Experiment

I have always admired this particular style of wire wrapping and layering components to create an elegant piece of jewelry. Maybe you've seen some of the "masters" on etsy (check out emily gray, she's amazing!). I've looked in awe and wondered how they do it? But I've never wondered enough to try and figure it out. So, naturally when I saw the cover of this months Art Jewelry magazine I just had to buy it. This is one of the projects they are featuring this month.

It was definitely a challenging project! And my finger tips haven't ached like this since I don't know when! It is totally different than the way I normally work, but I think that's why it was so fascinating to do. I learned a lot and may include some of the techniques I learned into my future work. But overall I am just glad I accepted the challenge to learn something new. And when I gaze upon the beautiful work of the masters on etsy I'll have a greater appreciation for it.

I am soon off to enjoy my anniversary weekend! I cannot wait!!! My husband took off from work early so that we can check in to the hotel right at 3pm. This way we can fully enjoy the delights of a 4.5 star hotel. The pool looks amazing and I can't wait to dive in! I am a bit bummed that I won't be able to model my new necklace. It doesn't go with either of my outfits for the weekend. However, my mom and dad decided to go on a date tonight (which they NEVER do) and I am loaning it to her for the night. They are getting dressed up and everything!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Drama: Just Say No!

That's all I have to say about that...anything else would just be dramatic!

Snarf...Hack...Snarf, Snarf...Sneeze!

That is a really unattractive entry title, but it's what our kitty Max has sounded like for the past few days. He got brave and went outside for the first time about a week ago. To our surprise he was gone for about 2 days! A few days after he came back he started snarfing (that is literally what it sounds like). It started getting worse the past day or so. My husband did some research online to see if he could find anything out about kitty-colds. Every reference said not to bother taking them to the vet because they give all of these shots, run several tests, and hundreds of dollars later just tell you to give him vitamin C. We're going to try that out and if it doesn't work then Maxi is going to the vet!

On a more positive note...I JUST GOT THE CUTEST SHOES! It is my 6th anniversary this weekend and my husband and I are going to a really nice hotel in downtown Minneapolis for a night! We're going to go to a somewhat fancy-pants restaurant Friday night and I realized I don't have a Friday-Night-Out-In-Downtown-Minneapolis kind of outfit. So I did some shopping after work and scored! I found an adorable skirt for just pennies of it's original price! A top to match the skirt and these shoes, which of course make the outfit. I also found an adorable feminine-blousy top for Saturday when we go bummin' around the city (which is our favorite thing to do together). Okay - so these shoes have a 4-1/2" inch wedge which makes them absolutely fantastic! I love heels. I don't wear them that often, but when I do they're the real deal. You can't see it in the picture very well, but they are a raw silk material so they're kind of matte. They are very pretty! Anyway, now I've got to make some jewelry for my new outfit...TTYL

Yipeeeeeee!

Hooray for my new computer! It was here waiting for me when I got home from work this afternoon. So far so good; I am just figuring out how to use it. I've never had Vista before so it's a little different navagating etc. However, it's beautiful and super fast! The internet is a pleasure to use (finally). And I love the widescreen screen...I feel so modern! But still, one of the best things about has to be that it is green! It matches my phone, wallet, planner and almost everything else you'd find in my purse. Not that I'll be lugging this guy around in my purse. I do finally have an excuse to buy a super cute laptop bag now. I'll have to get on that!

It was so nice to hear from my ex-studio-partner this afternoon. Leah and I haven't gotten together in way too long. I miss her (and our studio) terribly. I am going to head over to there

to 'play' the rest of the afternoon! I am so excited!!!

Catch ya later!

Recycled Gold

This may sound gross, but several years ago while I was taking my college metals class my dad handed me a baggie of some gold dental work that he had replaced. At first I was a little skeeged out by it, but then I thought- hey, gold is gold! Yesterday I ordered some half round beaded gold wire to make some rings with. I have never ordered or worked with gold before so I thought it was time to break out the gold teeth and see what it does under the torch. It works a lot like silver does so it wasn't long until it felt familiar. Half way working with it I remembered to take some pictures, like a before and after thing. Above is picture of the teeth, I had already sawed some of it apart and melted some down.

It came to just over a quarter of an ounce! That's a lot of gold teeth!

Here's the finished product. Sorry the image is dark and yellow tinted, but you get the idea, right? I made a pair of 1st-hole and 2nd-hole studs and a large pendant. Besides my wedding ring, I don't have any gold jewelry. So far it's been fun to wear!

Time to play...finally!

I have finally met all of my deadlines and took some time out to play today. My sister Meagan and I went to the Stockholm, WI art fair this morning. It was lots of fun! She found a few things but I didn't find anything I could not live without. I was hoping to find a cute scarf, but there weren't any!? So instead I came home and made a bunch of new jewelry. The bracelet above is citrine with a feminine floral clasp. Below are the earrings that match. I'm not sure if I'll keep it or not, but for now I keep walking over to my workspace and staring at it. Citrine is a very entrancing stone.

I also made a set out of 'new' jade stones. I love these stones because of how they vary between shades of cool, opaque white to translucent, grassy green. They are truly stunning all together!

The necklace is very long. I am really into long necklaces right now.

Gosh, the picture doesn't do the stones any amount of justice. They are such juicy, richcolors in person.

I'm loving the earrings! Just a little bit rustic...my fave!

I can't wait to wear this new set to church tomorrow. I'm thinkin' it will be perfect with a kind of transparent, white, crinkly, tunic that I have and my dark denim jacket...hmmm, what skirt should I wear with that? I'll figure it out! Have a great rest of your weekend!

New Work

I don't know why these images turned out so dark...oh well. Here is my finished Late Summer line. There are things I really like about it and some parts that I could do without. But since I'm working under a deadline I don't have time to go back to the drawing board. I also have to remember that I'm not always going to absolutely love everything I make. And just because I don't love it doesn't mean that others won't. I think what bothers me is the teal/magenta combo. Those aren't "my colors"; but they go so perfectly with the abalone shell beads. However, I do like each of those colors on their own or mixed with greens. I really like the abalone/faceted crystal quartz combo, though. And the dark brown suede really adds a nice texture and warms everything up so much. Let me know if you have an opinion...I am always curious! I miss college art critiques, they were always so helpful.

I always seem to have a circle/suede necklace in my seasonal lines. I just love that look!

This earring style has become a Karena Bella Classic - I've done it it many sizes and with many colors of pearls and different pearl combinations. They sell very well.

I like how simple these ones are, they are go-with-everything earrings.

So, we saw Harry Potter last night and LOVED it!!! On the way home I was telling my husband the ways that the book and movie were different (although I felt that the movie followed the book pretty well). Then I started to tell him what happens in the 7th book. I recommended that he just read it because it is so good; he started it last night when we got home! I hope he gets into it. My jewelry orders didn't arrive today...bummer. I hope they come tomorrow. However today was a gallery pay day and I was pleasantly surprised! Maybe now I can order the 14K gold, 14gauge half bead wire that I've had my eye on. I have never worked in gold before and want to be able to say that I have and that I can if an opportunity arises in the future. I want to make two bands to go above and below my wedding band. My engagement ring has a floating tension setting and I get nervous that the diamond will just pop out...yikes! Gotta go!