A Girl and Her Stamps

New rubber stamps

Recently, I received some long-awaited rubber stamps in the mail.  You might remember my old alphabet and numerical rubber stamp set, which is currently used in my shop listings seen here.  I love this stamp set to pieces, as the font style and size is visually perfect for framed art where letters need to be bold and visible--with clean lines in order to be aesthetically appealing.  However, when it came to creating stamped wood-branch slice ornaments/hang tags with these stamps, I could only fit four-to-five words across, max, on the small wood pieces that I prefer to use (which are only a few inches across).  I was not the only one who noticed this issue as potential buyers often asked if I could stamp entire names on wood slices.  Needless to say, I could not accommodate their requests for entire names to be stamped rather than initials--until recently when I found the above smaller-sized alphabet stamp set that features an Art Deco-type font.

And as you know, I am drawn to most anything with an Art Deco aesthetic.

Some have wondered what the difference really is between individually hand-stamped letters and computer-generated letters.  The most obvious difference is that computer-generated letters lack the character--or as some may say, the imperfection--of hand-stamped letters: the outer stamp markings and the imperfect line up of letters in words; the varying degree of letter saturation, a subtle nuance that is missing in computer-generated fonts.  This extra handmade touch is what I find to be so inherently appealing about hand-stamped art.  The final product may take five times or longer to create than designing a rubber stamp on a computer and stamping through that means, but hand-stamping individual letters is so worth it for its ingrained uniqueness that varies so beautifully per item.

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As this year closes and a new one opens, I have been excitedly testing out this new rubber stamp set, eagerly making and test running even more custom-stamped wedding decor and other lovely bits and pieces, the first of which can be seen here and here.  I'm positive that more items will be added once my brain acclimates to the post-holiday season stillness--it's all currently still a manic buzz in my ears (this holiday season, that is).  The colors mint green and black have been a recent infatuation of mine, so I'm quite sure that that 1920s-ish color combination will be a prominent feature in some creations.

And I find it appropriate considering the new stamp set is Art Deco-inspired as well.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since my last post; this absence will be made up shortly.  Look forward to new posts in the upcoming weeks, including (but not limited to): a mountain trip, my indoor plants, a Thumbelina Leigh Lavender update, and perhaps even some new shop designs.  I'm sure looking forward to writing them.

Have you heard about my Etsy shop giveaway?  Details here.

Autumn-Inspired Designs

With the changing of seasons are new EmeraldCut designs inspired by warmth and most of all, vivid, fall hues; an exploratory stroll in the post-summer woods wearing a cozy sweater-jacket, a well-worn pair of jeans, and warm boots to warm the crisp chill in the air...

 Stones: amethyst, garnet, opal, green aventurine, rainbow moonstone, tourmaline, peridot.

Look for these new designs in October in my shop: 

emeraldcut.etsy.com

Cozy Treasuries

Nature in Silver and Gold

Curated by GreenLeavesBindery

Weekend at the Cabin

Curated by aromacandles

Rustic softness, texture, and inspiring nostalgia--so glad I took the time to learn how to enlarge the web browser page in order to take these photos.  On a Mac: Command()-shift-F.   

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To greater heights, we must soar, gently peeking over the shoulders of giants...

Quiet Days Ahead

Hello, July.  June went by with a blink of an eye.  It's too bad because I was really enjoying the early summer (or was it late spring) gardening, in addition to the magical mood that June evokes (think summer hats, road trips, and ripening fruits).  Perhaps I am undoubtedly yearning for times gone by, a nostalgia worn on the sleeves of slower-paced days, where entire daylight hours were spent tending the garden, where technology did not guide the stilted, predictable movement of our days.  I look for continuity and organic movement, not staccato-like flitting back and forth from here to there.

Lately, I've been spending less time on the computer, which I have found allows me to just be.  It is in this quietness that I've been able to process my thoughts, and alleviate some of the dreaded anxiety--for I thrive in silence, in the composure of thoughts (solitary, not quite monastic).  Truly, this clear-headed mind state has fostered more creativity and thoughtfulness than I have ever imagined.  So needless to say, I am seeing where it leads me (hopefully to complete some long-term goals that I've set for this year).  Thanks for sticking with me: I am much obliged.

Huge Etsy shop sale tomorrow, 7/4!

The Week in Recap.

This week in recap. ...

- Started writing again
- Thinking of new jewelry designs
- Prosperity, prosperity, prosperity and hope
- Collage inspirations are everywhere
- Created a "How to Care for Jewelry" sheet to include with each jewelry order
- Getting ready to add new autumn pieces to my Etsy shop

How was your week?

Foggy and Ethereal

I've been craving darkly ethereal beach scenes a lot lately.  These past few weeks, I made logging onto Etsy a mission to find the "perfect" sand/water/fog beach scene for me.  Interestingly enough, it took me awhile to find ones that suited my tastes.  Some images were too pretty, some were too dark, others...too bright.  Searches for "sky," "ocean," and "sea" later morphed into searches for "ethereal," "polaroid," and "fog."  It was in searching for those latter two keywords that I found the majority of the mood-evoking, following prints that made me want to cozy up in a warm sweater, sip hot tea, and bask in the glow of imaginary solitude (please click on the images to view their listings): 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So many lush and moody images!  How do I choose just one?  When I told my husband about my mission to find the "perfect" beach scene, his response was, "What?  Really?"  I think he was a little taken aback because we live in California, where the beaches are not too far away.  The real thing vs. an interpretation...currently, the latter is more my preference, since the mere thought of taking a beachy stroll on a foggy, damp, dark day (which most of my print choices evoke)--where the wind bellows ever so coarsely and reverberates so deeply that you feel it in your bones--makes me want to curl up with a good book...at home.  But I digress.  I may have to purchase more than one, my dear pocketbook.  The second image is my favorite so far.

The Art of Presentation

I thought I'd share how I package my EmeraldCut shop items in this post.  My process is simple, but I enjoy creating new, little variances in the packaging process, adding a little change here, another there.  It adds an extra dimension, a personal and creative touch, to the online selling/buying (non-face-to-face) process--which can sometimes be so impersonal.  Keeping my with shop philosophy, I try to use minimal packaging, utilizing recycled and biobiodegradable materials.


Here are the goods that arrive with purchases from my shop...   

Your purchase will arrive in a decoupaged Kraft Box (if it is jewelry) with my shop logo--created from old magazine pages.

Non-jewelry items will arrive in recycled cellophane holders, neatly wrapped with a ribbon created from a magazine page or cotton twine.  Cardboard panels may be included as an extra layer of protection.

Also included with each purchase is a complimentary gift.



You will receive a business card, of which I have numerous designs.  This particular card is my newest business card design, with an image of my bestselling pendant: a raw citrine point. 

Spring green-colored, cotton twine is used to tie together my business card and a little note of thanks.

These items are then carefully placed into a USPS, US-made bubble mailer.  After taping on the shipping information, the package is ready to ship.



I hope that you enjoyed taking a little peek into my packing process.  I cannot guarantee that the process may change a bit over time, as I put into place new ideas.  :)  How do you present and package purchased items?

New Items: Brass Setting Pendants

I am currently "test driving" (by wearing them) the brass pendants shown in my previous blog for durability, and so far, I love them!  By doing this before I create more of these pendants to sell in my shop, I can carry out a (sort of) quality control move on my part.  The stones in the 10x8mm brass ox lace-edge bezel cups are fancy jasper cabochons--which I currently have in assorted colors--and the stone in the large 18mm brass setting is a lemon chrysoprase cabochon (I have one more lemon chrysoprase left).

We've decided that the lace-edge bezel pendants would look nicer with the traditional, upright oval shape, rather than the horizontal oval shape that I've created below.  Therefore, the shop offerings of this pendant will be upright oval in shape.  I will keep the silver-plated copper connecting wire between the bezel and the jump ring, so that the pendants can be worn with a sterling silver chain--more versatility.

Also, I love how the brass ox setting complements the warm color of the fancy jasper cabochon!

Here are some other brass setting pendants that I've been working on:

The brass settings are the same as the ones with the stone cabochons shown in my last few blog posts, but the images are from actual photographs, well, actually ONE 4x6 photograph!  Very abstract and lovely.  I've meticulously hand-cut each circle and oval shape with a pair of scissors--these pendants are currently a work-in-progress.

I am so excited by the possibilities of working with different mediums (in these cases, brass settings with stone or photographs), and experimenting with my numerous ideas!


Disclaimer: Please do not use any information from this blog without first asking permission.  Thank you.