Winter Berry Suite of Jewels

I have made my last jewels in 2008. Not the last forever...just the last I'm making within this year. :)

I've given this set of jewels the title of Winter Berry. The colors of chocolate brown and purple look like these berries we have on some bushes here, and when I was photographing a cardinal the other day, I really got a good look at the berries. Everything just kind of fit together after that moment.

The necklace and earrings (shown here) and the bracelet (I'm still working on) all have these gorgeous lampwork glass beads with a chocolate brown color, along with lavender and pale blue.

I've wireworked and clustered the entire design using silver wire.

The accent beads consist of genuine amethyst chips, synthetic blue topaz chips and freshwater pearls. The necklace is adjustable, and has a lovely drop section with dangles.

The earrings - of course - match the necklace. And the bracelet I'm working on will match as well. The bracelet is cuff style, with a clasp.

As I've made this set, and a few pieces previous to this, I've been making some decisions about which direction to go with my work.

Several years ago, during a poor sales period, some well-meaning advice came from a variety of sources for me to make "smaller, more affordable" jewels. I did that. And here at the end of 2008, I notice loads of smaller, more affordable jewels that didn't sell are filling my office and studio. Why? Because my true talent lies not in mass-production of repetitious similar designs...it lies in the production of one of a kind designs which take a major effort and hours, along with a lot of components.

As I look back at photographs of the jewelry I've made and compare them to what has sold and what has not, it's clear that my larger, more intensive designs were the ones most appreciated. Very few of them are here - most have sold. All of my Haskell style wirework with seed bead pieces are gone, as are all of my glitzy, large rhinestone creations I used to make.

While I love jewelry making, it is a business for me and I do have to sell what I create in order to support my family. It's a job - just like many of you go to regular jobs, this is mine. Only mine doesn't go from 9-5 or 8-8. My day starts at 5 am and ends at 10pm. There's not a waking moment I'm not working - even if not physically working on a project, my mind is working on the creation...or the photos...or the marketing...etc.

Therefore, I've made a resolution for the new year. Gone is the simple stuff....the smaller...the more affordable. Instead, you'll see more complex, time-intensive, and substantial works of art jewelry, which I will still try to keep affordable, but they won't be simple and they will take more time to make - and they will be more expensive than what you've seen me produce the past couple years. And they'll also be better received, as they are what is truly me. :)

Happy New Year to everyone - may we all enjoy a happy and prosperous 2009, doing what we truly love to do. --Jai

A little heat for a cold day....

Feel the spark again and again...

We only had one of these gorgeous, hot dichroic beads left in our bead collection here, and I decided to turn it into a pendant today.

Strands of gold wire are intricately woven around the focal bead.

Blackstone beads and two black onyx crystals are nestled among golden dyed freshwater pearls...

Accenting the glimmering focal bead with just enough heat to keep you on edge. :)


Available on Etsy.Com. Like all of my others...this is a one of a kind. Definitely one that will warm up a person on a cold winter day. :)

The world needs more loving energy...

Since the heart is a symbol of love, and I feel the world needs more loving energy, I decided to create a grouping of heart pendants. This is the first in a series of...um...I don't know how many. :) Could be two...could be ten....could be 100.


I used a silver base wire for this pendant. I formed the wire into the heart shape, and hammered it flat with my new hammer I got from my son for Christmas.

Then I affixed a lovely pale blue chalcedony bead into the heart...


And then I proceeded to weave glittering synthetic blue topaz gemstone chips...

Along with amethyst gemstone chips in varying shades from lavender to dark purple...

Along with freshwater pearls, all around the focal bead. The result is a cluster of gems forming the shape of the heart, which can be worn as a lovely pendant on any chain of your choice. :)

This pendant is available for sale here. It is a one of a kind design.

Ta da! The 2008 JAI Christmas Tree Pendant is complete!

Each year on Christmas Eve, I make a Christmas tree jewel. Sometimes I've made a brooch. Sometimes pendants. This year, I've made a pendant. I only make one Christmas jewel each year, and I always make it on Christmas Eve. This is the 2008 Christmas Tree Pendant:

Strands of silver wire are intricately woven around a genuine peace stone jasper teardrop...

The focal stone is full of hues of pale lavender, soothing sage green and soft white.

Genuine translucent rainbow flourite gemstone chips - ranging from pale green to turquoise blue with purple hues - and dyed peacock metallic freshwater pearls accent the focal stone with a bed of beautiful color.

This lovely pendant is 2 3/8" x 2" in size.

Buy this pendant here...it is a one of a kind, freeform design...there is only one available. :)

Amethyst & Red Jade Ring...Teal Blue Chandelier Earrings

My daughter Allyson made these pretty teal blue and pearl chandelier hoop earrings this week. I love this color blue...and I love the movement of the earrings.

I finished this woven wire ring last night. It has an amethyst teardrop for a centerpiece, and is accented with red jade and freshwater pearls. It only took about 3 hours...LOL...2 hours of trying to do it using another technique and getting frustrated, and then 1 hour of working it in a freeform technique. I've decided I like freeform better. :) You will probably see more of that type of work from me in 2009. It's time to let go of control and allow the jewelry to form itself. :)

Now I'm off to the studio to make my annual Christmas tree jewel. On Christmas Eve each year, I made either a pendant or brooch. This year, it will be a pendant. Here's my pendant from a couple of years ago --> Click here. I have no clue how I'm going to fashion my Christmas tree jewel this year...or what color stones...or even what color wire. Whatever the muse says when I get down to the studio will rule. :) You'll see tomorrow...as I will upload it here.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Time froze. His breath caught in his throat, and he held it there...

When he saw her enter the room, he froze, his glass of champagne poised at the edge of his lips. The overhead lights sparkled off of the golden liquid, illuminating his view. She's an angel, he thought, as he watched her sleek lavender dress move in concert with her every step.

Her raven hair gleamed as it cascaded down her shoulders. As she moved closer, a breeze swept through the veranda doors, gently pushing her mane away from her face. And then he saw her eyes. Her gaze met his, and his hand began to shake. Cool beads of sweat exploded across his forehead as her lips parted and she offered him a smile. Time froze. His breath caught in his throat, and he held it there, not wanting to allow it to escape, lest the moment should disappear. For at that very instant, heaven was within his reach.


This pendant gives me such a romantic feeling, I allowed my muse to take over and venture into a little romance writing. It's been years since I've written along that line...just those short couple of paragraphs made me realize how much enjoyment I got from it in the past, and how much I miss it.

Last night, I was teaching Allyson some wire techniques. We actually both worked on this pendant, so this is a collaboration between us. The amethyst rests in the center of the teardrop, which is accented with lemon jade and freshwater pearls. The color combination works well together, and I love the neatness mixed with freeform on this piece. I love clustering beads - there's just something so romantic about the look...romantic yet bold. :)

A lovely award...

I woke up this morning to find out a lovely award has been given to me by The Filigree Garden. I featured her lovely Copper Dahlias Necklace on http://the20jewel.blogspot.com this week. Thank you so much for this very touching award!

Scrimshaw in progress #6: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

And it is done. Hamster portrait scrimshaw art on tagua nut:





In this final photo, the hamster pendant is shown on top of a color pencil drawing. Scrimshaw uses many of the same techniques as color pencil. Stippling, cross-hatching, and other varieties of line work are often used in creating the scrimshaw etching in the material.

Now that I have the "feel" of this tagua nut and how to work with it, I'll do some more of these! I have 9 more nuts here...now it's just a matter of deciding on the next subject. :)

This golden hamster pendant is for sale on Etsy.

Scrimshaw in progress #5: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

Ta Da! The hard part is done, and my little golden hamster is totally scrimshawed and colored. Now comes the fun part...making a sculptured soldered setting around the edge. If this goes wrong, it could ruin the whole project, so keep your fingers crossed it works well. I've never done the soldered edging on this material, so I'm hoping it can handle the heat okay. Here goes...

P.S. Please excuse my ratty old towel I'm photographing this piece on...it's on my work table...the final photos will look much better! :)

Scrimshaw in progress #4: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

And he's progressing along! His golden fur is filled in. My signature is added. Now it's time to attempt to "pinken" his paws and nose, darken some more shadow areas, and then re-darken the black areas which will tie everything together.

Scrimshaw in progress #3: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

It's a new day, and I'm etching away this morning, creating the hamster's golden fur on this tagua nut scrimshaw pendant. This is a constant process of etch, add paint, sand with steel wool, and start over again. Each section has to be gone over multiple times in this manner before the color is deep enough for me. After I finish the golden fur, I'll go back and darken areas which need it, add highlights if necessary, and then it will be time to turn it into an actual pendant. I think before I go further at this point, I'm going to add my signature. Back to the work bench...stay tuned for more later!

Scrimshaw in progress #2: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

The little guy is starting to take shape now. My eyes are watering so bad, I think I'm going to have to stop for tonight though. Tomorrow I'll add more of the terra cotta coloring where needed, and then start on his golden color.

This tagua nut is about 2 1/4" long and I'm using needles and a knife to stipple and carve the design into the material. I'm using acrylic paint for the coloring.

Scrimshaw in progress #1: Hamster Portrait on Tagua Nut

Thought I'd share a little in-progress work. This is a tagua nut - also known as vegetable ivory. I'm attempting a scrimshaw design of a hamster portrait on the nut.


I have outlined the figure, and darkened shadow spots with black. There's already hundreds of tiny black dots and etch marks on this pendant, and they have been filled with black. I'm getting ready to start the colored parts next. I'm working from dark to light as far as color is concerned. It's going to be a pendant, framed in sculpted silver solder when complete...and hopefully it will turn out good! I'm relatively new to scrimshaw work. This will be the 4th pendant I've made so far in this technique. The process is excruciatingly LONG...but I love challenges and need to work on my patience anyway :) , so I'm going for it!

A little Christmas Glitz and more...plus cotton ball silencers!

The above necklace is the piece I wore to our Christmas banquet last night...a deep emerald green glass teardrop stone in a silver sculpted solder frame dangles from a hand-wired pearl and ab crystal neck chain...see more photos of this necklace here.


Here's something I made for a bit of fun. Cotton ball earrings...snowy white...a perfect conversation starter. And if you get tired of hearing the conversation, just pop the cotton balls in your ears to shut off the noise. :) More photos here.

Allyson made these WHOPPER hoop earrings, with wired on ruby red crystal beads for the ultimate in holiday glitz! See more photos of these stage jewels here.

And then we have this sweet pair of chandelier cobalt blue crystal earrings...also made by Allyson. They swing, they sparkle, and they shine. What more could a girl want? :) More photos here.

Now I'm off to the studio to work on something my hamster collectors will surely love. It's a scrimshaw hamster portrait on a tagua nut. I started it about 2 weeks ago and Christmas stuff kind of took over my life. I'm bound and determined to get more work done on this artistic pendant ToDaY! :)

Some new jewels...fresh...hot from the studio!

I found this cool little store in the mall recently called Earthbound. Why is it cool? Because they have this great big tray of polished and tumbled gemstones! That was the PERFECT something for a jewelry designer to stumble on in the mall! I picked out a couple of neat stones to set. This first stone is a lovely teal blue color - with little orbs and interesting striping. I have no clue what kind of stone it is, but I loved the blue color so much, I just had to get it.


This pendant is available here (at my sale pricing of only $22 which expires December 31!).

This is a gorgeous tumbled and polished Citrine gemstone. I love yellow/golden colored stones, and this one is loaded with glorious, sparkling yellow. I hear yellow is the *new* color for the upcoming season too. :) You can get this pendant here (once again...at my sale pricing).

I got a little fancier with the pendant above. I decided to add some woven wire work into the design for the bail. This is a teardrop shaped tiger eye gemstone, and I added some freshwater pearl dangles at the bottom. This pendant is available here.

And my daughter Allyson has been making more earrings! She's also venturing into some other things...she made a bracelet yesterday which I'll photograph today. This first pair of earrings features amethyst crystal beads combined with creamy freshwater pearls in a chandelier hoop style:


You can get the above earrings here.

Then she dug into my favorite stash of rare beads/crystals and she designed this swingin' dangles with beautiful olive green/topaz combo colored crystals. She added freshwater pearls, and formed the earrings using golden jump rings. You can get these earrings here.


And she is going nuts with these BIG OLE hoops too. This is a double wave silvertone hoop and she's dangled amethyst crystals and onyx crystal beads from the bottom for a fun, but dramatic look. You can get these earrings here.

And the sun is finally out today here in TN. HOORAY! Now maybe I can get some better photographs in my studio!

The Faces of Kittens Bracelet in polymer clay

Oldie but goodies pulled out of inventory to add to my Etsy store this week...I designed this cute as can be polymer clay bracelet several years ago. It features black and white kitten faces in the linked design. Isn't it just too sweet? :)

More fun feathers...and some exciting hoops as well!

Yes, my daughter's been at it again...seems she is spending more time in the studio the past few days than I am ('cuz I'm busy putting it all up on Etsy!). Here's some fun hoop earrings she made:



And more feathers in dramatic red...



Have you connected with me on Twitter yet? Come on over....see the latest jewels as they go up!

And now...I *am* going to the studio to make something new and exciting myself. :)