To Oxidize or Not to Oxidize. That is the Question!

Ok, slacking a little today. I guess staying up till 3am last night might have something to do with it. It's 3pm and I'm looking for another cup of coffee. Terrible habit! But I love the smell of coffee brewing and when it brews I just have to have a cup. Anyway, I wanted you gals to take a look at this piece I was working on. This is my first attempt at a wire wrapped pendant (I guess that's what you call it). Not too shabby, not perfect but I don't think perfect is in my vocabulary any way. So, the question now is whether to oxidize this little guy or not. Any suggestions? It's made with sterling wire which almost looks cheap in a way because I think there is too much shine to it. The clasp on this is a first attempt as well. I love Sharilyn Miller's "Bead on a Wire". I think I should be her spokesperson with as much as I've been mentioning her lately.

Petit Four Dangles
Well, I have one pair of earrings so far for the shop. Moving slowly today! Smoky quartz marquises with pink opal chips. Pink opal seems to be a challenge for me to match other stones with but I did notice the brown and black flecks throughout the stone so hopefully the smokey quartz will compliment it well.

Oh, and here's Lauren's art project for today. She knows I love octopi so look what she made me. And the angel is too cute so I had to include that as well. Get out in that sunshine and make the best of the day! One more day left till the weekend!

Found Treasure

I've been so intrigued by skeleton keys lately. I like to think about where those old keys have been, what they were used for, and who cherished them. Each one that I bought recently is unique in it's own way like fingerprints. I've told my daughter that maybe one opened a treasure chest or an old trunk holding wonderful memories possibly love letters. My mind wanders around with all possibilities. My new favorite is actually barrel keys. These hold all of the excitement as skeleton keys but with a more petite size. Ok, enough of my rambling.

Here's today's item for the shop. And no big surprise that it includes a key!

Isabella's Secret
What a dainty little key! This beauty has a heart shaped cut out on the top and is only one and a fourth inches long. This is a shorter type of lariat made with the steel key on one end and a large Swarovski pendant adorned with lots of moonstones on the other. The chain is sterling silver.

On a personal note, is any one's kids getting ...well... for lack of a better word, annoying? Or maybe I should say challenging. Are they just itching for school to start again? My daughter has decided this morning to bring every instrument she owns into the living room and attempt to play it. This includes harmonica, accordion, guitar, and recorder. She's supposed to practice her cello everyday but I'm sure she'll give me a fight when I mention that. The rainy weather doesn't help much either. And maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just grouchy because I need to get outside and feel the sunshine. Well, hopefully there is sun where you're at. Send some my way, please!!!

Girly Geisha

I stayed up late working on this little piece. I've had these crazy lace agate rectangle beads that have so much character but the yellows and reds intertwined within the stones is a rather harsh color. Needless to say, finding anything to compliment it was a challenge. The same goes for my Geisha charm from Green Girl Studios. So wonderful and sweet but what do I use to compliment it without taking anything away. Here's what I came up with.

Now, it's not perfect but that's what adds to the charm. I'm still learning about manipulating the wire and this was created with half hard sterling which was a challenge to bend. And yes, the "cage" around the yellow jade bead is supposed to look like that. That is the look I was going for. All in all, I like her! I will probably recreate the large jump rings on the end because they aren't what I was hoping for but besides that I think she's a keeper.

I guess I'm slowing on the shop. I will be adding at least one item today but I really need to get back in my little studio (the basement aka "the dungeon") and get back to work. I have several partial projects that are staring at me! Oh, and I have a question for you. I've been taking my pics in a light box but I've seen some really great pictures on Etsy that look like they've been taken outside. You can tell the difference in the lighting. Do you use a light box? And also, what's your favorite prop to use? Taking pictures is a challenge with my older camera but any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Dendrobium Orchids

My lovely daughter is modeling this one for me. Lots of purples, pinks, and white. Super girly! I'm a big fan of the furnace glass beads. These are so much fun!

Color and Inspiration

Yawn! Mondays are so slow. Where's the coffee? I need more coffee.

I've been looking through my gems to find the perfect fit for the Art Bead Scene challenge for August. The inspiration piece is a well known painting by the name of Great Wave off of Kanagawa. It's very simplistic but holds such beauty and meaning. The colors are my favorite. A bit neutral with some deep blues thrown in. I'm thinking of sea glass with a nice charm. Simple but elegant.

So, what are your favorite color combinations? Do you actually follow the color fashion trends by Pantone or go for what you like? Where do you usually find your inspiration for color combinations? Shopping for clothes? Looking at paint samples? Staring at a color wheel? Checking out the neighbor's flowers? I tend to throw different beads together in a container and see which ones compliment each other. I don't really follow any color rules. I guess I go for what I like and what I know I would wear. As you can tell by looking at my jewelry, I tend to be more simplistic using only a few colors at a time. I hope with time I can learn to be more adventurous.

Ok, I'm moving slow today. I have one item ready to go to the shop. I'll probably have another this afternoon. This one comes from reading "Bead on a Wire" by Sharilyn Miller. Sharon from Livewire Jewelry suggested this one to me and I'm so glad she did. Thanks, Sharon!

Molten Lava
Beautiful Botswana agate chunks cagged in heavy sterling wire. Check out this color! When I saw the orange and silver together with a touch of the gray I immediately thought of lava and how it's first a bright orange and then cools to gray and then black.

This was loads of fun to make so I'll probably be playing with wire much more often if my pocket book will allow it. Make the best of your Monday!

Tigers, Lions and Bears! Oh my!

Yeah, that's how I feel today! I either want to be sleeping or staying cool in a pool somewhere. Our trip to the zoo was definitely a hot one. Enjoy the 7 hours left of the weekend!