Tuesday, January 3, 2012

aquamarine to die for

wow! i recently bought the two most incredible pieces of aquamarine i have ever seen.

aquamarine is said to be a "stone of courage". it enhances learning about oneself. it emits a gentle and compassionate energy. seems like a wonderful stone for a new year. these pieces are enormous and i've never seen their equal.

because i originally started making resolve rings to help encourage the keeping of new year's resolutions, i made a couple new resolve pieces for you as well.

the aquamarine courage necklace

with the most gorgeous high dome teardrop aquamarine stone ever


and a wee bit of janis for you...

and the sister ring


look at that high dome!



a new resolve necklace,

with a gorgeous blue green labradorite teardrop

and a bit of everybodyfields


and a delicious little resolve ring


such a flash!


from the original resolve listing:

the back says "resolve". resolve is the verb form of resolution; dictionary.com defines it as "to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something)". labradorite eases transitions. this ring will serve as a reminder for all of those new resolutions you've made.

i am preparing to have my work in a new gallery at the start of february. these pieces really should be for that, but i never feel right about not sharing my new work with you guys. therefore, over the next month, i will list my new pieces in the etsy shop for a few days and if nobody snags them up, i will "un-list" them and save them for the gallery. fair enough?

2 comments:

Rag and Stone said...

Absolutely stunning stones! Also, ever heard of the Leibster Blog award? Me either, but check out my blog for a little gift for the start to a new year!

nancycreations said...

WOW is a good response to these lovilies I think they are great your jewelry is always that way love the stones

the equipment fairy

my horoscope for the year, in my we'moon, said wonderful things about possibilities and generosity this year. one part of it was, "other people's resources will be generously available, from inheritances to bank loans; seriously consider using this support to establish a fresh and enduring base of operations during '08-'09." i had forgotten all about it until all these amazing things started happening for me, making everything possible for me to live my dream as a silversmith staying at home with my children.

shortly after our huge remodeling project was finished, another wonderful thing happened. i was "in the right place at the right time" (another lovely coincidence) and met sharon king. she just happened to have every tool i could ever need for my silversmithing, all top of the line, very high quality equipment, sitting in her garage gathering dust and needing a new home. after talking for a while, we agreed that she would VERY generously not only sell her equipment to me for a screamin' deal, but finance it as well. i now pay her a small monthly payment and my shop is 100% set up! (please see photos.) THANK YOU SHARON!!!

the amazing sharon king. if only there were more folks like her in the world...

the amazing sharon king.  if only there were more folks like her in the world...
this is sharon, who made it possible for me to have all of this incredible new equipment.

the bench

the bench
here is my incredible new bench, with drawers full of fantastic new files and mandrels, and SILVER, and pliers, and hammers...

my magnificent new torch!

my magnificent new torch!
here is the lovely new smith torch. i am still getting used to using it; it is quite different from my old acetylene torch.

my insanely powerful buffing wheel

my insanely powerful buffing wheel
this machine, too, will take some getting used to. it almost threw me across the room the first time i used it!

the foredom

the foredom
and this is my wonderful new foredom, an amazing tool!

the BIG remodel!

my studio/shop is set up in the 100 year old barn behind our house here in dolores. i knew it would be a cold winter out there if we didn't make some changes soon. to make a long story short, some very generous people, including the mayor of our great little town, my husband, and my visiting father, pulled togehter for me and really made it happen. we built a small room in the barn that is very well insulated and has a woodstove.

before

before
here's what we started out with...

dad and glenn, working hard

dad and glenn, working hard
my fabulous husband, glenn, and my wonderful father, jim, hard at work

little helpers

little helpers
simon (canine) and maybe (feline) were a big help throughout the project!

jim rules!

jim rules!
here's the lovely mayor of dolores, jim, who really made the barn remodel possible by supplying the materials up front.

insulation queen

insulation queen
here is katie, one of my apprentices, helping out

moral support

moral support
sarah, my other lovely apprentice, stopped by to offer moral support (and beer) to the workers...

(almost) completed shop

(almost) completed shop
we still need to do all the finish work (tape, mud, trim, paint, add a door...) but here is the "finished" shop!