Fashion Trends

We all go through phases when it comes to fashion, I suppose... for me lately, it's been hoop earrings (these, these, and these). For Carlos, it is this hat -

He wants to wear it all the time, and he doesn't just try it on and take it off a few minutes later; he wears it all day. It's pretty comical, especially because it doesn't coordinate particularly well with most of his other clothes. Oh well, it's cute anyways.

Eye candy

I bought some more beautiful cabochons yesterday... they are all available for custom orders so email me if you see something you must have!

Triangular Afghan tourmaline cab, 7mm

Brazillian rubellite tourmaline cabs, 5mm x 7mm

Pink tourmaline cab, 6x8mm

Chrysoprase (I think!?) cabs, 6mm x 8mm

More Afghan tourmaline cabs

some delicate little 5mm pink tourmaline cabs

Aquamarine from Madagascar - WOW!!!

Soft pink tourmaline cabs, cat's eye, 5mm

Triangular pink tourmaline cabs

An informal poll - what should my next free tutorial be?

My first two free jewelry making tutorials* were well received, and I think it's time to publish another. I'm torn between writing a basic soldering tutorial (for beginners on a budget, with minimal tools) or writing instructions to make these ornate beaded earrings:


So I thought, who better to help me decide where to focus my efforts than the people who actually use my tutorials? So tell me please, what's your vote? Leave a comment on this post and after a few days' worth of votes have accumulated, I'll start working on whichever one you guys choose.

And speaking of leaving comments, where the heck have you all been lately? I'm feeling unloved. My site is getting more hits than ever but hardly anyone is commenting. Shower me with attention please, I feel neglected.

* If you haven't already seen them, the two tutorials I've posted before are handmade earwires and rosette wire ring. Enjoy!

Now THAT'S dedication...

I braved the weather from hell today* to take these pictures, just for you. It is beautifully stormy here, and we had the most delightful thunder and lightning in the middle of the night last night...

* actually that makes no sense; Hell would be hot and it was definitely not hot outside today.

But back to jewelry. I am really excited about these rings and that's why I froze my butt off to photograph them today.

First we have an amazing green cat's eye tourmaline high-domed cab, mined right here in California, in a simple hand fabricated sterling silver setting. (The silver components are all from recycled sources.) This is the most expensive stone I've ever set in a ring and I was nervous throughout the process for fear of somehow damaging the stone. Thankfully, that didn't happen!

I used an open-backed setting for this stone, to let the light really stream through it and show off its chatoyancy. In order to provide support for the stone and improve the ring's comfort and wearability, there is a thin layer of clear resin on the back of the stone. You can see this piece in my Etsy shop here.


Next up is a little experiment I've been dying to try for months and months...

It's a rainbow moonstone cabochon set on top of a thin layer of blue resin. I love the way the blue looks through the moonstone... it's a very fun effect. I have lots of other colors (plus endless mixing possibilities, of course) so it will be fun to try this with other colors too.

Finally some more new rings

I have been waiting ever-so-impatiently for my new buffing wheels to arrive so I could finish a few rings that have been almost-done for a long time. Here are a few of my favorites...

I love this one - the stone is SO amazing. It's an Afghan blue tourmaline cab set on a wide, dotty band. I'm definitely planning to go get more stones like this. All of the silver is recycled (yay!)... This is a tiny ring - only a size 4.5 (and the wide band makes it fit even smaller, probably more like a 4) - I hope someone out there with tiny fingers (or perhaps an affinity for pinky rings?) will find this ring and give it a home!

Lemon quartz and sterling silver ring, size 6.5, and another view...

...to show the back side of this ring - it's all wide open, pretty cool, huh?

A custom order olive green tourmaline ring - this is going to be a wedding ring, how exciting!

Faceted prasiolite (green amethyst) and sterling silver (all silver is recycled!); I made two of these, one is a size 5.75 and the other is a size 8.75.

Prehnite and sterling silver ring (again, all recycled silver), size 7

Vegan Pearls - Huge Sale!

I'm discontinuing several colors of my graduated pearl necklaces, and my entire line of pearl flower necklaces, and I have several left that I'm marking way down - now's your chance to get a great deal! These designs use high-quality Swarovski simulated pearls, which are vegan, along with Swarovski crystals (in the graduated pearl necklaces only), and sterling silver. If you're interested in purchasing one (or more) of these beauties, please email me.

Tahitian blue Swarovski pearl flower necklace,
all sterling silver components, 18" or 20" chain, $28 each

Moss green Swarovski pearl flower necklace,
all sterling silver components, 18" or 20" chain, $28 each

Purple Swarovski pearl flower necklace,
all sterling silver components, 18" or 20" chain, $28 each

Lavender Swarovski pearl flower necklace,
all sterling silver components, 18" or 20" chain, $28 each

Tahitian blue graduated Swarovski pearl necklace,
adjustable in length from 16" to 18", $24 each

Moss green graduated Swarovski pearl necklace,
adjustable in length from 16" to 18", $24 each

Ivory graduated Swarovski pearl necklace,
adjustable in length from 16" to 18", $24 each
(sale only applies to necklaces using the blue crystal spacers)

Lavender graduated Swarovski pearl necklace,
adjustable in length from 16" to 18", $24 each

December Jewelry for Charity Recap & 2008 Kick-off

Thanks so much for everyone who helped me raise $340 for Farm Sanctuary during the month of December!!! I know it will go a long way towards helping some truly deserving animals. This donation brings my total Jewelry for Charity contributions to over $2,500 since I started the program last May. It's so wonderful to know that as my business grows, I'm able to use some of the proceeds to help some really amazing charities.

And now I'd like to introduce this month's charity - Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary in Colorado. Peaceful Prairie's mission is to provide a safe, loving and permanent home for rescued farmed animals. In addition to providing life-long care for the animals, they are dedicated to promoting the vegan lifestyle as the most effective way to reduce the suffering and exploitation of animals.

So remember, 5% of anything you spend in my jewelry shop or my bead shop during the month of January will go directly to the animals at Peaceful Prairie! Thanks again for all your support.