Cristina Amador Joyas - Jewelry

Cristina Amador Joyas en La Revista del Universo

2011-05-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is what I was excited about! My jewelry is inside this Sunday's La Revista which comes with El Universo newspaper. The feature is called "Green Creations" and is shown alongside the clothing of Daniela Carrera.

I really like the way they mixed pictures of the sketches with the actual pieces. I don't think my sketches are nice drawings, but seeing them side by side with the finished piece is nice.

An excellent way to finish and start the week!

Esto es lo que me tenía emocionada! Mis joyas estan en La Revista de este Domingo, la cual viene con el periódico El Universo. El artículo se llama "Creaciones Verdes" y las joyas salen junto con la ropa de Daniela Carrera.

Me gusta como mezclaron los bocetos con las piezas terminadas. No creo que mis bocetos son dibujos muy buenos, pero verlos al lado de las joyas terminadas es lindo.

Una excelente manera de terminar y empezar la semana!

Birthday gift for Denisse... Regalo de cumpleaños para Denisse

2011-05-20T11:43:00.002-05:00

I'm trying out the mail to blog feature on blogger. If this works out fine, I will be posting more! Doing it on the go, while I wait in line or in the car makes it so much easier.

Voy a tratar la funcion de mail a blog de blogger. Si funciona, voy a escribir mas frecuentemente! Hacerlo mientras estoy esperando en fila o en el carro es mucho mas facil.

We always give group gifts for our friends. We think it's better if we all chip in for one nice gift that the person really wants. This year my friend Denisse wanted a pair of fancy earrings done with Iolite, something big that she could wear to a wedding or elegant events like that.

Siempre damos regalos grupales con mis amigas. Creemos que es mejor si todas colaboramos para dar un buen regalo que la otra persona realmente quiera. Este año mi amiga Denisse queria un par de aretes elegantes hechos con Iolita, algo grande que se pudiera poner para una boda o eventos elegantes asi.

So this is what I created for her (please bear with me, I think the pic is going to show up at the end of the post, or at the beginning... I'm not sure how it works) goldfilles posts with a netted coin pearl surrounded by iolite rondelles and swarovski crystals for that extra sparkle. I am so happy she liked them :D

Esto es lo que cree para ella (porfavor tenganme paciencia, creo q la foto va a salir al final de la entrada o al comienzo... No estoy segura cómo funciona) aretes goldfill con una perla moneda en el centro, rodeada de iolitas y cristales Swarovski para darle un brillo extra. Estoy muy feliz porque si le gustaron :D

I am excited about something that's coming out on Sunday... You'll have to wait and see!

Estoy emocionada por algo que va a salir el Domingo... Tendrán que esperar para saber!

My apologies... Mis disculpas...

2011-05-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys,

I am sorry I've been missing for a long time. The thing is, I am getting married (yay!) and planning your own wedding plus figuring out where you'll live and doing all those accomodations takes a LOT of time. Way more than I thought. Add to that the fact that I have a side job that I can't ignore and I really haven't had time to do anything else. So I've decided to take a semi-break from my jewelry.

I didn't have the time to stock up for Mother's Day and I doubt I'll have time to stock up on much before the wedding. I am taking custom orders though, but that's about it. Oh, that and I will of course be making my own jewelry and head accesories! I haven't even started on that yet.

Hola chicos,

Siento mucho que me he perdido por tanto tiempo. La cosa es que me caso (yay!) y planear tu propia boda más buscar dónde vivir y arreglar toda esa situación toma MUCHO tiempo. Mucho más del que pensaba. Añade a eso el hecho que tengo otro trabajo que no puedo ignorar y no he tenido tiempo para hacer mucho más. Entonces he decidido tomarme un break de las joyas.

No tuve tiempo de stockearme para el Día de la Madre y dudo que tenga tiempo de hacer mucho stock antes de la boda. Sí estoy tomando pedidos, pero eso es todo. Ah, eso y obviamente yo me haré mis joyas y accesorios para el pelo para mi boda! Pero no he empezado con eso todavía.

So please, have some patience... I promise I'll try to post every once in a while and after the wedding (September) I'll be back in full.

Así que por favor, ténganme paciencia. Prometo intentar agregar algo de vez en cuando y luego de la boda (Septiembre) estaré de vuelta a full.

Here is one of the last commissions I made. A pair of earrings to match a ring I'd previously made.

Goldfilled wire with smoky and lemon quartz and freshwater pearls.

Aquí esta una de los últimos pedidos que hice. Un par de aretes que combine con un anillo que ya había hecho antes.

Oro goldfill con cuarzo ahumado y limón y perlas.

More Hearts - Más Corazones

2011-02-11T18:45:00.000-05:00

I'm glad you liked the hearts I made for Valentine's Day... Before going to the beach for the weekend here are some pics of some "heart" orders.

Me alegro que les hayan gustado los corazones que hice para San Valentín... Antes de irme a la playa les muestro unas fotos de unos pedidos de corazones.

The stamping in this one is too sweet. Husband and wife's initials equal the baby's initials :D

El estampado en este es super dulce. Las iniciales de esposo y esposa son igual a las iniciales de su bebe :D

The hearts will be available year round, not only for Valentine's Day.

Los corazones estarán disponibles durante todo el año, no sólo para San Valentín.

Blue and Gold - Azul y Dorado

2011-02-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

I had a commission recently to make a pair of blue and gold earrings. They were for a very good client and friend and she just told me to do something I think she'd like. She's been a client for a long time so I've come to know her tastes and she trusted me with this commission.

Recientemente tuve un pedido de un par de aretes azules con oro. Eran para una buena cliente y amiga y ella solo me dijo que haga algo que crea que le vaya a gustar. Ella ha sido cliente por un largo tiempo y he aprendido que es lo que le gusta, así que confió en mi para este pedido.

Her only requirements was that the earrings should be posts, close to the ear and with that shade of blue. Blue is my favorite color so it was easy to be inspired for this project.

Su único requerimiento fue que los aretes debían ser pegados a la oreja y con un tono específico de azul. Azul es mi color favorito asi que fue fácil inspirarme para este pedido.

I took out the lightest lapis rounds I had and some gorgeous kyanite rondelles. At first I thought about putting these alternating all the way around the crocheted base, but then as I was halfway round, I remembered the lapis briolettes! They fit perfectly and completely changed the design I had in mind, but I liked where it was going.

Saqué las piedritas de lapis lázuli más claras que tenía y unos rondelles de kyanite preciosos. Al comienzo pensaba ponerlas alternadamente alrededor de toda la base, pero cuando iba por la mitad, me acorde de unas gotas de lapis lázuli! Encajaban perfecto y cambiaron completamente el diseño que tenía en mente, pero me gustaba hacia donde iba.

I added a few more beads to the center and they were done. These are one of my fave blue earrings ever. I was a bit nervous about my client's reaction but she loved them as well :D

Añadí unas cuantas piedritas más al centro y estaban listo. Estos son unos de mis aretes azules favoritos. Estaba un poco nerviosa por si le iban a gustar a mi cliente, pero a ella le encantaron también :D

Giveaway Winner - Ganador del Sorteo

2011-01-31T11:05:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all that entered the giveaway and to those who couldn't leave it to luck and decided to go ahead and buy one of the pieces.

Gracias a los que participaron en el sorteo y a esos que no podían dejarlo a la suerte y decidieron comprar una de las piezas.

But there can only be one winner and it is...

Pero solo puede haber un ganador y es...

Thea! So Thea, plese email me to info [at] cristinaamador . com (without the spaces) telling me which piece you'd like!

Thea! Asi que Thea, por favor escríbeme a info [at] cristinaamador . com (sin los espacios) diciéndome que pieza quieres!

Last day to enter the Giveaway! - Ultimo día para entrar al sorteo

2011-01-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

Hurry up!! You only have a few hours left to enter to win this:
Apúrate!! Solo te quedan unas horas más para participar y ganarte esto:

or this:

o esto:

All you have to do is comment on this post.

Lo único que tienes que hacer es comentar en este post.

Winner will be announced on Monday :)

El ganador será anunciado el Lunes :)

Valentine's Day Giveaway 2011 - Sorteo de San Valentín 2011

2011-01-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

I was out all last week due to illness... I literally could not get out of bed for a few days and didn't feel like doing much except sleep. I am feeling better now, though I'm not fully recovered yet, but hopefully by tomorrow I'll be good as new.

Estuve toda la semana pasada en cama por enfermedad... Literalmente no podía levantarme de la cama y no tenía ganas de hacer mucho más que dormir. Ya me siento mejor, aunque no estoy del todo recuperada, pero ojalá para mañana ya me sienta como nueva.

For this Valentine's Day I wanted to make a sterling silver heart that you could have stamped, either with your and your loved ones initials, or with just your own. Or just leave it blank if you wish! The same heart can be made into a pendant hanging from a silver chain or an adjustable bracelet with hand dyed silk.

Para este día de San Valentín quería hacer un corazón de plata que puedas estampar ya sea con las iniciales tuyas y de tu pareja, o solo con las tuyas. O dejarlo en blanco si lo deseas! El mismo corazón puede hacerse un pendiente colgando de una cadena de plata o una pulsera ajustable con seda teñida a mano.

The chain version is $38 and the silk bracelet is $35. You can either buy them or... you have the chance to win your choice of one of them! All you need to do is comment below (only one comment per person please!)... and you get double entries if you start following (or are already following) this blog. You can enter until Saturday January 29th noon and the winner will be announced this Monday. Good Luck!!

La cadena cuesta $38 y la pulsera $35. Puedes comprarlas o.... tienes la oportunidad de ganar la que tu elijas! Lo único que debes hacer es comentar en este post (sólo un comentario por persona por favor!) y tienes doble oportunidad si empiezas a seguir (o ya estas siguiendo) este blog. Puedes participar hasta el medio día del Sabado 29 de Enero y el ganador será anunciado este Lunes. Buena Suerte!

Same stone, two looks - Una piedra de dos maneras

2011-01-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

These two pairs of earrings I'm about to show were made on commission last year. Before I went on my stone buying trip around October, an aunt contacted me about making earrings for her wedding. She gave me a piece of her fabric so I would get the perfect color stone. I found some gorgeous big teardrops in the exact same shade.

Estos dos pares de aretes que voy a mostrar fueron hechos bajo pedido el año pasado. Antes de irme de viaje a comprar piedras alrededor de Octubre, una tía me contactó para que le haga unos aretes para su boda. Me dio un pedazo de la tela para que consiga el color perfecto. Encontré unas gotas preciosas en el color exacto.

She wanted me to replicate some earrings I'd made for her daughter a couple of years ago but in the shade of her dress and in silver.

Quería que replique unos aretes que hice para su hija hace un par de años pero en el color de su vestido y con plata.

I mixed in some crystal, jade and freshwater pearls with the big drops.

Le puse también cristal, jade y perlas con las gotas verdes.

Then a friend of mine wanted a pair of earrings that had a big netted teardrop. I showed her the teardrop options I had and she chose the same stone. It's a very simple design but very elegant.

Luego una amiga quería un par de aretes que tengan una gota grande tejida. Le enseñé las opciones de gotas que tenía y escogió la misma piedra. Es un diseño simple pero muy elegante.

Just as last year... I have a Valentine's Day Giveaway in the works, so keep checking back!

Al igual que el año pasado, tendré un concurso para el día de San Valentín, así que chequeen el blog proximamente!

What I promised... Lo Prometido

2011-01-08T01:31:00.001-05:00

So here is what I promised... my first themed collection. I actually finished the collection last year, but wanted to do something special. I wanted to take nice pictures of the pieces on a model and I showed you the backstage, but now is the time to show you the final product. Pictures were taken by Margarita Dueñas.

Aquí esta lo prometido... mi primera colección basada en un tema. Terminé la colección el año pasado pero quería hacer algo especial. Quería tomar buenas fotos de las piezas con una modelo y les enseñé el tras cámaras, pero ahora es tiempo de enseñar el producto final. Las fotos fueron hechas por Margarita Dueñas.

This collection was conceived by doing the same exercises I taught the artisans way back when I did my thesis project. The purpose was to take inspiration from the elements from these ancient cultures but to make it appear modern and contemporary. I didn't want it to be obvious that it was inspired by prehispanic cultures. I also wanted this collection to be made with recycled silver and gold.

Esta colección fue concebida haciendo los mismos ejercicios que les enseñé a los artesanos cuando hice my proyecto de grado. El propósito fue inspirarme en los elementos de estas culturas ancestrales pero hacerlos parecer modernos y actuales. No quería que sea obvio que fueron inspiradas en culturas prehispánicas. Quise que esta colección sea hecha con oro y plata reciclada.

Some of the pieces have already been sold and I have some more pics that haven't been edited yet and I'll show them as soon as I get them.

Algunas de las piezas ya estan vendidas y tengo algunas fotos que faltan editar y las mostraré apenas las tenga.

Also, there was an article on today's newspaper about the collection :) you can check it out here.

También hubo un reportaje en el periódico de hoy acerca de la colección :) lo pueden leer aquí.

Have a great weekend!

Tengan un buen fin de semana!

Happy New Year! - Feliz Año Nuevo!

2011-01-06T11:45:00.001-05:00

Starting off the year on a good note. I've already started on fulfilling my resolutions:

- Exercising - I've already started
- Hiring someone to help me with updating my website and facebook - I have talked to the person, she agreed and hopefully in two weeks we'll get started
- Being organized - not quite started with this one yet, but I am so determined to tackle this one this year
- Have all my accounting in order

And some other small ones, most related to being more organized in my business

Empezando el año con una buena nota. Ya he comenzado a cumplir mis propósitos:

-Ejercitarme - Ya comencé
- Contratar a alguien que me ayude a actualizar mi sitio web y facebook - Ya hablé con la persona, dijo que sí y en unas dos semanas comenzaremos
- Ser ordenada - no he empezado todavía con esto, pero estoy determinada a cumplirlo este año
- Tener mi contabilidad en orden

Y otras cosas pequeñas, la mayoría relacionadas a ser más organizada en mi negocio.

I have two pieces to share:

Tengo dos piezas para compartir:

I made this earrings for my grandma as her bday and xmas present. I knew she had a green jade pendant and since I had saved this broken donut of the exact same color, I decided to come up with something interesting for her.

Jade, freshwater pearl and goldfilled wire. She was happy :)

Hice estos aretes para mi abuela por su regalo de cumpleaños y navidad. Sabía que ella tenía un dije de jade verde y como había guardado esta donut rota del mismo color, decidí inventarme algo interesante para ella.

Jade, perla y oro goldfill. Estaba feliz :)

And this pair was a commission for my neighbor.

Este par es de un pedido de mi vecina.

Sterling silver, goldfill and copper.

Plata, oro goldfill y cobre.

I have something prepared for you tomorrow... something I've been meaning to show you for a long while and it will finally be ready, so make sure you come back.

Tengo algo preparado para ustedes mañana... algo que he querido mostrarles hace algún tiempo y por fin estará listo, así que asegúrense de regresar.

End of Year post... Entrada de Fin de Año...

2010-12-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

Why is it that each year seems to go by faster than the previous one? It almost doesn't give us enough time to fulfill our resolutions. I thought I had posted some last year, but the closest thing I found was this post, and so far I think I got 2 (or maybe 1.75) out of 3. Organization is where I failed. Well, sometimes I can get my stuff organized, but then I never put it back where it was supposed to go and then it's all chaos again.

Por qué cada año parece pasar más rápido que el anterior? Casi ni nos da tiempo para cumplir nuestros propósitos. Creía que había escrito algunos el año pasado, pero lo más cercano que encontré fue esta entrada, y creo que cumplí dos (tal vez 1,75) de 3. La organización es donde fallé. Bueno, a veces puedo organizar mis cosas, pero luego nunca los pongo de vuelta donde corresponden y se vuelve un caos nuevamente.

This is my wire wrapping table, I've been making things so fast these past weeks, that I never took the time to sort my wire clippings into their proper bags. At that time I thought that leaving the sorting for later would save me time and I would keep doing new stuff... but after spending a couple of hours getting this area sorted and clean, I think I'll stick to doing it after each project.

Esta es mi mesa para trabajar con alambre, he estado haciendo joyas tan rápido estas últimas semanas, que nunca me tomé el tiempo de ubicar los sobrantes de alambre en sus fundas respectivas. En ese momento me parecía que hacerlo después me ahorraría tiempo y seguía haciendo cosas nuevas... pero luego de demorarme un par de horas limpiando el área y ubicando los retazos, creo que lo haré después de cada proyecto.

I think I've been more inspired than not this year and I've taken big steps towards being green. I set up a recycling bin in my studio, I buy precious metals made from recycled metals and every marketing material I've had to print, I've done it on post-consumer recycled paper. I use chemical-free pickle and I've tried to not turn on the A/C as much. I think I'm on the right track and I'll keep looking for ways to improve.

Creo que he estado más inspirada este año y he dado grandes pasos hacia convertirme en "green." Tengo un tacho de reciclaje en mi estudio, compro los metales preciosos hechos de metaes reciclados y todo lo que he tenido que imprimir (tarjetas, etiquetas), lo he hecho en papel reciclado. Utilizo "pickle" sin químicos y he tratado de no prender el aire acondicionado. Creo que estoy en el camino correcto y trataré de encontrar formas de mejorar.

I leave you with a picture of Pixel, on Xmas morning, after she unwrapped her present, a squeaky alligator that's bigger than her. She loves it.

Los dejo con una foto de Pixel, la mañana de Navidad, luego de abrir su regalo, un peluche de lagarto que pita y es más grande que ella. Le encanta.

Happy (and safe!) New Year!

Feliz (y seguro!) Año Nuevo!

Christmas Week - Semana de Navidad

2010-12-22T00:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging because I had so many custom orders after the last Open House that I still have a couple more to finish before Christmas. And yes, I am aware that Christmas is only 3 days away.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and I hope I can find some time during next week to write another post before the year ends!

No he escrito porque tuve tantos pedidos después del Open House que todavía tengo unos más por terminar antes de Navidad. Si, estoy consciente que sólo faltan 3 días para Navidad.

Espero que tengan una Feliz Navidad y espero encontrar el tiempo durante la próxima semana para escribir una vez más antes que se acabe el año!

Xmas Open House Invitation - Invitación al Open House Navideño

2010-11-18T15:20:00.001-05:00

I have sent out the invitations (via internet)! I'm trying to go paperless, but I'll still print out a few so that I can give to the people that aren't in my contact list yet and so that my friends can give out to their friends as well. Everything is almost ready. My mom has some new ideas for the displays and I'm gonna let her be in charge of that. I am still working double (some days triple) shifts to have enough stock ready. Last night I stayed up till 4 am working! But I wasn't tired, once I get going I could stay up all night. The problem is when I have to wake up in the morning :/

Ya las invitaciones han sido enviadas (via internet)! He estado tratando de evitar el papel, pero igual imprimiré varias para darle a la gente que no tengo dentro de mis contactos todavía y para que mis amigas puedan dar a sus amigas. Casi todo está listo. Mi mami tiene nuevas ideas para los displays y voy a dejar que se encargue de eso. Todavía estoy trabajando doble (algunos días triple) jornada para poder tener suficiente stock. Ayer me quedé hasta las 4 de la mañana trabajando! Pero no estaba cansada, una vez que empiezo, me podría quedar toda la noche. El problema es en la mañana cuando toca levantarse :/

Rose and Seafoam Green Earrings - Aretes rosados y verde agua

2010-11-04T22:42:00.001-05:00

Some wire work for this post... a lot of wirework actually! The idea of these earrings came to mind in a much smaller scale but while choosing the stones I saw these gorgeous seafoam green peruvian chalcedonies and knew I had to use them.

Algo de trabajo con alambre... bueno, mucho trabajo con alambre! La idea para estos aretes se me ocurrió en una escala mucho menor, pero al escoger las piedras vi unas gotas preciosas de calcedonia peruana y supe que tenía que usarlas.

These are very long earrings, measuring around 7 cms from the bottom of the ear post to the rose quartz teardrop.

Estos aretes son super largos, miden alrededor de 7 cms desde el palito hasta la gota de cuarzo rosa al final.

Oxidized sterling silver, Peruvian chalcedony, rose quartz, jade and green glass.

Plata envejecida, calcedonia peruana, cuarzo rosa, jade y vidrio verde.

A detail picture.

Foto de detalle.

Hope you're having a great week.

Espero que esten teniendo una buena semana.

Swarovski crystal set - Set con cristales Swarovski

2010-10-29T10:10:00.001-05:00

This is a set I made with blue zircon colored Swarovski crystals, a couple of clear ones and sterling silver. Big earring posts and a big ring to match.

Este es un set que hice con cristales Swarovski en color blue zircon y unos cuantos de los transparentes con plata. Aretes y anillos grandes.

The way I ended up stitching the crystals almost makes it look like a snowflake-y flower.

La forma en la que están puestos los cristales hace que se me parezcan a una flor y a un copo de nieve.

Did you know that I love taking close-ups?? :D

Sabían que me encantan los acercamientos?? :D

And the ring... Crystal teardrops form a flower on top of the sterling silver disc.

Y el anillo... Gotas de cristal forman una flor encima del disco de plata.

This one is BIG.

Este es GRANDE.

Double shift continues...

Continúa la doble jornada...

Flush Set Sapphire Earrings - Aretes con Safiros

2010-10-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

Hello... I know I've been MIA. I went away for my birthday... a small birthday vacation with part of my family. I had a great birthday week but afterwards, coming home was kind of messy as usual. I did some gem shopping as well and I don't know why but getting into a productive mode has been so difficult for me lately. It's not that I don't want to make new pieces... I just wish I could take all the time I wanted to produce one piece. I think it has to do with the fact that the techniques I learned at Revere are so much more time consuming to me because I haven't had enough practice with them yet. So there is still some trial and error and the time that goes into it frustrates me a bit since I end up with just one or two pieces at the end of the day instead of 5 or 10 like I would like right now. Christmas is so close and I have scheduled my Christmas Open House for Nov 24 (mark your calendars!) and I need to make lots and lots!

Hola... se que he estado desaparecida. Me fui por mi cumpleaños... unas pequeñas vacaciones con parte de mi familia. Tuve una gran semana de cumpleaños pero después, regresar a la vida normal fue un desastre como siempre. Aproveché para comprar piedras también y no se por qué, pero ponerme en modo "producción" ha sido muy difícil para mi ulitmamente. No es que no quiero hacer piezas nuevas... es solo que desearía poder tomarme todo el tiempo que quisiera en producir una pieza. Creo que tiene que ver con el hecho de que las técnicas que aprendí en Revere demandan mucho más tiempo por lo que no he tenido suficiente práctica aún. Hay errores que tengo que corregir constantemente y el tiempo que tengo que invertir me frustra un poco porque al final del día tengo una o dos piezas terminadas en lugar de 5 o 10 como quisiera ahora. Navidad está tan cerca y he programado mi Open House Navideño para el 24 de Nov (marquen sus agendas!) y necesito hacer muchas cosas!

Enough with the rant... Here are some earrings which I am super duper proud of because it was my first flush setting on actual piece, instead of just practicing on a piece of copper. For those of you who don't know... flush setting is HARD. It takes time and patience to get the stone to just click in. And when it does and you hear that click... you just feel like dancing all over the place because it worked!

Suficiente con las quejas... Aquí les muestro unos aretes de los cuales estoy super orgullosa porque es mi primer 'engarce por incrustación' (googlee la traducción y eso fue lo q salió!) en una pieza, en lugar de practicar en un pedazo de cobre. Para los que no saben, es DIFICIL. Toma tiempo y paciencia para lograr que la piedra entre. Y cuando entra y escuchas ese 'click'... dan ganas de bailar por todo el cuarto porque funcionó!

Sterling Silver and my favorite shade of blue sapphires. It's a grayish blue. I did some texture with a new attachment for my flexshaft and I am in love with it. It almost looks like sandblasting.

Picture on my hands for size reference.

Plata y safiros de mi tono de azul favorito. Es un azul grisáceo. Hice una textura con un nuevo accesorio para mi flexshaft y me encanta. Casi parece arenado.

Foto en mis manos para referencia de tamaño.

And a close-up. I love this shot. I love taking close-up pics of small things. And I love my Macro Lens :D

Y un acercamiento. Me encanta esta foto. Me encanta tomar fotos de cerca de cosas pequeñas. Y amo my lente Macro :D

Blogging may be scarce for the following weeks. I am going to start working a lot. Double shifts. I have a demanding boss, don't I? LOL I'm also not going to be taking in any custom orders until after the Open House. I love custom orders, but I need to focus on building inventory these upcoming weeks.

Puede que no escriba mucho en las semanas que vienen. Voy a empezar a trabajar mucho. Doble jornada. Tengo una jefe demandante, no? Tampoco voy a poder tomar pedidos hasta después del Open House. Amo los pedidos personalizados, pero debo enforcarme en crear inventario estas semanas que vienen.

Behind the Scenes - Tras Cámaras

2010-09-22T01:43:00.000-05:00

Today was the photoshoot for my collection. Early in the morning I headed to Margarita's studio with all the pieces from my collection. As soon as the model, Fiorella, arrived, she went to hair and makeup, which was done by Cristina Muñoz, one of the Poupée sisters. We went with a very natural look, to keep from distracting from the jewelry.

Hoy fue la sesión de fotos de mi colección. Temprano en la mañana me dirigí al estudio de Margarita con todas las piezas de la colección. Apenas llegó la modelo, Fiorella, la empezó a maquillar y peinar Cristina Muñoz, una de las hermanas de Poupée. Escogimos un look muy natural para no distraer de las joyas.

While the hair and makeup was being done, I arranged all the jewelry in 'sets' to be photographed together. I also gave them one last polish for extra shine.

Mientras la modelo estaba maquillándose, yo me dediqué a poner las joyas en los 'sets' que iban a ser fotografiados. También les dí una última pulida para que brillen bastante.

Margarita had set up the lights the day before, so everything was ready to go. Once the model was all made up, she put on the jewels and we started shooting.

Margarita tenía listas las luces desde el día anterior, entonces estábamos listas para empezar. Una vez que la modelo estuvo maquillada y peinada, se puso las joyas y comenzó la sesión.

Shooting jewelry is SO hard! My friend Margarita would be able to get into specific details about it, but it's hard to get it to shine just enough, to get the earrings facing in the right direction, to find poses for the model that look 'natural' yet show the jewelry properly and so on... But both the model and the photographer did an awesome job.

Fotografiar joyas es MUY difícil! Mi amiga Margarita podría dar detalles específicos, pero es difícil hacer que brille lo suficiente, que los aretes estén mirando en la dirección correcta, encontrar poses para la modelo que se vean 'naturales' pero que muestren las joyas bien... Pero la modelo y la fotógrafa hicieron un gran trabajo.


Duck tape was extremely helpful for the shoot! La cinta gris fue extremadamente útil en la sesión!

I can't wait to see how the pictures turned out but I'm sure they will be great. Thank you so much to Margarita, Cristina and Fiorella, you were amazing today!

Ya quiero ver cómo salieron las fotos, estoy segura que quedaron muy bien. Muchísimas gracias Margarita, Cristina y Fiorella, se pasaron hoy!

New Rings - Anillos Nuevos

2010-09-21T00:15:00.000-05:00

As you all may already know, I have a ring obsession. I love rings and adore making them. And making them BIG. I've had a couple of new ideas for rings that I wanted to test out.

Como ya algunos han de saber, tengo una obsesión con los anillos. Amo los anillos y adoro hacerlos. Y hacerlos GRANDES. He tenido algunas ideas de anillos que quería probar.

This first one is the bigger cousin to my wrapped cluster rings which I've made in a lot of different color combos. They are really cute but I wanted a bolder version.

El primero es el "primo mayor" de mis anillos de piedras enrededas que he hecho en algunas combinaciones diferentes. Son muy lindos, pero quería una versión más atrevida.

Sterling Silver, Amethyst, Iolite, Freshwater Pearls and Yellow Chalcedony. You put it only on one finger, but it spans 3 fingers. It is very comfortable to wear as you don't have two fingers "stuck" together and it certainly gets noticed.

Plata, Amatistas, Iolita, Perlas y Calcedonia Amarilla. Solo te lo pones en un dedo, pero "ocupa" 3 dedos. Es muy cómodo para usar porque no tienes dos dedos "pegados" y es un anillo para notarse.

I had forgotten about these beads completely. I re-discovered them in my stash and immediately had the idea for this ring. Like the other one, it goes through only one finger.

Me había olvidado completamente de estas piedras. Las re-descubrí entre mis cajones e inmediatamente tuve la idea para este anillo. Al igual que el otro, solo se pone en un dedo.

Sterling Silver and Chrysocolla.

Plata y Chrysocolla.

And this last one is a little more delicate. Textured Sterling Silver. Made to be worn as an everyday statement piece :)

Este último es más delicado. Plata texturizada. Hecho para ser usado todos los días.

Tomorrow is the photoshoot for my collection. I am excited and nervous! I will be taking behind the scenes pics to show you a sneak peak tomorrow night.

Mañana es el día de la sesión de fotos de mi última colección. Estoy emocionada y nerviosa! Estaré tomando fotos detrás de cámaras para enseñarles mañana de noche.

Red and Green Hoops - Argollas Rojas y Verdes

2010-09-15T00:21:00.001-05:00

I have a client that adores hoops. I think she may be a little obsessed with them :) But she looks gorgeous wearing them, so I just help her satisfy her "need." She told me the other day she wanted a pair in red and a pair in green. Now that I am finished with my collection, I had the time to finally make her some hoops.

Tengo una clienta que adora las argollas. Creo que está un poco obsesionada con ellas :) Pero le quedan tan bien, que yo la ayudo a satisfacer su "necesidad." El otro día me dijo que quería un par de argollas rojas y unas verdes. Ahora que ya terminé con mi otra colección, tuve el tiempo de finalmente hacerle unas argollas.

Sterling Silver and red coral. I bought these coral beads about 4 years ago, when I didn't know how harmful it was to the environment. I haven't bought any more coral since, but I still have some red and pink coral in my stash. I adore coral and the color and texture of the beads... but I love the coral reefs and the marine environment even more :) The wrapping in these hoops makes it seem as if each bead was inside its own little nest.

Plata y coral rojo. Compré estos corales hace unos 4 años, cuando no sabía lo dañino que era para el medio ambiente. No he comprado más coral desde entonces, pero todavía tengo unas cuantas sartas de coral rojo y rosado. Me encanta el coral, su color y su textura... pero me encantan más los arrecifes de coral y el medio ambiente :) En estas argollas, parece que cada coral estuviera en su propio nido.

For the green pair, I didn't go with a bright bright green. I decided to use green aventurine and light green pearls I had that my mom brought me from China. Small gray pearls as an accent as well.

Para las argollas verdes no utilicé un verde muy encendido. Decidí usar aventurina verde y perlas verde claro que mi mamá me trajo de China hace algunos años. Las combiné también con perlas grises pequeñas.

Along with the beads, I also wrapped some chain, to give it a little more texture. This was a new thing for me and I like the different look it gives.

Además de las piedras, usé un poco de cadena, para darle algo más de textura. Es algo nuevo para mi y me gusta el "look" diferente que le da.

Commissioned Brass Earrings - Pedido de Aretes de Brass

2010-09-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

This pair was made for one of the sisters behind Poupeé, Cristina. After she saw the other two pairs I made, she wanted something similar.

Este par fue hecho para una de las hermanas de Poupeé, Cristina. Después que ella vió los otros dos pares que hice, me pidió unos similares.

Brass, Swarovski crystals and Swarovski pearls with a freshwater coin pearl in the center.

Brass, cristales Swarovski y perlas Swarovski con una perla moneda en el centro.

They are the same size as the other ones, here is a pic with me holding them in my hand so you can get a size reference. They are big! But not too heavy and with extra big ear nuts, they're very comfortable.

Son del mismo tamaño que los otros, aquí una foto con los aretes en la mano para que tengan una referencia. Son grandes! Pero no son muy pesados y con mariposas extra grandes, son bien cómodos.

Have a great weekend!

Tengan un buen fin de semana!

Prototypes... Prototipos...

2010-09-10T10:00:00.005-05:00

Starting today, I'll be translating my posts to Spanish...

Last week I made the final pieces of my collection. Do I think it's complete? I don't know... I don't know if a collection ever feels complete. I could keep adding new pieces to it forever but I just had to decide it was time to finish with it. I had some clients that had been asking me for weeks when I'd have new stuff, so I knew it was time to start with something new. That and the fact that I should already be starting with Christmas inventory! So, now that the collection is done I'm just taking detail pictures of all the pieces and in a week or so my friend Margarita Dueñas will do a photoshoot of my pieces with a model.

After coming back from Revere I had a bunch of ideas I wanted to try, but couldn't because I didn't have my equipment yet. And then when I got my equipment I couldn't because I didn't have the time. Finally I have some time to try those ideas. Here are a two prototypes:

I actually had started to make these a while ago. I even went as far as cutting one of the earrings out of brass. Which was a huge mistake. Brass is soooo hard! So I started from scratch and went with copper this time. (Sorry for the pics. They're not that good since I took them at night, in my room... using my legs as a tripod)

La semana pasada terminé las piezas finales de mi colección. Pienso que está completa? No lo se... No se si alguna colección se siente completa. Podría añadir nuevas piezas para siempre pero tenía que decidir que era tiempo de terminarla. Algunas clientes han estado preguntandome cuándo tendré piezas nuevas, así que era hora de hacerlas. Eso y el hecho de que ya debería estar trabajando en piezas para Navidad! Entonces, ahora que mi colección está lista, estoy tomando fotos en detalle de todas las piezas y en una semana mi amiga Margarita Dueñas va a hacer una sesión con mis piezas en una modelo.

Después de regresar de Revere tenía muchas ideas que quería intentar pero no podía porque no tenía mis equipos todavía. Cuando llegaron mis equipos, no podía porque no tenía el tiempo. Finalmente tengo mis equipos y tengo el tiempo para intentar algunas de las ideas. Aquí dos prototipos:

Empecé a hacer estos hace algún tiempo. Ya hasta había cortado uno de los aretes en brass. Lo cual fue un gran error. Es demasiado duro! Entonces comencé nuevamente desde cero y utilicé cobre. (Las fotos no estan muy buenas. Las tomé de noche, en mi cuarto... usando mis piernas como trípode)

Textured copper with sterling silver stitches all around and rainbow moonstone coins. The coins are on both sides of the earrings. Despite the fact that they have a solid piece of metal, I think these earrings look quite delicate when on.

Cobre con textura, "puntadas" de plata y rainbow moonstone. Las piedras están en los dos lados del arete. Aunque son una pieza sólida de metal, me parece que estos aretes se los ve delicados cuando están puestos.

These are bit more chunky. Hoops as well. They remind me of the little bows I used to wear as a child that had pieces of twisted colored ribbon.

Estos son un poco más "chunky". Argollas... me recuerdan a los lazos que usaba cuando era niña que tenían las cintas enrolladas de colores.

Copper, sterling silver and chinese amazonite. I left a slight patina on these to make them look worn.

Cobre, plata y amazonita china. Les dejé un poco de patina para que parezca que ya han sido usados.

I still need to perfect the closure system of the hoops... it's a bit hard to put them on without being in front of the mirror.

Todavía necesito perfeccionar el sistema de enganche de estas argollas... es un poco difícil ponérselas sin estar frente al espejo.

What do you think of the prototypes?

Qué opinan de los prototipos?

Aqua and Gold Set

2010-09-07T09:27:00.005-05:00

A recent commission for a long time client and friend. She needed something with gold and baby blue. She showed me a picture of the colors of the fabric of her dress and Swarovski's Aquamarine color was pefect for it.

I had never used these filigree gold beads like this before... they seem to be to pretty to use them all in one project. But I had an idea in my mind and I am so glad I took the chance. Goldfilled wire with gold plated filigree beads and Swarovski crystals.

After she saw the earrings she asked me to make a matching bracelet, but without the aquamarine crystals so that it would be something she could put on with anything. So, again I pulled out the pretty filigree beads in a bigger size and went on to create this:

I used more goldfilled wire to make some loops to match the ones in the earrings and placed them in the center part of the bracelet.

Yesterday I was in the studio all day :) I am almost ready to show you my new collection!

Commissioned Name Bracelet

2010-09-03T01:20:00.004-05:00

A long time customer showed me a picture the other day. It was of her grandma's pin, which had her grandma's name done in wire. She wanted something similar but with her name, in silver and in a bracelet. I had never done a name before, though I have often made some letters with leftover wire for play. I took on the challenge... which included adding a heart as well.

I enjoyed working on this project because the client was just as (or even more) excited as I was... but my favorite part was when she was deciding whether she wanted leather cord or silver chain to finish the bracelet... she went with the silver chain because sometimes the leather will wear off and she wanted it to be something she could pass on to her daughter... even though she would not name her Priscilla. That literally melted my heart as that is exactly what I want everyone to think when they get one of my pieces: they are small treasures to be passed on to daughters and granddaughters.

I was kinda worried about the fragility of the name as a bracelet. But after putting it for 2 days in the tumbler it had tons of spring, so I think it will be okay. The bracelet was picked up today and it fit her perfectly :)

Big Brass Earrings

2010-08-26T09:27:00.002-05:00

I recently had a custom order from a bride to make her some big... very big gold earring posts. She wanted them as big as a half dollar. I'd never made posts that big, but I loved the challenge.

Because of the gold color she needed, we went with brass as the metal and then used coin pearls and Swarovksi crystal for that extra bling. The brass discs shine a lot too because of the hammered texture. It's hard to visualize how big these really are without seeing them on, but I promise I will have pictures of that soon.

And after making those, I had an idea for a different version that I just couldn't wait to make. A pierced out disc with big (6mm) swarovski pearls and some swarovski crystals in the center, filling part of the hole. The brass in these is hammered as well but you can't see as much of it as in the previous pair. I have a custom order for a mix between these two pairs that I'll show as soon as I make them!

Eye Candy - Tanishq Aarka

2010-08-17T19:50:00.004-05:00

Things are settling back to normal time-wise, but I didn't have much time to prepare the text to go with the Eye Candy. I've had the website where I found these pics open for weeks in a tab waiting to share them with you. There's not much to say except that besides the fabulous jewels I adore the drama of the pictures. I googled the brand but couldn't find these particular pieces on the website. Found via Beautiful Life. Enjoy

Citrus Garlic Shrimp

2010-08-05T19:45:00.004-05:00

This week I've been extra busy... extra being the key word here... I've been working on a non-jewelry related project with a friend that's gonna be our extra side job. We're still setting the business up doing all that needs to be taken care of at the beginning, so hopefully after next week, my regular job will take most of my time.

I love cooking and experimenting with new recipes. I mostly like to cook salty food instead of desserts as I feel with salty food I can experiment more without ruining the recipe.

Last week I found this great recipe for making Citrus Garlic Shrimp at allrecipes.com and since my mom usually has some IQF peeled and deveined shrimp, I decided to give it a go.

The recipe called for orange and lemon juice and peel. I only added a little of the peel as I had read some reviews that said that the citrus flavor was too strong. For us, lemons are the green ones and limes are the big yellow ones. And our oranges are actually yellow!

I don't really like linguini so I made capellini instead.

This was the finished dish... It was delicious! Added some parmesan on top and voila! It was a dish you could have bought at a restaurant and it was super quick and easy to do.

I think this would be a great recipe if you are having people over for lunch or dinner, as it cooks very fast.

Sneak Peek 1 - New Collection

2010-08-01T22:26:00.003-05:00

I apologize because "tomorrow" became 4 days later. I had some technical issues. Anyways, here is the sneak peek at the new collection.

I am working around a theme for the first time and I find it very stimulating but also very hard at the same time.

It's great because I know I have some limits and some guidelines as to what I should do...

But then I'll have an idea completely different, that doesn't fit inside that collection and I have to push it aside. Sometimes I'll remember to draw it or write it down so I can work on that later, but most of the times I forget.

I'm also unsure as to how many pieces I should have? Should it be 30 pieces? 50? 100?

Fashion Shoot

2010-07-29T00:04:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I told you about the 2 times I'd been in front of my friend Margarita's lens. This was the third, a couple of weeks ago, when I was asked to model 2 dresses from my other friend's brand.

Here are a couple of pics from that day:

The green dress is actually mine. My friend and her sister (who also does incredible hair and makeup) made it for me as payment from helping out on the other fashion shoot.

Here I am when I first sat down....

Makeup in progress... you can see the photographer (gray dress) is also there checking everything's fine for the shoot.Hair ready, makeup almost ready!

And the final result:

I also loved the pale blue grayish dress, it made me feel like a modern Grecian princess. The whole thing made me feel like a princess. I love doing my own hair and make-up, but it is soo nice to have it done every once in a while by a professional. And even though it is a bit daunting at first, it is exciting to have your picture taken with this much production. After the uncomfortableness of being in the spotlight fades away, it is a lot of fun plus you're certain you'll have at least one great pic of yourself!

Tomorrow I have some new pieces to show and a peek at my new collection!

My newest Sponsor - Margarita Dueñas Foto

2010-07-27T17:08:00.006-05:00

As you may have noticed on the right side of the blog, I have a new sponsor. She is a good friend of mine and her name is Margarita Dueñas. She is a photographer focusing on Children, Couples and Families.

I met her about 14 years ago when I joined the school she went to, we were in 5th grade, and we've been friends since.

She found her passion in photography and was able to make it into a business. I am so happy that like me, she can work doing something she loves. And everyone I know just loves her work!

She is based out of Guayaquil, Ecuador, but she is available for location shoots anywhere in the world.

I feel lucky that I've been able to see her evolution and progress. Since day one she has had a special gift for capturing moments beautifully. And every time I see a new photo shoot of hers, I am amazed about how good they are!

She is always outdoing herself and I think that just by seeing a small sample of her work, you'll fall in love with it too.

I've also been lucky to have been able to be in front of her lens 3 times. One time for a fashion shoot, for another friend's brand of clothing.

Another time for a couples session with my boyfriend. I was a bit concerned about how my boyfriend would react in front of the camera, but she just made us both feel so at ease. You can see that in the pictures (click here for the entire session). All the pictures have a certain drama and I am so glad that we had this session.

And the third time.... well, you'll read more about that tomorrow....

Oddest commision so far - Petrified Pendulum

2010-07-23T00:25:00.005-05:00

I do love it when I get out of the ordinary commissions. Yesterday I received a call from someone asking if I could make a special rush order with a stone they had. I told her to come meet me and give me the stone so I could get working on it ASAP. So she arrives and tells me that she and a friend want to give a gift to a teacher at the university they went to and on Friday they had another friend traveling to the university and therefore they had a chance to make the gift get there. She shows me the "stone" and tells me it's petrified wood! I'd never seen something like this outside a museum so I was excited. They wanted me to make a net all around the "stone" and then to make it into a pendulum with some chain attached to it and a netted ball to hold it. We decided we would put a lava bead inside the netted ball.

Here is the petrified wood before...

And here it is after! I oxidized the silver to give it that antique, old, worn look. I think it turned out perfectly. The randomness of the netting goes well with the roughness of the wood...

And the lava bead inside the cage, even though it's black (And black and brown don't go well together supposedly) was the best choice IMO
The client loved it so hopefully her teacher will too.

Tour of my studio v2.0

2010-07-21T23:25:00.004-05:00

Today I printed out my motivational posters. I printed them in textured white cardstock and they turned out great. Bought some double sided tape and put them on the walls of my studio. Since I was going to take pics of that, I decided to take pictures of my entire studio to show you what it looks like now with my new tools. (You can check out the previous Studio Tour here)
Now, be warned that I didn't tidy up for the pictures. It is this messy most of the time :S I am not known to be tidy, but I would guess most creative/art studios aren't so tidy anyway.

When you first open the door this is what you see: My wireworking table. I've put my rolling mill there and my tumbler.

And right above it, to the right, on the corner is where I set up my posters.

On the table shelves I have: some stationery, empty mailing boxes and padded envelopes, some bezel making mandrels, a wig jig, tags and earring cards and some other random stuff. You can see Pixel's Spot is right beside the table.

If you keep looking to the left, you'll see all my beads in their organizer boxes on the shelves. I am terribly sorry, I forgot to rotate the vertical pics since my minox doesn't do it by itself and I am way too lazy to do that and upload the pics again. So just think of it as exercise for the neck and tilt your head :)

And now, where my wireworking table used to be, I now have a jeweler's bench. I had it custom made locally. I have my flexshaft, engraving block, bench pin, some lamps and you can see the torch's hoses.

A couple of works in progress... I find that it is much more time efficient to do several things at once with metalsmithing. It's frustrating at times because I was so used to work on one thing at a time. I would have the idea, work on it and had it done a few minutes or hours later. Here, it takes me days to see the final result because I work on 8-10 pieces at a time. But it is so much fun on the day where they're all finally getting done, all the other work days just evaporate in my head and it feels like I just made them all appear almost instantly.

You've never seen this part before... behind the curtain there is a bathroom that I used as storage room. But I basically just put stuff in there without organizing it.

I bought myself a shelf to put all my magazines and books. It fit right on top of the...

Toilet! Which doubles as my pickling station (I never use the toilet anyways!) I bought a rice cooker and during the second day of using it with the citric pickle, I put it on boil to get it heated fast and forgot :/ I went to eat lunch and when I came back, the water had overflowed everywhere (luckily it didn't fall on top of the outlet) and the ceramic coating on the pot had dissappeared. I don't know the exact reason why the pickle won't work if I put it directly on the uncoated pot, so I just put water in it and a glass container with the pickle inside. Works perfectly (and I'll never put it on boil again)

Then I have a small sink where I rinse my stuff. On top of the sink, where a mirror would go, I have a whiteboard to write things to do and to the left there is a shower which is where I have those blue boxes holding all of my open house displays.

And that is it. Again, sorry for giving your neck some exercise... All of the pics where taken with my Minox Leica in the Gold Plated version... Isn't it the cutest??

Make it Happen. Wordy Inspiration. Free Posters

2010-07-20T22:45:00.004-05:00

I've been finding myself somewhat discouraged at times while working. Not so much discouraged as demotivated really. Sometimes it feels like I've lost my drive.

To counteract those feelings I decided to decorate one of my walls with some motivational phrases. Yesterday I googled "work motivation quotes" and found a bunch. I picked out the ones I liked best and did a two part poster which I'll print tomorrow. It's all in blues because blue is my favorite color.

I have a blank wall where my wireworking table is, so that's where it's going to go. It's actually the only available space on a wall!

I am also offering the poster designs for free. If you want it, you can email me to cristinaamador [at] gmail.com and I'll send you the hi-res version that you can print out.

Hopefully I'll be able to put them on the wall tomorrow as well. I'll take pics and show you :)

Eye Candy - Sweet Rings

2010-07-18T16:41:00.002-05:00

I stumbled upon FunkyTrend and found these adorable Japanese Sweet Rings by SouZou Creations. All pictures taken from the FunkyTrend website. Check out the shop for more food inspired rings.

This Weekend

2010-07-14T00:25:00.003-05:00

I had only one order to finish as I only took this one. It was a new client and she wanted small elegant earrings to wear to a wedding. She wore a dress a friend of mine made, which is how she contacted me. Sterling silver, freshwater pearls, rock crystal and Swarovski crystals.

And on Saturday morning, it was my youngest brother school Olympics. He invited me and Pixel to come see him, so we did. It was Pixel's first time at an event with that much people and noise and she did great. She was a little bit startled at first from all the noise, but since I didn't react to that, she just deemed it normal and kept sniffing around. My brother was in team Red

Too much sniffing around got her a feather stuck to her nose

My brother played soccer while we watched him (the blonde one)

Pixel was happy but exhausted after the game.

It was a fun day and Pixel made tons of friends. I also found a little girl wearing the exact same shoes I had (gray Converse) they looked so cute being so tiny! When I have a child, we'll definitely have matching shoes :D

The Bracelet and The Queen

2010-07-10T17:24:00.002-05:00

For my sister's wedding, we had some guests staying at our house. One couple asked me to make a silver bracelet for a friend's wife. Silver and her birthstone which was Citrine. I wanted to incorporate two techniques to make something very unique. The focal part of the bracelet had some wire wrapping with stones. (I love this close-up shot!)

And then for the rest of the bracelet I wove the thicker wires into a sort of bangle. I added a clasp and chain because I didn't know the woman's exact wrist measure.

Before sending the bracelet off to the new owner, I took these pictures. One of my aunts told me that there was this woman in Mexico that always took the pictures of her jewelry on her dog. So I decided to do the same thing. Look at the Queen with her new "crown"

She is totally owning it :)

Personally, I believe other people wouldn't want to wear jewelry that's been on a strange dog. I wouldn't mind but it's because I LOVE dogs. What do you think?

Three pairs of earrings

2010-07-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

These three pairs were made for a lady on commission. She ended up just taking the two gold ones.

Goldfilled wire with FWP and garnets. I just want to eat these! I've made this design before but with big amethyst rondelles. I also did a little netting on the inside for this one.

Sterling Silver crochet posts with ruby rondelles. LOVE the color of these rubies.

And goldfilled wire with emeralds. This style of earrings is always a challenge. It's hard to make them both look the same but opposite. But I adore the way they end up looking. And my clients love them too :)

Today was my aunt's birthday. We went to visit her and had sushi delivered to her house. On Saturday she fell down the stairs (luckily at the last step) and today she found out she broke a rib! (Ouch!!) So she couldn't go out, but it was fun anyways. I took my little baby, Pixel, so that she could play with my aunt's Yorkshire Terrier, Spikey. Bad thing was that about half an hour after they'd been playing, Spikey noticed Pixel was in heat. Can you imagine the kind of puppies they would make?? Take a look. So we had to separate them which resulted in cries from both dogs. Oh well.... they can play again once her season has passed.

Orange and others...

2010-07-01T20:12:00.002-05:00

I've made some orange stuff these days...

This first pair of earrings was a commissioned piece that wasn't bought. The client wanted the netting, wanted goldfill wire, wanted these stones but didn't expect the final price these had. So, they're up for sale. I loved taking pictures of these!! Aren't they photogenic?? Goldfill wire, Smoky quartz, chalcedony and carnelian.

This pair I made with an idea I had a while ago. I wanted to make small circles in a bigger circle that I would oxidize to bring them out. Like how they turned out, they're so comfy to wear and the color of the stone is marvelous. Oxidized sterling silver and spessartite garnet.

This ring I made following the same design idea but on a square format. I had this square cut carnelian that was perfect for a ring. I also textured the ring band. Oxidized SS and Carnelian

And last, but not least, I needed a necklace to wear for a wedding and had very little time to do it. I remembered I had lots of tiny silver discs, they were from the center hole of some of the name pendants I made some time ago. So I wove 7 together for each side and as a pendant I took a gorgeous crystal teardrop and used this big cone I had been hoarding for a while. Love how it looks. This one is a keeper. The woven silver discs look great but I fear that in real life, it's going to be too delicate to handle, therefore, I can't sell it.

For the next two weeks I will be solely working on my new collection. I will not work on custom orders, I'll just make new stuff :) I am very excited... I have a ton of ideas of what I'll make

Small Pearls studs for a little girl and 18k cross

2010-06-29T14:26:00.005-05:00

A friend commissioned this pair of tiny earrings for a friend's daughter. Small freshwater pearl rondelles with tiny 3mm swarovski bicones and sterling silver.

And this was my first ever 18k gold piece. A commissioned cross for father's day, hung on leather cord. On the front it reads "S.T.A (I have no idea what it stands for) Denise" the wife's name.

And on the back "Romi Ricky" which are the couple's children. I was asked to leave some space for future children as they are a very young couple.

It was nerve racking to saw and stamp on the 18k gold sheet. I was so afraid to make a mistake... gold is very expensive these days!!

A few out of my ordinary pieces

2010-06-23T09:06:00.002-05:00

I have some commissions to show you that are out of MY ordinary. Some I plan to do more of... others will continue to be "made by commission only'

This is the hairpiece I made for my sister for her wedding. She wore a long veil for the ceremony and for the reception she took the long veil off, had a shorter veil (about waist length) and she put on this. It's all silver copper wire with Swarovski crystals and really cool wire mesh. I had never worked with it before and while I don't plan on using it for jewelry cause it's way too delicate, I thought it was really cool to play with. Hairpieces like this will be commission only.

One day this random guy (about 22 years old) showed up at my house asking if this was the place were jewelry was sold. He wanted to buy a ring. I showed him what I had, which wasn't much cause I don't have many in stock right now. And he asked if I had something more symbolic, like a promise ring. I didn't have any so he chose the stone and also asked me to engrave "M & K" on the inside.

Pink tourmaline and sterling silver. I do plan on making more bezel set stone rings to have in stock.

And lastly, I had a woman that wanted a keyring with her kids' names. She wanted something with bright colors too. I am going to post this on my site and facebook so people know I make these. They will be made on commision only as well.

Wedding is Over... My life can be resumed.

2010-06-17T10:19:00.006-05:00

So now that the Wedding is over (kind of, my mom seems to be in stress mode still) I can resume my life.

It was a beautiful wedding, we all had a great time, the guests were happy. It was awesome seeing so many of my relatives that live far away. It reminds me of how much I miss them. I didn't take any pictures with my camera during the wedding as I just wanted to enjoy. But I will have pictures as soon as I have them. For now, I only have this one of the bride and groom with the bridesmaids and some of the groomsmen at the church.

Photo by: Andres Llopart

My youngest brother (9 years old, in the front) proved to be quite the dancer. He danced with all of my friends and basically with any girl he could find during the reception. No, he didn't care if they had a boyfriend and he had to have both their hands held during the entire time they danced. He was dancing with one of my friends that had a drink in her hand and he told her "Put the "beer" down" so he could grab that hand as well. Oh, he's going to be a dangerous little man.

Now, some eye candy.

A commissioned pair of earrings. The lady who owns this pair brought me the crystals and wanted to have a cluster like pair of earrings that cascaded down. This was a hard one to do since I made one earring completely so she could approve and then had to do the other one to match. When doing random-like earrings I usually do both at the same time so that both will look exactly the same, so it was a challenge, but I think I did okay.

The only non-commissioned piece I've done in a while. Sterling and Mystic Topaz. I just looove all the colors :)

Okay, so I've actually done something else that's not commissioned. I recently got a bunch of gemstones and these tsavorite garnets were a little smaller than I expected, so I wanted to try a way to set them. I decided on the star setting on a random cut silver sheet with a matte finish.

A Grandma bracelet. One lucky grandma with 10 grandchildren.

Matching mother and daughter earrings:

And a mother bracelet. Actually a mother/wife bracelet since one of the "Pepe" is the husband.

That's it for now. I promise I am getting back to normal posting :)

Beach and Mall

2010-05-31T01:39:00.005-05:00

I finally had the chance to go to the beach last weekend. We had a national holiday on Monday, which also happened to be my dad's birthday. All pics in this post are taken with my Minox DCC Leica M3. And they haven't been retouched in any way.

Look at that deep stare from this handsome man...
My mom with my brother and niece.

My other brother's birthday was last Monday, so during the afternoon we went to the mall to have a cup of coffee. Here's my grandma on the left with one of her sisters.

Pixel and me. She is so well behaved. I just placed her on another chair, told her to stay down. And she did :)
And my mom with my brother. He turned 17.

There are only two weeks left before my sister's wedding. I expect my house to be stressful until it is all over. On Wednesday we have her kitchen shower and on Friday it's her bridal shower. And then the next week is going to be full of events and dinners and cocktails for all the people that are coming from out of town. I'm thinking food overload. I may need to add one more day of exercise to make up for the excess eating that is going to take place :/

Organic Jewelry Pickle - from I dream I can fly

2010-05-27T01:19:00.003-05:00

I've started to solder again now that I have time to experiment again and I needed some jewelry pickle. I never bought the regular, chemical stuff because I knew that there were some other options. I googled and found this recipe from a blog called I dream I can Fly by Jo Hollingsworth.

I tried it and it works perfectly!!! This is what I'll be using. It just feels so good to find chemical-free alternatives.

Also check out Jo's jewelry while you're on her blog, it is gorgeous!!

Modern Ring Design

2010-05-20T16:54:00.003-05:00

When it is time for a man to pop the question, it is very important to have the right engagement ring ready for that solemn occasion. With the advent of internet technology, you can design your own engagement rings online with simple software that will allow you to look at the ring before you commit to purchase it. Diamonds are available at online retail stores online for deep discounts. There are sophisticated software algorithms that allow you to narrow down your search to find that perfect diamond, whether it is a budgetary constraint, or particular style.

photo: Abazias Diamonds

Optimally, a woman will give you subtle hints as to what kind of rings they like. Some love the look of yellow gold, while others are dead-set on platinum or white gold. Once you know exactly what she would like, you can go to any of the many great diamond ring websites and design exactly what you need to satisfy your lady and her tastes. From Asscher cuts to heart-shaped diamonds, you can view any design that you want and look at it from many angles. Ordering is always a breeze as websites have become more and more sophisticated. Simply pick the various elements you wish to see and the software will create it to your specifications.

Knowing that this ring is the eternal symbol of your love for your wife, you should get the perfect ring for her and understand that you do not have to compromise in any way when making your choice. By picking her brain with subtle probing, you should be able to get the information you need to make this grand creation. Before this capability, we were at the mercy of jewelry stores who had some designs in stock, but in the modern age, you can make the exact ring you want with little hassle at a decent price.

Abazias Diamonds

Great Quote

2010-05-20T12:23:00.000-05:00

Found this quote via FreshBump.com. Poster made by Evil Design. Hope it inspires you to get a project started or to keep it going, like it did me.

New Look and New Work

2010-05-18T20:48:00.003-05:00

You may have noticed that the blog has a new look. I wanted to change the layout so that I could have bigger pictures. If you have any suggestions about the new template, please let me know.

Here are some new things that I wanted to share.

Goldfilled earrings with ruby rondelles and teardrops. I've had those teardrops for over a year, waiting for the right project. I knew they had to stay together, so I decided to make them into earrings. They measure about 5 cms from the ear post. They make a statement but are very light.

Had this idea cooking in my head for a while before I made them. I am happy with the results and these have already found a new home. Sterling Silver and freshwater pearls.

One of my netted bezel rings, this one done with a gorgeous huge "Green Amethyst" or Prasiolite and gray mystic topaz. This one already found a finger :)

One of the reasons I wanted to learn how to solder was to make my job easier for some of the wire wrapping ideas I had, such as these half cuff. I formed the wire triangles and then soldered them. Then I joined them with wire wrapping and beads. Sterling, black spinel and rubies.

And a last one... Sterling and freshwater pearl hoops with some wire details.

I'm so tired today, I went wakeboarding after almost 7 months of being "out of the water," it was fun but I got tired immediately and I know I'll be sore tomorrow :S

Happy Tuesday :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T22:54:00.005-05:00

I hope all of you Mothers had a very special day! I was so happy this day finally passed. I was really blessed to get a lot of orders for mother's day. I even had 4 new orders coming in yesterday. Yes, I did take them which is why I was working until 2 am last night, but it was worth it. The thought of a lot of mothers opening receiving something made by me just filled my heart :)

Most of the orders I got were to make mother's necklaces and bracelets. Some were even grandma bracelets. Here are a couple of pics from the process. I took all of the process pics with my new Minox DCC Leica M3 Gold Edition. I will take pictures of it because it is soooooo cute. The first and third picture have no color correction and on the second one I just made it less bright. The last pic was taken with my Rebel t1i because the ones I took of the finished product with the Minox were completely out of focus. I'm still learning how to use it and the depth of field is hard to get right :s

All the sterling silver (Recycled!!) discs are cut, ready to be filed and stamped.

The pile of discs already filed, stamped and with holes drilled.

Swarovski crystal pearls attached.

And this is what the finished product looked like, except instead of crystals there were pearls.

I had more process pics but they didn't turn out good either. I need to get the hang of the camera, but you will be seeing more pics from it. Since it is so small, I plan on carrying it with me all the time, which means you may start seeing more pics from my day to day life here.

Happy Mother's Day and have a great week!!

No Dirty Gold

2010-05-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

When I was at Revere, we had a talk given by Christine Dhein about Green Jewelry, and she talked about the No Dirty Gold campaign.

The No Dirty Gold campaign supports the efforts of groups around the world to end dirty gold mining practices. Their website is filled with information not only on how gold mining impacts our environment, but also about what you can do to help and names of jewelry retailers that have signed the No Dirty Gold pledge.

A small excerpt from the site:

"Why You Should Care About Gold Mining

Gold mining is one of the world's dirtiest industries.

It wreaks havoc on local economies, causes illnesses, destroys streams, contaminates soil, and contributes to human rights abuses.

Despite the high price at which gold is sold -- gold jewelry typically sells for four times the value of the gold it contains -- the gold industry has yet to hold itself accountable for the damage done in creating its merchandise."

I encourage you to visit the website and learn more about what mining does to our environment and what you can do to help. I have already signed the pledge and I buy all my metals from Hoover and Strong from their Harmony Metals, which is 100% recycled precious metals.

And if you'd like to receive the Green Jewelry Newsletter by Christine Dhein, you can subscribe by sending her an email to christinedhein @ yahoo.com (without the spaces).

I miss the beach

2010-05-02T23:08:00.002-05:00

Been working almost non stop on custom orders for mother's day. It just makes me think about how much I miss the beach.

Mother's Day Open House with pics

2010-04-24T11:19:00.007-05:00

On Wednesday, I held a Mother's Day Open House. I like to do it two weeks before the actual Mother's Day because it's close enough to it that people are already thinking about buying gifts, yet it's not so close to it that I can make a lot of custom orders. I didn't have as many pieces as other years, but I think it was a big success. Everyone seemed happy with the pieces they bought (I even had some send me text messages saying how happy they were!) and I was happy the pieces had found new homes.

For the displays, I mixed both of my props from last year's Mother's Day Open House and the ones I bought for the shows I did. And I also used the lamps I bought for the shows. Good lighting is Key, especially when you're dealing with colors, detail and women of all ages.

Here's a general look

Close-up of the main table

View from one side
View from the other side. Compared to last year, I had much less stuff just laying on top of the table and I think it looked much better. It looked more pulled together.

Last year I didn't do anything special for earrings and I didn't like that I had to just lay them on the table. This year I did this:

I had two poles made out of iron, they have a large circle base that is heavy. The poles have 5 holes each at the same height. I bought some nice ribbon and tied each end to each pole and voilá, my own "earringsline." I hung them with tiny tiny colored clothespins and gold paper clips. I only used 3 of the holes this time, but I had them made with 5 because it gives me more configuration options for whatever I need in the future. I may have another shorter set made. The two poles were only $30.

And the other table... I love that small trunk with the tiny drawer :)

I love doing these Open Houses. They are exhausting but so rewarding at the same time. I have some clients that always come and it's so nice to see them and get a chance to talk to them. After working non stop for this past couple of months, my back and neck are killing me, so I have rewarded myself with a massage today. Can't WAIT!!

New Things

2010-04-20T13:21:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I'm hosting my Mother's Day Open House. I almost ended up not doing it because I was so stressed out and panicked that I didn't have enough stuff to show. The truth is that when I came back from San Francisco it took me a long time to get back into my "working flow" and when I was finally starting to get into it, I had to go away again for my sister's wedding. So, I needed some time to get myself together again. On top of that, I received all my new toys, I mean, tools when I got back from the wedding and I just wanted to use them all, which I couldn't allow myself to do because I needed to produce lots for Mother's Day. Add to that stress from being broke (those were some expensive toys!) and it was difficult for me to start making jewelry consistently instead of making one piece, staring into space, reading some magazines, playing with the dog and then make another piece.

I am more relaxed although I still wished I had more stuff to sell, but, it's all good. I am going to start arranging my displays in a while, but here are some of my new pieces.

Sterling Silver and Mountain Jade adjustable ring.

I love these :) Sterling Silver with gf cubes hoop earrings.

Sterling Silver and Pearl post earrings.

Oval pearl and garnet earrings

Sterling silver and frosted onyx. The stones used for these pair were actually one long oval stone which broke almost exactly in half, so I decided to make good use of it and I love the result.

Eye Candy

2010-04-14T23:41:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite sites for Jewelry Eye Candy is The Three Graces. They have such an amazing collection of antique, vintage and estate jewelry ranging in styles so that everyone can find something there. Here are a few of my current favorite pieces:

Magnificent Cannetille Georgian Bracelets

$12,750 USD

To die for! The details, the size, the colors....

Modern Chic: Signed Henry Dunay Bracelet

$14,500 USD

This bracelet is nothing extraordinary design-wise, I bet it wouldn't be the first thing to catch your eye at a jewelry store, but it is such a classic piece that I know I could wear with anything! Also the chunkiness of it makes it classic with an edge. If I win the lottery, this would be probably the first thing I'd buy.

Sensuous Turquoise & Ruby Snake Ring

$1,750 USD

I love rings. I love gold rings. Aren't snakes around your finger cool? Oh, and I love turquoise.

Italian Gold, Enamel & Pearl Earrings

$3,350 USD

These probably aren't what I'd typically choose, but I think I'd feel like a princess with these.

Doris Panos Aquamarine Diamond Ring

$6,450 USD

Didn't I already say that I love rings... GOLD rings???
Bigger is always Better LOL

DIY Cabinet Rope Knob

2010-04-11T23:27:00.010-05:00

Yesterday I was reading one of my favorite blogs, ...love Maegan and I read her post about knobs. After seeing her options, particularly the Rope Knob from Antrhopologie and seeing in her comments that someone suggested a DIY version (because she's fabulous at DIY, you should check them out) I commented saying that I had something that was DIY that could work for knobs. Since it was Saturday and I had some free time, I decided to just do the knob and send her the instructions. She liked them and here they are for you. I know it's non jewelry related, but hey, we all live in houses with cabinets, right?

DIY Rope Knob

Materials:
70 inches of rope/cord. The one I used is 1/4 inch thick. (you can find these type of cord at Joannes Fabrics in the drapes section) for each knob
Old or new knob (mine is about 1.5 inches in diameter)
Scissors, glue ( I like FabriTac), tape measure, scotch tape.
1. Cut 70 inches of rope and tape the ends so they dont fray.

2. Go to this website: http://www.chineseknotting.org/button/ and do steps 1 through 3, leaving about a 6 inch tail at the beginning.

Then you should have something like this:
The working end is the tail that's going out the top.

3. Now, you are just going to go back again with the long working end over every loop done with the cord. The first one is going to be a bit different in one spot, but just do it like it’s in the picture.

4. This is what it should look like after going all the way around twice.

Notice how there is no more working end cord. Also notice the size of the piece right now. It’s about 5 inches tall.

5. Start tightening the piece. Just pull on the working end and pull on every loop, going around until they’re all even. This part is tedious, takes time and patience. Only pull on the working end, not on the tail we left at the beginning

6. Keep tightening the cord and “cupping” the piece, leaving the tails on the inside. Don’t tighten all the way though, we still need to go around once more. Make sure you have about 22 inches on the working end.

7. When it looks a bit like this, you’re ready to go through once more. It’s easier if you work the working end to the “outside” and keep going around.

8. When you’ve gone around 3 times, this is what it should look like. It’s still a bit loose.

9. Tighten the cord the same as before, slowly pulling each loop but, again, don’t tighten it all the way. It should look like a little basket.
10. Insert the knob.

11. Tighten the rope one more time, with the knob in, securing it. If you pull too tightly, the knob is going to want to come out. Just pull enough so that it holds it in

12. Trim the short tail, put some glue on the end to prevent fraying and then glue the entire tail to the knob.
13. Take the longer tail and making a spiral, cover the rest of the back of the knob. Trim. Take the spiral apart. Put glue on the end so that it doesn’t fray. Put glue on the back of the knob and make the spiral again on top to cover and secure.
Ready!!
14. Install
I hope you like it and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. It took me about 15 minutes to make this one, but I've done some knotting before with this type of cord. Don't be frustrated if tightening the knot takes you about half an hour. That's half of what it took me the first time I tried knotting with rope :s and I promise, it gets better with practice and you can use similar techniques to do all kinds of adornment... I've even made a belt!

And Thank you Maegan for sparking my creativity :D

Pictures from Colombia - SouthAmerican Games

2010-04-08T19:49:00.005-05:00

I mentioned that I was away because I went to Medellin, Colombia to be a wakeboarding judge at the South American Games. It was a very exciting experience and here are a few pictures.

All the water ski judges stayed at Hotel Las Lomas, which was a beautiful hotel. I had a great time meeting everybody and seeing some familiar faces.

This was at a shopping mall. Check out my moves!

These are the two wakeboarding participants from Ecuador, the day of the semi finals.

Here's me with Dean Lavelle, our team coach and 4 times wakeboarding world champion (white sunglasses) and the Ecuadorian Water Ski and Wakeboard Federation's president, Fabrizio.

We did great, Roberta got 2nd place and Jamie got 3rd place!

Here are a bunch of the "water ski people" in the bus going to the closing ceremony... New friends from Chile, Brasil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay.

The closing ceremony was very nice, they had these huge puppets and they did a show a la Cirque du Soleil

The entire ecuadorian delegation had already gone home, so we were basically the only ones there representing the country.

Everybody was so excited, the energy there was amazing. It was a truly memorable experience and I hope that I can be a part of more like those in the future.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-02T11:58:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! I just got back from Colombia, where I went as a wakeboard judge for the South American Games. It was such an exciting experience. I will be posting pictures soon. I am now going to the beach for Easter. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

I leave you with a video of Pixel doing her tricks :D

Working all weekend...

2010-03-21T22:02:00.004-05:00

I spent all weekend home working on new pieces and taking pictures of some of the stuff I've done.

Here are some pierced earrings made from sterling silver sheet, I made this at the Revere Academy, this was one of the projects in the course. We pierced out the shape, filed, sanded, domed, polished and soldered earring posts on the back. I recently added the stones because I needed earring for a dress and the pattern on the earrings matched the pattern on the dress perfectly. The stones are black spinel, emerald and silver cubes.

I also made an opposites attract ring in coral with a fringe of tiny coral rounds.

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

I am back...

2010-03-16T00:30:00.003-05:00

I was away for a long while because I took a vacation/weddings trip. I had one wedding in Miami and then my sister's civil wedding in Guatemala. All my family plus my boyfriend went and we had a very nice time. Here are some pics from my trip

My niece and I at a park in Antigua, Guatemala

My boyfriend and I, we ate at a restaurant where you could see the ruins of the Cathedral

Fun toys...

My grandma with some of her grandchildren

Me, my brother, my sister (the bride), and my two cousins

All the family with the bride and groom.

The wedding was at a theme park and there was a replica of the Fontana de Trevi!

My sister and I.

In other news... I finally have all my tools!! I received the tools I ordered and my workbench. I have everything set up now, the torch is working :D I have to take pics to show you how I rearranged my studio. It's all crammed up now, but it works perfectly. I love it.

I may not post regularly because I am working overtime to build inventory for mother's day. If you've been a reader for a while now, you know I do a Mother's Day Open House in the last week of April. I usually have some stuff and work very hard to make more inventory... This year I have almost no stuff so I have to work extra very hard so that I can have enough.

I have such a blockage these days, I don't know why. And I am also dying to play with all my new tools, but I can't waste time. I don't think I'll incorporate much of what I learned at Revere for this collection because I have to practice a lot, I am a little bit rusty and I've already melted something with my torch :/

Have a great week!

Winner of the Giveaway

2010-02-08T09:04:00.002-05:00

The big winner of the Valentine's Day Giveaway is.....

Celtic Crossing! Please email me cristinaamador @ gmail.com with your full address so I can mail the piece to you.

Thank you all for participating, I enjoyed reading about your Valentines so much, I'm really looking forward to adding one more to my own memories :)

Happy Monday!

Featured on Beading Daily

2010-02-03T10:19:00.003-05:00

I opened up my email inbox to find my Beading Daily Newsletter with a huge surprise: my opposites attract ring is on it!

It was such a good start for my day. I literally saw this while still lying on my bed and it made me jump up immediately :)

You can read the full newsletter here. Don't forget to sign up, it's such a fun newsletter and it always makes me crack up (Especially when Jean Campbell writes it)

There are still more days to enter the Valentine's Day Jewelry Giveaway!

Valentine's Day Jewelry Giveaway

2010-02-01T12:18:00.004-05:00

As promised last week, I have a surprise for you today! A Valentine's Day Giveaway.

This is my first giveaway ever, so I thought I'd be suitable to give away a first-ever piece.

Inspired by Jeanine Payer's work, I made my first-ever engraved medal with a love phrase.

The phrase is by Aristotle and it reads:
"Love is comprised of a single soul inhabiting two bodies" I've always loved this phrase and it's perfect for Valentine's Day, whether to give as a gift or to wear yourself.

It's a mixed metals piece, the medal is brass, it has a ruby rondelle hanging close, the jumprings are sterling silver, the chain is nickel and the clasp is goldplated.

So, how do you enter the giveaway? Very simple: Just comment below telling us about the best Valentine's Day you've had, or if you haven't had your best yet, tell us how it would be!

Please only enter once and the winner will be chosen on Sunday, Feb 7, so you have until noon Sunday to enter.

Good Luck and I look forward to reading your comments!

Opposites Attract Ring on Step by Step Wire Jewelry

2010-01-29T16:53:00.005-05:00

I was very happy to receive this in the mail yesterday...

It's always such a thrill being on a magazine... I had sent this piece about a year ago and last month I got an email from the mag saying they were going to use it for the February issue :) And it's an Anniversary Issue!! What a nice Xmas present, right? The project is 4 pages long and this is one of my favorite ring designs. I especially like the pictures they took of my finished piece and how they put this:

Make sure you grab a copy of the magazine, it has a ton of other great projects and information.

I'm also gonna have a surprise on Monday... a little gift for Valentine's Day, so make sure you come back!

Sunshine Award

2010-01-23T15:39:00.008-05:00

I am so honored to have received the Sunshine Award from Leslie at Coburg Crafts

Although these awards don't give you any tangible prizes, there's no money, no gift certificates, no trophies to put on your shelf, I am truly honored and happy to receive one, especially since it comes from fellow bloggers and jewelry makers. It's even better than money. It's recognition from someone you also admire. Thank you so much Leslie for giving this award to me.

EUB7F9CF5JFD

I want to...

2010-01-16T00:22:00.002-05:00

I want to be green.

I want to be organized.

I want to be inspired.

I am trying to get all of those done. It's taking me some time... a lot of effort (especially on the organized part) but I am making progress. I don't want to say that my muse has left me... but rather, my muse is confused. I have so much new knowledge that has yet to sink in and I am finding it difficult to work. I really want to make my studio green and to make green jewelry and I am working hard at it (If anybody know some resources or any info at all, I'd love for you to share in the comments section) and I know I will succeed.

I want to...

Hey, I am Alive. and Happy Holidays

2009-12-22T11:26:00.004-05:00

Well, I am back in Ecuador. I miss San Francisco so much, although I don't miss the cold.
It's good to be home, but it always takes me a while to "get my groove back"

After unpacking, my studio is a mess. I have many new tools that really don't have a place right now. I know I need to redesign my studio and make some important changes to adapt to my new knowledge and the techniques I want to practice in the future. I will definitely need a sturdier bench and a spot for pickle. I will need a space for putting my torch. I have no idea how I am going to fit everything inside, but, it will all come together. Until then, it is all crowding my semi-organized studio, which makes it so stressful to work in, but it will have to do.

The course ended up really well. I am so extremely happy about having been there. I know I will stay friends with most of my class and that I will find support in everyone I met there, including the teachers.

I leave you with a picture of me receiving my diploma from Alan Revere :)

I hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season wherever you are!

Manika Jewelry Gallery

2009-11-20T23:43:00.002-05:00

Last week we made a field trip to a local gallery called Manika Jewelry on Maiden Lane here in San Francisco.

The gallery is filled with handmade jewelry done by a lot of local artists as well as ones from other places of the world. If you're in the Bay Area, it's definitely worth visiting, or you can check out their website at http://www.manikajewelry.com/

These past weeks have been overwhelming. I am learning so much each day, it's unbelievable. It's exciting but at the same time it stresses me out a bit. The end of the course is near and I have to go back to reality. I am still thinking about how it's going to change my style and how it's going to influence the wire wrapper in me. I know I still want to do wire wrapping, but now that I've learned soldering and bezel setting (which I love!!) it will definitely change the way I design.

I also want to work now in solid gold, it is so nice to work with but sooooo expensive! I wish I could go back in time and buy a lot of gold when it was only $300 an ounce.

I think 14k gold looks nice and is the cheapest of the "fine gold", but do you think it's worth it to pay for 14k gold or would you rather spend some more money and have an 18k or more piece?

Have a great weekend everyone.

My first pieces at Revere

2009-11-05T02:10:00.003-05:00

Here are the first pieces I fabricated here at Revere. I had no input on the design, it was all about technique, learning how to make it right.

This ring was soldered then carved with a saw all around, then filed.

These are actually 3 rings which I wore stacked for two weeks. Two silver square bands and a copper wide one, all soldered. I am now wearing the two silver bands with the carved ring ^ in between.

These earrings (which were supposed to look more like old wooden wheels, but I say they're slices of oranges) were pierced with a saw, domed, stamped with a sterling stamp and then I soldered the post to them. Kind of tricky trying not to melt the post :)

My first bezel setting. I had lots of fun learning this one as I love the bezel setting.

And this one was a project I wanted to make on my own. It's something you'll hopefully see me doing more as I love how it looks. I wanted to make sure I did at least one like this so that the teachers could help me in figuring it out. Oh! And I made this one with Argentium silver which I LOVE. It doesn't need to be soldered, it just fuses! So easy to work with.

A small pink spinel, bezel set with argentium silver.

I'm gonna see if I bring some of my stuff home for the weekend so that I can take more pictures. Today I learned how to repair a box clasp and how to set a 4 prong solitaire! It was all fun and challenging.

Have fun!

Classes @ Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts

2009-11-02T02:08:00.003-05:00

I know I said I was going to be able to write more, but it turns out it wasn't as easy as I thought. I've been having a blast here in SF, learning lots of new things in my classes.

Here are some pictures of the Studio at the Revere Academy:

This is the classroom where we've been doing polishing and finishing, stone setting and casting.

And this is the studio where we've been doing all of the fabrication. See the lunch pack on the shelf on the left? That's my spot :)

Tomorrow I'm gonna post pictures of some of the pieces I've done so far.

Hope you had a nice Halloween!

San Francisco so far...

2009-10-19T00:26:00.003-05:00

Well, I am in San Francisco right now. I am loving it so much!!

This past week was my first week at Revere Academy's Jewelry Technician Intensive Course. I've met some really cool people and made some new friends. I just got my camera this Thursday, so I will be getting some pics to post soon. The Faculty there are amazing as well.

I've been learning so much that it is overwhelming at times. When they say the course is intensive, they really mean it. In one week I've learned how to solder bands, solder a twist ring, solder a bezel to a sheet of wire, then setting a stone in it. Also how to saw metal, to make a pair of post earrings. I've learned how to properly file, sand, polish and burnish metal. I am so happy with this course it's ridiculous.

Today is the first day I'll be sleeping in San Francisco. Before, I was commuting to my classes everyday from Fremont but now I'm staying at my cousin's place in the city. I am excited about it cause it will give me a chance to get around the city more. It will also give me more time for blogging and making new things.

that's it for now, have a great week!

At MIA waiting to go to SFO

2009-10-06T18:22:00.001-05:00

Today was the start of my newest adventure. I got up early to go to the airport and board a plane to fly 4 hours to Miami. I am at the Miami airport waiting (have been waiting for the past 3 hours and have one more hour to wait still) to board the plane that's going to take me to San Francisco.

I will be taking the two month Jewelry Technician Intensive program at the Revere Academy where I will learn all (or most) of the things I've been wanting to related to jewelry making: soldering, settings, fusing... I am extremely excited, not only will I learn many new things, I will meet many new people. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity of attending this program and elated that it is in such a beautiful city such as San Francisco.

I am so convinced that this is exactly where I am supposed to be doing right now, even if it has meant making some sacrifices: leaving my boyfriend, my 7 month old puppy and my business, especifically, the christmas sales and commissions.

I came to know about the Revere Academy when I went to Bead Fest Philadelphia and met Michael David Sturlin who recommended it to me. I wanted to take a course like this, but I hadn't found anything that fit my needs regarding the duration (2 months was as long as I'd go) until I heard about Revere. When I contacted them about the availability of space for the course they told me that it was full for this year and that the next one was in May 2010, but since there were a lot of people on the waiting list, if I confirmed that I would definitely go, they would open a new group for the program, which they did.

I have family in Fremont, CA which is close to SF and my parents already had plans to visit them for Thanksgiving, so I will be seeing them in late Nov. One of my cousins that was studying in Cleveland is currently making medical research in San Francisco, so I will be staying with him for the duration of my course. On top of all that, my 2 favorite music groups are having concerts while I am there: Hanson and Dashboard Confessional. I've been a fan for 12 and 7 years respectively and have never seen them live before. Of course, I already bought tickets and I can't wait to see them, it will be a dream come true for me ;)

Well, it's time for me to board the plane, I will write more at the end of this week.

Have a great day!

Show results and pictures

2009-10-03T00:59:00.003-05:00

I have to admit that I had very low expectations for the latest show I did. I had even lower expectations as I started to see the people settle in. Thank God I was pleasantly surprised with my results. Well, also, thank to the wonderful lady who spent over $400 in my pieces ;)

Besides the monetary outcome, the show was good. There was a good turnout of people, I'd say not as many as they were hoping, but it was good. What was very good for me was that most of the people there, I'd never met, so it did help me a lot with self-promotion (too bad that I'll be dissappearing for two months, but hopefully they'll still remember me after that!)

Last week me and my boyfriend decided to sell our much loved Canon Rebel Xsi camera so that I could buy a new one (The Rebel T1i that shoots HD video!) while I was in San Francisco. And can you believe that it sold after a day of promoting it... exactly on the morning of the show??? So that left me without a camera to take my own pictures. The pictures I show here I borrowed from one of the Rotary volunteers ;)

Here's me with my table, although you can't see it complete. I look tall because I was wearing like 5 inch heels! My feet were in tremendous pain. I am so happy that I've learned I should always take two pairs of shoes. Some pretty flats for the setup and then nice heels for the actual show. I was extremely happy about those flats when the show was over as well. I could not wait to change into those again!

And here are two pics of the models during the show. The models were some of the volunteers' daughters and I think they did a good job.

I would've loved to have some more experienced models, but they were wonderful for first-timers.

I've been super busy with packing up all my stuff to go to San Francisco this coming Tuesday. On top of that, I had two last minute orders to do this week. I have no idea how I am going to fit all my things in two suitcases. Wish me luck ;)

I've become obsessed with...

2009-09-24T00:37:00.003-05:00

The Rachel Zoe Project. I watched an episode online just to see what it was about and I was hooked. I am a huge lover of fashion and style and this show has it. On top of that, Rachel is a big big fan of jewelry and she has access to so many luscious pieces, "I just DIE!!" LOL

For those of you who don't know who she is (I didn't know much before the show either) she is stylist to some big name stars (Demi Moore, Jennifer Garner, Debra Messing...) So her job is making them look great from head to toe for the various events they have. To achieve that she meets with famous designers, they send her some fabulous dresses and then she chooses the perfect accessories to go with the look. It's a show filled with Eye Candy :)

You can catch the show on Bravo TV, I don't know the day or time since I don't get BravoTV and just have to deal with watching the show online.

Tomorrow I have the fashion show and ladies afternoon. I am very excited because I had to choose the music for my show, I got some suggestions off the internet and then I decided in which order they should go and my wonderful boyfriend made it all into one 30 min long track. I know the women attending probably won't care about the music, but I am eager to see how well it fits (or doesn't fit!) with my jewelry. I have decided that I will be more relaxed for this show and that I will take the time to take good pictures!!!

After tomorrow's show, I will make two more custom orders and then I will focus on getting everything ready for my trip to San Francisco. I need to decide what to take, what I need to buy once I get there... Also, I need to leave all my stuff here organized. I am going to be leaving my room and studio for two months, I need them to be tidy.

Well, it's 1am here, I should probably get some rest.

Have a good night!

New Post Earrings

2009-09-21T23:51:00.004-05:00

I've been experimenting with new shapes for post earrings using a different technique. I had the idea for the first pair a while ago, but as with most of my "new" stuff, it usually cooks in my head for a long while before I set out to do it. I love these little "challenges," I love wondering about how can a certain piece be done using the techniques I know, or how can I modify it to fit my needs.

From that idea "bloomed" this pair (LOL). Sterling silver and ruby rondelles.

Following the previous idea in a more simplistic way but with more beads, I made this other pair. I hadn't done a bold color combo in a while and this pair practically begged me for it. Goldfilled wire with Malachite (in such a smooth color they look almost like turquoise) rounds and carnelian rondelles.

Tomorrow I will do my practice setup for Thursday's "Ladies Afternoon," a benefit thing with a runway show and I get to sell my pretty little things. Will take pics to show!

Chain and Drop + Sunday Newspaper + Step by Step Wire Jewelry

2009-09-17T10:45:00.006-05:00

On my trip I found this gorgeous huge creamy-like polished drops in carnelian and in yellow jade. I knew immediately that only a nice chain was needed to showcase these beauties and here they are:

I didn't want them to be as simple, so I made a very small detail with wire on top of each drop.

With Sterling Silver bubble chain

And in oval linked goldfilled chain.

Sunday's Newspaper had pictures of the event I attended last Thursday. I was in one of the pics, so now you can see what my dress really looked like ;) I had some bracelets on too, but I didn't mention them since I made those ages ago to go with another dress and they are just beads strung on elastic.

The blond woman in the picture works at my university in public relations and is also a client of mine, the tall man next to her is her boyfriend and the other man is her brother, whose wife works at the magazine (and is also a client!)

Also, check out the Fall issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry for a new project from me, Elizabethan Post Earrings, which are no-solder earring posts.

Have a great day!

Amethyst and Gold Earrings and Ring

2009-09-12T13:05:00.006-05:00

On Thursday I had an invitation to the 45th Anniversary of Hogar magazine, a local magazine for women, with subjects such as fashion, health, family, etc. You could say it was something similar to Elle or Glamour. I've had my jewelry appear on it a few times on the inside and on the cover. I also got the offer to put my jewelry for the cover of the anniversary issue and the fashion spread, but since I was at BeadFest, I couldn't do it :(

Anyways, I got invited and I was very honored to go. I decided to put on a deep purple dress I got on my trip from Forever 21. I'm trying to find a picture of it on the internet but I can't find one. It is something similar to this one worn by Denisse Richards, which I found here. (Update: see my actual dress here)

Except mine is not as short. And of course, mine was under $30! I wanted my jewelry to be very impressive, obviously, and I knew I had bought the perfect shade of amethyst at BeadFest. I made this earrings with the same technique as with the bridal hairpiece I did some time ago. This was much harder as I needed to make two pieces look exactly the same! My fingers ended up being pretty sore, I even had to put on some band-aids for doing the second one. It took me about 3 hours to finish this pair and I am super proud of the results.

Here's a crappy PhotoBooth picture I took just before going out so that you can get a size reference. My real camera's battery was dead and this was all I could manage.

To go with the earrings I made a Netted Bezel Ring with the biggest faceted concave cut amethyst I had. It was a bit over 7 cts and it had a very nice deep purple when looked "head on" but you could see some bands when looked from the side. I came up with a new way to make the base and I have my head filled with new possibilities which I hope to explore soon.

Have a great weekend! (I don't know why this is coming up underlined)

BeadFest Photos

2009-09-08T13:51:00.006-05:00

It turns out my mom didn't take many pictures with her camera either :( But she did get a nice picture of me with my table at the Meet the Teachers Reception. My table was a bit messy and since I don't sell kits of my projects, I sold my finished jewelry. Did not sell much as many of the people who were there also made jewelry and were more interested in getting kits and learning how to make it, but that made the few pieces I sold much more meaningful. The people who bought from me there were artists as well and they have a deeper understanding of what it takes to make a small piece of jewelry.

I met there a beautiful and fascinating lady, the artist behind Odd Designs who does some amazing work in Raku as well as other things with metal. I got two of her pieces to incorporate in my designs, I hope to get to those soon.

And now, here are the pictures of the wonderful ladies that took my classes. They were all so much fun to work with and I learned so much from each of them. One of the funniest things I learned and which I will use for the rest of my life is the phrase "Don't ruin the integrity of the wire". Translation: "Don't kink the wire or it will break!"

Interlocking Curves set Class

No-Solder Post Earrings Class

(yes, I am tiny :P)

Herringbone Hoops Class

Thank you again for attending, I absolutely loved meeting all of you.

I also have exciting news... In one month I will be traveling to San Francisco to attend the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. I will be taking the Jewelry Technician Intensive program and will be in SF for 2 months. I am beyond excited and eager to go there and learn lots of the stuff I have no idea about, like soldering and bezel setting and also to meet some new people that are into jewelry as well. If you're from the Bay Area, let me know! I'd love to meet some of my readers face to face :)

Back from BeadFest Philadelphia

2009-09-03T11:36:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you missed me ;) I am back from my BeadFest trip. It was overwhelming to say the least, but in a very good way.

I got there just in time to attend a class by Helen Driggs called Multi-Metal Cold Connected Bracelet. The class was awesome, it was my first time working with sheet metal, sawing, drilling, riveting... it was very exciting and definitely something I'd like to do more of in the future. I already got me some pieces of sheet metal to work on :)

Then the next three days I was on the other end of the class, as the teacher. I was very nervous at first but my nerves calmed down as I got to meet my wonderful students. Thank you so much for attending my classes and making me have a great time teaching as well as learning from you.

After teaching, it was time for the shopping. I've only been to a Bead Show once and it was BeadFest Miami. Well, this one was twice as big at least. So much beads and pretty shiny objects and new tools everywhere!! Two floors filled with stuff I wanted to buy. It was hard to decide what I really needed as it seemed as if I needed everything. I settled on spending most of my cash on tools and then bought "hard to find at those prices" stones such as blue sapphires, rubies and emeralds... some gorgeous rutilated qtz, a few strands of faceted lapis lazuli rondelles which I never want to use, I just want to hoard them forever.

Also, I did the Meet the Teachers Reception held on Friday Night. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet other teachers and students. Thank you to all that stopped by my table and to those who bought a piece of my jewelry, I hope you will treasure it for a long time.

After all the bead shopping was over, me and my assistand (my mom!) decided to do other kinds of shopping. About 20 mins from the Convention Center were the Premium Outlets of Philadelphia :) What's even greater than shopping? Shopping at discount prices! My favorite store was the Cole Haan store where everything was 50% off and the lady that assisted us was the nicest ever.

Then from Philadelphia we went back to Miami for a little bit of more bead shopping. I usually buy my beads in Miami, so I went visiting my suppliers and by the end of the week I was back home. The weekend was crazy and this week I've spent pricing all the individual beads and cleaning up my studio making room for my new tools and finally today I've had a little break.

I wasn't able to take many pictures as it was all pretty rushed for me, but my mom did get some. I will get them from her later today to share with you.

Results from the Benefit Luncheon

2009-08-11T23:56:00.004-05:00

It's going to be a whirlwind week. On Monday I will be leaving for BeadFest Philadelphia and I have lots to do before! So forgive me for the small posts as I need to cram everything I need to do in the next 5 days giving me enough time to pack all my stuff, attend 3 weddings and finishing some custom orders.

The Luncheon last week went really well. I liked how my table was setup although I would have liked a bigger space since it looked a bit crowded. I did earn my booth money back and some more, which I am very excited about. I also made new contacts and gave out LOTS of business cards. I thought I would sell more of the cheap stuff, but it was very balanced.

Here's a pic of what my display looked like when I set it up at my dining room table. I will share the ones from the actual table in another post because I don't have it on the computer yet.

The lamps did a lot for me! The lighting at the place was not so good, I had a very large window behind my table, but the light coming in from that made lots of shadows because of the lids of the chests. The lamps worked excellent in balancing that and I do think it helped in making my booth stand out. None of the others had any extra lightning. All in all, I would do it again next year and it definitely gave me some experience in what to improve for next time:

- I need to do trial runs with my cashier (my mom) for the credit cards... she always misses something! This time it was to put what bank the credit card was from
- I wanted to, but never did, have a nice book so people can join my mailing list
- Figure out a way for people to realize that the tags are there for something... the price is ON IT! you don't need to ask me everytimeee! (A little venting here... how hard can it be to figure it out!!)
- Think of some ways to maximize the space... or find a way to MAKE some more space so that everything looks less cluttered.
- Have more matching stuff... some people have to be matchy matchy all the time.
- Although it looked quite nice sometimes to have matching things next to each other, I think that it works best, when having a booth at a fair or event like this, to have items sectioned by category, as in, here are all the rings, here all the bracelets, etc.

What other things have you learned after being in a show?

Spiral Earrings

2009-08-04T23:14:00.005-05:00

I love the About.com photo albums on Jewelry worn at award shows. I love browsing through them and seeing what the celebs are wearing and drool a little bit on my keyboard. I think this picture of someone unknown to me and whose name I can't recall (if you know it, comment please!) was from the BET Awards, because that's the last album I saw. I loved her oversized spiral earrings and I thought that I could do something similar, given that I have made many spirals, I should be able to make some very neat ones.

My version is much smaller, the spirals are graduating and I decided to hang a teardrop on the bottom, for a little color (I know, black isn't a color!) but I may be doing an all silver version.

I am almost ready for the fashion show and sale on Thursday. Today I practiced how my table would be decorated. I thought I didn't have enough stuff, it seems that I have too many! I could barely fit everything. I spent all day deciding where to put everything... I then proceeded to take pictures of everything so that on Thursday I arrive at the venue, take out my pictures and copy what I see! Hopefully that will speed up the process as I only have about 2 hours to get everything ready. I still need to buy a few things and tomorrow I get to go to the venue and choose a table. I've decided that if I get early enough, I will choose the table closest to the entrance. Do you think that is a good strategy? There is only one other "booth" selling jewelry and the tables are supposed to be scattered. It's a luncheon with a fashion show and I thought I should be close to the entrance so that everyone coming in can see me first and I'm the last thing they see on their way out.

Mini Wrapped Orbits Earrings

2009-07-31T00:08:00.004-05:00

After making the Tiny Netted Earrings, I had an idea of how to mix the design element on the lower part of those, holding the pearls, with the Orbits Earrings. And that's how the Mini Wrapped Orbits Earrings were born. I made them in silver and with all sorts of blue tones. They remind me of the Caribbean :)

I know my posts have been a bit lacking in the "words" part. I am just so nervous and excited and scared about the show next week, so I've been working overtime on that. I've been trying to make lots of things around the $8-$20 range besides my usual stuff, because that is what sells the most at this type of shows (or so I've been told!) Yesterday I made 42 very simple bracelets with a couple of beads, wire and cord (I promise I'll show you when I get pics) all in a different color. They're perfect to wear on the same hand as your watch for a small splash of color. It got a bit boring as it was so repetitive, but when I was finished, I was like "Wow, I made all of those!" I hope they sell well!

Industrial-feel post earrings

2009-07-27T23:51:00.003-05:00

In the last InStyle Mag I got (about a month ago) there was a picture of Ginnifer Goodwin with a really cool dark metal post earrings. I liked them a lot and I wish they had said who they were from, but they didn't. I tried googling them and couldn't find anything, so I just set off to do my own version of them.

I like the industrial feel they have. Like they are strong, rough around the edges. Not delicate at all. They ended up looking very similar to the original ones, so if you happen to know which earrings I'm talking about and who made them, please let me know!

Messy Ring Bands

2009-07-22T00:05:00.002-05:00

I don't remember how I got the inspiration for these pieces, but I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. I can't get enough of making these messy rings although it is quite tricky to get them to look this way. I hope you enjoy them.

Interesting Tips for Craft Show Booths

2009-07-21T23:54:00.002-05:00

In two weeks I'll be participating of a benefit lunch that will have a jewelry runway show, I get to "dress" two girls and also, I have a booth to sell my stuff.

I've only done the craft show/booth thing once before where I had to pay to be there and that was when I first started, about 5 years ago. The other times I've had a sort of "booth" I never really thought them out much since I knew that the selling expectations would be low and all I had to do was give a percentage of the sales. This time, I paid $350 for my booth. The pluses: Only one other person will be selling jewelry, the rest (only about 3 more people) will be selling silverware, handbags and something else that's not jewelry. About 400 women attend the event each year. The downsides: it cost me $350 so that means I have to sell a lot to be able to make a profit, the women have already spent $25 in being there, they may not be willing to spend that much more on buying stuff.

Product-wise, I've been trying to fill myself up with simple, pretty and cheap stuff, such as small earrings, bracelets and necklaces. I've made many things for girls as someone told me that's what most of the women there look for.

Anyways, looking for some guidance and inspiration online, I came across this site, Craft Show Success and that link has an article on booths that I thought gave very valuable and thorough information. It gave me some ideas I hadn't thought of and that I'm sure will help with my sales. Some ideas I already knew but it validated them. I hope you find it useful as well.

Tiny Netted Earrings

2009-07-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

I finally took the time yesterday to take pics of all the new things I'd done. Now all I have left is the editing :/

I wanted to show you these earrings which I am in love with (is it considered too self-absorbed to say that?) anyways, I like them because they are so tiny and I can't believe I was able to pull of the netting with such a small stone.

These are made with matching deep yellow marquises, weighing about 1.7 ct both, they are only about one cm long. Completed with freshwater pearls for accent all in 14k goldfill wire.

Hard on the hands to do these very small piece, but totally worth it. The finished piece is about 3cm long. I've never seen citrine in that color in person and I love how "toasty" it looks. I think these are "tiny statement" earrings ;)

Netted Smoky Earrings

2009-07-14T23:48:00.004-05:00

Last year I made one of the Netted Bezel Rings for a friend's mother in smoky quartz and gold. For her birthday this year, her daughters wanted to give her matching earrings. I am glad they told me well in advance as I had to find and buy the stones. I finally found a trillion concave cut pair in a beautiful brown color, with a total weight of about 21 ct. I got the approval of the daughters and set to work. This are actually my first Netted Bezel Earrings, which are done very similar as the Pendant just in a way smaller scale. Thankfully this stones weren't really that small so the task wasn't that hard.

My friend's mom loved these as well and now she can wear her two gifts as a set!

Check out the Book Sale... and say hello to Pixel

2009-07-07T19:29:00.004-05:00

As I've been preparing for a show next month, I've just been making and not taking pictures. Will get to it soon, I promise.

For now, just wanted to let you know that there is an awesome Book Sale at Interweave. The books are either "hurt" (slightly damaged but still with complete content) or overstock. There are many books to choose from and not only about Jewelry. I got 8 books for $99 including shipping! That's amazing, I usually don't spend that much at once on books, but this was a unique opportunity. You should check it out if you find something for yourself or anyone you know.

Also, I wanted to introduce you to my new baby, Pixel. She is a 4 month old miniature pinscher. She's full of joy and so smart, but she's a handful. Like a real baby I have to be with her almost all the time to check that she doesn't pee in the carpet or wants to eat everyone's shoes.

And today she caught her first iguana . My mom is happy about it because the iguanas eat her orchids and Pixel was so excited although she thought it was a play friend

Orbits Earrings

2009-07-02T00:30:00.005-05:00

The lady that received as a gift the Orbits Ring and Pendant in Lapis Lazuli called me one day saying that she wanted some earrings done in the same way. I wasn't quite sure how I could accomplish that and I actually gave it a lot of thought, letting it sit in my brain while I went on my trip... and as soon as I came back I gave the idea I had a try... and it worked!

I am so happy about it, it still needs improvement, I've only done this pair so far, but it is do-able.

I made them to match one of the other Orbits Rings I made, which my aunt bought. As soon as she saw the earrings she recognized them and claimed them ;)

After a long time of me being the only one involved in making my website, which is almost never updated, I've decided I need to hire someone to make it more easy to update. I still will be the only one updating it, but hopefully with what this person will develop, it will be as easy to update as it is to write on this blog. I will be changing the design as well, same idea, just more simple.

Looking back at all the web designs I've had, I've always been evolving into sleeker, more simple designs. I like that evolution as I've become very minimalist in my graphic design and it also lets the jewelry really take the centerstage.

Back from my Eurotrip!

2009-06-22T20:21:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone! I am back! Well, I got back two weeks ago but everything just piles up when you're away. I had a wonderful time in Europe, it was my first time there. I went with 3 friends and met with some friends who are studying there. We started out trip in Madrid, Spain. The city is beautiful, very old-style with many historic buildings and monuments.

And very lean and muscular Spider Mans!!

Then we were off to Barcelona, where we went to the Sacred Family Cathedral, designed by Gaudi but still under construction. Breathtaking.

Walking around the streets of Barcelona, which used to be called Barcino. It had historical parts and some modern ones. The beach was beautiful and all the Gaudi stuff was so surreal and dream-like, it made me imagine what it would be like to be him, creating all this child-like but genius stuff!

Then we flew to Nice, France. Soooo beautiful!
Some delicious french pattisserie....

And the famous Monte Carlo Casino. It was like being in a fairy tale. All the yachts and cars... many rich people!

After Nice and Monaco, we went to Rome and Vatican City. What an overwhelming city. So many ancient history everywhere!!

And our last destination: Paris! This is one of my favorite pics of Paris. The Eiffel tower is so beautiful at night.

And the french monarch's jewelry was beautiful as well!

It was so amazing to finally see all the works of art I'd only seen in books in real life.

But of all the works of art, the one I was most excited to see was "The Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp at the Pompidou Centre.
Also at Pompidou I got to see an Alexander Calder exhibit which was mind blowing. The bad part was that you weren't allowed to take pictures :( but if you ever get the chance to go to one of his exhibits, do it. What you can find on the internet about his work, the pictures, they do not do justice to seeing his work in real life. Such an amazing wire artist! I wish they would've had some of the jewelry he made, but it was mostly sculptures and a couple of mobiles.

I did so much more than what I can show you cause it would take another two weeks (Including a fire in one of our Hotels, waiting like an hour at 12 am in Rome for a cab and going to see an exotic dancing show) Four cameras took over 2000 pictures all of which tell a story. I had the time of my life, traveling with friends to all these fantastic places was amazing and something I'll remember forever.

I did come back with inspiration and I have some stuff that I'll be showing in the next few days.

I missed you and I am glad to be back!

Bridal Hairpiece

2009-05-21T20:11:00.005-05:00

Back in March I had a bride contact me saying that she wanted me to make her something for the hair for her big day. She was going to wear a big veil for the ceremony, but for the party she didn't want to wear a smaller veil. She also didn't want a tiara. She wanted something for the hair that was different, delicate but "important" enough so that it made her look elegant still. I worked on a design for her, made her a prototype, she tried it on, made a few small changes and the result was very satisfactory :)

This is the piece in shiny silver. It is approximately 10 cm long. It has loops at some parts so that it can be held with bobby pins.

The rest of her jewelry which she bought at a store was made with oxidized silver, so it needed to be oxidized as well.

I am very happy with this hairpiece, it's the first time I've made something like it. It was a challenge but I loved it. I also think that after the wedding, it would look awesome in a headband or even as an assymetric focal for a necklace.

Tomorrow I'm going on a trip with 3 friends. We'll be going to Europe (my first time!) and visit some other friends who are studying there. I will be gone for two weeks and this time I haven't left anything scheduled for you, sorry! I will still be responding emails and to purchases as I will have internet access. I'll be back on June 9 and until then, Happy Jewelry Making!

A few things

2009-05-19T21:37:00.003-05:00

With all the rush I never got to show all the new designs I made for the Open House. So here are a few.

Crochet ring with labradorite flower and a pearl center. Silver is always harder to crochet and it does take a toll on my fingers but it is so worth it.

I wanted to make a simple ring with beads all around it and I could only fit 10, so I decided to make it a "rosary" ring. This one is sterling silver and iolite.

And another version of the pearl earrings I posted a while back. This one done in goldfilled wire, amethysts and pearls.

Turning something old into something New

2009-05-16T21:29:00.004-05:00

Several weeks ago, a client of mine brought me a pearl necklace that used to be her grandmother's. It was a Mallorca Pearl necklace in peacock color with a gorgeous silver clasp with an inset pearl. She wanted me to turn it into a substantial bracelet by mixing it with something else. One of the things she definitely wanted to keep was the clasp. So I showed her some Heliotrope Swarovski crystals to combine with her pearls and she liked them.

I had a lot of time to think about this one and I am so happy with the end result. My client has very thin arms (much like me) so I knew that even though it needed to be substantial like she wanted, it had to be delicate as well. I had been busy doing wire crochet, so I thought I could incorporate it into it, make a focal with wire crochet. This is the end result.

I made a crochet centerpiece and attached the original necklace's clasp to it and surrounded it with the crystals. I used a toggle clasp for the closure. The bracelet tapers down as it reaches the clasp.

My client was very satisfied with it and I was too :) I love putting a new twist on old jewelry, especially if it has a special meaning. There were plenty of leftover pearls so I also made her some earrings and she will hold on to the rest to make something else in the future.

For Mom and Me

2009-05-12T23:24:00.003-05:00

For my Mother's Day Open House I made a few items in pairs, meant to be for Mom (or grandma!) and little girls.

The first are Rose Quartz flower bracelets with sterling silver chain. Because the chain has big links, it can be fastened at any length with a lobster clasp.

And I also made some Sterling Silver Star hoops! My mom totally wanted to get these for her and my 6 year old niece, so I just gave the smaller ones to my niece (She's been wearing them since Sunday) and the big ones to my mom as part of her Mother's Day gift.

I will be making more girl stuff since I will be at a show in August where I heard that girls' stuff is usually what the public is looking for.

My favorite design of today - this time with real pics!

2009-05-06T22:21:00.003-05:00

I made a post about my favorite design of the day with some very terrible pics of some rings taken with my webcam. Today I can show you the real pics :)

Done with several gauges of wire and beads. I love how it looks on one's finger. They sold very well at my open house. Both the young and not so young liked them, the not so young especially because it was a big ring (which is what is in fashion right now) but not excessively big or ultra modern, as it kind of has a classic feel to it, what do you think?

Mother's Day Open House - Part II

2009-05-01T00:45:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Well I am more rested now and have downloaded the pics to my computer so I can illustrate my last two blog posts better :)

On Tuesday I spent almost the entire day putting labels on and pricing while a friend of mine helped me with taking pictures of almost everything. I have now decided that I will keep a box of labels close to my working table so that I can label and put the price on everything as soon as I am done creating it. This will save me some time for the next Open House. Then my mom, my grandma, two aunts and I finished setting up the displays and putting the jewelry on them. I always use three spots for my jewelry. The dining room table, a small desk-like table on one side of the dining room and the tall buffet on the other side. That gives me enough space to put everything without it looking overcrowded.

So I talked a lot about my new displays. I bought the cone-like flower vases (the frosted glass ones) to which I glued some t-shaped hooks made with 20 ga craft wire. Actually, my boyfriend glued them with a silicone gun. They held up pretty well and looked elegant.

I also had smaller clear flower pots which I filled with white rice and on top I put some decorative white stones.

I also got some bigger white and dark stones to spread all over the table. Those helped me keep the table cloth in place as well for displaying some of my jewelry which didn't fit anywhere else.

Another look at the dining room table. I told you before I hadn't decided yet what to do for the earrings. I ended up doing nothing. I just put them laying on the table and some inside the vases.

This is the desk-like table on one side. And you can also see those big wine glasses with the slanted edge :) That was also filled with rice and stones and it was big enough for me to put a necklace and earrings set.

This one is the buffet on the other side. On the center is a silver thing filled with rice and stones where I put these small hoops with one stone which were all the same price.

This is a general view from one side. Notice the two floor lamps I had. They did a lot in making my jewelry stand out and be more visible. They had dichroic lightbulbs which really made everything sparkle. I didn't buy these, I am lucky that my great aunt and uncle own a lightning shop and they lent these to me in exchange for me having fliers in my checkout table.

And the view from the other side.

It all looked so organized when I took the pics. During the night while we were all arranging the things my little brother (8 yrs old) came up to me and asked "Why are you taking so long to put everything in one place when tomorrow, the women will come and try things on and won't leave them where they are supposed to go?" The kid has wisdom, I tell you. It only took two people to come and make a mess out of it again :) So a great part of the day was spent rearranging things, filling in the empty cones with other necklaces, putting rings back with the earrings they matched, etc.

I'd say it was a succesful display because everyone commented on it, saying how nice and elegant it looked, which was exactly what I wanted. I did not use a single conventional jewelry display thing on my Open House, yet I was able to show my jewelry off nicely. Between all the things I bought (the cones, the vases, the huge wine glasses, the stones) I must have spent close to $200, which I consider is a small investment compared to the impact it had and how expensive it looked. I have some more ideas I want to try for the next one, but so far, I am satisfied with my new props.

On another subject, the TV interview went fine. I was so tired and had to practically pull myself out of bed at 7:45 am to get ready, pack the things and go out in time to arrive at the TV studio at 9 am. I was on the air for like 5 minutes at 10 am which made me a bit pissed off since they said I would be on at 9:15, which is why they needed me there at 9. Oh well.... I got back to my house at around 11 and fell asleep only to wake up after my nap at 3 pm!! I think I've recovered some of my lost sleep hours but I still feel so tired. Luckily I will go to the beach tomorrow morning and relax for the weekend.

Results from my Mother's Day Open House

2009-04-30T01:09:00.002-05:00

Today was my Mother's Day Open House. I was up last night until 2 am setting up all the displays and putting every piece in the "right" place. I felt like I had too little, but everyone kept saying how much stuff I had, so I felt better about it. Today I had an early start. My open houses officially start at 10 am, but my great-aunts always come around 9 for coffee and a first look at everything. Today, the first one arrived at 8:45! I wasn't even ready yet ;)

I will keep the post short and write with more detail (and pics!) tomorrow. I have to get up super early because I have an appearance at 9am at a Morning Show called The Morning Club, so that means I should be getting up in about 6 hours and I am sooo tired! I need like 20 hours of sleep to makeup for all the late nights from the past few weeks.

Anyways, it went smoothly, there were people here all day, sometimes only one at a time, sometimes up to 10 people at once! I was happy that despite the weather (there was a light rain most of the day) people came. Some new clients and some of the regular ones came to visit and everyone that came found something for them or for a gift.

I am quite pleased with the sales I made, which matched the last Mother's Day Open House I made back in 2007. And I still have lots of stuff to show in some offices I usually go to.

I had great feedback on the new displays I used. My mom who handles the check out part says that many people paid with credit card. As for orders, I didn't get many, which isn't bad considering that mother's day is next weekend and this weekend is a holiday here and I do plan to rest.

That's it for now, I promise more details and pics tomorrow. Wish me luck on my TV appearance!

Displays and being displayed ;)

2009-04-26T02:38:00.004-05:00

I am a huge procrastinator. I have been trying so bad to fight this bad habit of mine but it is hard. So, as expected, at the last minute I am thinking of doing things I should've thought about like a month ago.

For the last 2 or 3 open houses I've used kind of the same decoration. Beige cloths in two textures, a huge super cool tree branch put across the table and the black velvet necklace and earrings displays I bought like 4 years ago. All those open houses were done before I redesigned my image and over a year ago. So I thought it was definitely time for a change. I had changed my brand and image, I should change my displays as well. Only problem is that this occurred to me like 2 days ago and the open house is this Wednesday.

I racked my brain trying to think of something to use that I could easily buy here (there aren't any Michaels or Home Depots that would've made this just so much easier) that wasn't very expensive and that looked elegant. After looking in several places I settled on some flower pots that are not the ordinary kind. One is a very low small rectangular one, I bought like 5 of those, they are clear glass. And then some cone shaped ones which I am going to use upside down (so that the point points upwards) that are made in white frosted glass. Besides that, I got what looks like giant wine glasses but instead of the rim being completely straight parallel to the bottom, it is slanted, like cut on a diagonal. I got two of those (those weren't very cheap) in different heights.

To fill the clear glass containers I bought some small white pebbles and also bigger pebbles to spread around the table.

My biggest problem right now is the earrings. I used to be able to just hang them on the cloth or anywhere, but now that I am using earring cards, it's not that easy anymore. I also don't want regular earring stands because that just seems... well, regular! But I have no idea what to do so I'll just probably make some cork things to pin them onto.

I will take pics of all what I've talked about cause I am pretty sure you're all reading this and going "Huh? Huge wine glasses with slanted rim? Low rectangular flower pot?..." :lol: They are hard to explain and at 3 am my brain isn't as fluent as normal ;)

And the being displayed part... The newspaper interview came out today. The main focus of it was the "young entrepeneur" thing. I love it when people call me that, mainly because I don't think of myself as that much and also because of the young part. Not that I feel old or anything, but it's just that I would always want to be considered a "young entrepreneur" cause it sounds so nice. As if it is a rule that the "not so young" are supposed to already be entrepreneurs so it's not as important?? (Bear with me, it's 3 am and I'm getting philosophical) I was very happy because it's awesome exposure. A pic of me is on the lower part of the cover with the corniest title ever "Cristina designed her own crystal and colored dreams" What the...!!! Stuff like that always makes me laugh. The pictures are nice too, I don't look like crap as in the other newspaper interview I had. I admit I also took more time in doing my hair and makeup for this one and extra care on looking good when the pics were being taken (sitting up straight, smiling, tilted head...) What I did not like was that I especifically asked the interviewer to NOT put my address as it is also my home address and she put it. And I asked her to put my website address and she DIDN'T! Thankfully, if you google my name, my site comes up first. It is always so funny to read the interviews cause most of the base stuff is true, but some parts are just made up to fill in the blanks as details. And the quoting of words that have never come out of my mouth is hilarious. I may have said something with the same base idea, but I don't talk like that!

Anyways, if you want to read it and can read spanish, you can find the interview online here:

http://www.expreso.ec/ediciones/2009/04/25/guayaquil/cristina-se-valio-del-diseno-grafico-para-elaborar-joyas/Default.asp

And that's one of the pics. I'm in my studio and I am wearing the Big Cluster Wire Ring ;) My nail polish was so chipped from working with the wire, I am glad it doesn't show. My mom would've killed me if it did. I will get the whole thing scanned once the Open House is over.

Well, thank you for reading this post which is filled with ramblings and I'm sure if I re-read it tomorrow parts of it will make no sense :lol:

My favorite design of today

2009-04-22T00:43:00.003-05:00

Everyday I try to come up with new designs. Sometimes they're just new versions of other designs I've made in the past and sometimes they're completely new designs. Today I want to show you my favorite design of today. You are about to see the worst pictures ever because I took them with my webcam. As you know, I am working overtime to make stock for my Mother's Day Open House (which is exactly one week from today) and I haven't made time yet to photograph everything (or anything!). But I was very excited about this one so I thought I'd at least show you some bad pictures of it.

It's a ring design (I just love making rings!) that is big yet doesn't feel overpowering. I also think that if you put is sideways it looks like one of those Super Mario Bros flowers :lol: I made one in goldfilled wire with gold pearls and smoky quartz.

And this slightly smaller version in silver, coral and turquoise.

I hope you like it and sorry again for the bad pics!

p.s. A local newspaper came today and made me an interview that will come out this Sunday, which is perfect because it will advertise my Open House!

Wire Crochet

2009-04-17T00:48:00.004-05:00

Crocheting is one of the first things I did with wire. I had seen some knitted cuffs in a local store that I had no idea how they were done at the time (I realized they were knitted like 2 years later!) and I knew I wanted to make something similar. This was during the first months I started making jewelry, so I pretty much wanted to do my own versions of many things I liked. While on vacation in Miami, I saw a Bead and Button mag that had a crochet cuff project, so I bought it immediately. I made many of those in different colors and they were huge sellers but after a while I got bored of them.

I never gave up on crocheting, I just set it aside for awhile. Over the last two years I've started making other things with wire crochet, very different from those cuffs. Today I'm going to show you a small crochet medallion done with goldfilled wire, tiny labradorite briolettes and a single white pearl.

It is very delicate and the glow in those briolettes is fantastic. I sort of want to keep this one. I've decided this one will be on my Open House invitations for Mother's Day. I think it will attract buyers :)

Over the next couple of weeks I will continue posting, but very small posts as I am really really busy with the Open House. I always panic like 2 weeks before and start working really fast, until really late. I think if I worked like this year round, I could stock an entire store :lol:

Two new pieces before I head to the beach...

2009-04-09T14:44:00.004-05:00

I'm going to the beach in a couple of minutes to celebrate Easter. I am excited as the beach is so wonderful this time of year. Will have some friends over and make a BBQ and then probably relax in the jacuzzi :)

A simple necklace in gold chain with a wire ring and sections of chain of different lengths attached to it. Perfect with a blouse for work or with a black dress for the evening.

This one was a happy accident. I originally wanted to make a more open "cage" for the turquoise (which is drilled) with the heavier wire, but I ran out of wire too soon and had to improvise and had thinner wire. I am quite satisfied with it.

That's it for this week, I hope you have a nice Easter, and may the Easter bunny leave lots of chocolate filled eggs in your garden!