Galadryl Jewelry Design

Sterling Silver Lampwork Necklace - finished

2012-01-28T18:29:00.000+01:00

Finally ....

oxidized and polished

2012-01-25T22:45:00.000+01:00

Check out this lovely treasury.

Thx for including my pendant, thegoldenhare.

'Starry, starry night....' by thegoldenhare

Moons, star and distant galaxys....throw in the Tardis and I'm a happy bunny.

Tardis moon and sta... TimeMachineJew... $15.00	Blue Valentine Star... blueroompotter... $32.00	Wire Wrapped Moon P... JewelryByGalad... $109.00	Vintage Dictionary ... missquitecontr... $12.00
Moon and Star Locke... MegaBeadStore $25.99	Midnight Sky Full M... whimsydaisydes... $26.00	Lampwork pendant ne... JewelrybyDorot... $25.00	Silver Stars Headba... JanineBasil $35.00
Handmade cat skirt ... ZoeChen $54.00	Lunar Goddess Ritua... WhiteMagickAlc... $12.00	Lunar Eclipse Ring ... glowfly $72.00	Midnight Owl Bangle... FrostedWillow $39.00
Doctor Who meets Vi... BohemianCrafts... $55.00	Starry Eyed Sterlin... agridulcedesig... $15.00	The Stars Come Out ... c75designs $99.00	SNAPBAG Small Purpl... NotJustBags $5.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Sterling Silver Necklace - almost finished

2012-01-25T20:28:00.000+01:00

I "almost" finished it yesterday.

It is so difficult to take a photo of the dark red beads,

they almost always come out black :(

Tomorrow I will oxidized her in LOS and start ruining

my finger nails with steel wool :)

Sterling Silver Lampwork Necklace - so far

2012-01-23T16:25:00.001+01:00

Life got in my way a bit .... ;)

That is how far I got yesterday, will do some more in a few minutes :)

New Sterling Silver and Lampwork Necklace - to be

2012-01-20T16:50:00.000+01:00

Time to start a new project.

I have got those pretty dark red rounds plus the lovely heart from
Gail (Beadles), some nice sterling silver wire and lots of motivation.

I would like to make a necklace with the heart as a focal, use 6 of the beads
as elements plus wire wrapped "s" elements. I will let you know about my progress :)

Sterling Silver Diamond Chainmal Earrings

2012-01-19T15:00:00.000+01:00

Finally finished the second chainmail earring in the tighter weave.

They are smaller and tighter than the first pair.

Very nice to wear but definitely heavier than the others.

New Dark Red Sterling Silver and Lampwork Bracelet

2012-01-18T16:36:00.000+01:00

Just finished the first bracelet with Gail's (Beadles)

beautiful lampwork beads.

It wasn't easy to take a photo and show the real colour of the

beads, the dark red tends to go in direction of black on photos.

I love it and it fits me :(.

It will be difficult to part with it.

Etsy treasury

2012-01-15T18:11:00.000+01:00

Check out this wonderful treasury by SunflowerStudiosUK.
Thank you for including my necklace.

'Necklace ' by SunflowerStudiosUK

A few of my fav items I wanted to share

Violet Wire Wrapped... JewelryByGalad... $139.00	She Has Arrived...O... bellajewelsII $1300.00	Hearts Desire Keum ... GBJewellery $100.00	Art Jewelry - Triba... SusieMorrowJew... $223.00
Gothic jewelry, jet... CreativityJewe... $125.00	Copper and Silver S... DebrasDivineDe... $65.00	Copper metalwork ne... arrabeska $38.00	Handmade Lampwork G... GaysieMay $25.00
Wire wrapped neckla... CreativityJewe... $75.00	Black Pearls Wire N... VincenzoTaormi... $255.00	Rustic Hammered Cop... citydetails $42.00	Labradorite Oxidize... xinxinemin $68.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

New Bangles ... finished.

2012-01-14T15:00:00.000+01:00

I finally finished them............yeah....

2 sets with 3 textured copper bangles

3 sets with each 2 copper, 2 bronze, 2 brass

bangles, hammered

8 sets of mixed metal bangles held together by

a sterling silver heart

1 set consisting of 3 textured bangles plus

4 mixed metal bangles

I will list the ones with the hearts first, then turn towards the beautiful

beads I received yesterday from Gail and then list the rest.

Does that sound like a plan ?!

New Chainmail earrings

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000+01:00

Whilst waiting for my bangles to finish their tumbling rounds I started to
do some chainmail earrings in a diamond form.

The right hand side pair is done with 4.7 mm OD 21 ga, they are very light
and loosely "chainmailled".
The one (second one to follow soon :) ) I made with 5 mm OD 18 ga,
much heavier, lovely slinky texture.

I will make more of those, they are real fun to make.

Gorgeous new lampwork beads

2012-01-13T22:00:00.000+01:00

Today I had a wonderful meeting with my friend Gail from Beadles.
She brought some beads along she made for me.

Have a look at those pretties. I love them.

With the hearts and rounds I intend to make 3 necklaces like my blue

"heart at night" necklace, with wire-wrapped silver spirals.

The square lentils are for 3 bracelets with a big silver heart, silver rose

blossoms and little heart charms.

Can't wait to get started.

Valentine's Heart Necklaces

2012-01-12T15:00:00.000+01:00

Whilst the bangles are tumbling happily away in my polishing tumber,
I thought I will do something different than metal stuff.

My dear friend Gail from Beadles made some nice lampwork
hearts for me, just right for Valentine's day.

I made some fine silver headpins,

hung the hearts from pretty sterling silver bails

and combined them with faux leather colliers with sterling lobster clasps.

Since I had made really long headpins I first coiled the ends

into a spiral which hung on top of the top part of the hearts

but some how that did not add any value to the pendant,

only impaired the beauty of the beads.

I cut them off again which was more difficult than I thought :)

Sometimes less is more. Don't you agree?!

New Bangles - in process 4

2012-01-11T15:00:00.000+01:00

Slowly getting there.

the brass

and the bronze ones.

Now I can start combining them with the copper ones

and solder some silver hearts.

Just realized that I oxidized most of the copper ones prematurely.

The four metal bangles have to be oxidized when they are

assembled anyway....oh well.....

New Bangles - in process 3

2012-01-09T19:00:00.000+01:00

Now it is time to give them a basic form, quickly slide them over the mandrel
and hammer happily away , with a plastic mallet that is

I wasn't a happy camper when doing this, 80% of my brass bangles broke

at the solder point when forming them.

Recently I bought some brass solder and was really glad about finding some.

But the result wasn't pleasing at all.

I will re-solder the brass bangles with silver solder. I rather have a silver

mark than the bangles cracking open when a customer wears them.

New Bangles - in process 2

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000+01:00

Next stop is making the ends meet snugly - ignoring the fact that the shape
is all crooked :)

I used to first shape them and then solder, but the bangles were too springy

and when heated the ends always sprang apart.

Hard to believe that this entangled mess is going to be a heap of nice bangles.

After soldering I soak them in my vinegar/salt mixture until all oxidation

marks are gone.

New Bangles - in process 1

2012-01-09T15:00:00.000+01:00

New day, next task.

After measuring out the new bangles I sawed the bronze and brass wire
into 8.7" / 22 cm pieces.

I have given up cutting them with flush pliers, cos they are never really "flush flush"
and I have to file them afterwards for a long time to get them right.

Sawing is much faster and straighter. After finding out about the bee's wax trick it goes even faster :)

Copper Bangles

2012-01-07T16:12:00.000+01:00

Yeehah, I have finished the copper bangles.

Whilst I was at it, I made some textured ones as well, using

my rolling mill and some new cool embossing plates

I bought recently.

Now I get started with the other metal ones.

New Year - New Bangles

2012-01-06T15:00:00.000+01:00

I guess I am right in my bangles phase again. I started two days ago and

am annoying my family with constant hammering :)

Here the first two batches: copper bangles

not quite finished; soldered, formed and hammered from two sides

still some more hammering and treating with LOS to do

this batch is two steps ahead, some steel wool next and then

into the tumbler :)

When they are all finished I will start the next batches,

first bronze afterwards brass.

I want to do some nice mixed metal bangles, I really like those ;)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-22T20:00:00.000+01:00

JewelryByGaladryl

I am doing a Black Friday to Cyber Monday

Sale on Etsy from the 25th to 28th November.

Free shipping plus 10% discount !

Don't miss out.

Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sale on Artfire

2011-11-21T20:13:00.001+01:00

I am doing a Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale on Artfire

from 24th November to 28th November 2011

10% discount plus free shipping

Galadryl on Artfire

New sterling silver pendants with lampwork beads

2011-11-18T16:00:00.001+01:00

I made four sterling silver pendants with Beadles ' starflight beads.

first 2 pendants with a domed and textured silver disc,

the lampwork bead in a cage plus a tassle.

For the texturing a used an old metal vegetable sieve.

the next two have a reticulated silver disc. I love doing that.

You can never foresee the result.

New mixed metal bangles

2011-11-17T20:00:00.001+01:00

You know I just love mixed metal stuff and I like connecting my bangles

One copper (oxidized), one brass and one bronze

held together with a sterling silver heart.

But it still has to jump into my tumbler :)

and another one

New textured copper cuff

2011-11-17T15:37:00.004+01:00

After my bronze cuff I wanted to see whether the rolling mill

does the same fine job on copper.

I think it did.

It is oxidized but not polished yet.

Not sure whether I prefer it shiny and without the antique finish

or antiqued plus a steel wool finish.

What do you think?

New Sterling Silver Lampwork Bracelet

2011-11-16T22:40:00.005+01:00

Just finished another bracelet with some gorgeous beads made by Beadles .

I added some swarovski crystals and pearls plus

pretty sterling silver roses.

The center piece is a beautiful big Hill Tribe heart.

I like that the spiral theme of the silver

decorations on the beads goes with the clasp, and

the colours of the beads with the swarovski pearls :)

Artfire collection

2011-11-13T14:52:00.000+01:00

Check out this cool Artfire collection. Thx for including my bracelet, AccentsandPetals.

The Lady Sucks...

Curated By: AccentsandPet...

ArtFire.com

Jewelry Supplies

Etsy Xmas Sale

2011-11-07T16:02:00.000+01:00

I am doing a Xmas Sale on etsy and am giving a 10% discount.

Please use the coupon code "xmassale".

Beautiful Autumn Etsy Treasury

2011-11-02T13:00:00.001+01:00

Please check out this lovely autumn treasury. Thx for including my earrings, Amanda.

New sterling silver earrings and a wire-wrapped agate necklace

2011-10-28T18:44:00.000+02:00

I have been busy again.

Some cute wrapped sterling silver earrings....

and a fire agate necklace

Just started a new moon focal pendant,

pictures will follow in the next days.

Bangles forever

2011-10-27T16:38:00.016+02:00

First some hammered bangles

three in copper and three in bronze

then some flat bangles in copper,

I textured them with my rolling mill

Beautiful Etsy treasury about tutorials

2011-10-27T09:32:00.000+02:00

Please check out this super treasury with lots of lovely tutorials. Thx for including mine too, Tonja.

Some new fine silver pieces ...

2011-10-26T15:01:00.001+02:00

I just love fusing....and fine silver looks so shiny :)

Some new sterling silver creations ...

2011-10-25T14:59:00.000+02:00

I felt like doing some chainmaille again.

It was great fun and a nice change.

Etsy treasury

2011-10-03T15:13:00.001+02:00

Just found my bracelet in this stunning red and black treasury. Thx, Creationseclectik.

Etsy treasury

2011-09-28T15:06:00.000+02:00

Just found my earrings in this beautiful treasury. Thank you, Debbie.
Please take a look and comment.

Artfire collection

2011-09-08T15:50:00.000+02:00

Just found my bracelet and earrings in this great red and black collection.Thank you DesignsbyMendi.

Twilight Inspired

Curated By: DesignsByMendi

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

Etsy treasury

2011-09-04T11:29:00.000+02:00

Just found my bangles in this nice selection. Thx Anda.

Featured in a beautiful artfire collection

2011-09-02T14:43:00.000+02:00

My Victorian Shield pendant was featured in this beautiful artfire collection.
Love the colours, Thx ShinyAdornments.

Plum lovely

Curated By: ShinyAdornments

ArtFire.com

Craft Tutorials

New Artfire collection

2011-08-31T19:28:00.000+02:00

Just created a new Artfire collection featuring a few of our Team's members:

Foreboding Shadows - a dark gothic collection

2011-08-30T15:14:00.000+02:00

Just found my bracelet in this nice "dark" Artfire collection. Thx CopperToken.

Foreboding Shadows

Curated By: CopperToken

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

Beautiful Cuff Treasury

2011-08-30T12:10:00.002+02:00

LauraAnneDesigns included my cuff in her gorgeous etsy treasury.
Check it out and please comment. Thx.

Google+ and photos

2011-08-28T12:43:00.002+02:00

Got back from our holidays yesterday and I am ready to scream the house
down.
Recently I joined google+ and whilst on holiday I found under the section
"photos" loads of stuff that looked like google+ took it of my hard drive and
was sharing them.
It also said something about Picasa which I have never used in my life.
So I quickly deleted that album containing almost 300 photos, not really
taking in that it said that only I could see them.
Just found out, that somehow google+ and blogger are connected.
I deleted - without knowing - all pictures of my blog posts.

Pretty depressed now, not sure whether I want to load them all up again :(

Travelling artists

2011-08-28T11:00:00.053+02:00

Time for another blog carnival of our SATEAM.
This month's subject is "what do you take with you when you travel".

First of all I take my laptop with me. I am an addict I guess :)
Need to check my emails and my shops or I get withdrawal symptoms.
Most hotels offer internet access one way or the other.

One of my jewelry books has to come along as well, normally
I take it with me in my back pack to distract myself on the plane
and to avoid realizing that I am actually on an air-plane (I hate flying).

A sketch book and a pencil in case inspiration strucks....

I would have already planed for a project I want to do on holiday
and will take the necessary tools and materials with me.

I am not a fan of laying by the pool or on the beach doing nothing
but sun bathing and listening to music. For me that is dead boring.

So I take my silver wire (maybe copper wire this year due to do the
horrendous silver prices), tools and stuff with me to the pool, grab
an umbrella and a cold drink (perhaps a pina colada or mai tai?) and
have the time of my life.

The above necklace I did by the pool in Rhodos, Greece.
It took me a week to do it. It never made it to my Etsy shop,
only in form of my shop banner.

My aunt just had a hip operation then and wasn't feeling too
well. I managed to cheer her up by adding the necklace to her jewelry box.

Please check out the team post about this subject http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/
and participating team members' posts

Jewelry Art By Dawn http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog/JewelryArtByDawn
J3Jeannesjemsjewels http://j3jeannesjemsjewels.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-blog-carnival-would-i-take.html
Beadsire http://beadsire.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-blog-carnival.html
Wrapturewirejewellry http://wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog/2011/08/sateam-blog-carnival-august-2011/
Beadsophisticate http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/pack-heavy-or-pack-light/

New Filigree and Crystal Pendant

2011-08-03T17:28:00.002+02:00

Now that I have tried combining a lampwork bead with filigree I wanted to try filigree with a Swarovski crystal. I quite like the result. What do you think?

I used 15 ga square sterling which I soldered at the top of the pendant and hammered it.

Balled up some fine silver wire and added it for stability,

added the swirls and crystal et voilà.

Filigree Sterling Silver Lampwork Pendant

2011-08-01T20:08:00.005+02:00

We have a new team challenge this month. It will be online on the 6th of this month at http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/.

I just finished my piece. The subject was the "moon".

I used one of Beadles fab moon focals, some square wire and some filigree one.

It is called "cinco lunas", five moons. Can you see them all?

New Fine Silver Earrings

2011-07-31T14:34:00.021+02:00

I seem to be in my earring phase now ....

Just finished 4 pairs

all fused and hammered

I used 18 ga, 16 ga and 15 ga fine silver wire.

Fusing is great fun. I love the fact that the silver

doesn't turn black and there is no solder or

seam to be seen afterwards.

New Mixed Metals Bangle

2011-07-30T16:36:00.001+02:00

I finally did another of my brazalete bangles.

They are so much fun to do.

This time I used bronze wire as the base plus copper and brass

for the spirals, coils, a few lampies plus a nice copper heart.

What do you think?

SATEAM Blog Carnival

2011-07-23T13:00:00.072+02:00

Another blog carnival with our SATEAM.
This month's subject is "do you name your creations?"

Yes, I used to. But due to a few reasons not anymore.
Here some of my "older" creations:

This one I named African Queen. I normally come up with a name

after the piece is finished. I look at it and the first name popping

up in my mind is the one. ;)

I mostly wrote the name within in the picture. Around that time

I heard that a lot of artists' pictures were more or less stolen and

used for other purposes. I simply wanted to make it more difficult.

Removing a written name from a picture is a lot of hassle. :)

This one reminded me of a wonderful summer party on a big lawn

with lots of big white pavillons.

This bracelet was called moana. I had a phase when I used

only Hawaiian names. Moana means ocean.

I am a sci-fi fan. I do love Beadles' moonfocals.

The first sci fi book ever I read when I was 12 yrs or so

was called "Andromeda".

The clasp reminded me of a tribal shield

of an African tribe

Can't you just see a flower fairy wearing this?

This one was called "The Woods of the Edhel", edhel is

a word from one of Tolkien's languages meaning "elves".

I am "Lord of Rings" fan after all :)

There are a few reasons why I don't name all of my creations

anymore and never write the name in the pics.

- Pictures with names are rarely taken into Etsy treasuries or

the front page.

- I changed the way I take photos and often work on

old photos to improve them especially the lighting and

close ups.

It is a real pain for me to get rid of a name in a pic

pixel by pixel.

- I have been designing for 6 years now and sometimes I had

simply troubles to come up with a name which is a shame.

A few years back a friend of mine wrote a few books about

wire-techniques and I named about 80% of her creations

in one of them which was great fun.

Here you can have a look at our team's post
http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

Take a peek here what the participating team members think
http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/name-that-piece-july-blog-carnival/
http://beadsire.blog...-name-your.html
http://islandgirlsin...nival-blog.html

New Artfire Collection

2011-07-23T12:30:00.000+02:00

Turquoise and other shades of blue

Curated By: galadryl

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Summer Sale

2011-07-10T13:30:00.001+02:00

I am doing a Summer sale in my etsy shop.
May be you want to have a peek?

http://www.etsyonsale.com/shop/galadryl

SATEAM June Challenge

2011-07-10T10:38:00.000+02:00

Our team's June challenge is online now.

Please take a look at the beautiful creations of the participating members.

ttp://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/2011/07/june-challenge-designing-with-pearls.html

SATEAM Blog Carnival

2011-06-26T11:55:00.006+02:00

This months' theme of our blog carnival is whether and how we use other artists' creations in our designs.

A few years back I have written a tutorial called Cosmos Pendant.

I had bought a beautiful moon focal from my friend Gail,
www.beadles.de.
It inspired me to try and give it an appropriate frame.
I liked the result so much that I wrote a tutorial about it
which Gail was so sweet to proof read for me.

Apart from that I used to buy lots of lampwork beads and created necklaces and bracelets with them.
When seeing beads I have to have that certain spark or idea to say,
yep, I can picture them with other components in a nice jewelry piece.

here a few examples:

Most (or all??) of the Hill Tribe Silver components and pretties from
Bali are handmade by other artists (silver smiths) I love to
incooperate them in my designs as you can see in the above pictures ;)

I guess written artists' work are components as well:

I use tutorials i.g. this one from JoslinJewels
http://www.etsy.com/transaction/50064307 and made those earrings:

and after reading "Silver threads" by Jeanne Rhodes-Moen (great book), I created those:

There was a second one too, but I never took a pic of both of them :)

Sharilyn Miller's "bead on a wire" inspired me to this bangle

I love using other artists' components to make a jewelry piece.
It is like a big puzzle which makes a jewelry piece so very unique.

Have a read how other team members think about this :

h ttp://islandgirlsin...nival-blog.html
http://beadsire.blog...er-peoples.html
http://www.artfire.com/users/JewelryArtByDawn/blog
http://j3jeannesjemsjewels.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-blog-carnival-other-peoples-work.html
http://amdesignsbyangela.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-blog-carnival-using-other-people.html
http://famileejewels.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-blog-carnival-using-others-work.html

To check out our team's blog http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

Handmade Sterling Silver Pearl Bracelet

2011-06-22T15:23:00.001+02:00

This month being the month of pearls deserves being honored with a new piece :)

I designed it with fine silver links, sterling silver chain and cultured pearls.
Foolishly I created it whilst watching "King Kong" on TV, now it is too big :(

Custom order - lampwork necklace in black and white

2011-06-17T18:58:00.000+02:00

Just finished a custom order which will fit perfectly

with a white blouse outfit or your black little dress.

The beautiful beads were made by Beadles www.beadles.de.

Thank you, Gail

Recycled Copper Bangles with Hand Stamped Pendants

2011-06-16T17:56:00.023+02:00

Since last week I got a new treasure in my ever growing treasure
box, sometimes I feel like Dagobert Duck ... mine mine mine.
My dad who is an amateur radio operator (I hope that is the
correct term) has re-newed one of his areals and asked around
who would be interested in some 13 ga copper wire. I bet you
heard me hollering ... me me me.

Now I am the proud owner of 100 feet copper wire. Yeehaw.

Me being in my "bangles phase", did a set of 3 bangles, soldered
and hammered.
But not enough :)
I cut out 3 copper discs, hand stamped them and attached them
to the bangles with a bronze jumpring.

I love the result. Their only disadvantage is that you can't sneak up
on somebody when you are wearing them.
They jingle and jangle ;)

In the process .... final act

2011-06-15T20:46:00.000+02:00

Finito:

Finally finished. There were some obstacles to overcome, but here
they are and they are mine ;)

First - as expected - I ran out of my supply of headpins, luckily I
had some sterling silver wire left and made some more with my torch.

Then there arose the question of the earwires, I loved the ones in
the tut so I used some fine silver wire to achieve those lovely balls
at the end of the wires (or the beginning, depending which way
you look at them).

Ok, I tried them on my ears, ooops, too thick (the wire, not my ears),
I used 18 ga wire. Didn't have any 20 ga fine silver wire and
strangely couldn't find any with any of my suppliers either.

Then I tried 20 ga sterling silver wire, that one did not ball up for me
at all, the wires looked more or less like golf clubs :(

Third attempt sterling silver wire, different design, tried them with
the earrings, but it looked too big, tried a smaller version, didn't like
it either.

Still had some nice post earrings with a little ball available, but it
simply looked odd, design wise, having a ball on top for a ball
(center of the earring itself)

I settled for "normal" leverback ear wires and finally was pleased.
Here some of my try outs :

To show you both earrings on a model,

here is Arwen (does your model bust have a name as well ;) )

My fresh headpin supplies and some yummy tourmalines arrived

the other day...can't wait for the next round.

In the process ... earrings part 2.5

2011-06-14T20:16:00.000+02:00

A quick peek....

more about the process tomorrow ;)

In the process ... Earrings Part 2

2011-06-05T12:22:00.000+02:00

I am one and a half steps further. Did the soldering, made a 999 silver ball and added it.
Now I am busy with the headpins, lots of fun......need some more soon :)

In the Process ... Earrings

2011-06-03T17:14:00.001+02:00

A few months back I did a post about some unfinished jewelry pieces and a lady commented that she loved seeing stuff "still in the process" ;)

At the moment I am doing some earrings. I bought a tutorial via etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/62141109/tutorial-tres-chic-fleur-de-lis-earrings. Love it, very detailed and helpful.

I want to do my own version of them. Instead of using sterling silver round wire I will use filigree twisted wire.
First I made a kind of prototype of my version in copper (should do this more often :( )

I will solder them and add a 999 silver ball in the middle as a decor and additional support.

Here my supplies :

... and I started with the headpins and faceted beads, I love doing that

My only worry is that I might like the finished pieces too much and I won't sell them but keep them for my greedy self :)

SATEAM Blog Carnival

2011-05-29T11:20:00.005+02:00

Blog carnival time again.

This time with the subject: My current obsession.

I must admitt that my obsession attitude is a bit like one of a
flutterby. To my defence I might state that the materials I need
when I am struck

by lighting/ obsession are normally only available in the U.S. and by the time they reach me I fluttered to the next obsession.

My very current obsession is decorating jewelry with lots of headpins and tiny 3 mm - 5 mm faceted gemstones.

Luckily I bought small tourmalines sometime last year and had some 28 ga wire left to make some headpins.

It actually started when checking my circles/ activities on etsy.

Someone added joslinjewels to their circle, I had a look in her shop

and fell in love with this tutorial for some gorgeous earrings .

I bought the tut and some tiny gemstones here .

Still have some tourmalines and headpins left for earrings

to match with the above pendant and hopefully by then

my order will have arrived.

Please check out my team members' obsessions:

http://www.starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/
AM Designs
Beadsophisticate
Jewelry Art by Dawn
Studio TDQ

SATeam Mother's Day Giveaway Event

2011-05-08T17:46:00.000+02:00

... and we got the winners......

Here are the results of the draw of our SATeam Mother's Day Giveaway Event. I'

We have three winners...

First prize, a gift certificate worth $100, goes to Deci W.

Second prize, a gift certificate for $50, goes to Katherine P.

Third prize, a gift certificate worth $25, goes to Laura G.

Congratulations to our winners!

The gift certificates can be redeemed in any of the participating shops.

The full list of participating shops, with links to those shops, can be found in this blog post.

New Mixed Metal Bangles And Bronze Cuff

2011-04-16T16:52:00.000+02:00

I love bangles and if possible lots of them. I am great at misplacing them too.

So I designed a bangle consisting of 5 elements which are joined together,

plus another one with consists of 3. I used copper, brass and bronze wire.

They are soldered, hammered, oxidized and polished

and look fab worn all together.

Finally I finished my bronze cuff which I patterned

with my rolling mill.

It is very shiny and I love the pattern.

Sadly it is too tight for me

but my loss could be someone else's gain ;)

The ArtFire Daily Collection

2011-04-09T19:09:00.000+02:00

Artfire is starting a new daily shopper email that will feature, among other things, an ArtFire Collection of Pro member items!

Even better, they are giving away a $100 gift certificate to any ArtFire Pro Studio each day as part of our email! Here’s how it works:

Sign up to receive the ArtFire Daily Collection.

Once you’ve clicked your confirmation link Artfire will send you your own unique “Shopper Code.” Your code will be three letters and three numbers, like ABC-123.

Each morning they will select one shopper code and include it in the Collection email. If your code is selected just email contests@artfire.com to claim your prize! (Don’t be late! See below for more details)

Sterling Silver Jewelry - Custom Orders

2011-04-05T17:27:00.001+02:00

Just finished: 1 pendant, 2 necklaces plus 1 bracelet

with a beautiful tiger bead made by Beadles, hanging from a velvet ribbon.

black and white lampwork beads, onyx and silver-plated heishi beads

some more tiger beads from Beadles, with Onyx and Heishi beads

floral lampwork beads with lots of sterling silver.

I hope the lady likes them :)

Spring Sale in my etsy shop plus SATEAM Mothers Day Giveaway Event

2011-04-01T21:15:00.000+02:00

I am doing a spring sale in my etsy shop, from 1st April until 1st May inclusive.

There will

be a 10% discount on the entire order. It will be refunded via paypal.

Additionally our SATEAM does a Mother's Day Giveaway Event. Some fabulous handmade artisan jewelry will be given away. There are many different ways to enter (all free!) and several prizes to be won.

First prize: $100 gift certificate

Second prize: $50 gift certificate

Third prize: $25 gift certificate

For more information and a list of the participating shops please check out our SATEAM's blog.

2011-03-31T17:30:00.000+02:00

Our SATEAM is doing a March challenge, subject is to make a piece of jewelry

using the colour gold, like for example gold wire, beads, gemstones like amber,

citrine or tigereye and maybe having St. Partrick's Day in your mind.

I wanted to combine something reminding me of Ireland and a pot of gold and

came up with this

A celtic symbol plus a little pot of gold.

Please check out our team's blog for other members' creations

for the March Challenge.

http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

Mixed Metal Bangles and Chakra Pendants

2011-03-20T13:39:00.000+01:00

One week ago I read this post by Nicole from our Starving Artists Team
http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/2011/03/bangles-simple-start-to-finish.html
and got really inspired, thank you Nicole :)

Never tried wire bangles with anything else than silver but I am a huge fan of mixed metal jewelry.
I had the idea of doing bangles in brass and copper but not the stacking kind but entwined:

First I did a 2 and 2, 2 copper and 2 brass,

inseparatable, they are oval-shaped, hammer textured,

oxidized and tumbler polished.

This one is 1 and 3, used a raw silk hammer

to texture them.

I am not totally happy with the spot where they are soldered.

The liver of sulpher covered that a bit but it is not perfect yet.

I heard that if you put them in a pickle with a small item

made of iron the silver solder will become copper plated,

but I could not find a single small item in the house

which is made of pure iron, I will dash to the

DIY store on Monday :)

I have ordered some bronze wire as well and will try

a brass-copper-bronze bangle, either with 3 bangles

or even 6. I like them jingling and jangling.

I bought a big stash of copper wire and

tried some of my chakra pendants.

I do like the colour of copper :), I will combine

them with leather or Indian rubber colliers.

Do you remember my attempt to use a fresh

leaf with my rolling mill. What a mess that was.

I finally found a dry one and it worked nicely.

As soon as a find a smaller one I want to create

a pendant, I already got a nice design in mind.

A glimpse of Summer

2011-03-03T19:29:00.000+01:00

Who else can't wait for Summer to come along? I am fed up with cold rainy
or snowy weather. To ease my winter blues I designed a necklace and
bracelet set which would surely put a smile on any mermaids lips.

The great thing about the set is, in my opinion :=) , that you can combine
both. The answer to the problem of having a nice necklace which has a
good length for a blouse or a t-shirt with a low neckline but which is too
short if you want to wear it with a high neckline.

First the necklace handcrafted with beautiful lampwork beads mady by Beadles
and lots of sterling silver. I once did a tutorial about a chakra spiral pendant.
Still liking that form a lot I integrated it into the design of the necklace.
Some starfish, tortoise (or is it a turtle, I can never keep them apart) and fish
to underline the ocean theme. A big starfish clasp which is pretty important.
You will see later why.

Then the bracelet, also with bead cages, lots of wrapping

and an important little starfish clasp.

You wear those two pieces separately or combine them.

You use the bracelet as the bottom part of the necklace and close the

starfish clasps on each side. Et voilà, you have got a longer necklace.

A few years back (in a magazine) I have seen two chainmaille bracelets

plus one chainmaille necklace which could be combined to a really long

necklace this way. I loved that idea.

It was great fun to create this set and I plan to do another one with tiger

beads plus silver beads relating to the animal theme. Let's hope the silver

price will drop again soon :( .

SATEAM blog carnival

2011-02-26T10:00:00.008+01:00

Time for a new blog carnival. This month's theme is "what is the story behind

your business name?".

That is very easy to answer. Either 1999 or 2000 (can't remember :) ) we got

connected to the internet. It was advised that apart from the email address

you had with your provider which states the "real name" one should get hold

of a second email address for getting registered on sites you don't want to

share your name with.

Just having re-read "Lord of the Rings" I was going for "Galadriel" which of

course was already taken. I came up with "Galadryl" which to my delight

was still free. Ok, yahoo here I come.

Around 2005 I started with jewelry and had my first homepage via my provider.
It was for free, no own domain and I wrote it myself in html via front page,
those were the times.

Then my provider offered domains for no extra charge.....and yeehah.....

www.galadryl.de was still available, I snatched it and since then it is mine :)

I don't think I ever had to think about choosing this name as a business
name, it just felt right.

This year I added "jewelry design" after the name (due to SEO recommendations)

All in all I am still happy with my choice even if my rings are not up to

Tolkien's standard yet.

Here some links to check out:
our teams's http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

and fellow carnival bloggers

O'Refined http://orefined.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-orefined
Islandgirl http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com/
Sophi http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/how-did-i-pick-my-business-name/
PaintinByFaith http://paintinbyfaith.blogspot.com/
Northern Girl Musings of a Northern Girl
Familee Jewels The FamiLee Jewels
J3Jewelry J3Jewelry
Beadsire http://beadsire.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-blog-carnival-story-behind.html

Textured copper bangle to be...

2011-02-17T17:38:00.000+01:00

Today my proper steel embossing plate finally arrived. Yeehaw.
I already liked the results I had using my small aluminium plates
on my rolling mill (picture please see last post), but I was doing
a happy dance seeing the result of the new plate

I just love love love it. I am so glad I ordered it. Can't wait to do more.

Mixed Metal Bangle

2011-02-13T15:19:00.008+01:00

I have always been excited about mixing metals within one jewelry

piece. In the last team blog carnival another team member (O'refined)

made me interested in bronze.

A few years ago I made a silver bangle for myself during a silver

smith course.

With the silver prices going to infinity and beyond I opted

for a different version.

I bought sheets of copper, brass and bronze.

Having recently purchased some brass embossing plates, I used

them in conjunction with the sheets in my rolling mill.

I already started cutting and sawing out two strips...

the copper and brass one

and I learnt so far that bronze doesn't want to be cut or

sawed or hammered unless you use abusive language and brute

force. But it did give in eventually :)

At the moment I am in the soldering stage, more pictures later...

...if I am successful :) ...

What is your favourite material

2011-01-30T11:00:00.002+01:00

Time for another blog carnival of our SATEAM.

Today's theme is "What is your favourite material and why".

This is pretty difficult to answer - at least for me.

I guess there is no favourite No.1 material for me, there are several.

I love fine silver. It is absolutely fab to fuse. I adore the fact

that it does not turn black when heated but bears a lovely rose

shade. To me somehow it feels much cleaner to fuse/ solder it

and as a big plus you don't see a seam or solder leftovers

lurking around.

It is also more satisfying to make balled headpins with fine silver.

There are nice round shiny balls at the end of the headpins and

not some looking like golf clubs like my sterling silver headpins.

Ok, the price is a bit higher than sterling silver which is rocketeering

to the sky right now but it is easier to handle because of it being a very

soft metal. It does work harden with help of my tumbler and that

works fine for me.

But of course one can not use fine silver for every occasion.

When wire-wrapping my favourite wire is made of sterling

silver. I don't want a too soft wire but half hard.

Also when doing some hand stamping

or using silver discs to frame a bead I prefer sterling silver.

Recently I turned to copper. I want to do some copper bangles

and earrings with help of my rolling mill and etching equipment.

But I am still a newbie and still need to learn a lot.

For xmas I bought myself a copper bangle from KarlaWheelerDesign

on which pi in all (almost all hihi) its beauty is etched on.

Actually I am wearing it right now, it inspires me and motivates me

to learn to do the same kind of great etching that on this bangle.

Here some posts from other team members:

Beadsire http://beadsire.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-blog-carnival-what-is-your.html

O'Refined http://orefined.blogspot.com/2011/01/for-love-of-bronze.html

Islandgirl http://islandgirlsin...g-carnival.html

Famileejewels http://famileejewels.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-carnival-what-is-your-favorite.html

My etching adventure continues ....

2011-01-29T16:00:00.002+01:00

My electro etching wasn't too successful so far.

Xmas brought along a change in my technique.

My Dad brought his light box along on Xmas. He built it himself

20 years ago.Now it is mine mine mine.

I printed a pattern on a heat resistent foil on my laser printer, I tried it

first on an ink jet printer but that proved to be a disaster from my hands,

jeans and near surroundings.

I sawed out a square from some 18 ga copper sheeting and sprayed it

with a special lacquer whilst being in a room with only red light.

Normally the lacquer has to dry for 24 hours at 20 C,but you

can speed matters up by putting it on top of your radiator in a box

or something similiar, so neither white light nor dust can ruin it.

After the drying process you have to lay it into a bowl

of developer liquid until you hopefully see the pattern

develop (still under red light *g).

Give it a quick wash and off it goes into the bowl

of an acid which is called in German "Natriumpersulfat".

I always wear goggles and gloves to be on the safe side.

My etching is still not deep enough, but I am working on it.

Guess what I got for Xmas?

2011-01-28T14:03:00.002+01:00

I got a beautiful rolling mill from my dad, thx. Dad.

When time allows I play with it.

I only got a small embossing plate which is really for pmc

but it works aswell. I have ordered a proper plate from Rio Grande,

only one so far, because they are far from cheap.

I have tried it on copper

and sterling silver

Last year I bought a really nice sterling silver ring with leaf texture.

I had heard that people used leaves on rolling mills aswell, but I didn't know

whether they used a fresh or a dried one.

I attempted some rolling with a fresh one, my Lord, that was a mess,

took me ages to clean the rolls again.

As soon as I find a nice dried leaf I will have another go.

I got some other stuff I want to tell you about but that

will be the subject of one of the next posts. *g

Why did you start making jewelry

2010-12-19T12:00:00.012+01:00

It is time for another blog carnival of our SATEAM. This month's

theme is the question "why did you start making jewelry?".

My dad probably thinks it was in my genes because in the 70s

he was designing jewelry too. It was the big era of gemstones and

I remember him creating necklaces, bracelets, big clocks, lamp

shades and lots of other beautiful items.

Although at the time, being in my early teens, I wasn't interested

in jewelry at all.

In Summer 2004 it all began. I had to go to a routine check-up

to my doctor and I noticed that one of her assistances was

wearing a beautiful bracelet. I overcame the feeling of being

rude and complimented her on it and asked her where she got

it from.

To my astonishment she bought it from our local porcelain store.

After my check-up I had some time on my hands and decided

to have a look what was on offer in this store.

They still had about a dozen different beautiful bracelets displayed.

This is the one I bought:

A few days later I had a close look at all of its components and

found a designer tag. FIVA

Me being Mrs. Google found out that FIVA is a Dutch designer

who works with silver beads from Bali.

Ok, back to the search mask entering "bali beads".

Amazingly there was a shop called Bali Beads, it was even in

Germany, 70 minutes drive from the place where I lived.

They had a website too. Great.

To my delight I discovered that they offered a jewelry

making course with silver beads.

I was over the moon and booked a place in the next

available course.

During the course they supplied silver spacers, beads and

lampwork beads. Before that I never even knew those handmade

beads existed. I was instantly infected with the jewelry

making virus, ever heard of it?

This is the very first bracelet I made with the supplies available:

After the course one could buy all the materials and tools

needed to create some jewelry. Of course I could not resist

to get some goodies.

The necessary lampwork beads I bought at good old Ebay

where I met my dear friend Gail, Beadles and she

introduced me to etsy and the starving jewelry artists

which were then called cageycrafters I think but that is

another story *g.

A fews weeks later I had used up all my supplies and was

a happy owner of 12 bracelets.

I complained to a good friend of mine that I could never

decide which one to wear and that I could do with some

more supplies which were and still are not really inexpensive.

She had a great idea. She would invite some of her friends

and we could do a little jewelry party.

Said and done, I sold 10 bracelets with a profit of 2 Euros

each and had new money for more supplies.

I never made the bracelets for money but because of

the fun of creating them and it was great if someone else

liked my design and I could buy more materials to make

more bracelets.

After those events things simply developed from stringing

I went onto using silver wire, learning wire techniques a la

Sharilyn Miller, chainmailing, electro forming techniques,

wire-wrapping, soldering, fusing and last week I started

with etching (which is a disaster so far *gg).

Here two examples of the kind of "bracelets" I did lately:

All in all I am ever so glad I asked that lady where she got

the bracelet from, who knows what I would spend my

spare time with otherwise.....

Please check out the post of my fellow team members:

http://islandgirlsin...id-i-start.html

http://beadsophistic...making-jewelry/

http://thisnortherngirl.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/blog-carnival-why-did-i-start-making-jewelry/

http://beadsire.blog...-jewellery.html

http://famileejewels...-all-began.html

New technique for me: Electro etching on copper

2010-12-13T18:34:00.007+01:00

Trying out new techniques is always very exciting for me. I just love

that, gives me butterflies in my stomach.

I always wanted to try out etching. The only thing that really stopped

me was the acid, one had to use and its disposal.

One sunny afternoon *g I heard of a salt water technique and a nice

friend of a good friend was so sweet to email me some information

about it, thanks Harry.

Last week not being to able find any salt without additives I also

found out that one could use copper electrolyte solution which

funnily enough I still owned 3 bottles of.

I had ordered transfer paper (PnP) from my good friend Amazon.

Ok, let's get ready to rumble.

Somewhere I read that it doesn't matter if you use an ink jet

printer or a laser printer. I just had installed win 7 64bit on my

computer and had only found the ink jet printer driver so far.

So the ink jet printer was my obvious choice.

Ok, I had an image:

I frantically searched in my manual how to print on transfer

paper (I wanted to be extra cautious because I already killed

a printer last year when trying to print on a foil without consulting

the manual beforehand), everything set and off I went: beautiful

printout, printer still alive, yeehah.

Ok, next step. I cut out a small square of copper sheeting with my

shears, dashed upstairs to my ironing board, printout facedown on

the copper, tea towel on top, iron on top of that and ironing happily

and carefully away for 4 minutes.

I was supposed to let it cool down and then put the copper piece

with the paper stuck to it for 10 minutes into a small bowl of

water.

Yep, I did all of that. While it soaked I checked the clip on

youtube.com about this procedure. So far so good.

Peeled off the paper, but....there was another layer, a see through

foil. I could see the image of the celtic knot under it, it looked

perfect, but that stupid foil simply resisted all my attemps to rip,

tear or rub it off. I slowly reached my boiling point.

Not wanted to be stopped in my exciting new adventure by a

stupid foil, I dashed back down to my printer, did another printout,

up again (out of breath, one is not getting any younger), ironing,

water bowl, 10 min..............

my dear Lord, the same problem....stupid foil again.

I needed a break and a think, made a nice sweet Latte Macchiato,

calmed down and then went for plan B.

Browsing the internet I luckily found a driver for my old laser

printer. New printout, another ironing session, water bowl,

et voilà.

The sweet foil peeled off including the paper layer in one go..........

I was doing a happy dance and rushed downstairs where my

electro forming equipment is stationed. I read that electro etching

is the opposite from electro forming which I had done before, so

that shouldn't be a problem, I thought.

Electrolyte solution into the little plastic tub, some cello tape on

the back of the little copper square, a little hole in the square, some

copper wire thru the hole , the positive clamp onto the wire, the

negative one attached to the steel plate which was already put

into the plastic tub, and ...switch on the power.

This is the result of the first attempt, it was in the solution for

about 70 minutes, brass brushed, put thru a disc cutter and domed

(I wanted to check whether the pattern contorts when I dome it,

because I intended to do some earrings).

The etching did work, the surface wasn't as smooth as I expected,

the symbol wasn't as dominating as I intended and the etching not as

deep as I wanted ... but it worked.

Ok, to get the symbol more dominating, I filled it with help of photoshop.

Another printing and ironing session.

To make the etching deeper I increased the ampère and the time of

etching up to 3 hours.

Looking back, I think, I overdone it. What do you think?*gggg

The only thing that holds this poor abused disc together, is the cello

tape on its back.

What have I learned from the disc is, the ampere might have been

too high which consequently makes the etching way too aggressive

and the etching time was too long.

In the youtube clip the lady said something about etching between

2 and 4 hours. I presume she either worked with a thicker sheeting

or a lower ampère setting. Sadly she did not mention either, but that

would take the fun out of it anyway, wouldn't it *g.

Ok, next try. Less etching time to gain more insights, only 1 hour.

To be honest, I am still not pleased *g

Now the symbol is much too dominating, looks more like an angry

panda bear than a celtic knot. The etching is still way too aggressive.

So next time I will try the same span of time but a lower ampère setting.

I am anxious to see the result. Are you ?

SATEAM Blog Carnival

2010-11-28T12:00:00.001+01:00

Our SATEAM is doing another blog carnival.

Today our theme is a book review of our choice.

My choice is "Jewelry - two books in one" by Madeline Coles.

I bought the book a couple of years ago when I started my first

silver smith course. It has been a great help to me.

I did the sunflower bracelet shown on the cover and it was great fun.

The book contains 128 pages with lots of instructions, explanations

and photos.

It is divided in 4 parts themewise and actually in 2 parts physically.

It starts with a short "how to use the book", & continues with tools

and equipment (which was important to me being a newbie and

having no idea what tools I needed to get), the tools are shown with

photos plus explanations of how you can use them.

Next is a 2 page overview of materials that could be consumed in your

projects.

Ok and now the fun starts:

As mentioned the second part of the book is physically divided in

2 pieces, like a top book and a bottom one.

The top one is all about the projects and the bottom one refers to

the techniques that are used.

There are 23 projects in this book. Detailed instructions how to

make rings, necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets.

First you will see a picture about the end product, then a step

by step instruction of how to get there.

You are told about the materials you need, which tools you require

plus what techniques you will be using.

For example in the first project, a wax-carved ring, it states you

need to use techniques 1, 2, 3, 4. 5, 6 and 19.

Whilst having your project page open (top section) you can flip the

bottom section of the book over to see the technique related pages.

Very handy.

The techniques are, for example, basic stuff like sawing, filing and

anealing plus advanced techniques like making clasps, decorative

finishes and stone setting.

The book ends with a gallery and a very useful conversion

table plus a glossary just before the index pages.

All in all I personally think, it's a great book and I wouldn't be without it!

Please have a look at the other book reviews of my fellow team members.

http://danagonia-enc...uriosities.html

http://famileejewels...ed-Jewelry.html

http://thisnortherng...1/28/gemstones/

http://beadsophistic...al-book-review/

http://islandgirlsin...aded-beads.html

Hammered Sterling Silver Bangle

2010-11-13T18:06:00.005+01:00

Just finished annoying my family with my hammering.
This is the result.
A sterling silver bangle hammered from 3 sides made
from 3 mm wire which is a litte thicker than 9 ga.

It has spent 4 hours in my tumbler
and is nice and shiny. I like it *g

How it came to be

2010-10-31T13:00:00.012+01:00

Our SATEAM is doing a blog carnival

about the theme "how it came to be"

here is my story:

....actually it is all "popnicute's" fault *g,

thank you, Kay.

Many moons ago I read one of her posts in the Starving Artists Forum

.....she wrote about fusing something on some floor tiles.....

I didn't have the faintest idea what that could mean

Until then I never heard about the term "fusing" and

was amazed to find out that one could "solder" silver without

using actual solder. I couldn't get that thought out of my head so

I went to my good friend Amazon.de and found a book

about fusing (great book btw, Silver Wire Fusing

by Liz Jones), got some fine silver wire and started my torch.

I loved it and still do.

These were my first earrings

these ones I owe to popnicute aswell, cos I found

a little tut of hers how to fuse the hearts evenly.

Those ones were a project from the above mentioned book

and they are mine mine mine *g.

here some bracelets with fused links and balls.

Whenever I can I prefer using fusing (hey that rhymes *g)

instead of soldering, it looks much neater,

it is a wonderful technique.

Take a look at post of our SATEAM members

about this theme

http://famileejewels.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-blog-carnival-how-it-came-to-be.html

http://islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-it-came-to-be-starving-artist-blog.html

http://thisnortherngirl.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/mermaid-tears-%E2%80%A6-it-came-to-be/

our team blog http://starvingartiststeam.blogspot.com/

Mixed Metal Viking Pendant Odin

2010-10-23T12:23:00.005+02:00

May I show you a new pendant I made recently.

I felt inspired by my favourite series TrueBlood to create some

jewelry related to the vikings.

The back plate is a brass disc, the main core which is heavily

oxidized is 935 Sterling Silver, the balls 999 silver, the rings

925 Sterling Silver and the lima beans plus the tiny disc in the

middle made of copper. Do I have to point out that I like

mixing metals ? *g.

On the back I soldered on a little tube through which

I can thread a leather or rubber cord.

It took a long time to make it because I work with

a small torch but I think it was worthwhile.

Sateam Sale and Giveaway

2010-10-18T19:33:00.002+02:00

One of our members, the talented Dianne, has put together a little video

about the giveaway bracelet.

Please have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FK3HNOINdE

The SATEAM Xmas Sale

2010-10-16T09:55:00.006+02:00

Here some more news about our SATEAM Sale.

These are the participating shops:

Sateam Name - Etsy Shop (First Name)

Bonloulou10 - http://thefamileejewels.etsy.com (Bonnie)
Elegance and Sparkle - http://eleganceandsparkles.etsy.com (Wambui)
Caeterle - http://catswire.etsy.com (Cat)
Hiltmere - http://MeredithHiltDesigns.Etsy.com (Meredith)
Nicker - http://NValentineStudio.etsy.com (Nicole)
Danagonia - http://danagonia.etsy.com (Camilla)
CMY Designs - http://cmydesigns.etsy.com (Lynn)
Melusine - http://AlegriaDesigns.etsy.com (Marina)
Colla - http://colla.etsy.com (Colla)
Michele C - http://mcstoneworks.etsy.com (Michele)
Dianne - http://diannekargbaron.etsy.com (Dianne)
MmeMagpie - http://mmemagpie.etsy.com (Andrea)
Caelestis - http://featheredgems.etsy.com (Kathy)
Ness - http://beadupastorm.etsy.com (Ness)
Willowbranch - http://willowbranchmusings.etsy.com (Pam)
Beadyeyes - http://amdesignsbyangela.etsy.com (Angela)
TJR Jewellry - http://tjrjewellery.etsy.com (Tim)
rocknwow - http://rocknwow.etsy.com (Kevin)
BeadSire - http://beadsire.etsy.com (Caron)
DebbieD88 - http://beadlesandstones.etsy.com (Debbie)
Jacksmom - http://shinyadornments.etsy.com (Kristy)
Angie H - http://angiesjewelrydesign.etsy.com (Angie)
Aberwacky - http://TwiningVineDesigns.etsy.com (Leigh)
Galadryl - http://galadryl.etsy.com (Sylvia)
NicoleH - http://nicolehill.etsy.com (Nicole)
JulieR - http://northerngirljewelry.etsy.com (Julie)
LunaCatJewels - http://lunacatjewels.etsy.com (Diane)
Cassie - http://milenas.etsy.com (Cassie)
PrettyGirl17 - http://foryoudesigns.etsy.com (Tash)
Feeeefeee - http://RFefie.etsy.com Ramona)
Kadydid - http://kadydid.etsy.com (Kady)
Kadydid - http://RamblingRoseDesigns.etsy.com (Kady)
Beadorigami - http://beadorigami.etsy.com (Cindy)
Sophy - http://beadsophisticate.etsy.com (Carole)
Melissabeads - http://melissabeads.etsy.com (Melissa)

What are you waiting for? Come and have a look.

2010-10-14T15:05:00.002+02:00

Our team, the Starving Artists Team (SATeam) is having a sale and giveaway

which runs from 17 October to 28 November 2010 (on Etsy).

To find out more about who is participating, here is a list of shops - check them out!

http://www.etsy.com/people/SATEAM

More details about the gorgeous giveaway will posted shortly.

Sterling Silver and Copper Earrings with Texture

2010-10-10T15:11:00.004+02:00

Just finished a few pairs of earrings.

I used a disc cutter to receive nice round discs and domed them.

On those sterling silver disc I used a dremel to get the texture

Did the same with those copper ones. (I always use

sterling silver for the earwires, just don't like the

thought having copper through my ears *g)

On these discs I used a raw silk texture hammer,

before cutting and doming.

These ones came from a cuff I didn't like anymore,

the texture was made with help of a rolling mill.

All of them were lots of fun to create.