From the bench

Heat forged necklace with bezel set red jade.

Heat forged necklace with gorgeous rutilated quartz.

Heat forged necklace with gorgeous rutilated quartz.

Pyramid shaped hematite pendant necklace in sterling silver.

Pyramid shaped hematite pendant necklace in sterling silver.

Feather and pearl necklace in sterling silver.

Feather and pearl necklace in sterling silver.

Pyrite colored titanium agate necklace in sterling silver.

Pyrite colored titanium agate necklace in sterling silver.

Hand casted medallion with bezel set chalcedony.

Crossroads

Have you found yourself to be at a crossroads from time to time?
Lately I have this urge to break out of my comfort zone and try some new designs, however, I think fear often holds me back from trying. Well, I am taking a big leap and without thinking about the cost of silver right now I am working on more bold and sassy designs. I have found myself to be stuck in a rut and not stretching myself enough when it comes to my work. Right now I am feeling so darn inspired that I could work none stop. Love it when it happens, however, the muse often strikes when there is much else going on such as my other job.  I went all nuts and ordered tons of new material and tools such as metal stamps. Hope they will get here soon.
We are taking a trip to Germany to visit my family in early august where I also will be attending a arts and craft fair. This trip also will give me a chance to purchase my cabs directly from my favorite stone cutters. I can't even tell you what it feels like to walk into a large room that is filled with shelves and drawers full of cabs in all sorts of colors, types and shapes. The last time I was there you could not drag me out of there. My boyfriend and my sister thought I am crazy to spend so much money on "just" stones. Thought they were going to have an intervention for me.

Today I enjoyed making some new items which all included turquoise, two of them I managed to get finish.
The necklace I made is so super lovely ( if I can boast my own horn ). It is composed of sterling silver and features 8 bezel set Kingman turquoise that surround a red juicy jade.
What a piece! It is large and bold and ever so lovely.
The earrings are crafted from copper, sterling and Kingman turquoise. I am not sure when I will be listing these items. I want to build a collection of new items and list them once I have cleared out some of the current pieces in my Etsy shop. I am having a HUGE sale right now, the biggest one to date. So please hop on over and snaggle up something before it will be gone forever.

Have a fantastic day!

~ Sabine

The latest stash

Earring Bonanza

This is a sneak preview of some earrings I made today. I have more in the works but I'm not sure if I'll have time to finish them all today.

Hope you like these:

Whimsical earrings with purple jade cabochons. Oxidized and selectively brushed to bring out the details.






Whimsical earrings with deep red jade cabochons. Oxidized and selectively brushed to bring out the details.

Rings

Although the weather is screaming for me to go outside, but I have been stuck inside with a nasty cold the last four days. I think the last time I was sick was about three years ago when I was working as a kindergarten assistant. I think the stresses of the move and all that comes with it weakened my immune system. Plus I haven't been eating too healthy either. Things are going to change. I am also glad that I found a job at a huge local hotel. I will be doing all sorts of things. Mainly being a assistant for the head of the housekeeping department. I will be starting on the 3rd of June. I guess I will only be working 80% so I can continue with my first love which is metalsmithing.
This morning I decided to spend some time in my studio instead of moping around feeling sick. I find if I spend time focusing my energy on something I love I get better much quicker. That's why I always think that making jewelry is like therapy for me. I just get lost for a few hours and I am in the zone. It's such a happy place and I often have to make myself quit. My jewelry holds so many different emotions that I feel at the time I create a piece. It makes a piece of jewelry very personal actually.
I have a ton of new cabs that I am going to put to good use in the next little while. I found this awesome jewelry supply shop about a 40 minute drive from here. I'm hooked!

Going to continue working a bit more and then I will have to find something to make for dinner.

Have a lovely sunday everyone!

xx
Sabine

I'll leave you with pictures of the three rings I created today ( they are all listed in my etsy shop now ).