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

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 intelligenceI am thankful for my family, near and farI am thankful that my brother is coming home from

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

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 NecklaceThis 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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Darling River Trilby Station western NSWOh, 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

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!

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 patina2. The boat with lid and black patina3. My first method: a layer of fixative, dried, followed by 1-2 layers of prismacolor, repeat. I don't know if it

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

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