The Smart Bird

First Glimpse Of Spring

Although the weather has turned, again (welcome to Colorado!), and is now cold after two weeks of warm, balmy days, it is now officially spring.  Yay!  So it's high time I show you pieces from two of my new lines. 

First are the Lyre necklaces.  14K gold "lyres" festooned with colorful clusters of gemstones: 

Next is a series of sterling "cups," filled with hand stamped designs and hand forged shapes:



Also I'm just in love with these Botanica earrings.  They're vintage brass leaves given a modern gold plating; so detailed and lovely!



All are currently available in my shop.
Happy Monday!

Sneak Peek

In the past few weeks, I've been devoting just about all of my available work time to my new spring line.  Which, in reality, means that I can devote a portion of two days a week to new work given my current stay-at-home mom schedule.  But....I managed to take pictures of two of my newest rings today.  Both are currently available in my shop. 

First is the Guinevere ring.  This will come in smoky quartz (shown) and pink amethyst (coming soon). 

Next is a one-of-a-kind opal cocktail ring.  The bezel is 22K gold, which is just so beautiful and great to work with.  The color is a rich true gold, but as it's 22K it wears very well without the denting/scratching problems you can get with pure 24K, which is quite soft. 

I have some really great pendants to share and a couple more rings.  I'm hoping to get more pictures posted by the end of the week.  Stay tuned!

Blue Lagoon

When I was a girl, Blue Lagoon was one of my favorite movies.  I think all kids go through a phase of wishing they lived on a desert island, without parents or siblings or school.  That's probably why Gilligan's Island was so popular, too.  Well, my newest ring is called Blue Lagoon, in honor of desert islands everywhere. 



It features a thick slice of natural aquamarine, set in a handmade bezel.  I've hammered the band and oxidized it to bring out the details.  I'm so happy with how it came out, looking like a branch of coral and all.

 

 And, I just love the deep blue of the aquamarine, along with the overall natural feel of this piece.  It's a one-of-a-kind, and is available in my shop right now.

Happy Thursday!

Heidi Klum Wears Smart Bird Jewelry???!!!

Well, maybe not yet, but she might!  I received a lovely email today from H Style Magazine letting me know they had featured a pair of my earrings on their website.  Under the heading "Where to find earrings fit for a princess like Heidi Klum," they've linked to my Mist earrings.  Wow!  What a nice surprise on a sunny Wednesday afternoon.    
See you soon, and have a great week everybody!

Blue Tuesday

Not blue as in sad, but blue as in dreamy gemstones!  I finally added a couple of new pieces to my shop that I've been meaning to put up for some time now.  I made these last month, but have been so busy that I wasn't able to post them before now.  The earrings are 14K gold fill with organic aquamarine rondelles, and the ring is sterling silver with lovely larimar - one of my new favorite gemstones.  It's only found in the Dominican Republic, so it's rare, which adds to its mystique and beauty, I think. 
Both are now available in my shop. 

Etsy Front Page!

Gold Finger

I've been really into gold lately (and James Bond, hence the post title.  Isn't Daniel Craig the best?!).  I guess it started gradually, over the course of about a year, but in the last month or two I've kicked my side obsession up to the forefront.  So far I've worked with 9K, 10K, 14K, and 18K (and I've even got some 22K bezel wire waiting in the wings for a special ring project I have planned).  I mostly focus on 18K now; it adds just a hint of color with a subtly organic quality and not too much "goldness."  I've really come to love the look of silver and gold together, especially when there is some oxidation of the silver to bring in grays/blacks.  Here's a little gallery of recent work, including a pair of ruby earrings and a custom pair of keishi pearl earrings, both done in all 14K.  There will be more to come, including some 18K earrings I hope to list later this week.  Most of these are currently available in my shop.  Enjoy!

  

   

        

I'm Trendy

I didn't realize that my most recent Front Page appearance was part of an Etsy Storque article about stacking rings (thanks for the heads up Liz!).  The title of the article?  "Trends: Stacking Rings."  My Glitterstack ring set made the cut, and are officially part of the trend.  Yay! 

New Pretties

Here are few pictures of my most recent work.  The popular Kimono earrings, now in green and pink tourmaline. 

  

   

And the Golightly necklace, with a stunning pink tourmaline drop and a handmade (by me, of course!) 18K gold headpin. 

  



All are now available in my shop.  I hope you like these pieces as much as I do. 
Happy Friday!

Get Your Patina On

I've never tried to work with patina, but I sure love lookin' at it!  Here's a lovely front page from this morning...