July Allegory Gallery Design Team piece

I've pondered these little pink-ish / green-ish glass flower beads ever since I ripped open the package of beads from Andrew of Allegory Gallery.  Andrew knew (because I told him) that glass beads and pink were the kind and color that tended to stump me the most.  And since this project is designed to be a challenge ... I guess I should've expected it.
Inspiration for this piece came in the form of a waft of fragrance from some of the wild flowers that pop up at will in my yard.  I was coming up the steps, totally distracted by not having a clue what to make for dinner, and this scent stopped me in my tracks.  And then a dragonfly passed by me.  Forget dinner - I have some jewelry to make!
For this month's project, I definitely wanted to incorporate a reclaimed element, so I picked this silver tone link bracelet from my stash of found treasures.  I like that the metal has little marks and is not as bright as sterling, giving it has a rustic feel that contrasts with the sparkly beads.  And I bought these tiny dragonflies many years ago.  The pink crystals and shimmery clear beads are also from my Allegory Gallery Design Team package.


Please check out the other members of the Allegory Gallery Design Team’s blogs.

AJ Reardon
Brenda Salzano
Charlene Sevier
Cindy Edwards
Genea Crivello-Knable
Jessica Prill
Peggy Li
Penny Neville
Rebecca Anderson
Sally Russick
Shannon Iko Chomanczuk

Can't forget my teammates!

In my last post, I neglected to mention my Allegory Gallery Design Team mates, which is just wrong!  Every last member is so talented, and deserves to be recognized.
Please click on their names to check out their blogs and sites, as we will all have something new from out challenge stash posted every month.

AJ Reardon
Brenda Salzano
Charlene Sevier
Cindy Edwards
Genea Crivello-Knable
Jessica Prill
Peggy Li
Penny Neville
Rebecca Anderson
Sally Russick
Shannon Iko Chomanczuk

Celebrations and Leaps!

This has been a big month for celebrations:  a "milestone" birthday, the 22nd anniversary of my marriage, and the 4th anniversary of launching Sirius7 Jewelry.

This month has also been filled with Leaps - today, I'm taking a leap by shifting my shop Sirius Mind and Body from a brick & mortar establishment to existing solely online.

I'm also leaping into a project that has been in the making for a few months now, but submitting my first piece of jewelry as a member of the Allegory Gallery Design Team.

Everything about this pendant and necklace is about me leaping and stretching, mostly by using materials outside of my usual choices.  The donut is an agate that I've had in my stash for a long time, waiting for just the right opportunity to use it.  I rarely use copper wire, but I really liked the way it looks against the brown agate.  The same goes for the necklace beads (green plastic and molasses colored lucite), which are part of the stash sent to me by Andrew and William of Allegory Gallery for the monthly project challenges.

The wind won this time, but we are still here

We are here
For twelve years our post sign stood strong against the elements, but today the Wind won and blew our Sirius chakra wheel down on one knee, er, one bracket.
Of course, it was far smarter to take the sign down rather than risk on final gust crashing the sign into our business neighbor's window, or landing on a passerby's head, so that's what we did.

And oh my stars, the phone hasn't stopped ringing!  "The chakra star isn't on the post - Are you guys closing up shop?"
We are still here!  Well, we're here when we're here.  And when we're here, we'll put the door sign out in front - our version of a candle in the window.

Our sign has definitely held its own in the weather, but it needs new brackets and a paint tune-up at the least.  Maybe this is a sign that it's time for a change...

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Introducing the Design Team...

 I am so excited to have been chosen as a member of the Allegory Gallery Design Team!
read about the project and the rest of the team:

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Introducing the Design Team...: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who applied for a position on the Design Team. Hundreds of very talented designers threw t...

I finished several custom order pieces this week - intentionally energetic earrings and necklaces, so gemstone choices were as important as the designs themselves.  All of the recipients pleased with their jewelry, so I am pleased.
So now I'm going to go through my design journals and dance with some of the ideas I drew out but never put into form.  I'm also going to dig into my bead stash (I mean inventory) and use some of the treasures I've collected over the years.

S7J in more places

I'm thrilled to announce that Sirius7 Jewelry has joined the talented artists at the Jewelry Artists of Charlotte boutique at Ballantyne Village.