Rainbow Moonstone necklace with pearls

14g sterling wire, hand hammered & formed into asymetrical loops, winding down and around hugging the neck, resting at base of throat.

Twisted 14k gold filled and sterling wire flow in and out of the necklace giving it an "etherial" feel.


Each loop is wired with 6 moonstone rondells and moonstone briolette positioned in the middle.


Adding luster are small white pearls with more rondells winding around the sterling wire.


The bottom loop features 3 briolettes with moonstone rondells surrounding them.

I can see this neckpiece on a bride or mother of the bride, or just for a special occasion. It has shimmer with the rainbow moonstones, but not overdone.

Jewelry update

Made a beautiful, if I say so myself, sterling & gold filled hand forged necklace with my new rainbow moonstones and some pearls for interest. Camera batteries died, so haven't posted pic on etsy yet, but it is delicate, and perfect for a bride or mother of the bride, or just a romantic touch!
Spent all day on it. didn't plan on that.
Ahh, romance.....ok, back to the real world! LOL

Connecting with other metalsmithers

I have enjoyed talking to others on Hands on Heaven about ways to solve different problems.

I ran out of pickle, and decided to try the home pickle of vinegar and salt. It worked so well, I am not going to use anything else. And, it is not toxic. I had both silver & copper in it together with no problem. Although, the salt that dried on the egges of the pot did turn a very pretty green!

Lucky Irish penny coin bracelet with Chalcedony

This is the other Irish penny coin with a hen and chicks that I made.

It features the Irish penny coin, 30mm in diameter, set in a hand made, hammered sterling bezel, with 2 large faceted Chalcedony sea green stones.

The rest of the bracelet is made of 18 gauge sterling silver chain maille, the "Rose" pattern, with a chalcedony bead at the end.

This bracelet is adjustable from a size 6.5 to 8. The Irish thought that giving a penny would bring you luck. Here's your chance to give luck to someone!

It is offered on Etsy, http://marguisella.etsy.com/

I will be putting up photos of similar bracelets with the Irish coin, but distinct bracelet designs.

Brown Egg Earrings Photos revised

Here are better photos with acutal colors. They can be purchased at my Etsy shop.

http://marquisella.etsy.com/

size is 1.5 inches from top of earwire to bottom of nest.

Nest diameter is 5/8 inch.

For those of you who want white or blue eggs instead of brown, just email me!

sterlingsue2000@yahoo.com

Off to the North East Poultry Convention

Leaving tomorrow am early to go to the North East Poultry Convention in Springfield...

Thousands of birds to look at...

Going to meet other Marans breeders, and help out at the booth.

I need help to stop buying!

I have to stop buying things...

I have a hoard of stuff, that I bought to use in jewelry, but find I make excuses not to use them when it comes time.....

For example, I bought at least 4 years ago, a strand of beautiful heart shaped mauve faceted chaldedney beads really big, about the size of a grape!. I haven't used them in anything for sale because I make excuses that I want to use them for something "really exciting". Well, if I keep waiting for the "something" to inspire me, I'll never use them...

I need a GHA .... gemstone hoarders anonymous!

Changing designs

I made this necklace with a sterling back and a rainbow moonstone cabochon.

I've had it for sale on Etsy for a few weeks now, and I think I'm going to take it apart and make it into a brooch.

I never did like the pearl & Iolite strand, and I'm sure now I don't.

I can see it on a nice big scarf....or even as a kilt pin. What is a kilt pin you ask?

That can be the question of the week, (I just made that up), the first person to answer it correctly, I'll have a surprise for them!

Finished Bracelet

Here it is, I hope she likes it!

Almost finished bracelet

I have a bracelet in the tumbler now that I made for a friend in gratitude for her generosity.

I'll post a picture of it tomorrow, when I put it together.

Its copper & silver, first time I've put them together, soldering, etc. Taking me a while, but the holidays interferred also.

More snow...

More snow today...I finally got out tonight and went shopping at Harbor Freight.

They didn't have the buffing wheels for my grinder/buffer, and they are not stocking a lot of things that they used to. Went to sears, didn't have the right size either, geez...

I bought a jewelers hammer kit, was too cheap to pass over. Has some nice hammer heads, hope it doens't fall apart the 1st time I use it, like a hammer I bought from Rio Grande. That really ticked me off.

Maybe tomorrow Ill take some pics of my new chicks & post them.

Got some beads I bought on ebay from china today. Why do they always look smaller in person?LOL

Ice, rain & cold....

Terrible weather up here.

Horses had ice sheets on them this am, stayed out in the sleet instead of going into the shed.

Brought them in to de-ice!

Waiting for spring.......

Chicks hatched

Happy New Years!

Marans chicks from Bev hatching today, 9 in all. Pretty yellow Wheatens.
Also 5 of mine, 1 blue Marans and 4 black coppers. Unfortunately the blue and 1 bc were squished in the brooder. First time that's happened. My hatching more of the black copper & blue Marans just seems to be taking so long.....

Have some Blue laced red Wyandottes incubating, should hatch next week. Picture of Pullet here to the right.

Getting used to blogging,not!

This blogging thing is hard, thinking of things to say every day.

I've been sick so New Years was a bust for me!

On the bright side, I have chicks hatching so all is good there!

Started on some jewelry for a friend. I want to thank her for her help & generosity with the Marans chickens.

I will post a picture of it when its finished.

Repairing jewelry

My son asked me to resize his girlfriends ring, so that is what my first task of the year will be.

I hope to get to creating something this afternoon. I have designs on paper, just have to start.

dead chickens

Dead chickens, what a title.

Found one of my white Ameraucana hens dead in the pen today.

Chickens die, sometimes a lot, but its always sad to find them.

This particular one had been "squeaking" for about 3 months. I treated her for every type of respiratory condition I could think of, and then when nothing changed it, and all my other birds were ok, I figured it was just something she did.

I think now that she had a heart condition. Her comb and wattles never did get red, she was always pale, and hadn't laid an egg to my knowledge.

I'm sure she was deprived of oxygen, and it finally took its toll, or she had a heart attack. Great way to start off the new year.

I hope other chicken owners have better luck!

New Years

I hope this is the year for better things to come for everyone!

I want to get more jewelry finished, and enjoy life more. Its sunny out here in Central New York, but only 5 degrees! Guess I'll be staying inside!

Had company, family for dinner. Lobster....yumm.

I made an "apple Koukan" for dessert. Not sure how to spell, but here is the recipe..very easy and good. I know, this blog is supposed to be about jewelry, but am going off on tangents!

Cake:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg (farm fresh of course)
1/2 cup more or less milk, I like the batter on the liquidy side, not stiff.
1.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
sliced apples enough to fill pan (9 x 13)

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon to taste. I like a lot, so its nice & brown on top.

Mix butter, egg, sugar & vanilla till blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, milk.
Mixture should be like that of a thickish pancake batter.

Put in greased dish, I use pam. Arrange sliced apples close, actually touching, until pan is full.
It looks nice to make a pattern.

Mix cinnamon and other 1/2 cup sugar together and sprinkle on top. You can also put dabs of butter on top to make it richer!

Bake in 350 degree F oven, for about 40 minutes or until firm.

The dough will rise up between the slices of apple. This is great served warm with either vanilla ice cream on top or whipped cream.

It only takes about 10 minutes to make. Simple and delicious. Recipe from my Grandmother.
Its a takeoff on a german apple strudle, I think. Bon appetite!