Something Simple Rustic and Earthy

Copper and Opal LOVE Pendant Handmade Metal Stamped Textured Rustic Pendant

This one would make a nice little stocking stuffer if you have a loved one who likes an earthy and rustic look.  Click HERE to check it out in my Etsy shop, or, as always, you can click on the picture.

Handmade hammered metal stamped LOVE pendant. The O in love is a small oval opal. This is a c grade opal and does not have any flash, however, it is a beautiful milky white. The pendant was hand cut from a sheet of copper metal. The letters were hand stamped and I made the bezel to fit the opal cab.

The pendant has been oxidized and has a very earthy, rustic look.

The pendant is a hair over 1 1/2 inches long.

Jewlery Supplies From JewelryCatSupplies

I am going to be sharing some other shops from both Etys and Artfire and possibly other places as well.  I have made some really good friends on line, and as a member of several different teams, and I wanted to share some the wonderful finds I have come across in their various shops.

Today, I am going to share some things from JewelryCatSupplies shop.  Like many of us, she also makes jewelry, but that will be a post for another day. 

One of my favorite things to look (and drool) over, is her lovely collection of leather cord.  She has a great collection of colors, sizes and lengths.  I am particularly fond of the turquoise myself lol. You can find all of her goodies in her shop JewelryCatSupplies.

 

She also has a wonderful supply of silver charms that make a great addition to almost any project!  Check out these whale tail charms!  I just love these!










Here is another great color for some jewelry or craft projects.

Are You Losing Facebook Fan Views?

Many of us who have a fan page on Facebook have noticed that the amount of fans that are seeing our posts (fans that many of us paid facebook to advertise for), the fans who signed up to see our posts, has been dropping dramatically.  I am currently at a bit over 3000 fans.  My posts to those 3000 fans are being seen, on average, by about 100 of them.  Less than 1%!!!!!  Facebook now wants me to pay them AGAIN to put my posts in front of the fans that I already paid to advertise for.

Here is a fantastic post that explains it much better than I can.  

DANGEROUS MINDS


 I will be doing far more with google+ from here on out instead of facebook.  The only effective way to make it clear to Facebook that we will not pay for this is to take our money and clicks and go somewhere else.

A Visit To the Park

We never know what we are going to see when we head to the park.  I have to say this is the first time I have ever seen someone practicing their tight rope walking skills.  It was really cool, and he was quite good!

Best Buds

I think the picture says it all lol!

I Love What I Do!

You know, every time I think I can't enjoy what I do any more than I already do, I sit down at the torch and realize that yes, I can enjoy it more lol.  Part of the joy of  making lampwork beads for me is that I find it very relaxing, it takes me to a different place and all of my energy is directed at the torch and watching how the glass flows and figuring out how to make it do what I want it to do.  Its that place where time kind of stops because you are so IN the moment.  Helps me keep my sanity lol!  As always if you would like to purchase this pretty set of periwinkle blue etched beads, simply click on the picture.

Heart Necklace Handmade Lampwork Glass Heart Necklace Copper Bronze Green Beaded

I really struggled with what to do with this particular heart bead.  I finally chose to pair it with faceted copper metallic beads and softer, pale green serpentine beads.  Here is the result!  I was qite happy with the way it turned out.  The metallic copper beads pic up the metallic look of the heart bead and serpentine softens it just enough. To see more about this necklace just click on the picture.

For The Music Lover

I just wanted to share this cute pair of earrings.  I have designed these clef note earrings and various variations in necklace form for a while now but I figured I would share them since these make a great Christmas stocking stuffer fore the music lovers out there.  You can purchase these by clicking on the pictures or clicking HERE.

Got My Metal Smithing Table Back!

I have not had access to my meta smithing space for about 9 months.  I had an unexpected "guest" take over my work space. ( My work spaces are divided into separate areas, so there isn't any cross contamination).  My son (who's room is very small) decided he needed to move the cage to the basement.  Unfortunately, my work table was the only flat surface that was big enough and stable enough to put the cage on.  I finally got enough space cleared that I could move the cage and reclaim my space.  I am very excited to be getting back into the metal smithing!

Here is the culprit. Pretty, isn't he?

Awesome Customers!

Just wanted to show this great pair of earrings made by one of my customers who bought some lampwork beads from me.  I love to see what people make from my beads, its usually very different than what I would think of, so its really fun to see the different interpretations people make.  And these are gorgeous!  You can find this pretty pair of earrings in her shop on Artfire.  Just click on the link or on the picture of the earrings.
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   From ShadowDogDesigns

 These are the beads.  If you are interested in beads just click on my etsy bead shop on the right

New Designs!

I have been really struggling with the flu the last couple of weeks.  No time to slow down, which means its taking longer to get well than I would like.  Despite the struggle I did manage to squeeze some creating time in.  I am introducing a line of glass rings into the jewelry shop.  These are fun and different and will come in a wide range of colors and designs, although each one will be one of a kind and unique.  Currently, they are available in a size 6, although I will be ordering the mandrels to make a size 5 and a size 7 ring.  If there is enough interest in other sizes I will consider ordering more mandrels in other sizes also.  Here is an example of a simple ring with a geometric dot design.

 If glass rings aren't your thing, I also have a variety of more traditional rings, like this pretty copper and red wire wrapped ring.  The wire wrapped rings come in a wider variety of sizes that the glass rings, although each one is also unique, and one of a kind.

    
I also have a small line of the more traditional metal smithed rings.  I will be adding to this line in the future, but for now, what I have listed is all I have left (we are working on re organizing my metal smithing space, currently, I have a 6 foot snake in a cage occupying most of my metal table). 


If you would like to purchase one of these rings or take a look at what rings are available you can either click on the pictures, which will take you directly to that listing or you can go to my Etsy shop and visit the rings section.