Blog

I didn’t metalsmith last weekend, and my shop was a bit of an explosion when I went out there today. I put some music on and cleaned up my workbench, and then I decided to ...

I think I may have a tool addiction. Send help?! Check out this yumminess from @buffalo_rutland_co , which arrived in the mail today. This a new hammer along with some shot plates, which I want ...

This weekend I made a few pendants to support a charity auction at work.

Gotta love the amazing blue flash in the labradorite. This attempt went more quickly – and was definitely much easier – when I followed the instructions! I learned a ton of new techniques for both ...

I started Lucy Walker’s prong setting class, and I’ve learned so much already. I’m attempting to set the beautiful labradorite pictured above.

I had much better luck with flush setting today!

The ‘octopus setting’ is basically a series of textured jump rings (little circles of wire) sitting on top of the ring band. Every jump ring has to be made the correct size for the gems, ...

In order to learn how to flush set stones, I bought some cubic zirconia (CZs). These are man-made stones so they are not super expensive, but still beautiful. I shared them here and in my ...

Before dinner last night, I snuck out to my shop in the garage and finished setting this ring that I started last weekend. I am really happy with how it turned out, though in reality ...

Finished these beauties up today. I love these luminous lilac calcedony cabs from @dazydestash.

I went from extra large yesterday to extra small today. I think these little tourmaline candy earrings are so cheery!

I finally finished this piece, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Part of a larger project I’m working on – can’t wait to share more! It continues to amaze me how just a little bit of regular practice has improved my sawing skills. So rewarding. 💕

I made a few more open shank rings last weekend. It’s amazing to me how much faster (and more neatly!) I’m producing things than I was at the beginning of the summer.

It’s been months, but I finally got around to bolting my rolling mill table down to the concrete floor. One of my favorite techniques. 💕

Flush setting is a technique where you embed the stone in metal so it is – wait for it – flush with the surface of the metal. It’s typically done with smaller stones so the ...