Fall Wire-Wrapped Choker

I just finished this gold hammered wire-wrapped choker and earring set that is really pretty for fall. It has a Ruby Zoisite focal bead and is mixed with an assortment of green, brown and gold beads.

Beautiful day for a craft show :-)

We've been having a lot of rain the past few days, so I was expecting to have rain again today for an outdoor craft show. It was very overcast initially which kept the temperature down early on, and the sun finally came out around noon. Just as we were starting to pack up, I heard the pitter patter of drizzling raindrops on the tent roof. God has perfect timing ! It was a glorious day.

Copper Crazy !

I love hammered copper. I love the feel of it, the look of it, the texture of it, the shine of it. Making it, however, is NOT my favorite thing to do. I really have to be in the mood to make hammered copper. The tedious steps required to make it can be exhausting, plus I usually drill through a fingernail or something stupid like that. This week I finally pulled out a sheet of copper and made a few pairs of earrings. Hope you enjoy.

Sheffield School Article

A couple months ago I completed the Sheffield School course in Jewelry Design: Beading & Wire Working, which makes me a Certified Jewelry Designer. I was the first student enrolled in this course to complete, and took them by surprise with my progress so they don't even have the certificates printed yet.

I'm so excited to say that, being the first student to complete the course, the school wrote an article about me in their blog! Here's a link to the article. :D
http://blog.sheffield.edu/designer-monthly/2011/9/20/jewelry-design-student-postcard-debbie-bruce.html

Fall Herb Faire

One of my very favorite craft shows is coming up this weekend! It's the Fall Herb Faire, held in the backyard of a wonderful plantation house named "Pascalina". There's only about 25 booths, so there's not a ton of duplication (thank goodness and how refreshing for a change). It's right on Highway 78 with signs on the highway and you can see the tents in the back yard. The hours are 9-2. Be there !

I've been Certified !!!

As I noted back in March, I realized that to really be taken serious in the competitive jewelry industry, it would wise to take a course to become a Certified Jewelry Designer. I've been designing jewelry for several years but I was mostly self-taught, and it never hurts to learn new techniques and also look at your business from another perspective. So during the fall of 2010 I signed up for the Sheffield School course in Jewelry Design: Beading & Wire Working, and in July 2011 I turned in my final project (whew !!)

When I received my completed project with my grade (A, yay!), I was wondering why there was no certificate included. I later got a letter from the director of the school stating that I was the first person to complete this course, and that my "commendable progress took them by surprise" so they didn't even have the certificates printed yet (big grin :D)

My advisor asked me if she could write an article about me in the Sheffield School blog. I've been checking every day to see if it's up yet and Will keep you posted on that. But the important thing is I can now officially say I am a Certified Jewelry Designer!

Fire in the Sky

I have some beautiful Fire Agate beads which have a variety of colors in them, from bright orange to subtle light amethyst. I mixed these beads with Swarovski Crystals in Fire Opal and Light Amethyst, along with some copper beads, all combined together with handmade copper wire links. The necklace is joined in the center by a hand-forged copper pendant connector to create a long Y-necklace.


I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I had making it.

To see the listing on etsy, here's a link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74443606/fire-in-the-sky-y-necklace