jujyfruit necklace

my favorite candy and now my new favorite necklace!  i love the saturated hues of these tumbled glass pebbles but couldn’t quite figure out what to do with them until recently.  i’m pretty proud of the finishing touches, too, like the knot in the tangerine silk cord:

and the funky button closure:

love it!  just wanted to share.

jammie pants for the delirious

this weekend, i was sick.  and though i didn’t realize it, apparently delirious.  i was inspired by dana’s beautiful pajama shorts tutorial over at made to make these.  how i got from her gorgeous inspiration to my, uh, finished project is anyone’s guess.  i differed from her pattern a little bit, in that i added a band of polka dot fabric to each leg in an effort to tone it down.  i guess you’ll just have to trust me that it was worse before.

no, no, you’re not seeing things; i did in fact make a pair of pajama shorts with mushrooms on them.  who knows, maybe i was delirious when i bought the fabric ages ago.  (that’s right!  all the fabric, elastic, and thread came from the stash, so i haven’t actually violated my april stash busting challenge agreement that i made!  it’s turned out to be harder than i thought not buying craft supplies for a month, but that’s another story.)

they remind me of the bloomers those silly yard “art” women wear.  you know, the ones that are bending over, presumably gardening.  what can i say: inspiration + fever + project runway marathon = these shorts.  oh you should’ve seen me pinning and matching up the seams like these are a garment that anyone will ever see.  ever.  they’re super comfy, but you’ll never see any pictures of me wearing them.  looking like it’s time for my medication is all well and good in the privacy of my own home, but you won’t see me asking to get institutionalized by wearing these in public.

corral your crap

dear sir or madam,

ever wondered what to do with all that crap that’s just lying around?  may i humbly suggest these trays for all your storage needs.  the fancy crap tray would look wonderful on your wardrobe with your perfumes arranged just so.  your mancrap would look ever so manly in the pewter mancrap container; perhaps for the study or the mancave?  and of course, whose office is complete without a snarky comment graciously provided by the ‘you say it’s my crap like it’s a bad thing’ tray.  while these one of a kind, upcycled trays won’t solve your problems with crap, they will give you a place to put it all.  well, at least some of it.

each tray has been rescued by yours truly from one of the fine riverside, ca thrift store establishments and revived with just the right touches.  lovingly cleaned and stamped or decoupaged to bring out the individual features of each lovely piece.  then sealed so that you can wipe them down, should they ever need it.  they will develop a light patina over time to add to their uniqueness.

send no money now!  simply go to my etsy store and choose one of these instant heirlooms for yourself or as a gift for that special someone who deserves something this fabulous.

sadly, you will have to provide your own crap, as i do not provide my crap with these items, whatever the pictures may imply.

sincerely,

the sultana of the inland empire

moon drops earrings

here’s a sample of what i’ve been up to the past two days.  i spent almost the entire time (with a break for a delicious afghani meal last night in rancho cucamonga) in the garage studio, soldering and hammering to my heart’s content.  yesterday, my husband went domestic: he mowed the lawn, washed and vacuumed the car, and washed the dog.  and all i did was work!  how’s that for a (much appreciated) switch?!  okay, i did cut his hair–don’t worry, he likes it.

i’m happy to report the results of all my torchwork, all made entirely from scratch: a soldered and hammered bracelet, a simple triple ring hammered pendant, and these beautiful moonstone earrings with hand forged and hammered hoops.  even the earwires are handmade!

i love the added ability to create my own sterling silver findings that my butane torch affords me.  it’s been an uphill battle teaching myself how to solder these little guys, but i think i’ve finally figured out the proper balance of solder, flux and heat that makes for a successful joint.  and i love hammered sterling, so that was just a natural!

look for these pieces and others like them soon at my etsy store!

now onto the next challenge: getting good photos of hammered sterling.  capturing all those little facets makes for a challenging photo shoot!

i heart resin!

i love the look of resin–it’s fun and fresh– so i’ve incorporated these pendants into one of a kind necklaces.  each necklace is a little bit different: some of the pendants are enhanced with charms and beads, some hang from gunmetal chains, some from leather, and one includes grosgrain ribbon and silk.  they’re all available at my etsy store.

she sells sea shells

say that 5 times fast!  sure, i live in the inland empire of california, miles from the ocean and far from the east coast, where i collected these shells myself at okracoke island off the coast of north carolina.  i polished them, drilled holes in the top, and strengthened them with resin.  then i strung them all together with a freshwater pearl on a copper chain that i had antiqued.  i think they look great all together: neutral and nautical!

this necklace is available at my etsy store for $32 USD.

i also recently made another shell necklace, this time with capiz shells in aqua blue and spring green with a tiny mother of pearl bead, all strung on a sterling silver chain.  it’s available at my etsy store for $28 USD.

flattery will get you everywhere

when i first put my jewelry on the interweb, i was unsure how it would be received.  sure, family and friends loved it and encouraged me to get out there, but it was still scary to ask total strangers if they liked my work.

just the act of putting myself out there has made me more confident about my jewelry, but compliments from strangers never hurt!  the other day someone said to me that they like my jewelry because they rarely wear any jewelry.  although it may not sound like a compliment to others, i thought it was a great because i strive to create everyday, not-too-fussy pieces. so i was really flattered!

then today, my upcycled red and aqua jewelry storage board was featured in the top picks on cosa verde‘s website!  so cool.  thanks everybody.

more branches!

when i saw this cast sterling silver branch, i knew i had to have it.  when it arrived in the mail, i spent a long time thinking about how to do it justice.  i wanted to highlight it’s delicate nature and organic form but i didn’t want to overwhelm it’s simple elegance.

so i decided to hang some wire-wrapped gemstones from the branch: a single rock crystal and three  peridot drops.  to bring out the beautiful green of the peridot, i added more wire-wrapped peridot to the sterling silver chain all the way around and i finished it with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

it’s available at my etsy store for $42 USD.

wow! who knew?!

march is colorectal cancer awareness month.  american red cross month.  women’s history month (celebrate international women’s day on march 8th) .

it’s got the first day of spring, national reading day (celebrating dr. seuss‘s birthday on march 2nd), and texas independence day (yeehaw! get the day off in texas on march 2nd).  new mexico celebrates pluto planet (?!) day on march 13th, we all celebrate the assassination of julius cesar during the ides of march (march 15th), and–pinch me!  kiss me!–who could forget saint patrick’s day, another excuse for hallmark to make green, on march 17th.  and of course, there’s the annual christian rite of biting the heads off chocolate bunnies.  i mean, easter.

march has its own flower: the narcissus, a pretty little plant that forces it’s way up through the earth around this time of year as it insists that it is, finally, spring.  if you’re in macon, georgia, celebrate the cherry blossom festival march 19-28.  if you’re in japan, watch for “blossom forecasts” and go out and and have a picnic as you engage in hanami, the custom for enjoying the beauty of flowers (also usually cherry blossoms).

and then there’s the beautiful birthstone of march: aquamarine, pictured above in a wire-wrapped pendant with rock crystal, apatite, and a deep blue swarovski crystal.  look for it soon at my etsy store!

and don’t forget to save a spider on march 14th and drink up for world water day on march 22nd.

beachy keen

was it the rain?

i got inspired to make some tumbled beach glass jewelry over the weekend.  being somewhat allergic to matchy-matchy, i made each piece so that it stands on its own; they are united by the materials used, though.  get the whole set for just $100 USD at my etsy store–a $24 savings; like getting the earrings for just $4!–details at each listing, just click on any picture.

the necklace is made of tumbled sea glass and rock crystal, green peridot rounds, and sterling silver.  strung on nylon coated stainless steel wire for durability and a little shape.  it measures 17 inches long and is available at my etsy store for $58 USD.

the bracelet is also made of tumbled sea glass and rock crystal, but i’ve added green peridot drops and aqua blue apatite.  it’s finished with a sterling silver toggle clasp and measures just over 8 inches.  available at my etsy store for $38 USD.

the earrings are made with tumbled sea glass, rock crystal, peridot and apatite, all wire-wrapped with sterling silver wire onto sterling silver earwires.  they measure 1 and 1/2 inches long, including earwires and are available at my etsy store for $28 USD.