Saturday, November 22, 2008

New Pieces for Christmas







I have been making jewelry, selling jewelry ,blogging about jewelry and organizing jewelry shows so as you can imagine I have been one busy girl ! Here are some of the newest pieces I have made .Enjoy !

Monday, November 17, 2008

Faceted Black Onyx Teardrops



I love the way this necklace drapes. It looks much more beautiful on a human neck than a suede necklace stand !

Friday, November 7, 2008

Blue Goldstone



Here is a closeup of my Blue Goldstone Shinka Shinka Bracelet . This beautiful bracelet sparkles in the sunshine but still retains a dark hue. I wasn't exactly sure how this stone got its special glitter so I researched on google and found this information very interesting .

Blue Goldstone is a man-made stone and is made by adding Copper Salts to glass in a furnace. The heat "smelts" the Copper Salts back to Copper which then crystallize in the glass. A blue vegetable dye is added to give the blue colour. The Copper platelets formed this way are suspended in the glass and give it its characteristic glitter ! Goldstone is thought to have originated in Italy, and is still made there today by members of a single monastic community. Legend has it, that it was for a long time a very closely guarded secret how they made it, and even now the manufacture of the material remains the primary source of income for that monastery, even though Goldstone is also commercially made elsewhere these days. Other stories relate how Goldstone is thought to have been discovered by alchemists whilst on their lifelong quest to transmute base metals into gold.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Stella's in Fort Worth







These photos are from a jewelry show that I did on Oct 14th at Stella's in Fort Worth. You can always find a nice selection of my jewelry here but during both Spring and Fall Gallery Night (and sometimes for a special show like on Oct 14th )I bring in extra trays of jewelry (that I make) and even some jewelry made by my talented friends in Mexico.

Stella's location is : 3460 Bluebonnet Circle 76109
and the phone number is 817.923.1520

Mickie Cooles opened this store a few years back originally as Full Circle Emporium but has since renamed and rethought the concept . Stella's is a store that constantly has new inventory and offers something for females and children of all ages. Cute clothes , accesories and gift items. Check it out !

Friday, October 24, 2008

Pretty Pastels


Over the next month or so I will be posting some photos of older pieces just to put some of my designs out there while I am making my new line for the Holiday Season. These pieces are made of Sterling silver , Freshwater Pearls, Labradorite , Kyanite , Rose Quartz and two unidentified stones . When I can verify what these are I will post here again.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ammonite



This is an ammonite set in sterling silver .It has my mark (a swirled S ) stamped on the back .I'm not sure what time period it is from but I would find it interesting to know. Here is a link to read more or you can scroll down to read my recap of the highlights !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite

Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals . Their closest living relatives are the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish. They are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods.
Their name came from their spiral shape as their fossilized shells somewhat resemble tightly-coiled rams' horns. Pliny the Elder (d. 79 A.D. near Pompeii) called fossils of these animals ammonis cornua ("horns of Ammon") because the Egyptian god Ammon (Amun) was typically depicted wearing ram's horns.

She Sells Seashells


This belt buckle is made of cast sterling silver cowrie shells and has a gorgeous carved moonstone in the middle. I bought the moonstone from an Indian stone dealer in Tucson, Arizona at the International Gem and Mineral Show . This gentleman told me that he carved stones for Steven Dweck. Don't know if that's true or not but he did have a lot of carved cabachons like Steven Dweck uses. I bought moonstones, garnets, and citrines. Fabulous !

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Pearl Stars and Shinka Shinka Cluster Dangles



I think the name says it all!
Am I crazy ?

Artists Against Aids




This pair of Sterling and Iolite Earrings have been donated to the Fourteenth Annual Artists against AIDS Silent Art Auction . This fundraising event takes place on October 25th and will benefit the Tarrant County AIDS Interfaith Network .

Coin Pearls



Coin pearls... Love them...Have always loved them - so pretty ! I sold this necklace and the coordinating earrings on Fall Gallery Night and I am going to miss it.
This particular strand of coin pearls has a really beautiful luster. I have made a similar necklace to this one before and it got snatched up right away. I like coin pearls in general but it makes all the difference in the world when you string with a high quality strand of coin pearls !

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Some" Shinka Shinka "Jewelry


Thought I would post an old photo to show some examples of my "Shinka Shinka "jewelry. I have sold this style over many years and people seem to love them. I make bracelets, necklace, earrings in all different colors and variations . The name truly describes this style as these pieces make a shinky sound when you shake them. Shinka Shinka might seem like silly name but I sure think it is fun to say !

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Sterling Wings. Green Amethyst. Pearls and Garnets !


I love wings and these sterling wings seem sort of art-deco to me ...click on the photo to get a better look I am painfully aware that these "photos " are of poor quality - They are actually scans - (not that anyone didn't notice ), but the good news is that tomorrow a good friend of mine is coming over and as she is very skilled with photography I am going to ask her to help me set up a photo tent . AND I am going to learn how to crop a photo on my computer....might seem simple to some but I am at a total loss so far !!! Adobe Photoshop makes me DIZZY !

Starry Nights



This is a scan of my "starry night" necklace .The stars are made of two pearl stars that are joined together .The hole in this bead runs from north to south so the sterling wire is threaded with round sterling beads and tiny sterling flower beads from Bali . The chain and all jump rings are sterling silver and the two beads at the tips of the dangles are faceted rutilated quartz and they are MUCH prettier in real life !

Friday, September 19, 2008

Gold Filled








Hey all of you gold lovers - Here are some 14 kt gold-filled pieces that I made ...

Everyone enjoys the look of gold at a fraction of the price. But I've noticed that people often ask me "What exactly is gold-filled" ? Gold-filled , or gold overlay , is made by heat and pressure -bonding a thin layer of 14 kt to a brass core . This makes it tarnish resistant and economical . Gold-filled is valued more than gold-plated because gold-filled has an actual layer of karat gold , not just a microscopic film . I buy my 14 kt gold-filled findings from Rio Grande and they guarantee that all of their products meet federal quality standards .



Thursday, April 10, 2008

Shayna Jewelry

Handmade Unique Jewelry
www.shaynajewelry.com