Skye.

Thanks, guys, for the well-wishes and ideas. I did follow the idea of using the history of Scotties via wikipedia. Honestly I just though, what could possibly be interesting about Scotties? But of course, anything's history turns out to seem sort of romantic and mysterious in some way.
You may or may not have noticed but I've dropped the prices of quite a few items around the store. If you've been waiting for a sale, now's the time.
And richelle, I couldn't agree more. I shouldn't have waited. I've had tons of muscle loss which I feel every time I work the pliers, cutters, open a jar, pick up something mildly heavy, etc. I'm hoping to regain the muscle after the procedure. And I've had fat loss, so the insides of my wrists are so scary to look at - like I've had hemorrhaging or something else gross. Hopefully I'll be able to fatten my wrists as well...??? Meanwhile the only thing keeping me sane is the activity feed. So off I go.

Hands, again

I'm re-working this blue bracelet into a necklace for a buyer who requested it.

Those of you who've followed this blog for a while will remember my Carpal Tunnel issues. They're back, which is why no posts recently. I've had to rest my hands, and those little hand warmers are a life saver. I actually have an appointment w/my surgeon to take care of this once and for all, thank God. But I'm gonna call on Monday to try to move it up since I can't wait 'til May 10th completely incapacitated. It's making me crazy not to be able to make with so many amazing things in the works. So instead I just wade through etsy and start wanting to buy things even though I got the huge box from opulent Oddities, I'm getting one from Sparrow, and I'm going to Uruguay in April.

Here is a little tooth in moss. The little cup it's in is topped by an old optical lens, the glass of which I've grunged and scratched up a bit.

Turned upside down you can see the cup is cut from a mini tart tin.

I was able to finish and photograph these fancy little earrings. The scotties, from jansjewels.com are plastic buttons I cut the shanks off of.  Not very tribal...

Any ideas what I could name them? And what interesting things I could write in the description?

New newy new.

Just feels like way too long, the amount of time it takes me to photograph and edit pictures.
But anywhoo, here they are.
The Name of God.
This is a plain ol' pinback button found in Uruguay which I've made a bezel for. The red bit on the clasp and the hand, the lisence and the bit of bling connecting it to the bezel are all from Opulent Oddities. Oh, and the clear bead. The bit of bling is actually from a ring I cut.Messenger.
This was a cheap ol' round piece, I glued in an angel from the antique book of icons I use and filled it with UTEE.
Scapular.
I bought the scapular and gems on etsy. The bling bits are from Opulent Oddities. Again, deconstructed rings. I know, I'm all about them.
 Qutn.
Oh these are my favorite of the lot-
remember the cotton pearls I wrote about here? These are them! One of my bestest regulars, ShesSoWeird, bought them for me! I've combined them with tribal-ish bits and bone things, including brui seed and coyote teeth.
Naranga.
Oh and here I was experimenting with the cluster dangly style with gems and wrapping. A touch of tribal with the Indonesian beads, but not rustic enough for me. So they were an experiment, but not a new direction or anything.

Hey Kids!

Would you like to see some random stuff from around my studio under crappy night lighting?
Sure you would!

Scapular and a chunk of ring.

Earring possibilities.

Red and clear/white.

Stuff.

Delicious stuff.

Buttony stuff.

<--Someone's already called dibs on this bit. That's allowed, y'all. If you see a bit you must have... I mean, must have in a piece I make, after I make it...

Hello!

What's the plan with the taxi, you ask? I ask, too...

Pretty stuff.

And I have 3 necklaces and 2 pairs of earrings to photograph tomorrow! If there's sun, that is.

It's 3 am now. Goodnight!

Color Overdose.

I swear to Gah, any more color and I'll stab someone.

The Caravan.
Cuz as you can see, all I really know how to do with color is put like colors together.


I'm soooo  much more confident in black and white.

Equestrianism.
Oh, but check it- bitsy iolite gems in the wrappedy-dangle style.

Which not only matched the label unexpectedly, but also turned out to be worth the bother. So maybe I'll do more of such.

Cobalt and the Miners.
I found this guy in a ceramic pitcher- I had it up ages ago and it never sold. So I oxidized, re-arranged some bits- notice that it's all blue on blue, what a surprise.

Snow White.
Cute? That crazy Turkish looking bauble was from SacredCake and I'm nutballs over it. With a birdy:


Less work to make than this guy, but priced rather higher--> Cuz girls love the pretty girl pictures. It's like we wanna be a pretty girl so we put pictures of pretty girls around our necks to absorb the pretty girl vibes and thus feel more like pretty girls. Or something.
Pricing is still a random mystery to me...

Confessions of a Jewelry Groupie.

I finally got these dang things up:
The Brethren of Purity.
Madonna and Child.
The Condor. 
The Turban. 
I also made a new bracelet:
Dragon Bones.
Using a lovely dragon filigree from my SacredCake windfall.It has jade and 'Krobo' beads from Ghana.
Opulent Oddities asked me to make some bit earrings and here they are:

Next to a penny you can see how really huge they are.
So in exchange for the earrings she said she was gonna send a box of stuff.
Dear lord. Let me just show you.

Here's a bunch of color loveliness. Oh, the perforated brooch in back is covered w/the sweetest flowers that I've already started using:

Tenderness.

How much do I love this block that just says "PIG"? This little jar is filled with what I think are Herkimer diamonds, a kind of quarts only found in Herkimer, NY, of all places on earth. They naturally form double points and these tiny ones have double points, so.... I might put them in a deep bezel... 

Tons of rhinestone chain and 2 broken chubby baby hands. Also, see that micromosaic? In the upper right you get a peek of the tons of sparkly rings she sent which I've already started to take apart. 

Poison ring(!!!), ivory carved roses and floral cab.

Stuuuuuf. That car actually rolls. Madness.

Several lockets, a pair of earrings with the rose-in-glass/resin going on. I know I'll use those as easy as blinking. In the background you can see brass steel-cut style 'buckle' stampings, which I've never had but always wanted to play with..

Oh, and little things. Tiny things. I'm all about tiny things. Antique tiny things are always so precious. Even that maniacally smiling cow. 

Cellulose crackerjack prize about as big as the pad of my thumb. The rhinestone bit over his head is an already-taken-apart ring. And look at those faceted black shanks!!

These things are tiny- the shield charms could fit on my pinkie nail. I've only lately learned the value of the small. I used to be all about big ol' beads, for example. But now I realize a tiny thing call be so endearing, thus the description in the "tenderness" listing above.

Even the fork is quite small, though also thick and heavy. 

Rhinestone heart earrings next to a golden locket.

Oh, this tiny MOP brooch has the loveliest opal glow that I was just barely able to capture.

And mind, I'm only showing you a small percentage of what I got, because more than anything the box was loaded with chain. Dear lord, you've never seen so much chain. Had to put most in a box in another room just because I couldn't psychologically deal with having that much chain. That's something I won't have to look for in Uruguay at least.

What I haven't ever spoken of is what a huge impact Opulent Oddities had on me when I first saw her work what seems like decades ago. I had never seen jewelry made of old vintage bits and it blew my mind.  I also remember I was so jealous that she got to play with such beautiful things! I wanted to be her, I wanted to play, too. The delight I've felt every time I get to handle something old and beautiful and imagines what I could make it into is sort of still pacifying that violent desire and jealousy I felt. Among other firsts, she was the first jewelry artist I saw incorporate frozen Charlottes. 

I remember seeing this I think it was:

Which now seems simple enough, a doll and a laundry pin, but at the time it cracked my head open. It may have been when a lightbulb went on and I realized it wasn't about what could you put on a necklace- but what couldn't you? That as long as it was small and interesting, it could be used.

Seems like everyone and their momma has heard of her, but she's never, as far as I know, been one to try to get published or write a book. Seems she's always been doing this kind of art jewelry since before anyone else, without fanfare or anything, as if it were just a regular craft, always keeping the focus on the vintage pieces without fussing with faux aging techniques or any such thing. Sigh.

Oh, and she has a pair of earrings up now that I'm flipping over:

Oh geez, which reminds me- I even tried to emulate her photos when I started! The tilt! I'd never seen the tilt and I thought it was soooooooo cool! I thought it was so amazingly artistic and mysterious and just awe-inspiring. So somewhere in my sold section you can find tons of these ridiculously overly tilted pieces that are trying waaaay too hard. Ha! 

Well, there, I feel like I confessed. I confessed to what a groupie dork I have been and still am. And now she is sending me glorious things and telling me how inspiring my shop is! Makes me feel like surely I must be hallucinating in a straightjacket somewhere....