Friday Finds--Design*Sponge

Design*Sponge is a great blog and website. One of the things I love is their DIY projects, such as a Jewelry Shadow Box--something I still have yet to do, but have most of the materials for. All you need is some deep frames, nice craft paper, and a few little screws and hooks. Check out their post for the full details!

Friday Finds--decor8

I am fairly domestic, and a blog I came across a long time ago is decor8. I love the design ideas that come out of this blog, and often save posts for future reference.

I have a lot of family heirlooms laying around--200 year old paintings, a 200 year old dictionary, family silver, chests, etc. I still have yet to invest money into really decorating with them, but when I saw decor8's post on Caroline Keith of C.Keith Vintage, it showed me just how well vintage can live with modern. Here are some inspirational images (originally from Country Living Magazine):



Another find on decor8 was this post on Doilies. I have a lot of vintage lace laying around, so this might inspire some ideas about how to re-use it.

Doilies and lace as decorations as seen at CAMP.

Upcycling doilies into vases as seen on Sweet Paul.

Contemporary jewelry with doily and lace impressions by Elissa Frankino.

Friday Finds--18KT

I subscribe to about 50 blogs, and read through the new posts every day. Often times I save a post or two to look back on later on. This is where "Friday Finds" comes in. Each week I will highlight things I have found through other blogs--objects, ideas, etc.

18KT is a blog I found through another blog...can't quite remember which one, but I love it. I can't understand the language...it's something romantic like Italian, but I can get the gist of it. Each day they feature contemporary jewelers, and the work is gorgeous! I highly recommend visiting this blog.

This week, 18KT featured Erik Urbschat, a designer with clean lines and gorgeous work.








Also found through 18KT this week is Laura Anne Marsden, a woman after my own heart. Marsden creates beautiful lace sculptures and jewelry with Eternal Lace, a lace she has created from recycled plastic bags.

Beautiful Labradorite

Labradorite Marquise Ring, 2008

I ordered this stone from Best Beads on Etsy a couple months ago, simply because it was a Labradorite marquise cut cabochon, which are very hard to find, and it had such a great flash of color! Labradorite is part of the Feldspar group, and its colors range a lot. It can be really hard to find pieces that have both good cuts and good flash.

So, I had this sitting around for a while, waiting to figure out what to do with it. The other night, I decided I was going to make something, and while looking through some old sketches, I thought "okay I'm making a ring out of this". I didn't know exactly what kind of ring, but started out making the bezel, and played around with ideas in my head of using two stones to create a ring that would be kind of open on the top, with the two stones sitting on top of a U shaped band. After pairing up stones, I realised that I should probably just use this one on its own. Somewhere along those trains of thought, a square ring popped into my head and the rest is history :)

I will be making more of these, or something similar to them. This one is a US size 6 1/2, slightly too big for me. If you are interested, let me know.

More Thorns

Thorns, 2008

Just thought I would share some more pictures of those beautiful Thorn brooches! These were all taken by David Woody, my partner. The brooches each have a double pin catch to help with the wearability of them. They are surprisingly light and sit quite well on the body!

Family Ties

Lotus, Adelaide Botanical Gardens, 2004

The lotus symbolises a great sense of peace for me, a sort of "coming together" of the universe. I have experienced a lot of that in my life, and a lot of it lately. Yesterday, I met up with my Uncle Steve for lunch. We went to a french restaurant close to my work. It was wonderful! I have always loved Uncle Steve. He has always been kind, and was the only person aside from my mom, who did not criticize me for hanging out with homeless kids in downtown Portland when I was 14. Instead, he sat down and asked me why I was doing it, and asked me about what they were really using all that "spare change" for. That conversation 12 years ago was a light in a time of darkness for me.

My father's family has never been close...well, not during my lifetime. There are three brothers, and each has their own life, and multiple children. There are First Generation kids (the oldest), and Second Generation (my brother, myself, and step-siblings) kids. The three brothers had their own points of view, their own hang ups, and levels of emotion. I remember writing letters to my Uncle Steve and maybe my other uncle during my first year in Australia, expressing how I wish our family could be closer and that I wished them well. I never received a response, but in this day and age of email, who really expects hand written responses?

When my father died, Uncle Steve was a beacon....he has worked with terminally ill people for most of his career, and has a good amount of experience in dealing with death. I myself have lost a great number of people in my life, so grievance is no stranger. But when it's your parent, it's quite different. I cannot remember his words exactly, but what I do recall is that they were calming and brought a lot of peace at that time.

There have been a lot of issues since my father's passing, with division of property, money, etc. A lot of those issues have caused contention through the family (something I find really sad), so for a couple years, I just kind of stayed out of it. But now, those things are past, and I am able to pick up where we left off and hopefully move forward, and get to know this part of my family who I have always loved and looked up to.

One thing we spoke of yesterday was forgiveness. My uncle was diagnosed with prostate cancer just over a year ago. There are people in the family that know that, and still hold on to their anger, grudges, whatever you call it. I just don't get that. One thing that my father's death taught me was to take the time that we have and make the most of it; that the little things don't matter, and most things that seem big are actually really little.

(Another funny thing in all of this, is that as I was relaying all of this to my brother in law, I mentioned that my cousin is treating my uncle with acupuncture. It turns out that my cousin taught some of his classes during his time in massage school! I love the way the world works with connections like these.)

What I see in my uncle is a compassionate, emotive person who is kind and loves strongly. Unlike his brothers, he is not afraid to show his emotions. What I see in him, is a lot of me. Love for the environment, creatures big and small, history, and family. I have always been a black sheep, but I have also always embraced it.

Baaaaaaaah. :)

Spring Cleaning

Yesterday and today have been wonderful and relaxing. I sent out the Thorns on Saturday, and am allowing myself to relax a little before diving into the next project. Yesterday, I hiked Mt. Tabor (above), which was beautiful and slightly warm. It was so refreshing to actually get out of the house, hike, and not be freezing cold while doing so!

Today, I'm house cleaning (going on 4 hours now). The cats are not helping very much, but that's what separate rooms are for :) A clean house is almost as refreshing as a hike, to me!

The Thorns!

Thorns, 2008
Copper, Silver, Steel

These beauties go out today :) I've been working on them for a couple months, for a commission. A lot of lessons learned in these!!!

People That Inspire Me

I would like to share some one that inspires me, who brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes.

Cally from Cally Creates

Portable Tripod

I have a little secret to share with you, which was shown to me by my stepmom over 10 years ago, when I was given my first (and favorite) camera. You know that threaded area in the bottom of the camera where it screws into the tripod? Go to the hardware store, take the camera too, and find an eye bolt (with a flat bottom, and a hole in the top) that fits it.


Then find some sturdy, but not too big chain....like the kind that has long flat links. Below is "jack chain" which will work. Get about 6 feet, maybe more if you're tall, of it.


Attach the chain to the eye screw (with wire, a jump ring, or something sturdy). Screw it into the bottom of the camera. Hold the camera up to nose level. Step on the chain, and pull the camera up to eye level. It will be very stable because of the tension. It acts as a portable tripod! This is easily collapsible and storable. No more heavy tripods to haul around :) Unless you're doing something that really requires it. Have fun! I'm off to the hardware store.

Perfectionism

I have never before wished that I had taken studio photography when I was in school, until now. Recently, I have been struggling with my photographs of jewelry. They're okay, but they're not "IT". They're not perfect. They're not "ME". Above is my latest style...call it an interim style of photography until I get my new set up in place. It's an attempt at using some color, some contrast. But it's simply not good enough. It doesn't look professional, and in the end, I really want to look professional. It's all part of my business.

So, my plan now is this. It is essential that I have a stationary light box that I can have my "stage" set up in at all times. It never moves. It will need to be by a window. I think I have a plan. Now I just need to get some furniture for it. A tall table of some sort, or dresser, or shelf that it can sit on top of, because our windows just happen to be ridiculously high up. The background will be white, with a few props. The props will be spray painted either white or grey. I'm thinking grey, because I don't want my photos to be too much like megan auman's who I greatly admire.


So I'm thinking, grey river rock (maybe even natural, instead of painted), some grey branches, and maybe some grey eucalyptus branches for the Australian themed pieces. Then I just have to figure out how to deal with the lighting :)

Oh, and aside from the studio set up, I also need to have shots of people wearing my jewelry. My plan for that is to get some friends together, and just go out around town, doing every day hang out things, and take photos of them wearing my jewelry. It gives scale and shows the wearability of the product.

Wish me luck, and keep an eye out in the next few weeks for improvements!

Anyone want to buy me my own digital SLR? And some lights?

Etsy Metal Sale....LAST DAY!!!

Today, February 7, is the last day of the EtsyMetal Valentine's Sale! Head over to their blog to see the full list of wonderful sellers!!!

I LOVE DIAMONDS

That's right. I love diamonds. I have fallen in love. That is not to say, that I love the practices that have wreaked havoc on the people involved in conflict diamonds. Not at all--but now, with the Kimberly Process in place, I can allow these beautiful stones to enter my heart.


Now, anyone that knows me well knows that I like things that are a bit off-center, out of the ordinary. I have seen some amazingly beautiful 1, 2, and 3 carat brilliant cut ideal diamonds. They're amazing and make me swoon, but I ultimately love alternative shapes more than the rounds (not that I would ever refuse a ring or piece of jewelry with a round diamond!). My favorite shape by far is the cushion cut, as well as the radiant, trilliant, old european, rose, and rough diamonds. I love the colors, as well, because diamonds come in a range. Chocolate, champagne, and cognac are probably my favorites. Beyond the "surface" beauty lies the characteristics of diamonds themselves. Their strength, durability, luster, and chemical make up make these stones some of the most amazing to me. I can honestly say that I would rather receive a diamond than most other stones.


Todd Reed is one of my favorite artists that works with raw diamonds. Hopefully, I'll be working with them someday soon, as well.

Bread & Butter

My wonderful friend, Tay MacIntyre, over at Bread & Butter is creating wonderful pieces from vintage lockets, silver rings, etc. Check some pieces out here, then head over to her Etsy store!

Scottish Rose, hand-etched copper locket


Ornate vintage brass earrings


Sterling Silver Affirmation Bands

Tay also has a wonderful store at Twirl Studio. Check out some of her other creations:

Studio Space

As my collection of tools expands, and our space seemingly gets smaller, tonight we will begin the room swap. Moving the bedroom out of it's room, the studio into it, and the bedroom into the studio room. Yay! It will be so nice to have space to stretch out and move around!