Amazing Find from Stumbleupon - Toothpick Sculpture

I found this a few days ago while I was on Stumbelupon. I can't imagine the patience it takes to create something this amazing. There are more pics on flickr.

Toothpick sculpture of San Francisco by Scott Weaver



Random Website Find - CouponNetwork.com

As we all know, consumer prices are rising. If you do the grocery shopping in your family, I am sure you cringe when you notice the price of a loaf of bread, for example. Add the cost of gas to get to the store and, well, it all adds up.

I recently read an article about websites that offer coupons. There are a lot of them out there, but some of them are not reliable or honest. One of the reliable sites mentioned, is CouponNetwork.

CouponNetwork offers two ways for you to save money. The first involved printable, manufacturer coupons (like the ones you might get at the checkout line). These coupons have a “print by” date, and you can sort the coupons by this date if you choose.

The second way to save is through their YourBucks® offers. These are rewards that earn on future purchases. Once you purchase promoted products, you receive your YourBucks® offers that has a cash-like use on a future purchase.

Granted, there are not a lot of coupons and deals listed on this site (right now I see 16 YourBucks® offers and 33 printable coupons). But with the high cost of just about everything, it might be time to do a little comparison coupon shopping!

A Moonstone and Pearl Pairing

I have a couple strands of freshwater pearls in shades of lilac, and I realized they pair nicely with rainbow moonstone. I made two pair of earrings with these pearls and moonstone, and I have more ideas brewing.
A new necklace, perhaps?

Tiny Beads

So I have these tiny amazonite beads that I bought a few months ago. I intended to wrap them around sterling hoops or earwires that I make, which I did. But then I had the idea to stick head pins in them and cluster them around chrysocolla quartz. My problem is, I don't have any fine-gauge head pins. My solution: I made my own ball head pins with my butane torch.

I have made my own ball head pins with fine silver wire in the past, but making them with very fine-gauge sterling silver wire is, well, frustrating. I had trouble grabbing them with the pliers, and I had to make sure I didn't put them too close to the flame (I had one that partially melted).

I love these chrysocolla quartz beads so much, I am about to make another pair of earrings using them. And guess what? I need to make more ball head pins because, just like these earrings, my new pair will incorporate more tiny beads.

Taxes and Yard Work and Jewelry, Oh My!

I know I've been neglecting my blog this month; I was doing our taxes and creating some new jewelry. But taxes are done, the sun is shining… and now it’s time to do yard work! I tend to feel like a bear during the winter months. I hibernate and ignore any landscape maintenance until the spring!

But I have created some new jewelry pieces, including a couple necklaces and pairs of earrings. I had one of my necklaces (posted in my last blog entry) appear in one of the Etsy Finds emails. It was a nice surprise! Here is a picture of one of my latest creations, which I made with Bali spacer beads and chrysocolla quartz.

A Long and Bright Necklace

It's been a while since I created a necklace. This is, however, my first opera length necklace.  I originally planned to add a clasp, but I decided a clasp might limit the options of the wearer.

I decided to make this a minimalist necklace and as a result, there is a lot of sterling chain between the stones. I really am pleased with the color combinations; it makes me think of summer!

Lovely Amazonite

It’s been a while, but I finally made a new piece of jewelry! I’ve been in a jewelry creative slump lately, partly because I have been coming up with ideas for a different product that I plan to make. I started making these earrings a couple weeks ago, and they just sat on my jewelry table untouched.

They feature on of my favorite stones: amazonite. Lately I have been creating jewelry using tiny turquoise-colored glass beads, which are very similar in color to amazonite. I originally planned on using them in these earrings, but I had just bought these small amazonite beads and decided to use these instead.