Creative Side Jewelry Academy

This past November I was able to attend the Hollow Form and Tube Setting intensive class at the Creative Side Jewelry Academy in Austin, Texas.

This amazing class gave me the chance to expand my skill set with the hollow form technique and work on improving my tube setting skills as well.

The class started with making a ring that is hollow in the middle. We started with flat sterling silver sheet, with some of the sheet cut into strips for the ring shank and sides of the hollow form. I opted to texture the sterling silver on the outside of the sheet to give the final ring a bit of light texture

The challenge was getting everything soldered correctly and without shifting. The instructor was great in walking us through all of the steps and every one of us finished up our projects with success.

The class was great! I learned so much in a short amount of time that will really improve my work flow and the quality of the pieces I make! It was really an invaluable experience! I will be adding some new pieces to the website this next year that will feature this new technique.

AAPG Show in Wichita

Thank you to everyone who came out and saw us at the AAPG Mid-Continent Section Meeting in Wichita, KS last week! We had a fantastic show and it was great to see so many familiar faces! The Wichita show is always one of our favorites, and it was great to be back for our 3rd meeting!

Much love!

Chrissi

New Work!

I'm finally getting around to photographing the new work I've completed for the shop this summer!  I'm looking forward to getting some new items up on the site by the end of this week.  

I have been trying to branch out and do more multi-stone pendants and add in more beaded items.  I started with beads, and they have always been my first love...and I feel like my vision is coming back to a place where the beads meet the metalwork.  

This piece, is a stunning example of Congo Malachite!  The stone was hand-cut by an artisan lapidary and she captured the fantastic natural pattern of the stone.  I absolutely love this piece!  I really wrestled with adding a beaded necklace to the pendant, but the stone is so stunning and beautiful all it's own, I didn't want to detract from it's natural appeal.