Showing posts with label LindaSearcyJewelry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LindaSearcyJewelry. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tropics

"Tropics" what does that word conjure in your mind?

I have always loved anything tropical, 
whether it be vibrant colors (tangerines, golds, reds), 
citrus smells of tropical fruit (pineapples, passion fruit, and coconuts) or 
the landscapes of Hawaii or the Caribbean (palm trees, sunrises/sunsets, beaches).  
I don't know if it is because of my heritage 
(I was born in the Philippines, land of palm trees, coconuts, heat and monsoons) 
or having been raised in a family that traveled 
to many tropical or exotic locales, such as St. Lucia or Panama?  

I have inherited the love of traveling and 
it seems my daughters have continued that passion!  
When the girls were still in high school, we took our first family trip to Hawaii 
- we loved it and I have been back 3 more times.  
I think it is time for another visit.  

My younger daughter, Maureen, convinced me to travel back 
to my birth place for the first time after I had left when a child.  
She and I had a wonderful time including an all-day local culinary excursion, 
traveling to the remote rice terraces, and spending several days 
at an island resort spa where we were the only visitors.  
The whole experience made us have a greater appreciation of 
our home in the good USA!

Another adventure that both my daughters, Maureen and Anna, and I had 
was to Japan where that nation 
has had more than it's share of tropical heat and tsunami.  
We all three enjoyed the typical tourist sites, culture, and cuisine (real sushi and saki!).  
We included various off-the-beaten excursions, 
traveling by bullet train to places where not many spoke English 
(and we did not know a word of Japanese!).

And now here are a few featured shops and items from CraftCafe.co 
that conjure the "Tropics" for these selected CraftCafe members!


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MicheleWolfe of Aphrodite’s Attique



soothing tropical seas

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Tammy of B’eadUnique
 





Tropics

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Gingerof GoatieGirls




lovely vintage tropical dress

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Terryof POP Embroidery





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OOAK Fine Jewelry - Linda Searcy Jewelry Designs
Affordable Jewelry for Everyday Wear - Linda Searcy Designs, Too
Fabric Stash - LindaS Fabric Stash


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Welcome 2012!

Welcome 2012!


I'm back after having a really, really busy holiday 2011 season!  Hope yours was very good and hope for an excellent beginning to all of us!


Along with a busy show schedule, I managed to fulfill 8 custom orders - wow!  My pieces are usually one-of-a-kind, sometimes I may make 1 or 2 similar but never exactly the same.  I had an order for 7 pairs of earrings but of different colored gemstones.  

soldering gone bad!
After my first botched attempt to making the bezel and post setting for the earrings, this had me thinking of production work on a small scale.  


What challenges do you encounter with production work?  Any tips for streamlining steps?


I'm sharing the steps and sequence I followed to create them.

measure and torch ball posts

flatten posts
solder posts to bezel cup

posts soldered to bezel cup

sterling petals soldered to posts

settings filed, polished, and tumbled - ready for stone setting


garnets, moonstones, peridot, amethyst - all ready for customers!


Another moonstone pair !

And this last one was a real challenge for me since I had never set faceted gemstones in this style, let alone make huge hoops!

Swiss blue topaz faceted gemstones with open setting -
fine silver bezel wire and tiny sterling jump ring

Last custom order

And here is a sneak peak of several earrings I just completed and will be posted to my ArtFire shop tomorrow!


Rose cut green amethyst

Tiny and dainty!

Rose cut smoky quartz

Filigree bezel

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Awesome Makers Faire:NC - June 18, 2011, Raleigh



Several members of the Triangle Jewelry Makers (TJM) and I participated in this Makers Faire.  





A great crowd turned out for this amazing showcase of different crafts, from fiber craft (spinning, knitting, quilting, t-shirt modifications), robotics, wood craft (laser cut wood structures, walking sticks, hand etched wood ornaments) to jewelry making.








It was a great opportunity for our group to showcase our differing skills in jewelry making and to just show "how" hand made jewelry is made.  We provided demo sessions on wire work, chainmaille and metalsmith techniques.  


Jen, who is the founding member, demonstrated how to make wire rings and showcased her latest book featuring her steampunk jewelry.  Jill does great chainmaille - rings, bracelets, necklaces.  Jennifer made bird's nest components and Becky did a fabulous session on making a bangle with silk and copper.




I was kept busy all day with showing and discussing metalsmith techniques - sawing/piercing, filing, metal forming with the doming block, use of the flex shaft with drill bits, deburring, and polishing, etc.  Advocating safety issues - wearing safety glasses and dust mask and keeping fingers out of the way of the flex shaft drill bits and burrs (use of the ring holder).  One man closely examined the wooden holder on how simply it was made (maybe he was tinkering with making one himself?).




Saturday, January 8, 2011

CLEARANCE SALE!


I am clearing inventory in my jewelry shop to make room for brand new items! Check out the Clearance Section - from January 9 (12am EST) thru midnight January 29, those items will be priced 50% off original price.

Now is the time to pick up a few pieces of jewelry before they are gone - those items remaining after the sale will be removed from Etsy.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Pretties!

Blues and greens are a couple of my favorite colors! I just added these pretties to my growing collection of jewelry components. These are from my favorite NC local seller of artisan glass - Giggleworks Glass Bead Studio by BlueJeanGirlNC - who is also an active member of the Raleigh Jewelry Making Meetup Group.

The first two pics are reminiscent of our North Carolina beaches.

I can't wait to make designs around these! What should they be? Rings, pendants, bracelets...?







Friday, August 6, 2010

Locket Making

Continuing my progression into metalsmithing, 3 weeks ago I started a 6-week course in using the hydraulic press.

This class introduces you to making dimensional jewelry by forming metal into puffed shapes using matrix die-cut forms and the hydraulic press. Our project was to make a locket or hollow form pendant. I opted for the more challenging project - a locket.

In addition to learning how to make the metal forms, we would also learn how to rivet set a stone to a domed piece and how to tube rivet to connect together the locket halves.

Along the way we also cut a 1/8 inch wide silver bezel to make 2 very thin bezels (half of 1/8 inch), embellish the bezels (make very tiny cuts in the bezel) and to recover from a stone falling out of the finished setting.

After my first session, I stayed in the studio and made 6 pairs of copper pressed forms - it was very addicting! I even purchased the matrix die-cuts that evening from BananaNan. I now have several more pieces in different stages, including a pair of oval copper and sterling earrings.

So what do you think? BTW, if you are interested, I have a Facebook photo album that chronicles the locket process.





Thursday, June 24, 2010

Summer SALE!

S A L E !!!!!

A big summer sale in my
jewelry Etsy shop - good until the end of July. All of my $15 earrings now on sale for $10 - that is almost a 33% reduction! Now is the time to get one of those earrings that you may have had an eye on! Check out the SALE section for one of those one-of-a-kind items!

PS - I will be having a summer sale, too, in my Fabric Stash shop - so be on the lookout for that!


Thursday, April 29, 2010

PeakFest, Apex, NC - Saturday, May 1, 2010












Come visit me at booth 84A (on Salem St between Holleman and Moore) at the annual WAKEMED Peak Fest that celebrates the “Peak of Good Living” will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2010. This festival has grown from a small community day in a school parking lot to an event which draws hundreds of vendors and over 25,000 people to the streets of downtown Apex.


Town of Apex
237 N. Salem Street
Apex, NC 27502

Arts and Crafts Street Festival. Over 200 Vendors. 9am-5pm in historic downtown Apex. Other NC Triangle Team vendors to visit: ShoreDebris, LivnGoodJewelry. Three stages of entertainment and Kids Zone.

Children enjoy the KidsZone area with rides and games, and artists and crafters provide lots of shopping opportunities. Festival food like cotton candy, hoagies, and ice cream is sure to please, but you must try some of the international fare like Thai chicken, Chinese noodles and Greek gyros. Local talent and family entertainment provide dance, song and comedy on the stages. Festival day begins with a pancake breakfast prepared and served by the Apex Rotary Club in the historic Salem St. Fire Station.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New NC Triangle Team Treasury - Cherry Blossom Pink

In preparation for snagging an Etsy Treasury which I find very hard to get (IMHO it's a big waiting game), I used the Etsy poster sketch (shown below) to collect my favorite things that remind me of cherry blossoms and the coming of Spring! Poster sketch allows you to post 12 shops and 4 alternates (in case an item gets sold while in the Treasury).


Monday, March 15, 2010

Photos - Designers Downtown Market, March 2010

Just a few photos of the first Designers Downtown Market for 2010 - it was my first time for this venue.

The last 3 pics are of my booth setup for both my jewelry and the fabric stash.