Irish Eyes Are Smiling

St. Patrick's day finds us once again over in California and will be having a traditional cornbeef and cabbage dinner at my Niece's house with her and her family. It's always a fun time, only usually my sis is there - snapping away with her camera - catching us all in our green clothes, jewelry and funny glasses - but this isn't the case this year.  I guess we'll have to take our own pics!!

Okay, so last week, after fighting with my tumbler and pulling items from it in every imaginable color - except the bright, shiny silver I was trying for - I decided to bench the silly thing and just go with this beautiful, shiny copper just the way it was! Although it would have been really cool looking had it been oxidized with LOS and them polished up - but, it is what it is!

Week 10 of YOJP 2011 had a theme of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling".  I was inspired to try a design I saw in the Fall issue of Belle ( page 48 - Intention Earrings) but I varied the design slightly as I did not hand stamp any 'intention words' into the hammered copper sheet that I wire wrapped with recycled sari silk ribbon.  I did wire wrap some small new jade roundelles and attach them on the ends so they could dangle freely, adding to the movement of they "Eye Catching" earrings!  I completed the look with my own handcrafted, artisan earring wires in my 'Signature Style' and now that everything is finished, I'm quite pleased with the end result.

You should skip on over to the YOJP 2011 Website and check out all the fabulous designs that folks are making - they're amazing!! 

I hope your St. Patrick's Day is filled with all the green things you can handle (and handle responsibly!!) and that you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Winter Enchantment – Windswept Dreams Necklace

Our assignment this time around for the Artbeads.com blogging challenge, was the theme “Winter Enchantment” and I found some nice items to try – and boy are they cool!

This project, by the way, is also doubling as my YOJP 2011 Week 9 Entry this week – with the theme being “Windswept”.

I had a ball with this cause I was really jazzed to try out some of the Swarovski Crystal beaded yarns. Here’s what I got:

• Swarovski Crystal 3mm Crystal Beads White Cashmere Yarn

• Swarovski Crystal 3mm Jet Beads Black Cotton Yarn

• Swarovski Light Grey Mohair Yarn with 3mm light grey pearls (ya knew there be pearls in there somewhere, didn’t cha!!?)

• Swarovski Crystal Hematite Mohair Yarn with 3mm hematite beads.

These were really fun to work with. All were soft, and the mohair and cashmere ones are really ‘fuzzy’ and remind me of nice, warm winter sweaters! They would be great to make little “Barbie” necklaces with. Yes, I even make jewelry for Barbie once in a while….I’m such a dork!

I really am a dork, because I forgot to snap my ‘before’ pics when I take all my goodies out of the bag and you get to see everything lined up before I start creating – sorry about that.


For my necklace focal bead I chose a 28mm Jet Swarovski Crystal Twist Pendant – boy does this have some heft to it! LOVE IT! And, the toggle I chose - since I was doubling this for my windswept theme for Week 9 of YOJP 2011 – was this spiral (swirly wind!) Tierracast Spiral Toggle Clasp.

I like the Tierracast toggle design and since it’s light weight (it’s silver plated not true sterling) it feels nice on the back of your next and doesn’t press down on your neck bones in the back. I know that sounds weird,…but trust me,…it’s important!

I gathered up these lovely little, fabulously fuzzy yarns with their tiny little beads and wire wrapped the ends, sliding them into some plain sterling silver cones that I purchased from my friends over at BeadWorld here in Glendale. I also got the nice sterling silver bail that’s holding the Swarovski Crystal pendant on at BeadWorld as well!

I added the pendant and the toggle clasp to the layers of Swarovski yarns and ‘Ta-da’ – it’s a “Winter Enchantment, Windswept Dream!” (it’s more of a little winter enchantment, fluffy, fuzzy looking type of dream necklace than any windswept necklace, but whatcha gonna do!?!) But, it still looks rather ‘Winter-ish’, don’t you think?

I’m really thankful to the folks over at Artbeads.com. I’ve been ordering from them for over 5 or 6 years now and their items are really great, shipping is fast, and their prices are some of the best around. You definitely can’t beat that these days – that’s for sure!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love, Winter Enchantment and Windswept Dreams of Spring Coming Soon!!
Cheers,

~Shel~

FTC compliance disclosure: the Artbeads.com items mentioned in this post were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.

Week 8 - YOJP 2011 - The Goddess Freya

Week 8 for YOJP 2011 was the theme “Gods and Goddesses – Freya” and since I can’t really hammer stuff comfortably just yet, I wire wrapped little ‘Freya’ here instead. (I did pick up the hammer and smack her around just slightly – but don’t tell anyone!)

Actually, Freya’s not so little. She measures just a smidge over 2 ½ inches and has two, super gorgeous freshwater cultured pearls and a tiny turquoise nugget bead – all showing themselves off to the world. Created with sterling silver 18g and 24g dead soft round wires, I have chosen this time to give you a small glimpse of my process here – so no laughing at my drawings! (My sis is the artist,…not me!)

Here’s the picture of one of the drawings. See how it looks NOTHING like what “Freya” actually turned out to be? Yep,…that happens pretty much all the time in exactly this same fashion! Then, I took some shots of her ‘naked’ – before she was given a dark patina with liver of sulfur. I kinda like her naked and shiny but she looks more dramatic after she’s been LOS’d. Not sure yet how I’m going to hang this pendant, or from what? Any suggestions?

Two things I learned while creating “Freya”. One: My wire wrapping skills have started to really go down hill and I definitely need to brush up a bit with some online tutorials over at JewelryLessons.com or Beaducation.com, to name a couple. Two: I might draw a pic or something, but I don’t write down all my steps, processes, etc. every time (like some artists I know) and I do things differently each time, even when it’s the same type of design, so creating a tutorial or class on this would be a slight challenge, but something I must get back in the practice of doing again!

I hope you’ve enjoyed Freya – the Goddess of Love and Fertility. She is a beautiful site (to me anyway!) and has her own special personality – just as the ‘real’ Freya does, too!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and all Goddesses RULE!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Week 7 - YOJP 2011 - Something To Talk About

I'm over half a week late with my Week 7 Post for "Year of Jewelry -2011".  Excuses, excuses,...yes there is one.

I have somehow injured my elbow to the point where it hurts like hell to grasp anything,...making it just a smidge difficult to work with my pliers, hammer metal (boy do I miss smacking that stuff around!!) or to even hold anything, so.....needless to say it's been a long 4 or so days.  But, today I picked up my 2lb brass mallet and smacked it against some silver to create this set for Week 7 of YOJP 2011 with the theme of "Something To Talk About"  - and it felt good (after I put down the mallet anyway!).

Here's the story behind this set:

My story is really my niece’s story and it’s definitely something to talk about.

At the age of 24 and with her 1st child barely 5 months old (if that), she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Several weeks into her chemo treatments she and her hubby learned she was pregnant with their 2nd child. The doctors forgot to give her a pregnancy test prior to starting her treatments and they told her that the likelihood of the fetus even having a heartbeat was very slim due to the chemo.

Thankfully there was a heartbeat, but the threat of something going wrong during the pregnancy or with the baby during birth loomed. And, to boot, her husband had to deploy to Afghanistan for 7 months and would miss the rest of her treatments, her radiation and the birth of their baby.

So, shaving her head, holding it up high and possessing the “I can overcome anything” attitude she conquered cancer, had a healthy and beautiful baby girl, saw her hubby come home safely from over-seas and is now enjoying life to the fullest with him and their two wonderful babies!

She’s a member of Toastmasters and has been asked to “Speak up, Speak out and Share" her story with others – which she is doing with grace, gratitude and NO REGRETS!

I made the set pictured here, for her.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and "Sharing Triumphs"

Cheers,

~Shel~

Something to drool over,...

Since my elbow is a bit under the weather (long, boring story, trust me - and now comes the part where you can all crack some jokes!) I've been reduced to laying down my jewelry pliers for a few days and picking up my camera and finally snapping some pics of the gorgeous little treasures I snatched up while freezing my buns off down in Tucson during the gem show.

Mind you, this is only a sneak peak, but I wanted to post a couple of shots to help you start drooling this week - incase you had a boring Monday or something!

Anyhoo,...I'll leave you with these,.....no explanations needed, right?!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and healing vibes! (and drooling mouths!)

Cheers,

~Shel~

That's AMORE! Week 6 of YOJP 2011

 "Infatuation" was created for Week 6 of YOJP 20111 using the theme "Amore".  I thought of love, Valentine's Day, hearts, the color red, and all sorts of corny stuff,...but nothing was really tripping my trigger, so to speak.

So, I fixed a nice, refreshing 'girlie' cocktail and sat down to 'ponder' my sketches and notes,...and then it hit me! My pretty little drink was "Amore"!  I mean, after all, it did embody soft, feminine style in both color and taste, and it was VERY "GIRLIE" and reminded me of TOTAL LUXURY, and I said "That's Amore!" 

I fused some 20g round .999 fine silver and then forged a heart shape. I hammered and textured it and added MY favorite symbol of love - PEARLS - these specific ones I purchased during the Tucson Gem show from Majestic Pearl and The American Pearl Co. and attachd the heart with pearl dangles to some fabulous light peach fairy ribbon that I purchased from the great folks over at Fusion Beads.

I designed a pair of earrings, complete with my own "Sexy Norm" style 925 sterling silver earring wires to compliment this very delicate and feminine piece of jewelry (wish I could tell you where these cute hearts came from, but the receipt and business card I had asked the man to put inside my bag was no where to be found - but it was at the Windmill Inn during the Gems Show, of course!) and then I sat back and enjoyed my beautiful cocktail and listened to Dean Martin sing,..."That's Amore!"   LOL!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and well,....Amore!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Thing I Need!

Another Great Team ESST (Etsy Street Supply Team) Treasury!

Go check 'em all out!





Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and all things needed!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Team Treasury! Team ESST

Shel's Jewelry Supplies is a proud member of Team ESST (Etsy Street Supply Team) and we've got some great members with some awesome supplies and items that you really need to go check out!

Here's the TREASURY that I just created on Etsy: "SUBTLE HINTS,...Or NOT!"

Hope you're having a great weekend!

I'll be posting my "YOJP Week 6" this Sunday (or Monday if I'm still running behind due to all the earring wire orders I've received - they're going CRAZY on my Etsy site this week!!) so stay tuned!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy Weekend Everyone!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Week 5 - Year of Jewelry

I've been at the Tucson Gem and Mineral since last Thursday and so my post for Week 5 of Year of Jewelry is a few days late! (My bad!!)

The week 5 theme was "Down and Dirty" and I kept thinking of some sort of biker jewelry; we see folks all over here in AZ riding their Harley's having such a great time in our beautiful weather.  However, all I kept thinking of was the accident last year in N. Phoenix where several folks were riding their motorcycles, all stopped at a stop light, when a huge truck slammed into them - killing several and injuring even more of them.

So, this week, I created a commemoration pendant "In Memory" of those who lost their lives and those who were affected by the accident. 

My pendant was created with 16g sterling silver round wire that was hammered, forged and textured and then wire wrapped with 26g sterling silver round wire. I added two freshwater cultured pearls - one smooth and one faceted - and then liver of sulfured the entire piece, leaving some of the beautiful blue color to coincide with the blue of the pearl.

My wish is that everyone will pay attention while driving and watch out, not just for bikers everywhere, but for all those on our roads.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and "Safety First"

Cheers,

~Shel~

Tucson Bound!

Finally - today's the day I hop in my car and head down to Tucson for my annual "drooling over beads, pearls, gems and findings" fest!! 

I'm so excited I could pee right now.  Oops, that's probably TMI - but how many of you would feel the same if you could go, or do feel this way cause you're there (or almost there!)?

Yes, it's a beautiful site, full of beads, pearls, gemstones, findings, cool tools, new ideas, creative spirits wandering the city and over all excitement! 

I'll be posting to twitter nighting (like I'd stop drooling to text/type? Right!!)  The gems need my full attention mind you!  

I love Tucson!  I get to feast upon Nina's wonderful cooking, share a glass of wine with her and her hubby in the evening and hang out watching the sun set over the Catalinas - how wonderful is this?!! Then, my hubby and son roll into town Friday after school - they love the gem show too!! Then, all of us go in search of great things and share all our treasures and finds over dinner Saturday evening - it's tradition!

 

So, until I return home next week and get the new pics posted,.....here's some goodies from last year - and boy were they fantastic!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Tucson!!  

Cheers,

~Shel~