cserpentDesigns Newsletter 01/2020

cserpentDesigns Newsletter

Enjoy!                                                            January 2020                                            Happy New Year! 2020 has begun, my annual Tucson visit is looming and I'm actually getting a newsletter out to start the year! I'm slowly working my way back to playing soccer.  I made it through half a training session this weekend and I'll see how long I can play in a small field game with an over 55 group next weekend.  I'm in the throes of closing the books for 2019 so I'll be ready to add my inventory from Tucson into my database.  I had fun playing with some new enameling techniques so you'll be seeing more designs with my enamel work in them this year.   All my new designs premiere on Facebook since I really like the one-on-one interaction you get with people in the various jewelry groups.  If you want to be the first to see my designs be sure to like cserpentDesigns on Facebook and turn on the notifications.  I update my blog somewhat regularly and I do blog about my new designs there as well.  One big accomplishment last year was to get my own website for my jewelry designs.  cserpentDesigns.com  is open and ready for business.   Since it's January I have to have some garnet designs in my shop.  I'm working on a few more designs with garnet so check back often to see what's new. Ringed Garnet Wisps - Gorgeous artisan lampwork beads, garnet and sterling silver earrings Red Tipped Spikes - Beautiful Sonoran jasper, hollow artisan lampwork beads, garnet and sterling silver If you are on my Facebook page and want to shop just click the Shop Now button. If you're local and are interested in a home jewelry show anytime this year please contact me so we can arrange it. Hostess discounts are available and a hostess gift is always part of the show!   You know I love purple, but I also think kyanite is a gorgeous gemstone.  For this pair I combined the two for a beautiful design.  Available in my studio. Turquoise and Gold Kumi I am doing more Kumihimo weaving with beads, cord and fiber and am adding in larger beads for some designs.  I love turquoise and gold and had fun weaving this beautiful and long necklace. Available in my studio.   Flower Garden Slider I'm designing a new style of bracelet. This is adjustable with a sliding bead so it is easy to put on, adjust and take off. This pretty is available in my studio.   Lime and Purple These earrings use a pair of my enamel drops.  This enameling technique is called crackle enamel.  I layer on multiple colors of glass and a crackle enamel. The crackle enamel causes the upper layers of glass to open up so you can see the lower layers of glass.  I combined the drops with artisan lampwork, Swarovski crystals, Czech glass and copper.  This is available in my studio.

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Weaving away!

I love turquoise and gold and that's the combination I went with for this Kumihimo weave necklace.  I wanted to incorporate some beads into this design and these Kazuri ceramic beads were perfect.  They have a base of turquoise with gold accents.  It takes a bit more work to include beads during the weave but adds such a nice little umph! to the design.  Here's a quick summary of what's involved in the process:

• Cut all the cords
• Thread the beads onto the cords.  Normally you thread on the beads for the entire necklace but since I was adding beads I only added the beads for the necklace section before the bead
• Set them up on the marudai (the wood weaving apparatus)
• Start weaving!

Here are some shots as I worked.

As you can see I had to add a bit more weight (my tools) to keep the weaving balanced :)

And here is an upclose shot of the necklace in its beginning.


And many hours later the beads are incorporated into the design and weaving continues.

At this point I have to add in the rest of the beads to complete the necklace.  So off I go to string them on and finish the weaving.  I'll be back when I'm done.

The weaving is done and now I just have to add the clasp.  I love this color combo!

Tucson - Day 5

We've been busy for the past 4 days and I just haven't had the energy to blog about our days when we roll back to our condo.  We've visited many of my favorite vendors and found some wonderful beads and cabs.  Today's adventures took us to Holidome, Gem Mall and back to my favorite turquoise guys at the Howard Johnson show.  I didn't take a single shot of who we saw though I should have taken a picture of our barista at the Gem Mall food court.  She made a GREAT caffe mocha.  Here are some of the items we found today.   Have I mentioned how addicted I am to turquoise?  LOL!

Coin pearls - varying from not so great quality at the bottom to pretty decent quality at the top

Black onyx and fossil corral

More pearls!

Poppy jasper, red creek jasper and Montana moss agate

Royal beauty turquoise

Nevada blue turquoise and sleeping beauty turquoise

Gorgeous color!

I've been having fun with color in my earring designs.  Enjoy!

Tucson Gem Show 2014 - Day 1

I'm back in Tucson (along with my mom) for the fun and interesting gem shows!  We arrived this morning, had some lunch at Las Margaritas, mom got a Starbuck's mocha and then we hit the shows!  Our first stop was the GIGM show at the Howard Johnson motel.

I found some beautiful lapis at Afghan Gem Jewelry.  I don't know if I got the best price around but I liked Aman and found some nice polished and faceted lapis beads.  Here's Aman with some of his beads in the background.

Aman from Afghan Gem Jewelry

My favorite turquoise dealer/miner Shellbone and his dad are at this show every year.  I have a camera that works indoors this year so my pictures are better.  Here are Shellbone, my mom and his dad (and I did not remember his dad's name and didn't think to ask! silly me!)

Shellbone, owner of Nevada Turquoise Co. (on the right), his dad (on the left) and my mom

Shellbone has some BIG gold nuggets he and his dad got while panning in Alaska.  This year they went panning in northern California and found a few more nuggets which he showed us, but they don't compare in size to Alaska nuggets.

Next we wandered around the show some more and met this very nice man, Ibrahim, from Morocco.  I got some Orthoceras pendants (also from Morocco) from him.

 

And I just thought the size and color of this gemstone ball was stunning ... I didn't ask what the stone is and I'm not quite sure.  It resembles rhodocrosite but may be pink quartz - I really should ask when I take pictures of things like this.

Our next stop was the 22nd Street show.  I didn't remember if we ever went to this show but once we got inside we did see some familiar companies like Wyoming Fossils.  This is a great show for fossils - all shapes and sizes.  We also saw this neat art by John T. Benedict of Some Distant World.  He uses parts from cars, nuts, bolts, steel and all kinds of other metal things.  Where possible he designs his pieces so the moving parts can still move!  He even has a button you push on that lantern fish to the right of his head so the lantern lights up!  Very cool!

John T. Benedict of Some Distant World in Tucson, AZ

I stopped by Pangaea Industries to see what they had for interesting fossils and stones.  I got some cool herkimer quartz rough (for a sterling or copper sandwich - details below) and an Orthoceras coaster to replace one that got broken last year at home.

We made one final stop at the Pueblo Gem show to see my favorite larimar sellers, Jens and Cynthia of Larimar Conlight.   I did get some round larimar beads ... I have a soft spot for the beautiful, Caribbean blue color of larimar!  I did a quick check at Yaushing Gems but none of the brios/drops pulled me in.  Then I checked in at Thomas Schneider Gems and found some cool roughs in amethyst and citrine and some tumbled peridot that I'll mount in a sterling washer sandwich similar to this:

And here are the stones (not the best pictures, but they're taken in a hotel room) ...

 

Brazilian amethyst and citrine, Arizona peridot

Herkimer quartz

And below is a sampling of some of the pretties I got today ...

Afghan lapis

Orthoceras

Rhodocrosite

Turquoise and spiny oyster

Larimar

Enameling Hoops

I finished up several designs with enameled iron wire hoops and they are all waiting to be displayed at the Fallbrook Art Center Art of the Holiday show on 11/29. I need to make more to sell in my own shops! I think yellow with some yellow aventurine hanging in the hoop would be wonderful and cheery.  Here are some of the designs I finished.

Gorgeous green with BC jade

Lime green with purple micanite and amethyst

Purple with gorgeous charoite!

Turquoise hoop with Pilot Mountain turquoise

 You can see designs I have for sale on my website - http://www.cserpentDesigns.com and you can see more of the items available at the show on my Art of the Holiday gallery web page.

Bullets and Bling!

Well I'm actually showing bullet shells and bling :)  My hubby does target practice and brought home some bullet shells to see if I could use them for anything.  I decided to use them with some blingy rhinestone chain and gemstone accents.  Enjoy!

40 caliber bullet shell, AA grade moonstone, Swarovski crystals and Czech rhinestone chain, sterling silver earwires, "Love my cat" charm

40 caliber bullet shell, AA grade moonstone, Swarovski crystals and Czech rhinestone chain, br earwires, "Love my dog" charm

9mm luger bullet shell, angelite, Swarovski crystals, Czech rhinestone chain, vintage 1930's rhinestones, brass earwires

Tucson - Day 1

Well our condo WIFI is not working so posting on the internet is a bit of a pain since the wired connection is in one of the bedroom's - and it isn't my bedroom.  Anyway here's a quick synopsys of some neat things we've done/seen in Tucson...

Day 1 - The three of us gals posing in the beautiful back yard of our condo in north Tucson

Linda and Elven at Elven Stones (beautiful turquoise!)

Beautiful turquoise from the Nevada Turquoise Co - one of my first visits when I arrive in Tucson!

And more turquoise from Nevada Turquoise Co!

Rhodocrosite from Rhodo Co

Huge amethyst geode out front at JOGS

Just a little bit of wire here and there ...

A friend of mine gave me a picture of some earrings she liked, could no longer buy (they aren't made anymore) and she wanted some changes made in the designs anyway ....  So from the picture she gave me I initially made an example in copper with the same size beads that I would use in the final design.  Here's the mockup I made

She approved the mock up design so I then did the final design in gold fill with turquoise seed beads and salmon pink coral drops.  Here's the final design.

I think they turned out pretty nice!  I think I'll make a pair in copper too - since I have half the design mostly done already!