getting ready for the pub how on saturday...

i have been very busy making pieces for the upcoming show!

late last night i completed all of these rings

and here are some of the necklaces i have made this week with teresa's glass cabs

i also made myself a new ring yesterday (are you starting to think i am greedy and selfish?)

it has the most amazing black star sapphire!

this is not a hollow form; that's how tall the stone is.

of course, i can't capture the incredible flash/ star

sapphires are said to bring joy, lightness, and peace of mind.

i thought that would be a good christmas present for myself...

my good friends sarah and diane came over last night to help me; they are so fabulous

and, my friend shannon, who is also the editor of the local paper, came over on tuesday to do a story on me as part of her promotion for the show on saturday. she took these photos for the paper:

and here is her story:

Under the glow of a desk lamp, Kristi Marcille-Smith grabbed a hammer and stamped “believe” into a sterling silver necklace she crafted in her studio behind her Dolores home. It’s a dream come true for Marcille-Smith, who began making silver jewelry - often stamped with inspirational messages - full time about three years ago. “I took a course in high school and have always wanted to do this,” she said. Marcille-Smith has always made jewelry and would bead necklaces and have to buy pendants, now that she makes them with sterling silver, she can make a completed piece on her own. “Now it’s the perfect marriage,” she said. Marcille-Smith began selling her necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets and even personalized guitar picks on the handmade and vintage Web site www.etsy.com under her business name Silver Sparrow Designs.

Marcille-Smith will sell her jewelry at the Dolores River Brewery craft and art show Saturday, along with dozens of other local artists. She also sells her work at the Artisans of Mancos artist co-op. She only sells her jewelry at a few shows a year. “I love the show at the pub,” Marcille-Smith said. “Everyone in town shows up to do their Christmas shopping.” She best describes her style as rustic and organic and says she starts with a sheet of silver and often a phrase in her head. “Everything I make has a saying on it,” she said. “Sometimes my work is inspired by the stone and other times I will find a saying I want to use and design something that works with that. Sayings that have been on the back of some of Marcille-Smith’s pieces include: “resolve”, “be the change” and “a delicate balance.” She has even been known to put long sayings, song lyrics, or poems on the back of her pieces, such as “may you be grounded and rooted in love.”

One of her more popular gifts is the sterling silver guitar picks, which she won’t have available Saturday at the show, but can be purchases online at her Etsy site. Those that buy the picks can have song lyrics put on them to give them a very personalized touch. “The guitar picks are such a popular gift,” she said. One problem she has had recently is the cost of silver has skyrocketed in a tough market as people choose to invest in silver and gold. “Silver costs three times what it did when I started,” she said. But even so, Marcille-Smith says she is doing everything she has always wanted to do when she designs jewelry. “It’s totally my dream come true,” she said.