While we wait....

As you may have noticed, no soup this weekend. We've had a slight postponement, the reveal will be this coming weekend May the 10th instead.

I thought then I might share a couple UFO's I managed to get finished this week - told you my muse wasn't ready to stop! lol

Technically these earrings weren't a UFO as I had the gemmies (Smokey Quartz and Peridot) pulled to make them and the design decided on but I had not actually started on them. They've been on my desk since the Artisan Whimsy call for pieces using these colors for the next issue of Bead Chat. ummmm I didn't quite make that deadline, oops.

This sweetheart however, was definitely a UFO. It has been sitting on my desk since welllll before Christmas. I love this necklace, but it just kept getting interrupted by life's little happenings. I also kept running out of jump rings. I tell you, I've sawn rings for it three times, once even drawing blood! But I still ran out!  Hand knotted glass pearls on cotton cord, it's extremely soft and supple. The jump rings at the clasp are soldered closed. Normally I would use unsoldered rings to make a safety break, but if enough force is used to require a break, the cording should give and the knotting should keep the majority of the beads from scattering across the floor. Hopefully we never find out!!

While, as usual, I did all the metal work the design is a variation on Leslie's seed bead bracelet found HERE, she kindly shared it a Bead Soup or two ago. It makes up VERY comfy and I have used a variation of it for several necklaces now.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

We'll see you next time!

a touch of filigree...

My final focal piece is finished. Well, except for the finishing. The tool I've been waiting on seems to be meandering around the Ft Smith processing center. It's been there nearly a week now, or so the tracking says. sigh There's always plan B if need be.

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While I've been waiting, and waiting.... I decided to work a little on some of those sketches. Actually cut apart a couple vintage pieces to harvest the beads and crystals and decided I need to reorganize my stash - didn't do it, just decided I needed to!

A little filigree, a little weaving. Sterling silver wire woven into a heart and topped with a touch of filigree. A nice little bit of Chalcedony in the center and an Aquamarine drop at the bottom. I couldn't decide if I wanted to oxidize it or not so I took a looksie around Etsy. hmmm it's about a 50/50 split, some do some don't. But I still couldn't decide so I posed the question in a forum, again 50/50. So we'll leave them as is and let the silver do it's own thing, and hopefully they sell before I HAVE to retake the pics to show the "new" color lol



I should have these listed in my shop sometime this week.

Thanks for stopping by!
See ya next time!

I Only Use The (materials that work) Best in my Designs

Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do. ~Neale Donald Walsch


I've seen statements every where lately claiming to use only the best materials, the highest grade stones. the best of this, the best of that. Do they really mean it, are they gem snobs, or do they really just want very much to capture your attention, jewelry after all is a very saturated field. Some artisan jewelers actually do use some pretty impressive stones and solid metals and I can guarantee you they are not selling their earrings for $20.oo! But when they make the statement, they back it up. It isn't snobbery, it's fact.

I am a brand snob preferring this milk over that, these green beans over those. But a gem snob I'm not. Oh I love the sparkling clear beauty of a Grade AAA gemstone but my jewelry is more than it 's components. The jewelry I make truly does come from within. A grade stones are gorgeous but they don't always have the "character" a lesser grade stone has. Those little imperfections that give it that "organic, from the earth" feel, the softer muted colors, or sometimes the deeper colors.

I am at heart an artisan first and foremost and while I love that sparkling clear gemstone if it doesn't have the color I'm after for the finished product in my head what good is it to me? An A grade Rose quartz with a very pale color might not work with what I have in mind, but a B grade that has a soft rosy color that complements that Chalcedony heart so well, that I'll use!

That doesn't mean I don't believe in using the best you can afford for the design, it just means I am willing to use whatever stone fits My design, in My head, in the Colors I see there. I do shop for high grade stones and I buy them. But I am also completely seduced by the character and colors of the other grade stones, the colors of jewelry yet to be.


Til next time!