Friends are Motivators

I've been thinking about trying a Tree of Life pendant, but thinking was as far as it went.  Then a friend asked if I thought this (enter Tree of Life picture) would be hard to do.  Of course, I had to give it a try before I could answer the question.  Thus, the motivation I needed to push me into another project came from a friend, again.  Took a break from reorganizing the project room and revamping the website; gathered supplies and tools and set up a TV tray in the living room and started on the pendant.  Very pleased with the first try and my friend loved the picture (hopefully will be a pleased with the real thing).  What do you think?

I did promise to get back to jewelry, kept that promise.  Tomorrow will probably be more baby dove pictures.  There are 2 of them and they are so cute!!  When Mom isn't on the nest they sit as quiet as can be, no noise and not much movement.  If they are aware of anyone watching they don't move at all; totally amazing.  Pictures to come.

Roots are now smooth

Around the House

Today I'm taking a break from jewelry.  For the past several weeks we have been watching a pair of doves build and sit on a nest under our carport.  They are amazing; quite, peaceful, still.  They trade nest sitting duties but I can't tell which one is there.  I only know they trade because I've seen them do so a couple times.  Today Mom (I assume it is Mom) was a little more vocal, she was moving around more than I've seen her do in the past week, and she seemed to be standing up a little.  So staying as still as possible I tried watching her to see if I could detect little bodies.  I thought I saw something move under her but then if you stare long enough your eyes make things move when they really didn't; at least mine do.  So, still not sure if we have babies but I am lovin' watching them.  Here are a couple pictures, can you see any babies? 

Isn't she beautiful!!

Now still on the subject of birds but totally different from the doves; we have a pair of purple finches.  They sing and flit around and are almost never still, like they had one too many energy drinks; but they are adorable.  We have 4 hanging flower baskets around the awning on our front porch, but one of them is more than a flower.  When I bought the hanging basket there seems to have been some misrepresentation on the part of the store.  They said it was a flower, which it is; but they failed to divulge that it is also a bird house.  Saw the Mama finch squeezing down in the flower, could not believe there was room for her, let alone a nest; but she wouldn't stop.  Needed to water the flower so I carefully took it down to make sure I didn't "water" the nest.  Sure enough she has the most perfect little feather bowl down in that plant that you have ever seen and a stash of greens beside it.  Mom and Dad fly in and out; he keeps watch while she builds the nest, then they are gone again.  Not sure how to keep the flower alive and not disturb the nest; suggestions welcome.  Does this look like a bird house to you?  :)

She goes in on this side

Tomorrow I'll be back to jewelry but I've been enjoying the birds too much not to share.  I hope you are having a wonderful day and that something sweet like a dove and cute like a finch touches your heart.

Great Day

Today started out like most Saturdays do, breakfast with my husband and friends; always nice.  Found out after I got to the restaurant that I was suppose to bring some of my latest "creations".  Well I needed to run some errands anyway so I promised to come back and bring stuff for "show and tell".  So I added that to my "to do" list.

So how did the day go?

• Back to the restaurant:
• Breakfast with another friend (I just had tea this time around)
• Sold one necklace
• Holding a necklace for someone else
• Icing on the cake: I met Mrs. Clause
• She gave me her card, "you were caught doing something nice", said she liked my jewelry and that they were always looking for unique pieces.  A good day just keeps getting better.

• Came home, told my husband about Mrs. Clause and got tickled by the confused look I got.

•  Errands: check pretty much everything off the list
• Go to Michael's;
• It is employee appreciation week, got a great discount on stuff I "couldn't live without".  That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

• Came home and started on that "to do" list.  Got a call from my sister;
• Gail: Are you going to watch the Preakness?
• Me: I am now!
• Gail: Who are you pulling for?
• Me: California Chrome, going for the Triple Crown
• Kept working for a while, got close to time for the race and all things productive stopped.

• CALIFORNIA CHROME WINS!!  So the $10K horse wins millions and has 2 of the 3 races he needs to win the Triple Crown.  A stunning horse, but then I think they are all stunning.

• To put a cap on the day the Detroit Tigers are one out away from winning their game.  Correction, TIGER'S WIN!  Yes, I'm from Detroit, love it when they win.

• The day was fun and exciting but most of all it was blessed by God.  All of the fun would be short lived and empty without His blessing.  I am so thankful that He leads and loves me on good days and bad, this was one of the good ones.

SOLD

Totally Different Wire

A couple of days ago a friend called asking if I could make a certain style of necklace.  The style is totally new for me but I think it is something I will work with.  The pictures attached are the first 2 necklaces based on my friend's request.  Need to figure out earrings to go with them that contain matching elements but are still lite enough for earrings.  Maybe they will be the next post.

I think these necklaces are a blend of trend and art.  Large enough for today's bulky jewelry trend but with the staying power of art.  Lots of potential to create beautiful jewelry with themes, popular elements, and color combinations with a price point of $25 to $35.

I started this blog with the idea of reviewing the journey I've had down the path of jewelry creation.  It seems I have learned more since starting the blog than I had up until this time.  The more I have learned the more I want to learn and the easier/faster it seems to happen.  I have goals for more intricate wire work that I hope to share with you soon.

Hope you like these:

Focal bead from Bead Soup Swap

Owls, very popular right now, try to capitalize on the trend

Bead Soup Continued...

Here are the earrings to make the pink wire wrapped stone necklace a set.  They didn't turn out quite like I envisioned they would; but I like them.  The wire used for these pieces is very hard and that made it a little more difficult to manipulate, but I am pleased with the result.  I'm learning that "hand made" usually equals unique and that is a good thing; as planned is not always a priority.  This set will not be duplicated and most people like that fact.

Going to venture into a different style suggested by a friend using more of the bead soup stones; stay tuned for set number 3.

Jasvanti sent beautiful stones

Bead Soup Pieces

I participated in my first bead swap event a while back.  Part of the bead swap agreement was to make some pieces out of what was received and post them; so here are the results.  Note; there will be several more pieces made from Jasvanti's package; she sent so many beautiful beads and pendants.  I've finished a necklace/earring set and a necklace.  I'm posting because today is the reveal day and I don't want to miss it.  I will post the earrings that go with the second necklace as soon as I have them finished (hopefully later tonight or tomorrow).

Jasvanti, I hope you like what I made; what you sent offered so many possibilities.  Thank you again.  More to come.

Owls are popular and this one is super cute.

Beautiful pink stone to anchor the beads and clasp.

Wire Wrap Captured Stones

Again it has been a while since I've made a new post.  Have been working on several non jewelry related projects, research for a truck my husband is restoring (doing it for me, how cool is he), upkeep on rentals that have been vacated for a couple weeks, and a variety of things you have to do just because they need done.  Oh, then there was/is the getting my work room organized, new shelving, storage boxes that actually work. and filling the new space.  Time invested now to save me time in the future; I'm lovin' it.  Now I just need to exercise some self discipline and I should be back on track soon..  O.K. back to the focus of this blog; the latest step in my jewelry journey.

I think I mentioned before that I tend to put off what I haven't done before.  I get the materials, read the instructions, then I look at it for a few days before jumping into the project (another thing I need to get over and stop doing).  This time it was more getting to the end of the day and being too tired to start on a project I had never tried before.  So a couple days ago I tried my first captured stone wire wrap and was pleased with the results.  As is normal I learned a couple things in the process that I could do better next time, so I took a second run at it; liked the second one even better.  Please take a look at them and tell me what you think.  Am I ready to move on to a special project?  Your feedback is always appreciated.

First try, stone is about 1" x 1.5"

Purple stone, Pink wire

Second piece

The stone is about 1: x 1 1/4"