Delicate shades of green

Here are some more of yesterday's purchases. The palest, milky green coloured prehnite stones, some with wonderful inclusions. I seem to be drawn to these again and again. I think I will set one of the round ones in a gold ring, but the other stones will be bezel set in silver and be added to other silver bits on chains. I am not sure yet what will happen to the beads. I have some experimenting to do.

Buying gemstones

Been busy today buying more sparkly stones, and some semi precious beads for future projects. It was really nice to meet up with Jeweller and artist Hannah Willow, to share some thoughts, ideas, and a coffee. I will do another post leading you to Hannah's work, but it the mean time, I'll leave you with a typical view from today, and you will understand why it is easy to spend a fortune. Self control required!

Flickr stream

Finally got round to uploading some images to Flickr here. It's the first time I have used it. I guess it is quite handy if you want to show someone images of my work. Feel free to pass it on!

A small speck of sunshine

Some of my stuff is disappearing of to a gallery for a while, which might make life tricky if someone buys it from the Etsy shop- so today I was up early and made this little silver bezel, and set this lovely free form citrine to make a second "not all those who wander are lost" necklace. This way I still have the one that is in the Etsy shop in stock.

The pendant is etched, and has a soft brushed finish. With the citrine on this, it sits really well with the other pieces going on display, as the pair of bangles set with a similar citrine will also there.

I am actually really excited about a big chunk (16 pieces) of my work going off. They looked great all in their new packaging, so fingers crossed for a few sales, and some new interest.

Sewing fun

I can never resist an opportunity to get the sewing machine out, so look what I made yesterday. These little drawstring bags are so much nicer than the black velvet inserts that came with the boxes.

Albatross is in the shop

Freshly back from being hallmarked, this one has just gone into the Etsy shop. Click on the Etsy shop link on the right to see it there.

New boxes

A little stash of new boxes arrived yesterday. I have always liked the 'clunk' of the traditional jewellery boxes I was using, but feedback suggests that people thought these did not reflect my pared down, contemporary look. These ones are card with a lovely cream satin finish.

I have been thinking of getting them printed with my name - BUT you need to order a lot, so I could be using them for years to come. It's a big commitment - financially, and to one particular logo!

I plan to get the sewing machine out this afternoon, and try some little fabric bags to go inside them. They are supplied with black velvet covered foam, and it's just not quite right. Watch this space.

New rings

They still need a little more finishing; but I have set a couple of my lovely stones, a bright topaz, and a beautiful big pink amethyst. Its always a struggle not to keep these kind of rings, but I will put them in the Etsy shop.

Mistletoe

I know it's a while until Christmas, but I had in mind some ideas around mistletoe and I started working on this yesterday. I made this pendant, which has lovely movement. I am really pleased with it as a starting point. I think I might add some real pears for the berries, so there is still more to do yet. I imagine it on a very long chain. It might make it to the Etsy shop, or I might keep this one for myself.

What shall we learn today?

Actually, it should read 'what can I teach today?' Yesterday morning I really enjoyed teaching my friend Sophie to make a ring. Sophie is rather like me in that she makes all sorts of things from all sorts stuff, so I decided that we could do a skills swop and I would teach her how to make a ring, and she would teach me... who knows what on a different day.

Just because you can make, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can explain to others how to do the same. But it went really well. I think it was helped by the fact that Sophie is practical and used to working with her hands. After a few hours we had a lovely finished shiny ring.

I still remember (even though it was a long time ago!) that first evening class I went to, and the first exercise we did that was making a ring. I was astounded and delighted.

Now what I really need is some honest feedback from Sophie, as to wether I was any good, or where I 'could do better' trouble is I don't think she would be anything but polite!

A 70th Birthday commission

I have just finished a version of my Family necklace - without photos on for a change. It is a commission for a special birthday, and it has the names and birth dates of four grandchildren on it. I am sure the recipient will be touched by the idea of such a unique gift.

Albatross

Not long ago I finished reading 'A dip in the Ocean' by Sarah Outen, a 23 year old who rowed solo across the Indian Ocean. The adventurer in me loves to read about other people's exploits. It started with 'Sally's Odd at Sea', which was written by a fellow Straggler Club runner. She rowed the Atlantic - with her mother!!! ... Anyway... I loved reading about Sarah being joined in the middle of nowhere by huge meandering albatrosses. I like to think that I can imagine just how she felt. It inspired this necklace that is shown in work on my bench peg tonight.

It sounds like Sarah misses her mum when she is off on her travels, and I am sure her mum misses her. I had a romantic idea about making them matching albatross necklaces with my little 'not all those who wander are lost' etched onto them, but for now, I'll settle for this one which I will finish off and pop in the Etsy shop.