Find Me On Instagram
Are you on Instagram? It’s rather awesome. I use it to share pics of my work, random food(Instagramers are always taking pics of their food, it’s funny stuff), beauty outside, and occasionally my crazy family.
~ Find me on Instagram here ~
As Seen In…
I’ve been meaning to set up a page that shows some of the fab blogs and websites that have featured my work. I haven’t quite gotten to it yet, but I thought at least I’ll share them here for the moment.
http://www.atiliay.com – sterling silver golf marker
http://www.petsugar.com3 – mod pet tag, featured right at the top!
http://tintpress.com – copper garden markers
http://www.flickr.com – my packaging was featured on their Flickr page.
Cleopatra Drank a Pearl
Last night I taught a jewelry class to a gaggle of 10 year old Girl Scouts, for their “Jewelry Badge”. I pulled samples of my work, brought tools and gemstones to show them, and let them try their hand at punching metal discs and stamping them for a fun wrap bracelet. I was nervous and stressed about the whole thing, but once I got there it wasn’t bad, and I’m glad I did it. I put together an INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT JEWELRY sheet for them to read while they were getting settled, and I just knew you would love it. Amiright?
~100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells are thought to be the oldest known jewelry, discovered in the Middle East in 2009.
~History says that about 40,000 years back, some of the first jewelry was worn by the Cro-Magnons, ancestors of Homo sapiens (that’s us). Their jewelry included crude necklaces and bracelets made of bone, teeth and stone stitched to animal sinew.
~Men were the first to wear jewelry as a status symbol and as good luck amulets to aid them in battle.
~Pearls are formed when a tiny bit of sand gets trapped inside an oyster. The oyster produces a “nacre” as a defense mechanism that coats the grain of sand, layer after layer. A pearl is formed naturally in 1 out of every 10,000 oysters. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster the larger the pearl.
~Legend has it Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl in soup and drank it, just to win a bet with Marc Antony. At the time it (the pearl, not the soup) was worth about $12,500.
Am I a goldsmith now? Why, yes. Yes I am.
So I did it again, and disappeared for months. But that’s okay. I’ve been living my busy life, working on orders, having fun with the kids and trying to not stress out about the never ending house project of installing new flooring throughout our second floor. I’ve also been learning how to use a jewelers torch, and I’m beginning to work in 14k solid gold, which is seriously amazingly exciting. No time now to share pics here, but you can always pop over to my Etsy shop, as there are a few of my new gold items posted already.
Here are a few funny tidbits from the boy, aged 4 at the moment.
A – This song is getting embarrassing.
Me – Really, why?
A – Because it’s mocking me.
On a recent trip to our friend’s house, we passed several farms. We were talking about the cows he was looking at, and this is what A had to say about them.
“Those are called chocolate cows. Chocolate milk comes out of their little guys.”
Where Have I Been?
I’ve been MIA since August! Once I got my new website up and running last summer, I never expected to go SIX months before my next post. It’s not easy keeping up with blogging. Luckily I have some decent excuses. It’s been super busy with orders, family and other stuff, mostly good. Lately I’m just feeling grateful – for my kids, hubs, weird-ass cat, and all the friends I’m blessed to have in my life.
Ring, Ring, Anybody There?
Seriously. How cool are these hand stamped sterling bands? I’ve stamped these two with my kids names – how original, ahem - but they could also be stamped with a short phrase, a date, or a bit of foul language(if that’s how you roll). These are in my shop, they are posted as a set, the wide one alone, or the thinner one alone.
Flower Power
A pretty sterling lotus flower, suspended on a sterling silver rolo chain. Nice by itself, or layered with a longer beaded necklace or two, for a mod look. Jump to my shop to take a look at more photos of it, nicely priced at $27.00.
Lotus flowers are quite awesome. They have been influential in cultures across the world from ancient times until today, from ancient Egypt and India to all across Asia. They have been associated with the human soul, gods and goddesses and featured in stories and legends. The meaning of a lotus flower ranges from divine purity and enlightenment, as in Buddhism, wealth, as in Hinduism, to rebirth, as in the ancient Egyptian religion. Betcha didn’t know that, didja?
