31/365 and new work

Inspired by LOVE, Valentine's day and my own antique roses.  All listed in my Etsy shop now!

Click 

Here

to check it out!

30/365

Pink Opal and Sterling Silver

Look for new work coming to my Etsy shop tomorrow!  :)

29/365

Lake Tahoe

The past couple of weeks I have been thinking a lot about our vacation last summer to California.  I love this place so much......

28/335

He doesn't really look thrilled to be having his picture taken does he?  I guess he's PO'd because we have Allstate :)

DIY

Laundry Detergent

Click here to view blog post by GirlCreative

One night I was visiting one of my favorite photo sharing spots, Instagram.  A friend had posted a picture showing the above ingredients and said that she had just mixed enough laundry detergent to last her family of 6 for a year.   All for around $ 20.    

What???

Laundry Detergent for a year for the same price I pay for 1 bottle of the name brand stuff at Costco?

Needless to say I was intrigued.  I asked my friend where she purchased the ingredients,  because I hadn't seen them before.  She told me she got them at Wal Mart, but had seen them in pretty much every grocery store.

A couple of days later, at my local Wal-Mart I walked up and down the laundry aisle looking for the stuff.  I passed it twice!  In a double sided aisle 20 feet or longer, there in the middle on one side of the aisle in a section about 2 feet wide were the ingredients.  

I was struck by the thought, standing there among who knows how many name brands of laundry detergent that I had been completely conditioned to think that I needed to buy the name brand detergent made especially for my HE washer.  And guessing from the sheer number of bottles lining the aisle, I'm not the only one.  

There were all kinds of cool stuff in this little section.  Stuff made by companies that have probably been in business for a hundred years.  Stuff that you would picture your grandmother using.  Stuff that probably works just as good or better than the stuff that smells nice in a pretty container.

So I purchased my ingredients, brought them home and got to work mixing.  If you click on the link below the picture, the instructions this girl has are better than the way I went about it.  If you don't have a food processor, you can do it the way I did.

My husband offered to help me, and I assigned him the task of grating the Fels-Naptha soap for me.  He grated the bar for me,  and I chopped the grated soap as fine as I could with a knife.  After everything was mixed, this is what it looked like:

I have an HE washer, and use 1 heaping tablespoon per load.  We've been using it for about a week now and I am pleased with the results.  I will definitely continue to use it!

And of course now I am wondering.........what else can I make myself? ;)

27/365

As soon as Christmas was over the beautiful natural decorations for sale at Central Market disappeared. It has been plain and dull just like the weather. It's just as well because the cold drove us in quickly, I would only glance and not linger over the beauty anyway. But today I find it right on target to find Hyacinth and Hydrangea in front of the store. Spring is on it's way here. I've been feeling it lately, and now I'm seeing it. I'm not sure I'm ready yet.....

26/365

I don't know what trees these gnarly seed pods fall out of, but I always see them on the ground in the park.   I find them utterly fascinating.  Especially up close...

25/365

Sterling Silver hearts on Nautilus Hooks

I listed a few heart themed items in my Etsy shop yesterday.  

They can be found here:

http://amynicoles.etsy.com

24/365

If there be thorns

Did you guys read that VC Andrews series that started with Flowers in the Attic?  One of the sequels was titled  If there be Thorns.  Now I always think of that when I see thorns....

Well,

that wasn't very much fun.  I just changed all the shipping prices in both of my shops on Etsy.  Shipping to the US didn't change, but the international rates doubled.  For those who haven't heard, the USPS has made significant increases to international rates.  It's crazy.  In my findings shop on many of my listings, the shipping is higher than the actual product! 

All I have to say is that it would be great if these increased prices would translate into better/faster international service.  I suspect it won't though.  I had a package take over 6 weeks to go to Canada.  And now my customers are supposed to pay twice as much for shipping, and still get crappy service?  Ugh. 

Ok. Vent over. 

23/365

The girls both had their sweatshirts on that we got in Carmel, CA last July. My husband has a thing for tshirts. Everywhere we go we all have to get shirts. Except in Carmel the weather was a little on the chilly side so we got sweatshirts. I'm ticked off because my sweatshirts went missing. The only thing I can figure is that I left them in California somewhere. :(

22/365

My girls at the park

I had a weird day today, things didn't go well for me in the work shop.  The swan necklace that was going to be one necklace with three stones is now 3 separate necklaces.  Don't ask.  Grrrr....
Oh well, I guess that's what happens when I haven't made anything larger than the size of a quarter in ages.  I'll be back at it tomorrow.  Hopefully the day will go better!

21/365

macro shot of moss

macro shot of rock beside creek

macro shot of bark on tree

I am very nearsighted, and as a result I tend to be interested in those things I can see best.  I am fascinated lately by nature and what I've been calling "tiny landscapes".  I am amazed at the detail my camera is picking up.  Whenever I find something interesting, I take a macro shot.  When I get home and blow it up on my computer I am amazed to find that these itty bitty snippets that I am capturing look like many things we are used to seeing on a much larger scale. 

I imagine what it would be like to be tiny enough to walk in the soft green moss and touch the red trees.  The last two photos remind me of places with rock formations like those in Zion national park in Utah.  If I were tiny enough to touch the red trees, I could also climb the bark that looks like a rock formation.  I don't think I'd be brave enough to see what's inside the "cave".  I would hike to the very edge and look in though....

20/365

Going pink. I've been wanting to do a swan design for ages. Finally getting around to it.

19/365

Making copper hearts. Photographed on my daughters painting.

18/365

I'm still on the interchangeable earring kick. This is the Nautilus ear hoop. Coming soon. I'm in full on heart mode. :)

Giveaway

Even though I am slacking in making the rest of the birthstone stackers, I still have January ready to go!  I'm hosting this month's stacking ring giveaway on my FaceBook page.  Come on over and enter for a chance to win!   Last month's winner was so gracious and lovely to tell me that she loved her Turquoise stacker I gave away last month.  :) 

click here to enter

16/365

I'm very much enjoying finding things to take extreme close ups of with my new camera and lens.  My favorite subjects are always found in nature.  There are not a lot of flowers blooming now.  We are officially in the heart of winter.  I've been running my kiln for the past two days, and I am enjoying the warmth it brings to my work shop.  I did a batch of coppr clay pieces yesterday, and today I'm using Sterling PMC pieces.  I really would like to find some time to play with the enamels again too.  I must set aside a day for it, as it is really time consuming.  But what a great excuse to sit in front of a 1500 degree kiln and enjoy the warmth! :)

I don't do New Year's Resolutions anymore.  But I've noticed that I still feel the necessity to get things handled that I've been putting off for awhile.  I think I told you all once I mentioned to a friend that I was anti social.  She immediately told me that I wasn't anti social, "you're just picky".  It is amazing that as well as you think you know yourself, there are still things that you still don't quite get.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I have to admit once again that it's true.  I am picky.  I try to ignore things sometimes that don't meet my expectations, telling myself that I'm just being too picky.  But sometimes, you just need to realize that certain situations just aren't working for you.  And it's ok to let it go.  With so many demands on my time, I am forced to pick only the ones that really work for me.  And you know what?  Sometimes letting go feels reaalllyyy great!  :)

15/365

WIP Copprclay components. It's that time of year! I'm going hearts and pink. :)

14/365

Here is a photo of the diadem charms on a swirl earrings.  I have started a Design your own Earrings section in my shop and will continue to add to it.  I have a few more ideas floating around for the Earrings, and just need to find the time to make more charms!  

13/365

The first 5 of 12 birthstones.  :)

12/365

I'm already starting to slip on photo a day. Maybe it's just because it's the weekend. I'm still making it, but just barely. So I have a sub par iPhone shot.

But aren't they cute? I had a suggestion a long time ago by a friend and client who told me I should make Inter changeable earrings. It's only taken me a couple of years to be inspired to do it.

The first three are 4mm stones the last is 6mm. Diadem charm drops! I've always had a thing for crowns, and I've been dying to name something "Diadem" since reading about Rowena Ravenclaw's.

It's hard to tell, but the stones are Garnet, Chrome Diopside bullets, Pink Tourmaline, and lab Sapphire.

Real pictures coming soon!

11/366

Heading out tomorrow. I am so grateful. Thank you ladies!

A few new...

All listed in my Etsy shop

10/365

Silver, a photo by Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry on Flickr.

Check it out y'all! it's Silver! Isn't it just beautiful? Look at all that lovely oxidation. It made me want to take some steel wool and brush it back some. I am captivated by the twists and turns of tendrils of silver. Amazing!

9/365

9/365, a photo by Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry on Flickr.

I love getting up close and personal. I've been taking lots of plant shots lately. I love the up close texture that I am able to see in a photo.

8/365

Gold, a photo by Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry on Flickr.

A beautiful hunk of gold. Found in the Gem & Mineral Hall Perot Nature & Science Museum, Dallas, TX

7/365

Ahhhhhh. My heart melts! :)

6/365

Old Rugged Cross Sterling Silver on Leather

 Custom for a friend's son for his 11th Birthday.  I sculpted the cross out of PMC Sterling Silver and fired it in a 1500 degree kiln.  This is the largest piece I've made to date using the PMC Sterling.  I gotta say that working with it feels like magic.  Here you have this lump of clay, you mold it, texture it.  And when it comes out of the kiln, it's this solid piece of silver.  Wow!  Of course my mind has been set off in a hundred different directions with the success of this piece.  I am pleased to have achieved the texture I was going for.  It is 1 1/4" long and 7/8" wide.  14.4 grams.

5/365

I should really know better than to try to rely on my memory as to what this is.  I found it in the Gem and Mineral Hall at the new Perot Nature and Science museum.  All I know is that I love the shape.  I am currently enamored with the spiral and unfurling ferns.  

4/365

Old Rugged Cross sculpted in Sterling PMC. Custom for a friends son. I agreed to make this months ago but have been putting it off. You know. Doubt. Doubt that I could sculpt something decent. It took me about 30 minutes once I got started. Figures ;)

3/365

The first step is always the hardest..., a photo by Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry on Flickr.

I've always had a thing for the Canada Goose. In elementary school the BLM hosted an art contest every year. Every year a drew the goose. I'm not sure what draws me in, I think it's that White stripe against the black of it's head and graceful neck. There is a flock of geese that hang out in a pond by the gym. I've been seeing them for months now, and finally stopped to take their picture! This guy only went into the water reluctantly. He paused on the edge for quite awhile before taking the plunge. I'm sure the water was very cold!

2/365

Hi There!, a photo by Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry on Flickr.

We visited the brand spanking new Perot Nature & Science museum in Dallas yesterday. I'm having fun getting to know my new camera!

1/365

Disclaimer: I hope to be able to keep up with this for 2013. I mean, I like to take pictures. I like to share, but sometimes I lack discipline. :)

Happy New Year everyone!