Chain Link Series

Since I've done a few necklaces where I make some (or all) of the chain by hand, I thought I would present them as a series (Chain Link Series). You've already seen some others in my 'vacation creation' posts 2 and 3 since I used this technique a lot while on vacation. This one the chain is made completely by hand...

Fresh Water Pearls and Wood with Sterling Silver Chain

perhaps I will make more...we shall see!

Tiger Eye for Sarah

Sarah contacted me through ETSY with an alchemy request. She wondered if I could make her a pendant using tiger eye, which has sentimental value to her as it reminds her of her late father. I was all about it! She liked the design of this pendant I made, so I sketched out a few designs changing it up quite a bit. She was still drawn to the flowy whimsical design of the opal pendant the most. Sarah was confident in my artistic discretion, so she gave me a lot of flexibility.

Remember that vacation I took? Well, I brought my coping saw and supplies with me so I could start prepping for this construction. While away I was able to cut, file, and shape the bezel, as well as cut out the silver sheet.

Because this Tiger Eye cab is quite a bit larger than the opal and since I didn't want to use the exact design again, I surprised her with a few embellishments and twists on the original design. I also wanted to set the stone so that it's 'stripes' were horizontal, it just looked better to me. In the end I think the adjusted design fit the size of this stone well, and the embellishments produced a feminine feel.
Here is the final product...

What do you think? Does it meet your idea of flowy and whimsical?

Vacation Creation - 3

I really love the fatty Red Coral Necklace...but Oh how I love this one! Mostly because to me larimar represents the ocean, beach, and sand between my toes. It also has sentimental value because I bought the beads while in the Dominican. Crystal lake looks so much like the ocean, so this was a pretty obvious inspiration to me. I like the contrast of the dark browns in the smooth wood beads.

Larimar and Wood

This is the perfect necklace for any beach babe... I made some earrings to match, but ran out of camera batteries- time to recharge! I almost love it so much I have a hard time listing it on my ETSY site...but she will show up there eventually!

Vacation Creation - 2

More items from my time up north...this fatty speaks for itself.

Red Coral and Silver Necklace 

Red Coral and Silver Bracelet

 

Vacation Creation - 1

When I wasn't on the beach, strolling the streets, or eating good food I found some time to work on a few new pieces that didn't require soldering. I will be posting a few this week, so stay tuned!

Wood and Turquoise Necklace 

                                                                                      

Turquoise and Silver Earrings

Eventually I will post these items to my ETSY site, but unfortunately I'm not terribly happy with most the pics...the focus is just slightly off in a lot of them. But for this sneak peak they are okay.

We're back...

This year we were blessed with great beach days...

...ate a lot of these...

Went to Point Betsy on Lake Michigan to cook dogs on open flames (smores for dessert, of course) and found our selves enjoying each others company (sunbathing, finding feathers, and wearing Auntie Anna's sun glasses)...

and had some zen moments...

All in all it was a great break...and I know we all wish we were still up there.