Amethyst medallion

Here's a new piece; hand-twisted filigree on sterling. The stone is pavilion set in fine silver with a small cut out through the back of the piece to allow light to slip in and give the stone extra flash. I also diamond etched the background for even more sparkle. I like the contrast in shapes, and my favorite part is the teardrop shaped bail.

Green amethyst ring

Here's the latest off my bench, in all different stages - pleased to enjoy!

~Jeni

New ring to see

Back on January 11th I posted a picture of a sapphire ring propped up with another ring to take the photo. Here is the process for that ring: a winding vine with hand hammered leaves and a labradorite cabochon. It's been worked off and on for the last couple of weeks in between other projects, and I started to polish it today.

Here are the leaves - hammered and in place next to the vine with solder bits ready for the torch. Next everything is wrapped around the mandrel to form a ring shape.

I like the way the vine undulates and seems to beg for something to

be added for ornamentation where the two ends meet. So, after a few minutes of thought and searching through gemstones, I added a bezel to hold a round labradorite cab, and then set the stone. The blue flash in the stone is a little hard to capture on camera, but I tried! Enjoy the pics. :)

sweet rewards and encouragment

To pick up the thread hinted at the close of my last post, my hard work last year has really paid off. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised about meeting my goals and reaping the benefits of them - maybe because sometimes life doesn't always give back and play fair. I know that's happened to me before (lots of hard work and no return, or worse, negative return).

Focusing on a few design lines, getting professional photos, and creating a stylish booth were lofty but reachable goals in 2008. Because I stuck to it and did a good job of it, I'm now a happy recipient of too many show acceptances! I have the odd task of turning down shows that I wouldn't dream of missing last year. It's hard to do, too, considering all the application fees that my bank statement reminds of.

So far I've gotten 4 Chicago shows, one in Massachusettes, one in Virginia, two in the Columbus area, and two on the East side of Cleveland. Nearly every show I applied for was accepted! I've even had a piece accepted into "The Best of 2009" exhibition put on by the Ohio Designer Craftsmen. It'll travel for about a year around the state going to different locations until it comes back to me (unless the piece sells). There's a photo of it on my web site. That's a huge step from last year, and I want to encourage anyone else out there. If you're struggling to get somewhere, set your goal and then fill in the baby steps in between. The baby steps really make it do-able. I even put deadlines on each step so I didn't get behind.

Share your goals with people, too! Be crazy and let the whole world know what you're planning to do. Share it here on my blog or on your own - or if you're really nuts, post it on both! It'll hold your feet to the fire to have a little accountability, and when you final get that sweet prize at the end, we can all celebrate!

kisses,

~Jeni

Bright and Twinkly

Thinking of the holidays makes me think of shiny, twinkling things. Icicles, candles, tinsel, glowing stars...

Here's a sparkling Rutilated Quartz pendant on a handmade Roman chain. It's the first prong setting I've made by hand - quite tricky to figure out without any instruction; just trial by error. I'm proud of how it turned out and can hardly wait to make more and get over my fear of them!