Contrariwise ramblings

Just a quick post to show you a custom pendant I've been working on.

It's still very rough, so please don't mind the unsanded edges and the lack of finish.   But here it is, warts and all!  I'll be working on it some more over the next couple of days and I PROMISE it'll look better.

The buyer and I started this custom piece by scouring the internet looking for a large Sleeping Beauty cab.  Finding such a nice clear blue stone without much matrix was a bit more difficult than I imagined, but we finally found two that were very close to what she wanted.  I bought both and planned to return the one she didn't want, but it was so nice that I couldn't stand to part with it.  (Can you believe that! )

She liked the designs of a couple of other of my pieces, an ocean jasper pendant and a cherry creek ring, so I started making some sketches.

However, I'm definitely keeping these sketches for future projects and inspiration.  I really like a few of them.  In fact, can you see the middle drawing in the top row?  I've started making that setting already.  You know, I thought the poor turquoise cab that was rejected needed a home.


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After placing a "Pick your cabochon and design a ring/pendant"  listing in my Etsy shop last week, I got a few new commissions.  One of the commissions was to set a gorgeous deep-blue labradorite as a ring.  I worked on it over the weekend and had it almost completed - except for the last step, setting the cab into the ring.   

When setting stones, you need to make them fit tightly and make sure the bezel is the correct shape for the stone.  I always check the fit of the stone by laying a piece of dental floss over the bezel and inserting the stone over the floss.  The floss keeps the stone from becoming stuck in the bezel and makes it easy to pop out.

I placed the stone into the setting and the fit was good and tight.  Very tight.  I had to use the floss to get it out.  Out it popped, up into the air, and then downward, toward my hard concrete floor.

I didn't see it hit the floor but I heard it.  

It took me a few seconds to find it, and I had a bad feeling in my stomach while I was looking for it.

Yes, the unthinkable happened, what I always fear: the cab was broken.

Of course it's irreplaceable.  It's a designer cabochon and not a standard size. I felt absolutely horrible and sent a message to the buyer.  Luckily she was very understanding.

In the meantime, I have a lovely ring with an empty place where a cab should be. 

I hate melting it down, so I'm checking with lapidary artists to see about cutting a stone to fit the setting.



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I've heard that dogs can't see laser pointers because they're color blind.  MooShu proves that this is is nothing but an urban legend.

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In my last post, I wrote about sketching out new designs.  Well, here's the work in progress.

When it's finished, it'll be going to Hope.

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Each cabochon is unique and I try very hard to carefully create a design specifically for each stone. I think every cabochon has a voice that needs to be heard.  Sometimes the voice is loud and strong.  Other times, it whispers, almost unheard.  Some cabs don't speak for a while, but eventually, perhaps when they warm up to you or when the moment is right, they let you know what they want.

One trick I use to coax out a design from a cab is sketching around a photocopy of the stone.   This works especially well with unique stones.   Seeing the natural patterns of the stone really gives you a better idea of how the overall design of the setting should flow.

And if you're making a custom design for someone, it allows the buyer to better visualize how their piece of jewelry will eventually look.

This cab is going to be a ring and I'll be working on it over the next week.  I'm planning to post updates on it to show you how it progresses.  (And to tease Hope, who's been patiently waiting for me to begin work on her new ring!)

So which design do you think Hope chose?



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Every time I list a new ring in my shop, I get emails from people that want the ring in a different size.  Unfortunately, it's not usually possible to resize the ring, and since the stones are one-of-a-kind, a can't make an identical ring.


So I decided to try something new for my shop.  I now have a listing that offers cabs that will be incorporated in a custom ring for the buyer.

I don't know how well this will work, but I thought I'd give it a try.

In this first attempt, I tried to select cabs that are as different as possible from each other:  I have a druzy, a labradorite, a mookaite, a Morgan Hill Poppy Jasper, and a Priday Plume agate.  All of them are gorgeous, and each would make a lovely ring.  (I personally can't pick a favorite.)

Do you know what will be the hardest part?  It will be waiting for someone to claim the cabs and NOT setting these stones right away.

For example, I just got the yellow and red mookaite in the mail yesterday, and it's like a juicy piece of candy.  I'm dying to set it in a sleek and modern design. And I almost started setting the Priday Plume agate last weekend.

Oh well, it's not like I don't have any other cabs in my collection that I can work with.  I'm at the point that I have to commit to STOP buying more cabs.   (At least, that's what I say to myself every time I can't resist a new cabochon.  I promise myself that that'll be the last purchase for a while.  Ha!)

You can find this listing here, in my Etsy shop.  There are more details about these cabs in my shop listing.




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It's cottonwood season again and the pesky seeds land in my yard and form little drifts of "snow".  Pretty, yet annoying at the same time.

However, cleaning up the mess they make is easier for some than for others:

I feel so sorry for the spider.  As soon as he rebuilds his web, it's going to fill up with cottonwood seeds again!

Yes, I finally finished it!  (If you check my past few posts, you can follow the progress of this ring from a few sketches, to the finished piece.)

The centerpiece of this ring is a Bazooka pink druzy of rhodochrosite . It's covered all over with a shimmer of crystals. To its right is a blue topaz which forms the center of a handcrafted flower. The flower is three dimensional - the petals curve inward toward the topaz and there are more petals underneath.

(More photos of this ring can be found here.)

So what's a druzy? It's a blanket of tiny, sparkling crystals most often found inside a geode or an agate. The sparkle looks like spilled salt or sugar. The tiny crystals are made after molten rock begins to quickly cool, trapping gasses within it as it becomes a solid. The trapped gasses make crevices and cavities in the cooling rock. Later, groundwater flows through these gaps and crevices, layering minerals which crystallize on top of each other. The crystals are druzy (or drusy). This process doesn't take days or weeks, but a few hundred or even a few thousand years.

(BTW, I got this one-of-a-kind stone at Mountain Glory Gems, a great seller on Etsy.  I haven't seen another one like it, but I've bought other lovely and unusual cabs there. )



(If you're interested in how to oxidize silver with egg yolks, I wrote a tutorial about it here.)



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Well I got an email from someone who really knows about this agate, Terry from LostSierra.  (Check out his Etsy shop.  He cuts great cabs which I've been trying to resist buying, very unsuccessfully.)

Terry states:
"The info in your blog about the Prudent Man is incorrect. I happened to live most of my life quite close to the mine...
1) Mine location: Central Idaho (Lost River Valley)
2) Status of mine: Active during summer/fall or when snow melts.
3) Owner of mine: Steve H. (Lives in Idaho Falls) know him well.
4) Vein #2: "Your Cabochon" variety is readily available.
5) Vein #1: Closed,mined out.(Highest Grade RED/SAGE color Plumes)"

First: many thanks to Terry for correcting my post.  It goes to show that you can't believe everything you read on the internet. 

Second:  I envy Terry.  Can you believe living close to these wonderful mines, being able to personally collect these rocks and rough gemstones, and then being able to bring them to life!

Third: this means that I should be able to easily buy MORE or these wonderful agates.

Fourth: wow, someone actually reads my blog.



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Another long day at work (are they ever short?) followed by dinner at home (thank god for leftovers!) and all the other activities one usually might expect (or not) while school is coming to a close for the kids.

Toward the end of the day, I was so close to heading out to bed and vegitating in front of the TV.  But I also wanted to work on my latest project.

Until this past December, silvermaking meant I had to head to the garage - and dress appropriately for the weather.  Now that I've moved to the basement and arranged a work area, it's so much easier and the weather isn't an issue.  So now if I have a couple of hours, I don't have much of an excuse.

It was a pretty close call, but I decided to continue working on my latest ring.  A couple of  hours later, and this is what I have so far.


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Both my day job and new commisions I've been working on have kept me pretty busy.  Plus my daughter is graduating from eighth grade, so there are all kinds of activities there. (Rehearsals, recitals, plays, and parties - oh my!) 

I'd bought this dainty pink rhodochrosite a while ago without knowing what I was going to do with it - but it was too pretty to pass up.  It was patiently waiting for me, until inspiration knocked me upside the head and told me what I was supposed to do with it.

Seriously, this is the way it seems to work with me.  An sudden idea.  A few drawings to get the idea on paper.  But then after the drawings,  I still have to figure out how to make the design work with silver and solder.

This juicy pink druzy is going to be part of a floral motif on a ring.  I'm going to pair it with a small blue topaz which is going to be the center of a flower.  I've also got some ideas on adding some depth to the petals and the leaves - different than I've done before. 

I hope to have some time to work on it through the week and will try to post some photos as it progresses.



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