Sunday, September 23, 2012

More Jewelry



I love the red of this glass enamel. It is the only enamel I have. I cannot wait to get the hand made earrwires on these. These will be earrings for the Queen of Arts and maybe they will make it to the Art Hus in Solvang. I still have a lot more work on these square wire rings. I have not made them for a while, but I am almost completely out. Still need texture, bezel, clean up and the stone.
Earrings are ready to put together. there might be like 20 pairs here. These I can finish at home in my "spare" time. The 2 coral necklaces are closer, not sure they are looking like I hoped. Any feed back will be appreciated.

These are my favorites. I need to peirce the backs and solder all the components. Then I need to decide what stones to match with them and weather to hand make the chain or not.
These will be on chain and I am hoping they will be a good pricepoint. The house has been on the backburned too long and I hope this is the year it gets finished. I have only made 1 other like it. There is a bird cage necklace it has been sitting with. The bird cage will have to be later.

Whie I was out working on the silver, my daughter was making shrinky-dinks with grandma. I love them!! Next jewelry work day will be October 4th. I have quite the to do list forming for that day. I hope to knock out a few things here and there before that.....homework!

A Little Jewelry a Little Sketching

 This is my large moonstone getting a custom fit bezel. I will be getting this piece all fixed up and ready to solder. I have another 3-4 hours of work time tomorrow in the studio set aside and I want all the pieces worked and ready to solder on the 4th of October. The moonstone and the Labradorite are my favorites and I am the most behind on them, so time to step it up.
This is one of two coral pieces I hope to make. I love these forms, but the wire holes are always in the wrong spot. I hope I am not the only one who loves the way this coral looks.
Vintage Trailer Show in Buellton was the location for our sketch group. It was so very hot. I loved all the cute little trailers. I sure wish it had been cooler and I had a bit more free time to work on sketching them. My daughter came along for this one. I had hopes that she might join in....she did! I love what she added to my sketch.


She seemed pretty happy with it too. I hope she will come sketching with me all the time, even if it is just to give my sketches some color.  I hope to have something more to post from the jewelry studio tomorrow. I might get to add some enamel to my heart pieces...we'll see...


Monday, September 10, 2012

First Day Back in Studio to Make Jewelry for QOA


Okay! I made it there and knocked out my list! Yay! I am out of shape though: my fingers are soar. These were my Gem Fest finds this year. I did find a Blue Labradorite cab to work with, but it was a tough find. The guy I got my last one from did not have any. I had a lot of half done pieces from last year to work with too. I ran out of silver sheet last year.
 These stone will all become necklaces. I am making some big pieces again, but also will make about 6 to 8 simpler styles for a better price point.

Here is one of the last pendants I cut out. My blade was working great until I bust it cutting the copper heart forms for my red enamel pieces. I got a lot started in the short time I had, but I also created a lot of homework. I need to make bezels for most of these pieces, cut out all the earring components, clean up the edges, and cut a few more things before my next scheduled date with the studio. I am hopeful and a bit excited with all the stuff I hope to get done in the next 7 weeks. Stay tuned!

One last Call for Seattle Trip

 Okay, this should be the last of it. These are the photos from my I Touch and cell phone, so quality will vary. Here is my sister at Thorton Place by her house. I am sure I said it before, but this place is cool. The sushi place with conveyor belts is there too. Can you see us in the reflection?
 These coffees were at Jewel Box Cafe which is at Thorton Place too. So good and great atmosphere.


Here is more from Zig Zags (which makes you walk in zig zags). Their hummus and brochette. Also a great atmosphere. Super good food, I will find myself craving this place a lot I am sure. And below is my zen coffee art from down the street at Cloud City. I got to drink out of the coveted Babo Cup!

 As for AFK Tavern, we were a bit too awesome for the place....hehe just kidding. We had a lot of fun getting ready to go, but it did not live up to my expectations. Definitely a kind of place you would reserve a table and bring a posse to, not a place to go solo and meet new pals.
 Super fun menu though! Still would go back and try a burger. It was in the middle of nowhere and a bit more of a drive than you'd want.
 Good Bagels and super fancy coffee also just a short walk from my sister's house.
 Asian Market booty!!!!! I could have got more!! I am loving all the pens and stuff I got there. The folding micro scissors are so handy. I am sure the sushi place here thought we were crazy. Oh, and the green tea was the best! I cannot remember the name of the restaurant (I went there last time too). Sushi was super super good, and the green tea is that cloudy version that is just the best way to have green tea. That is another thing I will find myself craving off and on.

Last Coffee stop before I left at the Cafe Jarasti (spelling?) with sister and Becky the elephant. Good crepes. Sigh... I sure hope my sister visits us soon. I hope to find time to run back up there too. Next time, my daughter wants to come with me. Missing my sister still.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

More from Seattle


More photos from Seattle. I am still savouring my trip, and once I load my phone and I Touch photos, I am sure I have a few more Seattle posts in me. We got a little tipsy and graphitied a bit ;) Being bad is fun! Always something to see: here are some blue trees.

Quick sketch of my Mellow Yellow drink at Zig Zag. The ginkgo stamps were from a run to the Asian Market there....I got sooooo many pens!!

My sister found the best view of the Space Needle and we both sketched a bit from the sculpture garden there. It was a lot of walking that day :) We then headed down the street for some yummy beer and pizza which went right to our heads in a very cozy way.
This was my second sketch of the Space Needle, not sure if I like it. I used a new mechanical pencil I got that had blue lead. The one below was my warm-up and I like it better. I did that with my new brush pen. OOoooOo I love that new brush pen.


More great coffee at the Jewel Box Cafe. The conveyor sushi place is right there and a cinema and a cozy fire pit. I could hang there all day and it is only like a mile from my sister's house.

Last peek at Seattle from plane as I fly away. *sniff* "Another free Red Hook please"
I finally found a new tea cup to replace my last one that broke. I saw this set at Alchemy Cafe in Santa Barbara at a work lunch, and so loved it. I was walking through town the other day and saw the set in the window of a shop that is like 4 blocks from my lace! Loving it! Okay...time to journal a little then off to bed. I hope to update Flickr real soon and Gem Show tomorrow! Hope I find all that I need (and nothing else ;)  )