An easy-peasy set that gets compliments wherever I wear it. I hammered the disks and the loops myself. Yay!
Here's the earrings:
Ugh, crappy photos. I look like I have a double chin. And you can't even see the freshwater pearls in the earrings. *grumbles about firing the photographer*
Sigh.
A craptastic photo of an otherwise lovely set of lemon quartz and sterling silver. These stones are leftover from when I made the jewelry for the bridesmaids in a friend's wedding.
I have three more matching stones just like these. Make me an offer and I'll work within your budget. Leave a comment below or email me at anne (at) inlandempress (dot) com.
Here's me attempting to model them (click to enbiggen):
No idea what these are:
These would've been for sale if I hadn't broken off the top chunk of the left-hand stone and had to glue it back together. Gah. Mine now.
These are called Dendritic sandstone. I bought them last year. They look like little plants got pressed in them, right? It's just minerals that leach into the sandstone that way.
Cool stuff. I'm under strict orders from my jewelry teacher to never, ever part with these earrings. Why?
Says she: "You'll never find stones like this again."
Who am I to argue?
Not bad, if I do say so myself. The title's a play on the name of the stone, which is Howlite. Howlite the moon, werewolves, full moon, get it? Oh, never mind.
Here's the link to buy it at my shop or cut and paste this:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37302818
Or you can browse the entire shop by clicking here or cutting/pasting this:
http://quartztrail.etsy.com
Happy Holidays everyone. This is the last post for a while.
Technically, this is called a wave bracelet and it's one of those things you learn in basic silversmithing before they'll teach you the secret handshake.
I love this one too much to part with it, but I'll happily custom-make one. I'm estimating $60 but that's subject to change if the price of silver keeps skyrocketing. Note -- I can also make a thinner version for about $50 if you want something nice and slender.
It's not a particularly labor-intensive item to make but I won't have access to a torch until mid-January (my class breaks for the holidays). So figure it would ship by early February for any order that comes in between now and Jan. 14th.
Email me on Facebook or leave a comment below if interested.
My regular online store is at quartztrail.etsy.com but you won't see this posted there. Still, there's plenty of other stuff to choose from!
... and I'll put earrings on them. Just a reminder that my earrings start at $15.
Click to enlarge the photo for a closer look. They're listed individually at my Etsy shop.
Or cut-and-paste the URL:
http://quartztrail.etsy.com
My favorite piece so far. It's not for sale, since I can't resist wearing it. Bad form to sell something from around your neck.
Wildfire gets its name from the fire agate set in the middle. It reminded me of living in California in the middle of wildfire country. Look close and you can see the blackened hills with the flames roiling up into the night sky. Seriously.
It's set in hand-stamped sterling silver. I added a patina to bring out the stamping pattern a bit. It's strung with baroque (i.e., weird-shaped) Tahitian pearls and two little carnelian beads. Here's the long shot:
Okay, I need to get out more. When did long silver chains become so popular? I wasn't looking and, bam, everyone's wearing 2, 3, 4 or more at a time. Most aren't real silver, of course.
These are. Plus pearls!
Here's the description from my shop:
Just $38 here. If this one sells quickly, I'll make a bunch more. They're easy for me to do and, as you can see from the price, not all that expensive.
Yes, I was in a frenzy in the two weeks leading up to this sale. I made all of these. It was about the most fun I've had with power tools since Mr. Kaplan's wood shop class at West Rocks Middle School. I kicked tuchus in that class.
Anyway.
I had a brief moment of panic that led to a whole new level of commitment to jewelry making. I'd planned on finishing these babies up at two jewelry classes the other week instead of one. And ... the instructor was sick.
Panic! What would I do without the classroom's power tools?
Help me, Home Depot!
You have to imagine the hubby's reaction when I lugged home a brand, spanking-new Dremel tool. Y'know Homer Simpson and donuts? That's the reaction. You'd think I brought home a vibrator. It does kinda look like one. Except for the sanding and buffing attachments. *shudder*
Wonder if I could do my nails with them, though? Just a thought.
So, yeah, I'm committed now. Gotta make that Dremel tool earn its keep.
Oh, and if you see any earrings you like, they're all up at Etsy. Prices start at $15 for the copper, up to $22 for the silver. As always, shipping is free.
These are a stone called amazonite, not at all like the overused turquoise, though similar in color. Peach saltwater pearls dangle from silver chain, at my shop here.
Also, note the backing ... it's designed to hang low.
The first thing I made in my silversmithing class. Oooh, I'm so excited!
Here's my official description:
A sweet confection of Blue Lace Agate set in silver and hand-stamped around the edges, with dangly Akoya (saltwater) pearls. Note the back loop -- it's designed to hang low on the lobe for a sultry look.
Like it? Buy it at my Etsy shop.
(oh, and, uh, they're not as humongous as they look. Next time, I'll use a quarter in the picture to show people the size. They're smaller than a quarter, probably a bit bigger than a nickel.)
