Blog — inspiration

I'm doing the 100 Day Project again this year! I had a great time last year doing #100daysofengraving and I really learned a lot from putting even five minutes a day into my practice. This year, I'm going to be exploring different ways of making texture of metal (think hammering, filing, engraving, etc.) and I'll be making finished pieces of jewelry with my texture explorations.  I sketched out some rough ideas for this collection using armadillo armor as my main inspiration. My first finished piece is a simple pair of stud earrings, and I think I'm going to make a...

I've been exploring a number of creative outlets outside of jewelry this year, including garment sewing, quilting, and painting. The Artist's Way recommends weekly "artist dates" to get in touch with your inner creative in a consistent yet low-key manner. For me, watercolor classes have been perfect for that! Here's a peek at a few things I've been working on this fall. plein air watercolor painting leaves and underbrush, done for my weekly watercolor class a tool roll I sewed for my watercolor brushes and drawing tools

This simple, minimal cushion-shaped pendant features a round kyanite gemstone surrounded with a hand-hammered stardust texture. Handmade, one-of-a-kind, and totally unique. Check out the recent page from my sketchbook where I started planning out some of these new pendants.

Another custom piece for my muse, Maria! We created this two-tone celestial bracelet using a moon-shaped stunner that she picked up at a local gem and mineral show. The backplate behind the center stone also has a star design, because you know I love to add special, secret details to my jewelry.

My very favorite necklace: a piece that celebrates my son, Michael. One of his sweetest and oft repeated phrases as a toddler was “See the moon?”. I designed a crescent moon pendant with three 8-pointed stars, one to represent each member of our family. This piece is reversible, too! The back of this pendant features a lock of Michael’s baby curls. After his first haircut, I had tucked a few locks of hair away in an envelope and wanted to place them somewhere I’d see them more often. This ended up being the perfect keepsake to display his baby curls. I...