Jen’s Blog

I made the first of these lariats as a gift for a young friend, and I was surprised at how much her friends liked it (and wanted their own!) - she’s 15 years old and I hadn’t thought it was “cool” enough. Turns out it was.  

And then her girlfriend’s mom wanted one. It reminded me that sometimes a pretty, lightweight necklace like this, with just a touch of color, can be a winner.

It looks great with a tank top, but hey, wouldn’t it also work with that longsleeved shirt you wear to the, you know, office?

It’s a necklace. It’s a bracelet. Yes, I know you can often wrap a necklace around your wrist - but this one is MADE to be worn either way. The sterling silver chain detaches and the nuggety mainpiece can be worn independently as a bracelet. Or can be attached to other pieces of your own jewelry. so can the chain - wear it however you like. It’s pretty cool. Icy cool, you might say.

Etsy is a great showcase for handmade indie goodies and I have a shop there for some one of a kind jewelry, a few “artist’s samples” (the original of a series) and a few other goodies - I love to try new things and Etsy’s a fabulous place for that! For instance, I bet you won’t find a Blue Squirrel pin in too many mainstream shops. You think?

Cheerful Blue Squirrel Pin My shop’s at Weekend Jewelry on Etsy….And if you go to my shop there and make an order, mention Jen’s Blog and you get a free gift!

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Purple Pink and Orange is a wonderful indie boutique, full of accessories, art, jewelry, handbags, toys, and other wonderful handmade goodies - and now they’re closing! We’ll be sad to see it go, because it is a fun place to shop - and such good deals! Well the good deals are even better now - Amy is marking products down like crazy. You might as well take advantage of this wonderful opportunity - go there and shop!

We wish Amy well and know that she’ll take her hard-won knowledge, savvy, and sense of fairness to her next endeavor. But meantime…check out the super bargains!

I’ve recently bought my first blue topaz gemstone beads, and I am madly in love with them. Blue topaz, whether “London blue” (rich and deeper in tone), “Swiss Blue”, “Aqua Blue”, or just “Blue”, is gorgeous. It’s rated 8 on the MOHs scale, where diamond is a 10 and opal, for example, is 5.5 - opal is quite soft. Anyway, topaz is harder than many semi-precious stones, and can be brilliantly faceted - which is one reason it’s so costly. In my opinion it’s totally worth it - finely faceted stones are such a marvel. The blue is usually an enhanced color - topaz in its natural state is clear to yellowish. Lovely also, but not that scintillating, lovely blue. That color comes about after the stone is irradiated - and no, it is not “radioactive” and will not harm you in any way. And it’s not dyed, so the color won’t come off. Here’s a lovely necklace that’s made for a young girl, perhaps a flower girl, or communion present? Or just a special treat. The stones are tiny, only about 5-6mm long each, so the whole “flower” pendant is only about a half-inch wide.

Now isn’t that fit for a princess!

But I bring all this up for two reasons - one, to show off the new pretties I made with my scarce new blue topaz (see above) and two, to mention that if somebody is offering blue topaz for extremely low prices (say $10 for a strand or something) - well, just exercise a little caution. It might be clear quartz, dyed blue, and might also be pretty - in which case that’s fine, as long as you don’t pay “topaz” prices. But also, some of the very low-cost “topaz” (quartz) really is dyed - and the color will wash off.

The beautiful stones I bought are real topaz. They are not dyed, they are irradiated - there’s a difference in the color, truly. And I did try the wash test - with paint thinner and acetone, and even dish soap - some of the above-referenced quartz washes off, just like that! Does it seem strange I’d mention this stuff? I don’t think it is, truly. There is a lot of “buyer beware” stuff out there, and when I use good stuff - and charge accordingly - the least I can do is try to be sure it’s the best, AND to let you know some of the pitfalls to watch out for!

Hey, guys wear jewelry too. Not a lot, maybe, and not flashy - but guys like ornament too, especially if it’s something cool and honest. Case in point: unstained wood rondelles, brass spacers without a lot of foofrah. This one’s a hit:

  Man’s Necklace in Wood

Or, he can always go for the Animal Claw look - without the bloody hunting. I’ve got three to choose from right now: Man’s Necklace with Gunmetal Chain and White Claw and Man’s Necklace with Black and White Claws

and Man’s Necklace with Black Agate Claws

Let’s say it’s for the “urban tiger”. I like that.

I don’t know what the Fashion Superstars are saying this year - but I know what people like.  Black IS “the new black” this year. There’s a reason that black is the touchstone by which jewelry colors are measured - other than silver or gold, it is the most requested color, year round, on a consistent basis. Black always goes with what you’re wearing. Black can be dressy or casual, sophisticated or punk. Black looks great with pale skin, dark skin, or a summertime tan (make it a fake tan, please, cause that’s smarter!)

And it always looks good. Case in point:

  Black and Silver Lariat Necklace

It always looks good, always fits, and you’ll love the versatility!

And take a look at this    fun bracelet in black and silver and white and tan - neutrals that look good all year round. It can be sized just for you, of course.

And, of course we have coordinating earrings, like these    Black Agate Briolette Earrings in black and sterling silver, and these    Black Agate Feather Earrings to coordinate with the lariat necklace shown above.

Now you KNOW that these would go with the favorites in your closet!

I’m being tempted to make some fun wrap bracelets - you know, the ones that start with Memory Wire. They can be so much fun - and they always fit - and no fumbling with a clasp! I know they’re pooh-poohed sometimes (where *does* that expression come from?) probably because they’re simple. Or they can be. But they can also be fabulous and good-looking and a real statement piece.

The first wrap bracelet I’ve put online is a shimmering cuff of rose quartz, faceted glass, czech aurora borealis faceted rounds, a pretty clear glass heart and a faceted rose quartz brio - take a look. Frankly I think it’s gorgeous - and it’s on sale!

Here’s another view of the bracelet - another way to see the layers in the bracelet

The colors are very Spring!

So yesterday was one of those days. Okay, it was a Monday. And among other things for me that means shopping and chores - grocery, drugstore, pet stuff.  And it was time to clean up around here. Top on the list:  cleaning the guinea pig cage. This is a once a week project (sometimes more) and basically involves sweeping out from under the (raised, large) cage, emptying the 4″ deep x 4′ long x 24″ deep bottom tray, dumping the newspapers and pine shavings (and guinea pig poop) into a garbage bag, cleaning the whole thing, replacing the (etc - except for the poop - Tommy supplies that), giving Tommy (the guinea pig) carrots for a treat, making sure his water is fresh, etc.

All this work is done under the direct supervision of Willy and Zini (our Quaker Parrot and Sun Conure), whose cage is directly alongside and who treat the top of Tommy’s cage (a solid surface, two feet above the bottom of the cage) as their personal playground. Zini especially has been known to climb down from her cage and walk around and step into the middle of things, just to keep an eye on things.

I’m through with the first step - emptying all the mess including newspaper pages, pine shavings and poop, into a garbage bag - when I realize my wedding ring has fallen off. Somewhere. I assume i would’ve noticed if it happened very long before that - so chances are good that it’s IN the garbage bag full of, well, you know.

I was very methodical. I was not upset. I was very careful. I couldn’t find it. I was so SLOW in searching that an hour later my DH came home and saw what i was doing and took over the (yucky) job.  He couldn’t find it either. He decided to use the scientific method and dumped all the messy bits (not the newspaper) into a large bucket, took it outside, filled it with water, and began to sift and pan for Gold.  Hey, it worked in 1849….

He didn’t find it. And it was COLD outside.

Meanwhile I”m inside telling myself that I am NOT such a dork that my ring would fall off and I wouldn’t notice. Could I be? So:  be logical.  Where else was I this afternoon, exactly, and where else could it be?  I was beginning to get just a teensy bit upset.

– and the logic (ha!) worked.  (Helped by a suggestion from DH, but you can’t have everything). I took out all the shopping bags from my grocery shopping - yes, I’m sorry, I use the plastic ones sometimes (we bag up cat litter in them) — and there it was, sitting in one of the grocery bags.

At least I found it. And my DH was terrific about it.  He hardly rubbed it in at all. (He did add that I owed him ten …. um, I think I’ll leave that part out) - and he was right.

But I found it. And have since made my own sort of “ring guard” out of gold-filled wire (don’t carry the karat stuff usually) so it fits just a wee bit more snuggly.

I’m sure there’s a moral in there. Somewhere.

These were first made as flower girl earrings. They’re wonderful for her, because they’re tiny and delicate. But I liked them so much I made a pair for myself and frankly, I just love them. Sometimes you don’t want long dangling earrings, you want old-fashioned (but not really!) feminine little trinkets that make you feel girly and pretty. These are perfect that way.

Notice how the little czech “flower” cups reflect colors! They’re actually clear with an “aurora borealis” finish, so they pick up colors and twinkle and reflect them. Quite lovely! The pearls in this pair are white, but they’d be terrific in pink, or some other soft color, too. And they’re a bargain - they’re on my Special Sales page and only $15.00! At that price it’s easy to indulge yourself…or indulge your flower girl!