EtsyMetal Turns Six - We're Having a Birthday Sale!

Happy Birthday Team EtsyMetal!

Image courtesy of Erin Austin

Each year in October the EtsyMetal team grows another year older. This year we are celebrating our 6th year of being a team. Hooray!

With our birthday celebration in full swing many of our members (including my shop) are marking this momentous occasion by offering you, our loyal followers, a great deal in their Etsy stores.

All you need to do is check out the stores listed below and be sure to use the coupon code: ETSYMETAL6 when you check out (code will only work in participating stores and must be used at checkout to get the discount).

LET'S GO SHOPPING!

discomedusa 

rubygirl 

daniellejewelry 

karlawheelerdesign 

virginiemartinstudio 

quercussilver 

tkmetalarts 

e5jewel 

LjBjewelry 

peculiarforest 

mariagotijoyas 

colleenbaran 

NRjewellerydesign 

michelegradydesigns 

kathryncole 

cynthiadelgiudice 

JujuBySarah 

markaplan 

erinaustin 

inbarbareket 

aroluna 

silentgoddess 

sudlow 

livelyhood 

scjjewelrydesign 

simplymega 

annewalkerjewelry 

metalluxe 

wildflowerdesigns 

panicmama 

LichenAndLychee 

geckoj 

lsueszabo 

novadesigns 

novaofsweden 

simplyadorning 

A few new things

 Autumn has officially arrived!  Here in WA you can tell not only by the calendar but also in the crisp morning air.  The color changes are inspiring me to create!
Here are a few of my newer items (click on the item description to be directed to the listings in my etsy shop):  This Veriscite ring was a custom order using the clients' amazing piece of minty green veriscite.  I was honored to be able to make the ring setting for her - a simple, sleek setting to allow the beauty of the stone to be the pure focal point.

Veriscite ring set in sterling silver

 And my Autumn inspired items (more to come)

Falling Leaves - Mixed Metal Earrings

Falling Leaves - Mixed Metal Necklace

Falling Leaves II - Mixed Metal Necklace and Earring Set

So, get out and enjoy the smells and sights of Fall!

Autumn is in the Air

Beach Glass Earrings in Olive Green and Root Beer Brown

Take a deep breath.  Do you smell Autumn?  I do!  I love autumn; it's my favorite time of the year as it brings cooler temps and wonderful daily bursts of color changes.  It's right around the corner.  The asymmetrical beach glass earrings that I created last week have been featured in a gorgeous Autumn themed etsy treasury here: "Putting the Rustic in Autumn"  Take a look at all the beautiful items that honor Autumn!  The treasury was curated by fellow EtsyMetal team member, Betsy Bensen  Thank you, Betsy!

New Work and a Treasury to Show Off!

Summer always seems to be the time of year that I slack off on my jewelry time.  Just too many other things to do that keep me out of my studio.  But this week, I've been busy creating at home while my house is inundated with painters.  So, after 4 straight days at my workbench, I have 3 new finished pieces (one I can't show you for a few weeks because, well, it's a secret). Even better, one of my new pieces is featured in a gorgeous treasury!

First, please click on this link to see the beautiful bird themed treasury created by Barbara at Ogdenarthaus.  It includes my turquoise necklace and also includes the works of several other wonderful artists.  We're trying hard to get this treasury on the front page of etsy, so every click and comment by you helps!  Enjoy a second of browsing, then come back to this page.

Here are the two finished pieces and the links to them in my etsy shop:

Ajax Mine Turquoise and Chrysocolla with Twig Accents

Beach Sea Glass Ring in Sterling Silver

Even though the painters are using low odor paint, I'm feeling a little queasy after 4 days of mild paint smell.  Time for a walk outdoors to clear my head.  The house will be painter free for the weekend, then they will be back on Monday, so hopefully I'll have more great pieces to show you by the end of next week, too!  Enjoy your weekend.

Back from vacations - new work

It's been a busy 6 weeks with back-to-back vacations, a little catching up at home, then another vacation.  MN, CA and eastern WA, with a few day trips crammed in-between.  I'm finally at home now and working at my jeweler's bench.  It feels so good to be back!

This weekend, I created this beauty - it's an Australian Koroit Opal in ironstone, with a sparkling peridot green cz accent stone.  Photographing Koroit opal is so hard.  The veins of opal just don't show up well on camera.  This one has green, yellow and blue veins running through the ironstone.  The green cz really picks up the green in the opal.  It's already in my etsy shop here.

Sea, Sun and Sand - Dreaming

It's been a wet, cold spring in Seattle, but the past few days have been warm and sunny.  Even still, I'm yearning for an ocean visit with lots of warm sunshine and a walk on the beach.   I've just listed this gorgeous Peruvian Blue Opal and Lemon Quartz necklace, but it just makes me want the ocean even more.  The necklace is available in my etsy shop.

Mother's Birthstone Ring Set - She Loves It!

Last week, I mentioned that I was working on a custom Mother's ring set. The set of stacking Mother's birthstone rings are finished and the client loves them! Sparkling gemstones of sapphire, peridot and aquamarine are set in sterling silver. 3 extra sterling silver stacking rings were included so she can change the look whenever she wants! The photos show the gemstone rings alone, and with 2,1 and 3 stacking rings:

I love it when a custom order turns out well and the client loves it! This client was a dream to work with. Thank you, Erika!

A little diversion from a custom order

I've spent the past few days working on a custom set of Mother's rings. The end result is going to be gorgeous and I'm excited to complete them. The set consists of 3 birthstones, each one on a separate stacking ring, plus 2 more stacking rings to separate them. I'm waiting for one more supply I need to complete the rings, but while I'm waiting, I decided to use one of the extra stones to create this simple, understated necklace. The stone is a gleaming Peridot gemstone. I've set it in sterling silver and attached it so it floats freely along the dainty sterling silver chain. I hammered the top of the bezel for a little extra texture and interest. You can see it in detail on my etsy site here.

Aquamarine Necklace

Some stones just demand that their settings be clean and simple so not to detract from the beauty of the stone. This Aquamarine is one of those stones. It's been sitting in my inventory for over a year now. The cool color is brings ohhh's and ahhh's; it so soothing. I've created a simple bezel setting for it using fine silver and sterling silver. A pretty little sterling silver bail with a spiral accent attach it to a sterling silver chain. More photos and information in my etsy shop here.

A perfect gift for a late March birthday girl!

Poppy Jasper and Viking Knit!

After a couple of months making "smallish" things, I decided this week to create something a little larger and bolder. The focal stone is a gorgeous piece of Poppy Jasper, the accent stone is carnelian. The chain is really special - an 18" Viking Knit chain that I made a couple of years ago and have never used before. That's a lot of weaving! It seemed a shame to keep it in a plastic bag for years, so I decided to give it some life in this piece.

I went to a gem show yesterday in Seattle and picked up a few goodies that you'll see soon. And I'm working on an aquamarine piece - just in time for March birthdays!

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Seattle gray skies are getting me down lately and I yearn to see flowers bloom. Until then, I've made a few of my own with these new items. A ring and a pair of earrings with rosettes, chalcedony and lavender cz's. They match the brooch I made last week. Someday the rains will stop, the sun will appear and flowers will bloom again... at least I can dream.

Rose Ring - size 5 1/2

Lilac and Roses Earrings

Lean On Me

It's Valentines Day this week! A day to tell loved ones how much we appreciate and care for them. I created this brooch as a tribute to true friends. Each vine supporting the other, helping each other to grow and stand tall. As I was creating this, the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers kept playing through my head. I'll admit to breaking into song several times during its' creation. More photos in my etsy shop here.

Here's a recording of Bill Withers singing "Lean On Me".

I've been busy!

I've been so busy at my workbench this past month, I've neglected my blog. Here are some of the pieces I've made in the last few weeks:
This was a custom order; hollow circle with sterling on one side and copper on the reverse side. It is sold, but I've left the listing in my etsy shop so people can take a look at it here.

A tube-set lavender cz ring, size 5. This ring is in my etsy shop here and includes 2 stacking rings.

A Russian Charoite necklace with a lavender tube-set cz as an accent. This necklace is listed in my etsy shop here.

An icy & modern triangle shaped sun stone, box set with a double ring shank. This one is sold already, but again I'm leaving it on my etsy site so you can see it here. Thank You!

A piece of olive green beach glass, set in sterling silver. The glass is from the shores of Victoria, B.C. It's available in my etsy shop here.

These cute little earrings have lavender tube-set cz's. Have you noticed I've been having fun with tube settings lately? These are in my etsy shop here.



Another gorgeous piece of beach glass from the shores of Victoria, B.C. In my etsy shop here.

And yet one more tube-set lavender cz in a sweet little necklace. This will be in my etsy shop soon.

Lucky for you, my supply of lavender colored cz's is running low. Tube settings are a fairly new thing for me and I wanted to do several of them to get in the groove. Now to wait for a bright day to take decent photos.

New Year, New Work

Happy New Year! I thought I'd change things up a bit this year and create some smaller, more feminine designs to utilize some of my newer stone setting skills. I personally prefer wearing smaller, unique statement jewelry and find that a lot of my clients appreciate seeing some smaller options as well.

The first piece I made this year is a lovely little blue sea glass pendant with a decorative step bezel setting. It sold one day after I listed it in my etsy shop. Thank you!


This second piece is a teeny tiny, Peruvian blue opal in a bullet shape. I set it in a standard bezel of sterling silver. The color is just dreamy and has some little dendrites on one side. The stone was cut by Out of Our Mines Lapidary. I love their stones. It's listed in my etsy shop here: Peruvian Blue Opal Necklace.


I'm working on 2 other items right now. One is an olive green sea glass necklace, the other is a re-make of a custom piece that I created a couple of years ago. It's a mixed metals, 3-D reversible piece that I used in my banner and avatar last year. It's actually one of my favorite necklaces. A client saw it on my flickr site and requested one as a special order! I love it when that happens. I'll post photos after I've completed it.