rough and refined.

Happy Friday!

Today I’m sharing a new creation that I really like!

I love river rocks and beach stones – they are so smooth and rounded and absolutely perfect for carrying around in your pocket just to take out and admire.

That would explain why I am so excited about some new stones I ordered – they are smooth little beauties from the Great Lakes area. Perfect shades of neutrals and blacks that inspire so much creativity – I can hardly decide what to do with them!

To a few, I’ve added eyelets to use as charms on a necklace. I particularly like them drilled in the center. That way I can make them into neat designs like this one.

I fabricated a silver bezel setting for one of the center drilled stones, and nestled a little green faceted emerald in the center. I love the juxtaposition of faceted and smooth stones, black and color. rough and refined.

This is certainly a design I would love to expand upon – I’m planning earrings, necklaces and bracelets with a variety of different stone combinations. I’m particularly excited to do a slightly larger moissanite. I think it will really sparkle.

The shape and smoothness of the river stone makes it nearly impossible to resist rubbing it every once in a while.

I really enjoyed making this ring – I’ve discovered a love for solder stop-flow, an anti-flux liquid that ensures the previous soldering steps remain solid. Even with the different hardnesses of solder it’s easy to undo some of the smaller operations with just a little too much heat.  Call me lazy, but just a little dab of this stuff makes multi-solder operations a no-brainer.

In other news, we’re trying to get Chewie used to spending more time in his little enclosure. His surgery is on Monday, and afterward he will be whiling away the hours in his (cute zebra print) house. He’s currently getting food and treats only inside of it, and we’re gradually increasing the time he’s zipped in.   I wish now that I had been more proactive about crate training when we first got him!  Hindsight, etc.

Ben has the day off from work, and we’re going to finally take the tree down. (Embarrassing!) I have been dreading it. It’s a gorgeous tree with lots of white fluffy flocking and I really do like it.  BUT!  the second you start taking it down, it emits a gauzy white film that envelops every surface in the house.  So it’s a two – part operation of undecking the halls and dusting. Boy, is that January to a T.

I’m off to fortify with more coffee and a dust rag! Happy Friday! xoxo