This week...

Lavender

Imprinted lavender leaves with amethyst and peridot....

Flower no. 3- Watermelon Summer

This is no. 3 in a series of metal flowers I've been making this week.  I'm hooked!  After my creative rut, I feel like this discovery in manipulating metal has opened up my mind and my heart.

I'll be listing these later as time permits.... Today is the last day of school and I'm off to run girls here and there!

Have a fabulous Friday everyone!  :)

Isabella Sophia

My Isabella turned 9 years old yesterday.  I love her so much.  She is such a good girl.

I made her go outside with her birthday balloons and her new owl so I could take her picture.  She got tired of me taking her picture and said that her cheeks hurt from smiling.  Silly girl....

She didn't know I was still taking pictures....

I love this one, because it shows how she really feels about that stuffed owl.  She just loves it.  She's been carrying it around since she opened her gifts.

She is at that age where they want to start being grown up, and don't want to be seen as a little kid.  Well, she still is just a kid, and I want her to enjoy every minute of it. 

Being a grown up will happen quickly enough.

She requested owl cupcakes, and with a little help from her art teacher, I got them made!

They turned out sooooo cute, and she loved them.

I went to the school yesterday and brought her lunch from Chik-fil-a and an owl cupcake for dessert.

One of the Mom's of a friend of hers recognized it from my facebook post and said that they were cute, but what an odd request.  Owl cupcakes...

I guess people don't really understand how much this girl loves owls....

I think it's great.  I love that she feels a connection to them.  

I've been promising her forever that I would make her some owl jewelry.  

 She picked out the turquoise beads, and told me exactly how many, and the position that she wanted them in.

 The back, with a special message from me to her...

 A big thick hunk of silver....

She loves it.   And that's all that really matters to me.  

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

Seahorse...

Here is the little seahorse that I showed you yesterday.  I am thrilled with the way he turned out, and wanted to use him right away.

My little fine silver seahorse rests on a sterling silver sheet, highly textured, rather beat up really.  Surrounded by bubbles and a small dark purple amethyst.

I have hand stamped on the back the word "pure".  A word that is really resonating with me right now in so many ways.  

This ring will be an entry for the RAW challenge, and I will be offering it in my shop as a custom sized ring.  Or I guess it could even be a pendant if you wish...

either way, you will be laying claim to a piece made with my hands, guided by my heart and soul.  

The good, the bad, and the ugly....

PMC Firsts:

The Good, I know where I went wrong.

The Bad, Of course I'm not completely happy,

The Ugly,  Well, I've seen worse.  But I know I can do better.

These are the first pieces I've made with Precious Metal Silver Clay and fired in the kiln.  I have worked with PMC before, but in a different way....and I torch fired the pieces.

This time, I sculpted by hand, and carved and textured while the clay was still pliable.  I then fired them in the kiln.  Which, btw, I love that thing more every time I use it.  

I'm not sure the perfectionist in me will allow me to use these pieces for anything.  I think I may make them into little charms for the girls.  But, I will be using both of these designs again.  

Here is what's coming up next:

Prototype in Polymer clay.

Hand sculpted in PMC and allowed to dry over night.  

I'm going to try a different approach with this piece. I'm going to try dry carving it and refining the design.  We shall see!  Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish it up tonight and will fire it tomorrow.  

Right now it's taxes.....

A few newies..

Something new for summer! I've been wanting to combine leather and metal, and here is my first offering. Another first for me in this bracelet is the PMC butterfly.

For those of you who don't know, PMC stands for Precious Metal Clay. When fired, it turns into solid .999 fine silver. I've been having a lot of fun playing with it and trying to get to know it better. It can be a little finicky, likes to be handled just right, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it.

I've made a couple more pieces using PMC....


I was able to combine the fine silver pieces with sterling in both of these pieces...I read somewhere that you either hate PMC, or love it, and I would have to say I LOVE it!!! So expensive though...but aren't all precious metals these days? So, as you can see, I am experimenting with textures, and am really loving it.

I am forcing myself to try something new....I am usually bothered greatly by lack of symmetry in my designs, I like everything to be just so....but there is beauty in imperfection...after all, nothing is perfect is it? It is a lesson for me in letting go, creating without constraint, so... Viva la Rustica! I'm hoping to create some additional rustic designs, as you can see, I'm starting out very simply....

The butterfly bracelet, and both of the little heart rings have my "rustic" elements in them...well, rustic for me anyway....:)

And because I can't step too far away from refined, I also made this beauty...

Featuring a vintage West German plastic cab that I coated in resin for durability and shine. I'm also loving the double band on the ring shank. I just love the pattern in this cab... I have several other vintage cabs that I have plans for if I can ever get around to it!


Lastly, a custom order. I had a lovely customer request my Sleeping Beauty's Rose Wreath ring with roses on the band. Truth be told, it scared me a little to attempt it, but was so glad I did! The band turned out beautifully, and I am thankful to my customer for suggesting it, I just may have to incorporate the idea into other designs!

Everything will be listed in the shop as time permits. Right now, I have housework that needs to be done.

The first official day of summer was just this week, but we have been enduring 100 + degree days here for a couple of weeks. I am having a hard time adjusting to the heat. I always do. I've been tired, lethargic, wanting to do nothing but sit in a dark cool room....It's hard to want to play with fire when it is already so hot.

I've been on a tv watching jag as a result, and have been catching up on episodes of Little People Big World that I recorded last November! I love that show. After the Jon & Kate debacle, I have had a hard time watching anything on TLC...but I love the Roloff's...I hope they stay the same great family they have always been.

I've also been watching The Big Bang Theory.. Have you guys seen this show? I love it..smart, funny, Star Trek references, what more could I ask for? ;)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I plan on playing more with leather and PMC, spending endless hours with the girls at the pool, and trying to stay cool!