Jewelry and Cats!

The title reflects the state of my life at the moment: jewelry and cats! Cluny and Cuervo are adapting to life in the city; I had almost forgotten what high-maintenance cats they are! (I wouldn't have it any other way). Cuervo will come and sit on the floor and look up at me when I'm working; he can do this for 15 minutes without moving. If I talk to him briefly without getting up, he will start talking to me - and he's anything but brief. He doesn't need food or water or even a treat usually; he wants to play! He wants to run around in circles after a furry "mouse" that has been attached to a long rope, and no, he cannot play by himself, I must twirl it around or run with it. If I persist in working, he will walk away and then come back dragging the rope from his mouth and drop it at my feet. Cluny wants to be petted or brushed constantly or at least talked to; luckily both cats do love their naps!
I have been able to make jewelry though. Above is an aquamarine bracelet made from some great new aquamarines I've just gotten in. The aquamarines are a beautiful blue colour with almost no inclusions at all. The bracelet above also has some of Robin Weber's gorgeous lampwork beads. Below are some aquamarine earrings made with the same aquamarines!
Below the earrings are a lapis bracelet and an ankle bracelet made with sterling silver and iolites (also known as water sapphire). I'm trying to find all the pretty iolite that I can, but it is hard to come by.
On to the antique style jewelry: below, an art deco style pendant with rhinestones hangs from a crystal and gold necklace. The next necklace features a gold cameo studded with light aqua rhinestones.


Below is another gold cameo in an unusual shape surrounded by four vintage opal cabachons on gold filigree. The light pink and opal lined beads that make up the necklace are a perfect complement to the opals.



A necklace with two cupids and aqua rhinestones on some of my favorite antique gold filigree. The clasp is an old favorite: a crouching cat pawing a ball of yarn.




Above, a modified cross shape with clear and pink Swarovski stones dangles Swarovski beads with vermeil accents. Below, a vintage swirl has a vintage opal cabochon in the center and has little Swarovski dangles.

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The Long Road Home

It's been a very, very busy week, and I'm hoping to catch up on everything in all my lives, work, personal, domestic.... I drove over 800 miles to Arkansas without stopping for the night by myself and then back here to Virginia with my husband (who did the driving this time). If you look at the bottom of the page, you'll see my two reasons for that long drive - Cluny and Cuervo! I don't have a lot of jewelry to show today because of the trip, but I found time to make a turquoise bracelet with some wonderful Sleeping Beauty turquoise faceted nuggets that I just got in. I wanted to showcase the nuggets, so I only used 3 and accented only with sterling silver. The beautiful blue of the Sleeping Beauty is enough to hold its own! Below is a pair of amethyst earrings; they are gem-quality briolettes and hang from my favorite sterling earwires.

More of the antique jewelry line I've been working on is below. The first is an antique-style necklace with dark bronzey coloured filigree and a large peachy gold rhinestone backed by a dark circle of mother of pearl. The chain is a bar style that matches the filigree. The second necklace also makes use of the bronzey-coloured filigree. Here it is enlivened by crystal rhinestones and Swarovski crystals in Pacific opal; there's real sparkle, but it's sedate enough to wear during the day.


Finally here are my two travellers, who by the way, did exceedingly well on their first car trip ever (except for those short ones to the vet). They were absolutely wonderful, once we got them into their carriers. By the second day on the road, they had figured out that they weren't going to get shots at the vet, so the car ride was quite uneventful. They napped in the car and got back in their carriers whenever we stopped. Although only one of us got out at a time and we always left the car running, I was terrified that one of them would slip out the car door and run away into some field behind a service station. But they were perfect angels and now are trying to adjust to life on the sixth floor of an apartment building!

Above, Cluny with his tiger stripes on white fur and blue, blue eyes, and below, Cuervo, resting from the long car trip.
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