New Work: Raw Point Pendants

Guess what?  I made some jewelry.  These three raw point pendants are the first pieces of jewelry I've made in a few years.  I'll be adding them to my Etsy shop once I finish editing the photos.  See more of these, and related work, here.

Valentine's Day Hearts and More...

Small Origami Hearts (2" size)

Here are newly added bookish Valentine's Day designs* in shop.  I know not everyone celebrates this holiday for different reasons, but I thought I'd share these book page hearts with you--as I'm satisfied with the way they turned out.  Above are small 2" folded hearts that I carefully cut, folded, and glued from an upcycled 1960s educational text.  The formal academic language in these, coupled with the sweet heart design, make for an interesting and lovely aesthetic.  For Valentine's Day, these hearts are on sale for a fraction of the initial listing price.

Small Origami Heart Bookmark with Initials

The above listing is for a small origami heart bookmark with stamped initials--a unique accent for weddings (as decor or favors), bridal showers, engagement parties, etc.  At around 2" in diameter, these hearts are the same size as my small non-bookmark ones (in this post's first image).  The differences are that these bookmark hearts are stamped using bold typewriter font with two initials, and navy-blue-and-white or solid-cream baker's twine is added as a tassel for extra bookish appeal.  If you'd like these without stamping, I'll be happy to accommodate your request.

via Instagram

Also, I've been making new jewelry as of late, which was another goal of mine for 2016.  It's been a slow process, even though I've been creating jewelry for over five years now.  My mind understands how to bend wire, how to shape and form it.  However, my fine-tuned dexterity gets rusty without consistent use, so I have to relearn how to bend the wire's end just right--bending too hard causes the metal tool to mar the wire (then I have to scrap the project and start again), bending too little just scuffs the wire without moving it, and putting too much of an angle on the tool pushes the wire in different directions.  For a visual, at the end of wire wrapping a piece, the space I am left with to bend the wire securely into is about a millimeter thin.  (To get this space, you have to eyeball and cut the wire at a certain length before wrapping it.)  However, this sliver of space isn't all that bad: when the wire fits perfectly, the jewelry is structurally the sturdiest it could be (for wire wrapping the way I do it).  This is where/why wire-and-stone jewelry making is a tough but ultimately rewarding process.  Every jewelry maker differs in his or her techniques.

Above is a photo of finished pieces from my jewelry-making session last weekend, which are now available in shop.


*These origami heart designs are not my own.  I found the folding instructions online and then customized the details to make the design unique.

New-ish Work: Point Pendants

Truthfully, I am a little behind schedule in terms of sharing new work with my blog readers prior to listing them.  This is especially the case for what has consistently been my top seller: raw point pendants in citrine or amethyst.  I've noticed lately that there's been quite a rise in point pendants being sold on Etsy, but the ones that I am referring to here were made into pendants via adhering plated metal to the stone itself--instead of what I do, which is wire wrap by hand.

You might wonder if there's a difference at all between these two techniques.  For me, the main differences are materials, attention to detail, and price.  My point pendants are handmade by me via wire-wrapping techniques; I use my own two hands and a good aesthetic eye to select distinct stones and create each pendant with quality components.  For instance, I utilize argentium sterling silver wire to secure each stone onto a sturdy soldered-closed sterling silver jump ring for most of my pendants.  My solid sterling silver components have a 100% sterling silver composition, hence the higher price for these very pieces (as opposed to plated metals which are a base metal, typically brass, that has been given a thin plating of silver or gold at the surface).  In essence, handmade items are priced according to the time put into the design and the materials used.  To put it differently, not all jewelry is made equal.

On that note, here are some new raw point pendants for sale in my shop:

The last item here is not a point pendant, but are book page envelopes (created from Sylvia Plath's Ariel) that I alluded to a few posts back.  I recently took a book page envelope of a similar size and made it into a decorative mini bag for a gifted piece of jewelry--so my handmade envelopes can be utilized as (delicate) little gift bags, too!

Summertime

Searching high and low for a unique piece of handmade jewelry 

to wear with your summertime wardrobe?  

Look no further--

Below are some new EmeraldCut designs in dazzling summer colors 

to be added to the shop this summer!

Pink Tourmaline

Clear Quartz

Citrine

Amethyst

Opal

Sunstone