oh boy! It's been waaaay too long between posts

Ok, so here it is, the first day of the new year and I realise it's been well over a year since I posted anything here. I guess a new baby will do that, though now she is getting bigger I really do need to make the time to add regularly to my blog.

Just before Christmas, I had a custom request for an Eiffel tower pendant, and the following is my first try

I think with some tweaking, I can streamline the overall look. Keep your eyes open for the next one

Crazy production day

Who would have thought that I could manage 5 pieces in a day? I really must have been in the zone today. Mostly they were revisiting old designs for custom requests, but I did manage a new ring as well. The design needs some tweaking, so I am pleased it was just done in artistic wire. Having said that, different gauges and some half round would have been very handy to making it a sleeker piece. Maybe I need to get a broader range of artistic wire, not just 28 and 18 gauge.

The 'turquoise' triangle is an old design of mine the customer liked, but really wanted this colour. It took a while to find, but the look of it with the non-tarnish silver is summery - perfect for us in the Southern hemisphere as the days are stretching toward Summer

Octopi revisited

No matter how often I make these little guys, they turn out differently every time. Today's challenge was to make mirror image twins for a pair of earrings. The second part of the fun was coiling 28ga wire around 24 ga wire to make them lighter weight and delicate.

I have to say I am pretty happy with the way they turned out

A busy week with some firsts!

There have been many new pieces this week from moonstone and sterling silver, to labradorite and my first ever attempt at titanium anodizing. The moonstone is a nice big cab measuring 5cm (2 inches) long! It has beautiful schiller, but I just can't seem to capture it faithfully on camera.

The titanium is always fiddly to weave, but I love that it is so lightweight, and of course being able to anodise it is just so much fun. This particular piece was actually anodized without using any chemicals: it was done with a current applied to a coca cola bath. I had heard it was possible and just had to try it. The colours are nowhere near as vivid, but I like that there are no acids or chemicals used.

This week I also had my very first try and fusing silver. I kept it basic, but am pleased with the result. I added a small pink tourmaline with wire to complete the piece. This lovely little number is 3cm (1.25 inches) long.

I need to practice more with soldering, but for now the fusing is a simple and gratifying way of getting more comfortable with my new torch

Cleaning time, and some new creations

As always, with new creations comes another spectacular mess on the work bench. Today is dedicated to cleaning it up and sorting left over beads. Yesterday I made a new sterling silver donut wrap using a gorgeous sodalite donut accented with kyanite and cobalt blue pearls. The donut measures 5cm (2 inches).

I thought about adding a patina to the silver, but I think the shiny finish accents the white veining in the stone nicely - and it will eventually age to the patina anyway.

I'm Back!

I had all but forgotten my blog, and it's time to get back into it again. I'll start with my latest creation today using a big 16.92 carat amethyst and sterling wire. It measures a total of 5cm (2 inches) long. I don't have a name for it yet, but the flow of the wires makes me think of draped couture gowns. I am tempted to keep this one, but it IS possible to have too much bling and if I am not past that point, I am not far from it!

New Wire

Yesterday I finished 3 smaller pieces in the last of my sterling silver wire - and with amazing timing my new order arrived this morning!

So now I have a few ounces of silver wire to play with. Picture me rubbing my hands together and chortling with glee :)

Here are yesterday's creations:

Letitia's Lament/ Letitia's Joy

On the left is Lament, with a top heavy weave representing the weight of grief bearing down
On the right, the the giddy curlicues of joy when grief is gone




Dark Temptations: also a double sided piece

The front is plain to show off the natural beauty of the stone.
The back has a dark section representing temptation encroaching on the bright fire with a 'serpent' detail.



Fuchsia Bud

A simple piece meant to keep the wire at a minimum to let the stone stand on it's own merits. It's a large 4.5cm amethyst. A fuchsia bud with a fluorite dew drop clinging tenaciously to the bottom.