Lessons learned

Two rings, one set with a red coral and the other with a pink coral. The bands are made from 12g sterling silver wire. At first, I was pleased with the results. And the photographs came out well. But after looking more closely, I realized the gauge I used for the band was too thick for rings that are meant to look delicate. Also, my soldering job isn't as good as I initially thought, owing to the fact that thick wire requires more solder. Some parts underneath the bezel cup got a little bit globby, requiring extensive filing.

I'm a little annoyed that I seem to have wasted the cabochons, but I'll chuck it to a learning experience and hopefully the next rings will be even better because now I know what works and what doesn't. After all, a little experimentation never hurt any (except maybe for Dr. Frankenstein).

Coral and turquoise earrings

Red coral branches topped off with blue turquoise nuggets, named "Nora" after my very funny and cool Aunt Nora. These earrings are very bold and colorful, dangling approximately 1 1/2 inches from handmade earwires.

Nora is now available at the shop!

SUMMER OF JEWELRY

This summer I'm taking a silver jewelry metalsmithing class for five weeks. Each class is five hours long and it's apparently a pretty intense experience. I'm so ready to get started - I haven't been able to contain my excitement! I'm looking forward to learning a whole new set of technical skills. As a bonus, the art school is right by the river in a very charming part of town so getting to hang out for part of the summer there will be a real treat.

AMERICARES CHALLENGE

So putting my money where my mouth is, I've just posted a new announcement at my shop. From now until the end of June, $3 of every sale will be donated to AmeriCares' disaster assistance funds for Myanmar and China, the total amount split between the two funds. My shop will also match 100% of the total amount raised.

Thanks in advance for your generosity!

New shop item: coral necklace and earrings

This new necklace is "Alexandra" and she comes with matching earrings. Made of coral beads, she has one filigree charm on a pretty sterling silver chain. The earrings are made of matching coral with a smaller filigree charm on sterling silver earwires.

Alexandra's namesake is actually Alexander (or Alex) in real life, but I'm not going to tell Alex that not only does he have a necklace named after him, there are also earrings involved. Alex is a fan of Star Wars and Transformers, so the news that he is namesake to girly girl items might not sit well.

This afternoon I went to the bookstore to look for a French novel to use for my photo backgrounds. This was actually Mr Hazel's idea, but the two French novels I owned have gone missing, no doubt from multiple packing and unpacking from various moves over the years. Unfortunately the bookstore didn't have anything I could use, so I turned to some children's literature and poetry instead, but didn't have much luck there, either. So it looks like I'm going on a treasure hunt...

More butterflies

I have to confess, I ended up loving this piece so much that I just might keep it for myself. I have this black v-neck minidress that would look adorable with this! But...I know, I can't get too greedy. I must stop absconding with the inventory or I won't have much of a business at the end of this endeavor!

The pendant is a carved butterfly made of bone, with a strand of coral beads on sterling silver wire. The necklace is approximately 16", and the butterly pendant is 2" in length and 1.5" high.

Coral and turquoise

I've always loved the color contrast of coral and turquoise. I incorporated both in this piece that I completed a while back. The strands are made up of bamboo coral beads, with a turquoise carved pendant, on sterling silver. I imagine this worn with a strapless black dress - that pop of color in the stones makes for an unexpectedly wonderful contrast.