2016 certainly is off to a fabulous start-back doing some lapidary work and creating new designs around these absolutely yummy cabochons….Agates have always been on the top of my most favourite list and this one has gorgeous gold and silver tones running through it.  Smooth as silk, I can’t wait to see how it looks in a silver setting!  ..or maybe bronze…or?

The second one is a Jasper, and it looks just like a Fall leaf with delicious earth tones. This shape is a bit of a pain to cut but it was worth the extra effort-  I already have a design in mind for this one!

Now to get the shop cleaned and ready-it’s in dire need of a purge….

What a day-I am sure every piece of equipment in the shop was going full tilt!  The class left with a nice dent in their Christmas shopping list finished-we played with layers of metal, some etching and a lot of texturing.  Tried out a few new texturing tools and ideas, learned how to shape and make the metal do what they wanted it to, a bit of flame, and lots of laughs.  Some great ideas, and very creative and beautiful pieces were the result. I am always so impressed with these folks-and for some, this was their FIRST class–wow.

Etched Multi layered Brass Cuff and matching pendant

Textured, layered and shaped Cuff

Pretty Cuffs all in a row…

Lunch was a big hit-thanks to MIchele Romano’s fabulous Italian Zucchini soup and Fergosa Bread recipies..check out her site, everything on it is amazing..and will be trying out more of her creative dishes at our next session- .http://www.micheleromanorecipes.com/dinner-ideas-blog.html

Can’t help it, silver just makes me smile..adore working with the easy way it “goes with the flow”…and it plays nice with other metals, always a good thing!  This is what came out of the studio this week, a bit of silver, some Nickel silver, some recycled African Glass beads and a raw Quartz Crystal….

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Some new designs for me, including some lumps and bumps I refer to as Toad Skin,… hope you like!

Who knew?  Had no idea I’d be searching for those old, tiny silver spoons we all collected in our travels back in the day-just happen to have a bit of a stash, along with some treasured family heirloom silver pieces from various garage and estate sales.  Lucky me!  Here are my latest creations, and it’s all “‘Bout the Spoon ”

Some new pieces I’ve been working on involve semi-precious stones…this collection will be appearing soon at the Creston Valley Visitor’s Center. It features Dragon Blood Jasper (just how cool is that?!) and Carnelian faceted beads.  And a bit of etching..and wire wrapping–oh heck, just stop by and have a look-see!

I’m usually much better organized about recording times, dates and content of all my pieces…however, this one got missed and it just happens to be one of my very most all time favourites.  How can you not just love the colours, shape and textures–etching, layers and patinas-with a rock on top. Yup-my kinda’  wonderful.

I had a challenge to these folks on how many unique items they could create from just a 4×6″ piece of metal-these are only a few of the pieces they ended up with- more to come.  They were just amazing-so much time, care and effort was put into selecting their stamps and original designs!  It is soooo rewarding to stand back and watch creativity happening, I am sure I get far more from these sessions than the attendees….

Etchings were a huge success-way to go ladies!!  No casualties, no stress-was an awesome day!

I am far from being an expert or even an decent beginner at repoussé but I have been having so much fun with using some of these time tested techniques, just had to share…I call it “poufy stuff”  -poufy hearts, leaves, circles, ovals and a myriad of other shapes I just can’t stop thinking about-and drawing, and hammering on.  A lot.

And that’s all I have to say about “poufy”…

Really not sure if this is the common name for these little gems but I can tell you, making them nearly “tipped” me over the edge…I etched some copper tube and then cut it into segments, cut out and domed caps to fit-then proceeded to put it all together–soldering teeny, tiny parts…like real teeny.  After more than a dozen attempts, here is what I have to show for it all–

And am lovin’ the results…just not sure the effort required is something I will do again–it was a LOT of work!!!  Also did a few 10 ga. copper textured rings-soooo much easier than the tubes!  Now I am off to find a terrific project to use them in!

If you are a photographer, you are very familiar with those “golden hours (sometimes known as the  magic hour, especially in cinematography) – a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer compared to when the Sun is higher in the sky.”  Well, right now those magical moments come streaming through my workshop between 4-6 pm every afternoon…I will do almost anything I can to be there ..today was one of “those” moments…

My work bench was flooded with warm light, and not only do the beads and rocks sparkle and shine, I can see beautifully without  my glasses, and my old back and shoulders are doing a happy dance with the sun’s warmth acting like a soft masseuse…Yes, I live for moments like these…♥♥♥