My Long Long Lariat Necklace

I finally found time to sit down at my bench and finish up this lariat and get it listed on Etsy in my Piacere store.. The larger pendants are beaded front and back, so it took more time than originally estimated. It is 5-feet long, like a scarf, and I made the two inside pendants sliders to you can style it multiple ways and still have the pendants hang nicely. Now that I have the engineering figured out, I'm itching to make more of these. Where's the time for that, though -- all the blogging on EtsyLounge is stealing my bench time!

Etsy Lounge is Open!

I am changing my main blog focus and am building the new blog called Etsy Lounge. Please jump over and visit, and I hope to see you as a follower.

The mission of Etsy Lounge is to showcase remarkable creations by Etsy artisans, and create some synergy for some of the best talent on Etsy. If you like the items that catch my eye, please bookmark the blog or follow, and join in with your comments, plugs for other artists or for yourself, and mainly find some great Etsy Picks without having to do endless searching by scrolling through pages of listings.

Patina on Copper: More Green Obsession

I like shiny copper, but I LOVE (!) oxidized copper. So, I've been on a patina craze this last month, making things out of copper and playing with patina finishes in shades of green.

My circular shawl-pin design is based on the historical European penannular cloak brooches from the middle ages. The clever simplicity of this design looks both ancient and modern at the same time

I use copper for my version, hammered and hardened in a tumbler, and patinaed for various effects. The ancient versions are quite robust and heavy. My version is lighter in scale and weight. These attractively anchor both light weight silk scarves, pashminas and heavy woven shawls or capes, holding them in place without damaging the fibers.

Fiddling with the the patina on these turned out to be such fun that I was inspired to patina everything in copper that I can get my hands on. I love the effect on my copper disks and washers, which I'm turning into earrings for Piacere.etsy.com.

Promote Yourself: Create Links

These are a few link directories where you can submit your site. It will help your SEO ranking to create as many links for yourself as you can.

http://www.directory.ldmstudio.com/
http://searchsight.com/

http://www.xtlinks.com/

http://search-o-rama.com/

http://www.somuch.com/

http://www.dmoz.org/

http://www.netinsert.com/

Handmade Link Directory

Handmade Feed (page rank check tool and directory)

My Green Obsession

I have a compulsion to use green in almost all of my colorways, as illustrated in the pictured random sampling of my yarn colorways. A customer recently asked for a custom colorway "without any green," and then yesterday, another one asked me to modify one of my colors to play up the green. Color preferences fascinate me. Often we think of them as mere personal idiosyncrasies, but actually our preferences reveal more about us than we realize.

We know from science that he brain processes color in ways that impact our emotions. Eastern cultures have long incorporated color properties and symbolism into healing and balancing arts, while modern western cultures have for decades applied color theory to marketing and to manipulating consumer behavior. Only more recently have we recognized the profound psychological repercussions of color in our designed environments, beyond simple matters of taste and trend.

Individuals gravitate to certain colors for reasons beyond visual pleasure. Color is a vital part of life, being a property of light. Light is wavelength and is a form of vibration, which means energy. Light penetrates all matter, every atom and molecule in the universe, including those within our bodies. Not only is color directed into our brains through our eyes, but it literally interacts with us physically as our body’s internal energy reacts with external energy that surrounds us constantly.

While we should all enjoy our own personal color preferences just for the simple pleasure it brings, whether we recognize it or not we are always absorbing and transmitting color’s energy. Consciously or not, we seek out colors that bring us joy and comfort. Those who are interested may consciously experiment with specific colors to promote a positive response or balance whatever is amiss on a given day, or through a time of transition or healing. In researching color meaning, ancient eastern theories abound, characterized by terminology such as chakra or Qi, as well as plenty of modern day studies into behavioral, psychological and marketing aspects of color. Regardless of the data source, some striking common threads emerge in all of these disciplines.

Some interesting theories about physiological responses to color can be found at this interesting website : biopulse.org

Chanteuse Layering Necklaces

My studio is loaded with yarns waiting to be painted, but my attention has been solely focused on my jewelry for a couple of weeks. Some friends went nuts for three of my recent designs and that inspired me to sit down at the bench and get busy.

I think I'm calling this particular theme of layering necklaces "Chanteuse." This prototype pair features sterling silver, aquamarine chips and dragon-skin agate. The pair consists of two necklaces that can be worn singly or paired together. The long, tapered 3-strand necklace with the silver-wrapped aquamarine chips can be worn long (in 3 tiers) or doubled around the neck to create 6 strands. Freshwater rice pearls frame the clasp which can positioned at the side of the neck or at the back. The single-stranded pendant necklace with the big dragon-skin focal is also adjustable length, and can be worn alone or paired with the triple-tiered necklace, with the pendant hanging low or high. Check it out in this video:


Click on the arrow to view this creation.

April Phat Fiber Sample

The Phat Fiber Sample Box April theme is "Green." The yarn I chose to contribute is "green" in the sense of being organically-grown (low impact on the environment.) And, the color green is also represented in the colorway.

This luscious yarn is available at Katsarayarns.com, and is called Organic Thick-Thin Country Cotton. It is a baby-soft bulky weight yarn with a homespun look and feel. The colorway pictured is called "Palouse" in honor of the eastern Washington high desert. Driving through this landscape in the early morning or late afternoon is a feast for the eyes, bringing out gorgeous soft hues of wild sage, rock and vegetation. The greens are subtle & "herbal."