2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 16

This week's ring is a fine silver creeping raspberry leaf atop a 4mm wide plain rectangle band. the band is super comfortable and complements the excellent texture of the leaf, which has a light patina with greens, golds, and bronze tones to it.

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 15

This statement ring is made with a cabochon from a (former) local Memphis artist (he's still around- just moved to the other side of TN). paired with a lovely sterling gallery wire and a simple wide band that keeps it securely in place, it's a solid ring, great for special occasions or everyday wear.

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 14

this Treasure Mountain turquoise is paired with sterling silver and gold fill. I like the mixed metals with the variety of colors in the stone.

(and yes, i did tap those prongs down a little more after this picture. I was just so excited with how it turned out!)

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 13

Featuring treasure mountain turquoise and a lovely little cast succulent, this is week 13 in my 52 week maker challenge. (shown on a lovely piece of wood that became an even more lovely pendant!)

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 12

I spent the evening of the spring equinox making- seemed fitting. This is the most recent ring in my 52 pieces challenge series. 

I call her The Oracle. A lovely cultured opal is set in a crown bezel. Fine silver planchettes flank the setting. The band is stamped with Yes, no, and goodbye, along with some fun stars. All Sterling and fine silver. Will be available in the etsy store soon!

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 10 &11

I was on vacation the first week of March, so I had to play catch up this week. Then I forgot to post, so here are weeks 10 and 11 in one post. :)

I'm teaching a class this saturday on alternative stone setting techniques, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to make some pieces and take photos for my hand outs- here are the two techniques I did- Faceted bezel set stones and 'Fenced' stones (i know there has to be a name for that kind of setting, but it reminds me of those old little wire fences people would have around their flowerbeds back in the day... )

Lab grown alexandrite set in sterling custom stepped bezel

Dichroic glass set in sterling with stamped band

2018 ~ 52 ring challenge - week 9

This week's ring is also a simple one. I started out with 5 White Water turquoise mini nuggets stacking rings (as the plan) and wound up with only one after a variety of mishaps, including sticking a bur into my thumb.
But that's ok, i'll remake the tiny bezels and get the stack made this week.

i also finally made the scrying pendant i've had bounching around in my head for months and did my first stone-on-stone setting, so i would say it was a productive week. Even though some of it was frustrating, i learn from my mistakes.

I'm excited to be working on the instructions for my Bezel explorations class next month and for another step-by-step article for Metal Clay Today. :)

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - Week 8

Last week was filled with last minute work on my Halstead Maker's Challenge piece- it turned out pretty ok (although I crashed it on Saturday during class- i think the succulents survived)

This week's ring is nice and simple -it's a little infinity midi ring. not all pieces have to be 'works of art' and day to day rings are important to make too. so here it is :)

  

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - Week 7

This week's ring is kind of a dud only because there was some silver solder on my brick that I didn't see and it got on my pretty copper bezel wire and messed up the pattern. I guess that will teach me that I should always tap off my brick between silver and copper projects! The back of the stone is open though- it has a little shelf inside the bezel wire from square copper wire that the rounded back of the fossil sits on. I used my whetstone to flatten it out some so it wouldn't jab the finger, but the open back allows the ring to be lighter on the hand and I think it's a good technique to use when you have a stone that is irregular or interesting on the obverse. 

This is my new burl wood statement necklace- I cut the slice of wood from a chunk of burl, sanded it to make a nice smooth surface, shaped the edges and then oiled it to make the figuring pop. I created the frame in a minimalistic way to show off both sides of the wood- they're equally enchanting. The chain is handmade, but not by me. I have a front clasping toggle to make it very comfortable to wear. I'm not sure i'm going to be able to part with this one, but i am DEFINITELY going to be making more!

2018 ~ 52 rings challenge - week 2

(Note- also back dated due to issues blogging from my phone and forgetting to do it when i was at a computer. lol)

Here's my ring for week 2 of my challenge:

Sterling silver with rainbow dichroic cabochon from Galaxy Glass (on etsy). I made it so it could be easily worn with stackers (as seen on my finger)