01.22.18 Hacked

Jewelry hack kit

Late last year I got the following message from a friend -

One day towards the end of 2017, two women went for a walk... And we talked. A lot. We realized that we each knew how to do certain things to make our lives a touch easier and joked that we should have a Life Hacks Party to find out all of the things our friends know, too.

That joke is turning into a real thing.

Join us for a Saturday of idea-sharing to help make 2018 a bit more manageable!

I started thinking about what I knew that would be useful and it dawned on me - many people love their jewelry, but don't know how to do simple repairs or keep it cleaned and polished - but I do!  So I put together some small hack kits - a pair of silicon ear nuts, a square of anti-tarnish paper and a small piece of Sunshine cloth - packed up my hand tools and some earring findings, and off I went.

I also created a "jewelry hack list" on Amazon, so that after the event folks could go buy more of anything they wanted - including some relatively inexpensive tools to do their own simple repairs.

It was an incredibly fun afternoon - I showed folks how to replace an ear wire, keep their jewelry polished and talked about repairs and even recycling old jewelry.


It was wonderful to meet so many smart, talented women - and as a bonus, I walked away with some great recipes, time and money saving tips, and new friends (and even sold a pair of earring!).

I hope your new year is off to a good start!

Until next time.

01.08.18 Rockin' in the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  Welcome to year four of the blog!

I just dropped my kiddo off at the airport - she's going back for her last semester of college (she's our youngest, so in May we will have fully launched all three of them into adulthood) - and I'm headed back to the studio this week for the first time in a month.







I'm excited to be back at the bench to finish things I started back in December, and I have a whole bunch of new stones to play with...





At the end of the year I was fortunate to find a lot of oval millefiori glass, so I have plans to make as many Texas wildflower pendants as I can sell (and probably keep one for myself this time).

I bought some other wonderful cabs, too (check out my recent posts on Instagram), and I'm excited about the possibilities they hold.

So watch this space - I'll be back every couple of weeks with new stones and new stories for 2018.

Until next time.

12.25.17 2017, That's a wrap.

It's hard to believe that I've been at this for three years...

- I've written more than 150 posts,

- sold more than 50 pieces of handcrafted jewelry,

- donated over $1,000 in jewelry and proceeds to campaigns, charities and social justice organizations from the sale of Art for Good pendants,

- met many new people,

- and you, dear readers, have visited this blog more than 15,000 times.



Thank you.

I'll be back in 2018 with more stories about my journey. I hope you will continue to travel with me.

Until next time.

12.11.17 Happy Accidents (part 2)

In the same shipment as the turquoise chips, there were several pairs of drilled bars for earrings.  Unfortunately, as sometimes happens in shipping, one of the stones cracked.

I contacted my sellers, who promptly sent me a new pair of stones, but I hated the idea of not being able to do something with the broken one...

I asked a number of folks I know who work with stones if because it was a clean break, I could glue the pieces back together?

I knew I wouldn't be able to sell the earrings, but if it worked - I could keep them.


With information about the type of glue to use (clear drying two part jewelry epoxy) and some good instructions, I put the pieces back together, wrapped them with painters tape and waited to see how it turned out.

Lo, and behold - it worked!  If you hold them close and look very carefully you can still see the seam where the stone was repaired, but you have to know it's there.

There were several other pairs of stones in my order, and they made their way into my shop, but I'm still feeling pretty proud of myself for mending these...

...and I'm really enjoying wearing them.














Until next time.

PS - my time in the booth doing descriptive audio narration for the Nutcracker went really well! Here's a bonus picture of me - with my script and microphone - just before the show!

11.27.17 Happy Accidents (part 1)

I have so much to be thankful for - this season and all year long...

...including the good fortune to have gotten to know some wonderful lapidary artists that I can call on for custom stone orders.  Recently, I ordered a big batch of turquoise from my friends the Allens, and along with the gorgeous cabochons and earring pairs, there was a string of turquoise beads.

I started thinking about what I might be able to do with them...and it occurred to me that they would make great earrings.


I had just finished a second batch of hammered bar earrings with turquoise cabochons, and started thinking about pairing the beads with hammered silver as well.

Furthermore, when I cut the backplates for my pendants, I always end up with pieces of rectangular scrap silver that are almost always too small to use, except maybe for a really small stone or a bail.

So I thought I'd play around with those small pieces and the beads.

I started with long bars - a variation on the theme of my hammered earrings with cabochons. When I had used up all the larger scrap, I cut some small (half inch on a side) squares and decided to see how those looked...

I was surprised how much I liked the diamond shape...so I hammer textured and cut up all the scrap I had left to make a few more pairs.  They are available in the Etsy shop.

I'm so pleased with this "happy accident" design that I'm considering some other stones - because I will certainly have more scrap silver.  So watch this space - because there's sure to be more to come.














Until next time.

11.13.17 I Must Be Nutz

The physicist and the biochemist in 2004

I became a Nutcracker parent (and docent) in the fall of 2004.  I continued in my role - working back stage, driving carpool, making sure we had the right colored ballet slippers - for the next 10 years, until my daughter graduated from high school and headed off to college.

Over the years, I created a charm bracelet for her with each of the roles she danced...and I acquired some Nutcracker jewelry of my own.


After I was done with the schlep, I continued to be a docent - both at the our neighborhood elementary, and at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  When I go, I usually wear one of my Nutcracker pins (along with my Ballet Austin Docent name tag).

This year, I've taken on a new role -  learning to do descriptive narration for blind and visually impaired ballet patrons.  If you had told me even a couple of years ago that I would spend hours in front of the computer painstakingly taking notes about dancers, costumes, and sets so that I could write a script to describe them in excruciating detail...I am sure I would have scoffed at you.  But that is exactly what I am doing.

29 handwritten and 18 typed pages

While it does give me the warm fuzzies to learn this new set of skills - I am not motivated entirely by altruism...

My father was a world renowned theoretical physicist.  He received numerous accolades and held a variety of senior positions at the US Department of Energy during his career - including serving as the Chief Scientist for the Superconducting Supercollider.

Yep - he was a bona fide genius.  But at the end of his life, his razor sharp mind was dulled by dementia, and one of the things I learned in the process of helping to care for him - and coming to terms with his death - is that learning new things in middle age, and later in life, may prevent or at least delay the onset of dementia.

So - along with learning metalsmithing - I decided that becoming a descriptive narrator was something that I could do for my community and for myself.

In 2013, Ballet Austin bought new sets and costumes for the production.  We bought our daughter an ornament on the tree, on the back it has her name and says Cast Member 2004-2013 - so she could always be part of the production - my name is not there.

She, and the rest of my family think it's "cool" but also more than a little hilarious that after saying that I'd be done with the Nutcracker when my daughter was - that hasn't happened yet.

Until next time

10.30.17 Shameless Self Promotion

For quite a while - even before I was making them - I was posting my earrings of the day on Instagram with the hashtag #todaysearrings.  A few weeks ago I got the bright idea that if I had a similar pair of earrings - or other piece of jewelry - in my Etsy shop, I should post that, too.

Lo and behold - I woke up the next morning - and one of the pairs of fluorite earrings I'd posted the day before had sold!





One of the most amusing things about Etsy is that when you make a sale, the app notifies you with a "cha-ching" sound, like an old cash register.  Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to encourage me to keep posting pictures of what's for sale right next to what I'm wearing each day.

So, after two years of writing posts encouraging you to shop local - either in Austin, your own community, or online - this year I'm going plug my work.

I'm really excited about the upcoming holiday season - and would love if it if one of my pieces made it's way on to your gift list (either to give or receive)...and I'm really trying to have a few things at every price point. Choosing a piece of handmade jewelry (or other art) as a gift says "I care about you".

All of my rings and earrings are under $100.  Now, I know $100 can be a lot of money for some folks - and I understand that - but when you are buying handmade (from me or someone else) you are getting a one of a kind piece, and demonstrating that you value art and creativity.


Pendants are more expensive - starting at $125 - because the stones are larger, there's more silver in them, and they just require more time to create.

My sawing has become faster and cleaner over time, so there is less filing required to complete the backs - but each one is cut by hand (by me) and then I put the pieces together, set the stone and give it all a final polish.

It takes 4-5 hours from start to finish to make a single pendant, but it doesn't feel like work - and the final results make me really happy.









There's still time (although not a lot) for custom orders, if I have a stone in stock, or can get one from a lapidary vendor (I know and work with several who are fabulous).  If you have something special in mind - let's talk.

I want to have a well stocked shop for the holidays - so it's back to the bench.

Until next time.