Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy - 9/28/08

Hope you are having a great Sunday! I really look forward to this blog post each week. I love my coffee (maybe tooo much, ha ha..) and I love talking about the incredible talent to be found on Etsy. So, without further ado - here are this week's treasures....



As I mentioned last week, I am a pottery addict. Actually, it goes further than that. I am a full-blown dish, glassware, and pottery addict. I love to set a beautiful table, and I never tire of collecting unusual tabletop treasures. I fell in love with this stunning handblown wine glass the minute I saw it! Elijah Aller's Etsy shop is filled with beautiful glasswork from Martini glasses to rings and pendants. I especially love this lovely deep blue spiral pendant.




And if you love a good cup of tea.... here is a lovely teapot set from HappyLake's Etsy Shop Her pieces have a beautiful organic feel to them. I would love to have her two gorgeous pod gathering baskets on my living room coffee table.




Well, my coffee is finished, so time to get down to the studio to start today's creations. See you all soon!

This Week's Work - Saturday 09/27/08

I can't believe it's Saturday already!! I've gotten my two gallery orders finished and I'm working on a wholesale order, and a couple of new pieces, including that yummy moonstone - hopeing to finish that one tomorrow. I'm in the mood for pendants, it seems, and the new pieces this week are both pendants again.

A simple little silver and copper piece, and a sweet brass swallow with one of the little iolite stones that I got last week. I also made a couple of buttercup ring and pendant sets for the Local Palette Gallery in middle Tennessee. I've been drooling over many of the paintings there, especially these two, and can't wait to drive over for a visit in person. If you're passing through Lynchburg, Tennessee, be sure to stop and visit!!

Mid-week Bench Check

Yay, I have finally gotten caught up with customer orders! Now I'm working on two gallery orders, and then I'll be working on new designs. I have sooo many ideas for new pieces, I can't wait to get some of them made. And I'm feeling like the pink opal piece I blogged about back a couple of months ago might get done soon, too.

Another thing I'm very excited about now that I am not juggling my day job with my jewelry is finally having the time to get my metalsmithing area organized and looking better. My bead studio is a lovely bright space on the 2nd floor and overlooks the garden. What a contrast this is - I call it the "dungeon", lol!



My goal is to get a storage area for my tools, probably some type of rolling cart with drawers, and a real jewelers workbench with a place to attach real bench pins and everything. And a drawer to catch what I drop - I drop a LOT of stuff! I have gotten up the courage to post my "before" pictures. Please don't be frightened, ha ha! This is what it looked like this morning as I was working on a couple of stacking ring sets.

Also pictured are two stones I'm working on ideas for - an easter egg jasper cab with a little pocket of drusy, and a yummy moonstone. I'm thinking about making a ring for myself out of the moonstone - I really love that stone, it is totally gorgeous in real life.



Well, that's about it for today, time to get to bed so I can get an early start in the morning. And drink coffee out of my NEW CUP! (Yes, I bought the cup, and it came today - I love it!)

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy 09/21/08

I'm not much of a shopper in real life, but I'm an online shopping addict! Anytime I can do something in my pajamas with a cup of coffee, I'm all for it! Ever since I opened my Etsy shop on Valentines Day this year, I have been amazed at all the fabulous hand-crafted items there from laundry soap to paintings to greeting cards to vintage clothing. And, of course totally rockin' jewelry!!

Anyhoo, I thought that I would share my finds every week with you - I just have to tell someone about these great goodies I come across!

This morning I checked the main page showcase as usual, and found this completely cool potter's shop. Now I am a bona-fide pottery addict, so of course I want everything in the shop, ha, ha. But since I'm now a full-time "starving artist", I'll have to be satisfied with the occasional purchase, and a very long wish list. This cup is definitely on my must have soon 'short list'.

The Brilliante Award!

Thanks so much to my friend Pam of the Blue Between for nominating me for this award (way back in July, gosh I got behind with my blog posts!!). Pam is a great lampwork and jewelry artist, so be sure and check out her work here. What a great way to share great blogs and art with each other!

In return, here is my list of nominees that I'd like to receive this award as well:

1. A Metalsmith's Journey
2. Debra Linker - Living in Full Color
3. Tammy's Treasure Chest
4. Lisa's Lovlies
5. Chris Kerr Jewelry
6. Not Your Average Jo-Jo
7. Aden Angier Design Blog

Here are the rules for this award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.
6. Write an acceptance speech in the style of the Academy Awards, thanking every body's mother, father, sister, brother, aunties and uncles and the kitchen staff at your favorite restaurant!

This Week's Work - Saturday 09/20/08

Now that I am a full-time artist, I will have the luxury of being able to create new things more often. I'll be featuring my new designs every Saturday, so check back to see what I've been up to! This week has been very busy catching up on orders. I was my last week at my day job, so I was still on the "night shift" all week. I got a new shipment of supplies, and discovered a new favorite stone - iolite. These tiny little cabochons (4mm) are just so pretty, I immediately made a new piece to show them off. "Wish Upon a Star" is a little necklace of hammered sterling silver with a pair of brass stars, and a lovely little iolite stone.



I will defintely be making myself a ring with iolite to wear all the time. For those of you who are interested in stone meanings here are the "powers" of iolite:

Iolite is a fascinating stone with an interesting past. Ancient mariners used iolite as a compass to guide their way to sea. They noted that it would show different hues of blue-violet when held to the northern and southern skies. Ancients believed that it could unlock creativity in an artist.

Iolite opens a path to your deep inner self
Use this stone to discover the lost parts of self and your inner treasures. It is an excellent stone for shamanic journeying or to assist in recovering information from past lives. It clears the third eye chakra. It is a stone of vision and creative expression. Iolite is especially compatible with lapis lazuli, amethyst, azurite

Healing properties of Iolite:
Iolite supports the healing of the eyes, stimulates memory and helps with sleep imbalances.


Also new this week is my Little Wrapped Oh Pendant. I had been thinking of making a pair of petite wrapped hoops with a brushed satin instead of hammered finish, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. When making an order for the earrings this week, one of them just didn't match well enough, so I set it aside. Seeing it lying there alone on the bench made me notice that it would make a great littl pendant - and lo, the Little Wrapped Oh was born. It's a sweet little pendant with an oxidized and brushed finish. I'm keeping the first one for myself - haven't taken it off since I made it :).

Fall, a Time for New Beginnings

For me, Fall has always meant a time for change, and a fresh start, even more than at the first of the year. This is especially true for me this year. My jewelry business has been growing a great deal this year, as I have expanded my metalsmithing skills, opened my Etsy shop, and filled out my portfolio on Trunkt. My sales have been increasing slowly but surely, and my work is now in two wonderful galleries - Kolors in Lexington, Kentucky, and Local Palette Gallery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. I am very excited by this growth, and more inspired than ever to create new designs and learn more techniques. So much so, that after much thought, I have taken the plunge and quit my job in order to devote full time to growing my jewelry business. There is so much that I have wanted to do, but could not due to lack of time. This is a large step, and a bit risky, but I felt the time was right, so here I am! My last day is a week from today, and then I will be a full time artist!! I will be sharing my new journey here on this blog.