My New Adventure!

It all started when I was looking for a ring for myself…. I had some idea in my mind of what I wanted… so I started looking on Etsy of course… and there were lots of gorgeous ring… but not exactly what I was looking for… and then I saw that Belinda Saville, who I knew for making really pretty beadwork, had started making metal (silver) jewellery… 

So I contacted her and asked her if she was interested in making me a custom made silver ring… she said yes! i was so excited because I really love her style!!! So we started e-mailing back and forth… she sent me photos of some of the stones she had and I fell in love with two!!! :-)  One of the stones was already in her possession, the other was on the way to her, so she started sketching some designs featuring this absolutely gorgeous labradorite….  and finally we agreed on one design that I fell in love with and couldn’t wait to see finished!!!  Belinda was an absolute pleasure to do business with!!! Apart from the fact that she is super-talented… she is one of the loveliest people I have “met” (through blogging)!!!

It wasn’t long till the ring was finished and not too long after that (seeing that I live in Israel and she’s in Australia) that the ring arrived!!! and oh my!!! the sketches, photos and not even my imagination could have prepared me for its beauty!!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

 

And then came the second one!!! equally stunning!!!

I love… no, sorry… I LOVE both of them so much I wear them both every day, one on each hand!!! :-)

The whole experience was such a pleasure!!! and at the end of it I’m the proud owner of two stunning pieces of beautifully made jewellery that are so me!!!! :-)

So why am I telling you all this? apart from showing off my new rings and introducing you to a wonderful artist (in case you don’t know her already :-D)… well during the whole process I started talking to Belinda about making metal jewellery…. and she sort of gave me the courage to think that maybe I could try out this new (to me) medium… so I spent the last couple of months ordering tools to start me off… and oh my there are a lot of tools!!!  Bought loads of books on metal jewellery design… I painted my spare room… folded up the futon… I managed to get myself a professional jeweller's bench (second hand)…  and finally, yesterday I received the bulk of my tools from the US (birthday present from my dad, thank you daddy! :-D)… I spent all afternoon and half the night unpacking all my new toys and organizing them on my new desk….

Now all there is left to do is find the courage to actually turn that torch on!!! :-)  Not an easy thing for me… first I’m petrified of fire and burning down my flat and the whole building (I bought myself a fire extinguisher, not that I know how to use it!)… second my fear is preventing me from thinking of any ideas!!! So I though, as I’m so clueless, I’m going to start working with copper and bronze (so much cheaper to make a mistake on than silver) and rather than jump in with my own designs I’m going to work through some of the projects from the books I bought… hopefully without burning the building down! :-)

I will be posting my progress… but in the meantime go and check out the beautiful work of Belinda Saville who started this mad adventure!!! :-)

Belinda’s blog: http://belindasaville.blogspot.com/
Belinda’s shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/belindasaville
Belinda’s FB page: http://www.facebook.com/BelindaSavilleHandcraftedJewellery

* Photos of Belinda’s rings by Belinda Saville, used with her permission

Glam Rock

I’ve been so quiet lately… but I have a great excuse… I was in hospital and had an operation a month ago… the recovery is six week… all is well and as I'm regaining my strength I started to bead again!!! :-)

During my time in hospital and for the first 2 weeks thereafter I read everything I could find on metal smith, soldering in particular and some hammering… yes, my next new craze!!!! I’ve decided to expand my jewellery making repertoire into including metals… I have no idea what I’m doing, but have ordered all the tools needed to get me started… they should be here in about 2-4 weeks!!! :-) I’m so excited… and nervous… a bit scared of the torch… but I’ll give it a go! :-)

So my mind has been occupied with metals… which would explain the new pieces I created… very bold, very geometric and very clean design…

Here are three new pieces I’ve been working on for the last few weeks… yes I’ve been working/beading at a snail’s pace! :-) but my pace is picking up as I continue to feel better with each passing day! :-)

Glam Rock Black Leather Cuff 

Glam Rock Necklace

 Glam Rock Silver Cuff

 

I’ve got another necklace… but just as i was finishing it… I notice a mistake, so had to chop off some of it to redo it… but it will have to wait… hopefully I’ll finish it off tomorrow… in the meantime… I’m happy to be “back”! :-)

Wishing everyone, happy beading!!! :-)