I had so much fun!

I did my last scheduled class with Michael Sturlin this weekend and this is what I got to make. We did forged bracelets. The silver ones we're done after I had practiced on the Barbie versions. We started by working with copper in a small scale version so mistakes wouldn't be taken out on the expensive fine silver wire. A couple of the small versions fit Bailey and she wanted to model them for me.
I should have a few of these versions available in my shop soon. This was too much fun! I'm working on a few new designs incorporating enameling and some cold connections. Thanks for looking. Have a great week!








H

Garden Party

So I went to my forged bracelets class today with Michael Sturlin and it was wonderful. I'll post pictures later since I have one more day of class with him. Anyway his wife is a Thai Chef and I got some of the last of the salad greens from her garden to have for dinner tonight.
In the blue bowl are the croutons that I made from the bread in the green bowl. They are so easy, you should give it a try. Really super easy and oh so much tastier then the kind you get at the store made in a bag. A great way to use up old bread or heels that no one wants to eat. I know you have a bag in your kitchen that you put them into because you're going to 'feed it to the ducks' or whatever. So now you know what to do with them. I'll give you a recipe if you want one.
We added some cheeses and tomatoes and a grilled steak and oil and balsamic vinegar and we we're set. In fact there isn't any left.



Now its getting a little sappy in here! I hope you all had a lovely Saturday. I'll post pictures of the class bracelets sometime this week.

H

Mary, Mary how does your garden grow?

I know that's not a very original title but it works! Well that just has be the cutest thing ever! That is a little baby basil plant trying to poke its little leaves out of the dirt! I needed to embrace my inner chef (I did graduate with a degree in culinary arts - really I did!) and at least grow some things that my family could eat! Bailey and I just started with herbs for now but we plan to add more as the planting season comes around again. She also has a little tomato plant growing and she is very proud of it. There is nothing like the taste of food fresh from the garden. Tomatoes are my favorite! I will be sure to post more picture of our little garden. You are of course all invite over for dinner. I've also decided to start making some bread on a regular basis because well its just too easy not to! I'll post about that too.
I'm not sure what this has to do with jewelry or jewelry making but since all these things inspire me I thought I would post about the fun we are having here!

basil, parsley, and chives

Have a wonderful weekend!

H

Not New But...

I thought I would start putting down on 'paper' so to speak why I make some of the items I make, even if it just so I have something to look back on later. So today I'm going to write about the tiny heart ring.




Well it should come as no surprise that Bailey is my inspiration behind this little ring. I don't remember all the details but I do remember thinking that I would like some other rings to go with my sets of stacking rings. So I asked Bailey what she thought - sometimes I get some really great responses so I just had to ask! For some reason she is in LOVE with Valentines day. It wasn't near Valentines day but she still loves it! Anyway she said that I should make a ring with hearts on it for her to wear on Valentines day. Well I was already making the tiny heart post earrings so a tiny heart ring seems perfect! (That's her chubby little hand in the 1st picture.)
So I guess I need to ask my muse more often what she thinks I should make! I hope you're all having a good week.

H

Monkey's and Pink Little Girls

So my little monkey got to wear her monkey costume today. She was so excited to have a tail! We we're doing pictures for her upcoming dance recital. She is in 2 dances. The 1st one is a monkey dance and the second one is 'Pink is for little girls'. I can't tell which one is the favorite yet but I do know that I have Halloween taken care for this year and maybe next year!

She loves to pose. On the pink dress I think she looks like one of the 'ladies' from an old west picture place. You know when you go in a dress up like you came from the 1800's, well and it doesn't help that she walked around with her hands on her hips and knee up. But she is quite an actress! I can hardly wait for the teens!

H

This might seem odd but...

I've been asked many times why I don't make big pieces of jewelry like everyone else makes. 1st: I have nothing against the big pieces but they just aren't me. 2nd: I'm not going to make things just so they sell. Everything I make was/is because it reminds me of something in my life or I think the person that I was thinking of when I made it will like it. As an example the Dots:

I was thinking of my sister Hayley, she is the model on these too, when I was first making these. She has 4 holes on each side and she likes to mix the earrings up. By that I mean she doesn't like them to match. So these are perfect for her. The idea has just expanded from there into over 125 designs to choose from and into rings as well.

Another example are these charms. 'Have Your Cake and Eat It Too' and 'Cupcake with a Cherry on Top' these we're inspired from my sister Holly who is a pastry chef. She is the best pastry chef in all the land!

I know she will laugh and say she really isn't but I think she is amazing!

I don't think of my business as work and I fear that if I started to make things 'just because they would sell' or because they are 'big' right now I wouldn't be myself. And I just got to be myself. I like tiny things and I know I'm not the only one. I just had to get that off my chest since I was asked that again and its been rolling around in my brain on why/how to answer it yet again. Have a wonderful weekend. H

I Love Flowers!

So I thought I would start your weekend with some beautiful flowers. I took these pictures today and just had to share. Have a wonderful weekend!

H

Bailey rides a Harley

I knew someday that she would run away, maybe on a Harley but not so soon!

My uncle was actually in town for about 24 hours. He's a motorcycle cop in Texas going cross country and stopped in Scottsdale on his way through. Miss Bailey got a ride on the bike and she was so happy!

Hopefully I won't see that again anytime soon!
(her riding away on a motorcycle, like when she's 16)

I hope you're all having a good week. Its been getting warm here but still beautiful!

H

The Easter Bunny

This is quite a big Easter bunny! He is such a good sport about all the girlie things we have to do because Bailey is such a girlie girl. No one asked him to put these on he just did. If he hadn't put them on I wouldn't have taken the pictures!



He's trying to keep Shelby away from the purple egg with chocolate in the corner of the picture. She's not happy about not getting a treat but dogs can't have chocolate!



Now he's looking like angry Easter bunny so I'll stop taking pictures now! I hope you had a good Easter.
This is part of the 'Life is Funny' series going on over at Weight...What? Brian doesn't think this is very funny but I do and I had the camera!

H

Dads Birthday

IMG_0312, originally uploaded by cherrycreekdesigns.

Okay so this may not be the most exciting birthday but I'm showing you this because of the way Heidi choose to 'light' the candles. Yes she's using a torch because the matches weren't working since we had 64 candles to light!

Happy Birthday Dad!

P.S. We didn't light anything but the candles on fire, I promise!


H

Etsy Front Page 4/11/09 Admin

Etsy Front Page 4/11/09 Admin, originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers.

Cherry Creek Charms made the front page of Etsy today with the Wedding Charms. The same wedding charms that are going to be in the Aug/Sept issue of Modern Bride!

H

New Game from Wendy, this is so funny!

Well I have to say that this is just way too much fun. Wendy over at Weight...What has given us a mission and I have to say I had to do it because I couldn't stop laughing after reading what came up in my search.
What you need to do is google 'Unfortunately, (insert your name)" make sure you put it in everything in those quotation and report to her what you come up with. Here is what came up for my search.

Unfortunately, Heather was only able to pass the reading component of the tests.

Unfortunately Heather has to work as a hooker to pay for her retro fashion...

Unfortunately, Heather lost the ability to transform into Sasquatch.

Unfortunately Heather figured out the ruse and is now pressing charges against the paper.

Unfortunately, Heather will be back in Congress.

Unfortunately Heather will never go away.

Unfortunately, Heather was playing the nice role, and let her team mate sabotage both of them.

Unfortunately, heather learned about the sin of adultery from brother stephen. she thinks it means acting too much like an adult.

Unfortunately Heather couldn’t stop smiling...

Unfortunately, Heather is extremely beautiful and gets hooked up with guys that are equally beautiful but cheaters.

Unfortunately, Heather's marriage-obsessed family is thrilled about it...

Unfortunately, Heather's lungs don't like the smoke either, but doing the race was part of her training plan so there she was.

In a world filled with many many dim light bulbs unfortunately, Heather is simply one of the brightest ones shining. She is amazingly intelligent.

I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. Now go try it yourself because this was way too fun! I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!

H

A Conversation with Bailey

She likes to chat...about everything! I just thought these we're kind of cute. I just kept the camera clicking away while she chatted with me about...well everything and nothing! I wish I could tell you what she was chatting about but I really don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old but sometimes I just can't keep up with her chatter.



I know I'm bias but dang she's cute! She drives me crazy with all the chatting and questions but she sure is cute!

H

A Day at the Garden Center

Well we had a lovely day at the garden center today. Its been a little windy but the flowers we're blooming. I just had to share the beauty of the day.
Its my dads birthday so, Happy Birthday Daddy!

I hope you're having a lovely week.

H

A Minimalist Version of the Wedding Charms

These are minimalist version of the Wedding Charms. I've had a lot of people ask for them to be smaller and less fussy, so this is what I've come up with. These are made of fine silver and come tied together for adding to your Wedding Bouquet to personalize your wedding. These are the perfect size for wearing as a pendant/necklace after the wedding or these would also work as ornaments for your holiday tree.


H

Double Happiness

Most Chinese weddings feature this symbol with the addition of the color red. The symbol of Double Happiness is a declaration that the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be will be united. The symbol, which is composed of two standard Chinese characters used to signify "happiness", means that the couple and their families will now be "together". I've added a piece of red silk to make them pop, its also a traditional color for weddings in China.

I'm loving these new stamps! Hope you're having a good week.

H

New Dots - Chinese Symbols

I got these metal stamps over the weekend and I LOVE them! The new dots feature Chinese Calligraphy with the symbols Happiness, Good Fortune and Love. I have listed them in my shop now.
I have quite a bit of new stuff to get photographed and posted here. I think I'm caught up with sales during my trip so I should get it done this week. Have a wonderful week.

H