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!

45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50

I've taken a loooong break from blogging and there's a 6 week back up of brooches...

With 2 weeks left in the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge year, here are brooches #45 -50. 

#45 is a lightweight sterling silver dotted "wreath" in time for the holidays. Well, it was in time for the holidays when I completed it 6 weeks ago...

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#46 features a dark Montana agate set in sterling with three 14kt gold rivets

#47 was a commission using the customer's ocean jasper and coral. It's designed to be converted to a pendant as needed!

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For week #48 I created a little Cherry Creek jasper tweeter perched on a stick pearl

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Brooch # 49 is a lovely taupe fossil palm cab.

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#50 is a piece of Hell's Canyon petrified wood paired with a lovely little golden South Sea pearl

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This week's brooch is already in the works, Montana agate paired with a very pretty Oregon sunstone...

Home Sweet Home

The brooches march on...

Hard to believe we're approaching the end of 2013 and there are only 6 more brooches to be made for those of us participating in the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge. Not so bad when you think that those stalwarts in the brooch-a-day challenge can barely see the end of the road yet...

brooch #42 features a beauty of a Morrisonite cab with a pinky rhodolite garnet

brooch #43 incorporates a pink rose cut tourmaline and gold rivets

 brooch #44 is a cherry creek jasper in a clean, modern shape

Picked these up while walking the dog today. Add a ribbon and a straight pin and this could be brooch #45. hmmmm...

(Fall is definitely my favorite time of year...)

Last of the summer roses, another batch of brooches

In Portland, summer is tip toeing into Fall. Days of rain interspersed with hot sun. The tomatoes are about done and the cooler, wetter, weather is causing them to split. I just cut the few remaining blooms from my Evelyn rose. they are sending off the most wonderful fragrance...

I've finished 3 new brooches since my last post 3 weeks ago. 

Week #35's brooch is a sterling silver and glass combination modeled by a lovely little kudu gazelle.

Week 36 features a narrow turquoise... daintily supported by one of the hardest working members of my crew.

And week #37 focuses on another piece of turquoise, this one from Broken Arrow mine in Nevada. This frisky zebra colt was constantly in motion and hard to keep still for the photo shoot...

Bye! I'm off to smell the roses...

some daughter time and 2 new brooches

Both girls were here together last week for a visit. That happens so rarely anymore since they've both flown the nest, and in the last couple of years, the state... but I still managed to get my weekly brooch done for the past couple of weeks. Brooch #29 was a quick one. I used a scrap of fine silver I had cooked up in a precious metal clay class a few years back, and added some sterling petals along the edge for a simple little sunflower.

For brooch #30, I used the Montana agate from the previous post, pairing it with a .22ct rose cut diamond, and a cool little stick pearl. Mostly sterling, with an 18kt gold bezel surrounding the diamond, and 14kt gold rivets through the pearl. I'm really pleased with it, and the backside of the agate brings into crisp relief what appears on the front as the fuzzy insides of the stone.

Does anyone else see a cartoon character here...?

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oops, I did it again... and brooch #28

well.... I bought more stones today. I walked in to my friends stone cutting workshop ( ie: candy store) to pick up a couple of stones she had recut for me and I walked out with this...

...oh, and I got to look through her rough and ordered cufflink pairs, in petrified woods, fossil coral. So PLEASE BUY MY CUFFLINKS this Fall, I should have a slew of them!  ; )

Meanwhile, I'm eyeing that Montana agate in the center, that'll make a beautiful pendant, or maybe brooch #29 or 30... stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, I created brooch #28 after looking through some old sketches for another project, and making a few changes. Mainly adding the little gold balled rivets scattered about.

the brooch measures 3" across

etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge

three new hires and the half way brooch...

I recently hired on 3 new staff to help take up some of the work load...

budgie in particular is feeling the need for a short vacation.

Here he is promoting the halfway point in etsymetal's brooch-a-month challenge

brooch #26

The lime green stone is called Atlantisite, it's made up of serpentine with purple bits of of stichtite. It's found in Tasmania. I liked this particular stone for it's shape, and the few little spots of stichtite. I knew I would pair it with amethyst somehow. In this case, I've used an amethyst bullet, 4mm in diameter to pick up the purple in the Atlantisite. Lots of texture and oxidation help to pop the stone.

You can see the amethyst bullet pokes up and out of the frame. The pin mechanism allows the brooch to be worn at various angles.

off to work then...

more brooch talk...

Brooches #24 and 25 are similar in the way they convert into pendants. The nice round stones look good upside down as well as right side up, so the brooch goes one way and and the pendant the other...

Brooch #24 is an ocean jasper set in sterling silver. And there's that hardworking sheep again...

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Brooch #25 is a piece of fossil coral set in sterling silver with 14kt gold ball rivets, modeled by a delightful little fellow...

The next brooch, #26, will mark the halfway point of the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge.

26 down, 26 to go...

two new brooches and my Evelyn rose

Hard to believe it's been 23 weeks since the onset of the 2013 etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge began. Seems like we've lost a few people along the way. I have to admit, it's been a challenge to get a brooch out every week with everything else that needs to be dealt with in the studio. But so far I've managed to squeak one out, sometimes with just hours to spare...

 For brooch #22, this pretty piece of ocean jasper took me to a whimsical place and out popped this little bird on a stick pearl branch.

She found her home that same day...

Brooch #23 is a sterling silver fibula, forged and oxidized, with a hand carved rhodonite melon bead.

Something to dress up a heavy coat, or hold a shawl together. I think I'd like to more of this type of thing...

And here is one of the early blooms from my old fashioned rose "Evelyn". I wish you could smell it!

This is a great time of year to be in Oregon...

My one weakness, and three more brooches...

Thursday I paid my favorite stone dealer a visit just to pick up a few high domed stones for some rings I wanted to make.... I left with WAY more then I had planned. And this happens  every.  single.  time. 

But, look, how on earth can a regular person resist THIS!!

The high domes were secured and many other temptations were put in front of me. 

ring ring ring ring ring ring ring!

I'm not a huge fan of tiger eye, but when I laid eyes on these pieces, with their beautiful matte finish, omg, into the "shopping cart" they went... My friends, this is not your mother's tiger eye!

I also replenished my supply of petrified palm wood with these beauties.

I'm finishing up two of the rings today, but honestly, if anyone is right this minute drooling on their keyboard over these stones, and NEEDS a piece of custom jewelry, get a hold of me at my etsy store! 

I need to start selling some of these!! 

Just so I can buy more of course.

And on another note...

Three weeks and three new brooches have passed since my last post. Here are numbers 19, 20, and 21 in the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge 

Number 19 is a sweet little brooch, and at 3/4" works well as a tie tac or lapel pin.

sterling, 22kt, 18kt, 14kt gold, rose cut diamond

Number 20 is a hunky ocean jasper, with stick pearl and rose cut peridot.

Sterling silver, 18kt, 14kt gold

Last week's brooch, number 21 is a fordite cabochon set in sterling silver. It comes with a handmade chain and can be worn as a necklace as well. (This is the first piece of fordite I've purchased... and of course I just bought more, it's really fun stuff,very Jetsons-esque!)