Blue Topaz . Necklace

This is a gorgeous slice of the clearest Blue Topaz. It was part of a strand of mixed gemstone slices, so they were all one of a kind stones.

With such a special stone, simplicity is the best approach for me. I wrapped it with oxidized sterling silver wire and suspended it from sterling chain that has been similarly oxidized.

This necklace is for sale in my etsy shop.

The Palest Pink Stone - Morganite

The strand of Morganite briolettes that I purchased in Tucson was a real splurge for me. But I figured I would only use them one at a time, thereby making any finished necklace quite affordable. What I didn't count on, was how very difficult it would be to photograph the stone!

Morganite is such a pale pink that it fades on a white background and provides a bit too much contrast on the black background you see here. I spent a loooong time photographing this necklace and finally had to stop and "call it good enough".

I paired the Morganite with a small garnet and suspended them both from an oxidized sterling silver chain.

It is available in my etsy shop. You can click on the photo to go directly to the listing.

Xena and a Stick

I may have mentioned in the past that Xena is quite a lazy dog and enjoys lots of sleep time every day. Well, I finally caught her doing something dog-like the other day. She was chewing on a stick!



And here, she makes it look fun.



Let's rip off some of the bark.



Distracted by a bird. Done with stick.



It's a dog's life.

A Series of Textured Metal Pendants

I completed a good sized batch of metal pendants last week. Starting with copper and brass sheet, I set up a little assembly line type operation: cut shapes, file, sand w/280, sand w/360, sand w/600, texture, patina, assemble. See, I really can work efficiently when I put my mind to it!

The only really fun parts were the texture and assemble steps of the above list. The remainder of the process was quite tedious.



I used two different patinas: liver of sulfur and an antiquing solution which works only on base metals like copper and brass. Lightly sanding with 400 grit polishing paper after applying a patina provides a great contrast, as it leaves the low spots dark, while effectively erasing the patina from the high spots.


It was interesting to see how the antiquing solution gave such different results on the copper and brass. I also practiced my letter stamping on a few pieces. I think I need much more practice with that stop.




Assembling and adding beads was quite a bit of fun. Trying to match the mood of the metal pendant to appropriate beads and charms took quite a bit of time.


And my favorite piece is the brass panel embossed (with the rolling mill) with a leaf pattern, and embellished with a brass dragonfly element. I may just keep this one.

More Citrine!

The cut on this stone is fabulous! It's a fancy cut marquis citrine. A marquis like this has four vertical lines and faceting all around.

And the color is like the deepest golden honey you've ever seen. This stone is so beautiful on its own, that I decided it didn't need any other elements. You will notice several new necklaces in my shop along these same lines of simplicity.

Click on the photo to learn more about the necklace.

The Currants Appear

It's time for an update on the currant situation. You may remember this post, when I showed you the currant blossoms. Things grow quickly when we get over 18 hours of daylight. That will continue to increase until the solstice --- June 21. Since moving to Alaska, I have developed a love/hate relationship with that day. It's the longest day of the year, so I love it. It also marks the beginning of the days getting shorter, so I hate it. Does that make sense? It just seems like we peak too early in the summer! But I digress.

Back to the currants. There was a little breeze, so it was impossible to take a clear photo. The branches would not be still! If you look closely, you can see the beginnings of the berries. They are currently (ha!) a lime green color. When ripe, they will turn a gorgeous deep red color.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted on the progress of the currants.