Etsy Metal Finds

This week's Etsy Metal Finds is one for the little ones!

Clockwise from Left:

Yellow Chestnut Blossom Dress by The Measure

Crochet Blanket for Tiny Baby Girl by KuDum

A Children's Broom by Palumba

New Members: Katrina's Jewel, Lively Hood, and Reagan Hayhurst

Katrina's Jewel

welcome to new member Katrina's Jewel!....Katrina tells us that:

"I assemble and fuse all my own cabochons, and make all my own lampwork beads. I also do all the fabrication and finishing for every piece I create. Each piece is really a labor of love; no two pieces are ever exactly the same. My favorite part of the creative process is the actual fabrication of the piece. I love to solder, saw, hammer and create beauty from raw materials. Seeing others enjoying my pieces isn’t too bad either! I am a huge animal lover and have 2 dogs (Mirko and Lady) an iguana (Rodney) and a turtle (Michelle). I love to hike with my dogs, and spend time outdoors."

Like all the other new EM members, I am sure Katrina will be a lovely new additon to the group. You can see more of her work here:

www.katrinasjewel.etsy.com

Lively Hood

Welcome to new member Tonya, of Lively Hood jewelry! In her own words, Tonya's philosophy is:

"I believe that what we do with our time needs to be gentle on the earth, beautiful, and crafted with our hearts and hands. My work needs to allow me to continue to live simply and to feel nourished by it.

The passion to make jewelry did not start with the metalwork. First a rock hound, I am finally tapping into my stash of treasures to cut and polish each stone as its personality guides me. Working with metals allow me to hold and enhance these stones, to create precious one-of-a-kind pieces. My work is both exquisitely simple and always delightfully surprising."

I am sure you will agree! If you would like to explore more of Tonya's work you can find it at:

www.livelyhood.etsy.com

Reagan Hayhurst

Welcome new member, Reagan Hayhurst...by day, a skin care therapist, and by other times, well, I shall let her tell you herself:

"I have been apprenticing for the past 10 years with a Nun, and yes, you read that correctly. We have become very good friends and I attribute her, with my discovery of my artistic self. I always knew it was there, I just hadn't discovered it until I took one of her workshops. I learned Lost wax casting from her. Thus beginning the insatiable thirst for all things metal. What I learned along the way is that with anything in life, I will be studying the rest of my life. Working with metal has become my passion.

Plus, I once read that metalsmiths are pyromaniacs with direction and I find this to be very accurate.

One thing I do know, is that life is good. If it isn't, find what you love and make it good. Even if it takes a long time, it is worth the struggle and the wait."

Great advice, Reagan!...if you would like to explore more of Reagan's work, you can find it at:

www.reaganhayhurst.etsy.com

ETSYMETAL Jewelry Challenge: Project Runway ~ postponed until next week!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick little note.

We were surprised as this weeks show was a rerun!?

So this buys you an extra week to get your "Adult & Childrens' Look" finished.

And if you already are done, you get a sweet little vacation!

So we will see you next Friday for last weeks reveal!

Bye for now!

Ring a Day (Feb 19 - Feb 25)

1. quercussilver, 2. Mike-mikeandmary, 3. bcyrjewelry, 4. experimetal, 5. Rachelle-mikeandmary, 6. metalriot, 7. wildflowerdesigns, 8. ninadinoff, 9. Rubygirl, 10. Kathryn Riechert, 11. kathryncole, 12. Nina Gibson

1. noformdesign, 2. inbarbareket, 3. Laurie Brown, 4. lpjewelry, 5. metalnat, 6. istanbuldesigns, 7. cosmosmoon, 8. SaraWestermark

Another ring for Haiti...

This is another beautiful ring from an Etsymetal member, offered up for auction with all proceeds going to the relief effort in Haiti - a lovely way to buy a piece of jewellery, knowing that every penny paid goes to a fantastic cause.



This ring in turquoise and silver comes from Etsymetal member Beth Cyr. It is available to bid on here, as are a number of other rings from some very talented metalworkers - the list will continue to be added to on a daily basis. The auction for Beth's ring finishes on Feb 23 at 16:30:40 PST - take a look at it, not to mention all the other rings...

Etsy Metal Finds

The sun is shining, and it is beautiful outside. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are, too!

Clockwise from Top Left:

Lemon Flower Kanzashi Hair Clip by Petal Mix

You Are My Sunshine Tutu by The Tutu Patch

Sunshine Yellow Scarflette by Fennel Studio

Sunshine Yellow Soy Candle by Lilac Ave

ETSYMETAL Jewelry Challenge: Project Runway Season 7.6 " Adult & Childrens Look"

WELCOME to the reveal of last weeks' Episode 5

"Design for your Star!"

Below are our 8 EtsyMetal Team entries, and one guest!

Last weeks' TV challenge was to create a look to be worn by Heidi Klum on the cover of Marie Claire.

So to make it more interesting for everyone, the interpretation for this challenge is to have you to pick a favorite star or public figure and then design and make a piece of jewlery with that person in mind, something that you would imagine them wearing and loving!

1- Kira Ferrer

Kira says, "Art Nouveau style peacock feather earrings set with blue topaz. I designed these for Zoe Saldana (she was Neytiri in Avatar)."

2- Nina Gibson

Nina says, "Beautiful. Dirty. Rich."

"This one was hard. Finding someone on which to base a jewelry design was the main challenge. Once I remembered the glass bubble beads, though, I knew I had to do Lady Gaga. Recycled sterling silver and glass bubble."

3- Inbar Bareket

Inbar says, "To: Brad Pitt "Remember me" Pendant.

Double sided, sterling silver, 25.3gr, etched with Patina (LOS)."

4- Norsola Johnson

Norsola says, "Southern Cross for Galileo Galilei

Sterling silver, blue topaz, resin."

5- Kathryn Cole

Kathryn says, " I decided to create earrings for Heidi Klum. I can see her wearing these with her hair pulled up to see the detail of the earrings.

The hoops are hand fabricated in sterling silver and measure approximately 2 1/8" in width by 2 1/2" in height. The hoops are hand hammered. I hand cut the flowers out and soldered them onto the hoops."

6- Stacey Hansen

Stacey says, "i choose sheryl crow and made a chunky, earthy ring."

7- Victoria Takahashi

Victoria says, "This week was sketchy for me. I actually attempted my piece late last evening and carved for a couple of hours and then realized I overworked the bone and it was fugly, and I was frusterated for leaving it until the last minute, so I came to terms with my flakiness and gave up,  then I made my RAD and passed out. I awoke this morning with an hour to spare and I said to myself, I HAVE to make something, anything! and I have 1 hour, I can't give UP!? SO this is what I came up with. I made this with the infamous Ms. Georgia O'Keefe in my mind. Something she might wear as a casual daily wear piece, I like to imagine her to touching the bone while she was in thought contemplating her next spectacular work of art"

8- Shannon Conrad

Shannon says, "This week was really hard for me! The challenge was to pick a favorite star or public figure and then design and make a piece of jewlery with that person in mind. I am not into the whole "celebrity" thing, so I completely blanked! I ended up making this piece for Ruby's latest obsession, Pink. To make the heart key, I sand cast 2 seperate pieces, cut them down, and soldered them back together. The piece hangs from a chuncky sterling chain. I think this works for P!nk... it's a little punk rock and a little feminine."

We have one GUEST designer this week!

GUEST designer - Maria Apostolou

Maria says, "For this challenge I chose one of my favorite singers, Norah Jones as my inspiration. I wanted to make something soft and delicate to match her voice. The flower pendant is milled and oxidized. A round labradorite is set in the center and the pendant is strung on fairy, blue, silk ribbon. You think she 'd like it?."

Episode 6: "Adult & Childrens look"

Last night the the challenge was to create a children's look as well as an adult companion piece.

So the interpretation for this challenge is  make 2 pieces, a set.

You can mix it up however you want and make father son, father daughter, mother son, mother daughter OR even a human animal combo as some of us only have fur children!

Have fun and we will see you next week, we are very much looking forward to seeing all your creations!  *click to watch Episode 6: MyLifetime full video here!

**guidelines for guest participants:**
Please read this every week as there may be small updates and changes. The pieces you submit must be pieces that are made specifically for that weeks challenge. Then post your links in this weeks comment area, I will retrieve them as they come in before the deadline.
*We only are accepting guest submissions from our blog comment area at this time, insert your links there. Then please cross-post this to your Blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And tag them with "Project Runway Season 7 Episode 6." Currently we will post your name with a link and a picture of your piece on our blog. Remember, the rigid deadline for submitting your link is always on Fridays, 12 noon, Pacific Standard Time. The new blog posts and the new challenge will go up the weekend after the new episode airs.

Ring a Day (Feb 2 - Feb 18)

1. Metalriot, 2. experimetal, 3. noformdesign, 4. rubygirl, 5. quercussilver, 6. kathrynriechert, 7. kathryncole, 8. inbarbaraket, 9. wildflowerdesign, 10. ninadinoff, 11. ninagibson, 12. colleenbaran, 13. bcyrjewelry, 14. istanbuldesigns, 15. Mike-mikeandmary, 16. Rachelle-mikeandmary, 17. lunaticart, 18. metalnat, 19. lauriebrown, 20. sarawestermark, 21. cosmosmoon

more rings for Haiti!

Metalriot's fantastic fundraiser for Haiti is still going strong and has raised close to $1200 so far, which is amazing. You can visit the ebay page where they are available to bid on (or buy outright with "buy it now") here and check out those rings that have already been sold and that will be coming up on her blog.

Rings from the Etsymetal team that are ending soon are this beautiful peanut ring from Laurie Brown (aubergine228 on Etsy), fabricated from a handcast tiny peanut in sterling silver, which end on Feb 19, 16:30:40 PST:



as well as Blindspot Jewellery's amazing forged iron and 18 carat gold ring, made from scratch from a piece of square iron tube, ending Feb 20, 16:30:40 PST:



Metalriot's own Ring for Haiti is also available with buy it now, here and is well worth drooling over:



All of the proceeds from all of the auctions go to help Haiti, so please - take a look at some really wonderful work available for a very important cause. We will keep you posted about upcoming auctions on the blog!

Wrapping up CS5

The deadline for CS5 has passed and I have received most of the charms. Beth Cyr made some lovely organic pieces with colored gems.






Sara Westermark has completed her gorgeous corrugated copper charms with leaf-embossed sterling and 3mm tube set amethysts.


Sara also made this beautiful bracelet to hold all of the CS5 EtsyMetal charms, the completed bracelet will be sold in the EtsyMetal Shop with all proceeds going to charity.


Shannon Conrad, aka rubygirl, has been sand-casting legos for her charms.


Su of Quercus Silver created sterling silver charms with a modern design.

Clare Stoker says of her sterling silver charms, "They are part of an idea I had for a night sky/constellation collection. They're a dark sky, a moon (hammered disk) and a planet. I patinaed them, then took most of it off with a wire brush (but by hand) to give them a spacey/milky way effect."

Two more rings for Haiti - Sara Westermark and Kathryn Riechert

In a bit less than two hours - both Sara Westermark's and Kathryn Riechert's ring auctions will be ending.

Sara Westermark

Kathryn Riechert

Check them out and make a bid for charity!

Haiti Ring Auction for Kerin Rose

Kerin Rose's ring auction ends very very soon (tonight!) Check out her blog post for more info!

Etsy Metal Finds

Today's Etsy Metal Finds are inspired by Valentine's Day! I hope you all are having a safe and wonderful Valentine's Day! May it be filled with warmth, love, and lots of goodies.

Clockwise from Left:

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies by Artful Rebel

Cardamom Red by Wildroot

The Poppy Red Scarf by My Fiber Fun

ETSYMETAL Jewelry Challenge: Project Runway Season 7.5 " Design For Your Star "

WELCOME to the reveal of last weeks' Episode 4

"Design Your Heart Out!
Below are our 12 EtsyMetal Team entries, and one guest!

Last weeks' TV challenge was about The American Heart Association, they asked the designers to design gown to be worn at a AHA and Campbells sponsored social function. So we asked our designers to make a piece of jewelry using "the heart" as inspiration,and it is also nice that it is coinciding with Valentines day!

So this is what they came up with below!

1- Kathryn Riechert

Kathryn says, "Made from sterling silver with garnet. It's a variation of my 'Regrowth' series revolving around the rings on tree stumps."

2- Sara Westermark

Sara says, "I was originally going to make a locket, but I wanted a large hole in my heart. The hole represents our missing piece. It is that something that we are always looking for but never find. Difficulty purifies the heart and in turn becomes more beautiful. So instead of lamenting our brokeness our hearts are ornamented with gold and rubies.

Material: sterling silver, 18k gold, rubies.

3- Shannon Conrad

Shannon says, ""Metal Valentine". Corrugated copper heart with heat patina pinned to a hand cut "doily". The doily is copper that has been enameled and etched."

4- Kira Ferrer

Kira says, "Title: Soaring Hearts"

5- Inbar Bareket

Inbar says, "Paisley (my favorite pattern) Heart"

6- Norsola Johnson

Norsola says, "I was pretty excited about his week's challenge since the theme fits perfectly with a new series I've been working on... It's a locket containing a flaming sacred heart... the latin words " sanctus ignis sanctus viscus" (sacred fire sacred heart) are stamped on the sides of the locket..."

To see more views here.

7- Mark Kaplan

Mark says, "Not my most technically challenging construction; but well suited to the style of its intended recipient..." Materials: lapis lazuli, sterling silver, found metal object.

8- Rachel Stromberg

Rachel says, "Material is Brass."

9- Beth Cyr

Beth says, "I really didn't want to do a heart anything, but I decided to suck it up and just do something quickly that I would wear and quit whining about it! So here it is! A little organic vine heart ring w/ patina that fits me. The heart is very subtle - camouflaged in the vines you might say! ha ha!

10- Kathryn Cole

Kathryn Cole says, "Material: Sterling Silver"

11- Nina Gibson

Nina says, "This is a reversible heart bracelet. I feel like I've done a lot of "sweet" hearts lately for valentine's day, so this one is rougher and the hearts are not traditional, so I feel good about it."

See the underside of her bracelet here.

12- Victoria Takahashi

Victoria says, "I decided to try and make a classic antique paper Valentine style, with a modern twist."

On the back side I added a little "true love" plaque, click here to see.

Now to meet our GUEST Designer and her entry this week!I just want to add that it is a pleasure to see and have guests join in on this challenge, we love to meet new people and see wonderful new work, thank you for playing with us!

GUEST designer Maria Apostolou

Maria says, "Since I 've been obsessed with making "heart" jewelry lately, I decided to make one more for this challenge. I crocheted a tiny "heart" witch I sewed on a wet felted rectangle and then framed the entire piece in sterling silver."

DONATING PROCEEDS TO THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
This week we wanted to do a little extra to help out a good cause, as the Project Runway challenge was about women who had survived heart disease. So a couple of us made an extra piece of jewelry that we will sell in our Etsy shops and then donate 100% of the proceeds (minus fees) to the
"American Heart Association."
Below are the pieces to be donated:

1. left image, 2. center image, 3. right image

Shannon Conrad / RubyGirl "Ruffle Heart Earrings"

Handcut copper hearts were given a corrugated texture. Heat from my torch turned them a lovely cherry red color. Blackened sterling earwires are soldered securely to the back. Heats measure approximately 3/4 x 3/4 inch. Earrings are 2 inches long.

Victoria Takahashi / Experimetal "Puffy Heart Necklace"

Sterling Silver hand fabricated heart. I oxidized the Sterling and then took off the highlights and shined it up a tiny bit for a soft aged look. It hangs about 1.5" from the chain and the chain is 17.5" long.

Nina Gibson Designs "Heart Pendant"

Hand formed and stamped Sterling Silver pendant.

Episode 5: Design for your Star!
This is going to be an interesting and fun challenge! Last night the designers challenge was to create a look to be worn by Heidi Klum on the cover of Marie Claire.

So to make it more interesting for everyone, the interpretation for this challenge is to have you to pick a favorite star or public figure and then design and make a piece of jewlery with that person in mind, something that you would imagine them wearing and loving! You never know what may happen!?

Have fun and we will see you next week, we are very much looking forward to seeing all your creations!

*click to watch Episode 5: MyLifetime full video here!

**guidelines for guest participants:**
Please read this every week as there may be small updates and changes. The pieces you submit must be pieces that are made specifically for that weeks challenge. Then post your links in this weeks comment area, I will retrieve them as they come in before the deadline.
*We only are accepting guest submissions from our blog comment area at this time, insert your links there. Then please cross-post this to your Blog, Flickr, Etsy, etc. And tag them with "Project Runway Season 7 Episode 5." Currently we will post your name with a link and a picture of your piece on our blog. Remember, the rigid deadline for submitting your link is always on Fridays, 12 noon, Pacific Standard Time. The new blog posts and the new challenge will go up the weekend after the new episode airs.

Rings for Haiti

Our very own Thomasin Durgin of Metal Riot has organized ebay auctions of 50 donated rings. These rings are from both Etsy Metal members as well as non members. The above ring by Ashley Akers is on auction and ends in less than two hours. Please bid on this ring or any of the others that are currently up for auction (more rings will be added soon). All proceeds from these auctions go to Global Giving Relief Fund for the Haiti Earthquake.

One of the rings available is this fabulous Rendering of the Haitian presidential palace by Thomasin herself. A big thanks to Thomasin for organizing this fundraiser!