Lots of pink for spring!

I have been keeping busy around here lately, between work and getting more pieces made and listed. Not so busy that I couldn't snap a couple photos of one of my magnolia trees while it was in bloom! It came very early this year. The buds were on the tree for about a week and then one (unusually) warm March morning I left for work. When I returned home, the entire tree was just covered with large pink blossoms. It was spectacular!

Below is a custom PMC order I recently completed. My customer, Ashley, was just lovely, and so easy to work with. It was the first time I've done a double-sided pendant in one piece, so it was a bit of a challenge. The front was a floral pattern that I have used a few times for earrings and pendants. The reverse featured an inscription and her husband's and children's first initials. It was a family birthday gift to her from them. Very sweet!

I oxidized all the sterling silver and the fine silver pendant, and then hand-buffed it to a soft gray with a high shine. It is paired with a soft powdery pink rose quartz briolette, which is perfect with the gray. It took a bit longer than anticipated as I had to wait on the stone to arrive, but she insisted she was not in a hurry. In the end, she was just thrilled with the result, which makes me very happy!

One of my favorites.

A few years ago in the fall, we planted two trees in our front yard which replaced some aging evergreens. They were not in the best shape and were big enough to pose a threat to everything around them. One, a mountain ash, which is shaping up to be a lovely shade tree, and a saucer magnolia. I've always loved magnolias. They come in so many varieties, each one more beautiful than the last. I happened to find one on sale for around $25 since it was the end of the season. Each spring it produces more and more sweetly scented, soft pink flowers, but they don't last very long! More times than not, we get a cold snap and the frost takes away the blossoms. Today, I was lucky enough to be off work and figured I had better snap a couple pics while there was still time! Happy spring! Enjoy!