Mother Teresa

Source: motleymama.com via Leanna on Pinterest

Strawberry Swing

Is anyone surprised to find out that I named these after the ColdPlay song of the same name?  ;-)  But how fitting right?  Swing earrings with a Strawberry pop of color. 

I just listed these earrings and all the other earrings I made this week in my Etsy Shop.

Now I'm off to get ready to help my daughter celebrate her 10th birthday!  I can't believe she's already 10.  The time has flown by.  I love that girl so much....

Have a happy weekend all!

So cute!

Source: kaseybuick.com via Zoe on Pinterest

Wouldn't this make a cute little Easter treat for the kids?

Wagon Wheels

I've had the idea of Wagon Wheels floating around in my head for a long time.  Wagon Wheels in metal, Wagon Wheels in leather.  When I was on vacation, we passed a street called Wagon Wheel every time we returned to my Aunt and Uncle's house.   I'd smile a little to myself every time we passed by.  Yes, I get it.  I'll make some Wagon Wheels...  ;-)

I got a super cool new metal stamp the other day.  And I went to stamping....

Spokey Dokey ~ Solid Sterling

Spokey Dokey ~ with Chrysoprase

Strawberry Swing ~ Pink Tourmaline and Sterling

The swing earrings started out as Wagon Wheels, but I had a little mishap with one that forced me to change directions.  Sometimes things work out for the better when such things happen.  Will you just look at that Pink Tourmaline?  Gorgeous!  And even though they are large, they aren't too heavy.

So if anyone asks you how you're feeling, and you're sporting a pair of Wagon Wheels, you can say, "Why I'm just spokey dokey!"  Get it?  Spokey Dokey?  Ha!  Never mind... my husband always says that I'm the only one that finds my jokes funny!  :-)

If you are interested in any of these earrings, email me at amymarez@yahoo.com

Source: adesignersnest.blogspot.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Thinking of feathers this morning, and wondering how they would look enameled. Hmmmm...

Eggs everywhere

Our annual Easter egg hunt is next Friday! Every year we host a big confetti egg hunt for the girls and all their friends.

This year I have over 60 dozen egg shells. I used to dye them all by hand, but last year I got smart and started spray painting them instead.

Next we will stuff them with confetti and glue a tissue paper lid on them. I'm bringing in helpers for that this Friday.

So, for the next week and a half I will have eggs all over my kitchen table. It's worth it though to see the kids having so much fun bombing their friends with confetti!

Hippy Chic Flowers....Three ways.

Tangerine Lime

Lemon Drop

Tangerine Tango

I was able to make these enameled flowers in my last enameling session.  So bright and colorful.  The sort of tie dyed effect gives them a hippy vibe, don't you think?  :-)

PRIMROSES

PRIMROSES, a photo by grinandtonic on Flickr.

Check out these colors!

Evolution...

If you follow me on FaceBook, you know that I've been trying to get some enameling done all week long.  And yesterday I spent the majority of the morning enameling! Finally.  I enamel so infrequently.  It really is best done in the cool months of the year, because it can get quite warm sitting in front of a kiln for hours at a time.  I finally got inspired to make enameling a priority!  I'd like to have a nice little stock of items to sell in the Fall when I will likely do a show or two.  And summer is fast approaching here in Texas.  It won't be long before it will be too hot!  I just can't justify running the air conditioner while simultaneously running a 1450 degree kiln.

So, I had a lot of fun yesterday.  I got several pieces that pass the quality control inspector (me) and some pieces that didn't make the cut.  About half way through, and too far in to turn back, I remembered a lesson that I had learned before and forgotten.  And then another thing!  And so on all day.  But after reading my enameling book again, I have new ideas already brewing, and hopefully I'll remember lessons learned next time!

 This is the Tulip necklace ~ Windalia ~ But I've been calling her Mooka.

The inspiration for this piece began with this:

A sea of tulips at the Dallas Arboretum.  The day before I had pulled reds, oranges and yellows for my first enameling session.  Seeing this view just really cemented the idea of what I wanted to make.

I began with many layers of yellow, followed by sprinklings of golden yellow, light ruby red, dark ruby red, and a color that was labeled red but looks more pink!    Since I don't know my enameling colors well enough to predict what the colors will look like, my original color scheme evolved a bit.

And the finished colors remind me of Mookaite Jasper from Australia.  And so we have Mooka colored Tulips!  :-)

I've not been spending much time at the computer, but I will try to get this listed soon.  If you are interested in this piece, email me at amymarez@yahoo.com

New goodies to play with!

Does anyone else get excited over supplies?  I do.  I had to go to Tandy Leather today to get some supplies for a project for my daughter's religious ed. class.  And of course I had to pick myself up a few things.....

 Summer is just around the corner, and summer means leather bracelets.  With metal.  and stones.  :-) There was a discontinued items sale table, and I picked up a couple of new stamps and the little butterflies too!  I think I'm going to make some earrings with them....  The alphabet stamp set I've been wanting for awhile now.  I'm going to start with making some bracelets for my sister and a friend.  I just adore the font. 

Then I had to go to the bead store.  I probably only buy about 30% of my materials in person, so my trips to the bead store are few and far between.  I found this great wooden hoop mandrel, just in time too as my daughter wants me to make some earrings for her teacher's birthday. 

What I went to the store for was seed beads.  This particular store has all kinds of colors, sizes, finishes, etc to choose from.  I wanted bright colors for Spring and Summer.  I think some plain seed bead necklaces will look faboo with the charms I've been making lately, so I'm going to make some up and add them to the Charm Shoppe.

Well, I've been running around all morning.  I'm off to my shop to see if I can't work on a little something before it's time to pick up the kidlets.  Have a great day all!

Happy Spring!

Well, as usual, I over estimated the amount of things I can get done given the amount of time I have in the work shop...  Just started prepping enamels today.  I'm going to try wet pack enameling and see what happens!  I'm in the mood to do some experimentation. 

Of course I have myself distracted by bits and pieces on my bench that are just begging to be put to use! ;-)  Bright spring colors! 

Sterling silver imprinted with a swirly heart pattern, chrysoprase, lab ruby with a genuine ruby briolettte!  I am in love with these bright colors!  Inspired by the Salvia I found blooming in our yard when we came home from Nevada.

Welcome Spring! :-)

Home.

Oh my gosh you guys! I am so glad to be home in Texas. My daughter summed it up best when she said "I need to breathe some Texas air". I've lived here for 20 years now, and it may be time to say I am truly Texan now. I loved visiting the place of my birth through the age of nearly 19, but I am very happy where I am now and I'm so happy to be home. I slept so good last night that I only remember getting into bed, and then hearing my husband say "it's 10 o'clock you know". Holy crap! I hate coming home to a schedule that's off by 2 hours! Tomorrow morning getting up at 6:30 to resume our normally scheduled program is going to feel like getting up at 4:30. Not fun. ;-) I'll get over it. (with a nap! Ha!)

So I've been home since noon on Saturday, but I haven't even stepped foot in my shop. The girls have been in and out of there, but I haven't gone in there yet. My mess is waiting for me I'm sure....I'll be tackling it first thing tomorrow. Followed by making bunches of earwires to send out into the world....and prepping enamels and pieces to use with said enamels. I've nearly missed enameling before it gets too hot. Truth be told, I'm way late. I should have started in December. When sitting in front of a hot kiln (1450 degrees!) all day feels good. Oh well. I plan to enamel all week. And if I really get into it maybe more. But we shall see. My biggest problem with enameling is lack of patience. It is not something to be rushed. And sometimes I like to rush.

See you soon with wip pics!

Arrowheads

When I was a little girl I'd sometimes tag along with Grandpa on his treks through the hills. I don't know how often he went, but I do know he always found little treasures.

The hills of Elko county hold the relics left behind by the Native Americans who once occupied the land. It was always a good day when an arrowhead was found.

Viva Las Vegas

We have family in Henderson, and guess what my Uncle had?









Turquoise cabbed by my Grandpa! And check out the Big Horn Sheep Head.





My Uncle generously let me choose some Turquoise.


Sights around the city:










My favorite thing was the conservatory at the Bellagio. I'll have to wait to until I get home to see how those photos turned out.

Tonight: party of 14 for the joust at Excalibur!

Lamoille Canyon

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world. My home town is in a valley, and typical high desert. Dirt, rocks, sagebrush, tumbleweeds. But up in the mountains it is so beautiful.


There is a road that winds through the mountains that goes to the top of the canyon, but we could only go so far before the road was blocked due to snow.

While my family explored near our vehicle, I continued by myself walking along in the snow. I always thoroughly enjoy my solitude, but this was glorious being all alone, the only sound the crunching of my feet on the snow. I tell you, nowhere is the air fresher or cleaner. The feeling was indescribable. No amount of photos can ever convey what I felt in my soul returning to my mountains.


The weather was so beautiful. I thought it would be colder than it was, but it was perfect. I sat on a rock in the sun listening to the water run over the rocks slowly eating away at the ice and snow.














Church in Lamoille


Sagebrush

I wish I could bottle this place up and take it home with me...