brooch finale...

 The final two brooches in the 2013 challenge. Boy, has this year gone by fast!

 #51 is  slice of Montana agate topped with an Oregon sunstone. Not sure I want to part with this one... but it'll most likely end up in my shop before too long as there are bills to pay... plus, I'm not sure my sweatshirt will do it justice.  ; )

For the year end finale, the Blue Bird of Happiness in labradorite perched on a stick pearl to wish you all a happy, healthy, and creative 2014!

phew!

I surprised myself!

wow, it's Sunday and I finished brooch #18 YESTERDAY!! That hasn't happened since the etsymetal brooch-a week challenge began way back in January! I was an eager little beaver in those days... Now it seems like everything is last minute. I'm not sure I've ever had a first quarter as busy as this one, will all kinds of work coming my way. This is not a complaint, simply a wonder!

Brooch #18 is a big piece of Nevada boulder turquoise set in sterling silver within a sterling frame. Three little 14kt gold balls and some serious oxidation help to create a very mid century modern feel. 

This brooch measures just over 2" wide.

a sturdy pin mechanism allows it to be worn at various angles.

Surprise #2 is that I'm actually blogging about it in what's practically "real time".

Onward and broochward...

the brooches march on...

Brooch #16 in the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge was a last minute affair. The week sped by sooooo fast that come the deadline day, I was shocked I tell you, to find myself standing in Sunday without a brooch of an idea, and an empty oxygen tank.

 You know how dog emergencies mostly happen on weekends when your vet's office is closed, and you have to pay the big bucks at the emergency vet's office? And the plumbing goes haywire on weekends, that's overtime for the plumber... Well my oxygen tank seems to run out after noon on Saturdays when the welding supply closes for the weekend. In my business, there's not much I can accomplish if I can't solder.

So instead of taping a safety pin onto a toilet paper roll, (I figured I could save that one for a real emergency, like late on a Sunday night...) I looked around my bench and found these sweet little handmade glass beads I had purchased a while back from PaulBead on etsy and  a little sterling leaf I'd done ages ago and some of the stainless steel wire I use for my pin stems.  A little targeted work with the pliers, and voila! I have a little something to wear on my jacket. No soldering required.

brooch 16

Brooch #17 began on Saturday and finished up on Sunday. It features a really fantastic druzy agate. I've set it in sterling and added 14kt gold round prongs.

brooch 17

Today is Thursday. I'm counting on myself to start the next brooch tomorrow.

We'll see if that actually happens. Currently I haven't a clue as to what I'll do...