Friday, April 30, 2010

Pink Saturday-May 1

Welcome to Pink Saturday-the 1st of May. My grandpa always said the "the first of May was pinch bum day!"

Thank you to Beverly from How Sweet the Sound for hosting our weekly Pink Saturday meetings.




Since Pink Saturday at Gracie Jewellery involves well, jewellery we'll start with




A freshwater pearl and pink swarovski crystal necklace




and the matching earrings. Oh so delicate. But you say you prefer something with a bit more sparkle




Earrings of pink swarovski crystal with swarovski Aureole Borealis crystal teardrops. Not dramatic enough?





How about Pink swarovski crystal with a jet black swarovski teardrop. Okay back to the bench to see what other pink stones I have.

Thanks for visiting. Please stop by next week.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Handmade Sterling Silver Sodalite Earrings




Sodalite hanging from hand formed argentium sterling silver hand formed rings. Sterling Silver leverbacks. Sodalite is found in various shades of blue and is related to Lapis. As the name suggests, it is partly composed of sodium. It is found in various locations throughout the world, most notably Canada, the United States, Russia and Greenland, where it was discovered in the early 19th century.It has also been referred to as "Princess Blue" after Princess Patricia who was so enthralled with it upon a visit to Canada that she requested it to be used as architectural
detailing for the interior of Marlborough House in England. Found in Canada, Italy, Brazil, India, Greenland, Russia, Namibia, and Montana and Nevada in the US.

Sodalite - 8mm
Hand formed rings-12mm fused
Total length from top to bottom-60mm (2 3/8")

Gracie Jewellery arrives in it's own storage pouch.

*Argentium Sterling Silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver.





Sodalite in 5mm and 8mm are accented with sterling silver. Handmade ear wires of Argentium sterling silver. Beautiful shades of blue! Total length from top to bottom is 43mm or almost 1 3/4".

Gracie Jewellery arrives in its own storage pouch.

*Argentium Sterling Silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Earring day at Gracie Jewellery

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am getting ready to participate in a trunk show/ladies night April 29 at the Wildflower Market Restaurant. Please check out our group blog whoknew.

So today was earring day at Gracie Jewellery.



Kyanite



My favourite type of garnet-Rhodolite Garnet. It has a wonderful plummy colour



Iolite-gorgeous periwinkle colour



Cubes of Black Onyx



Mother-of-Pearl


All semi-precious stones with sterling silver on sterling silver leverbacks

If there is a pair (or 2) you just have to have feel free to contact me.

Thank you for visiting.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Handmade Smokey Quartz Earrings




Facetted smoky quartz sparkle and shine. Accented with sterling silver. Handmade argentium sterling silver ear wires.

Facetted smoky quartz: 7mm
Total length top to bottome: 46 mm (1 3/4")

Gracie Jewellery arrives in its own storage pouch.

*Argentium Sterling Silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Argentium Sterling Silver Earrings




Hand formed from Argentium sterling silver, both the coil and earwires were then tumbled for hardness and shine. Total length 56mm - 2¼"

*Argentium Sterling Silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver.

All Gracie Jewellery arrives in its own storage pouch.









Friday, April 16, 2010

Happy Pink Saturday-April 17

Happy Pink Saturday! Once again this week Beverly from How Sweet the Sound is hosting our pink party.



So last week these beautiful Rhodochrosite stones looked like this



This week they look like this



I wanted to keep the necklace simple and let the stones do the talking.



The chain is completely handmade, each link hand formed and fused together. The silver and the stones complement each other beautifully.



So now that you have oohed and awed and hopefully left me a message, you should visit a new member of our Pink group-Happier Than a Pig in Mud

Thank you for visiting. Have a great weekend.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Turquoise-colour for 2010 Amazonite

If you follow Pantone, you know the colour for 2010 is turquoise.



This is Amazonite. Such a fabulous shade of turquoise.It is named after the Amazon river in Brazil. But no deposits of it have been found there. The name most likely refers to the variable green shades of the rainforest reflected in the gemstone. Amazonite does not undergo any kind of treatment to enhance its wonderful colour.




All the links are handmade by me from Argentium sterling silver. Argentium sterling silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver. After hand shaping each link I fused them closed, then put them in the tumbler for hours for strength and shine. Even the clasp has been handmade.











I had so much fun making the links and these necklaces, I plan of doing several pieces in this style.

Thanks for stopping by.
Nancy









Amazonite and sterling silver flowers and sterling silver beads hanging from a sterling silver figaro chain. Closes with a sterling silver "S" clasp.

Perfect for every occasion.

Amazonite 8mm and 20mmx30mm rectangular
Length minus the pendant 17 inches.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Who Knew? trunk show

I'm spending a lot of time at the bench lately, and will be for the next couple of weeks. Why? I'm glad you asked! I am participating, along with several other talented local artisans, in a trunk show/ladies night on April 29th. We are calling it "Who Knew"-Who knew there's a whole bunch of talented women in Niagara who make and sell beautiful handmade things you wouldn't find in an ordinary store?



The show will be at the Wildflower Market Restaurant, reknown for using locally grown food.

For more information, check out whoknew.ca

I would love to see you there.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Pink Saturday April 10

Welcome to Pink Saturday!

Last Saturday it was 80 degrees and sunny so my husband and I made the 2 hour drive to my bead suppliers. These are amongst the treasure I came home with.


This is Rhodochrosite.


Rhodochrosite (whose name means rose-colored) is a very attractive mineral with an absolutely one-of-a-kind, beautiful color. The color of a single crystal can just astound the observer with its vivid pink-rose color that seems to be transmitted out of the crystal as if lit from within. Please come back next week to see what I do with these beauties.

Please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for links to all the Pink lovin' ladies in blogland. I know we are supposed to post a link to a blog we visited for the first time last week, but I am posting the link to LaVoice at Thoughts from Memme's Corner. I love visiting LV a couple times a week, I think it would be fun to have afternoon tea with her. Last week she had something nasty happen to her but she is such a classy lady, she rose above it and set an example for the rest of us. Thank you LV.



Thanks for stopping by. Have a Happy Pink Saturday.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Handmade Sterling Silver Mother Of Pearl Earrings




Mother of pearl is the common name for iridescent nacre, a blend of minerals that are secreted by oysters and other mollusks and deposited inside their shells, coating and protecting their bodies from parasites and foreign objects. Although pearls are popular today, some past cultures regarded colorful pieces of mother of pearl as more desirable decoration for jewellery and other objects.Jewelry made from mother of pearl is in the group called organic jewellery, which includes all jewellery that originates from a living creature, plant or other living organism. Oval Mother of Pearl hang from hand formed argentium sterling silver hand formed rings.  Sterling silver leverbacks.

Mother of Pearl-10mm x14mm oval
Hand formed rings-12mm fused
Total length from top to bottom-51mm (2") 

Gracie Jewellery arrives in it's own storage pouch.

*Argentium Sterling Silver is sterling silver with less of the copper alloy. Copper is what makes sterling silver tarnish. Argentium is 92.5% pure silver with the balance a mix of germanium and copper. This makes Argentium silver harder, brighter and more highly tarnish resistant than traditional sterling silver. 

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pink Saturday-Easter Weekend

Welcome to Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to visit Beverly's blog for all the links to the rest of the Pink fanatics.


In today's busy life, do you find your mind is going constantly? In my case, family, job, jewellery business, family, laundry.... A friend who does yoga calls it "monkey brain". Your thoughts are swinging everywhere. I found my quiet time with God was turning into a battle of keeping my mind still. So very frustrating. So I decided to make myself a strand of Prayer Beads.



I choose freshwater pearls because pearls symbolize purity, innocence, faith, and honesty. I used Swarovski crystals in Pink because, well if you haven't guessed, pink is my favourite colour.




Using sterling silver wire, I hand formed the Cross. Then I put it in the tumbler for hours to strengthen the wire and make it shine.




I hold the beads in my hand, running my thumb over the pearls. Oh how it has helped to calm me down, to still my mind, to allow me pray, to let me listen.

I want to say thank you to my sister, Rebecca for understanding my vision before I did! Love ya, sis.

Happy Easter everyone. Thank you for visiting.