Ouchie!!

I've been a little MIA here & in life. I felt something pull in my back when I was helping my Grandma over a month ago..no big deal, right? Well, for the past month, my leg has been going numb & sitting up has become much less than comfortable. I come from the school of "walk it off" yet that hasn't seemed to help. I finally did some research & figured out that I have pinched my sciatic nerve. Huh. Well, isn't that something.

From what I've read, "walking it off" isn't really a remedy. Well, that certainly explains why the shooting pain increased after a nice jaunt around the town....who knew????? I've started on a little regiment of gentle yoga to stretch everything out & it's helped so much. I'm still not perfect, but I'm getting there. It was crazy how much better I felt after my first little yoga session. I used to do yoga several times a week, but for some reason, I slowly stopped....now I realize how much better I felt when I was stretched & flexible. It's still too early for a full yoga routine, but I'm happy to settle onto my purple yoga mat in my bedroom for 15 minutes & slowly pull the pins & needles out of my back & leg.

Hopefully I'll be back with new thoughts, ideas & pieces very soon.

xoxo
Pam

Periwinkle & Jade Thursday

I made a little something for my Grandma for Mother's Day. She's doing well & the nursing home has left it up to her to decide when she goes home. I think she's going to wait a couple more weeks because when she goes home, she wants to be on her own. She's ready to hit the dance floor again...well, maybe not the dance floor, but she's ready to head back to the perimeter & watch others. I made these tiny little copper periwinkles for her; maybe she'll take them out with her on a Friday night. I think I'll add them to my shop because I love how they turned out all caddywhompered & cockeyed.

I think my ears need a pair of these too.

The last time I was home Mom saw Lonely Daisy and really liked it, but wanted a longer chain. She also saw a pretty Wyoming jade that I had found & fell in love with it. I guess there are few advantages to having a daughter who makes the occassional piece of jewelry, but Mom happened to luck out. I used the stone she liked & fashioned into the setting she liked. I had to change it up a bit, because I wanted her to have something a little different than the original, but here it is.

I've added the chain, packaged it up & sent this & my Grandma's earrings on their way. Hopefully it gets there by Saturday. The mail service is strange because sometimes it takes longer for a package to get a few states away than it does for me to send something all the way to the west coast, or even Hawaii.

That's all for now. I had planned on adding another piece to my shop this week, but still haven't gotten it finished. I think my muse ran away for few days, but she'll be back soon.

I hope you're all having a great week

Monday, Monday

It is Monday, in case some of you have lost track, as I often do. A dreary Monday too. The clouds are laden with rain & I'm expecting them to release any moment. I guess if it's going to rain, it may as well be a Monday.

I have a couple new pieces to add to my shop today, if I can get them loaded onto Etsy. I also woke up with another design floating around in my mind this morning, now I just have to sort it out on paper. Sometimes that's much easier said than done for me. I'm feeling more of a pull from the metals than the stones right now. I want to sketch & saw & polish & file. Today seems like a perfect day to sit on the porch with a cup of tea & my sketchbook while the spring rain rinses everything off to a vibrant green.

Here are the new items I'll be listing today.

Same as my Willow Oak Dangles, but a bit smaller & with a little jasper dropping from the leaf.

Willow Oak Drops

I also found a little mushroom under the Willow Tree & decided to string it on a chain.

Nizhoni

OK, y'all have a great day..I'm headed off to list these in the shop...

A few things

Willow Oak Dangles

A willow oak is a mighty tree with it's boughs reaching wide...stretching far from it's hardy trunk as a welcome oasis to everything beneath. Hidden within the multitude of delicate leaves is a playground for it's denizens:

The wren chasing the squirrel from one tree to another as punishment for being the curious little one who wanted to see what the fuss was about in her nest.

The mother squirrel watching the activity from the security of her tangled home.

The stately cardinal perched in indifference, only interested in his next snack.

I'm pretty sure they watch me with the same interest & amusement as I watch them...in fact, a little squirrel watched me as I made these earrings. I used a leaf from one of the oaks in my yard to make my pattern for these earrings. They are perfect in their imperfection as anything from nature would be. They are cut out of rose brass & granitized. I made a new word...granitized. I texturized them on the old granite curb that lies beneath the tree. Each pair of earrings will be slightly different because they are cut & texturized individually.





Raindrops

Sold

April showers bring May flowers & I collected these raindrops from dripping hydrangea leaves in my garden. Luckily, it was dripping sterling silver & amazonite raindrops. These are handcrafted by my two little hands with sunny days in mind.

Show & Tell

Aaaww pretty!! They aren't mine (not enough sunny yard), but I captured them with my camera.



Dakota says "Hey!!!" That's why her little mouth is blurry...see her talking??

I got a little something in the mail today. I bought this for my beautiful Mom for Christmas or her birthday, or something like that. I know it's so early to be thinking about Christmas, but I had to snap this up. I found this wonderful Etsy seller via Twitter. She made a comment about having too much coffee, I commented back, then decided to check out her shop. Wow!!!! I love her illustrations & I love that she uses ink, paint, whatever on top of pages from vintage books. The one I picked out for Mom was on a page from a book written in German. It also has little notes written off to the side from someone who was reading the book, but I can't read those either. I'm so glad that she got the coffee jitters that day because I love so many things in her shop.



This is just the packaging. I ordered the illustration Friday afternoon & it got to me on Monday. How's that for fast?? She makes her own packaging & I can't imagine them being packaged any more safely or creatively. Lookie!!! I got a free owl illustration of my very own. The owl was encased in a clear envelope & taped to the outside of the packaging..all I had to do was peel it off. Yay!!! I got myself a present too...accidentally.



See?? What did I tell you? It came mounted on black cardstock(?) & backed by white mat board, so all I have to do is find the perfect frame. I love the torn edges of the page & the way that the black makes the little birdie "sing" from the page.



Here is a closer up of "Spring". I love it's filigreed simplicity (if that makes sense)....it makes me smile.

The artist also has a collection of signed prints that are just too funky & cute & she also sells some of her originals. I'm afraid I'll be stalking her shop from now on because her works speak to my quirky heart.

I didn't have anything new from me to show you today, but I wanted to share one of my new "finds" & new friend on Etsy.

Betcha want to know who did this..right???? As if you couldn't see it on the back of the package...it's

Deadpan Alley

Go check out her shop...I think you'll find something you like.

I hope y'all have a great day.

Pam

Chocolate Blossom

Happy Monday..or not, perhaps. Anyway, I though I'd pop in & make a quick post on the new item in my shop. It's Chocolate Blossom, & now I want chocolate....the cookies that have the gooey inside. For real, I do. I wrote the description, now I'm really, really craving a huge batch of those cookies....or was it that I was thinking of the cookies then the stone reminded me of the cookies??? Hmmmmm.

Either way..Pam wants a cookie.

I'm going to try to release a few more pieces into my shop this week. Maybe one a day or every other day. I have a couple more custom pieces to work on, but will post them when I'm finished. One is for my beautiful Mom for Mother's Day & the other is for my beautiful friend, Rupa.

Well, gotta do a load of laundry & maybe a stroll to the store for a little choccy. I don't trust myself with a batch of cookies.

Oh..guess I'll show a picture of my new piece...almost forgot.

Chocolate Blossom

I hope y'all have a bright & wonderful day.

Pam

Candy's "Something Blue"

Just thought I'd add a pretty little flower to start things off.

My friend, Candace, who inspired me to make Candy's Heart, asked me to make something for her. Her heart had mended quite well, as Candace is getting married!!! She asked me to make her a ring for her "something blue" for her wedding. Isn't that just the best???? So much for the demure, simple jewelry for your wedding day. I've been looking for an excuse to buy a larimar & Candace gave me an excuse to order 3 (well, I had to order more than one so she could pick....right?).

The stone is even more beautiful than I imagined it would be. I love, love, love the color & the white swirls remind me of lying on your back in a field & staring up at the sky. It's going to be a garden wedding, so I embellished it with flowers & a single calla lily. There will be 3 people uniting on the wedding day; Candace, her gorgeous fiance & the cutest little boy you can imagine, so I decided that the ring should have 3 very different flowers, yet bonded together.

I really hope she likes it (I always get nervous), because Candace left it all up to me...no pressure, right?? It's only her wedding day. Care, I can't imagine making the wedding rings like you do.



Here's Candace's ring with my monster. I've struggled with this ring because of the size & I was trying a different method of soldering. It's mounted on a thinner backplate than I typically use, but it's mine & this was more of an experiment than anything. I'll end up taking it apart & remaking it at some point, but it'll have to be after I get a larger torch. I still have to work on the bezel because it's quite ruffled & not in a good way. It's a fun, clunky, somewhat gaudy ring, but it was a good experience & I learned a lot by making it. In fact, I'm sporting it right now & haven't hurt myself with it yet....it's another small victory for me. The stone reminded me of a tulip so I decided to place it in a garden, even a little butterfly stopped by to check it out.



Candace's ring looks like a little baby next to mine. The stone in her ring is 28x11mm & my ring (total size) is 40x45mm.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!
Thanks for stopping in to see what's going on in my little world.