A Year in the Making, day 315

Back from day two of the Steampunk Erotic Festival at Little Red Studio. I am tired, I'll admit it. The mileage is showing. I used to be able to stand on cement floors for hours on end and be able to go out and play afterward. Not anymore. All I want is a glass of wine and an ice pack for my aching lower joints. I'm not even "old" yet. What fun to look forward to!

Yesterday was not quite a scorcher, but still warmer than was comfortable. It looked to be, and proved to be, much more temperate today, but I still wanted to make sure I'd survive the day. Yesterday I wore a loose vest and a pair of antique ivory cotton bloomers, with an ivory scarf wrapped loosely around my neck. Periodically I soaked that scarf in water, and it got me through the day with minimal discomfort. Well, that and the two iced bottles of Gatorade.

This morning, before heading out (the festival didn't start till noon) I made myself a black scarf to match today's outfit. It's all nice and wrinkled in this shot because I took it after I got home and it's been wrapped wet around my neck all day:



It's 100% cotton, with the edges finished in a scrap of Venice lace I had left over from a previous project, just long enough to tie once loosely around the neck and drape over my shoulder. It held water beautifully, and still looked stylish.

I made another piece specifically for myself today, too. Normally, my pieces become mine because I make them and then fall in love with them and decide to keep them instead of selling them like I should. But this morning, I set out to make a "mine" piece deliberately.

I have several antique keys that formerly belonged to a friend, now sadly deceased. I've done a couple of pieces in this style before, and was sad to see them go, so now I'll have my own, with memories attached:


Steampunk Key with Garnets by *dbvictoria on deviantART

A Year in the Making, day 268

Mother Nature did, indeed, drool all day. But the weather was at least temperate, so we shouldered our Seattle rain stoicism and went out to the >Kuboto Gardens this morning. And this time, I remembered to put the memory card in the camera!


Bee on Flower by *dbvictoria on deviantART


Tree Sap by *dbvictoria on deviantART


Blue Orchid by *dbvictoria on deviantART

There's more pictures here.

We swung by the grocery store and got supplies for most tasty dinner that I'll describe shortly. When we got home, I spent a little time with the garnet box again, making more steampunk shinies and then editing pictures.

Steampunk Garnet and Sterling Silver Y-Necklace



Steampunk Garnet Waterfall Earrings with Antique Watch Parts



The husband then grilled us some quite tasty salmon and asparagus despite the gloomy weather. And then I treated us to dessert, one of the things I make very rarely because it's fiddly and also very not-good for the waistline:



Pears, peeled and thin sliced, simmered in a port wine reduction with some of my homemade blackberry preserves, then spooned over vanilla ice cream. *urp* I'm sipping some more of the port as I type now. I am, again, a happy kitty.

A Year in the Making, day 266

Memorial Day weekend! What are your plans for the holiday?

This weekend - through Monday evening - I'm having a sale in my Artfire shop, 10% off any purchase, still with free shipping for jewelry items! Just enter the coupon code "In Memory" when making a purchase.

I can't believe the end of May is just around the corner! That's month 9 of 12 in my challenge. I can't believe I've been doing this for NINE MONTHS. Three to go! Item count as of yesterday was 287, so I'm still keeping ahead of the curve. Starting to wonder what I'm going to do with myself once this is over.

I pulled out the garnet box today. My favorite stone. Expect lots of burgundy red goodness the next few days, as once I start playing with the garnets it goes on for awhile.


Garnet Briolette Multi Strand Necklace on Sterling Silver

And more for the girls

Because, hey, why not? Here's some great chic, contemporary, handmade jewelry from another Jewelry on Etsy teammate, LotusStone.

She's got some great sets available, each matched by name in her listings. My favorite is the Kathleen set:







There's also the Adriel necklace, a delicate silver leaf:



And look! More garnets! A set of earrings with my favorite stones and matching freshwater pearls:

Something for the gents

I'm pretty much all for the ladies, I'll admit. Although I do a unisex piece from time to time, most of my styles are a little too frilly and delicate for the boys. So, a little something different from me today! Here's some handmade silver jewelry pieces by my fellow Jewelry on Etsy teammates Terry and Bob from Jewelry24Seven:

Firstly, check out this jade ring:



It's a gorgeous piece of nephrite jade set in a diamond shaped setting, such a striking piece!

For a little bit more color, there's this dichroic glass ring in a hand-cut bezel setting:



How about these black mother of pearl cufflinks?



I love the elegance of cufflinks, peeking out from the sleeve of a jacket. If you can't find a shirt that'll fit cufflinks, all you need to do is remove the button from the cuff and add another button-hole. I've done this with a couple of my shirts in the past, works like a charm! If you don't have a sewing machine with a button-holer, a tailor can do this for you quite quickly and reasonably.

If you're craving some major blink, their huge sterling silver rope chain will satisfy that itch:





Okay, I lied. This isn't just for the boys. How could I not show you this gorgeous garnet and silver ring? Garnets are my favorite stone - the rich burgundy color always makes me happy, and the setting is beautiful!