finally....some new items up in the shop

new growth , a photo by wildflowerdesigns on Flickr.

i have been the most negligent etsy shop owner this past year.
between church, school, and sports i have had a difficult time sitting down and cranking out completed pieces.
even when i am able to work on a piece from start to finish, i do not make the time to properly photograph it and list it on etsy.
over the next week or so i will be trying to create listings for the pieces i have been able to complete over the past 6 mos. or so.

lots of sparkles

chicory
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

have i mentioned how much i am enjoying playing with faceted gemstones of all kinds??
i have several pair of post earrings and several necklaces being added to the shop now.

the talented emily

Blog Giveaway Piece
Originally uploaded by emily.pearleverlasting

my friend emily of pearleverlasting is having a blog giveaway.
some of you may have seen my facebook post.
if not, i will repeat myself here.
please go directly to her etsy shop and buy many, many things, but please do not enter the giveaway.
i want to snag that necklace for myself.

4 whole years

potter's clay
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

that's right people, the etsymetal street team has been up and running for 4 years.
to celebrate we are giving away 4 $50 gift certificates which are redeemable at any etsymetal member's shop.
to find out how to enter the giveaway, go here.
to find what you want from my shop when you win the giveaway, go here.

pricing is not so black and white

blackbird - reversible
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

jess over at rosy revolver wrote a fantastic post on what goes into pricing a piece of handmade jewelry.
rather than attempt to be as thorough and well-written as she, i will just link to her original post.
read it here

finally, finally.....shop update

dahlia
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i feel so ridiculously slow and embarrased that it has taken me this long to add anything new to the shop.
i have had little time to make and create, but i have had time.
i have probably two dozen pieces that are making it into the shop both this week and next.
among these pieces are a handful of necklaces, lots of earrings, and a couple of rings.
the colors and styles of the pieces will vary greatly since they were made over several months time.
these earrings are some of my favorites and i can barely stand to let them find a new home.

yay, faceted stones!!

lavender
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

there are not many options for local classes and two children limit things even more.
so i play, i experiment, and i yell when things work and when they don't.
often, this allows me to push and even ignore boundaries that others cannot.
for a while i have wanted to add faceted stones to my work, but it seemed so scary to me.
i have admired so many of my peers and how they have been able to set almost any stone imaginable, but i figured that would never be me.
but now it is!!!!
i am not taking about tube setting either; i completely fabricated these settings from scratch.
now that i have done it once, i plan on adding even more sparkle to my collection.

(oh, these will be the least expensive pair because i got a sweet deal on the stones!!)

another necklace

mushroom
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i am finally making a little bit of time for projects i want to work on
and not just the etsymetal challenges.
i rarely do mixed metal pieces, but i think this one turned out just perfect.
i am excited to introduce more copper into my pieces.
the stone is another phantom quartz and i have a handful of these left to play with.

find the specimen necklace here

project runway jewelry challenges are back

project runway jewelry challenge
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i first have to say how excited i am that another season of project runway is underway.
i really get a kick out of watching the show for both the impressive and horrible designs.
then, i really get to push myself to create new and sometimes innovative pieces with other members of etsymetal.

for the first challenge, the focus was on the number five.
i chose to incorporate five elements that i really love to use in my pieces.
*flowers -- this necklace features both my tiny cut-out flowers and pierced flowers hidden behind the mexican lace agate cabochon
*cabochons -- this necklace incorporates both the itty bitty round cabs that can be found throughout my work as well as a lovely detailed mexican lace agate cabochon
*handmade chain -- this necklace has me wanting to play with handmade chain again
*oxidized silver -- this necklace, well, you can see that its black along with so much of my other work
*monochromatic colors -- this necklace focuses on the red tones in the mexican lace cabochon, something i usually do with enamel, but may be expanding upon since it worked so well with stones

you can find the other entries of both other etsymetal members and guests here

etsymetal's secret santa

secret santa
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

every year etsymetal (well, rachael or maggie) have organized a secret santa jewelry swap.
we all write down our sizes and then wait for our assignment.
this year i was very excited to make something for someone i have known for several years and whose work is very inspiring.
i wanted to make something in my style that she would enjoy.
now i will just have to wait for her gift to arrive....

working, working, working

minis
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i have been very busy lately getting ready for chimneyville.
i am trying to be very thorough.....
making flower earrings, making post earrings, making enameled minis, making big rings, making little rings, making necklaces...... you get the picture.
we'll see if it all pays off in a few short weeks.

find enameled minis here

bling

project runway challenge
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

after admiring maggie j and sara westermarks hollow form rings, i knew i wanted to make one.

this week's project runway challenge was to make a show stopper that was sparkly and shiny.
i thought this would be the perfect opportunity to combine some modern metalwork with my new rose cut gems.
this ring was fabricated from scratch and features two green amethyst gems.
i plan on exploring hollow form rings more in the future.

to see more bling, check out the etsymetal blog.

project runway challenge

project runway challenge
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

this week's challenge was to select a movie genre (western, film noir, period piece, sci-fi, or action adventure and to create a costume for a character of your own creation.
i wanted something that would be a challenge in both the story aspect and the actual 'costume' so i choose sci-fi.
the ring itself was a challenge because it had many solder joints and i only use hard and medium-hard solder.
(i am much too rough on my jewelry to use anything else.)
everything went together just as i had planned and nothing melted unless it was planned.
the ring itself belongs to a wandering alien (for lack of a better word.)
she does not feel at home in any one place and chooses to explore far away galaxies.
thus, the ring is weathered and worn in appearance.
at the uppermost point is a star ruby that extends from its hollow base and is used as a homing device when she is ready to be whisked away to the next mysterious world.

to see other pieces for the challenge check out the etsymetal blog.

i am back at the bench

at the beach
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

and participating in etsymetal's project runway jewelry challenge.

this week the challenge was to make something surf inspired.
i am not a surfer and immediately thought of the beaches at home.
this mammoth cocktail ring consists of a huge coral cabochon set in a handmade bezel.
it is accented with hand cut and filed beach grass and tiny fine silver grains of sand.
everything rests on a double band which also features a couple of fine silver grains of sand.

hopefully, i will be able to continue participating in the challenge.
it was nice to create something a little out of my comfort zone and to see how the other talented metalsmiths interpreted the challenge.

see some of their work here:

metalriot
bijougirl
Kathryn Riechert
Sara Westermark
experimetal
rubygirl
Cynthia Del Giudice

Nina Gibson designs
Beth Cyr

i am here and working

Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

i am still creating new things; those things are just getting more complicated.
i love it and hate it all at the same time.
i feel like i am growing up and making some really nice things that are really me.
but when it takes 2 weeks to complete a necklace, it can get a little discouraging.

in the pic are: 2 pendants, 1 ring, 1 ring set, one handmade chain with flower details.
most of the pieces are waiting on me to finish some of my small (1/2 inch) flowers that will be accenting them and some just need a few stones set.

ms craftsmans' guild

petal necklace (to be named)
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

the official deadline is next friday (i think) but the deadline for me is even closer.
i am going on vacation to visit my bro and ryan's bro. so, i have to get things together a week sooner and this is becoming more complicated as the days tick away.
i haven't totally decided on the three pieces that i will submit and that will determine what pics i use.
i got some of my pics back today and 4/6 were usable which means that i have to reshoot a few tomorrow during possible rain.
why, oh why do things have to be so complicated??

on a more accomplished note, i did finally finish getting the awful wallpaper out of my kitchen with the help of a friend and was able to paint a closet.

a busy work week

163/366
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

this week i put everything else aside and worked on some jewelry ideas that i had floating around in my head:
several rings, several pairs of earrings, and two fantastic pendants.

i hope to have some up in the shop sometime tomorrow if not sunday.