Category Archives: Jewelry Making

Aug1

Crafty Weekend Update!

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Crafty Weekend Update!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity! L came to stay the weekend and we crafted up a storm in Mama’s Craft Room! Part of my See one, Do one, Teach one, I showed her the ins and outs of metal stamping, metal embossing, and using alcohol inks on metal to the best of my ability. Great fun was had all around and this was the one piece we completed, after all the experimenting:

Isn’t she lovely?! Shh.. don’t tell her I posted her pic on the interwebz.. šŸ˜‰

We also spent an evening on our annual pilgrimage to Cafe Monet! We were a few months behind, and ended up being a tad rushed, but I cannot WAIT to see how our tiles and my platter turn out! Every year for the past four years we have been going, and it’s so fun to see the dramatic changes in the pottery after it’s been fired. It’s also great fun to bring home and collect these tiles that I plan to turn into a table top! Adler was not a team player, however, and ended up only “helping” me with my platter, and didn’t actually make his own.. which I kind of regret now, since Valerie was his age the first time SHE made one.. ah well. Maybe we will have to make a second trip sometime soon.. I will share them with you after we pick them up Thursday.

Also over the weekend, I finally started and FINISHED an idea that has been morphing deep within the recesses of my brain since the beginning of July. I’m on a Wire Working Etsy team, and they were having a monthly contest: Bugs! So for the entire month of July, I have been pondering, forming and growing this dragonfly in my head, waiting for just the right moment for it to hatch:

I call it “Dragonfly in July” and the tune of Reading Rainbow floats through my head every time I type it!I took a few pictures in different light qualities, so you can see just how awesome it looks no matter how bright or dim. This would look great on a chain or leather cord, or even if you just wanted a sun catcher in the window! The head and tail are gold sheen obsidian, with a labradorite and lapis body, flanked by wings in apatite, amethyst, green aventurine, and quartz, wrapped with love in copper. The labradorite has a nice flash, as you can see in one (or two..?)Ā of the pictures. Flash is hard to catch in a photo! Ā As per my usual, I procrastinated just enough to light a gentle fire under my arse to meet the July 31st deadline, and I am very excited and pleased with the results. Ok, it was a roaring bonfire, but who’s askin?? Ā I do have to say, working with those tiny apatite chips was horrid. I kept smashing them with my tools. I think I will keep the rest and set them in resin….. yea….. I can see it now…………………………*daydream*

Ahem.. anyway. I have many more new items that will be coming out soon. It has been an incredible balancing act between jewelry making up in my Craft Room during the day time, and after the kids are in bed, crocheting my fingers off to get the flower girl dresses done for the upcoming wedding!! I exagerate. They are crocheting up quickly, and I only restarted Valerie’s dress three times before I got the top looking right, and then only redid the arm holes four times until it was just right =D Ā But that’s why I did Valerie’s first, to check the gauge, yadda yadda. I am going to try and squeeze in a little bitty dress, too, for baby E! Hopefully, I will have plenty of time. If not, it’s a LOOOOOONG drive to Oregon, so I’m sure I’ll get it done before the wedding šŸ˜‰

Well, until next time, keep on keepin’ on! =^..^=

Jul15

Cabs II Class Fun!

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Cabs II Class Fun!

I had been looking forward to this class since it was first mentioned months ago! In fact, I’d been looking forward to it since I took the Cabs I class! Dr. Karen Meador, Ph. D. of Dreamcatcher Designs TX, creates an environment of learning through wit, fun and natural inclination, in which it is impossible to not come away smile on your face and new skills in your pocket. Through gentle sternness, she was able to tame ourĀ rambunctiousĀ group this afternoon, and we managed to create not just one, but TWO wonderful pieces! (I am going to start bring my camera to class, to take pictures during the creative learning process!!)
We had a great group of students today, and I really enjoy the company of the ladies who were present! I met a few new faces, and was glad to see the few I already knew!
Here are my two pieces, after I polished them with a good ol’ Sunshine polishing cloth when I got home:

I love them. The stone in the little one measures exactly two centimeters. I had never wrapped anything so small! But I selected that cabochon specifically to challenge myself. The wrap on it is a creation of Karen’s and *I* call it “Karen’s Hug Wrap”. I think after learning how she made it directly from her, and hearing her descriptions, and the background of how she came up with the concept, it makes perfect sense!
Here are a few pictures of that one from slightly different angles:

Of course, I had to add my favorite additions: tight little coils on either side. It just wouldn’t be *me* if I didn’t!
The larger pendant was another fun challenge. See those little prongs? That’s what holds the stone in the wrap on both sides. It was fun to learn, and I can’t wait to experiment with more ideas Karen gave us, as well as come up with a few of my own! Here is that one, a little closer:

I really need to get the Muscle to build me that light box.. too much glare! It takes away from the stone. I had a great time, and look forward to the next installation of jewelry-making education: Hot Stuff!

 

Later on, back at home, we took the kids out to play after dinner. We could see a storm rolling in, and managed to snap a few pictures before it got too dark:

I took these two with my hand-me-down Nikon D40. I do need a new lens on it, but she does what she can šŸ™‚ The first picture is actually the reflectionĀ of the sunset behind me and the second is the actual sunset. The world is a beautiful place, and I love where I live…

The Muscle decided to hang out for awhile, using his Nikon D7000 to try and capture a few good images of lightening. I’d say he succeeded:

Well, I have homework to do. Til next time, stay dry and remember, don’t take a bath or shower during a lightening storm! =^..^=

 

 

 

Jul13

When You Wish…

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When You Wish…

I have been busy! I have long wanted to try my hand at making a tree of life, and indeed I did make a few before. But I wanted to make something based on a feeling I had, a notion, a little voice in the back of my mind.. I don’t know how to explain it, but I sat down one day and my tree came to life.

I call it “When You Wish Upon A Star” andĀ have made several of these now. I will soon be listing them in my shops! I have many more tree ideas, among other things, and I am planning on getting them all created to my satisfaction in the next few days. I have been playing with rings lately. My favorite by far is my Lost Copper ring:
Ā 

I am quite pleased with it, and plan to make this and many more to list in my shops!

In other news, our “stained glass” was a hit! The kids had a great time being creative and getting involved in a different medium then they usually get to play with, and the results were fun and beautiful! I have really creative kids! We were going to draw our own pictures to use, but they started getting frustrated with it, so we picked out “coloring pages” that we found on the internet and printed them out. Then, we trimmed them to fit within theĀ boundariesĀ of the plexiglass that we bought at Lowe’s for a couple bucks a piece. We taped them to the plexiglass on the side we did not remove the protective plastic coating, and flipped it over. On the bare plexiglass, we traced the images with a black Sharpie. I had the brilliant idea that after the Sharpie, I would go back over the lines with my hot glue gun, thus creating a more stained glass effect by having the raised wells in which the paint would go, and not run all over the whole thing. However, my children have very keen eyes for detail, and as such, selected extremely detailed images. After outlining the major largest areas on Valerie’s glass, I decided we would forego it all together on Weise’s glass. Then the paints came out. I found “stained glass paints” on clearance at Hobby Lobby several weeks ago, and L brought over more, as I had asked her to pick up the two colors Hobby Lobby didn’t have-we now have enough to last us awhile šŸ˜‰
The kids painted and perfected, and the end results are fantastic!

Here are the awesome results:

Can you guess which is whose??? It was fun, and I’m sure it’ll be happening again soon! Well, it’s a raining afternoon, and I LOVE to craft when it’s rainy, sort of a meditation.. So, until next time, peace out! =^..^=

Jul6

Free Beads, JUST For Blogging?? Sign Me UP, Please!!

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Free Beads, JUST For Blogging?? Sign Me UP, Please!!
So I came across this post by following a post in the Bead Soup Cafe on Facebook, and thought it sounded like great fun!! It’s simple: If I win beads, I blog about it. As I create something with the beads, I blog about it. And when I have a finished product, I blog about it!? I can do that! I love that I am slowly but surely getting more and more involved in what sometimes seems to be a secret society, where one must learn a secret handshake, a code word, and have l33t jewelry making skillz just to be considered an applicant. I love connecting with more and more people who share this insane compulsion delightful love of taking raw materials and creating something beautiful and seductive to the senses, something that takes on a life of its own as it is created, and in turn becomes a living, breathing creature to behold and admired by all. Ok, maybe that’s taking things a little too far, but I do so get caught up in the creating that I do forget to stop and eat, take a sip of water, stretch and BREATHE. If it weren’t for the kitties, I would probably fall asleep sitting on my ball at my desk, roll slowly forward and wake up with beads stuck to my face. I get in a zone once I finally find out what the materials are supposed to become, filled with kinetic energy that threatens imminent implosion if my hands don’t work fast enough! Anyhoo, I digress. Free beads. Yes, that’s where I was. So, head on over to Fusion Muse and check it out! =^..^=
FreeBeads Contact

 

 

 

Jul5

So, What’s New?

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So, What’s New?

Well, after Ms. Marie received her green and brown freeform freshwater pearl earrings, she commissioned me to make her a matching necklace! I had already been thinking about how I could use up the remaining pearls I had after making three pairs of earrings, and had been thinking of a pearl necklace, so I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I played with the idea for awhile, to make sure it would work out as I pictured it in my head, and as it turned out, it was going to work perfectly!
Ā 

Being that it’s approximately 33.5 inches long, I had a hard time getting good pictures! The gorgeous green and bronze/brown freshwater pearls and soldered copper jump rings are from Magpie Gemstones, and I reshaped the jump rings into ovals to better suit my needs. The handmade clasp is strong, and the entire piece has been oxidized and hand buffed to bring out the copper’s natural beauty. This was such a fun piece to make, and I really love it!I just hope Ms. Marie loves it as much as I do!

Coming up, a necklace to match a cab I wrapped long ago, but didn’t feel it was worthy of purchase! A friend liked it, and requested it with a matching necklace, similar to Autumn Winds! Very excited about that! Of course, I will post it when it’s finished. I am also formulating and configuring a few ideas of some wire wrapped pendants that I will be offering on leather cord, satiny cord, or some such alternative stringing material.

In other news, we are making stained glass! Well, not exactly glass, but to the untrained eye, it could maybe pass for it! If you stand a few feet back.. no, a little father.. keep going.. about 100 yards.. there ya go! See?? looks just LIKE stained glass.. Pics to come. =^..^=