mark my words

now that christmas is over and i've given everyone their gifts, i can post a couple things i made.

sterling silver bangle w/ gold wire &

gold filled bangle w/ silver wire.

copper bookmark with swarovski crystals and red leather cord.

henry in things

plans!

i am so thrilled to finally start putting my wedding planning thoughts into action! it's overwhelming to think of all the little details, but i enjoy that stuff anyway.
while searching wedding blogs, i stumbled upon this amazing artist named ann wood. she makes lovable yet mysterious little treasures. i fell in love with her sweetheart birds..i want one for a cake topper! so cool. i also loved this little bird i found on www.projectwedding.com:

if you'd like to learn more about ann wood's gorgeous work, here is a link to her site: http://www.annwoodhandmade.com/

happy planning!!!

betrothed

last night my brother asked his beautiful, sweet girlfriend to be his wife. and then later my boyfriend asked me the same question!
i am so excited and happy for our families! it's a wonderful time.
have a very merry christmas!!!

a bit of color on a gray day

 amethyst & red and pink garnets.

hammered gold-filled wire earrings 

w/ copper bead drop.

stuff on henry

oldies

 a tiny little henry

 my pink christmas tree

 ombre hair

 big booted shadow

 first jewelry project

 silver casting of risk game piece (later made into a pendant for alex.)

sweet chanel specs

the moon is but a speck

snow day

today was a snow day for many people in the midwest, including me..although i don't work on mondays anyway. :) i worked on jewelry all day (and evening) long in warm sweats and stepped foot outside only once to get something from the car...brrrr! it's freezing out there! it's almost impossible to remember being able to step out in a tank top in the heat of the summer when it's this cold now!

i made a necklace today out of some shorter chains that i needed to make sure i didn't waste and a scrap piece of silver wire that i had soldered into a ring and never used because it was too thin. i just squeezed it into a more oval, irregular shape. i used more of those sapphire stones as well. 

i also worked on small, medium, and large sizes of the "lucy hoop" in both sterling silver and gold filled that i've been selling at hanan's.

now it's time to get into bed and continue reading "little bee" (by chris cleave) for our book club. i need to finish it and be ready to discuss it by next week! goodnight!

and the snow came down

this weekend was great. i love this time of year when everything is so festive! saturday night i went out to dinner with the hanan crew for our annual christmas dinner extravaganza. we went to saltwater at mgm casino and although we had the worst service imaginable, we managed to have a good laugh together and some delicious food. i won $220 on a two cent slot machine after pressing ONE button. seriously.

mmm...oysters.

sunday was a stressful day if you were on the road. there was so much snow, snow and more snow! but i did go see aronofsky's "black swan." it was fantastic! what could be better than a dark film starring natalie portman, the ballet, and clothes by rodarte?

translucence

at the jewelry show last week i bought a strand of beautiful sapphire stones that i couldn't wait to use. i've used them sparingly before tonight. i wanted to showcase how ethereal these delicate stones look when light shines through them.

 

hammered and filed gold filled hoops.

gold filled loop chain.

sapphire stones.

gold filled beads.

pyrite is my favorite stone

here's a sneak peek of a necklace i'm working on:

and here's one i finished the other day: 

gold filled chain w/ gold filled hammered bar, pyrite and stone beads.

everyday is like sunday

sundays are strange days. they've always had an air of loneliness to me..not sure why. but, today was a good sunday. i had an impromptu lunch with my siblings and i worked on some jewelry and later i wrapped gifts by the fire. having three cats around while cutting paper off long rolls and tying ribbons/snakes that need to be captured is a little challenging, but i got through it.

now it is technically monday...why do i do this to myself? i don't think i'll ever catch up on sleep in this lifetime.

in progress

 i'll have a clear picture of this necklace as soon as it's finished.

i can't wait to put my new sapphire stones to use! these were $$$!!!