one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer…

well, okay, they’re not exactly my tribute to george thoroughgood, but they are fabulously delicious.

i recently learned how to oxidized and hand-burnish sterling silver to give that shiny metal a little dark edge.  the oxidizing deepens the color, ranging from a reddish coppery hue to a dark blue-black. for these beauties, i took the wire out of the sulphur solution about halfway through, so they are a dark grey color.  then i hand-burnished them with a brass brush to even out the tone and give them some shine.

when paired with smoky quartz, citrine, and hessonite (an orange garnet), they look infinitely better than bright white sterling slver.  they’re available at my etsy store for $32 USD and are part of my delicas collection.

perfect for adding an edgy classiness to just about any outfit, day or night, they would make a great valentine’s gift (wink, wink; nudge, nudge!).  they can still get to you in time as long as you order by the 10th of february.  i’ll continue to donate $5 for every purchase made at my etsy store until v-day to benefit the victim’s of the earthquakes in haiti.  sure to warm everyone’s heart.

queen of hearts

when i was little, i played the queen of hearts in alice of wonderland.  i hung onto the skirt i wore as part of my costume forever–i still remember it: red check gingham happiness.

when i saw these red beads, they just struck a chord.  they are a gorgeous bright red at the center with delicate swirls spinning out to a clear finish.  you have to see them to believe them.

i added gunmetal, bali sterling silver, and black matte czech glass beads to make them shine.

available at my etsy store for $20 USD.  perfect for your queen of hearts!

i’m still donating $5 for every item sold to the aid organization of your choice to help the victims of the haiti earthquakes.  i know it’s out of the media for the most part, but as someone who went to assist with rebuilding in mississippi a year after katrina, i can tell you the work has just begun.  you cannot believe how much devastation there can be.  let’s keep doing what we can.

amethyst revisited

i’m not a huge fan of purple.  i think it stems from the time when i was a kid and i got stuck with the cabbage patch kid with the purple dress (a friend got the pink one.  blerg!  i think our parents took turns trying to get them at toys-r-us).  but if you darken purple up like a sky at sunset, it’s one of my favorites!  and it’s february’s birthstone.

for these earrings, i’ve used two different metals to bring out the darker, edgy side of purple.  in the ones on the left, i’ve paired amethyst and iolite with gunmetal.  they’re available at my etsy store for $20 USD.  the ones on the right have carved amethyst beads and iolite combined with antiqued sterling silver wire that i burnished to bring out a bit of shine.  they are available at my etsy store for$26 USD.

i will donate $5 for each item purchased through my etsy store to the aid organization of your choice for haiti. participate in ‘hearts for haiti’, too–add my store to your favorites list and i’ll donate $1 to red cross.

these are a few of my favorite things…

do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do!  bare branches on trees, coffee, (empty!) bird cages, gears, tire swings, epoxy resin, gunmetal and oxidized sterling silver, full moons–the lower on the horizon the better, harvest moons (the best!), scrolls, damask patterns, velveteen, milk glass (especially the kind with the bumps on it), tattoos, letterpressed paper, anything orange and aqua together, coffee again, my dogs, the branching of coral/ganglia/river deltas, sitting by a campfire, roasting marshmallows, whiskey/bourbon and cigars (but only together), the way dew beads up on grass, flannel sheets, the silhouette of birds on a wire, elephants, owls, upstyled vintage items, etsy, and of course, anything handmade!

hang the moon

check out my newest addition to my favorite things at my etsy store!  i combined a cool branch with an orange capiz shell and a milk glass drop to make this stunning one-of-a-kind necklace.  i hung the moon on gunmetal chain, which i doubled up for more visual impact, then finished it all off with a gunmetal lobster clasp.  i love gunmetal!  i love bare branches!  i love milk glass!  i love orange!

now you can hang the moon anytime you want.  it’s available at my etsy store for only $26 USD.  that’s a pretty good lunar deal for something so fun.

and i’m still donating $5 to the red cross for every item purchased through my etsy store!  so you can help haiti at the same time as you adorn yourself.  another good deal.  if i do say so myself.

peridot swing

another iconic bare tree, this time in pewter.  i don’t know what it is with me and bare trees, but i just think they’re so cool.  i made this one for my urban prairie collection.

i felt like it needed a little something, so i added a tiny peridot to swing from the branches, wrapped with oxidized sterling silver wire.  in keeping with the simple, timeless theme, i knotted it on a thin black leather cord.  i wanted to keep it spare and classic.

it’s available at my etsy store for $26 USD.

and i’m still donating $5 to red cross for every item purchased from my etsy store!

mmm…it’s so pretty i could eat it!

i love the warm rich yellow of golden yellow chalcedony–and this faceted one pairs perfectly with micro-faceted garnets and hessonite garnets.  the deep colors remind me of caramel!

mmm, caramel.  i think the sterling silver might get stuck in your teeth, though, so this one is best worn around the neck.  i just want to wear it to ward off the doom and gloom of the rain clouds on their way.

this one-of-a-kind necklace measures 19 inches, though i’d be happy to shorten it for you, and it’s available at my etsy store for $50 USD and arrives, as usual, nestled safely in my handmade paper box.

and i’m still donating to the red cross: $5 for every item purchased through my etsy store!  and for everyone who ‘hearts’ my store by adding me to their etsy favorites (you’ll need to sign up for an account if you don’t already have one, but it’s free) i’ll donate $1, no purchase required.

pretty scrollwork

when i saw these gorgeous bali sterling silver beads, i just had to have them!  they are hand-carved with a beautiful open scrollwork.  and because they’re hollow, they’re surprisingly lightweight.  i struggled with the perfect accent for them, but they really are the accent, so i just added small swarovski crystals and hung them from sterling silver earwires.

earrings measure just under 1.5 inches in length, including earwires.

they’re available at my etsy store for $42 USD and arrive in my handmade paper box via usps priority mail.

ps – for a limited time, i will donate $5 for each item purchased through my etsy store to the aid organization of your choice for haiti. participate in ‘hearts for haiti’, too–add my store to your favorites list and i’ll donate a $1 to red cross, whether or not you make a purchase.

so far, so good!

image provided by dryIcon

not too shabby!

in addition to my own donation, my etsy store has raised $19 for the alleviation of suffering in haiti (donated to the red cross).  help me do more by going to my etsy store and making a purchase or adding my store to your etsy favorites.  for each item purchased, i’ll donate $5 to the red cross or aid organization of your choice.  every time someone adds me as a favorite, i get a ‘heart’ added to my store (you’ll need a free account).  for each ‘heart for haiti’ that i get, i’ll donate $1 to the red cross.  free for you, help for haiti!

like a moth to a flame…

i love orange!  so i love carnelian, and these faceted beads are eye-catching and just flat out fabulous.  i’ve paired them with 3 tiny micro-faceted beads of hessonite, an orange garnet, for maximum orange.  the facets throw off the light as these individually wire-wrapped beads dangle from your ears.

they’re available at my etsy store for $38 USD.  personally, i’d pair them with the pure warmth necklace.

i’m still donating $5 for each item purchased through my etsy store to the aid organization of your choice to help the victims of the haiti earthquakes.

january’s gemstone in two fun shapes!

garnets are gorgeous!

i decided to use these rich red semi-precious stones in both of these earrings.

the hoops (left) are made of micro-faceted garnets for maximum sparkle.  i added a few bali sterling silver spacers at the bottom of each hoop and wrapped it all up with sterling silver wire.  they dangle from sterling silver earwires for a total length of 1.75 inches.  they’re available at my etsy store for $30 USD and would make a great valentine’s day gift for that special someone.  like yourself!

the cluster earrings (at right) are made of a medley of garnets and freshwater pearls.  each bead is individually wire-wrapped with sterling silver, giving these babies a little movement.  they’re available at my etsy store for $44 USD.

i’m still donating $5 for each item purchased through my etsy store to the aid organization of your choice for haiti. participate in ‘hearts for haiti’, too–add my store to your favorites list and i’ll donate a $1 to red cross.  you’ll need an account, but it’s free!