It was the Middle of Winter...

by Patti Vanderbloemen

The last time I blogged (6+ weeks), it was Winter.  Yesterday was the first day of Spring.  My how time flies! :)  

Well, I have managed to create a few things here and there. The little series of photos to follow were taken from my I-Phone, so not necessarily the best quality!

I made another ring with a cone-style setting with a beautiful CZ (cubic zirconia) in a flashy clear color. The band is made from some leftover silver that I previously etched.  Although I will probably never wear it (I am lucky if I remember to shove a pair of earrings in my ears before I leave the house!), I made it for my personal stash.

There is a little, 10mm sterling silver concho soldered to the bottom.

Next up - again, for my personal stash, is a pendant made with a pretty malachite gemstone.  I had never bezeled anything other than a round or oval stone, so I considered it "practice".

I managed to saw a little heart in the backplate, and the bail is a piece of sterling tubing that is large enough to change out the chain.

The collage below features pieces I have made which incorporate patterned sterling silver wire.  I just wrote a blog post about these pieces for Love My Art Jewelry (link here, if you care to take a gander over there). This wire is quite substantial, and to be honest, it has been in my stash for well over a year, waiting for me to make a ring shank.

Other baubles that have crossed my bench include a few pair of earrings.

Last week, I made a series of five sterling silver hollow beads, graduated in size. These have been stamped for texture.

I went back and forth on what to make with these. I really had a necklace in mind, so I pulled out all of my artisan lampwork and ceramic beads, then I had gemstones laying all around the sterling. Nothing spoke to me.  So, I made a bracelet instead.

The first attempt included highly textured sterling silver spacers, flanking the three larger beads...but I did not like it.  So I took it apart and now, just hollows! This was also the first time I made twisted silver link chain. 

I will always struggle with taking pictures of my sterling pieces - if you look closely - my mug shot appears on those beads!  50 pictures - that's how many shots I took of that bracelet, and my face is in every single picture! :)

I spent some time shopping online last week for new cabochons, and this hit my mail box on Saturday (sorry again - quick picture with my I-Phone). Look at the flash in the Labradorite and Abalone! I have never had good luck buying Labradorite (with flash) online - usually, the stones do not have that flash-just an abundance of gray. These are from Irene's shop Iwooshop on Etsy (link here). That is not a large cabachon...maybe I will get that ring made!

If you have ever read my blog, you know that my heart belongs to animals. Well, Miracle Horse Rescue suffered a loss last week - Levi died peacefully in his sleep - he was almost 33 years old.  He had been with Stephanie and Rob for the past 12 years, so you know he was loved on daily. Rest In Peace, sweet Levi!

On the bright side, Millie is in foal and is about to have her baby ... any minute now! Stephanie loves on her daily and has reported that she has the sweetest disposition! She is a recent arrival at MHR, taken in from not so perfect conditions. My deepest gratitude to MHR for taking care of each and every horse at their facility.

So...that brings me to this...I am hosting a sale on both my sites (my website or Etsy). Need to raise funds for MHR and this is the only way I know how!

Thanks so very much for stopping by today - I hope to not take as long to blog again! :)

xo

Patti