering technique in the opposite way: the patterns and colour are tinted on the outside of the glass charm and at time the spaces between the patterns are clear to let you see the coloured glass below. These simple layering of colours and the natural reflective properties of glass can make for some elegant and surprisingly colourful and cute designs. My personal favourite charm, and not looking at glass charm is this lady bug charm which has tiny white beads fixed to the outside surface as eyes that goes perfectly with the blue, white and glass exterior pattern.

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

The last type of Murano glass charm that I know of from Pandora is those multi-faceted charms of just coloured Murano glass.  The glass is cloudy, but not in a dirty way, it ends up creating a more dreamy and fluffy look within the glass. These are very different from the other smooth and sharp Murano glass charms, but have their own unique kind of addition to your bracelet. Pandora only released these in about 7 colours and haven’t really looked into different types of faceted glass charms, but we might see a few more in the future.

 

If you’re wearing Murano charms on your bracelet then it’s probably best to work with other more laid back charm in terms of detail and colour because you’ll want the eye to catch on the intricate and colourful glass patterns the most.

Cool Travel Video!

Hi again!

Another short and cool video I though I might share with you all. I stumbled across this one while looking for some travel ideas for a vacation I've got planned in the coming months (can't wait!). The video from the travel company Gecko's Aventures features a lot of scenes from Africa and some extreme travel ideas to really get into the culture of the country - my kind of adventure! Here it is below.

Just a little upbeat something to get you into the weekend!

Another Cool Health Insurance Video

Choosi health insurance have released another video. The video just popped on my feed and it's just as funny as the first one I posted here. Here it is below:

 

Can't wait to see what they come up with next...Who though advertising insurance would be interesting? They must hire some creative people.

New Years Resolutions & Life Insurance

Not the most exciting topic I know. But recently I've been tasked to find some life insurance for my family, being the 'computer expert' and all. This meant sitting through tonnes of super boring ads talking about quotes. However, I found this video from Australian life insurance company Choosi that was at least a little bit entertaining. Here it is. I found this on YouTube after seeing a Choosi ad on television and searched for the brand in YouTube.Anyways just wanted to share my happy victory for the day. The video actually kind of made finding life insurance a little more bearable!

Charms For The New Year

 

With 2013 upon us it’s time to get ready to review the fashion trends of the Summer season and pick out pieces to wear that reflect the styles of the catwalks and flatter your overall outfit. I’ve just had a look at the Pandora collection which is currently running a charm bracelet  sale and have picked out a few items that will go great on your bracelets and make you look like a fashion superstar.

 

Embrace The Colour

This season’s trend is all about bold and fun colours so reflect that in your charm bracelets and other jewellery. This year’s sale includes heaps of pieces in beautiful Murano glass, my favourite charm material. The way the glass is coloured produces pieces that are slightly unique but all have this really great effect of vivid, swirling colours and a semi-transparent background. You can get a whole heap of styles and patterns that allow you to go from casual and funky chic to an elegant, polished style with specks of gold and highlights around the middle of the charm. If you can, match the charms with the theme colours of your outfit if you have one or go with a something completely opposite on the colour wheel to make your accessories pop and draw more attention to the jewels. If you don’t have colour then wearing simple neutrals such as silvers and whites to act as an effective base for the brighter shades that you are putting on. This is also a great idea for the new ‘white-out’ trend that’s been sweeping the fashion capitals of the world. Designers have got models all around the world in simple whites and minimalist designs. If you’re going for this try to dress down your bracelet as well, leaving a silver band or just a few simple charms to fit in the classy look.

 

Necklace Pendants

Of course in every Summer’s heat necklines will tend to take a dip for comfort, but this season the fashion of slash neck tees, collarless blouses and floral dresses will leave a lot of skin around the neck area to show off a necklace jewellery. Jewel studs are a great choice I think, for the floral and fruity colours to come this Summer to complement the outfit and bring together a theme very solidly. For more classy situations try pearls or simple necklaces decorated with beads of precious jewels that are just perfect with longer Summer dresses in floral prints and proper clutches.