Cranial Meltdown Revived

It’s definitely time to start writing Gemstone of the Day articles again, and I thought I’d begin with a fairly well-known gemstone: onyx.
Onyx is a cryptocrystalline form of quartz. It occurs in pretty much any color you can imagine, and it is commonly banded. Onyx with red banding is called sardonyx. Solid black onyx is […]

It’s about 4 in the morning, and I’m just getting over a particularly bad migraine. Now that I’m feeling better, I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m feeling good, so I want to get some work done. Funny, huh?
I’m absolutely certain that I had something more interesting to write here, but it has escaped […]

Upcoming:
*If you need me to create a custom piece of jewelry in time for the holidays, please contact me to order as soon as possible!
*I plan to continue writing articles in my blog about various gemstones. Please comment below if there is a particular gemstone you’d like to know more about.
*I plan to start featuring […]

There has been a lot of talk lately (well, complaints really) about mistagging on Etsy, which results in wonky categorization and frustrating searches. I believe that most mistagging is done by people who do not understand how to use tags according to Etsy’s rules. I propose this very simple way of reducing mistagging on Etsy. […]

The latest addition to my Etsy shop are copper earrings and this lovely copper pendant (above). The copper earrings have a hammered texture and sterling silver ear wires. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I have hammering that texture into the metal.

Happy Tofurkey Day to all!

I now have 45 people signed up to participate in the Winter Beading Challenge. Yay!
I’m nowhere near capping it off, though, so there’s plenty of room if you’d like to join. The competition is open to absolutely anyone. Just purchase a bead set from my Etsy shop (just $10) and start crafting! The deadline […]

I haven’t had nearly as much time in the metal studio as I’d like, but I’ve still managed to complete a few new pieces, unlike anything I’ve offered before.
Above is a sterling silver ring with a twist pattern. I oxidized the silver, and then polished it to make the twist design shiny.
Below is a black […]

Yes indeed, the beads for the Winter Beading Challenge are available for sale in my Etsy shop now.
Each set is $10 and includes:
1 Swarovski baroque pendant, clear, 22×15mm
1 blue glass spoon pendant, 51×24mm
1 silvertone filigree pewter snowflake, 32mm
20 white Swarovski pearls, 6mm
17 crystal/lilac faceted Czech glass beads, 6mm
2 crystal/light blue faceted Czech glas beads, 6mm
15 […]

I have made a web page with all the info on the Winter Beading Challenge. It contains all the links you’ll need, and I’ll be adding information to the web page as the challenge goes forward. Please remember to bookmark it!
Also: I have found a judge for the contest! Christine Dhein from the Revere Academy […]

I’m here to announce that I plan to host a winter beading challenge!
It will be very similar to challenges previously hosted by Beads4You, and I have her blessing to continue the tradition while she is very busy in Australia.
Here’s the idea:
I assemble packs of beads that you can purchase (I plan to keep it around […]