Scottish Games Jewelry Bench Bliss

A few years back I purchased a Kerr crest rubber stamp.  Two years ago I stamped a bunch of copper and brass and etched some simple pendants.  

This year I wanted to play around with it.

Brass, Copper, Nickel: Etched, Sawn, Patinaed, Composite leafed, Pounded, Stamped and Riveted.  All cold connected.  

"Sero Sed Serio" means "Late But in Earnest".

I have no idea why they came up with that family motto.  :-)  

Anyway, I've been playing at the bench ALL DAY.  Now I must get in the kitchen, make my lunch for tomorrow's workday, pick out my scrubs & stuff, clean the cat box, wash dishes and shower and get in BED.  

Hope your Wednesday was as fun as mine.  Bench bliss....nothing like it!

Sueno~~Dream

What a great afternoon!  My darling DH is at the kiddo's house in Elk Grove helping with a non-fun bathroom wall & window repair.  Poor guy!  After church, he drove the hour and 15 minutes there and I stayed home and puttered.  Then plunked at the bench and finished up this piece that I'd started a couple of weeks ago. 

Ooooooooohhhhhh was it the most fun in the world to be in "the zone".  4 hours. Total bliss. 

Now my neck and back are telling me what a dumbhead I'd been, but my heart is telling me that this was exactly what I needed.  Thank you God!

Wishing you all a good strong great week~~

"Sing Praise" Stamped Pendant

Had a front bottom tooth pulled yesterday....ugh.  I look like snaggle-toothed granny right now.  The braces will even everything out in the future, but it was a shock when I first spied myself in the mirror!

Anyway, I spent all afternoon playing at my workbench.  I used metal shears and mostly simple stamps and basic wireworking to make this "Sing Praise" pendant.  I was engaged, happy, "in the zone".  I love that feeling!

A new week~may you all feel renewed and grateful for small blessings.  Sending you a hug~ 

Pearl & Brass Earrings

It's the end of 2011.  Here are some party earrings to get you ready to celebrate the New Year.  Pearl, Labradorite, Glass, Brass & Copper all come together.  They've been sold to a gal at my day job.  Party Time!

Road Trip

Annual Anniversary Road trip with my sweetie!  We traditionally celebrate our September anniversary in October.  Why?  It just always seems busy busy busy in September.  Anyway, we always get away for a day or two.

We tooled up to the California Gold Country.

Jackson! 

This darling shop holds treasures galore.  "Tinker O'Brien" Vintage & Uncommon Goods.  22 Main Street, Jackson, CA.  The owner is the friendliest darlingest gal!

This piece is for sale in that wonderful shop~~hope it finds a nice home with someone who needs to be encouraged!

More Ice Resin~~Serenity, Joy Resilience Pendant

New resin piece.  It's so fun to create  a piece with positive thoughts encased in clear hardness.  To be able to hold and reread encouraging words throughout the day.  Blessings!

"Dream & Grow" my friend.  Summer dreams can encourage love, encourage peace. 

Have a lovely Thursday!  Savor the present moment~~find the bits of goodness. 

Goof Off Pendant

Lovely warm Saturday in Vallejo.  I'm "bach-ing" it , with my sweet DH down in Bakersfield.  Working on jewelry, goofing off.  Made this smoky quartz, brass, turquoise, copper & silk pendant for myself.  Maybe I should call it my "Goofing Off" Pendant~~ :-)
Must sweep up dog fur today, clear clutter, do laundry AND work on resin pendants.  And MUST smile at myself in the mirror, dance a bit while drinking my water, talk to the kitties and thank God for my blessed life.  I'm so grateful that I live in the United States of America.  I'm so grateful that my grandparents immigrated from Czechoslovakia and Poland so many years ago, bravely starting new lives.  Blessed indeed.

May your weekend be truly good.  Filled with all that enters your heart with quiet joy~~

Resin~Fill your mind with thoughts of faith, hope & courage

 Finished a pendant today.  Been plugging away for a few weeks, a bit at a time.  Resin is a medium that still holds challenges for me, but the ability to encase a message is wonderful!  This piece consists of resin, paper, copper, brass, nickel, a quartz bead, silk ribbon and steel wire. 

 I don't know if you can read the back easily.  It says, "your life will be filled with joy". 

The side view shows more stamping and how I connected the piece.  All cold-connections, all pondered and slowly assembled.  Lots of humming, smiling to myself, listening to Christian music and an old chick flick or two.  Don't think I ever get enough of "You've Got Mail"~~lol!  Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are such a fun combination. 

It's Wednesday, and June is almost gone.  Astonishing how fast the time rushes by.   May the rest of your week be blessed and joyfully start the new month. 

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!

Surprises from Diane

Last Thursday I dragged home from work.  Shooting x-rays makes me run back and forth, adjusting patients and running back to operate the machine.  I didn't know that when I drove home I'd find a surprise waiting.   Diane Cook had sent me a package of fun!   See the brass chain, luscious buds and brass filligree above?  And that was just the start of the fun.

Mother-of-Pearl hearts!!! Love 'em!  A whole fun strand of them to add to my creations.  Oh yeah!

Smokey Quartz.  Doesn't it look like jelly beans?  Yummo!

Now this is SERIOUSLY cool----synthetic steel wool and sanding rectangles!  Diane had told me about synthetic steel wool while we were chatting about jewelry techniques.  I was intrigued...a steel wool that didn't make an enormous mess every time you used it?  Yahoo!  Well, I hadn't had a chance to hunt for it at Ace Hardware.  Diane thoughtfully sent these!

Diane's hubby sent my hubby a book that he's just started and really enjoying.  What a lovely classy couple.  We were blessed to have them visit.  Maybe someday we will be able to travel to Texas.  If all Texans are so nice, it'll be the best visit!

Diane Cook is a Lovely Lady!

Well, you'll never guess who visited this week from Texas~~~Diane Cook!   And she is even lovelier than her blog!   And her blog is BEAUTIFUL~~~

First, she brought me wonderful gifts~~Silk, a crucifix charm, delicate angel wings and a charm handcrafted by her.  See the beautiful sisters?   And their darling feet?  Below it all dangles a Czech bead. Charming!!!  Diane also gave me a luscious bar of soap.  It's not pictured because I put it in my shower immediately.   mmmmm so wonderful...

We had breakfast together~~

And enjoyed the beauty of Sonoma AND Bodega Bay.  Of course we talked and laughed and ate way too much.  Our husbands treated us like princesses and I had a great time.  She had to leave this morning, but she leaves with my friendship and love.   Now my DH and I must travel to Texas!

Peridot, Copper & Brass Cross Earrings for Kate

Weekend is here!  Hope it's a wonderful break for you all~~

Here's a pair of earrings I made for my friend Kate.  Peridot is so delicious!

Resin Cabochon Pendant & An Amazing Day

What a wonderful day~~After worship and a visit to a dear friend, I came home and glued myself to my workbench.   I finished the resin cabochon pendant!  With only a few mistakes along the way~~pretty amazing.  The wonderful part of the day was being fully engaged in creating this piece.  The hours disappeared.  When I came up for air it was 9:30, which is 30 minutes past my bedtime!  Seriously, on work mornings I wake up at 4:30...so an early bedtime is a must.  But today is President's Day and the Imaging Facility I work at is closed...whee!  AND my sweet darling husband is in Bakersfield with my little brother.  I'm luxuriating in sheer selfishness. 

Side view of the piece.    The cabochon is cold connected to the copper plate with the stamped tabs.  Below you can see the rivets I used to attach the tab sheet to the copper plate.  I'm so happy and proud of this!  I'm so grateful to God for this gift of creative joy.

Revelations Chapter 21: Verses 3-4  NLT

"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people!   He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever."

A new week my friends.  Now I get to catch up on laundry & stuff to get ready for work Tuesday.  But I hope I always hold the joy of play and creation deep in my heart.  Love y'all!

New Earrings: Copper & Brass, Etched & Hammered, Quartz & Onyx

Pair of earrings ready for Studio 41 in Benicia.  Etching brass or copper is such a satisfying process.  You write on your metal with a Sharpie, suspend it in ferric chloride and tah dah!  Etched & textured to your specifications.  My kind of fun!

Women of Faith conference in Sacramento.  Could only attend Friday...but wow!  Sheila Walsh's story and encouragement brought me to tears of joy, tears of breaking open to God's love.   Amazin' day.   Effects still lingering in my heart and thoughts.

Saturday~fun family day when my newest nephew Kevin was baptized.  Lots of laughs and too much delicious Mexican food.  We are a blessed family!

Monday tomorrow....may we all sail smoothly into our weekly duties.  I'm prayin'!  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!

I Heart my Jeweler's Saw

I really love my jeweler's saw...honest!  I know many jewelry makers hate the saw.  It's slow and can be difficult and "sticky" to use with copper and brass sheet.  I used to hate mine until I tore the ligaments in my right wrist.  Even after surgery, I can't use the metal shears without pain....soooooooo I'm getting so proficient with my saw.  And the attractive shelving cushion stuff that I rubber-banded on the handle just makes it easier for my hand and wrist.   lol~~high-tech!   Anyway, Susan Lenart Kazmer has a great video on how to use the jeweler's saw:  http://objectsandelements.com/shop/instructional-videos-br-page-3

I'm so grateful to be able to work on some new pendants.  I call them "cold-connection encouragement pendants" and I'm making a couple for Studio 41 in Benicia, CA.   They're gonna be cool.  I'll keep you updated~~

Rainy Sunday Kitty Day

Rainy Sunday in Vallejo,CA....wonderful worship service at Community Presbyterian church. Amazing sermon by Pastor Jon that encouraged and inspired me and many others.
The orange marmalade kitty Button is hanging out on the dog bed....the dogs don't know because they are outside. :-)

Since I am trying to dig out the clutter in my house, wash loads of laundry and work on two new pendants, I wish for "Balance". I wish that for you, my dear readers. May your week be full of balance, joy, peace and the knowledge that you are moving toward your dreams.

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!