More wire rings

Getting better at this.

Rings made of aquamarine, serpentine, aventurine, turquoise again, and moukite.

Names

My cousin, Highmaintenancemom, tagged me.

Alias Names:

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Wagner Toyota

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Coffee Oatmeal (oy, what a wimpy name!)

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Panda

SUPERHERO NAME: (“The” plus 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Green Bailey

NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Tiburcio Dionisio (YIKES)

STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Pleasures Sweet Tart

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Mildred Jose

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Firestone Frankfurt

SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Spring Gerbera

CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Peaches Hoodie

HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Waffle Cherry Blossom

YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your favorite hobby/craft, favorite weather element + “Tour") The Sleeping Thunderstorm Tour

Wire rings

It's been a long while since I learned how to make wire rings. I haven't attempted to make any since learning how because I couldn't get a hold of the proper equipment. But, they had mandrels for sale at the gem show this past weekend so I finally tried my hand at the rings again.

As you can see, I still need lots and lots and lots of practice. This one is rather messy. I used practice wire for this; however, recently experimenting with different gauges of sterling and gold-filled has gone a whole lot better for me. I'll post pictures of those efforts next time.

The turquoise ring isn't too too bad, I like how it has a sort of bezel look. I think this shape of stone is good for wire rings.



It may be a little while before you see wire rings offered at my shop, but I have a lot of beautiful gemstones and beads ready and waiting to be used!

More "Bella"

I recreated another "Bella" but revamped her earwires into the handmade ones, which I think gives her a better flow. I also deliberately used indoor lighting for some of these photographs to emphasize the soft glow of the stones. It kind of reminds me of dinner by candlelight.

Check out Bella at the shop!

Etsy has now added a dedicated shop policy page to all the shops, where you can find all the information on shipping, payment, taxes, etc. You can get there by clicking on "Shop Policies" on the right hand side of a shop. I finally got around to doing mine - here it is!

And finally, just a quick update - AmeriCares now has a dedicated page for donations to China. If you haven't already, please consider helping out in China and Myanmar.

Bi-color quartz drops

These bi-color quartz step cut drops are gorgeous - the step cuts reflect the light beautifully and make the stones very sparkly. It's hard to capture in photographs - this was my best attempt, but even this doesn't do the stones justice. I just hope it sort of comes through when looking at the rest of the pictures in the shop.

These stones are so regal and gorgeous that I couldn't help but name them after royalty - specifically, Empress Eugenie of France, Napoleon III's wife. "Eugenie" is paired with white rice pearls and decorative vermeil circles, hanging from handmade and hammered gold-filled earwires.

Eugenie is now available - check out her other pictures!

Also, I am offering another Astrid necklace!

And check out the matching Leslie necklace that I finished. This was a custom order. The circle link really dressed up the piece and gave it a jazzier look.

Fresh stock

Yesterday I was at the gem and jewelry show and came home with a slew of new beads and supplies. I have aquamarine, aventurine, amazonite, quartz, chalcedony, serpentine, green amethyst, smoky quartz, pearls, tourmaline, and a lot more. There were some really gorgeous AAA quality green amethyst gemstones imported from India that I was salivating over. I kept going back again and again to the vendor to look at them and agonize over whether I should get them (they were very expensive). In the end, I couldn't justify the expense since using them in my designs would mean going to a way higher price point than what I'm currently selling my jewelry for. Maybe someday...

Quartz and pearls

Blue faceted quartz briolettes wire-wrapped with clusters of white rice pearls, dangling from handmade sterling silver earwires. I named her "Charlotte" after Charlotte Bronte. It matches her romantic look.

You can check out more pictures of Charlotte at the shop!