01.28.19 It Started with a Song

Photo credit: Bloodshot Records

...well, with a songwriter, actually -  Rosie Flores and her turquoise guitar.  I bought a great ribbon turquoise - but instead of the usual tan, the matrix was gray - with the blue cutting diagonally across the stone.

My first thought was "it looks like Rosie holding her guitar"...then, I thought...it needs a cowboy boot on the back, and I'm keeping this one...


Everyone, including me, loved the boot!  So I made another pendant - with Royston turquoise - and it sold, right away! Now, it's become kind of a "thing" - and with each new piece of this variety of turquoise, I start to play around look for the best placement of the cut out to show off the stone.

More recently, I decided to make a boot pendant with a piece of wild horse magnesite - and the result was terrific.  The brown and white stone resulted in a great looking pendant (that is listed in my Etsy shop, along with another Royston boot).














In addition to my wildflower pieces, I'm really getting a kick out of creating these ironically Texas pendants.


The end of last year - Rosie Flores played at the Cherrywood Art Fair on a very cold Saturday.  She was bundled up - and so were we.  With some some hot coffee in hand, we enjoyed her band despite the frigid temperatures.  It was great to see her play her turquoise guitar...especially because I was wearing my pendant.

Follow along to find out what inspires me as I head back into the studio for 2019.

Until next time.

01.14.19 Have jewelry, will travel

Photo credit - Washington Post

Happy belated new year everyone!

2019 got off to a very busy start - so it's taken me until the middle of January to get my first post up.

I'm in DC visiting family - which has been fun, except for the 10+ inches of snow that fell in past 36 hours (give me heat any day!) - and hope to be on my way home this evening.

When I travel, I like to take jewelry with me - and for the longest time I could not find a travel case that made me happy - then, I ordered this one from Sundance, and I like it so much that I've bought several more as gifts.



Let me be clear, this is not an ad or paid endorsement - but I am so tickled with this little leather case that I am writing about it.

I love the size and shape. It's compact (a little over 4 inches in each dimension).

It's efficient. It can hold several pairs of earrings, and comes with 6 zip pouches (3 that are sewn in, and 3 more that you can take out if you have bulkier items that don't need separating).

It comes in lots of fun colors - and you can order it with or without an embossed monogram.

I've already got several trips scheduled for this year - and as you know, I love to collect jewelry souvenirs, so watch this space for what's to come.

Until next time.