I recently made a few of my sterling silver chevron earrings, and thought I would take a few progress shots. For some reason I forgot to capture a shot of sawing out the little pieces but you get the idea.

You can find the finished product in my shop

Finally the weather is getting warm and the garden is being planted. There is mint for Mojitos and herbs for cooking on the grill. I feel like summer is finally coming and I am hoping to do a bit camping and a lot of BBQing. We made a fabulous drink today and I have to share.

1/2c diced strawberries
1 lime, juiced (or more if you like lime. I do, so I actually added an additional half lime)
1/4c pomegranate juice
1/4c mint leaves
1TB Aguave Sweetener (you could also use sugar, or splenda)
Club Soda or Sprite
4 shots white rum

Put the strawberries lime and mint in a shaker and muddle it together. Then add the pomegranate, sweetener, rum and shake that sucker up!

Pour it into a large glass over ice and top with the club soda or sprite. Then garnish with a little mint leaf.

I love the summer and spending time with family and friends outside. If you have a favorite summer drink please share it!

To art fair or not to art fair? I have been pondering about this for some time now. There are a lot of pros and cons to doing art fairs, and I have finally made the decision to make the jump. Then I thought, hey that might make an interesting series on the blog, so occasionally I will update you on my progress (or lack there of). One of the major hurdles to getting started in art fairs is the booth design. I have been told a good display can make or break your show, even though a killer booth is no guarantee for a successful show. I am hoping to make a booth that is not astronomically expensive, but still stylish and displays my work at its best. So I decided to put together an inspiration collage for how I want my booth to look and feel.

I have a few ideas on how I want to put this thing together. My next big project I am hoping to start next week if I can find the materials. If you want a hint, the project is directly related to one of the photos in the collage above. Stay tuned to see what I am up to next.

If you want to check out any of those lovely photos in the collage above you can find the links on my pinterest board here.

Being mischievous today? I was mostly a good kid, but I do remember one April when I decided to be a bit of a brat. Using a twisty tie on the sprayer on the kitchen sink I made it so when you turned on the faucet the sprayer was positioned to spray the unlucky sink user. I believe my brother was the victim of this prank, and I don’t think he was very happy. Use at your own risk!

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival! Click the image above to visit the blog.

I just finished up on these rings and wanted to share. Some of you might have seen one of them on my facebook page, but now I have some semi-decent pictures. I got the lovely golden and red stone at a local mineral club show, it was really fun getting to see some local stone cutters and I always like supporting other makers. The color of this stone is gorgeous and has some stunning reds and golds swirling through it. This ring band is quite substantial, and is imprinted with a trailing vine pattern. I gave the ring an antiqued finish that really brings out the colors of the stone and the detail in the ring band. The lavender stone is an Amethyst Sage Agate and has wispy cloud of white in it as well as some other fun inclusions that really make it one of a kind.

Recently I decided to make a big purchase for this little studio and I invested in a rolling mill. Basically it is two rollers with a huge crank that you can squash metal through. Sounds exciting? Yes it is! Well, I suppose you have to be a special person to think that sounds exciting, just trust me when I say that it is. Anyway, the one technique that really drew me into getting the mill is to be able to impress designs into silver by rolling it through the mill, which is how I made the texture on the ring band. I etched a piece of brass with my design and then ran it through the rolling mill with the silver sandwiched against it. I love the antique flavor that it gives the piece and I always love playing with my own patterns.

These two lovelies will make their way into the shop soon!

I have to say it was a rough week, but it is the start of a beautiful weekend. Time to call some friends, enjoy the fantastic weather and recharge to start the week with a rejuvenated creative outlook.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic. See what these talented metalsmiths have to say below.

1. Lou Hunter: http://peculiarforest.blogspot.ch/
2. Laura Jane Bouton: http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
4. Inbar Bareket : http://www.inbarbareket.info/blog/
5. Laney Clark: http://www.silentgoddess.blogspot.com
6. Abella Blue: http://www.abellablue.com/blog
7. Cynthia Del Giudice: http://www.cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com
8. Rebecca Bogan: http://adobesol.wordpress.com/category/ … -carnival/
9. Erin Austin: http://metalmusing.blogspot.com/
10. Deborah Lee Taylor http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
11. Anne Walker: http://creativeinclinations.blogspot.com/
12. Theresa Kwong: http://tkmetalarts.blogspot.com

Welcome to our EtsyMetal monthly Blog Carnival!

Blog Carnival is about a group of our members sharing their experience on a common topic.

This month’s topic: “Photography – Tips, Tricks.”

This month’s topic made me giggle just a little bit because most days I feel like I should write a book, “Photography – Tips, Tricks on what not to do”. I feel very proficient in the what not to do department. But every so often (like 2 out of 100) I feel like I get a good shot. If you want to see what not to do, check out my flickr feed on the right and go back to my earliest photos…yuck.

Everyone told me to use natural lighting. The problem with that is that 1. my studio is in the basement and natural lighting is quite scarce and 2. Natural lighting does not adhere to my schedule. It took me a long while to get my lighting down and I still struggle a little. But I think I have found a solution that works for me. I invested in 3 table top photography lights that seem to do the trick.

Another tip. When photographing shiny things, do not wear brightly colored clothing. Ask me how I figured this one out. I spent a good 2 hours taking photos and when I uploaded them I realized they were all slightly a lovely shade of purple. White backgrounds will also reflect this color and it is just easier to avoid the problem in the first place, than trying to edit it out.

One trick I have found that really helps certain pieces in a close up is to reduce reflection by using a piece of white card stock and positioning it so that the piece is reflecting just the white card. This sometimes ends up being a little difficult using the camera with one hand and holding the paper just so with the other, but certain shots look much better when using this method. The white card can also bounce back some of that light and make the piece pop. Make sure to use good paper meant for photography. I have found that most typing paper is a slightly on the cool side and gives a blue cast to the photos. I have found some water color paper is a good match and it helps if it is a little thicker so you can easily position it with 1 hand. The image below was taken with this technique.

The think that has helped me the most is to just keep taking photos. I like to jot down some notes on what I did during that session and then after editing I add to the notes on what I need to change or what worked well. I feel like taking more and more photos has helped me improve a lot since the beginning.

Check out more photography tips from the talented artists below:

1. Lou Hunter: http://peculiarforest.blogspot.fr/
2. Laura Jane Bouton http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
4. Chrysoula: http://jewellietta.blogspot.gr
5. Nodeform: http://nodeform.blogspot.com/
6. Deborah Lee Taylor: http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
7. Evelyn Markasky http://www.evelynmarkasky.com/blog.html

Thanks for looking!

~Jessica

Here are some phone snap shots of a recent snowshoeing adventure.

Stay Warm!

~Jessica