Can You Read This?

I love this button in my latest ring. I bought a set of four from a vendor at a good old Maine flea market. Genuine plastic (like the pairing of those two words?), translucent, and finished with some lovely foreign text. I suppose I could google some of those words and find their origins. Nah, I think a good mystery deepens the interest of this ring. What do you think?

I love a productive week. On a scale from 1 to 100, this was a 83. Not a super score, but work got done even though my dear girl was extra needing of TLC due to her persistent chest cold. I finished 8 pieces or so. How nice to finally start something from scratch. I tend to start too many pieces and work on all at the same time....delaying their completion in the process.

blossom pendant with a sweet little antique button

dot bangle with 18k gold and ceylon sapphire

sterling bubble earrings

18k heart ring with filigree

Now onto the weekend. It's a cold one here in Maine! I plan to stay close to home, read, and enjoy the family (and maybe sneak off to the studio for an hour or two)! Good bye, January 2010!

Collaborations

During our fifth season here in Maine, aptly called Mud Season, I yearn for inspiration in any form. Yes...I know...spring is around the corner but is hesitant to make her appearance. Brown, spoiled, mud-splattered landscapes replace the brilliance of snowcover. When the crocuses delay their emerging and the rains never fall to wash away this unsightly muck, I turn my attention towards creative avenues that distract my bleak opinion towards nature.

Last Mud Season, I focused on felt and embroidery (which ultimately inspired my return to jewelry after a LONG hiatus...but that is a story for another post). This year, I have teamed up with Kim Brennan of Helping Hands Pottery and a fellow Etsy Maine Team member. Kim has created miniature dioramas depicting pastoral farmsteads and forests. She approached me a over our usual Wednesday night brew to design settings for these sweet little sculptures. I heartily agreed and a collaboration was born.

I receive much joy and fulfillment working with a comrade, creating splendid items. The moment when her dioramas find homes in my ring settings is much like spotting the first crocus of spring....a harbinger of great things to come!!!

Front Page!

My little filigree ring made her way to Etsy's front page this morning! Melissa from Little Pink House curated this charming collection of handmade goodness! Two other pieces from Mainers, Swallowfield and Betsy Thompson Studio, accompanied my ring on her trip to the big page!

Contest Reminder, New Listings, and Thankings

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the kick-off for the Etsy Metalsmiths in Action Team's "Seek, Find, and Win" Holiday Contest. Please check out rules here and prize photos here! If you happened to miss my first blog about the contest, you can find it here. Good luck and have fun!

A few new listings today in my shop.

hollow nickel silver and 18k ring with sapphire

sterling silver 'snowfall' rivet pendant

sterling silver 'snowman' pendant

I had a blast making this little silver stack. It's weight is impressive and could easily become a favorite pendant. To create one in gold would be a DREAM! I'm hoping that the gold price continues to fall...$400/ troy ounce would be excellent!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! With a belly full of turkey, squash, and stuffing (AND brussel sprouts AND mashed potatoes AND cranberry sauce AND monkey bread) I present to you the 5 things I'm thankful for this evening:

1. My good health and the good health of my loved ones.
2. My family and friends
3. Sunny, warm places to visit in February
4. My husband who did ALL the dishes and kitchen chores today...you rock, babe!
5. My loyal blog followers!

A Fine Fall Day

Today was a non-bench day. I stayed away from my studio and focused on other projects that needed attention. These were not difficult tasks; some were messy, some were new territory, some were time consuming. Tasks that don't quite gel with the rhythm of my day.

Outside in the chilly morning air, I employed my sister's well-defined ear, long neck, lovely hand, and patience (thanks, Al!) to model all of my finished pieces so I could get some nice 'action' pics for Etsy. During the photo session, we laughed so hard that we forgot about our cold toes and numb fingers. One of those 'you had to be there', dorky sister moments.

With a few of those pictures and some previously shot, I listed my first items on Etsy!! Woo-hoo!!! What I had imagined to be a daunting process was actually fun and quite easy. I brooded over listing for weeks, read and reread the policies, went to the forums...finally I took the plunge. What the heck was I so worried about? With a toddler running around, a dog barking at phantom ducks (the barking starts at 6:30am....it's a mystery, really), and dinner on the stove, I managed to get 2 listings done. More tonight when the family is tucked in and the house is quiet.

I also made a perfect apple crisp (perfect according to hubby, what a guy!) with apples picked by husband and daughter this past weekend. We have a LOAD of apples and I can see that the baking will continue right through this week and into Saturday. Tomorrow? Rustic apple tart.... mmm.

While prepping the apples for their trip into the oven, the 5 pointed, star-shape seed chambers caught my eye. What a surprising and mystical shape to discover inside these fruits. Negative space always interests me...a jeweler sees a mold for wax or metal. If time had allowed, I would have melted some wax and poured the hot liquid into these little chambers. Of course I am thinking ultimately how these hollow, nature-made star shape would look in sterling silver, or, better yet, 18k gold, hanging from a delicate, hand-wrought chain.

Away from the bench today, yes. Away from creativity, never!