Old Jaffa

Old Jaffa - sea view
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

My husband and I went for a little day trip in Jaffa on the Passover holiday week. We went to the old flea market, the sea boardwalk, and the beautiful old city park. It was really nice, though my feet were sore for days after. :)

Well, that was a flop...

My little table at the fair
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

I went to a jewelry fair with my dear husband last week. It was nice, rather well organized, with lots of activities for children. However, it wasn't very good for me... I've sold only one necklace and one pair of earrings during the 6 hours we were there. I felt rather down that day... Oh well. Not sure if I'll do it again...

Just some thoughts

"Serafina" necklace
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

Lately I have been thinking about starting my own little website for my jewelry - something very simple that I can maintain myself, maybe on GoDaddy or something similar. I need it to be low cost and low maintenence (yes, I do ask for a lot. :)). The thing is, I'm not sure I have the time and the energy to put into this kind of project right now, as I'm spread pretty thin between family, school, jewelry making and silversmithing lessons.
Do you think that a personal website is actually worth it? Do you think it would help me reach a wider audience?

On a more upbeat note, this is a new necklace I just made, using the beaded cabochon technique. I bought some Lacy's Stiff Stuff for the backing and Nymo thread - such a joy to work with these materials! Very easy to use and professional quality. This one is already taken, but I plan to make more things with cabochons.

Sterling silver ring with malachite

Sterling silver ring with malachite
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

Sterling silver, malachite. I made this during the course of my last four silversmithing lessons. The soldering took me a long while, this was a stubborn one! The design was etched in acid - a very interesting process.

Dragon skin

Dragon skin
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

When I got the amazing green dragonskin jasper pendant, I knew I had to make something to emphasize the connection to dragons. I wanted to work on it for the longest time, but stalled, since it was so much effort, lol! :)
The necklace is made of black agate and onyx stone beads, interspersed with sterling silver Bali beads. Peridot chips are woven with glass and seed beads to imitate dragon scales. The necklace is finished with a sterling silver toggle clasp.

"Sedna" bracelet

"Sedna" bracelet
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

It was really hard for me to think of a name for this one, but I finally settled for "Sedna", since I wanted something dark-ominous-sea-goddessy-like. :))) Anyway, in Inuit mythology, Sedna is the sea goddess of the marine animals, especially mammals such as seals. She lives in and rules over Adlivun, the Inuit underworld. The legends that speak of her all give different versions of her fate, but all agree that she descended into the depths of the ocean and became the Goddess of Sea Creatures. As such, she became a vital deity, worshipped by hunters who depended on her goodwill to supply food.
The "Sedna" bracelet is made of freshwater peacock pearls and iolites, nested between Abalone shell nuggets, all wrapped with sterling silver wire.

Silversmithing

Sterling silver hammered ring
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

The lessons are going great. I really like it, though it's rather hard work, very physically demanding for my weak arms and fingers.
This is what I made in my first two lessons. It's a "bombay" style ring, made of 1 mm thick sterling silver sheet and hammered gently on the outside. Size 14 (US 6.5).
Right now I'm working on a silver ring with a stone cabochon and some engraving.
The only downside is that it is a very expesive venture. I will need lots of jeweller's equipment, including a special desk, a burner and various tools, not to mention the raw materials.

Delicacy bracelet

Delicacy bracelet
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

All these stones set on sterling headpins really took a lot of time to wrap by hand! But it was all worth it. I like the color combination, although I wasn't sure about it at first. The stones in this are amethyst, citrine, iolite and labradorite.

JOY necklace

JOY necklace
Originally uploaded by Isabeau_bijoux

I had been thinking about this design for a long time. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
The focal point of this necklace is a large toggle clasp, with a cluster of three faceted ametrine drops dangling from it on. The rare ametrine stone possesses delicate purple color, with just flashes of pale yellow within. All the other beads are amethyst.
I bought the ametrine drops on Etsy, and they are really worth the cost - soooo beautiful. But it is a delicate stone, and needs to be treated with care...
All the components are sterling silver, of course.

I'm in a treasury!

Wow! I've been featured in a beautufil Etsy treasury of Israeli Etsy artists by the wonderful Patrizia Tager of Triz Designs. You can see her work here:
http://www.triz.etsy.com/

And here is the treasury!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=28902