New Texture has a name: Sands of Time

There is a certain level of enjoyment and anxiety about 'naming' a new ring design or texture. Some names were kind of a given, like my tree bark rings - they were "just" rings before they were wedding rings, so I didn't have any particular wedding thought in mind when naming them. Unlike the "Love Rocks" and the "Tooled w/ Love" rings. Then there is "Subtlety" who is in danger of having their name changed. I feel like it fits the rings, but is so irritating to type - and then I had a customer who even commented on it too! It's a mouthful and complicated - the exact opposite of what the rings are. I'm thinking I should just change the name to "Comfy Cozy" but not sure that would be the best either! haha!

For these new rings, an idea popped in to my head pretty quickly as to what the texture reminded me of. Maybe it was the fact the first ones I did were in yellow gold. Combined with a strong hint of ancient Egypt - and lots of sand. At first I was a bit against the idea of sand because it might make some people think the texture is from being sandblasted, which it isn't. But then someone commented that it did remind them of dirt or sand, which confirmed my thought, so I decided it would be fine.

When I was a kid my mom sometimes watched soap operas and I remember one "Days of our Lives" and the slogan was something to the effect of "Like sands through the hour glass, so these are the days of our lives" (in a deep throaty voice while the image of a big hour glass was on screen - think... early 90's soap opera cheese).

And I really liked the sentimentality of giant hourglass and the sand representing a couples life together, the grains being days or special memories shared together over the many years of their lives... thus... the name Sands of Time. Sweet huh? Little bit of ancient Egypt, loads of sand and a soap opera memory from childhood! And I'm totally in love with this texture. I hope loving couples are too - as this texture is SO fun to create!



And I also did a diamond prototype, for either an engagement ring or for a wedding band w/ a diamond (or a ring that someone wants to wear um, for whatever) It is a 4mm band w/ a 2mm diamond - super subtle and almost blends right in w/ the texture. I love it!



oh and did you notice the sandstone as my nature prop? clever huh? :)

The first listing is up and available here.

EMJC-PR 6.9 - bling

Running just a little behind... again! And I kind of feel like I cheated this week... just kind of. These were a custom order for a friend that I've been needing to make for a long time. And I finally made them this week. But I felt that everything about the challenge fit w/ these earrings. They pushed me very much outside of my comfort zone. Though to glance at them you might not think so. They are made from fused 14k palladium white gold. With the cost of gold the way it is, risking on fusing these little puppies was quite stressful. In fact, the first pair I made didn't turn out, so I made them in to a different pair of earrings. In addition - these were her diamonds, and the largest diamonds I've set to date. So yeah, overall, a scary pair of earrings to make, scarier than if I had just made them for fun! So all of that put together makes me think they are A. definitely bling, and B. something out of my comfort zone, annnd C. they fit in w/ the theme of all my other project runway pieces!! Oh and these are the earrings I made from the pair that didn't turn out. They are 14k palladium white gold and 22k yellow gold, all fused.

Comparison - sterling, 14k palladium white gold, 14k yellow gold

comparison
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I've been meaning to post this here for awhile, and today is the day!
Just wanted to show the comparison in color of the 3 metals I use most. These are shown without the patina, but give for better comparison of the true colors.

ant hill garnet and palladium white gold w/ patina

ant hill garnet and palladium white gold w/ patina
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

so things have been really busy - as you might have noticed in my lack of posting. I am finally starting to feel like I'm getting caught up. I still have.... well, a lot of work to do, but I've gotten over that hump of feeling completely overwhelmed. I opened my Etsy shop back up - I had decided to close it for a few days to give myself some breathing room. It really helped! Yesterday I completed some important projects I had been working on. This set included - the first tube setting in palladium white gold. I've done tube settings before, though just using ones that had been purchased. Since you can't buy tube settings in palladium white gold, I knew I had to make my own. And since the tubing existed - I figured I could do it. I had to do a practice one in sterling first and I think it turned out pretty fabulous!

Though oddly enough - I am finding that flush setting is easier for me. I was scared of it for so long and now when I have an extra few minutes I drill a hole in a discarded ring and throw a stone in just for extra practice! It revamps the ring and gives me more confidence in offering it to customers.



So, yup, I'm still really busy, but going to try to come back to a more balanced work load that includes at least a couple of blog posts a week!

Love rocks wedding bands - 14k palladium white gold

love rocks wedding bands - 14k palladium white gold
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

For right now, I've decided to keep the name the same - AND, I've finally gotten the palladium white gold set finished and photographed! They are hammered with 3 different hammers over several different courses. Just an extra little dimension beyond a simple hammered texture.

These are my favorite of the three metals and I don't know why it took me so long to get them done. Sometimes, the things I like most, I have the hardest time sharing I guess! You can check out more photos on flickr or the listing on etsy.