introducing.....the jewelry pictures

I really got into turquoise after a trip out west. So, of course I can't really find GOOD turquoise here-out east....so when I find something close, I have to buy it. Here, I combined some really rugged turquoise with some really smooth garnet ovals. The contrasting shapes ended up really cool together.

One day, I found a lot of 'extra' pieces of silver chain. Not enough to make a full necklace for an adult (maybe a Barbie....but we don't have those in our house. yet.) So I connected all of the little pieces to make a full-sized necklace and added the sparkly Swarovski crystals. It's NOT symmetrical which I love (yet others even more analytical than I said they could never wear it for that reason!) I like to wear it really low when I've got my sexy wrap shirts on.......or I can adjust it up closer to neck, when I'm in a button-down shirt and don't necessarily want to draw attention. (work. conservative. )

Another one of my buys where I had NO IDEA what I was going to do with it. Strawberry quartz is the pinkish/red square stone. Doesn't it look like candy? Okay, I love candy so alot of my comparisons may end up being a reference to it. Anyway, I had some little pink pearls leftover from another buying frenzy and thought they looked good together.

I'm really into green this summer. These are big, healthy chunks of vassonite. The necklace is heavy - but it's a good heavy!

This is probably one of my favorite pieces. The amber is from Armenia. I've got a 'connection' that brought this back for me...but now that I love it, I have to wait for her to go back to Armenia to get more amber!

Jewelry!

I've been making jewelry for about 10 years now. What started out as a hobby has turned into much more. I buy beads that I have NO IDEA what to do with. I buy the beads because they're pretty. I have a hard time stopping myself. I eventually make something out of all these beads, but I can't possibly keep the hundreds of pieces of jewelry that I've made. So I end up giving them away as gifts.....or selling them. (oh, I still keep alot. i do have a jewelry storage problem too.)

Last year people started asking me for a catalog and I didn't really have one. I pulled together a lame one, with pictures that I took. Photography is NOT one of my hobbies. That became really obvious with the photos I took of the jewelry. So this year - I bartered with one of my friends who is a photographer. His baby got a cool, barely-used Kelty baby backpack carrier and I got some kick-ass pictures of my jewelry. So let's go for it! This pictures are going up on the web!

First - A Little Bit About the Name

I tend to 'collect' things.....fabric, beads, flowers, paper, etc..... essentially, anything that 'catches my eye'. I usually end up with more than what I need. I have waaay too many hobbies; or maybe there's just not enough time in the day! Anyway, with this excess of "things", there's no way that I can keep all of this for myself.

so - I'll use this space to share with ya'll. Oh, I'll throw in a little bit about what's going on with me. maybe it'll be a good way to keep up with all of my friends that i've lost contact with over the years. (ugh - the idea of a Christmas form letter just popped into my mind! okay, let's try to think of it as a little more modern!) I'll post pictures of the jewelry that I make. Pictures of the baby that I made (with a little help from the T-Man!) and just general musings on current events

Summer gardens

These pics are courtesy of my friend up near Boston. Aren't they stunning? This daylily is called 'Aztec Priestess'.

..... and these beauties are campanula. After spending hundreds on flowers this spring, I'm ready to plant more. My backyard is almost completely shade, so these are going at the top of my list!