Turning over a new leaf in 2012

I haven't been making jewelry for the longest time. And when I would try to, I would end up leaving projects incomplete. I have a whole graveyard full of stuff that need to be completed. So I decided to turn over a new leaf this year...and decided to get back to making jewelry again, and completing all my past projects. So I joined YOJ to motivate me. I had made this leaf with PMC, and then did nothing with it. It was made from a leaf from a tree just outside my home. So I fished out the leaf, and added a Ruby brio, and several Peridots to it. Added a chain, and made a clasp for my first piece for YOJ 2012.

Click on the picture to see it enlarged and clearer.

Ruby, Pearls, 14k gold-filled beads, 14k gold filled wire earrings

NOTE: TO SEE ENLARGED VERSIONS, PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURES :-)).
 
These earrings are a part of an order by my beautiful friend Dawn. She got earrings made for each day of the week, depending on which gemstone goes with which day of the week. Ruby is for Tuesday, and she wanted earrings made of Ruby, fresh water pearls, and gold. So here is the pair for Tuesday. I really enjoyed myself creating all these earrings!! :-)))  I will keep posting them one by one. Thank you Dawn for trusting me to make so many pieces for you. (((hugs)))

Ruby, pearl, 14k gold-filled hoop earrings

These hoops are made with 14Kt gold-filled wire, and I have wrapped fresh water pearls and genuine Ruby briolettes using sterling silver wire.

I hear that hoops are the "in things" in earrings these days. Unfortunately, unless the hoops are really teeny tiny, they don't look good on me. But I am sure there will be someone else who will look really good in these luscious Ruby hoop earrings :-)). I do love making hoop earrings. They look so lovely....something really delicious about hoops that are laden with yummy gemstones.

My first PMC pendant: "Compassion & Gratitude".

I am SO excited! I finally got to try my hand at PMC as well. PMC is 99.9% silver in clay form. When it is fired, the clay part is gone, and 99.9% silver is left.

My teacher Jennifer was REALLY sweet. We had been trying to get together since forever. But I have lots of limitations on my time because I have 2 little kids, and then I have to wait till hubby has enough time to drive me to wherever I want to go. I do very limited driving because I have absolutely no sense of direction. Not even a bad one :-P. So Jennifer said she will come to my place and teach me! Wow!! People really do such things for others? That was so absolutely AWESOME of her! I was overjoyed, and very very grateful. She didn't even really know me. She had "met" me online at a jewelry forum, and I was always in awe of her work. Her work is not very typical PMC work. The "typical" PMC work is lovely too...I have nothing against it. But what I am saying is, her work is VERY different from most other PMC work I have seen. Anyway...so she didn't really know me. I was practically a stranger to her. But because she understood how much I had wanted this class, and yet could not make it to her house for some reason or another, she said (so easily) that she will bring everything over to my place and teach me. And she reassured me that she understands what it is to have little kids...she has raised 7.

So to me, this pendant symbolizes kindness, compassion, generosity...the qualities that Jennifer displayed with such ease. And it also symbolizes gratitude....what I feel for her. She had no need to do what she did. But she did it anyway.

She is an awesome teacher! I highly recommend her to anyone! I think this is a fabulous piece...and its just the first project I did with her! Do go through her website:

http://wearablebydesign.com/Wearable_by_Design/Welcome.html

You'll see amazingly beautiful pieces. And do contact her if you want to learn to work with PMC.

This pendant is 3/4" in diameter. A 4mm lab created Ruby is set in it. I have antiqued this pendant using silver black, and then polished it, so that its beautiful design can be seen. The back has a pattern too.