Treasure Rocks Jewelry: 2013

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Dreaming of a new home

I decided in August to sell my current house and move to a new place. After talking to my girls, we have decided on all the features that this new house MUST have.

A cute white, cape style house with a picket fence and sunflowers nodding their big heads, greeting all the new neighbors. Of course, this new house is also in a good school district, close to my work and must have lots of kids in the neighborhood for my girls to play with. Oh yes, it also must have an art studio for my youngest and me and a fully furnished and stocked library for my oldest daughter. This new house must have a built out attic, cause that's what my oldest wants for her room. And it should have a room for each of us, plus one for guests. My youngest insist that the new house cannot be made of brick, because she doesn't like the way it looks. Personally, I would love a completely maintenance free house where all appliances and the heat/AC unit will work at minimum energy consumption and will never break. A fully stocked wine cellar would be a plus but isn't a must have.

Meanwhile, in the real world ...

I have spend the last few months fixing up all those little things in my current house that you learn to live with. A small hole in the ceiling, rusting railings outside, old, worn out paint, replacing scratched up trim work, etc. If only the cat would learn to meow instead of scratching the outside door frame. I have boxes stacked everywhere and have no idea where to hide them, should potential buyers want to see the house. My girls have a hard time remembering to pick up after themselves, so who knows what they may find lying around. Oh dear.

But I'm getting closer to selling. And with that, closer to facing reality. I have a feeling that we won't quite find a house that fits all the must haves above.

But, a girl can dream ...

Monday, August 26, 2013

A piece of me lives here

As I was packing up an order of jewelry today I was thinking about all the places my jewelry would get to travel to, places I may never ever see in person. But you know what, a little bit of me will be in those places. When I make jewelry I always put a little bit of me in each piece. The thoughts that went through my head while wrapping stones, the meditation while knotting pearls, thoughts of Christmas presents and who may one day wear the piece.

So here are some of the places my jewelry has gone to.

Grand Junction, Colorado
One of my pearl necklaces and bracelets got to travel to Grand Junction. This place looks amazing and nothing like Virginia. I would love to see this landscape one day.

San Diego, California

I sent a pair of blue and green Donate Life earrings to this city.

Atlanta Georgia

I have actually been to Atlanta and visited the Georgia Aquarium. Seeing the whalefish and beluga whales was amazing. One of my earrings gets to spent their life here.

Dee Why, Australia

You seriously have to check out the waves in this beach town. They are awe inspiring, breathtaking, simple too huge to explain in words. I sent a cute pair of wire earrings to Australia. G'day Mate!

Berlin, Germany

The city where east and west, old and new meet. My Mom grew up here and lots of my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews still live here. One day I'll visit again. Not sure when, but I will get there.

There you go, a sampling of the places that now have a piece of me in them. Isn't that a beautiful thought?

Where have your creations gone? Are pieces of your heart in places that you may never see?

Manny

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Multistring knotted pearl necklace

I started working on a new multi string knotted pearl necklace this week and took some pictures along the way.

I used my beloved C-Lon cord instead of silk this time. It's nice and stiff when it comes from the spool, which makes it really easy to thread through the beads without having to use a needle. Then, after you work it for a while it becomes softer, with more of a drape. Plus it comes in a gazillion colors and sizes. Check it out, if you've never used it. I usually buy it at my local bead store, but I'm sure you can find it online.

Start by cutting your cord. I used 12 strings but you can use however many you would like. Also cut your strings WAAAAAAY longer than you think you will need. Consider that you will need extra string to add a large knot at the beginning and end of the necklace and each string will have multiple knots throughout, one in front and back of each pearl.

Note: The knot was done first. I just took the picture after I already added some pearls.

Once you have your cord, tie a knot to hold them all together. Before pulling it tight, insert a headpin through the knot. You will use that later to add the clasp to your finished necklace. To tighten it, use your pliers and pull on each string separately. You can also add a dot of glue at this point.

Now take your string and your pearls and sit down in front of the television. This part will take a while. Start knotting your pearls onto the string at random intervals. Knot, pearl, knot ... knot, pearl, knot ... repeat until you have your desired length. Then start the next string. Once you have a few, strings done, start "filling in the gaps". Try placing your pearls in areas that could use a few more.

After all pearls are placed, tie all strings into a knot on the other end. Don't forget to insert your headpin before pulling it tight. To get a nice tight knot, pull each string individually, grabbing it with your pliers, instead of your fingers.

Next give your knots a haircut. Trim the extra sring as close to the knot as you can. Apply some glue to the knot and then slip (stuff) it into a cone or bead cap to hide it. Your headpin should come out of the end of the cone and will be used to make the loop for your clasp.

Use your round nosed pliers to form your headpin into a nice loop and wrap it several times to secure it.
(No pressure here, but if you mess up this step, there's no easy way to recover since your knots are already glued into the cones).

For your last step, use open jump rings to attach a toggle of your choice. If your pearls ended up too short for a necklace, add a bit of chain to each end before attaching a toggle.

And here's the finished necklace. I love the way it turned out.