Coppery goodness with a little brass thrown in

I’ve been starting to add more copper and brass into our Etsy shop and will hopefully have a bunch on display when the Saturday Market starts again in April. I even made a whole new Copper and Brass Jewelry section to our shop. Because we frustratingly only get to have 10 sections in our Etsy shop I had to combine the Ornaments and Hanging Vases into one section to make room for this new one.Etsy has been adding lots of new features to make selling easier lately. I really hope expanding the sections ability is high on their “to do” list.

This is a new design-Celtic Infinity Spirals Copper Earrings

 

The copper version of the Celtic Loops design. 

 

Big Copper Simple Hoop Earrings

I’ll be adding more brass versions of my designs. This is the

Celtic Budding Spiral Brass Earrings

Yin Yang Harmony Copper Shawl Pin / Hair Pin

I also finally got around to making this popular pin design in copper and brass too.

Yin Yang Harmony Brass Shawl Pin / Hair Pin

So much to do,so many ideas. It’s spring break this week so I’m planning lots of playdates and trying to keep things fun for the kids while trying to get stuff done too.We are in the midst of a typical Oregon spring rainy spell. The grass keeps growing but it’s too wet to get much mowing in. Happy Spring!

Sterling Silver Fancy Schmancy

I’ve been slowly adding sterling silver versions of my pin designs to the shop.This is the newest addition:

 

Celtic Double Swirls and Curls Sterling Silver Shawl Pin or Brooch

I started out making them in 12 gauge sterling silver wire but they were a little heavy and the wire is not as soft and easy to manipulate as my lovely aluminum. And now the price of silver has skyrocketed. So for many of the designs I’ve gone up a gauge to 14 gauge which keeps the price reasonable and the pin lighter and easier to make.

Stamping Helper Update

My son Henry the delegator figured out he could get his little brother to close the boxes after he stamps them.

 

And I have agreed to take him on as a minion worker

New Stamp and a New Worker

We finally ordered a custom stamp to stamp the top of the little jewelry boxes we send out jewelry in . It takes a little practice to get it right so I was hesitant when our 8 year old son Henry said he wanted to stamp boxes for me.

But he actually did a great job!

Last night he said he didn’t want to get paid for it. Today  he changed his tune when we were at the video game store and he remembered all the things he wanted. We’re working out a deal.

Our Family Vacation to Albuquerque

 

We took our first big family vacation this past week to visit my parents who live in Albuquerque New Mexico. My brother and his family met us there too.

It was Max’s first time on a an airplane.Unfortunately the turbulence was extreme the entire flight. It got even worse as we landed in Albuquerque during hurricane force winds.The kids started goofing around yelling “We’re going down! The wing is falling off!” Funny yet not so funny.The plane was rocking from the wind even after we landed and were disembarking.

 

This is Nick in full on flying anxiety mode. He is chomping on gum while trying not to whimper like a baby in front of his new friend Fred from Southie who was entertained by Nick’s constant chatting.

Albuquerque has an excellent aquarium.

  

Mom and Dad aka Fran and Joe at the zoo.

 

My family watching the chimpanzees. The chimps came right up to the window and plopped themselves down right next to us. We were maybe a foot away from them on just the other side of the plexi glass.

She then began to work on popping her man’s zit while their baby played. Then they gave each other a big hug.

 

We took the train through the Bio Park from the Aquarium to the Zoo.

The next day my Mom and I took the 4 kids on the Sandia Tram. The weather was perfect, calm and clear.

 

Henry and Max enjoying the view on the tram.

 

The next day we went to the Petroglyphs National Monument.

It was hard to tell which were the real petroglyphs and which were the graffiti made by the stupid morons who thought they should deface them for all posterity.

Cousins

The guys

Nick took this picture of all of us in Old Town.

Now we are home and catching up on work. Both of us have colds and are exhausted while the kids continue to run around like maniacs.

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

My sweet little Max wanted to get dressed up for his kindergarten class Valentine’s day Party.We got this perfect little suit at Goodwill for $8 a couple of weeks ago that he really liked.

Nick is on the way out to do errands. He has our packages to bring to the post office, checks in his front pocket to deposit at the bank AND our change chicken. What’s that you may ask? Doesn’t everyone have a change chicken? My lovely mother–in-law gave us the chicken that is actually supposed to be a cookie jar. It says “cock a doodle doo” randomly when you lift it’s head to open it. We use it as a change jar. Well it was filled to the brim so it was time to cash that sucker in. Hilarity always ensues when we bring it in to the bank. Our small town bank still uses a change counting machine.Sometimes you can hear the chicken singing “cock a doodle doo” in the back room as the change is being poured into the machine. Good times.

Three Lilac Light Purple Flowers

Recently my glass bead supplier stopped carrying the dark purple version of these lovely Czech glass flower beads that I use. So I bought a bunch in the lighter color that they had. This meant I had to take all new pictures. So that’s what I did. 

 

Little Lilac Purple Czech Glass Flower and Leaves Earrings

Single Stem Lilac Purple Glass Flower with Peridot Glass Leaves and Swirls Earrings

Vining Light Lilac Purple Flowers and Tendrils Sterling Silver Earrings

Feeling Spring yet?

New Brass and Copper Pins

I’ve been working on my plan to make all or most of our designs in copper and brass and add them to our Etsy shop.I added these yesterday.

  

Spiraling Full Circle Brass Shawl Pin or Brooch

Madonna Swirl Brass Shawl Pin or Brooch

Unfurling Tulip Lyre Brass Shawl Pin

Spiraling Full Circle Copper Shawl Pin or Brooch

Dancing Waves and Swirls Copper Shawl Pin / Hair pin or Brooch

I was experimenting with some new books to use as props for the photos. Nick was sick in bed that day with a cold and I didn’t want to wake him up and get the usual books I use that I keep in the bedroom. Luckily our house is overrun with books as anyone who has seen it will attest to. So I was able to come up with some new variations on my theme.And once again it was a perfect overcast day for taking photographs with my particular camera too.

Hearts Galore

I’ve been a busy little beaver adding lots of copper and brass into the shop. This week in keeping with the Valentines day theme I added these Spiral Love Heart Pins and the Pendant.

 

Spiral Love Heart Brass Shawl Pin or Brooch

 

Spiral Love Heart Copper Shawl Pin or Brooch

Celtic Heart and Spirals Copper Pendant

It’s been a whole new learning experience working with copper and brass. They are significantly harder than silver and aluminum which makes the noise louder when I hammer the wire. I’m kind of a weirdo and like hammer with my little anvil on my thigh. I realized that after a few months of doing this with the copper and brass that my thigh was feeling sore. I am probably slowly chipping away little fractures into my thigh bone. So I now put a bunched up sweater on my thigh under the anvil to buff the blows of the hammering. Nick tells me that jewelers in India traditionally use their legs to work metal with so I’m probably not all that weird.It just feels like a natural more controlled way to manipulate the wire than hammering on a bench. And less noisy.

This is a picture from 2008.

Kitty Love

I promise not to make this one of those sappy kitty blogs but Valentine’s Day is approaching and love is in the air.

Mrs.CuteKitty (named by the kids of course) arrived on our porch last year. She came in through the cat door, started pooping in the litter box in the laundry room and declared her love for Fidel.

They are banned to the laundry room and great outdoors  because Fidel thinks our house is his personal litter box. I did acquire a new found respect for Fidel the other day when I saw him actually in the litter box attempting to use it. Unfortunately his body is in it while his butt is out of it and he misses completely. But at least now I know he’s giving it a good try. He still can’t come in the house though.

Brass, Copper Sterling Silver

Now the Trinity Clover Simple Hair Sticks or Shawl Pins depending on your needs are available in our shop in:

 

Brass

 

Copper

Sterling Silver

Last year I started playing more with brass and copper and I’m so glad I did. I’m now in the process of adding every shawl pin design and lots of our our jewelry designs into the shop in brass and copper. With the extreme rise in sterling silver prices it’s great to have other less expensive options to work with. And new colors too!I still haven’t quite figured out how to get my photos of copper to get that deep orange look without the glare. Photography is always a challenge eh?

Keeping it simple

 

I had a customer request this design as  a simple stick pin before the holidays. It’s really such a simple idea  and that’s what I love about it.

Trinity Clover Loops Aluminum Hair Stick / Shawl Pin

 

It works great as a shawl pin or a hair stick

It’s super light weight aluminum but I’ll be adding the copper, brass and sterling silver versions into the shop very soon.

Sometimes simple is best eh?

A long overdue blog post

Merry Christmas! Happy Chanuka! and of course…

Happy New Year!

We did eventually get a Christmas tree so the boys don’t still have to stand there.

Right now our Etsy shop is missing a lot of things. We are enjoying a short vacation and will get back to work again soon refilling our shop. I’ve got lots of new ideas too to work on…