Hello

Hi everybody! I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I have been so busy with my shop and with life in general, I've neglected my friends.

Lots of things have happened since I was last here! I bottle raised 10 two week old puppies, and they all made it. Then when they were 4 months old, Parvo struck. I lost 2 of the 5 puppies that were still here, and my inside dogs got it from my clothes. I almost lost Oscar, my weenie dog. He spent 4 days in the hospital, and it almost drove me insane. It was like one of my children was sick. Thankfully, both of my house dogs made it, and everyone is fine.

I was going to add photos of Oscar but the STUPID  Blogger uploader stopped working! So you can see him on Flickr

My son had surgery in May, and is just now getting really well. He had to take 2 quarters off from college, but at least it gave him some perspective, and now, instead of art, he wants to go into medicine. He's really good at art, but there's not really a lot of money in it. There is in medicine!

I've been staying fairly busy with jewelry work, but not as busy as I want it to be. :) This year has been up and down for me with my Etsy shop. I now have a new Artfire shop, too, but I haven't sold anything there, yet.

I'll try to do better with my blog, and I still have some bugs I haven't shown you yet!

I'm Baaaaaaack...

I've neglected my blog!

Life has been pretty busy, and it's hard to find time to do it all, but I promise to try harder. I've missed all of my blogging friends.

My youngest son is starting his 3rd quarter at Tech! My daughter in law finally had surgery to remove the cyst. She has endometriosis, and will eventually have to have a hysterectomy, which she wants now, but the doctor won't do it. He says she too young and may want more children. She doesn't!

I spend most of my days in the shop working. Business has slowed to a crawl, but it's still alive, so I keep working! It gives me something to do, and an excuse not to leave the house! I'm such a homebody, and I hate going anywhere.

I have 2 news dogs that just showed up here. I don't know how they always find me!
One of them is a small terrier of some kind, but some asshole cut her ears completely off. She has tiny little points that you can't see because of her hair. She looks like a racoon in the face because she's grey with a black mask. She's adorable and sweet and I don't know how someone could just throw her away.
The other one is a half grown chocolate lab. She's a big, beautiful, sweety and I think she must belong to someone, because she looks healthy and cared for, but she won't leave.

I guess I can show you a couple of my new things, since I haven't done that in so long!

This is my Bayou King alligator eyeball ring.



An African Tribal Mask that I made just for fun:



And a Poppy Ring to match my other Poppy jewelry:



That's about enough of that! I would show you picks of the dogs, but they are to spastic to photograph! If I go out there they're all over me, and It's hard to get a pic, but I'll try later. I'm sure most of you have never seen a dog with no ears before.

Well, I'm off to read some blogs, then go to work for a bit.

Stones

I don't have anything new, but I did start something this afternoon, after I finished up my orders. I'm making a setting for the half cylinder Rosettea Picture Rock. It's so gorgeous! I thought I would show you all some of my latest obsession. I am completely addicted to stones! I have quite a stash now.

I bought this gorgeous Pinolith Jasper from Stone Clouds on Etsy

These awesome Rosetta Picture Rocks




and this gorgeous Bird's Eye Rhyolite from Hans Westermark Stones

WOOHOO

I actually accomplished something today. I took pics of my 2 new rings and got them listed in my shop, finished a necklace that I had laying around for over a week, got pics and listed it, AND made a pair of earrings and got them listed too! I'm on a roll! LOL

Here's a Morrisonite Jasper ring

A Mexican Crazy Lace Agate ring

Volcano Cherry Quartz necklace

and last but not least, fire opal Czech glass earrings

Now if i can just figure out how to get folks to buy the stuff...

Ode to Lisa!

Lisa, over at Lisa's Lovlies makes some gorgeous jewelry, and she does it assembly line style! I took a cue from her style and tried it out. I made all of these at one time!

Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper Ring

Pipeline Canyon Agate Ring

Willow Creek Jasper Doublet Ring

Colorful Onyx Necklace that I'm donating to the wildlife rehab. (Changed my mind about the dragonblood)

Vintage Lucite and sterling necklace


There was another ring, but I burned a hole in the bezel wire, so I have to start over on that. Thank goodness it happened early on! It was a small one too, so no great loss.

I have a LOT of stones to set, and more on the way. So I have plenty to play with!
But tomorrow I have 4 orders to make so I guess I'll play later.

It's 1 AM...

and I just came in from the shop! I can stand to be out there after dark, cause it's a LOT cooler.

I had a couple of orders that had to be done today, so I can get them in the mail tomorrow. After I finished them, I made this ring.



And it wasn't fun! I had so many problems with it, and it's just a simple ring. Then when I put the stone in, the bezel was too deep. The stone wasn't cut really well, and it's not even on top, so that made it worse. I cut the bezel from 24g fine silver, after carefully measuring the stone! I guess I measured the fat side. Oh well, it's done and it's okay. Wonky, but okay.

Oh! I have a question: What the hell is the super sharp point on a burnisher for? I mean, other than scratching the crap out of whatever I'm trying so hard not to scratch! I managed not to scratch this one, but usually I dig a deep gouge in my almost finished work, and have to start all over with finishing! HATE that! I want a burnisher with a round end.

It's still hot and dry as a bone here. I so wish it would rain!

UFO's Over the High Desert

I found the most awesome Montane Agate on Etsy! I got it from Lapidarious, a wonderful shop!

Here's his description of it because it's perfect!

"This extraordinary example of fine Monatan Agate is as spacy as the picture within. Little scout ships leaving the big mother ship over the high desert of eastern Oregon. A trip waiting to be set in metal and shown off!
NICE nice material.
Definitely for the adventuresome.
18.46ct. and 24mm x 25.5mm x 4mm in size

Calling occupants of interplanetary craft....."

I looked at it for quite a while, wanted it badly, then finally bought it! LOL It is not for sale because I'm keeping it! It's all mine!

It turned out exactly like I pictured it in my mind, which never happens for me. Usually a design mophs and changes while I'm making it.

The stone just begged for the alien face on the back, so I cut out the eyes on the back plate, and cut a tiny spaceship shape to attach the jumpring.

I LOVE how it turned out!

I also got a gorgeous little Oregon Petrified Wood Limb Cast Agate from him. It's going to be a ring, as soon as I have time to finish it! :)

Right now I have to get off this computer and get to work in the shop. Got a few orders to finish. YAY!

The HUGE rock rings!

Well, here they are! These are not something I would have done on my own. It was a custom request from a customer.

Her son found the rocks on the beach in East Sandwich, MA, their favorite vacation spot. The biggest, pinkish one is hers and the green one is her daughters. They were special to her and she wanted them set in a sterling silver ring. So I did it!

The big one is not really practical for everyday wear, but it will make a great conversation starter!

I'm not that good at setting stones, so these were a special challenge for me. It was a little difficult but I figured it out! YAY!

I made the setting with a 20g backplate, and 24g bezel. I've always seen people say they used a hammer on a bezel setting, and I thought it was crazy! Why would you hammer a bezel?! Now I know! That's exactly what I did, and it worked great!

I also tried out my wooden vise that is part of my new workbench. It's perfect for holdng a ring while you set a stone. It doesn't mark the silver at all!

Well, my hubby will be home either tomorrow or Wednesday. Not sure which because of the time difference. Sometimes it doesn't seem like it's been a month since he left, and sometimes it seems longer! Staying busy all the time helps time pass though. I'm always in the shop working, so days kinda run together for me.

I did take yesterday off. I wasn't going to but after eating lunch at my Mom's and visiting with the family, I was too tired and full to do anything. So today I've been playing catch up!

I'm a little more used to my glasses, but they still bug me. It makes me tired to try and focus on what I'm doing, and I catch myself not focusing! The piece I'm working on will be blurry and out of focus, because it's a pain in the patooty to keep moving my head till I find the spot! Lined bifocals would probably have been better for work, and I may get them for that. I can wear these everywhere else. Oh well, live and learn, and get old and fall apart! LOL

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

More new pics

I am slowly replacing my product photos. I absolutely adore this new camera, and I can't believe I struggled with the old one for a whole year! I used to take 50-60 photos just to get a couple of good ones. Now almost every shot is a good one.
Here are some before and afters. The difference is AMAZING!






Well, I finally went to the eye doctor last week...I have to have BIFOCALS! LOL I got the progressive lens without the line, because I think the line would drive me nuts. They should be ready this coming week, and I'll be glad to get them. My eyes seem to get worse daily, and my reading glasses just aren't cuttin' it anymore :) Isn't getting older FUN?!

Camera Woes...

I want a new digital camera, but I can't decide what kind to get! It has to be simple to use, and take good photos, because I'm sick of mine. I'm looking at Canon Powershot and Fuji. I don't know!!!!

I made a new bracelet today and couldn't get any decent pics. I have to edit the crap out of everthing just so you can see the item.

This is it. It's 8g copper wire, hammered all around, but flattened on the ends. Wrapped in sterling wire. It's really pretty, but you can't tell from the pics!

Business is slow right now, but it's still there, so I usually have something to make everyday. In between orders, I've been trying to get some new things made. The pollen is so bad right now that it's hard to work. My head hurts, my eyes feel awful, and my nose is stuffy. All of our trucks are a yucky yellowish color. I wash it off everyday, and it comes right back! You can see it blowing around in the air and it piles up in drifts. UGH!

I hope you all are breathing nice, clean air where you are!

Love Blogs Award!

I got a wonderful surprise this morning from Stephanie at How Perfectly Imperfect. I am so honored that she gave this award to me!

The award is supposed to go to people who take the time to leave a comment, or a word of encouragement, or a compliment on something that I created.

It's supposed to go to 5 people, but gosh, that's going to be hard to do! I have so many friends that deserve this award! I guess I'll have to pick 5, but just know that I want to nominate all of you!

Here are the rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.

2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

My five picks are:

Chris Kerr Jewelry

Swati at The Purple Flower

Melissa at Pink Zinnias

Barrie's Jewelry World

Cheryl at Lavender Cottage Originals

I'm breaking the rules here and adding one more!

Diane at Rosa and Josie's

I would love to nominate everyone I know, but I guess I'll "almost" follow the rules!

A Few New Things

Since nothing is selling I had time to make a few new pieces for my Etsy store this weekend!

There's not much going on, so I got in the shop and worked.

The first ones are 18g wire that I balled on the ends, then curved so they'd hang right.

The second ones are some simple squiggles that are hammered flat.

Lastly, I made a new stacking ring with 12g wire that I hammered flat, then stamped with my name.

Maybe these simple designs will do well. I like them, especially the comet tail earrings.

Now I'm off to visit everybody's blogs! I love to see what's going on.

Two posts in One Day!

I don't usually blog twice a day but I just found some awesome blogs, and this post was so funny I just had to add it!

It's on Contrariwise ramblings blog. Go check out this blog! It's informative and funny! Here's the post I couldn't stop laughing at:

9 Amazingly Simple Home DIY Solutions

1. If you’re choking on an ice cube, simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. presto! the blockage will instantly remove itself.

2. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. then you’ll be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. if it doesn’t move and should, use the wd-40. if it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.

8. Remember - everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

9. If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem.

I love anybody that can make me laugh! We all need to laugh when we can, cause things are not so funny right now!

Etsy Frontpage!

I was reading the forums at Etsy yesterday, and saw the link for the frontpagers at Flickr. I went there and searched for my user name, and to my astonishment, there I was! My stacking rings had been on the frontpage on Tuesday, and I didn't even know! It didn't help my sales but it sure does make you feel good! LOL I didn't even know I was in that treasury.

Sales have died! Maybe the frontpage isn't a good thing, because I haven't sold one thing since I was on there! I was selling at least one item a day, but for 3 days now, nothing! I guess the stockmarket has affected everything. Even me!

I think it was the stupidest thing our government could have done, buying those banks. Why not just give everybody in the US a million dollars, then they could pay off all those bad loans and the banks wouldn't be in trouble! Where does it stop? Are they now going to bail out every business that is going under?

AIG is under investigation since their bail out, and lo and behold, a week after the government gave them all that money, they sent their employees on a $440,000 retreat!!! WHAT!

That is our money they're giving way, and they didn't bother to ask what ANY of us thought about it. We all worked hard for it, so they could give it away.

Well, I don't usually rant on about politics, but enough is enough! I just had to get that out this morning. I guess that's what happens when you only have dogs and quails to talk to. The dogs never answer and the quails just say the same stupid things over and over! LOL

Have a super weekend!

Later~