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.

cool water kyanite

kyanite has this cool ability to reflect light while showing off its inky depths.  it reminds me of a deep mountain lake sparkling in the sunlight.

i combined it with some of the sterling silver that i have oxidized and hand-burnished to a high shine.  the cool blue black brings out the inclusions of the stone.

i couldn’t find a single strand that looked just right with this stone, so i entwined a royal blue leather cord with a periwinkle hand-dyed and sewn silk cord.  it’s finished off with more oxidized sterling silver hardware.

it’s available at my etsy store for $38 USD and wants to go out on the town with you.  part of the delicas collection.

necklace trio

sneak peek at the new necklaces i’ve been working on–they’re glass cabochons over paper.

i selected the paper from my collection and adhered it to the glass cabochon.  then i seal the back with several coats of paint and sealant for a finished look.  last i glue on the bail so that i can dangle it from a complimentary material.

strung from a chain, hand-sewn silk cords, or leather, they’re everyday chic.  i think i need one to go with every outfit!

they’ll be available at my etsy store soon!

paisley power!

oooh, i love paisley!  i just learned that it’s supposed to be an artistic rendering of buddha’s hand, so that made it perfect that it had 7 spots–one for each of the major chakras.  so i added 7 gemstones, representative of each chakra: garnet, carnelian, citrine, peridot, apatite, iolite, moonstone.   each one is attached to the pendant with gunmetal wire.  the pendant dangles 2 inches from a gunmetal chain, measuring 19 inches in length.  finished with a gunmetal lobster clasp.

it’s available at my etsy store for $24 USD.  part of the new jalopy collection.

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!

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!

can i keep it?

this wood pendant just spoke to me at the bead store, so i brought it home, and man, am i glad i did.  i don’t know if it’s algae or coral or a brain cell, but i really like it.  i added some red coral (sustainable source) and hammered balinese sterling silver, then strung it on a hand-sewn black silk cord.  it’s finished off with a sterling silver lobster clasp and i kind of hope no one buys it so i can keep it.

it’s available at my etsy store for $40 USD plus shipping and 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.

bare branch necklace

it’s winter, it’s cold (ok, not in sickeningly sunny southern cal, but we do have some deciduous trees that have lost their leaves–so what if it’s from drought), and i love the iconic image of a lone tree biding her time for spring.  when i saw this cool pendant, i knew i had to incorporate it into a necklace.  i like to think i did it justice with this combo of copper, leather, and silk.

a handmade copper pendant hangs from a chain made of copper loops, hand sewn sea green silk cord, and tan leather ribbon. clasp is copper as well.

necklace measures 19.5 inches in length.

it’s available at my etsy store for $42 USD plus shipping & handling.