Let the design go where it may!

I really struggled with making this design come together.  I'd add stones, take them off, second guess and put them back on...and on and on for over an hour.  Finally I had to step back, take a big breath, and let the design go where it wanted to.  The results?  Proof that I need to listen to the muse and stop trying to control the ride.

Holy dowel!

I spent a little time in Home Depot today buying paint to finish my studio's makeover and picked up these awesome wood dowels.  These are great for forming wire for ear wires, hoops, jump rings, etc.  I plan on using the largest diameter to make a pair of rose gold hoops.  And yes, I did buy one in every diameter!  I don't think the lady who checked me out had ever seen anyone so excited to buy a bunch of wooden poles...

This week in the studio....

I received some colorful, beautiful quartz gemstones....

Some of these beauties will be making their way into new designs for next week.  I've already used the green  drops in a version of my popular Ophira earrings and the beautiful blue elongated drops in a new pair of Peyton earrings.

Last night I took the very grainy shot below of some work in progress.  I finished up 2 orders and managed to make 1 and a 1/2 pairs of earrings.  The one I am holding is a new version of my Satchel earrings - I'll finish the set tonight.  The pair sort of hidden by my hand are the Peyton earrings made with blue quartz.

The muse is definitely with me this week!  I can't wait to share the final pics on Monday.  Till then, have a great weekend!

Green

Do you ever get fixated on a color?  I do all the time.  This month its green.

Kassandra Earrings

Green quartz, smoky quartz, pyrite, tigers eye & silver

Riley Earrings

Emerald green quartz & silver

Hadley

Finally had time to work in the studio a little bit this weekend - yay!  I've had a few requests lately for smaller earrings for everyday wear so I came up with the Hadley earrings.  I love the way these turned out.

Hadley Earrings

Sage green quartz, labradorite silver and gold

I'm hoping my shipment of wire arrives this afternoon.  I've got a lot of creative energy to burn off!

Exciting News

My Delilah Earrings are featured in Bead Style's 365 Earrings, Special Edition. January 2013!  Thanks so much Naomi for giving me this great opportunity!

Delilah - Pink amethyst, antique pink glass seed beads, sunstone,silver and gold

New this week

It feels so good to be back into the regular routine.  Best of all?  I've got some new sparkly girls going into the shop this week! 

Thalassa Earrings - ammonite fossils with a mix of green and brown gemstones and pearls

 

Gesine Earrings - sugilite, silver and gold

Satchel Earrings - mix of green and teal gemstones

 

Autumn Earrings - gemstones, crystals, gold and silver

 

Olivia Earrings - crimson red quartz and gold

 

Verdant Earrings - black geodes, quartz, silver, gold

Work in Progress. Green and Teal.

I thought I'd try something a little different here on the ol' blog - sharing pics of works in progress.  These will be quickie shots taken with the Instagram app on my phone to keep them spontaneous.

So here we go...

I was almost through with this design before I got struck by the idea of a work in progress shot.  This pair of earrings includes green tourmalinated quartz, antique leland slag in teal, vesuvianite, labradorite, moss aquamarine, peacock teal quartz, freshwater pearls and silver.  I made all the fine silver head pins myself with a torch.  I also made the ear wires (no pictured) by hand. Tomorrow morning I'll oxidized the silver in this pair of earrings and then buff it.

It was a wonderful day in the studio!  Along with the earrings above, I finished two more pairs of earrings with cascades, two more Hudson necklaces, two pairs of Peyton earrings with carnelian and lapis, and a pair of Gesine earrings with a huge pair of marquis carnelians - the unwrapped drops are a long 2 inches!  My thumb joints are killing me but I'm happy as can be.  I'm hoping to be able to finish an Elizabeth necklace with a large teardrop of ametrine in the morning.

Hopefully the sunny weather we had today will hold out for tomorrow afternoon's photo shoot.  The last couple of Sundays have been overcast and the photos haven't turned out as well as I had hoped.  If the weather cooperates, I'll reshoot some of the previous pieces while I'm at it. Look for the new pieces to start making their way into the shop on Monday.

Now its time to head off to bed so I can get an early start in the morning.  Good night all!

A girl and her torch

Yikes!  Its amazing how easily a week away can turn into 2 months.  Its been incredibly busy around here -  I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to blogging!  I've been learning new techniques and trying to improve others - working with fine silver clay, soldering, using gilder's paste, and more.

Here's some pics of a pair of earrings I made using a mold of an antique button, fine silver clay (PMC3) and a handheld torch:

I fired my silver pieces with a handheld torch since I do not have a kiln.  I do all of my torch work out on my back porch so I don't get fumes in the house.  You can see from the pictures that it was a nice sunny day.  I now do my firing later in the day so that it is easier to see the color of the clay as it heats up.  For those of you who haven't worked with fine silver clay before, you have to keep the piece at a certain color (this indicates the temperature) for a certain amount of time.

The top two pictures show the finished pair of earrings.  After firing, I oxidized the silver and then added dark blue Gilder's Paste to the recessed areas.  I also soldered on the sterling silver ear posts.  It has been a few years since I soldered and it took a few times to get it right.

I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out.  I've got a couple more projects planned with the fine silver clay.  I can't wait to get started!