Blogs Getting SPAMMED...

Grrr...

At least one person, if not a few, have decided to SPAM some of my blogs... this is frustrating & I hope my comments back to these telling them I suspect they are SPAM will stop this from happening...

I DO LOVE READING YOUR COMMENTS... don't be shy about commenting, I do love hearing from people...

IF I have commented back to you & wrongly implied you are SPAMing - I'm sorry... let me know...

Thanks!
    Annette

Boutique Pics...

Yep, long overdue but finally here... pictures from the Boutique / Benefit Event...

Boutique went well...

I have been busy with the Boutique, the Benefit that went along with it (portions still ongoing), with my Mom visiting for a couple weeks, with Thanksgiving, with Christmas approaching way too fast...

Then there was the clothes dryer going on the blink, and a furnace that needs to be replaced...

Add to that my hubby's Band Christmas Concert (this Saturday), and the Church Christmas Production we're both in (this Friday & Sunday)...

So... please forgive my tardiness in updating this blog, I've tried to update the pages with items for sale to indicate what's been sold - I'll double check it tomorrow (?) and add pics for some earrings that haven't gotten in yet... and I hope to post some boutique pictures as well...   Should have some time while the guys are here putting in the new furnace tomorrow...

   ...until then...

Back by Popular Demand!!

Holiday Boutique!!

New & Updated...

Here are a couple new things (one is already sold) & an update....

First up is a new piece: Felicity

Felicity - Necklace in Sterling & Fine Silver with a Pink Opal

Also new, but already sold, is: Camille <she has two sides>
Note: she doesn't photograph well, much prettier in person, so glad the person who picked her up was able to view her first hand - it was a "love at first sight" purchase.

Camille (1 of 2) - Necklace in Sterling & Fine Silver
with a Shibuichi Ingot - this side has the rough side
of the Ingot & a frosted finish that continues on to the bail.

Camille (2 of 2) - this side has the smooth side of the
Ingot & a shiny finish.

A much needed update was made to: Savannah

   This is her OLD Look:

This is the Before photo - she's a bit "rough" compared to my later
pierced pieces, and her tiny stone didn't wear well... and I didn't like her finish.

   This is her NEW Look:
      She doesn't photo well due to her mirror polish, but she's quite lovely... and that
      stone is a very dark green...

Savannah - Sterling Silver with a mirror polish
with Indian Aventurine (very dark green stone)

She took a while...

This is a rather large piece, and she was a bit of trouble, but she's finally finished...

Introducing "Kate":

"Kate" - Sterling & Fine Silver with a Green Moss Agate

Like almost all of my pieces, Kate was made with a backless bezel.  Since this stone is translucent in places the color behind the stone will influence how she appears. The "frame" is made from 6 gauge 1/2 round Sterling wire, very hefty/sturdy stuff...

Some of the challenge comes from the fact that I'm soldering lightweight items (bezel wire) to heavyweight items, and it can cause the lightweight items to melt -or- earlier solder joints to shift -or- ...

Additionally, since there's no back everything is soldered to the bezel & so the solder joints can impact how well I can set the stone (so I must be very careful)...

I worked on this girl off & on for about 2 weeks, typical for a piece with these characteristics... once again I had to remind myself that I need to strive for Excellence not Perfection...

And now for her closeup...

What is that BLACK Stuff??

That's Stingray Skin... I have some dyed black Stingray Skin, so I cut it into the shape I wanted & mounted it on a piece of copper... then I made the setting...

This is "Kristine"...

"Kristine" - Sterling & Fine Silver, with Stingray Skin mounted on Copper.

A bit of a confession... I didn't plan on it, but she ended up reminding me of a crab, that's how she ended up with the name Kristine...

Putting in the missing pieces... then something fun for a friend!!

I needed to put together a couple things to fill out my selections...

Sterling Silver textured Heart dangles

Sterling Silver with textured Copper Heart
triple-dangles

Ok, this one was a request from a friend... I don't normally do requests, but this one was fun!!

70th Birthday Gift - you're not 70 you're 35 twice!

Getting Better All The Time...

... yep, humming a Beatles tune...

I've been doing a bit more hand-saw/piercing work, and had a couple failures along the way (hey - learning still), but my skills are improving... and I made some earrings to compliment my pierced necklaces (that's the way I roll)... oh, and I did another button flower cause I wanted to & my other one already sold... yep, way backed up on getting photos posted.

First, my problem children...

These 2 are mine (flaws), there are better ones below.

The one on the left had a drill bit break (see the little bright spot on the upper heart in the right lobe), but I needed the practice so I made it for myself.  The one on the right had issues with another tool, and I wasn't happy with it for a variety of aesthetic reasons... So, I now have a couple new pieces for myself (I don't make much for myself these days).

Now to my well behaved kids...

"Sally" - Sterling Silver, rough texture, pierced.

"Sally" closeup

"Heart Of My Own Heart" - Sterling Silver,
veined texture, pierced.

"Heart Of My Own Heart" Closeup

"Rugged Cross" - Sterling Silver, rough texture, pierced.

"Rugged Cross" Closeup

Some Simple Textured Earrings...

Small almond-shaped, Sterling Silver, veined texture.

Small almond-shaped, Sterling Silver, rough texture.

Large almond-shaped, Sterling Silver, veined texture.

Large almond-shaped, Sterling Silver, Rough texture.

Rectangles, Sterling Silver, rough texture.

Hearts, Sterling Silver, textured with little lines.

Hearts, Sterling Silver, rough texture.

Hearts, Sterling Silver, veined texture.

And my new Button-Flower...

"Scarlet" - Sterling & Fine Silver with a large dark red button.

Practicing my Hand Sawing...

Everyone seems to have their "least favorite" aspect of their work... mine is Hand Sawing...

I'm not good at it (might get better if I did more) & fight to keep my silver sheet steady while I'm doing it (my hands are a bit weak due to some health issues)... but I love the look & would really like to get better... so... I decided to "practice" a bit this last week.

This is the result... not fabulous but cute... 

Her name is Savannah...

"Savannah" - Necklace in Sterling Silver
with a tiny Aventurine bead.

Another little flower...

This is similar to a piece I posted a few days ago... but made in a little different way - I'm trying out a variety of methods to see what I like...

"Amelia" - Necklace in Sterling Silver

"Amelia" getting her closeup.

Aint She Sweet...

Just as a reminder... this was the idea I was toying with last time...

Well... here she is!!  My "Diminutive Daisy":

"Diminutive Daisy" - Necklace in Sterling Silver

A closer look...












And using a dime for scale...

New Earring Style & Toying with a new Pendant idea...

I'm continuing with a theme on earrings, and I have more ideas on their way, but here are the latest - almond-shaped earrings with a similarly shaped stone.

Sterling Silver Almond-shaped earrings with
Brown Rhodochrosite

I'm also toying with a new flowery style, this time using textured silver plate... here it is in its very rough prototype state... if it turns out you'll see more pictures in the coming days...

Lots of stuff going on this week...

It's been one of "those" weeks, you know, the kind where all sorts of things go wrong... sigh... luckily not everything was going wrong, and I was able to work out some of my angst by working in the studio....

I finally finished this piece, the stone had been set for a special project & I just couldn't decide on what I wanted to do with it (like creating a more elaborate setting)... finally I realized that I just liked it simple - so here she is:

"Natural Wonder" - Sterling & Fine Silver with a Fossilized Ammonite.

Next, while waiting for a plumber to come to the house (water heater leak), I worked on a small batch of simple earrings:

Sterling with Rhodenite

Sterling with Pink Opal

Sterling with Conglom Jasper

Stelring with Dragon Scale Agate

Sterling with Black Line Agate

Finally, I decided to do a necklace that looks like some of my doodles...  I'm really happy with how she turned out & think I may use her for the Cover Photo for my Facebook Page (it needs an update).

"Stella" - Necklace in Sterling Silver