Happy Lapis New Year

Lapis!  I love it so much~  Sawn & textured copper, Hill Tribe silver beads, Sterling handcrafted earwires.  These were fun.  :-)

May all my blog friends have a safe New Year's Eve and a 2012 full of new confidence, trust, creativity & JOY!

I thank my Lord God for an amazing 2011!  May I be a better servant and friend in 2012.

For Terri Sue

 A couple of months ago, my friend Terri Sue made some unique and groovy luggage tags for me and my hubby.  I promised to make her a pair of earrings in return....(crickets chirping)...ok, I took a looooong time to make these, but I think she'll love 'em.  Copper, brass, base metal, emerald calcite...."Love Earrings"

Love you all!  Have a great week!

Heart Dangle~Old Pendant

Playing with the mother-of-pearl hearts given to me by Diane Cook~~fun times.  :-)  This pendant is old, but I wanted to add a new heart dangle that I created using the heart bead, a teensy piece of brass that I pierced and stamped, wrapped with steel wire and attached with silk embroidery ribbon.  I'm in LOVE!

Fun day of puttering at home, doing laundry and going to dinner with my DH and one of our girls and her boyfriend.  They drove here from Sacramento...an hour and a half!  And we went to Nantucket Restaurant in Crockett, CA.  Scallops and shrimp~~~yum!

Hope your weekend is full of moments that recharge your soul~ 

Bless you all!

LeeAnn's Bracelet~Amethyst, Rose Quartz and Copper

My high school friend LeeAnn asked for a special bracelet.  She's dealing with health issues, and thought an encouraging bracelet would be just the ticket.  It took me a few months to fit in the time to create it.  You know how that goes~~spouse,work, church, family, other obligations.  LeeAnn waited patiently.  And waited.  And FINALLY she received it last week.  She's happy.  I'm happy.  A perfect ending!

May your week be full of happy times.  And may all of the challenges be surmountable!  Bless you all.

"be joy" Earrings to Make You Smile

Bronze and Copper, sawn, sanded and stamped.
Yummy iolite drops suspended on copper chain.
Hope you smiled!

Love this quote:
"People often underestimate the power of...gratitude.  I have chronic fatigue syndrome, and when I'm feeling bad I remind myself that even in darkness, I am the recipient of many gifts."                              Laura Hillenbrand

May we all focus on our many gifts today.  Bless you all!

hope pray believe...stamped in copper

"hope pray believe"...I had such fun making this yesterday!  I made this for me, and it's a bit different than my usual style.  It's always fun to try something new.  Got to use my new "Tiny Dancer" letter stamps.  Beaducation is my personal crack store!

May your week be full of joyful moments, good friends and productivity~~

Gettin' My Mojo Back and Making Earrings~

I finished these copper and ametrine earrings today!  I'm excited because ever since I've been ill, I haven't had much energy or desire to make jewelry.   And that's sooooo not me!  But I guess it makes sense. 

Low energy=low creativity.

These paua and prehnite earrings were created for my DD's  future mother-in-law in Spain.  Yes, the great news this Christmas time was that daughter number one is engaged to her beloved Spanish boyfriend of five years.   We are going to be forced to attend a wedding in Spain in May 2012!  Life is tough! lol

So, better health, better energy and plans to visit Spain (Barcelona?  Alhambra? hmmmm).  It's all good~~Thank you God for these blessings!   And may you all have a lovely week~~

I've Been Busy! Copper Earrings Day

I've been busy today!  This pair was lots and lots of sawing.  I started them last week and finally got to patina them yesterday.  I LOVE the way they turned out!  And they kinda resemble Christmas ornaments, right?  Perfect for Christmas parties~~:-)

 These hearts make me smile~~I drew them on the copper with a very fine point Sharpie.   Hearts...I just love 'em!    And I wanted the copper circles to frame them.  The turquoise was a last-minute decision.  Originally I was going to use abalone beads, but the turquoise called out to me.  Yep, called my name! lol

Copper, Citrine, Prehnite and Copper chain.  Fun and light to wear.

OK, all I need to do now is get out of my jammies (2:43 PM Pacific Standard Time...for shame!), brush my hair and teeth and run to Studio 41.  

I'm so very thankful for you all.   Thank you for reading my blog and sharing your thoughts.  You are important to me and I wish you the best Thanksgiving and lots of blessings as we head into the Christmas season.   Mmmmmmwah~!

"Always be joyful.  Keep on praying.  No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
                                                                             First Thessalonians 5:16-17

I am blessed.   So much beauty, so much good surrounds me in this life.  May I always appreciate.  May I always exhibit gratitude. 

Hugs to you all!

 I finished this Cold Connection Encouragement Necklace~~

 I've been holding onto this great piece of labradorite for a while...doesn't it glow?  It's time for it to grace someone's neck.

 It's time to encourage someone with a hidden message.  We all should be calm in our hearts!

Thanks for taking a look at this piece...

I sure hope your week went well~~If you faced sorrows, may they be lessened.  If you felt joy, I hope you shared it!

Tomorrow my DH and I will travel to the Gold Country in California~~about 1and 1/2 hours away.  We'll peruse a huge used bookstore.  I'll immerse myself in a bead store and a trading post for jewelry goodies.  Then we'll eat a lovely lunch, walk through antique shops and drive home with smiles.  Wish you could all join us! 
Have fun my friends~

Copper Etched Labradorite Pendant Pics for Rina

 Rina, jewelry-making friend, asked me to post pics of the back of the piece I just posted...so here you go Rina!   This is the back of the top plate (I call this the "bead plate")

 Here is the front of the brass plate.  After I wire the quartz crystal onto the bead plate, I'm going to rivet that bead  plate onto this brass plate.

This is kinda how it will look~~then I'll curl the strip on top to make a bail.  Voila!!! tah dah!!!  There will be 5 rivets, so that may take some time.  Gotta work a little at a time so my gimpy wrist doesn't ache.   AND so I get some laundry and other things done on my day off~~~or we will live in clutter and dog hair.  :-)

Have a super Wednesday!

Sing the Dreams of Your Heart

New piece!
Chrysocola and labradorite on etched brass riveted to copper. The idea for this piece had been rattling in my head and telling me it wanted to be created for a while. I love it! The necklace includes beads of abalone, fluorite, copper, brass, glass and leather~~fun stuff goin' on here. Comfortable to wear too~~

I love the message on the back! It's a fun challenge to think of encouraging messages.



Etched brass and abalone earrings.


Scottish Games in Pleasanton Ca this weekend. Oh, the bagpipes, the kilts, the crowds and vendors. The silly t-shirts with the funny sayings! My DH worked his volunteer position in operations. He worked hard and loved it~~

Well, another Labor Day almost over. The official start of "back to normal". Need to savor every single day~~they are speeding by so rapidly.
Bless you all.

I've Got Help

Button, our little marmalade girl rescue kitty, loves to "help" me when I sit at the computer or work on jewelry. If she's in a "mood", she'll play with the beads, try to gnaw on the wire and demand petting, petting and more petting. Here she's resting until she can pester..er.."help" me again.



Make a wish and dream now earrings for the gallery today. Copper, Fluorite, Pearl and fun. Blessings all!

Love, Laughter and Joy~~Necklace for Ieshia

I'm so happy to finish this commission piece for a friend. She needed it last Sunday! But the wrists tell me how fast I can work~~And they are my boss! I've found that wrist braces help so much.
Citrine, Peridot, Brass, Copper, Glass beads too.



One rivet is a bit funky....rats! But I'm getting better. These are brass escutcheon nails from Ace Hardware. I love the way they look~


You are all wished LOVE, LAUGHTER AND JOY~ It's Thursday my friends. Time to do yoga and have a joyful day. May we all be a blessing to others!

"Gratitude" ~~~I'm Feelin' It!

New bracelet for the Studio 41 Gallery at 700 First Street in Benicia, CA....Gratitude!
So grateful that I can make jewelry again.

So grateful I can work again (yes, honest! staying home when your wrists ache is not that fun) (working is better).

So grateful that I have my sweet hubby, great kids, good doggies, arrogant funny cats, so much. so much!

Today is my DH's beautiful daughter's 26th birthday. I hope she has a great year and realizes that 26 is soooo young.

Bless you all my friends. Must go dry my dripping hair and get ready for another work day tomorrow~
Peace.

Brazilian Occo Geode...yum!

About 3 weeks ago I visited my LBS (Local Bead Store). Beading Around the Bush in Benicia, CA...I LOVE this shop! Anyway, there in a little tray on a low table, I saw them....Brazilian Occo Geode slices...I fell in love immediately. I caressed them and admired their beautiful sparkles. Three made their way into my clutches. I also bought some amethyst points. I had a vision of a pendant. I wanted to explore the idea of a "hidden blessing", a gift from God in an unexpected place.

After sawing the brass, sanding all the rough spots, stamping it a bit, drilling two inner holes for the point, I set the occo into the brass and wired the point into the middle. Then I sawed out the copper shape, stamped the words, etched the copper and riveted the brass to the copper. This took me two weeks! I worked here and there after my day job. And thought about it many random moments. Jewelry making is so engrossing, with challenges and triumphs. ( And occasionally the agony of defeat! lol!)


The rest of the necklace was pretty easy. I love stringing and this one really went together easily.


Earrings to go with the necklace.

Well, it is Mother's Day tomorrow. I have an amazing Mom and I respect and honor her. Hopefully I do this every day, not just a Sunday in May! :-) I hope you all remember your Mom tomorrow and find a hidden blessing from her guidance. Bless you all!

Couple more pieces for Studio 41

More pieces for the gallery~~feeling a bit under the gun because I get to be a featured artist May 1~~~ So I'll take these pieces in tomorrow.


The earrings are new. I flame-patinaed the copper. They are quite swingy and fun to wear.



The pendant was created well over a year ago. It says, "May you be the song in my heart" which is taken from a Tim Hughes praise song. I strung the copper, jasper and pearl beads last week and really can't wait to get it to the gallery.

Can you believe it's April 20th already??? Seriously, where is the month...nay, the year...going? One of my kids will be visiting from Spain the end of next week. When she first told us she'd be home April 29, it seemed so far away. Well, time flies~~~and we are excited to see her and her novio (boyfriend) from Spain.

Have a blessed rest of your week my friends. May spring bring you sunlight and joy!

Two Pairs of Earrings for Studio 41!!!!

Amethyst nestled in stamped and dapped copper. Little silver hand crafted "soul" and "dream" charms. Peridot drops. Handcrafted sterling earwires. Soooooo happy to be creating again!!!



Stamped copper, hammered brass and stamped silver hung on handcrafted sterling earwires with turquoise dangly beads. Fun!

I'm so very happy to show these pieces!!!! It's taken about a month to slowly make them, but it is beyond wonderful to be able to sit at my workbench again and lose myself in jewelry nirvana~~~ I'm able to work about 5 minutes at a time as I must be very gentle with my wrists. But that is 5 minutes of pure happiness~~~

I'm so humbly grateful to God for healing. I'm so thrilled to be back at work! And back making jewelry. Amen~!

Earrings~Heliador and Copper...yum!

My babies...my first pair of earrings I've made since April 2009. Created patiently, bit by bit, 5 minutes here and there, carefully in order to protect my wrists. I love them!
They sat at home for a while, as I enjoyed the fruits of creativity, the first in so very long. And today they went to Studio 41 Gallery in Benicia. Lovely day~~

My wrists are so-slowly improving. The pain flared up for a while, but now seems to be subsiding---knock on my wooden head! :-D And now I must be patient and do my best to rest them to allow them to heal completely. I'm not very patient. Really. My physical therapist Linda theorized that patience is the lesson I'm to learn from this experience...rats! C'mon, God, why can't You just assign a book on Patience and give me a multiple-choice quiz? lol!

So may you have a blessed rest of your week, all my blog friends. And pray for me to gain patience! Thank you so much! Also, keep praying for our world, especially the people of Haiti. I have such trivial things to complain about when compared to their tragedy. May God and His people give them comfort and aid. Amen~