Rizzoli & Isles... and The Lovely Smith! (not to mention another Nerdy sighting)

so last week was pretty momentous for my little bitty jewelry line.... my earrings showed up on the gorgeous Carla Houston on one of my favorite shows, TNT's Rizzoli & Isles on this season's episode 16!  it was so amazing to see them live in action and know that she loved them too.  thanks as always to The Artisan Group for the opportunity!  you can get a pair of your very own HERE.

the girls and i were also amazed to see Rosanna Pansino wearing her fingertip knot ring on her Nerdy Nummies "PI Day Pie" YouTube episode - and no one wears it like she does!  you can get one from me HERE!

it's always so gratifying to see people wearing my designs and makes it all worthwhile.  next up - i think i will be doing my first craft show in FOREVER, so stay tuned!

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itty bitty earrings. swoon.

so i've been licking my wounds and am now determined to hone my hoop earring technique.  and i've started making these miniscule, diminuitive, tiny little hoops.  totally awesome.  and great for those gals - like me - with multiple piercings. i have 3 pairs in now and they are just great.  lightweight, shiny, and - the best part - made of reclaimed silver!  now that is swoon-worthy!

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trying to convince myself... reason #1 to go back to work

so everyone knows that i'm anxious about returning to work. in an attempt to convince/console myself, i've been compiling the positives (in no particular order) about going back - besides the financial reasons. and here is reason #1. i've slowly been collecting jewelry from julie ellyn designs, whose wire wrapped creations are just stunning. the three pieces above are sitting in my jewelry box right now, just waiting to be worn! it will be lovely to wear something pretty without worrying about the mini ripping it off and eating it. at least if i have to go back to work, i'll look sparkly and blingy!

speaking of blingy - enjoy this treasury of bling!

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The View from the "Meth" Lab...

i am going to admit that i think i'm addicted to soldering now. sigh! i KNEW something like this would happen... :) anyway, here is the view from my guerrilla "meth" lab setup in the kitchen. and no, we are not going to eat those bagels.

the rustic eternity circle pendant above was made by me! i love the way it catches the light.

here are the sterling stacking rings after spending some time in the tumbler. they are so bright and shiny, while being delicate and ethereal at the same time.

off to hunt down some more metal!

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Metalsmithing is Over... and I'm SAD!

i really can't believe it. my metalsmithing class is over! i think about how frustrated i was when i started (and was nearly ready to QUIT after the first night) and how i feel really happy about taking it now! i thought i'd share some pictures of the things i completed in the 8 short weeks of instruction... and how psyched i am to get started making things on my own!

above is the sterling silver ring that i finished during the last class. the stone is a 14mm pink rhodocrosite set into a sterling silver bezel (all made by me - as you can probably tell from the roughness of the bezel edge).

here is the first heart that i completed - sawn, pierced, polished and suspended from sterling silver chain.

here is the second heart in brass - a little more freeform in design and hung from brass rolo chain.

today i actually set up a little ghetto metalsmithing area on top of the kitchen stove (under the range hood for ventilation - i should have taken a picture because the husband asked if i was running a meth lab!!!!!!!!) so that i could make some delicate organic sterling silver stacking rings. i cute the sterling silver by hand, soldered, pickled and then tumbled in my trusty tumbler for hours! i can't wait to put these in my shop!

so there you have it! i think it was mostly a success - i definitely learned a lot of new things, and now the books that i have on metalsmithing make so much more sense! totally inspiring! now i can tell the mini-muffin that she and mommy took a metalsmithing class together!

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i heart my tumbler!

so i saved up and took the plunge and bought a tumbler - a Thumbler's Tumbler, to be exact! now, i kind of felt like i was jumping the gun, given as how i don't think i'm at the point yet where i would need one. however, i couldn't resist!

it took a month for my stainless steel shot to come in, and the whole time i was waiting, the tumbler sat in the box. every once in a while, i'd take it out just to see if i could figure it out, but i'd get a little scared and back into the box it would go!

once the shot came, i finally took it out, set it up according to the picture from the "instruction manual" and filled the rubber "tumbler" with water and one drop of dishwashing liquid. i then dumped a load of fine silver pieces that i had just fired and let the whole thing roll for about a day.

talk about SHINE! this baby polishes like nobody's business! i'm so happy i got this - and it has been inspiring because now all i want to do is make stuff to throw in! it was a little squeaky before, but after a little WD-40, it sounds like a little rushing waterfall in my basement.

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I've Got a Hammer... and Some Lip Balm... and a NEW Car!!!!!

i'm now obsessed... i've been dying to take the Jewelry 101 course that they were offering at my local bead store, but of course, once i had saved up for it, they haven't run it since! *insert lots of swear words here* so, like i usually do, i totally just took stock of what i had, scoured the internet, got some books off ebay and jumped into the world of cold forging!!!!


after slamming my fingers with my chasing hammer quite a few times, and actually smashing my knee once with it, i'm in love with metal and the wondrous things you can do with it! the earrings i made above were hand formed and cold forged by little old me! can you believe it? i almost cried when i finished them because i was so proud of myself! and now, i have tons of ideas in my head and not enough time to do it all... i'm going to try sawing and piecing and soldering next... so wish me luck!!!!


i've also been experimenting in the bath and body realm... my dream is to make my own lip balm! i don't know if you're like me, but i have hundreds of lip balms. seriously. i have a big mouth and am constantly applying and reapplying... it's driving me crazy and making me broke!




so i did a little research, and tried making lip balm for the first time. i was actually scared that i'd end up burning my eyebrows off, but i didn't! and i am totally thrilled with the results! oh, the miracle of beeswax... this lip balm is super fantastic, not too sticky, totally minty fresh and really moisturizing! it's really similar to burt's bees (sorry to them, i don't have to buy anymore, LOL) but less "grainy" and the minty feeling lasts longer!!!! YIPPEEEEE! i've given "tester" tubes to the gals at work and i've gotten the thumbs up. so hopefully, once i work out the packaging details, i'll be able to sell some in my etsy shop. seriously. i'm thrilled.

i think i'm going to tackle soap next. maybe even this weekend. hee hee! then i'll really burn my eyebrows off!

oh yes, and about the car...

when i had leased my little sporty Honda Civic three years ago, i thought that i couldn't and wouldn't ever fall in love again with a vehicle. however, my sister gave my mom her sweet Audi when her husband came home and told her that he'd just bought a new Volvo SUV (yeah, my sister married for money, i married for love, go figure), so my mom, in turn, offered the husband her old Mazda. well, he was all over that like white on rice.


long story short, we traded in both of our cars. but it was really hard on me because i loved loved loved loved my little Civic! that car can go FASSSSSSTTTTTTTTTT - i felt like Danica Patrick or at least Ricky Bobby everytime i drove that sweet little car. and yes, i had gotten quite a few speeding tickets in it.

because we were into TWO leases - yeah, don't even get me started - we had to trade up a little in order to get out of them both! so... the husband got my mom's Mazda, and i got this!!!!!

i totally feel like a traitor saying this, but i LOVE this car and barely even miss the little Civic at all. it's lovely to drive and since i don't work far from home, it's not too bad in regards to filling it up with gas! (yes, the mileage isn't as great, but oh well.) and we're saving on having TWO car payments, which totally, totally rocks. i do feel guilty about driving an SUV in this era of high fuel prices, but it certainly evens out when i have to move furniture for work!

hopefully soon we'll have tons of babies to fill up the backseat!! (hopefully REALLY soon!)

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Resonating for Resin! And Clamoring for Clusters!

i'm lovin' these new earrings in my shop! the bright colours are courtesy of resin covered silverplated brass shapes... a little splash of sunshine in your ears!

i also can't stop making these amazing cluster cocktail rings! they are so fabulous and surprisingly comfortable to wear!!!!! hmmmm... maybe this is another new design technique i can add to my New Year's resolution list????

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Yes, this is a VENT...

i wish i was...

- independently wealthy
- able to craft full time
- a little skinnier
- self-employed (full time)
- could stop eating those darned mini-eggs leftover from Easter... yikes!
- not so tired!

you ever just have one of those days where you just want to crawl back into bed and stay there? it was one of those for me today... disappointed the boss, it's snowing (again), dropped my wallet into a puddle...
sigh.

at least i was able to list this beautiful piece today... a fine silver pendant with a sweet little heart on it!

at least there is always tomorrow!

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Love Nests & Love Knots...

i took a wire wrapped ring class at the end of January and since then, i've become obsessed with wire wrapping! i've always loved those sparrow and nest egg jewelry designs, and i've worked hard to make them my own! here are my newest "Nest Egg" designs - the first is made with opals and a sweet sparrow, the other is tarnish resistant sterling silver artistic wire and a sterling silver chain! so perfect for spring! the response so far has been wonderful - keep ordering them and i'll keep making them! there are many options for "eggs" - i have lots of Swarovski pearls, semiprecious gems, and gorgeous glass! I also have different types of artistic wire available.

from the wire wrapping, came an idea for my "love knots". one of my wonderful buyers had seen my "nest egg" jewelry and asked if i could make one WITHOUT the eggs in it! of course, even though i wasn't sure yet how to do it, i took on the challenge... and the rest is history! She got her ring - and I got the inspiration for a fabulous new line of jewelry!!!!!!!!!!!!

drop me a line and let me know what you think - or even better yet, drop by my etsy shop and take a look! is it worth the ripped up shape that my hands are in right now? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoox muffin

p.s. i'm working on my next artist feature as we speak and a design for the TradeAHolics' team shirts! so watch this space!

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