Make Me a Butterfly, Again

Just when I think I'm reaching the finish line, someone tacks on another 10 miles.

Or I twist my ankle.

Or I decide to take a longer route.

Such was the case with the butterfly pendant.

I promised a reveal last week, but in the final steps to completion,

the _________ (enter your choice of expletive here) wing broke.

*sigh*

Thankfully, my client had supplied me with two pairs of wings.

Note to self: agate is fragile and cranky.

Here is butterfly #2.

I had to remake the whole sterling frame

as the wings were not the same size or shape.

You see my frustration, right?

But all is well and little butterfly is

packed away ready for shipment.

Happy Sunday!

Make Me a Butterfly

This is one of many projects at the bench this week.

Agate butterfly wings to become a pendant.

When finished, this piece heads to the

Salty Teacup in Portland, OR.

Recycled silver body and head.

The sterling wing bases were hand pierced.

Ready to solder.

Soldering completed!

Freshly soldered prongs.

If all goes well, I'll have the finished piece ready to post tomorrow evening.

Tiny Dots

New dot pendants with 22k gold bezel set gemstones.

The dots are 100% recycled sterling scraps from my own ever growing

collection. The jump rings are 18k gold.

The chain is sterling silver.

Peridot...I think the stone measures about 4.5mm in diameter.

Padparadscha sapphire, 3.5mm. The color is fantastic!

Apatite...diameter is 4mm.

New Work

Two new pendants from me this morning.

I am scurrying around trying to get a gazillion things done this morning.

Photographing these was one project.

The light is good this morning, so I'm glad I found new batteries when the camera shut off halfway through the photo session!

Vintage self-shanking mother of pearl button

set in a serrated fine silver bezel

with a sterling and 18k gold bow accent on the bail.

Vintage watch crystal set in a scalloped fine silver bezel

with vintage mother of pearl button sewn to linen.

I'll be listing these yummy pendant later this afternoon

in my Etsy shop!!

Bee Ring

As promised, here's the completed ring from my early post!

Porcelain Bee Cab from Magpie Pottery

Maggie's work rocks!

Fine silver bezels, all other metal is sterling

Vintage mother or pearl boot buttons from the 1930s.

Sterling rivets and florets.

Front Page

My text ring made Etsy's front page yesterday!

The ring sold within the hour.

Thank you, Etsy and the curator,

Illuminated Perfume!

Bee Thankful

Many thanks to all who sent positive vibes and

encouraging words my way after yesterday's rant.

Today is better.

I sent out some emails,

decided it was OK to say 'no', and readjusted my workload.

Still large, but I can approach it now with some confidence.

Also, I spent a quiet morning working

on a customer's bee ring and a new pendant for my shop.

I took some photos to capture the process.

Photographing while holding a flaming torch is a really, really bad idea.

Seriously, don't try this at home.

Rolling out my bezel to make it round after soldering.

No need to hammer as the pressure of the bench and mandrel

rounds it out perfectly.

To stretch and make the bezel larger,

roll on a steel surface.

The bezel cups, edges getting filed...well, the edges

were getting filed until I had to put down the file to take the picture.

Ready to solder the two smaller cups together.

Again, soldering and photographing not the best multitasking combination.

Finished bezel cups trio

Later this week, I'll have the finished piece!

S.O.S.

Do you ever get that feeling that you are drowning in work and responsibilities?

Like you are always on the edge of some great abyss,

trying to catch your breath,

searching a moment of calm and contentment?

Welcome to my world.

I try to keep my blog postings

brief, pretty, and positive

(Pretty we have today with pics of a new ring I just finished).

But, this week has brought a crushing workload

and financial burdens to boot.

So, I need to vent today.

I'm not going to talk about what my specific burden may be at the moment.

Simply, I'm overwhelmed, anxious, and irritated

and that I crave a week alone with no phone, no computer, far away

on a beach with a frosty beverage at hand.

Thank you for listening.

Next posting will be in better spirits.

Pinky promise.

Mama, Mum, Ma, Mother

Happy Mother's Day.

Yes, a wee bit early, but hopefully I will be far

from the computer on Sunday....

maybe being pampered by my family?

Truthfully, we will be working in our gardens,

planting veggies and seeds in our newly

appointed raised beds, mowing the lawn, weeding the perennial gardens,

swatting the black flies.

In other news, I have finally started to incorporate those

watch crystals into my work.

As much as I like to rivet the buttons,

I craved to actually sew the buttons with thread.

The linen was the perfect addition to fulfill that desire.

To all mothers out there, enjoy the weekend with your loved ones.

This job of motherhood is a challenging one,

but the rewards boundless!