Guess What, More Rings!

Still working on using up my huge collection of labradorite, but also I threw some moonstone in just to keep things interesting. Can't wait to go to the gem show in two weeks and get some more variety of stones! I tried to make a ring out of a really pretty chrysocolla cab I had but when I tried to press the bezel around it, the stone broke. So sad!

Here's another rectangular labradorite ring, similar to the first one, but with more of a greenish flash. (12mm x 16mm stone; size 8.5) {sold}

And another view of the same ring.

Rainbow moonstone ring, 14mm x 18mm stone, size 8

Another round labradorite ring, 16mm stone, size 6

Big flashy oval labradorite ring, 16mm x 22mm stone, size 10 {sold}

A few rectangular labradorite cabs (12mm x 16mm) that are available for custom order rings.

Feeling the Etsy love

I realized that I have been negligent in my duty to share with you the incredible treasures I have purchased (or sometimes traded for) on the shopping wonderland that is Etsy. Here are the goodies I've gotten in the last month or so.

Vegan bowls, from VeganDish of course!

Dainty little tourmaline earrings (my birthstone) from RaesCreations

Sock monkey car litter bag from allysonhill

Fabulous turkey plate from porcelainandpaper
(have I mentioned before my fondness for turkeys?)

My new favorite purse! from theseawithin

More Labradorite Rings!

Round labradorite ring #1, 18mm stone, size 6

Round labradorite ring #2, 16mm stone, size 5.5 {sold}

Rectangular labradorite ring, 12mm x 16mm stone, size 8

... and another view of the same ring

I've been getting quite a few requests for custom rings, so I thought I'd post a picture of some other cabs I have available to make into rings. Most are labradorite, with a couple of moonstone thrown in as well.

Oh, and I also have plenty more of the rectangular cabs like the ring above. (That's my first attempt at a rectangular bezel and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, what say you?)

I've been feeling frustrated in my attempts to find other cool stones for ring making through mail order outlets or sucky ebay, so I've decided I'm going to make the 3-1/2 hour drive down to Santa Rosa in two weeks to go to what I hope will be a good gem show, where I can stock up on lots of cool stones. I'm hoping to find a variety of different types of stones, since I'm obviously a little heavy on the labradorite right now and not much else.

Also, for anyone who may be thinking about ordering a custom made ring, I have some really amazing round cabs on the way - faceted prehnite, both faceted and smooth lapis, smooth lemon quartz, and smooth rose quartz, plus some nice round labradorite. Hopefully they will arrive in about a week; when they do, I'll post pictures.

Metal Rocks!

I'm having so much fun with my new metal skills! Thought I would share a few pictures...

I posted a picture of this ring earlier, but I decided it needed to be oxidized and polished.

Again, I posted this pendant earlier but thought I would show you what I did with it [more pics here]. I wouldn't normally think to pair labradorite with sunstone, but this labradorite cabochon had SO much orange flash, I think it works.

Lucky Labradorite Ring

It's tough to find faceted labradorite cabochons, and this one is a truly rare beauty, with an awesome range of color and beautiful faceting.

The bezel is all handmade and strung on a length of more gorgeous labradorite and sterling silver. [more pics here]

Here's another ring I have previously shown, but I decided it needed more contrast, so I gave it a pretty dark oxidized finish, which I think really shows off the rainbow moonstone nicely.

A simple but pretty little labradorite ring.

In case any of you are sick to death of my seemingly never ending obsession with labradorite, you may be pleased to hear I have ordered some really incredible faceted green amethyst, lemon quartz, faceted lapis, and rose quartz cabs for ring making. (I couldn't resist ordering more labradorite too though!)

More Rings!

Successes and Failures

Well, I am learning about the myriad ways to screw up my metalwork. :-) Fortunately, I've had some successes to offset the challenges. Here are some things I've made that have turned out reasonably well.

Watermelon tourmaline ring {sold}

Labradorite ring {sold}

Sunstone ring

Labradorite pendant

For anyone else out there who does this kind of work, the two things that are frustrating me the most right now are (a) how the heck can I get an oval shaped bezel cup perfectly perpendicular to the ring band so it sits straight? and (b) what is the best type of bail and how should I attach it to a bezel set pendant? I've had several break off... Any suggestions???

Last night I sat down and made a couple of beaded necklaces. The first one is a very simple design incorporating some incredibly large and beautiful faceted aquamarine rondelles.




This next necklace was an attempt to part with some of my favorite labradorite beads. I love to hoard them, but they really deserve to get out in the world and do some living, don't you think?

Beads!!!

I went shopping yesterday and did some serious damage to my bank account, all in the pursuit of beautiful beads for you all! Here's a sneak peek at what I bought. I will be working on getting everything listed in my bead shop this week. (If you see something you must have now, email me and I'll try to get it listed sooner rather than later.)

Tourmaline round beads

Tundra garnet rondelles

Spinel oval beads

Spinel rondelles

Sunstone rondelles

Enormous tourmaline marquis briolettes
(It's probably mean of me to even post that picture since I'm planning on keeping these for myself...)

More tourmaline briolettes

Hessonite garnet briolettes

Lemon quartz briolettes

Pink opal briolettes

Large natural (undyed) ruby rondelles
(Again with the mean - I'm keeping these puppies.)

Smaller ruby rondelles

Amethyst briolettes

Peruvian blue opal briolettes

Enormous Peruvian opal faceted nuggets

Slightly smaller (but still quite large) Peruvian opal nuggets

Chrysoprase briolettes