New Earring Monday - 10/27/08

Today's earrings were actually a boo-boo I did at the retreat. I picked up tiny 4mm bezels instead of the 6mm, and didn't notice until after I had soldered them to the domes. I set little onyx stones instead of the 6mm denim lapis I had planned, but I thought the stones looked way too small, so I kind of set them aside for a while. However, the more I looked at them the more I liked them, and now I'm keeping this pair for me! I've decided they look a bit zen-like in their simplicity, and I really like the way they look on the ear. Soooo, they became this week's new design. I'll be making them with different colored stones - nice little red garnets, iolite, jade, moonstones, and whatever else strikes my fancy, or comes my way as a request. I'm making a pink rhodochrosite pair for my Mom - she likes them too!

Bezel set onyx ring

I decided to try fabricating a ring with a bezel set stone. I have a bunch of square cabochons that I've had for 10 years, so I'll be using these up in practice pieces. This ring was made with a plain low-dome silver wire for the shank, the bezel setting was handmade with fine silver bezel wire and a sterling backplate cut out with a saw and soldered to the bezel. I then shaped a piece of twisted wire around the bezel for an accent. I really like the way this one turned out - quite a bit neater than my first one. I think it's a lot of fun to make the bezel settings and I can't wait to try a different shaped stone now. I got a parcel of lovely stones from Out of Our Mines in California, and I'll be using these in the next piece I do - Here's the little group....

And now for something a bit different - Black

Still fusing silver circles, but now we're going a bit more bold. Large circles hanging on smooth, shiny little nuggets of onyx. This one feels really good to wear, and looks great with a white shirt and black pants.

Romantic Red

I rarely ever design with red, probably because there just aren't many really red semi-precious stones out there. I've had some lovely little faceted ruby beads for a while, and just recently saw these great cubic zirconia pendants - they sparkle like Swarovski crystal, but they are as hard as diamonds! I had some fun forging and hammering a little silver heart, and embellishing with more rubies and a lovely little fairy. Just right for Valentine's Day!

More black!

This necklace is made from onyx beads with an interesting dangle of unusual faceted banded agate. I've had this small parcel of huge faceted black and banded agates since last summer's gem show, and have just not been able to decide what to do with them to do them justice. I love this one, and think that a few more necklaces might be just the thing for these stones.

Casual Copper

I started doing copper pieces earlier this fall so I could perfect my texturing techniques on something less expensive than silver. Somewhere along the way I fell in love - copper is a joy to work with, and goes so well with all the lovely, warm colors and textures of the fall and winter seasons. Here is one of my favorite projects - a pair of hand textured copper earrings with onyx chip dangles. Very fun and casual....

Christmas is coming, coming.......

I love Christmas, and this weekend I really started getting in the mood. I've completed the first of several gifts, and am starting to think about decorating the house.....ho, ho, ho......
This set is a "wild" mix of sesame jasper, hypersthene, onyx, picture jasper, tigereye, freshwater pearls and animal print clay beads. The earrings are made from two of my fused metal circles which were hammered for a bit of texture, and dangle from hand forged ear wires.