Forming and Texturing Copper

My yearly trek to William Holland School of Lapidary arts always results in some very much needed relaxation, enjoyment and inspiration. I enjoy seeing what all the students and teachers are wearing because most of their jewelry is hand made and their personal favorites. The copper bracelet was fashioned after one that one of the instructors was sporting and everyone was oogling over. It uses fold forming techniques and hammered textures. I bought three wonderful new hammers with two textures on each one.

The earrings were done with a brass texture plate made for PMC but used here with annealed copper and the roller mill.

Everyone says that copper is the "new" silver since silver prices continue to climb. I have always loved to combine metals and love the look of antiqued copper. Copper has that wonderful casual spunk about it. It seems substantial and earthy and looks grat against all skin tomes- especially when you have a tan!

Controversy Sells

Yes, there is no doubt about it- where there is controversy - people pay attention!  Just look at the news, for example.  People tune in when there is something going on that will arouse a reaction in them- especially something where everyone is taking sides or there is mass outrage.

The oil spill has everyone wanting to put in their two cents as to what needs to be done, who dropped the ball,  what the right solution is, or who to blame, etc.  The only ones not getting into the fracas are probably the ones who know they were responsible for the problem!

Obviously there will be marketers out there - Goal- make some money off the problems.  There are probably oil spill t-shirts, caps, cups, souvenirs etc.  I'm sure someone could take a tiny bottle (you've seen them with teeny corks) and put some of the beach sludge in them.  People could (and would) probably wear them to show their support for the cleanup- you know- "I picked up my share of sludge" .....   Makes me think "If you make it- they will buy it!" 

I don't subscribe to making money off of other's misery - and there is no doubt that there is much suffering both economic and health wise going on in that region.  So why do some people do it?  What are your feelings on this behavior?

Orchids!

Orchids are so incredibly easy to care for and grow! Did you know that the flowers bloom for weeks at a time?  Mine bloom all year long and right now they are really putting on a show!  I thought I would share them with you in the collage below.  There are quite a few sites that you can go to to get information on them.

Trauma,Fear and Peace

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been away from the blogger for a while.....sometimes life just does you like that.  We've all had a really busy spring and then we had some family trauma recently when my daughter got very ill.  When your kids are ill- you just drop everything else ..... and do your best to take care of them......and sneak in the normal chores you have to do to survive. 
I took the photo at left,  just outside my back door a few days ago. Such a peaceful sunset behind the old walnut tree.  The sky was incredible and reminded me that through all of our troubles, God can drop something incredibly beautiful on us to sooth our souls and thank him for His incredible grace and majesty!  I'll try to get back to the business of this blog soon but right now I just want to sigh.....

I love Vintage silver and Jewelry

Here at the left are just some of the interesting vintage items that I am getting ready to add to my online store.

The silver spoon has a windmill that really turns when you push it with a finger.  The broach has multicolored stones that really sparkle!

I do enjoy hunting for interesting vintage items - and I always wish I could unravel the mystery of their existence!  Who designed it - what were they thinking about?  Who owned it and what kind of adventures has it already been a party to?
Such fun - it makes you want to make up a mysterious storyline  for each item- or you can just get it and have your own adventures....

Having issues leaving comments on blogs?

 For the past few weeks I have had problems leaving comments on some blogs- I finally googled it and found out that if you use the newest version of Firefox as your browser you will not be able to leave comments unless the comments section of someone's blog is set to be a pop-up, or full page, instead of it being embedded. I changed mine in settings/ comments and it will work that way -  but to all of you who have it set to embed- there are lots of folks who can't leave you comments until they fix this!  Anyone that knows of another  fix- please leave a comment!

Zula May: Shop Critique: Divine3Designs

Zula May: Shop Critique: Divine3Designs

The link above takes you to a critique of my shop that I feel has some excellent advice on branding! The pointers this very talented and knowledgeable woman made will be taken to heart and help me to make valuable improvements to my online presence! Thank You Zula May!