Off to Italy!

The past two weeks have been all about a special design for a very nice lady in Italy. She saw the stamp tests I made a while back and asked me to do a custom piece for a special friend living far away. She also wanted a matching piece for herself. So here they are: a talisman for him and a pendant for her.

Two blue butterflies in the sunshine above two trees reaching out towards each other, their roots intertwining on a grassy hill - like two friends...far away...but also so very close. And on the backs, I inscribed their names each with a blue butterfly flying above.

This new project turned out to be a bigger challenge than I'd first thought, but I'm very happy with the way they turned out. Last Thursday they left for Italy. I love the thought that I was able to help bring two people so far away a little closer with my creations!

A Special Charm for a Very Special Cause

Christine Damm of Stories They Tell is creating a special gift for her sister-in-law, Vila. Vila has been diagnosed with leukemia and is in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy. To remind Vila that there are many people that care so much about her as she goes through this challenging time, Christine is putting together a charm bracelet. But what makes this bracelet so very special is each charm will come from a stranger, a stranger somewhere...anywhere...who cares for Vila. Christine hopes to get 50 charms or so - just imagine all the stories that will be put into this one bracelet...

So here's my charm - a little kitty in the sunshine.


I created a new stamp for this design and did the casting in faux pewter.

And on the back I inscribed the words "The Sun is Shining". They come from one of my most loved books: J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: "Don't be gloomy - the Sun is shining." I've always loved this quote, especially when I'm sad and gloomy, because I'm reminded that no matter where the Sun is, it is shining - it may be night, it may be so very dark and stormy, but somewhere high above the shadows the Sun shines on...always...and forever.

And here's the stamp.

As a thank you gift to those who take part, Christine is giving away three of her own beautiful creations to three randomly drawn contributors. If any of you would like to contribute to this wonderful gift and make a charm for Vila, head on over to Christine's blog for more on what you can do...Let's make this the most special gift ever!

Black Ruby Dragons

More dragons in pewter - actually this is where my new pewter designs started. I found these ruby red drops on Etsy a while back and they've just been waiting for a dragon to hold them. So a couple days ago I mixed up some faux pewter. Now I just have to wait for the chain and beads to arrive...

A single dragon - this one is 40mm long.

Here's how I did the back - I started with an oval contouring it around the drop (the bulge in the middle) and curling the edges toward the back. Next I sculpted the dragon and placed him around the stone. Then it was off to the oven to cure. Next, after cooling, I added more clay to the back, making sure it would lay properly when worn. Then I embedded two gunmetal rings for the chain and baked it again. And finally I applied the patina to make it all pewter like.

And of course I had to do a double dragon pendant with one of the drops! It's always fun to work with more than one. This pendant is 53mm long.

The back of the double dragon pendant.