Thursday, January 31, 2013

I've seen a lot of moon-related goodies the last few days and if you couldn't tell, I think the moon is pretty freakin' rad. This moon tee by Black Bird Tees is especially awesome because the print was created using a pointillism technique. No image transfer here. Now that's a nice interpretation of our moon! Check out some close up pics here.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

























Ack! Oh! Ah! I am loving this pave moon pendant by Pamela Love so much it hurts inside.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Today is a very drab and grey Friday as evidenced by looking out my front window. BUT this stop-motion, paper-crafted, Japanese music video certainly brightened things up for me!


Happy Friday everyone and have a marvelous weekend!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A lot of questions I got during the Renegade Craft Fair was whether I had any earring studs available. Well I didn't at the time, but I'm working on changing that! My first stud design is going to be a mini version of my Phoebe earring studs. Yes, a mini stud of a stud. Look! There it is in wax! It's still a work in progress. I'm thinking it still needs to go smaller...

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Friday, January 18, 2013

Lifecycle of a Callisto pendant

It starts with the raw casting. That nub you see on the bottom is where the sprue for casting is attached.
 

The first step is to file away the sprue... 
...until it is even and smooth with the rest of the surface.
Then I sand down the rest of the sections starting with a course grit, up to a fine grit. At this point, it is almost to a shiny polish.

Finally, to get that soft brushed texture, I use this polishing wheel and gently press the casting against it as it's spinning.

Last but not least, I create the chain and assemble it to the pendant.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Friday, January 4, 2013

Body movin'

Like I mentioned yesterday, my vacation brain and body are slowly trying to catch up back into reality. I think I need a week-long montage of inspirational, action-packed visuals to get me going again like this photo of a blacksmith and striker working together.

image via The Golden Smith

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Hello 2013!

How was your holiday?? Mine was the epitome of relaxation. I was so relaxed, I got tired in the middle of every day at around 2pm and just had to take a nap, that's how relaxed I was. The most amount of energy I exerted was spent on eating, watching movies, and going to the mall. Ahhh the suburbs. I also spent some time in the deserts of Colorado (did you know Colorado had deserts??) visiting Mr. T's family. It was a pretty empty landscape but it was also pretty damn pretty.











Aren't the colors gorgeous?! Well now I'm back in the city and it definitely feels good to be using my body for other activities like walking. Not sure if my vacation brain has caught up, but I'm slowly getting there. Writing this post is certainly helping. It's also helped me to do a bit of yearly reflection.

This past year was all about a new job in the jewelry industry and gaining an in depth understanding of jewelry manufacturing. It was about designing my own jewelry collection and actually following through to make the designs into finished pieces. And lastly, it was about getting this collection out into the world.

This year I want to do more. I want to design and manufacture another collection but this time make the quality even better and incorporate gemstones. I want to begin writing my business plan for my future jewelry studio and shop where we'll offer classes, studio space, and sell specialty items. I want to restructure my life in any way possible to help me achieve these goals.

It was almost exactly a year ago I made my very first post here and just like that time, here I am again reflecting on this previous year and feeling that things are finally possible. It's kind of strange that I find myself in the same position as last year, except this time, my dreams are even bigger! And like this previous year, I'm going to make them happen. I'm going to take my own advice and just do. There really is no better time to do it, than NOW.