Yummy Gumdrop Rings

This was a new one for me, and I'm excited about how it turned out. Don't they look like juicy little gumdrop candies?

Rings Galore

I had a productive few days! Some of these are custom orders and the rest will go up in my shop very soon.

Labradorite & sterling silver ring {possibly spoken for}

Pink tourmaline & sterling silver ring

Prehnite & sterling silver ring {custom order}

Rutilated quartz stacking ring set {custom order}

Labradorite & sterling silver ring {custom order}

Labradorite & sterling silver ring {custom order}

Labradorite & sterling silver ring {possibly spoken for}

Labradorite & sterling silver ring

Labradorite & sterling silver ring

Another cloudy aquamarine ring {custom order}

Stacking Swiss blue topaz ring set

Afghan tourmaline & sterling silver ring {custom order}

'Clover' ring - rainbow moonstone over resin {custom order}

'Dewdrop' ring - rainbow moonstone over resin

WHEW!!!

I love FedEx

It's so fun to get packages of sparkly, beautiful beads! Here's what came today... I'll start with the beads -

Faceted citrine ovals

Mmm... faceted kyanite marquis briolettes

Just look at that color!!!

Prehnite briolettes

Sunstone briolettes

I also got a few new types of cabs -

6mm square cushion cut peridot

8mm x 12mm faceted pink amethyst teardrops

8mm x 12mm faceted prasiolite (green amethyst) teardrops

12mm faceted square cushion cut rose quartz

I also branched out this time and bought some simple faceted stones -

8mm round amethyst

8mm round citrine

8mm round white topaz

Finally (and most exciting), I discovered a whole new section on one of my favorite supplier's websites that I had never explored before!!! They sell these amazing hand carved fancy stones and I just couldn't resist buying some, especially since there were several tourmalines available, which as you've probably noticed is a favorite of mine.

Green tourmaline flower tiles - these will make lovely pendants or earrings, or nice large rings.

Pink tourmaline carved teardrop - perfect for either a ring or a pendant.

Green tourmaline art deco-ish leaf-like something-or-others

Pink tourmaline flowers

Wouldn't these be cute all used together to make a pendant or a pin, with some silver stems and leaves to tie it all together?

These carved watermelon tourmaline slices are to die for. They are quite large and will make stunning rings.

And what can I say about these? Bi-color tourmaline, amazing hand carved detail, and huge size - I think I'll use these as centerpieces for two amazing necklaces.

I mean really, what can you say but WOW?!?!!!!

I'm going to hang on to some of these fancy carved pieces until after I take my stone setting class at the Mendocino Art Center in July because some of them (the ones with irregularly shaped edges) won't lend themselves well to bezel setting, and are probably more suited to prong settings or some other type of setting I don't even know about yet. :-) But others, like the watermelon tourmaline slices, the green tourmaline flower tiles, and the pink teardrop, are available now for custom orders, so if you see something you need, let me know!

There's a chicken convention going on in my planter box...

...and I'm not happy about it. I'm ready to plant some vegetables in my raised planter bed, but the chickens keep digging holes in it. Anyone have suggestions? I tried sprinkling cayenne pepper on the soil but apparently my chickens don't mind a little spice in their dirt.

As a follow-up to my tutorial post, I thought I'd share a picture of my workspace in action. If you click on the photo, it will take you to a Flickr page that has notes of what a lot of the things in the picture are.

Tutorial Update / Soldering, Part 1 - Bezel Set Ring Overview

I know I promised a long time ago to put together a soldering tutorial, but I kept getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task, so I've decided to break it up into smaller bits. Many of you expressed interest in just seeing a general overview of how the process works, so I've started with that and put together a short introductory section.

Next, I'm going to work on compiling various resources, pictures, written instructions, and perhaps even some video clips to provide more detailed information for those of you who are interested. I'm thinking it will go something like this...

Soldering, Part 1: Bezel Set Ring Overview (download pdf)
Soldering, Part 2: Tools & Equipment
Soldering, Part 3: Soldering Fundamentals
Soldering, Part 4: Ring Fabrication
Soldering, Part 5: Metal Finishing Techniques

Pics from the homestead :-)

Moment of Zen

It's funny how entertained I am by just sitting and watching the chickens do their chickeny business.

More Rings, Up For Grabs

Here are the non-custom-order rings I finished today; they will be going up for sale in my Etsy shop soon.

Lapis lazuli & sterling silver ring, satin finish

Oregon sunstone & sterling silver ring

Custom Order Rings Finished Today

I finished a batch of rings today... these are designs I've made before but I figured it wouldn't hurt to post them again in case I have any new readers who haven't seen them before. :-)

Cloudy aquamarine & sterling silver ring

Labradorite & sterling silver ring

Pink tourmaline & sterling silver ring

Prehnite & sterling silver 'dotty' ring

Rutilated quartz & sterling silver stacking rings

Prehnite & sterling silver ring