Hot Chocolate

She had her first Hot Chocolate on Monday. Not surprisingly, she liked it!

Morganisms

She has so many cute little phrases I'd like to remember.

ice backpack = ice pack
backpackpack = backpack
helmet = almonds
thomas = either hummus or Thomas the Train, depending on context
pot = spot

As she gets closer to three, I can see more attitude emerging, but at the same time she's so much fun!

Finished Clouds

As promised, here's the finished cloud necklace. The finished pendant measures 2" across at it's widest point and 2 1/4" long. I've hung it from a 16" sterling silver chain with a handmade swirl clasp. This is one of my favorite pieces so far!

Slightly overcast

This is a work in progress - sterling silver rings soldered together to form a cloud. This is my first "big" soldering project. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I'll be working on smoothing out the solder joints and polishing it up. I'll post pics of the finished product as well. I'm playing around with the idea of adding peacock pearls as raindrops. The piece would be titled Slightly Overcast with a Chance of Rain.

My first headpins

I tried making headpins last night for the first time. I'm pretty pleased with the results!

These actually inspired me to create another piece, which I'm still working on. Look for it shortly!

In the works

This is an idea I'm working on. I was inspired by the moon - the 3 faces of it (maiden, mother and crone). Using sterling silver wire, I formed a cresent, waning moon shape. In the curve will rest a pearl (or up to three pearls).

The pendant formed also reminds me of a mother's arm. The pearls can represent her children nestled there.

Look for this to appear shortly in my Etsy shop - http://neccies.etsy.com/

Burn, baby, burn!

I'm patiently (or not so patiently!) awaiting the arrival of new supplies! Supplies to start soldering. I've got my tank ready to go, so look for new things to come out of Neccies soon.

If this is what two is like, we've got a long road ahead of us

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KSuLDgdoeMM

Tumbling

After reading many, many helpful posts on the Etsy forums about tumblers, I've decided to purchase one! I have an inexpensive Chicago Electric 3lb tumbler and some 1lb of stainless steel mixed shot coming my way in the next few days!

I can't wait to make up more jump rings and earwires and throw them in the tumbler.

PeaPod II

DSC03858, originally uploaded by neccies.

I was originally thinking of oxidizing both peapod necklaces to highlight the contrast between the dark metal and the white pearls. But, I finished this one yesterday and just love the shiny look.

PeaPod II is also made using 12 gauge sterling silver wire. It has 4 freshwater pearls wirewrapped to it. Then, I wirewrapped sterling silver around the pearls to form the pod shape. This pendant is a bit longer than PeaPod I at 2 1/4" (5.72cm) total length.

PeaPod I Necklace

I created this simple, modern interpretation of a peapod using 12 gauge sterling silver wire and creamy-white freshwater pearls.

The 12 gauge wire was bent into the swirl shape and then I hammered the center section flat. Next, I wirewrapped three pearls onto the center section. Then, I attached a handmade jumpring to the pendant, strung the sterling silver figaro chain, and attached the clasp.

Learning Photoshop

I was looking at my shop banner the other day and wanting to do a new one. Lucky for me, my husbands computer has a copy of Photoshop on it. However, I'd never really used Photoshop... A daunting program!

But, I decided to give it a try. I walked myself through one of the basic tutorials to get familiar with the program and was feeling pretty good about that.

So, after about an hour, I started working on my new banner. All in all, that took me another hour, but was really a lot of fun! I'm quite pleased with the results!

Of course, I stayed up much later than I had planned! And had a hard time falling asleep as my brain was coming up with more new ideas. Stay tuned for pics of one of those ideas!

My latest obession

is http://etsy.com

Etsy is a wonderful site for handmade goodies. From furniture to bath products, it can all be found on Etsy.

I've recently started making jewelry. This past weekend was spent on a few different projects. This necklace/bracelet piece is one of my favorites. The deep red of the garnets looks so beautiful next to the blush pink of the freshwater pearls. Swarovski crystals add a nice sparkle.

Morgan's singing debut

This past weekend, we took our first zoo trip of the year. Morgan had a blast! She especially liked the "kitties" (leopards, lions, etc.), bears and monkeys.

After we got home and she had her nap, she wanted to read Big Book of Shiny, Sparkly Animals. We flipped through the pages, identifying the animals and the sounds they make. On the farm page, she saw a sheep. A "baa baa sheep", according to Morgan.

And she broke into song! "Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three bags full." She sang the song probably 5 times before I managed to grab the camera to record it.

Here's Morgan's version of "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrTXd2odefs

Snippet of Morgan

Here's a brief video of Morgan - about 2 minutes of her on a typical Monday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ebZLhQpH2M