Update on work… August 12, 2022
First of all, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Sarah Cadwallader, of Caddy Designs… I first met Sarah at a jewelry class we were in together for several years. She is an avid learner and went on to add lapidary skills to her jewelry skill set. I immediately thought of her when I made some big boo boos on some peridot quartz stones I was setting. Making the mistake of thinking I was more skilled with the rotary polishing tool than I am, I tried to use it with the stone in place in the setting. Oops! Lots and lots of scratches and dings. When I sent photos to Sarah to ask if she thought they could be saved, she said she’d take a look. Off they went in the mail. Well, I got them back yesterday. Good as new! And you can see by the photos, super clear and unblemished. Thank you, friend! Please visit her Facebook page to see more of her wonderful work…especially her personalized, stone-set dog tags. Sweet!
These cabs are so clean that you can see the wood grain through them!
P.S. Now, if I’m going anywhere near a stone with the tool, I carefully cover it with painter’s tape. Lesson learned!
Next up, are two earring pairs with some gorgeous Larimar. My first time using this stone. The simple prong settings really let the stones shine. And this shade of blue with silver is a perfect pairing.
When photographing jewelry, I’m always thinking of my camera as “The Third Eye”. It never fails that the camera catches imperfections and whoopsies in my work that I didn’t catch. The last photo also shows a flaw in my camera skills… the camera also caught a reflection of my face in the silver disc on the right. Gotcha!
Next up… July 30, 2022
I still have three sets of “watermelon slice” gem stones from my last purchase from Deryn Mentock’s sale. Amazonite and Labradorite, then these Lemon Quartz…slightly lemony yellow in tone and very clear. Lots of sparkly. A really good neutral pair of earrings for your wardrobe needs. And I added a “little swing” to the top so they have some nice movement, too.
They both need a good clean up for any tool marks or excess solder…which my camera’s third eye caught in these photos.
Back to the bench!
Working on commissions… July 22, 2022
On one hand, I love making personal jewelry from requests. It can be a fun, satisfying challenge to find the right design, and specific beads and gems. The clients are so happy when I get it right! On the other hand, it can be stressful to create the right settings and finding the right beads and gems. I do try my best to get feedback from them along the way and get their input via photos and emails to see if I’m going the right direction. This certainly helps. Occasionally, I get someone who says, ” whatever you make, I’ll love”. That’s the tricky one, in my opinion. I’d much rather have some guidance from them.
Luckily, two good friends gave their desires and wishes that served me well in creating their own unique pair of earrings.
The first one…Nancy requested the main stone to be peridot colored and she loves sparkle. After I set the stone, I sent her photos of them with different secondary choices. She loved the contrast of the cobalt blue glass daggers. I totally agree! They are off in the mail to their new mistress.
For the second pair, Ginny loved the Hessonite garnet gemstone slices. Again I asked her wishes for the positioning of the setting. After the stones were set, I met with her to look at different options for a dangling stone. She loved the contrast of the Amazonite drops.
My clients really have great taste!
Happy clients, happy maker!
What a day… May 25, 2022
Yesterday was one of those days you never hope to repeat. Yet, here we are again. How many times will children lay down their lives to “protect” someone else’s right to buy and use assault rifles and guns? God forgive us.
Not always, but sometimes, I turn to creating things as an act against evil and destruction. Yes, it is a small thing and maybe inconsequential to the bigger problem, but it can change my attitude and focus my attention on positive actions. These makings of mine are not substitutes for participation in making the changes needed in gun safety and laws. It does not get rid of what causes the mortal wounds and pain, but it puts a bit of temporary balm on the grief and horror for me.
Color has always lifted my mood and today I went looking in my bead stash for something that would do just that. And fell in love all over again with these vibrant green pressed glass beads. Czech glass has a quality unlike any other glass beads. The tiny leaves also wanted to play along.
The matte finish and translucency are what make these beads so special.
Late afternoon… May 20, 2022
It wasn’t until 3:30 today that I finally sat down to tackle these gorgeous amethyst slice stones. I purchased them in a sale that Deryn Mentock had for the students in her prong setting class. I was saving these til I got more at ease with the process. I decided to oxidized the silver to create a nice contrast with the stone’s color.
I’ve often called my camera The Third Eye. I can now see that I need to do a light touch up with the file or sander to get rid of some blemishes in the metal on the left earring.
Very sparkly!
P.S. Deryn just had a second sale the other night and I bought more gem slices!!
Anyway you slice it… May 17, 2022
Previously, I posted a photo of some gem slices I purchased through the class I took with Deryn Mentock. She has someone she deals directly with and they are gorgeous!
My husband is on the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile pilgrimage in Spain at the moment, so I have some extra time on my hands. But surprisingly not as much as I thought I would. Huh. Today, however, I picked up the pale aquamarine slices. My initial thought was to set them like a watermelon slice, but Deryn had some examples in the class that were set the long way…or I think of it as “sideways”. Thought I give that one a try this time.
After some misfires (melting a jump ring) and prongs that fell off, I finally got the job done. This is not a relaxing project for me. It’s stressful… right up until I push that last prong down to secure the stone. But, it’s a good stress with lots of opportunity to problem solve along the way and perfect my skills. I’m getting much better at eyeballing the length to cut each prong.
Pretty happy with how these turned out.
Two new makings… April 21, 2022
Just photos today. The first pair have peach moonstones with chocolate freshwater pearls.