A Surprise in my Inbox

I received a beautiful surprise in my inbox yesterday:  a customer had purchased my “Black and White Newfoundland Dog” photograph and framed it to hang in their living room.  He took the time to send me a thank you and these appreciation pictures!  I must say my handsome puppy looks beautiful in this room!  

Beautiful Flowers From my Sweeties!

My little granddaughter and my daughter came in the door with a bouquet 

of these beautiful white Tulips! It made my day! 

The flowers opened up and I couldn't resist taking a picture to share with you!  

Have a lovely day!

Oak Leaf Pendant in Progress

I am working on another custom order necklace:  Oak leaf pendant on chain. 

I made a template of a leaf, traced it on copper sheet and cut it out, sanded and shaped it.

I love the look of the leaf as it is (the finish I mean).  I achieved this by annealing and lightly sanding the leaf.  Unfortunately, I will not be keeping the look for this project.  We're going for something much cleaner and shinier.  You'll need to stay tuned for the end results!

After doing all of this work, I realized I had to make the smaller version of the leaf... and I needed to cut down the size.  Not a big deal, but it gave me a bit more work.  

I'll have to post the smaller leaf so you can see the new, smaller version.

Happy Crafting all!

Beautiful Seafoam Collection

I am so grateful for being featured in this lovely treasury!  

I just love the seafoam hues!

Thank You for the feature!  

See my fused glass, soap dish here-

Visit the treasury here-

Have a lovely day!

New Creation: Lunar Earrings

Black on Red Enamel Earrings with lunar holes- Great little, dangle earrings!  Handmade in my studio.  $25.

Vintage Beads For Your Beading

Did you ever think of going to an Antique Shop, a flea market or a yard sale to find old pieces of jewelry.  Sometimes, you can find a bag filled with all types of junk jewelry for a few dollars.  Why would you do this, you ask?  Because of the beads, of course!  That's right, I've come across some gorgeous beads by doing this.

The following heart necklace and earrings set is made of fine copper wire which was twisted, turned and linked, antiqued and polished.  The vintage crystals and creamy colored beads fit right in the antiqued copper finish design.

Let the beads talk to you... not in some weird way, lol!  I mean, the style of the beads will give you some direction as far as design goes... they'll definitely help you be inspired!  You'll have so much fun with vintage beads!!!

Genuine Pearls For Your Jewelry Creations

Ever wonder what you can do with pearls, 14-k gold filled wire and some imagination? Let yourself be inspired by pearls!  Pearls are a timeless and will bring your jewelry creations to a whole new level.

Agate Semi Precious Stone

Statement Rings are popular, and as a jewelry maker, there are so many amazing stones to choose from.  The ring in the picture is a 14-k gold filled, wire wrapped design with an gorgeous, black
agate.  Notice there's a touch of clear on the tip (near the bottom).

Agate is a popular, semi-precious stone, it's very beautiful and polishes really well.

Click here to ask about a custom ring for yourself or for a gift.

Honey Beach Glass Gems

Beach Glass is quite popular in Northern New Brunswick.  You can take a walk down most beaches along the coastal area and collect a pocket full of these beautiful, gem-like glass fragments.

You'll find such lovely colors such as a variety of greens, sea-foam and emerald being two of my favorites!  We're always excited to find cobalt blue, which make the most awesome jewelry pieces.  But if you really want to see us jump for joy, wait to see when we find an orange piece...  Orange beach glass is considered the King of beach glass and is worth just as much as a gemstone in the jewelry world.  In over a decade, I have only found one piece of orange and I made the pendant you see below.  This wire wrapped pendant was sold to a local client who appreciates beach glass and its fascinating history!

It's not secret that sea glass makes for beautiful jewelry designs!  I also really like it my mosaic work. You can see in the votive, candle holder below, how beautiful these little brown and honey colored sea glass gems are in a mosaic design.  Click here for more information on the votive holder.

Lime Pearls for Spring

This necklace has spring written all over it!  Don't you just love the fresh, crisp green color of those little pearls?  I love the technique used to make those eye-looking dangles!  I really enjoy learning new techniques and mixing them up in order to bring something new and original!

We make custom orders- contact us today to make your vision a reality!

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.

Learn How to Make Awesome Jewelry with this Book

This is one of my favorite jewelry making books!  I wouldn't say this is for the beginner though.  I feel that you need a certain basic knowledge of jewelry making before jumping into this book.  I felt it was somewhat advanced.  What I really like with the book is that it has helped me grow as a jewelry artisan.  Through clear photographs and varying techniques, I have learned to push the borders of my designs. I would highly recommend this book!

Crystal Pendants

I always enjoy custom orders because they force me to think outside the box and that's when the best ideas come. One of my clients brought me some lovely, Crystal point Clusters of various sizes so that I would make pendants for her grand daughters. When I sat at the bench and began cutting to separate some of the nicer Crystal points, the clusters fell apart leaving me with many little Crystal pieces. At first, I was a bit frustrated because things were not going too well with the project. But after some pondering, I came up with the idea of making little, sterling silver flowers with Crystal Clusters as the flower centers. I used Resin Epoxy for this design. I suggested making a different flower for each grand daughter and I personalized it by engraving the back with each one's initial. My client was very pleased with the end result! It's funny how custom orders push the borders of creativity and enables you to create something new and unique. I will be growing on the idea of this design for some of my future designs. I'm already working on something interesting and can't wait to share!

Pocket Vase or Wall Vase

Gorgeous, fused glass wall vase or pocket vase is perfect for welcoming your visitors and friends when they enter your home.  Add your favorite dried flower arrangement or add some beautiful colored, fresh flowers; the vase holds water.

Gold, Post Earrings are Featured!

Shimmering, flecks of copper, wrapped in a swirl of gold wire - post earrings!

I am so please that my little, gold earrings are featured on this beautiful blog!