Beautiful Amazonite Stone

I love the gorgeous, cool, aqua shades of the Amazonite Stone.  I don't know about you, but I find Amazonite to be a lovely stone to show off with spring and summer apparel.

See more handmade jewelry with lovely stones here.

Custom Made Jewelry for Your Wedding Day

It's always nice to be able to find an artisan to make a custom jewelry set, including a tiara for your wedding day!  Having custom jewelry really personalizes your bridal jewelry without mentioning how your set would be unique to your personality.  In fact the jewelry set is so personalized, it could even be named after you.

Ask about our one of a kind jewelry.  We would be happy to design something specifically for you! Our designs vary from fancy pearls, to crystals, to gemstones and quality metals.  We can accommodate all budgets.  Email us for more information.

Adorable, Blue Merle Chihuahua- Merly

I wanted to share with you my cute, adorable little Chihuahua Merly!  Don't you just love her merle coat?  I cannot get enough of all that cuteness!!  She's the sweetest Chihuahua ever!!  She's so cuddly and well behaved.  I just wanted everyone to see her-

Puffy Heart Wire Work

Although I designed and made this gold heart pendant a while back, I'm taking a moment to examine my work.  I often enjoy looking at my port folio and my gallery; it helps to see where I have grown and it also is great idea for inspiration!  I don't know about you, but whenever I examine one of my older creations, it often triggers a new design.  Don't you find it amazing that our brains are designed that way?  I personally was in awe when I learned that our brain never stops expanding through new connections!

All that to say that I was examining this heart pendant and I was thinking of making a similar one with a gemstone perhaps... Have any ideas?  Please share.   Who knows maybe I'll design the heart pendant around your idea.

What inspires you?  Share with us in the comment box.

Thinking Outside the Box

A client wanted me to make two very special rings with some pieces of White Oak found on her husband's family's farmland.  I had never worked with wood for a cabochon before, and so I felt this would be an interesting little project.  Have any of you worked with wood in a jewelry application before?

I tested a piece of the wood with poly and I liked the beautiful dark grain it brought out, but I decided to go with resin epoxy instead because I really needed to ensure the wood would be completely sealed in order to protect it from water.  Nothing is more annoying than removing a ring every time you wash you hands!  Did you ever have one of those rings?

The raw bark all around the wood piece really adds to the overall rustic look!  Personally, I love textures, and these rings are a beautiful combination of textures: the lovely lines of the wood grain contrasting with the jagged edges of the bark against the smooth, shiny silver of the metal!  

As per my clients request, I made both rings so that they're adjustable in size because she wants to be able to wear them on different fingers; such a clever idea!

I've learned one important lesson with this project:  Jewelry is not limited to stones, pearls and beach glass; any material can be used to make jewelry!  The key is to think outside the box! Do you have an original idea for a jewelry piece?  We'd love to hear it.  Please share in the comment box.

Never Stop Learning

Don't you just love learning how to do new things?  I enjoy the internet so much for this reason!  It's like having access to unlimited information and techniques at your fingertips.  What I especially enjoy is benefiting from another artisan's experience;  Building on their techniques, applying them and making them my own.

What have you learned lately?  What do you enjoy learning about:  cooking, arts and crafts, home decor...?  Please share in the comment box.  It's fun to see the varying interests of each person.

If you love to learn, you will be captivated by this site that offers online classes in so many categories.  You are sure to find one or two that you really would enjoy.

I decided to try one of them out.  I chose "Painting Trees in Acrylic."  I enjoyed this course so much, I cannot wait to apply what I've learned.  The one thing I loved about the course, is the HD Videos.  Once you purchase the course, you have unlimited access to the videos in your course package; isn't that wonderful?  No need to hurry; just go at your own pace and go back as often as you want... I love it and cannot rave enough about it.

The best thing is, you can even try it for free... isn't that great?  Click here to start your painting class free.

Copper with Patina Patterns - Beautiful!

If you love patina patterns that occur on copper with oxidization, then you will flip out when you see these beautiful patterns.  Browse the gallery by clicking the arrows.

Need Motivation for 2015?

As an artist, I know for a fact that it's sometimes very difficult to balance, your life and your business. It's easy to devote too much time in one area, while neglecting the other.  The most difficult for me is being consistent. Either I spend too much time in my studio, or not enough.  If you're reading this, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

One thing I have learned to do is treat my craft as my job.   The way that I do this is by choosing specific days and times to do my work.  I usually work on Mondays, Fridays and Saturday afternoons.  Of course, this is not a rigid schedule, but it really helps to keep me more disciplined and structured.  

Sometimes, I have no motivation and just don't feel like making stuff; I call this my dry period. 

 How do I deal with the dry period??  

- Since I photograph most of my creations and catalog them, I can review them for inspiration.  This often sparks a new idea.

- If I really don't feel like coming up with a new design, I usually don't force it because it'll show in the work.  I remember, one of my regular clients once commented: "Your work is different.  You must be tired because you're not putting as much effort into your pieces."  Although this comment struck a nerve, she was right!!  I was exhausted and I was just producing like a factory line...  My heart was not in it.  So, instead of attempting something new, I make repeat pieces, or focus on cleaning my studio, working on my website and blog, get some rest and I usually bounce back and get back in the game.

- Browse creations by other artists', but always do this with respect and never copy someone's work; it's a crime in the art world.  An artist works hard to come up with something new, it's really not fair when someone takes that away!

I found this 2015 desk calendar which I really thought was appropriate for artisans:  It's a motivational calendar which encourages artisans to make one project a day for 365 days.  I thought it was cute and I wanted to share it with you on my blog.

So what are your tricks to get through the dry season, when the creative juices aren't flowing ?  Please share them with us.  We need all the tricks we can get...  

My Photograph Featured in Canadian Magazine

A few years ago, I submitted some Humpback Whale photographs to a contest held by "Our Canada Magazine." I never heard anything about it and figured out that I didn't win, and that was o.k.  I really thought the photographs were worth submitting because of the most awesome display by Humpbacks; a superb double breach!  We were excited to even just see Humpback Tails, we never expected to see what we did.  So, you can understand that even if I didn't win, I was eager to share this shot with someone!

A couple of years later, I received an email from Our Canada's editor explaining that even though I didn't win, they held on to the photographs and knew they wanted to use them in a future issue of the magazine and wanted a small write-up of the day we went whale watching on the Bay of Fundy.  Of course I was thrilled and accepted the terms, and now in the September issue of "Our Canada Magazine" this amazing double breach, the Humpbacks in all their glory, was shared with thousands of readers across Canada!

Rock Tumblers Rotary Versus Vibratory

Whenever we're travelling, we're on the hunt for those quaint little gift shops that are filled with nautical treasures, handmade crafts and colorful, tumbled stones.  I usually cannot hold back...  I have a need to touch and hold them; they're so shiny and pretty!  Who could resist?

Years ago, when I first embarked into the handmade jewelry business, rock tumbling was a major part of my business.  We collected beach stones, learned the art of tumbling and used the polished stones to make beautiful, one of a kind jewelry pieces.  Here are a few examples of polished, beach stones in wire wrapped settings:   beach stone Quartz ; Jasper and Quartz Mix ; Blackstone Set ; Carnelian Heart  

Other than needing a tumbler and grit, we had no knowledge on how to proceed; what type of tumbler should we purchase: a rotary tumbler, a vibratory tumbler or should we look into making our own?  These are important questions if you're going to make a business out of it, as we did.  

So, what is the difference between a rotary and a vibratory tumbler, and why is this an important factor?  See the pictures below:  the first picture is a rotary tumbler; the second is a vibratory tumbler.   

Rotary Tumbler facts:

-A rotary, rock tumbler has a round drum attached to a motor with a belt.  It basically works much in the same way as a clothes dryer does, but on a smaller scale and with stones instead of clothes;  

-The approximate time to have a smooth, polished stone in this type of tumbler takes up to 2 months (depending on stone type and the finish you desire);

-The rotary tumbler is very affordable and often comes in kits with grits and raw stones;

-The rotary tumbler is best for wearing down really the stone's sharp edges (takes about 5-6 weeks);

-The tumbling action damages some of the stones;

-This type of tumbler can be very noisy especially if you have a cheaper model with a plastic barrel (rubber barrels are quieter and last longer);

-Uses a lot of grit;

-Needs regular maintenance (replace belts, oil and other). 

 

 Vibratory Tumbler Facts:

-A vibratory tumbler is exactly as its name suggests; it polishes through vibrating motions;

-There are no belts to worry about in this little machine and therefore you save on maintenance.  I've had one of these for almost 10 years now without any problems, and I use it a lot;

-Interestingly, the shape of the barrel or "hopper" encourages your mixture of rock-water-grit, to turn on itself over and over again (kind of like a slow stirring motion).  This gives you double polishing action;

-It's quite quiet when you compare to the rotary tumbler.  I keep mine in the laundry room in our basement.  I leave it on the floor and I can barely hear it on the main floor. 

-I like the rubber barrels (hoppers); they're thick and sturdy and last a long time.  I haven't changed it yet;

-Polishing time is fast compared to the rotary tumbler.  We had a beautiful bunch of polished beach stones within a couple of weeks;

-This vibratory tumbler is more expensive;

-It uses let grit;

-Great for polishing handmade jewelry; I use it for my silver and copper jewelry and it works beautifully;

-One disadvantage (I believe there is only one), is that the action is not aggressive enough to round out sharp edges on stones.  The vibratory tumbler is better for stones that do not have sharp edges; beach stones are ideal because they're already smoothed and rounded by the sea.  

-This type of tumbler is also the perfect tool for shining cabochons or beads that need a bit of touching up;

-No maintenance as far as I'm concerned.

Ideally, if you're serious about rock tumbling, you would want both tumblers. You begin with the rotary tumbler to smooth out the sharp edges and wear down the stones, then move the stones to the vibratory tumbler for the rest of the steps. By doing it this way, you're saving time (polishing them with the vibratory tumbler is cut 50% or more), plus you will be saving money because the vibratory tumbler uses less grit.

Happy tumbling!