Newest Listings

These two rings are the newest additions to my Etsy.com shop.

Hammered Ring With A Twist
Not the typical hammered ring, this sterling silver ring started as 2 wires twisted together. After forming the band an hammering it opens the twist to create a beautiful flowing pattern.

Braided Sterling Ring

This ring was hand braided from 18 gauge sterling silver wire. Yes, the braiding for this style of ring does give me hand cramps after a while ;) It is a great style for men or women.

I have found the hardest part of what I do is the photographing and writing descriptions. I end up taking anywhere from 20-80 photos of each piece and then have the arduous task of narrowing that down to just 5. Sometimes I like more than 5 and it is hard to choose, other times I end up with only 2 or 3 that look good and I have to re-shoot them. Then there is the writing of descriptions... some days the Muses are with me and other days I just blank on what to say. But I like to think with each listing I learn a bit and that will improve future my future listings.

A Glimpse Into My World

Since I enjoy seeing how things are made and where they come from I figured today I'd give you a glimpse into my world. I don't have a traditional studio yet, we are still working on getting the basement cleaned out so I can set up shop down there, so for now I work in different parts of the house. My cutting is all done in our book room.

My cutting bench with a few of the pieces I am working on. Ok so the cutting bench is really a bed side table I have had for years but after moving in with my hubby there really wasn't any other use for it. Yes that is the hand saw that I use for cutting all of my pieces with its tiny blade. Today I cut some of the Ogham pendants seen in that photo. The Ogham pendants I am working on are Peace, Permanent, and Truth.



Once I have the designs cut I remove the paper and put it on the side of a shelving unit in the living room. I like having my previous designs where I can see them and it confuses people when they come to visit ;)

















The three Ogham pendants after they were cut, given the brushed texture for the back, and the paper design was removed. I have yet to file the edges, sand the pieces, and polish them.

Abstract Play

I decided to play around with abstract designs the other day. Instead of melting down the odds and ends pieces of metal that have been collecting on my work bench for casting I chose some of the interesting shapes and set to playing. After a little bit of refining to their shapes I set to hammering and forming bails. The results were some beautiful new copper pendants. They are already listed in my etsy.com shop.

Latest Finished Pieces

I finished up 2 custom orders this week.

Buan (permanent)

This piece was created for a woman who wanted a special gift for the love of her life. We considered several different words and found the perfect word to describe their relationship was "Buan" which is Gaelic for permanent, (effort) sustained, unfailing, lasting, durable, long. She was looking for a word that would express that they could last through whatever was thrown their way.

The second custom piece was a 2 word necklace.

Cridhe Treubh

Cridhe Treubn means Heart Kin in Scottish Gaelic. These were the first Ogham pendants that I cut with 2 words. Thankfully I was able to make them without the piece getting too long. If it had been any longer I would have had to adjust the layout of the piece putting the words next to each other rather than both on the center line which is traditional for Ogham writing.

I also took a break from piercing and polished up a few rings that were just begging me to finish them. A few hammered copper bands and a sterling braided band.

Styles I have been working with

Though I enjoy working with different techniques of jewelry making, lately I have been mostly working with piercing. The process of piercing starts with a sheet of metal and a design. A hole is drilled in the sheet metal and then the design is cut out using a small hand held coping saw creating a design that is pierced through the metal.

These are just a few examples of my pierced work:

Celtic Knotwork Necklace	Sinser (Elder) Ogham Necklace
Sea Turtle Totem Necklace	Howling Wolf Totem Earrings