I hope everyone is having wonderful holidays, filled with happiness and joy!

I am happy to report that I finally sold a pair of my Eucalyptus Earrings, whose proceeds go to Aussie Helpers! I'm so excited, and cannot wait to send in the donation. These are part of my "Helping Others" collection which is slowly growing. I know the money donated to Aussie Helpers will be greatly appreciated, especially in the middle of the Australian summer, and so close to the Holidays. You can find out a bit more here.

It's that time of year again, where we openly display all that we are thankful for. I am grateful every day for the life I live. Here is a little list of thanks....

I am thankful for my health, strength, and intelligence
I am thankful for my family, near and far
I am thankful that my brother is coming home from Iraq soon!
I am thankful that I got to spend 23 years with my father
I am thankful to my friends, near and far, who have seen me through thick and thin
I am thankful to my wonderful partner who loves me no matter what
I am thankful to the people I work for and their children for giving me love and laughter
I am thankful for my "babies", Sammy and Amber
And I am thankful for all of my wonderful readers and customers who make my dreams come true every day!

Hello, readers! I am so sorry for my absence of late. Time has run away with me and left me with little to spare in the last few weeks. I have recently been very inspired by a blog called Rowdy Kittens and am in the process of streamlining my life and belongings. I started with purging old cards and pictures, some furniture, clothing, and am now moving onto books. I have many books, due to a long book-buying phase, and yet, I never read a book twice. I am ready to get rid of (most) of my books now, and clear some space in my life.

All books listed below are $9 (including shipping in the U.S. only). All are used, but in great condition. If you are interested, email me at chandler.catherine (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send you an invoice via PayPal. I will keep this open for two weeks, until December 8, before giving them to goodwill.

Special Occasions by Martha Stewart (Great ideas for DIY special occasions)

Yoga for Women by Shakta Khalsa

Salad Days by Marcel Desaulniers

Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (Words cannot express how good this book is. It struck me on so many levels.)

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Holy Cow! by Sarah Macdonald (Fantastic true account of an Aussie's journeys within India, and could make a great travel guide)

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Unknown Errors of Our Lives by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Amazing story by one of my all-time favorite authors)

The Vine of Desire by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas (Another amazing story of Indian culture in America, by an astounding author)

The Speech of Angels by Sharon Maas (one of my absolute favorite books. Absolutely beautiful and heart breaking)

Peacocks Dancing by Sharon Maas

Red Azalea by Anchee Min

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (incredible historical fiction set in China)

The Body, Photographs of the Human Form by William A. Ewing (Fantastic book full of historical images and eras in Photography)

The Tahoe Sierra by Jeffrey P. Schaffer

Desolation Wilderness and South Lake Tahoe Basin by Jeffery P. Schaffer

The Yoga Deck

The Pilates Deck

Eco Chic by Rebecca Tanqueray

Detoxify or Die by Sherry A. Rogers, M. D.

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh


Please email me at chandler.catherine (at) gmail (dot) com with any questions!

This weekend I am participating in a 10% off Weekend Deals sale along with many great shops from EtsyMetal! Head over to the EtsyMetal blog for all the details!

Australia Necklace

This is a necklace that I made for the EtsyMetal Project Runway Challenge for Season 6 Episode 10, "Pick a Place!". It is inspired by Australia, with the modern aesthetic of so many designers there, as well as my deep love for the very odd plants in all shapes and sizes. The empty spaces in the large links represent silhouettes of seed pods and fruits from the rainforest.

Moonstone Charm Necklace

I created this necklace as part of the EtsyMetal Project Runway challenges. This one is for the Season 6, episode 11 challenge "Create a Companion Look". While the companion was not for one of the challenges, this goes perfectly with the necklace I made for my friend, Saskia Moes.

These earrings were a commission for a friend, and they definitely take me away from my normal style. I had a lot of fun making these because I had to alter the settings for the stones, which is always good practice. The stones are 5mm square Amethyst, and the earrings hang about 2" down from the ear. They are very light and fun!

This is for the next EtsyMetal Project Runway Jewelry Challenge...you can read more about it here.

I've been working on some earrings for a friend's sister in law, and they're turning out really well. I'm using 5 mm square Amethyst for the stones, and apparently it's next to impossible to find bezel settings for them, so I had to modify some settings by cutting out the backs and fitting the stones in. My fingers are sore from all the small detailed work but it's good practice.

I am currently participating in a Benefit Bazaar from October 18-31. 20% of all sales until October 31 will go to Wheels For Henry. Please read more about it on the website, and check out the other vendors as well. All proceeds go to a great cause!

I just sent this lovely ring off to its new home...

I had a lot of fun working in the studio today. I worked on a handmade prong setting for a moonstone, which will be part of the next charm necklace I'm making, as well as the wire part of a brooch. It's from a book by Carles Codina, but more details on that later.

I've been working on another charm necklace, and came across a problem with soldering prongs onto the setting for a stone. So, after scrapping the first setting, I turned to some books for inspiration. Carles Codina is a master metalsmith, as well as one of my favorite authors for technical books, and it was in his book "Goldsmithing & Silver Work" that I found a solution to my problem! I hope this helps any other metalsmiths out there who have battled with soldering wire onto pieces.

These pretty babies are new in my Etsy Shop, along with a few other pretties...

This necklace is for my best friend, Saskia, who is very near and dear to my heart. It includes two labradorite and one rose quartz, chosen not only for their colors, but also for their qualities of being power and healing stones. The other two elements also hold special connections...they are a water cast drop, and a little stick from a cuttlefish casting from a day when we were both in the studio helping each other with our work.

Here are a few more process shots from the necklace I'm making. The white stuff in the bezel is enamel paint--I'm using it to create more of a contrast behind the very pale rose quartz. The little piece of lace will be laid on top of the paint (once it's dried), with the stone set on top of that. It's almost done and I'm really looking forward to the finished piece!

I would greatly appreciate it if readers would take a few minutes to fill out a quick survey about my blog. You can find it HERE. Thank you!

After watching last week's episode of Project Runway, I decided to jump on the bandwagon with the Etsy Metal Jewelry Challenge that coincides with the Project Runway season. Since we did not have people to pair up with and be our "customer", we decided to draw out of a hat the type of jewelry/material/style and go from there. I got "ring/thread or fabric/green or upcycled". The fabulous Victoria of experimetal has gracefully been taking charge of this project this season. Thank you!


Once I found out what my parameters were, my mind started spinning. I have tons of silver scrap from failed projects, and I also have a lot of antique lace and fabric that I inherited from my Great Aunt Dorothy. There was one in particular that I remembered as being quite colorful. She was a contessa in Italy, so had lots of fabric for costumes. I rooted through my silver scrap and gathered what I thought would work from it, then went and found a few pieces of fabric from Aunt Dodo's trunk.


I knew that I wanted to create a ring that would slide between two fingers, rather than around one, and a fairly large circle would be the best design for the top. I found the large circle that I would use to sandwich the fabric for the top, initially thinking I would rivet it to a base with the fabric in between. But no, that seemed like the fabric would be too volatile. Then I realized that I could treat that ring and fabric like a stone and set it with a bezel! Unfortunately the bezel and base are not recycled, but I used as much recycled material as I could without damaging the integrity of the piece.


I had more smaller rings available that seemed to sit well inside of each other, which is what inspired the bottom of the ring. I soldered those together and domed them for comfort. The bar in between is also made of recycled scrap metal. Setting the fabric and metal circle into the ring was no easy feat...the fabric is extremely fragile and has minor tears. I actually had to cut out another piece because the first attempt failed. I used my bezel rocker for the initial setting, and then a small riveting hammer to hammer the bezel down fully onto the metal circle.


In the PR episode, the models-as-customers are wearing their designs to an industry event. I wanted my piece of jewelry to be something that someone could wear to a similar event for jewelry, and I'm sure I will :) I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out.

In my quest to 'save the world', or at least do my part, I have recently decided to start creating select pieces whose proceeds will go to specific charities. My first endeavor in this project, 'Helping Others', are the Eucalyptus Earrings.

The proceeds from the sales of these earrings will go to Aussie Helpers, a grassroots organization in Australia that directly helps farmers and families in the outback who have been negatively affected by the many years of droughts there. To find out more about Aussie Helpers, please visit their website. I am not sure how long I will be creating jewelry for each charity--I'm sort of waiting to see how well this takes off. You can go directly to the Eucalyptus Earrings listing on my Etsy shop by clicking the photo above. Thank you!!!

The full tutorial can be found on my Flickr site, under Tutorials. Just click HERE.

Slideshow courtesy of Flickr Slideshow Generator.

I create this wonderful brooch as part of a casting class. I had made a mold to create waxes from, and through various experiments in wax injecting and shaking, etc., I came up with this little form. It was inspired by plant life in the ocean, so I am calling it "Sea Pod no. 1". It is made from recycled sterling silver, and has a steel brooch pin. I have given it a fine silver finish to brighten it up a bit. It has a bit of a weight to it, so is best worn with thicker fabrics, coats, or scarves. I hope it finds a wonderful new home! You can find it here, in my Etsy Shop.

I will soon have a tutorial up on cuttlefish casting, I'm just waiting to get my images from a friend. Here is the end result of the recent cuttlefish casting I did--a sheet. I wanted to create a sheet of metal so that I could cut out shapes at will. I've already made a bracelet with part of it, for my mom's birthday, but I know she checks my blog so I haven't posted it yet (Hi Mom!) .

Darling River Trilby Station western NSW

Oh, I would save the world if I could. I have struggled many years with deciding what I want to do with my life based on that. As part of my "reorganization" of my business, I have decided that it is high time for me to start donating to various charities. I will soon be selecting a certain charity every few months, and making jewelry specifically relevant to their cause. All proceeds from the sales of this jewelry will be donated to said charity.

The first on my list, starting in September, is Aussie Helpers. Once in a while, you may hear me talk about Australia, and those who know me well know how deeply my love for Australia runs. Recently, National Geographic Magazine ran a story on the drought in Australia. It left me in tears. The Murray-Darling River Basin is low and has become salinated because of over use for crops, irrigation, dams, etc. Pair that with the drought and you have some serious issues not only for the river itself, but for the environment and farmers.

This is where Aussie Helpers comes in. The founders, Brian and Nerida Egan, established Aussie Helpers in 2002 to help fight poverty and lift the spirits of those severely affected by drought in the outback. Brian lost his own farm in the 1990's and is no stranger to hardship. Brian and about 40 volunteers work hard to assist families in the bush who are in desperate need of help--whether that is in the form of groceries, or food for cattle, Aussie Helpers makes it happen.

What attracts me most to Aussie Helpers is that it is such a grass roots organization. The money donated goes directly to them, and their help goes directly to the families. I did plenty of research and have found Aussie Helpers to be a stand up organization, backed my many other organizations around Australia.

If you would like to learn more, please visit Aussie Helpers website. There are tons of photos and much more information.

I am offering Free Worldwide Shipping in my Etsy Shop this weekend! Friday 8/14 through Sunday 8/16.

I enter giveaways and contests all the time, and rarely win anything, so I'm super excited when I do. Especially when it's the work of someone who I've admired for a while, like Julia Pott. Recently, Doodlers Anonymous had a contest for a print by Julia Pott entitled "I Can't Breathe". I've lusted over this print for ages! Contestants were to tell a story (or a drawing) about their first crush....well, you can head over to the original giveaway post to read about mine. The print finally got here today and it's lovely! I can't wait to find a frame for it to hang in (and then I have to decide where to hang it). I'm so absolutely thrilled. Thank you, Doodlers Anonymous and Julia Pott!!!

image via Julia Pott

This is Bob's 4038, the copper boat I've been working on re-doing. The above shows a bit of it's evolution so far. Clockwise from top left:
1. The boat with black patina
2. The boat with lid and black patina
3. My first method: a layer of fixative, dried, followed by 1-2 layers of prismacolor, repeat. I don't know if it was the heat of the day, or the fixative not curing, or too many layers, but it started to peel, so I had to remove it and started on a different method using gesso.
4. My second attempt: a layer of white gesso, upon which prismacolor is to be applied
5. The first layer of prismacolor
6. The 2nd or 3rd layer of prismacolor
7. The final layer of prismacolor. I did apply fixative after the 3rd layer of prismacolor to give it some more "tooth" to keep going and get a bit of a darker color. I finished it with a layer of fixative to seal the prismacolor. It's a bit spottier than I would like, but it is modeled after children's illustrations, so it's pretty true to the original.
8. Now, on to the lid...

You can view more progress and photos on my flickr page. Enjoy!

My "new shop" is up and running...I have ousted the old pieces (don't worry, some of them just need to be re-photographed) and added a few new pieces. I have a few more pieces that are ready but need to be photographed and listed. All in good time. Be sure to check my Etsy shop, shower the pieces you love with "hearts" and keep checking back!

As an undergraduate, I had my original major as photography, which I switched to my minor as soon as I discovered metalsmithing. However, I still loved photography--the process of capturing something on film, and then transforming it into print form with the magic of an enlarger and numerous baths. I formed a refined taste in photography during that time which still holds today. What I mean by that, is that it takes some serious talent to "wow" me with photographs. What can I say? I had the luck of having incredible lecturers who were working artists, and being in a country (Australia) where the talent coming into the photography scene was phenomenal.


One of my favorite photographers that I discovered during that time was Joyce Tenneson--she is, in my eyes, one of the most talented and important photographers of our time. Her images seem to blend portraiture and mythology, with her flower portraits holding a sense of the surreal. Thanks to dear ada for posting about her--it's been a while since I had looked at these beautiful images.

images via joycetenneson.com