YUM!

Champagne in a jar...classy!

...Champagne on ice with frozen blueberries!!   I'm not a good drinker...I have no tolerance for one, and usually end up needing a nap after more than three beers, but I do have a few weaknesses.  One is for a good glass of whiskey on ice, preferably Jameson or Makers Mark, weakness #2 is champagne...this one happened to be a bit on the sweet side so I added a handful of ice and a few frozen berries!!! YUM, I highly recommend this as a refreshing summer evening drink!

I can't remember if I mentioned it before but my camera is out of commission, and a dear friend lent me his for a while (thanks Casey!).  I've been playing with it and using the macro setting, getting used to using it for jewelry shots.  

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I really like the way these last two turned out, the blurry lights and the angle...kind of what it looked like from my view after putting away almost the whole bottle of champagne! 

Happy Wednesday!

On Monday I finished this ring!!!!

This was a very big accomplishment for me in the land of silver smithing...I had been struggling with some soldering skills this past month and had increasing levels of frustration!   Well, I'm here to say that it was an uphill battle, but the battle has been won and VICTORY is mine!!!!!

...When I visited with my parents in April I showed my mom a similar design I had made and she fell in love with it, so I wanted to make one like it for her.  It feels so special to be able to craft something from scratch with someone specific in mind...all the hours spent working on it, the sweat from my brow while I worked with the torch, the energy I put into creating it are all a part of this piece now, and I hope she can feel that. 

My mom is my biggest supporter and most enthusiastic fan, the emails she sends me when I forward her pics of my new creations have more exclamation points and smiley faces than even I use...which is really saying something!  This baby will be on its way to Palm Springs, to it's new home on mi madre's finger...I really hope it fits!  I've been realizing that ring sizing is really a delicate science for a beginning smither...I know her size, and also know that when crafting a wide band ring shank that they will fit a bit more snug, so I HOPE that my calculations worked out and that it will slip onto her finger and feel right!  If not, it will be on its way back to me and I'll make another for her...but I have a good feeling about this one, it was meant for her!

I'll be riding my creative high on through the weekend and hope to start work on a few more like this, as well as a custom necklace version for a very dear friend...

Hammer Time...

I'm jetting out the door for a much needed coffee date with my favorite homies...I wanted to show you the latest additions to the shop!!!!! I have one more necklace and three more earrings in this collection that need to be listed later today...stay tuned!!!

Side note:  Jo can make me laugh like nobody else in the world...one of her favorite things to do while I'm in the studio is to grab a hammer, start dancing like MC Hammer, and proclaim..."It's hammer time!!!!!!"  It gets me every time, and I laugh my ass off...you'd think it would be old by now, but it's not, I still think it's funny!

OK, on to the business part: 
A duo of hammer textured necklaces just made their way to the SHOP!

 It was Hammer Time all week in the shop, everything that came off the bench so far is rich with texture...and I got a mean cramp in my forearm from wielding my heaviest hammer...

 

This one is quite dainty...but she's got a whole lot of personality for such a small lady!!!!  I added a small hammer textured and stamped leaf at the back closure for a little bit of bling for the nape of your neck.  She can be found HERE, in the shop!

 

I've been playing with adding these molten dangles to my designs lately...they make a tiny jingling sound and add a TON of texture!!!  Available here...happy browsing!


*New addition...

Just listed this wee necklace in the shop!

...Happy Wednesday!!!

Weekend photo essay...and jewelry snapshots

saturday morning...

  

 saturday afternoon and evening...

 

 

 

 

We were lucky enough to enjoy a lovely day poolside, at a fantabulous casa up on the mountain above the city...the light, the mountain, the valley, and the company couldn't have been any more beautiful.  This day was a classic "living in paradise" moment in time...My gratitude is bubbling over today!


sunday morning and in between...

 

The theme in the studio this week seems to have been hammered textures and molten nuggets...I finished off a handful of necklace and a few pair of earrings that will get a better preview here ASAP and then make there way to the SHOP hopefully by the end of the evening!


Happy Sunday from the land of Aloha!!!!

Homegrown!

Yesterday we picked the first papaya from one of the many trees in our yard...

I took some photos of it in this post when it was still green and growing, and it just kept growing, and growing...Finally over the weekend she started to turn that lovely sunshiny shade of yellow that is sign she's getting ready to be eaten.  We waited ever so patiently for her to become yellow all over, and ready to be picked...and yesterday Jo and I grabbed her off the tree with smiles of anticipation...

She's HUUUUUUUUGE!!!

...This is the biggest papaya I have ever seen!!!  Her flavor was amazingly sweet, and getting to eat it right off the tree, that we planted, nurtured, and obsessed over made it taste even better!  Usually the center is filled with tons of seeds in a slimy goo, this one had only the seeds you see in the picture...and they will be saved and re-planted so we can start our own little papaya orchard at the commune!

Seriously...I wish you had taste-o-vision and I could share the bounty with you all, I can't wait for the next one to be ripe and ready for breakfast! 

Currently....

Rockin' out in the studio to THIS...and I must say, it's giving me a bit of a "dancing in my seat" feeling.  Sometimes I find myself doing a bit of chair dancing while I'm sawing out shapes at the bench, my house mate can probably hear me singing along through the wall.

I've been working on a custom order for the ETSY shop, which is quite satisfying...being somewhat of a newcomer to the world of silver smithing and selling my creations online, I am so grateful for all the lovely people out there on the interwebs that have found my work and want to spend their hard earned dinero on something for themselves!  I found myself grinning from ear to ear when I got a convo from a customer who had a custom request idea based on these lovlies.  It's amazing to sit down at the bench, work from the heart on creating a one of a kind piece for someone out there that I've never met!  I love each and every creation that comes from the hammering, sawing, and hand details that I put into a piece...and to think that there are people out there that love my vision as well as I do, is still something that I marvel at.  You should see the look on my face when I check my email and find a message from a customer on ETSY, or a message that I sold something!!!!!  It gives me a pride and gratitude high for the rest of the day! 

The sisterhood I have found in this online community is way beyond my expectations, and my heart is full...with happiness and satisfaction that I have created something beautiful with my own two hands, that people out there in the world see the beauty in it too, and that I am lucky enough to have this beautiful space in my house to create what comes from the depths of soul.

So, this extra large MAHALO goes out to all those sisters and brothers who have encouraged me, supported my vision, and kept me believing that not only can I do this, but I must do it because this whole process of creating has become a part of me, and without it I would not be ME!!!!

In other news, the other day we were driving home from the beach and saw the biggest rainbow I have seen since living here in Hawaii...I could see it from end to end arcing over the freeway...

not the most artful of photographs but...

...you get the idea anyway

Ok, back to the studio for a bit of hammering, and then some attempts at soldering a few bezels (fingers crossed).

Correspondence of the hand written variety

Does anyone ever write letters anymore?  I used to love to write letters, its been so long since I have done so regularly, way too long!  Last week I made up some postcards with photos I have taken, it was super easy to edit the pictures and order them through a link I found on picnik.com.

When they arrived I was super stoked to see my own pictures ready to be popped in the mail to far off locations...I picked out a few really great pictures of my friends dog, and thought it would be cute to send her a few of these in her new home in Chicago.  Yesterday I sat down for a bit of letter writing, I wrote a handful of cards to friends all over the country...thinking how excited they would be when they opened their post box to see a little note from me!  After I had them all piled up ready for their stamps I was reading through what I had written and had a realization...my handwriting is AWFUL!!!!!  I could barely read what I had written...so how could I expect mi amigas to be able to read it!  I think it has been far too long since I wrote anything, my hands are out of practice.  It looks like I was rushing to save my own life as I was writing, the letters blended together in some kind of messy combo of cursive and block lettering...SO, I've made a vow to bring the writing of letters, that ancient tactile correspondence back into my life.  I will take my time, carefully crafting my words, and enjoy the process...The best part of the whole thing is knowing that my little chicken scratched notes to my loved ones will be received with surprised smiles when they are received!  Anyone else want to join the revolution?  I think I need a few pen pals to get me started...I will be ordering a boatload more postcards today, and have decided to make this a weekly habit, to sit, to write, to keep in touch, to enjoy the feeling of the pen in my hand and to send out little love notes of friendship around the globe!

Happy Wednesday to all...Aloha!

P.S.

In other news, today I'm sporting my favorite pair of sandals...they make me happy when I look down at my feet!