Cuffstravaganza complete...hope it fits...

The last bit to work on was the connector piece of chainmaille (used European 4 in 1) and I finished it tonight. I had estimated on the number of jump rings and as my little pile got smaller I sighed heavily thinking about the sawing I had done a few days earlier. However, I was able to finish with even some to spare so hoorah for that!

I made some hooks with simple swirls for the connector piece to attach to the cuffs but since this is an experiment and I'm not even sure if it will look the way I mean it to, I made them easily detachable so that if all else fails Erica will at least have a couple different neat cuffs to work with.

The connector chainmaille could also be converted into a choker necklace without too much trouble...again, that's for if all else fails! Let's be optimistic.



I took some photos with a rolling pin to try an approximate Erica's slim arms. I took one with my apparently ye olde blacksmith beefy forearms but didn't want to bend the cuffs so it looks a bit funny.





It was a challenge and I loved it and I learned several new things in the process so all is well in the world. Going to ship it out either tomorrow or Monday and also going to put up a listing in my Etsy shop for custom cuffstravanza (without the chainmaille connector and with just one cuff) for anyone who is interested!

Put me to work crafting something for you!

In the Studio on Cafe Handmade!

The lovely folks at Cafe Handmade are running a feature right now on Seedlings Jewelry as part of their In The Studio series! Click here to read the full story.

To say thank you, if you put CAFEHANDMADE in the instructions to seller as part of the check-out process you'll receive 20% off your full order (refunded by PayPal, includes custom orders). Offer good through Sunday, 23 August, 2009.

Put me to work making something unique for you!

All that and a box of rocks!

Oh but it is so much more...and I also understand now why people do "haul" videos on You-Tube. I want to show off how cool everything is!!!

I blew some of my state tax refund on a set of 200 small polished rocks from Etsy seller Dragonclaw (who I met on the Handmade Artists Forum and loved reading about his rock-hounding trips). Matt told me he thought most of the stones would be too small for jewelry but I have a project in mind where the stones are completely captured in wire but for larger wire-wrapped pendants, I can see his point.

He put in some crazy extras including petrified wood, jasper, an amethyst, quartz, a whole bag of sun stones (the official gem of Oregon), a whole mess of sea glass (I drool)...well just take a look:



There are more, I have them all up on the Seedling's Flickr feed if you want to peruse in more detail.

All I have to say is it was a purchase well worth it and will keep me busy for months and I highly recommend Matt from dragonclaw.etsy.com and please go buy more rocks from this man and keep him in business! Also, his jewelry is amazing too.

Cuffstravaganza - almost done!

Made significant progress on the cuffstravaganza for Erica from Worthy Soy Candle and Crochet and got the bottom cuff done as well as a bunch of jump rings (hand-sawed with love) for the chainmaille portion.

I'm planning on making the chainmaille portion detachable (with small s-clasps) so that if Erica wants to wear the cuffs independently she'll have that option. This way she'll have three pieces of wearable jewelry out of one creation.

So next update should be the finished piece! Hooray!

Update on work in progress for Team NorGa winner.

As you may recall, I started sketching the cuffstravaganza for Erica of Worthy Soy Candle and Crochet about a week ago. I started work on the top cuff late last week but had to scrap what I had on Saturday. I started the wire-wrapping with too small gauge wire and got a wild hair to try using jingle bells...

I didn't take any pictures but trust me, it was good to put that out of existence.

I'm really happy with how the top cuff turned out and am moving on to the bottom cuff tomorrow night and the chainmaille portion for Wednesday. I had meant to get everything completed this weekend but I really want this to be fantastic so hope that Erica will be understanding considering I saved her from jingle bells.

Hooray for honeybees!

Thank you to everyone who purchased Seedlings Jewelry during July we were able to buy honeybees from Heifer International! You can check our progress on our Team Heifer page here: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=178641&lis=0&kntae178641=CDCA2333C7554BB38C09D08B9DFB1187&supId=249504257

What sound does your heart make?

I've always been intrigued by sound. When I was five I guess I declared my intentions to my family that I wanted to play the piano. My grandmother and parents tracked down an old upright and both my sister and I began a musical education that would last for me until I graduated with a degree in music composition.

One of my favorite aspects of working with sound in college were the electronic ways sounds could be manipulated. The fact that you could see the waves that sound consisted of always fascinated me. Recently I began thinking about sound again and whether or not it could be accurately translated into jewelry.

I found some amazing artisans who are using lasers to cut intricate soundwaves into metal such as Sakurako Shimizu (http://sakurakoshimizu.blogspot.com/) as well as the Sound Advice Project (http://www.thesoundadviceproject.com/) which translates positive messages into plastic beaded bracelets.

I just wanted something simple though, a heartbeat. I found a good example from an EKG and then got busy with the wire and hammer.

My heart is more important to me than it was ten years ago when I went to the doctor complaining that it was "fluttering." Her advice was to find a way to be less stressed and to cut out caffeine. A lot changes in a decade but I think my heart is better off in many ways.

One thing I'm excited about with this necklace is that it can be customized to any heartbeat as long as you could provide an EKG. I would love to make a necklace based on a baby's heartbeat.

What do you think? What sound does your heart make?

Click here to read more about the Heart Sound necklace.