In Love with Labradorite

I have created yet another piece of jewelry with my lustrous labradorite stones. I was playing around with some 16 gauge sterling wire, and came up with these asymmetrical components. I slightly hammered them, attached the labradorite and added a pair of handmade earwires...voila!

Moss Aquamarine and Smoky Quartz Cluster Earrings

I churned this pair of earrings out fairly quickly, after I realized how lovely the moss aquamarine and smoky quartz looked together!

Two Toned Earrings

I have been experimenting with gold fill and sterling silver recently. Here is my latest creation, with the addition of aquamarine briolettes.

Golden Fever!

Years ago, I made a bracelet with two shades of golden Swarovski Crystals. I strung it on fishing line, as I did not have any other stringing material on hand. It is a lovely bracelet, that seems to have gone missing recently! I've decided to make a few of these, and list them in my Etsy shop. This bracelet listed here is made with 6-10mm Swarovski vintage gold pearls, as well as golden Swarovski crystals. Two strings of jewelry wire pass through the larger beads. I have recently made two of these bracelets, with a third one having a variation to the pattern.

A Lovely Stone Bracelet

I finally found myself in the mood to make a new bracelet! For this bracelet, I decided to use some sterling silver link chain that I have had laying around. I used two shapes of briolettes, round pearls, rondelles and ovals; as a result, this bracelet has lots of texture.

I'm Back With a New Pair of Earrings!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! And yes, it's been a long time since my last post. But I am back now, and I have a lovely pair of earrings to share. I made these blossom earrings after I received a request for a similar pair, the other pair consisting of tiny peacock pearls. The gold Swarovski pearls pair nicely with the sterling silver wire for a two-tone combination.

Lab and Smoky Quartz Clusters of Joy!

I have a couple strands of swirl briolettes that I purchased from the Gem Faire awhile ago. They are beautifully faceted and unique, and I decided to pair them with tiny labradorite rondelles. The rondelles are attached to tiny, sterling silver ball headpins that were made using a butane torch. I believe the smoky quartz and labradorite go well together; I hope you agree!

Black Friday Treasury

Happy Black Friday! Ok, I have to state that I am not one to get up early on this day and go shopping. For those of you that can relate, I have created a Black Friday, black and white Etsy Treasury. The shops listed in this treasury are offering Black Friday sales. Enjoy!

Spirals and Labradorite

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I'm back now! 

I've recently created some new earrings; both incorporate sterling silver spirals crafted from 18 gauge wire. The earrings on the left include tiny beads wire wrapped around the bottom half, and I included a small labradorite briolette that dangles from the bottom.

Tiny Crystals

I created a new pair of earrings using 2mm Swarovski crystals. These are the smallest beads that Swarovski makes, so I had to be very careful not to drop and lose them! I decided to wrap these beads in the thinnest gauge of wire that I have on hand. I was originally planning to add a cluster of pearls at the end, but I decided on a simple single crystal pearl.

Sunshine on the Belly...and Roses

I started down the stairs this morning, and caught my cat laying in the sun (as cats are fond of doing). We've had so few sunny days this year, so I'm sure my little guy is loving every minute of it.

And the roses are happy, too.

The Manly Geek - A New Etsy Treasury

I finally made a new treasury recently. My desire to make treasuries seems to come and go. This is the first one that I have created that is man-centric, and I especially love the laptop decal!

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.

It Snowed!

Warning: The following post contains photos of the snow. If you live in the Midwest or Eastern U.S., please forgive me. I am just a West coast gal that has a child-like fascination with snow.

Yes, it finally snowed here! I love waking up and looking out our bedroom window to falling snow. As always, I grab my camera and attempted to take some half-decent photos. I’ve always found snow a challenge to photograph, but I usually don’t spend much time trying to get the photos right.

This is my backyard shed. It's so pretty in the snow, since it is the only object with color.

 
 

My potted oregeno. I planted this last year, then pretty much ignored it