PRECIOUS METAL CLAY PEACE SIGN PENDANT

Knowing my daughter's artistic abilities, I recently asked her to carve a peace sign into molding clay for me so I could use it to make pendants in metal clay for my jewelry shows. I am so proud of her and the design she came up with. It's unique and measures about 1" in diameter as pictured here in the silver metal clay. She made this piece herself with the exception of the patina and cord...those were done by "mom." We were both very proud of the end result. This brings me to another thought - we should never quit challenging ourselves to try something new, whatever our age. I found the rewards of creating jewelry in my retirement years and it has given me great joy and a sense of accomplishment. I hope my daughter continues to be interested in challenging herself artistically, whether it's in jewelry or some other art form. It's a great outlet after busy schedule of parenting and working. She has also been doing some chainmaille....perhaps we have another jewelry artist rising through the ranks! Challenge yourself - TODAY!

Egyptian Coil Necklace

Completed this a.m., this Egyptian coil necklace is created in jeweler's bronze wire and embellished with a beautiful multicolored Fenicio Flat Oval Venetian glass bead, purchased from http://venetianbeadshop.com/. The bead is wire wrapped in jeweler's bronze square wire. There is a rainbow of colors in the bead including blue, green, orange, red, and a sparkling gold leafy vine interspersed. A wonderful spring necklace! As always, thank you for looking! Blessings, Anita

NEW IN MARCH!

I have been attempting to learn the basketweave wire wrap and after tearing several wraps apart and starting over, I am reasonably happy that I am starting to get some good results with this technique. These are some cabs I completed for a friend and for myself. FYI - if you are learning a new techniuque, don't get discouraged - just practice, practice, practice. It does get better!!

PRETTY KITTY!

These are brand new pics of Sid and Mr. Misty!  Mr. Misty is one year old this spring and I believe Sid is about 14.  Sid tolerates Mr. Misty, but sometimes I catch them playing hide and seek.  Mr. Misty was assisting me at my jewelry table as I posted lots of new items on Artfire!   Hope you enjoy  the pics.  I guess I should also report that our pooch Lilly is also doing well and loves to play with  Misty.  They are like two blurs as they run around  the house!  Ahhh, all is well in pet land!  :)

A GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP

I just returned from a wonderful long weekend with friends - friends for almost 60 years! 
And, we all turn 65 years old this year.  Three friends from Ohio and one friend in Nevada converged on our life-long friend in Long Beach, CA.  It was a celebration of friendship, of life and of love.  We laughed, we cried, and we celebrated!  Two evenings we went to dinner in pink wigs with a matching pink boa!  What a hoot!  We had giggles and smirks and whistles and everyone wanted to know what we were celebrating!  It was a blast.  We shopped til we dropped and of course, I had to visit a local bead store - so Patti took us to Ruby to "Ruby Tuesday" on 7th St. (I think) in Long Beach.  What a wonderful store.  Lots of beads, findings, and IDEAS!  I really wanted some of their Red Creek Jasper, but it just wasn't in the budget this trip.  But, the owner and her assistant were very helpful.  You can visit their web site at http://www.beadstrands.com.  Tell them I sent you!

Because this was such a special occasion, I wanted to give all the girls a gift that reflected all that our friendship.  After much contemplation, I decided to look for a "symbol of friendship" via the Internet.  What I found was the "kanji" symbol for friendship!   It was perfect!  I found my sterling silver wire and measured, cut, hammered, and soldered the symbol.  I cleaned it up and smoothed the edges and added patina.  Into the tumbler it went for hardening.  I hung the pieces on two strands of leather cord.  The girls LOVED the pieces and all they represented.  I included a card with a picture of the symbol and an explanation, along with my best wishes and love.

We got home yesterday and are still talking about our wonderful celebration of friendship and love! 
Cherish and make time for your friends and let them know you love them!

Blessings,
Anita