Ring from Norsola

56/365
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I got a new ring!!! And I love it! It fits perfect and it goes great with my nebula ring - and for some reason, I feel like I have to wear them together. I was really hesitant for a long time about wearing anyone else's jewelry besides my own. But once i started getting pieces from my friends, I can't stop!! It also makes wearing jewelry more fun. I also really like how my hand looks in this photo.... its that hand modeling thing I guess! Check out her shop for more fantastic pieces!! I also got this necklace too.

600!!!!!!!!!

600!!!!!!!!!
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

wooohooo!!!! I was so excited that I got to 600 so quickly - it seemed like the distance between 400 and 500 was so long! I'm very thankful for the busy spring and beginning of summer I have had!

Athfest '08

athfest08
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

So I'm finally starting to feel all caught up... well getting there anyway. and I wanted to share a few of the highlights from Athfest this past weekend.

It totally wore me out! But the fact that I'm not a night owl doesn't help - I didn't get home until Midnight on Friday (set up at noon, but didn't start til 5:00), 11:30pm on Saturday (set up at 11:00) and a bit after 9:00pm on Sunday (set up at noon) and i start to feel tired just thinking of it! ha ha!!!

Anyway - the exciting bits!!! I made lots of sales - it was fantastic! And that is always a good thing!!

I won honorable mention again!! I did last year too and was really hoping that I would get at least that again - the jurors were different, so you never know. But its so validating to have someone appreciate your work and give you an extra $100 for it!!! Very Happy Times. I was so excited that one of the other artists thought I must have one Best of Show! haha! nope, just excited to win anything!

AND..... Someone recognized my logo from etsy!!! This is really exciting b/c over the past year I have worked on trying to create a "brand" not just recognizable jewelry style, but a logo, colors, etc. A gal was walking by and stopped and said "Are you on Etsy? I recognized your cards" (which have my logo on it)!! How excited was I??

Lots more people had heard of etsy this year which was great. I gave out lots of the EtsyMetal brochures (even though they are a little out of date, they are still fabulous) And I have some Etsy promo stuff that I gave out too - little education can go a long way!

Overall it was just a fabulous weekend. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was last year, high 80's instead of near 100. I blacked out last year for a little bit b/c I got so hot. Totally fine this year, partially b/c the guy who was the art coordinator put me and my friend Monica Jones in the shade!! We were under a tree and had shade allll day! It was amazing!!! Its also fun b/c its actually more of a music festival and there are bands playing on two different stages (alternating between the two) all day long - and we were right in between the two stages, so we could hear them really well and got all the traffic of lookers between the two stages.

But i can say for sure that I am tired of talking to people - my voice even started to get raspy by Sunday from being so chatty.... I worked hard to be upbeat even when I was getting tired.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello!!

Hi there!

Hi there!
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I love spiders. I really do - I love that they eat other bugs that bite me. They are crafty artists who spin gorgeous webs - and many for the most part, are just really pretty. I do have a No touch, No bit policy though. I won't touch you, you don't bite me. It works out great!

I was working on my tent set up for this coming Athfest weekend. We have a bunch of cinder blocks that form this kind of wall thing that I've always hated, and I thought "I'll just grab a couple of those to strap to the legs! This one was my first choice as it is solid - no holes like the standard cinder block. Well, She thought it was the best one too. I'm really thankful that I tilted it up first to see what might have been lurking underneath it, instead of just picking it straight up. Oh so glad I did. Though she really wasn't interested in me in the least. I decided to do some research on my friend the Black Widow. Come to find out - they rarely eat their mates! What a bad name they've gotten and its not even all that true. They are really poisonous, but the % of people that die is something like 1%... sooo... don't more people die from bee stings?

I put her back down how she had been safely wedged between the ground and ye old cinder block. I don't bother you, you don't bother me. Course if she wants to take a picture of me, I'll happily pose for her.

Charm Swap!

charm swap day 1
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

In EtsyMetal land - we are having a charm swap! I was in charge of collecting all the charms from everyone (from all over the world they came!) and then dividing them all up and sending them all out again!

It was quite a mess as you can see. Though it looks crazy and unorganized, it really wasn't. Even though I did put two of one in the same bag - I got it all squared away and triple checked all of them as I was packaging them up!

And a fun thing happened - I was thinking " I need loads of bubble wrap - I don't want to buy any!" And then we bought a new grill (very fun, yum yum - grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms) and there was LOADS of bubble wrap in the box! It was perfect! huge sheets of it ready to be reused and sent on. Most of the envelopes were recycled too!

And the charms are oh so exciting! I am going to make a necklace w/ mine - but haven't had time!

Why no time? ATHFEST! come see me this weekend - Fri, Sat, Sun on Washington St in downtown Athens! I'm crazily getting ready - so come and see all my hard work and how its (hopefully) paid off!

Finally!

organic vine w/ pearls
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I've had some pearls sitting around for months that I had gotten from my EtsyMetal friend Rachael Sudlow. They were perfect in every way except for the fact that they weren't making themselves in to earrings! And I sure didn't have the time, I was just hoping they were a bit magical. Well, maybe the are magical, but not in that way. But once I got my hands on them, they made for some great earrings. Though they don't have to be wedding earrings - I think they are quite perfect for that special day. Oh and you can get them in my Etsy shop of course. Just listed!

Tip #1

tip #1
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

head on over to the EtsyMetal blog to check out our new series of tips - this is just the first one!!!

More Gold!

14k y gold vine and leaf rings
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

These sweet little 14k y gold vine and leaf rings are special for a couple in Japan. I love how they turned out and I do so like working with gold. Each vine and leaf ring are handmade in wax and cast in my studio. so every one is unique and is made to order! I currently have them available in my shop in sterling, but will now have photos to create a Custom Order listing for gold! I had done one in rose gold, but totally forgot to take a photograph of it! eep! So unfortunately, no record of it.

14k tree bark ring

14k tree bark ring
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

Oh how I have waited to actually cast one of these! And finally! I had some left over gold bits from a few different commissions, so I melted them all together to make this ring. Its mostly peach gold and then had a little yellow and rose mixed in - which just made it even more peachy! I love melting metal! And gold really is a joy to work with and once I forget about how much it actually costs - its really just metal! Of course, when I'm filing or grinding I do save all the dust! That dust adds up and can be melted to a few casting grains which add up to at least part of a pennyweight!

I hope I get some commissions from doing this one b/c I really like how it looks and would love for someone else to pay for me to play with some more gold!

palladium white gold dandelion wishes

palladium white gold dandelion wishes
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

first one of these in palladium white gold and I am super happy with how it turned out! And I do so like working with it. The texture just looks so lovely and the metal looks expensive! (maybe thats just b/c I know it is...) And its a custom order... b/c I couldn't have afforded to just make it on my own! Hope he's happy with it!!

for my mom

for my mom
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I finally finished this pendant for my mom, just in time for mother's day! (I did actually get the pendant done in time, but was waiting til she had it to blog about it... then i forgot! oops!)

It is fossilized palm - which is totally fascinating to me. I love fossilized woods and how they are so unique and organic. Most palm is a tan color - as you'd kind of expect - but this one was this gorgeous light blue. So of course, being one of my favorite colors, I had to get it. And that was about 4 years ago. I wanted to do a piece for my mom, so I let her pick out which stone was her favorite and this one was of course! And then it sat and sat. I worked on one setting that was vetoed by both her and myself. And then it sat for another few years. Until I finally got it all together and created this piece! And i was extremely excited with how it turned out. Its one of those pieces that I feel really expresses the sort of jewelry I would love to make all the time. I (pretty obviously) have difficulty in sitting down and slowing down enough to concentrate on a single piece. Even though I was still working on two or three other things while I was working on this! Better than the 8 or 10 I usually have going.

It is fused and soldered Argentium, fine, and sterling silver. Each kind of silver does a little something different, so they all have their place in my work. This piece makes me happy, but most importantly, it made my mom really happy. She loved it and it made me so glad to hear that in her voice. Hopefully it was 4 years worth waiting for!

3000

3000
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

yippee!!!! Such a nice round number - thanks so much to all my 3000 hearts!!! All that etsy love just makes me smile :)

Front Page 6.2.08

front page 6.2.08
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

yeah!!!! I was on the front page - it'd been a little while and in fact, I haven't been in all that many treasuries so imagine my delight when I saw my earrings on the front page! yeah!

and I'm so close to 3000 hearts, I just might make it there today!
pretty front page too, love the color palette!