blue skies sneak peek!

today’s blue skies have made me think of gorgeous blue gemstones, like iolite, which is a beautiful indigo blue.  yummy!  i combined two delicate sterling silver chains of different lengths to get this stunner.  i’ve seen so many multi-chain necklaces this season, and i love them, but they’re so bold and strong; i wanted to create a lighter version.  and i love it!

hope you do, too.

look for it soon at my etsy store.

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.

smoky beauty

oooh!  i’m so happy with how this turned out.  it’s glamorous.  it’s fabulous.  it begs to go out on the town or down to the pub.  i love the inclusions in the rutilated quartz and the handmade chain with the burnished, oxidized sterling silver.

i’ve hung the rich, faceted smoky quartz nugget from a chain that is made of rutilated quartz wire-wrapped on oxidized sterling silver. it’s finished it with an oxidized sterling silver lobster clasp; i’ve hand-burnished the metal to give it a little shine.

dress it up or dress it down, this smoky beauty is sure to wow.

available at my etsy store for $72 USD.  it’s part of the urban prairie collection.

matching earrings soon to follow!

smokiness

sneak peek at what i’ve been working on today: a big chunky faceted smoky quartz dangles as a pendant; i’ve wire-wrapped faceted rutilated quartz to make a chain out of oxidized sterling silver wire.  i think the dark grey of the wire compliments the smoky quartz perfectly!  look for it soon at my etsy store.

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.

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.

happy, happy! joy, joy!

check it out!  this pendant is a cool combination of found and made objects; a pendant that i made by antiquing a brass charm and encasing an image and a few watch gears in epoxy, a hand-hammered copper ring, two adventurine beads on an antiqued sterling silver headpin, and a found charm that says ‘always’.  then i strung it on a copper chain that i antiqued as well.

mixed metal sentiment.  what a cool declaration!

i really like that the oxidation/antiquing colored the epoxy to make it look aged as well.  a total success!

it’ll be up on my etsy store soon, as part of the new jalopy collection, with more to follow!

is it spring yet?

i know, we still have months to go, but i just feel a little, well, springy.  maybe it’s the cherry blossom earrings i made the other day.  maybe it’s the custom piece i’ve been working on for an outdoor wedding.  maybe i just need to get out of the house.

so i bring you the petal pusher earrings.  for those of us who want to force spring to come just a little bit earlier.

i made them from a collection of pale pinks and peaches: mother of pearl, rose quartz, and freshwater pearl.  each bead is hand wired onto the most delicate sterling silver chain.  they hang from sterling silver earwires for a total dangle of just under 2 inches.

they’re available at my etsy store for $28 USD plus shipping & handling.

the beauty of winter

maybe i’m just a touch sentimental because i haven’t seen one in a while–and it’s not looking good, what with relocating to southern cal–but i love the concept of winter: snow, icicles, clear blue skies.  you’ll notice there’s no shoveling, tire chains, or grey skies in my winter wonderland, but you can be sure there are sleds and hot cocoa with those little marshmallows.

yeah, childhood rocked.  and i brought back the wonder and beauty of it with these of winter-inspired necklaces.  put one on and remember the good times.

TOP LEFT: beautifully faceted quartz briolettes dangle like icicles from wire-wrapped sterling silver. this handmade, one-of-a-kind necklace is finished with sterling silver chain and a sterling silver lobster clasp.

necklace measures 20 inches in length but can be shortened to meet your needs at no additional charge.  it’s available at my etsy store for $42 USD plus shipping & handling.

RIGHT: remind yourself of the breathtaking side of winter with this sterling silver and quartz necklace. faceted quartz in multiple hues are wire-wrapped onto sterling silver chain and secured with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

necklace is 18 inches long; stones drop 2 inches.  it’s available at my etsy store for $38 USD plus shipping & handling.