Show and Tell Time + Next Week's News

Well, finally! I can show you my new gift from myself to myself! She came the other day and I still haven't attached the handle, but soon... It's a bench shear! So excited! I can't tell you how long my money clips take me...saw a crooked line, then sand and sand and sand...and sand some more to make it perfect. But, now, this little shear will help me make perfectly straight lines and cut down on my sanding time by 80%, at least. Obviously not just saving time on money clips, but so many other things. I have a hand shear and the serrated edge it makes, also takes tons of time to sand down, so YAY!

I also got this Key Holder as a free gift.....wow. Thanks. I will literally never use this - ever. How random.

And, last, but not least, here's what I've been working on. Lots of these little guys are ready to list! So, I will be posting photos and links soon. I have some process photos that I will also share next week. Lots coming up! I am still waiting on my website completion, but I did update all my other branding (except on my blog...which will be moving anyway). So, check out my Facebook page and My Etsy Shop and let me know how they look!

How could I forget + Birthday gift

I don't know how I let this lovely slip through when I posted all my new goodies the other day...well, yes, I do. I was wearing it :). Well, here is a GORGEOUS yellow quartz pendant that I'm totally in love with. I will add one of my "blur the edges" photos for you too... :). And, thanks again to all of you for your further editing tips! I'm so very excited - I really think my photos are going to be much improved from now on!

I will be posting this and others in my shop next week. Next week you ask? Why, yes, I will be out of town for a nice long weekend to San Francisco. My husband's birthday is Saturday and mine is on Monday, so we are making a birthday weekend out of it. AND, I got myself a gift yesterday...it will arrive when I get back. It's exciting, trust me...I'll post photos for you once I get it.

More work + iPhoto trick

I have a few quick things to show you! And, one that I need an opinion on...I'm opening a can of worms, maybe :). I'm still in a crazy ring phase, but I thought I would do some bezel set necklaces this week (plus one random wire wrapped one)...Here's the newest batch...

Whiskey Quartz and Oxidized Sterling Necklace...will list soon...

Labradorite and Sterling Necklace - simple design, but this stone is a real stunner, so simple is all it needs - check it out

White Chalcedony and Oxidized Sterling Oval Necklace - will list soon

This is the one I'm not sure about. I like this photo best, because you can really see the scallops. I normally don't use the scalloped bezel wire unless I have a really simple or rustic stone to use - then I like the scallop to give it some cuteness juxtaposed with rustic. So, what do you think? Meh? Cool? Pretty?...

Aqua Chalcedony and Sterling Ring - this stone makes me swoon. Love, love, love the color...love.

So, the iPhoto trick. I'm a little slow on the uptake for the most part. But, today I finally discovered the "Blur the Edges" tool in iPhoto. Anyone know what that is? You can essentially airbrush your photos! I've always been too shy to take photos of my jewelry on me. I think it's so helpful for customers to see the scale though! Such a dilemma...So, I started with rings - fine, no big deal...then I tried earrings and NO WAY! Far too close up. So, I tried necklaces and I was not happy...until I started editing and found the "Blur the Edges" options in iPhoto in the "Effects". Ah, now I can just blur myself out and leave the pretty jewelry in the middle...what a relief. I guess I have to try earrings again. Ugh.

More branding elements + RINGS!

I have more branding elements to share! This is all coming together so fast...I'm so happy! These are my new earring cards! Quite happy with them.

I still have to figure out some other packaging changes - but it should be fun and easy. Did I already say I can't believe how fast this is all happening? :) I can hardly wait to wrap it all up - I'm so ready for my new look and to share it with everyone!

I spent a nice long day in the studio yesterday making made to order items, but I'm hoping to get back in later this week and work on some new things that are cooking in my brain.

Last, but not least, I'm still on a big ring kick...here are some newly listed items...and one that will be listed later today...

Prehnite and Oxidized Sterling Ring - yeah...I'm in LOVE with this one...

Black Agate Druzy Ring

Amazonite Ring...look for me soon!

New works - only for you!

I finished taking photos of a bunch of new work yesterday. I'm trying to stagger my uploading of new goodies to my shop - but I couldn't wait to share photos! I had been neglecting necklaces for a long time...I was on such a ring kick for a while...well, still am. So, I went nuts with a bunch of new necklaces. I find them extremely difficult to photograph. Sigh. Rings are my favorite - or studs. Anything teeny tiny I have a much easier time photographing. Earrings I still need work, but they are OK. Necklaces - so hard.

First, are the 3 items that I did end up listing last night - so go check them out!

Rutilated Quartz coins in Gold Filled Chandeliers

Gold Filled Curls on Oxidized Chain

Teeny Labradorite on Sterling Chain

Here are the rest of the bunch from this week. They will all be listed in the next few days!

Crooked Trails Trunk Show

What a nice weekend! It's been awfully nice in Seattle and I've gotten so much yard work done just in the last 2 weeks. I'm so ready to plant my garden and just can't wait for spring and summer. Sit on the deck, grill, drink vodka tonics...oh, I cannot wait.

Besides my warm weather dreaming, I had a trunk show at a great customer and friend's house. 25% of the sales went to Crooked Trails. Crooked Trails is a non-profit community-based travel organization helping people broadening their understanding of the planet and it's diverse cultures through education, community development and responsible travel. Yes, I took that straight from their website... :). Check out the website though. I think it's hard to sum up all that they do with just that little blurb. It's a great organization and I especially love their focus on responsible travel. I feel so fortunate to have been included in such a great group. It was a great event.

Plus, it just made me feel good. For some reason, I never really knew how exactly I would want to go about donating (besides the obvious donating items for auction). But, I loved having a portion of the trunk show sales be donated. I got to meet the people, everyone was terribly enthusiastic and I just felt so much more a part of it and connected that just writing a check or mailing off a piece of jewelry. A great experience and I intend to do it again...and again :).

I also have just 13 days until my half marathon, so I had to get a 10 mile run in yesterday. It was hard, but I was still able to do yard work afterwards and I'm not too sore today, so I know I can at least be able to cross the finish line. I'll hopefully get in one more long run before the 21st. Can't wait!

I have a few pieces to share...even some that already sold, but I want to share anyway. And, off to finish some rings, cuff links and more!

Pink Amethyst Earrings

This lovely herkimer diamond necklace is snatched up already...

And this gorgeous White Druzy necklace has also already found a home...

So had this Green Amethyst necklace...

But check out this Solitaire (Herkimer:)) Diamond Necklace!

Custom work + works in progress

I've been neglecting my Etsy shop ever since we got back from our anniversary trip to Vegas - I know, the most romantic place :). For the last week or so I've mostly been working on custom orders that sort of all came at once for some reason. I just finished up an order for a bride and her bridesmaids yesterday and have one more custom order (cuff links for a wedding!) that I will get to next week. Check out a few favorite custom pieces from the week...

But, that's not all I've been doing! I do have some new designs in the works! I usually only work on a few new things at once, but I was feeling like my shop was stale and I have so many new stones that I'm dying to work with, so I started a whole bunch of new work at once. I'm not sure if it's the amount, or just that I'm trying to work faster and trying things I haven't done before, but I've had a few super annoying moments of bezel melting, the bezel not fully soldering to the backplate, hard to set stones (oh, that one was bad - my arms were sore the next day), and things like that. Not that those things never happen, but they feel like they have been happening way more this week and sucking my time away...right when I'm dying to finish some things so I can get them photographed and up in my shop.

I WILL share new goodies soon! In the meantime, here's my pile of stones right after making all the bezels the other day. My bench is a disaster now - glad I took this photo before it got out of control...

New Jewelry + Eggplant "caviar" recipe

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Ours was adorable. Nothing fancy, just an overall great day. Well, the Eggplant Caviar I mentioned last week, but hadn't tried yet - turned out great. It's soooo good. So, here's the recipe and below it, a couple notes about my small adaptations:

Eggplant Caviar

2 medium eggplants

2 large cloves of garlic

1 medium onion, outer skin removed, but left whole

2 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 TBSP tomato paste

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/8 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Assorted vegies and bread for dipping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Cut a slit into the fattest part of each eggplant and stick in a clove of garlic in each. Rub the eggplant and onion with 1 TBSP of the olive oil. Roast the eggplants and onion on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes, rotating frequently, until the eggplants are collapsed and the onion brown. When done, cut the eggplants lengthwise and lay cut side down on several layers of paper towels to drain. When cooled enough to touch, peel the skin off and cut in quarters. Cut the onion in quarters too. Puree the onion and eggplant in a food processor. Add the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, cayenne, salt and pepper and puree until very smooth. Check for seasoning and serve with bread and/or vegies. It's good warm or cold.

**I didn't have tomato paste, so I added about 1.5 TBSP of balsamic instead of just 1 tsp. I also added a bit more lemon juice and a little more olive oil since it was lacking depth without the tomato paste. But, it turned out wonderfully! YUM! Next time, I will add a couple more garlic cloves in the eggplants - the roasted garlic was outstanding!!

And, last but not least, a few more pieces of jewelry to share. The first 2 are already in My Etsy Shop, the other 2 should be listed today or tomorrow.

New Goodies!!

I've spent the last couple days making bezels, setting stones, filing, sawing, polishing...Whee! So, here they are....Look for these new goodies in my Etsy Shop in the next couple days. I will hopefully have time to post them super soon. More jewelry tomorrow and a super fun weekend coming up. My mom will be here and it's my sister's birthday, so lots of good stuff coming up!

Oh, and check out the pink Opal ring in the middle...remember that stone?? Oh my gosh, I am in love with it...

New stone setting projects

Ooooo...here are a few fun stones. I've been working on a few of them already. The big pink one is actually an Opal from Greece. I got it from a guy who got it from THE guy who found it and cut it in Greece. You will be surprised when you see what I'm doing with it...Oh, I love it! Then there are 3 Labradorite stones (1 bigger and round and the other 2 smaller and square), a Peruvian Opal - the triangular shaped one and then a Chrysoprase. It will be fun to show you what I do with them all! Wheeee!

TONS of new jewelry for Asher Anson

I'm so excited about this order I just finished up. Below is just a tiny sampling of all the new Erin Jane Designs jewelry delivered to Asher Anson today. But, there are so many great designs just in time for fall! Go and check them out!

I, of course, couldn't leave without snagging a new ADORABLE dress they just got in. I got this little number in navy blue. So cute!

August Jewelry of the Month

These lovelies are the Erin Jane Designs' August Jewelry of the Month.  They are Yellow Opals in square gold filled wire hoops.  Just type in "blog" to the note to seller for the month of August and I'll refund your shipping.  Find them HERE!

July Jewelry of the Month

Here is a simply fantastic bracelet that I am featuring this month.  Oh, I love it.   The oxidized sterling silver and gold filled chains are just a gorgeous mix.  It's both sweet and tough at the same time.  Not too big, not too small...just perfect.

You can find it in my etsy shop and if you type in "blog" into the note to seller during your purchase throughout the month of July, I will refund the shipping!

It's Giveaway time!!

Check out this one-of-a-kind, gorgeous necklace!  It could be yours!  The pendant is a Fluorite Druzy with flecks of Pyrite in it.  It's on a multi-strand chain of sterling silver and oxidized sterling silver with Green Amethyst, Smoky Quartz, White Topaz, and Keshi Pearls.  

If you are on Facebook, just have 2 friends sign up as fans and get entered into a drawing. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erin-Jane-Designs/47151974088?ref=mf

Check the Discussion Board for more details.

If you aren't on Facebook, well, I'll enter you anyway!  Just comment on this post and I will add your name.  The drawing is August 5th.  Go, go, go!

Erin Jane Designs Giveaway sneak peak

So, is it just me or is everyone giving stuff away?  Well, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a giveaway.  More details to come, but I thought I would post a photo of some of the materials I will be using for the piece I am making...maybe for you!  Here's your little sneak peak.  Stay tuned!

Oxidizing silver

Well, for most jewelers oxidizing is probably something they've been doing forever.  For me, I just started.  And, yes, another obsession.  I can't get away from it!  I love it!  I especially love mixing it with gold.  Oh, so pretty.  I'm still in the experimentation phase.  I've been using liver of sulfur, which is pretty gross, but I've been doing a ton of production work for couple boutiques in town and have been making a TON of jewelry, so the more environmentally friendly version of oxidizing with a hard boiled egg just isn't happening.

But, anyway, I've learned a bit about how to get the really black, black color (just add a touch more liver of sulphur and leave it in your hot water until you get the right color).  To get that steel grey color, I use a bit less and then I take it out when the silver actually looks like an oil slick -  you know that rainbow-y kind of look.  It's scary!  But, if you polish it up with a silver polish cloth, you get that nice steel grey color.  Don't forget to check out my Etsy Shop for more examples!