Sewing machine

In between Twi-Geek '09 I managed to make a new piece for the shop, the Nancy necklace. I'm introducing one of the pendants that I found a couple of weekends ago, which was really fun to work on. This one is a vintage sewing machine! How charming is that image?

Lucky finds

Errands, work, movies, chores, books, travel, family, friends, and Twilight have temporarily pushed aside jewelrymaking and attempts to stock the shop, but yesterday I scored a bunch of these amazingly adorable metal and epoxy charms with various vintage-y looking images on them. I snatched up a bunch. They're very whimsical charms such as a pair of French shears, Gibson girls in hats, an old-fashioned sewing machine, and a black-and-white bulldog. So fun, and I can't wait to work on them this week. I debated taking photos because I had a mind to debut them as finished pieces, and also, it's been a very busy weekend!

Je t'aime

Voici les boucle d'oreilles qui dit "Je T'Aime." Je pense qu'ils sont tres jolie. J'espere que vous les aimez aussi! Vous pouvez regarder les photos ici. Je t'aime, tous mes amis!

(For the English translation click here).

Vintage necklace

I finally tried my hand at oxidizing metal, and here is the result: the Priscilla necklace. I used the brass skeleton key charm I got a while back as the focal point. The circle pendant that the charms are hanging from was hand-forged using 16g sterling silver wire, but oxidation came out a little unexpectedly. Instead of a gunmetal color, the liver of sulfur gave the pendant a bluish/greenish patina. After a while I decided it actually sort of matches the verdigris on the key, so even if the results were a little unexpected, I kept it as is. I'm not sure if the blue/green color was a reaction to the soldering process or to the copper tongs I used (does anybody know if copper reacts with liver of sulfur?) but, it worked out in this case.

New supplies

I love these gorgeous brass charms that I found on Etsy. They were given an aged finish for a beautiful distressed look. Still mulling over the designs I want to use for them, but I'm thinking at least a long necklace for one of the keys, with oxidized findings to match the antique look.

Peach coin pearl bracelet

I've been meaning to add the matching "Linda" bracelet to the shop all weekend but it has been a very busy weekend all around. But here she is! You can see a full-length picture at the shop, as well as more details.

Last night my sister dragged me to see "Step Up 2 the Streets," where I was fully expecting a cheese fest, but to my surprise, it ended up being a really enjoyable movie! All the dance moves were so impressive and made me want to boogie down myself. Of course, it didn't hurt that the lead actor was a total hottie (he looked like a younger Sark with rhythm) and the lead actress was pretty awesome. I even cried at the end. (Granted, I also cried at the end of Con Air so that's not saying much.)

I've been thinking of my friends and family who are buried under 20 inches of snow in Ohio this past weekend, especially as I stepped outside yesterday morning to sunshine and without a coat on. It was around 60 degrees here (I'm sorry guys, I know I'm rubbing it in) and it's days like these that make me really glad I no longer live in Ohio.

Tulip watch: look how much taller they are from last week!

And my hyacinths are definitely coming out as well:

And on that note, I gotta run - busy weekend steaming along...

Vintage charms

The result out of those vintage-looking keys I bought at the craft store a few weeks ago. I took two of them and fashioned a cluster charm consisting of the keys, a white nugget pearl, a clear swarovski crystal, and another swarovski crysal in "vintage rose", hanging from a silver chain of approximately 16" in length. There are two additional crystals worked onto the chain and above the charms.

It has a vintage-y feel to it that I really like. Below is a close-up.


FIRST DAY BLUES

For the most part, the first day at the new gig went okay today, except for the fact that I felt extremely discombobulated all day long. My routine was interrupted, I didn't have the usual familiar faces around me, I didn't know where anything was, and there were a lot of strange faces. I miss my old morning routine that consisted of 1) my morning commute 2) my morning hot chocolate 3) goofing off with my coworkers. I know that my discomfiture is a product of first days being just weird in general, and I expect that it will get better once I get used to new routines and new faces. As one of my good friends told me, I will look back at what I've written today and wonder why I was so upset. But for now, I dearly, dearly miss my old job and the people there!

Yellow aventurine

Just completed this one! I've been working on it for a while, rearranging the placement of the beads and playing around with using green and white polka dot ribbon instead of the silver chain. In the end, I think this is the final verdict: a half strand of yellow aventurine beads, with an asymmetrically-placed white swarovski crystal on the side and a cluster of charms hanging off of it, made up of a sterling silver filigree charm, a white nugget pearl, and a smaller white swarovski bead. They are all finished off with a silver chain, with a total length of 22".

A MUSICAL NIGHT

On Saturday night I went with my sister, her husband, and Mr HD to hear the symphony pops orchestra play tunes from John Williams' movie scores, with the highlight being the Star Wars music. It was wonderful. Aside from Star Wars, my favorites were the themes from Super Man and Schindler's List, the latter's solo violin part performed by the concertmistress herself. It brought chills down my spine! They also played the main theme from Jurassic Park, which took me back to when I played the same music as a violinist with the youth orchestra I belonged to in high school.

At the end of the concert we took pictures with some of the costumed characters from Star Wars who were milling around the lobby, including a Stormtrooper.

A good time was had by all!