Saturday, November 1, 2014

New things to show!

Yowza! I haven't updated my blog in way to long. It's November already! OK - so I've been making new designs, selling them at online trunk shows and I'm getting ready to take some things up to the Fallbrook Art Museum for their Art of the Holiday show. I love making things for this show! I get to share my designs with a local audience and a portion of everything that sells goes to support the museum! Here are some of my recent creations ....
Blue Linen - Artisan lampwork, blue lace agate and sterling silver
Blue Linen - Artisan lampwork, blue lace agate and sterling silver

Scarlet Lantern - Artisan lampwork, hematite and black rhodium plated sterling silver
Scarlet Lantern - Artisan lampwork, hematite and black rhodium plated sterling silver
Chocolate Wispies - Artisan lampwork, chocolate quartz and sterling silver
Chocolate Wispies - Artisan lampwork, chocolate quartz and sterling silver
Dino-Mite - Dinosaur bone, etched glass and sterling silver
Dino-Mite - Dinosaur bone, etched glass and sterling silver
Vines and Flowers - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals and gold filled
Vines and Flowers - Artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals and gold filled
Sea Swirls - Artisan lampwork, Venetian glass, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver
Sea Swirls - Artisan lampwork, Venetian glass, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver
    

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Here are some recent creations -gemstones and handmade glass beads!

White Roses - Mother of Pearl roses, chalcedony and sterling silver

London Blue Beauty - London blue topaz, handmade glass beads and sterling silver
I'll be selling these (and more) at the Senior Classic Women's soccer tournament this weekend in Mira Mesa.  I'll be playing and selling again this year.  Fortunately my wonderful mom will be helping out and we can only hope things cool down!
We'll be at Hourglass Field in Mira Mesa (just south of Miramar College).  You can park in the Miramar College parking lot or in the field parking lot (back near the pool). We'll be there from 8-4 on Saturday and 8-2'ish on Sunday.  Here's a mapquest link if you need it: Hourglass Field. Hope to see some of you there!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Earring kick!

What can I say - I'm on an earring kick and, apparently, a blue kick.  I didn't notice until I gathered all my recent creations together that more than half are in blue.  Well - here are my recent creations - enjoy!

Aqua Venetian glass and sterling silver earrings     Lava and hand forged argentium sterling silver earrings
AAA blue chalcedony, AAA pearls and argentium sterling silver earrings Aqua and teal artisan lampwork, sea glass rings and sterling silver earrings
Golden pyrite and sterling silver earrings
I'll try to make something besides earrings in my next creative frenzy!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

It's World Cup time!

OK - I admit it - I love soccer, I play soccer and I'm watching the first World Cup as I write (1-1 Brazil/Croatia right now if you're wondering what the score is).  I'll be rooting for the US as long as they last - hopefully into the next round but they are in a tough group!  And, since I also make jewelry I just have to share some of my soccer designs as well as some others - so enjoy!


Pink furnace glass soccer (futbol) bookmark

Soccer ball earrings - ceramic, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver


Soccer ball Iphone charm

Soccer peace crane

Hand crocheted soccer ball

Long time no post - love this post about opals!

Wow - I've been neglecting my blog!  Right now I'm rearranging my workspace and destashing a LOT of stuff I haven't used in years!  I'm amazed at the things I'm digging up and more amazed at the fact that I kept some of it so long.  Well - I may be neglecting my blog but Sharon of Shazzabeth Creations wrote a wonderful blog post about opals.  She included my oval opal earring stud in her post and I love the information she found about the Aboriginal history of opal.  Here is a picture of those opal stud earrings in my Etsy shop


Red and green flash opal and sterling silver

I used boulder opal in the designs for these two bracelets in my ArtFire studio


Chocoholic - Art glass beads, boulder opal, Swarovski crystal and sterling silver


Hint of Rose - jasper, boulder opal, Swarovski crystal and sterling silver

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Love these earrings!

My muse was strong last night as I looked through my beads.  I had to come up with a design for the FACE Foundation Bags and Baubles Fundraiser event.  My original thought was to make a pearl cascade using some chocolate pearls and mocha Swarovski crystals.  But, with our 90 degree weather heating things up, I decided I needed a spring/summer design.  As I dug through my white pearls I saw these keishis and and an idea popped into my head and here it is!






Aren't these earrings just luscious?  Once I return from my next round of traveling I'll make more of this style - some with amethyst, aquamarine and sapphires and a matching necklace too!  Here are some new earrings that are for sale in my studio:

Golden Tassels




Green Pinchies

Viva Italia!
I'm heading off on a vacation shortly and will close my online studios while I'm gone so if you're interested in any of these designs - buy them soon!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Tucson Gem Show Day 5

I had a lot of fun on my 5th day in Tucson!  I started out the day shopping with Toyo of Feng's Trading and a bunch of his special, new stock had just arrived!  I actually did quite a bit of shopping the night before since we arrived at his show after closing time so I could help him close up and then we followed him to Sachiko restaurant for dinner. He was still unpacking boxes that morning so I did a bit more shopping.  Here are the strands I picked up.

Fossil coral


Dumorterite
Fossil coral
Red jasper and mosaic creek jasper
Paua shell (untreated and heat treated)

Nephrite (BC Jade, angelite, rhodonite, Sleeping Beauty turquoise
Sodalite, alligator jasper, ocean jasper, cape (chevron) amethyst


Golden (blue and brown) tiger eye and blue tiger eye
 And a picture of Toyo and I and his loooonnnngggg table of beds.  That's my mom way down at the end!
 
Toyo and I
Toyo's beads ... see my mom way down at the end?




 Once I finished up with Toyo we headed over to the Kino show (formerly TEP).  I found another one of my favorite bead vendors - Royal Quality gems.  Here the 2 owners are with my mom and some of the beads I got there.

Royal Quality gems

 Natural mother of pearl, turquoise

Then we wandered around the Kino show and saw many interesting rocks.  Here are a few...

Azurite
Petrified wood

Lepidolite
Then we had some lunch and headed over to JOGS to close out the day.  I got some sterling silver from SII (the least expensiver per gram that I've seen).  Here's a picture to let you envision the way things look when we're wandering the halls.
Gemstones (precious and semi-precious) by the trayful!






I'm tired so this is it for tonight.  We head home tomorrow but I still have several other days to share with you so you'll get more updates even after I'm home!














Tucson Gem Show Day 4, part 2


Our Monday morning adventures continued as we met up with Bob of Really Old Rocks and his friend Gary Johnson.  I got some turquoise (of unknown origin - old from the estate of a bead shop owner) and apache tears from Gary.  Here's Gary and the pretties I got from him.


Gary Johnson
Apache tears and turquoise
I always have fun checking out Bob's things because he has different rocks every year.  This year he had a lot of Yellowstone Ash Agates.  He had these tested and they are 630,000 year old amygdules most likely from the Lava Creek explosion.  They're pretty cool looking and a bit different.  I got some banded iron (aka genesis stone) and some ash agates and my mom got a piece of dinosaur bone!  Here's Bob and his rocks!

Bob of Really Old Rocks

Dinosaur bone (top left), ash agates (under dino bone) and banded iron (everything else)
Ash agates

Banded iron
After we finished up at the Miner's Co-op show we did a quick stop at JGM so I could put aside some amber chips for a friend of mine and then we headed back to the Pueblo Show to get some half drilled drops at Yau Shing Gems.  On our way in I took pictures of some of the cool and BIG minerals and gemstones you'll see at all the hotels along the freeway.  I have no idea what either of these is - but they look cool!.
It took a while to sort through the various packs of half drilled drops to make sure I can match up pairs and here is the pile I ended up with and a picture of the two people who helped me - brother and sister!


As we were leaving the Pueblo show I saw one of my gemmie friends, Robyn Hawk and not far behind was another friend!  What a coincidence!  Here's a picture of us gals with one of the many crystal skulls you'll see at the freeway shows.

Our next stop was the 22nd Street show.  I was in search of an ammolite pendant for a friend of mine. As I looked and looked for what I thought I saw 2 days ago I found a man, DavidOtteson,  selling ribbon turquoise cabs. I can't believe I missed him 2 days ago since I love ribbon turquoise!  It's hard to find since it has to be just a thin ribbon of turquoise in some hard rock like quartz or jasper.   I did forget to take a picture of David, but here are the gorgeous cabs I got.
Aren't they purty!  Then I did a final check for the ammolite pendant and found it in a booth I didn't even look in before.  I have no idea what I remembered seeing on Saturday.  Well it took a bit of back/forth messaging on facebook, sending pictures of various pendants, waiting for an answer, ... but in the end here is the pendant she'll be getting and the fun folks at Morning Sun Jewelry from Grass Valley, California!  I just keep running into Californians all over the place.
Susan, Peter and Mom
The booth gang at Morning Sun Jewelry
The next stop was dinner with Toyo Feng of Feng's Trading.  I've been buying for him for as long as he's been selling on his own - amazing!  This is the first time our schedules meshed so we could have dinner together.  Here we are at Sachiko's enjoying sushi, sashi, tempura and teriyaki beef.

Mom, me and Toyo!
Now I'm 2 days behind in posting - but Mr. Sandman is telling me it's bedtime - so good night for now!