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!

Look up!

Every once in a while the winter sky does something so gorgeous, you can't help but run for your camera. I was sitting here at my desk, not paying attention to anything but what was in front of me on my screen, when I heard some Canada geese passing through the neighborhood. I looked up and out the window and that sunset is what I saw. My only regret is that I didn't capture the silhouettes of the geese too. So very stunning!

A lovely bridesmaid.

It occurred to me while reading another blog that I never posted a photo of the earring and necklace sets that I created for a co-worker of my husband. She was married last summer and was kind enough to forward along a photo of one of her four bridesmaids.

We worked together through my husband (who now knows more than he cares to about wedding jewelry) for a couple weeks on what she wanted. She gave me a couple ideas from magazines she had seen and I put together custom ideas for her in a palette of soft pinks in cherry and rose quartz, and luminous white Swarovski pearls, all brought together with shiny sterling silver.

The sets turned out great — the perfect complement to the chocolaty brown gowns. She was thrilled with them, as were her bridesmaids from what I have heard. And they truly are sets that can be worn again and again.