I feel like I am on auto pilot today, yet I was still able to put together this turquoise bracelet. I do love turquoise. I never seem to tire of it.It always looks great with silver…
I do apologize that these posts are getting shorter & shorter. I twisted my back putting my daughter to bed last night so I am trying to not stay in the same position for very long. Happy creating!
I am in such a good mood today – spring is definitely in the air! So nice to know the equinox is tomorrow! Today I was distracted by the sun, but was able to complete a custom order with hematite and moonstone, list it, sell it and ship it off. After that there was only time for yet another simple pair of earrings, so out came the turquoise again. The stone faired well for my mood yesterday, so I figured I’d keep that going today. I was hesitant about this one because it is featuring small turquoise chips; the average size is 3.5mm, and some are flatter than that. But I am really happy with the results. I’d definitely wear them and I don’t make anything I wouldn’t wear myself. 🙂
Because chips are affordable, these are listed at only $12 – and as always, free shipping. There is still sun shining thanks to daylight savings time so I am going to enjoy before dinner.
I finally am starting to feel like myself again. I think a lot of contemplation and some nice weather really helped. I only had time to make one pair of earrings today. Turquoise is such a spiritual stone I wanted to use it in a piece today; but with limited time it had to be something simple:
These are turquoise nuggets on 30mm sterling silver hoops. Turquoise is said to be balancing; connects us with all life; is generally healing; helps us attain honest communication; increase serenity; give us meditation energy, positive thinking, protection, sensitivity, strength, and wisdom. All things, I so needed today. I feel like I am getting there…
Today was a fairly easy design day as I simply finished up the last two pieces in the garnet & pearls series. I think I needed the break, anyway. I’m feeling a bit unmotivated as I deal with some emotions stemming from my mother’s death a few months ago. Strange how those things come up at different times. So today, I put the finishing touches on a pair of earrings to match the necklace & bracelet I made yesterday, as well as a pearl cuff bracelet accented in the 4mm faceted garnet:
Even after all that – I still have some of these garnet beads left! The smaller sized beads are definitely deceiving. 🙂
When I started to think this morning about what would be my inspiration for today’s creations, I decided to take direction from my destash pile of beads. I have these 4mm faceted garnet beads to use up. One of those, I needed some for a creation awhile back & over bought…sooo…thinking about it, I didn’t want to make the same garnet pieces I made back in January for a birthstone theme, I really wanted to pair these up with something more light. Since we are heading into wedding & formal season, I decided to pair them up with some freshwater pearls. This is two of four pieces that I started. These two, a bracelet and necklace, are finished & I’ll complete the other two tomorrow:
Interesting info: garnet is the birthstone for the month of Janurary and also the planetary stone for those born under the sign of Scorpio. Pearls are the birthstone for the month of June & also the planetary stone for those born under the sign of Cancer.
Till tomorrow…
Today I struggled to get motivated. Definitely my body is slowing down…but I did get a couple of bracelets made. Really, I am starting to amaze myself that I can keep going, but I just can’t sit around & wait, you know? 🙂
This cuff bracelet captures my earthy side! 10mm moonstone beads need nothing but themselves to make a bold statement.
I am really happy how this turned out. Very soft. This bracelet contains violet pearls & moonstone chips. Maybe I should be wearing it, since moonstone is supposed to bring on easy birth! This piece is the birthstone, planetary stone & mystical stone for those born under the sign of Cancer or in the month of June.
Well, I did it. By the skin of my teeth I did it…I now have 100 things in my Etsy Shop for sale. I am really tired & brain dead…it is hard to focus after being kept up last night with contractions. I will continue tomorrow with my 100 days provided that I feel up to doing it. Tonight I am just finding it hard to concentrate…
So here’s what rounded out the items available in my shop:
I’ve been doing a lot with the black carnelian beads lately, & really wanted to play with typical carnelian. So I cheated & dipped into the “premium” supplies, which I usually only use for custom orders, to make this pretty bracelet. Carnelian is the traditional birthstone for August. These 6mm faceted beads are accented by sterling silver.
This bracelet was the challenge for the day: how to use up these 7mm lantern hematite beads. I paired it with 6mm tiger’s eye for a very earthy piece.
I figure you can’t go wrong with pearls. These 9mm freshwater pearls are very special to me since they are from the Philippines. A classy yet interesting pair of earrings mixing the dangle style with the hoop style.
For my final piece, I couldn’t help but get into those 10mm faceted black carnelian beads again. I really like how these earrings turned out coupled with the 7mm pewter beads. Tempting to keep for myself… 🙂
So, if it turns out I can keep up with the 100 Days of creativity, I will be putting any new work in my empty Artfire Studio. Don’t worry, regardless you’ll still be hearing from me…!
Despite being really tired today because my little was awake at the crack of dawn, I got quite a bit accomplished. This has to do with the fact I had my morning cleared as an appointment in the city has been postponed until tomorrow morning. So I was free to play amongst the beads. 🙂
First off I am happy to say my customer loved the baby birthstone bracelet I made yesterday, & bought it plus my tiny bubbles bracelet; which as I mentioned in previous posts I adore. It’s going to a good home, though. A milestone has been reached. I set a couple goals for myself at the beginning of the year. One was to have 20 things sold in my Etsy Shop by the time I have baby #2. As of last night this goal has been reached. It has been a really good month for me, considering how much time I can dedicate per day to jewelry making. Besides the Etsy sales I have had some off-line custom work as well. I am quite blissful with part time jewelry making & it is nice to see money in the bank again.
The second goal, was to have 100 things in my shop before baby arrives. Tonight I am pleased to say, I am 75% of the way there. Here are the three pieces I made today:
I am hard pressed to choose a favourite today. I so adore tiger eye & its metaphysical properties; yet pearls are always so classic & these are a light shade of violet; plus fluroite, another powerful stone…well, the cuff I am definitely proud of because of the tedious nature of this kind of work. No sore wrists today! Horray! 🙂
Anyway, I am very tired and probably incoherently babbling…so I bid you adieu for the evening…
As I wrote earlier, a customer on Etsy gobbled up my bloodstone dangle earrings shortly after I posted them. They then requested a bracelet to go along with it. At this stage in my pregnancy I am only taking custom orders that I can fill immediately, & rather than making the client obligated to purchase, it is easier for me to make a few pieces & list them on Etsy for the customer’s approval. If they like what they see, they purchase. If not, then no harm as I can always use more pieces in my Etsy Shop.
So the bloodstone beads I have are quite small, so this is what I came up with:
The piece directly above, is what sold. It contains 4mm & 6mm bloodstone, sterling silver & pewter accents. The other two, are now off reserve & available for purchase in my Etsy Shop…
You can also read the post on the original bloodstone pieces that inspired these by checking out 100 Days of Creativity: Day 41.
There are three offerings in today’s creative challenge. I had a request to make some March birthstone pieces. Aquamarine is a pricey stone so I don’t stock it. Actually, I consider bloodstone the birthstone for March as it is the traditional choice, & also recognized as such still in many other parts of the world. So I came up with these three bloodstone pieces:
The dangle earrings (above) sold out in record time. I am now about to embark on a custom bracelet request for the same customer. Because of my limited time these days, I am handling custom orders by seeing what I can come up with, preferable more than one piece, for the customer to choose from, with no obligation on them to buy. I find this is working well, as there is limited expectation & I do not have to be tied into a certain price point. Besides I can always use more pieces in my Etsy shop.
Bloodstone is a very hard stone to come by. It is used in India as a medicine so it is definitely a commodity. Therefore I only have 4mm and a few 6mm in stock at the moment, so the pieces are very delicate & dainty. Still, the earthy & mystical properties of this stone make a bold statement without having to be physically large itself.
Find out more about these pieces in my “birthstone & lore” section of my Etsy Shop. There you will also find some background information on bloodstone, also known as green chalcedony.
I”m tired tonight. Between running after my toddler I decided it was time to clean up my email. I am about ready to go cross-eyed!
I did sneak this piece in however:
I was in a quartz mood today. Quartz is so amplifying…I think because the weather has been so mild & sunny for February in Québec I wanted to capture that good energy within the quartz. I am also partial to clear quartz (AKA rock crystal) since it is a birthstone alternative for April, my birth month. Let’s face it, we can’t always afford diamonds! 🙂
The blue quartz is formed by a process called reclaiming. That’s where they take pices of quartz and fuse it into glass to make beads. I’m all for waste not want not so I think that’s a great idea. The clear quartz is the real deal, through & through.
Check out more on this piece as well as other birthstone pieces in my Etsy Shop…