Copperlicious . . .

I'm seriously hooked on copper right now.  Maybe it's the way it accents the stones I've been working with or maybe it's the warmth of the metal.  Either way, it's been fun to make my own bezel strips with copper flashing and use up some of the copper wire I've had leftover from the building of our house.  (I just couldn't resist following the electrician around and picking up pieces of coated wire.  He thought I was nuts).

This is the second piece going to Lil Fish Lisa for her niece who found the Lake Superior agates on her trip to Lisa's this summer.  I pierced the Loon on the Lake on the back of the piece as the loon is the State Bird of Minnesota - and you thought it was the mosquito.

Lovely mementos.

Back to the bench . . .

I dusted the cobwebs off the Genie and the trim saw yesterday and became inspired all over again - reminded of how much fun it is to take a little nugget of red rock and coax a lovely little polished cabochon out of it.  It is indescribably rewarding to make a piece of jewelry that I have taken from rough rock through to the finished product, set it and admire it.  Better yet, have others admire it.

This time, my friend Lisa sent me two little nuggets of Lake Superior Agate that her niece had found on her visit to Lisa's home in Minnesota this summer.  She wanted them set as a keepsake to remind her of her trip.

I sliced, polished and set the first one completely in copper and I must say - I really like the way this bracelet turned out.  From beginning to end, completely handmade.  I made the bezel strip from 26ga sheet copper flashing and the raised edge from copper wire left from an electrical project in my drafting room and a length of copper wire chain.  A little carnelian dangles from the end where the hook holds it all together.

I am well pleased with myself.

I swore I wouldn't do this . . .

But.

Okay, I had another basal cell carcinoma removed from my jawline last week.  Yep, the exact spot where another one was removed three yeas ago.  The first one was just a small dark spot on my left cheek on the surface but when he got in there and started digging around, it was the size of a silver dollar under the surface.  Out it came.

Three years later it gets a little lumpy and back I go for another look/see.  Yep, there that little cancer is once again so in we go and 2.5 hours later I'm minus a piece from my cheek about the size of your little finger.  Lovely.  Still, I'm enormously grateful to my darling plastic surgeon/oral surgeon for his 'pickiness' in making me the nicest scar possible.  Stitches out Thursday =-)

And now for something completely different :: Lake Superior Agates.  They're always a surprise and yes, I'm dusting off the lapidary equipment and getting back to some cutting and polishing.  Those of you to whom I've been promising cabs for far, far too long - here they come.  This time I mean it.

Before they're gone for another year . .

Bright Sunset

Abstract Art

Bertie Ferris

Calypso Coral

Cimarron Knight

Fairy Tale Pink

Lavender Greeting

Baby Talk

Sugar Candy

Tillamook

Friends . . .

I can't let this pass without a heartfelt, grateful 'thank you' to my dear friend Lisa who sent this lovely care package earlier this week.  And what a week to send a boxful of wonderful - I really needed that.

I am so in love with this brooch that I can hardly wait to wear it with my Fall jacket where it will be the perfect accent.  The scene is exactly 'Nebraska' where the fields of wheat have just been cut in the last two weeks.  Gorgeous scenes in each one of her creations - I want them all!

The jelly is to die for, made from yellow sorrel which I remember chewing on when I was just a kid.  The little yellow flowers have a lemony tang but the jellies have more of a flowery, summer sweetness.  I'll be lucky to get another taste since my husband found it on the counter next to the toaster!

Wonderful friends I have.

Thank you, dear Lisa.  I'm so lucky.

Sweet Chicory Blue . . .

Here in Nebraska we can always count on something blooming from the Spring through Fall, weed or cultivated planting, and one of those perennial weeds is chicory.  Sweet blue chicory, the color is a perfect match for the clear summer sky and the blossom is simple and daisy-like.  Small and so lovely, I created this pendant with the chicory in mind.  

I already had the beautiful bit of Holley Blue Agate in my stash and I knew that it would be perfect for my donation to The Lux Gallery for a fundraiser in September.   I wanted a simple setting yet something with a little surprise.  This is what I came up with - straightforward box bezel with a balled-end bail on top, the actual bail a pinned flower, all handforged.  Nothing premade.  

For the surprise, I pierced the backside and sawed two little chicory flowers which show through the glow of the stone if held up to the light.  A 'Show and Tell' necklace as this will never be apparent when being worn, of course.  Our secret.

Daylilies and such stuff of summer . . .

Hot.  I'm trying hard not to complain about the excessive heat we have experienced the last few weeks.  It's not snow and ice and I'm not wearing three layers of socks and I'm not constantly tugging my coat out of the car door so I'm a happy girl.  Hot but happy.

Summer means daylily blooms and I anticipate this time of year for such a long time, daydreaming in January of all of the beautiful blooms and lush greenery.  I'm posting a stream of lusciousness and letting the photos speak for themselves.

Welcome to our home.

The Hippie Entrance

Sugar Candy

Marse Connell

Mary Todd

Tropic Tangerine

Bright Sunset

Trahlyta

Hot Toddy

Blackberry Candy

Double Daffy

Laddie Boy

American Indian

Siloam David Kirchoff

Unnamed seedling from a dear old friend in Rye, Colorado
I'm calling it Friends to the End

Who are you again?

Mauna Loa

Rocket City

Real Wind

Double Daffy

Fires of Fuji

Old Fashioned Orange