Loteria

These are some of the new necklaces that I've been working on. I still need to solder them, hopefully that will happen today. I've been trying to figure out how to put a thicker layer of solder, mine tends to be a bit thin. I'm thinking it is the flux that I use. Any tips? I make three different sizes of loteria necklaces. I grew up playing loteria with my family & it is a tradition that we still carry on with our kids. I remember being at my grandmother's house surrounded by family & playing, now my kids play with their grandparents. I never thought I'd be making jewelry out of the cards. I do not, however, use the cards that have been in my family for decades.

UVAs Swap

My art teacher's group had their 13th monthly swap last night. It was to take an old chair and paint it. If you would like to see more of these chairs you can do so by going to the UVAs link on the right. Only a few teachers participated since many of them are out of town. These are before and after pics of my chair. Next months swap is to do an 11" x 14" pen & ink drawing of an El Paso land mark.

Studio M.M.E. Stutterings: 2nd Giveaway!!!#links

Studio M.M.E. Stutterings is hosting a giveaway. You can win a very cool pendant so go check out her blog and sign up! Studio M.M.E. Stutterings: 2nd Giveaway!!!#links

Fashion Show Necklaces

I made these necklaces for a fashion and talent show at a night club. The necklaces are transparent so they are not that visible, depending on what you wear. I had fun making them, and it was something quite different than what I usually make. (I hope I don't offend anyone by posting them)

One of my favorites. It sold as soon as I made it. The inside has the word "love" which I found on an antique postcard. My jewelry making has to be put on hold for this week, I have teacher workshops I have to attend. Oh well, I just hope the week goes by quickly!

Help, something changed with following.

I've noticed something has changed when I want to follow someone's blog. Before I could just touch the "follow" button and a new window would open where I would just click on follow. Now it is asking me to pick with either Google, AIM, Yahoo or open id. I figure I should choose open i.d., but it still takes me to a window asking me to joing Google. I like not having a Google account because I have noticed that those that do not have one have a direct link under the "followers window", where those that do have a Google account only show blogs they follow. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tiguas

Here in El Paso we are very fortunate to have the Tigua Indian Reservation. I took a couple of pictures last year of this Eagle Dancer. My kids were also invited to dance with them which they just loved. I am making a painting based on this Eagle Dancer, hopefully I will finish it by this month. I will post pics of my painting soon.

My Time Capsules

I went down to the gallery today where I have some of my jewelry, it had been a while since I had made my way down town. I changed a few pieces out in hopes to generate some more sales. My sales at the other shops seem to continue steadily, I need to speak to the owner to see if I can put in a different line of jewelry along with my usual pieces, if I could ever finish them. I also picked up some orders which I need to get to quickly. The pieces pictured here have already sold, but they have been some of my favorites so I figured I'd post them.

Goodbye MJ

As I was watching MJ's memorial service my 11 year old son asked why his memorial service was such a huge event, especially after all the allegations he had faced. It is unfortunate that my son's main recollection of MJ is of the singer's latter part of his life. I explained to my son that many people remember MJ for his music, dancing and performances prior to the turbulent times in his life. I remember dancing to his music in my middle school dances and waiting to see the "Thriller" video on MTV. I also remember trying to moonwalk after seeing MJ do it on TV. I'm proud to say that I was able to do it! To this day I do the moonwalk for my students on the last day of school, to their utter amazement! Did he do those things he was accused of? I don't know, I will never understand why he made some of his personal decisions, but who am I to judge? I will never know what it is like to live such a solitary life, not being able to live freely, to walk into a store without being followed. When I started working in my neighborhood high school things changed in my life. I could no longer go to the store without make up or dressed appropriately, God forbid a student or a parent recognize me! My students are now my neighbors, it's a strange feeling. I could only imagine MJ felt this a million times over. I choose to remember the entertainer that gave me music to dance to, the moonwalk and songs that evoke memories. May you rest in peace MJ.

I get orders for personalized necklaces that usually involve births, anniversaries, birthdays & so on, but I have now received two orders for funerals. I never thought my necklaces would be used for this purpose, but it makes me feel good to know that they give someone some solace in their time of grief. My favorite orders, though, are births. I hope the necklaces will become family heirlooms one day. I'm still in the middle of making other pieces but with everything else going on I havn't been able to make much of a dent on my work. Mike (my husband) and I spent the whole day yesterday tilling the ground and planting new trees. I could barely move last night. Well, anyways, hopefully I will have time to work on my jewelry tomorrow or work on my new painting.

I love these flowers.

jewelry

These are just a few pics of some of my jewelry. These are not the pieces that I sell here in town, these are just for fun. Sorry for the bad pics.