I made this piece last summer while in the beautiful mountains of Sun Valley Idaho, one of my favorite places to camp, hike and hang out by the Salmon river.  I like to enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of nature.   I was watching the water and was thinking about how the salmon swim all the way from the ocean to spawn, and all the dams they have to pass just to get there.  They swim over 1000 miles of water just to lay eggs.  If you go in the late summer and look closely you can see what is called "reds"  or beds where the salmon have burrowed and  laid their eggs.  I love to hike these mountains but have had a hard time this past summer as my health has not been that good.  I am hoping that this summer I will get the opportunity to go back in late August and maybe even catch the Sun Valley Artist Festival which is one of the top festivals in the nation.  Last year I met an artist who was really inspirational and took old found objects to recreate new jewelry.  I felt an immediate bond with her and made a lasting connection.  I shared some of my pieces with her including this bracelet, it would be fun to get together with her and create jewelry.  She is only 4 hours from me, but I have not had time to visit. I had a neck fusion seven weeks ago for a herniated disk and during my recovery found out my husband has prostate cancer.  We had to cancel our June vacation because he is having surgery on Monday.  Someone said there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am waiting till times get brighter or I get to the end of that tunnel as this has been a hard year for my family.  I am doing much better as I progress through PT and am not giving up until I find the light.  I love how Jenny Doh says that "art saves" and I truly believe that.   Making jewelry or creating art takes your mind off the hard times and helps you cope with those difficult times in your life.

Key Necklace

I am so excited about this key necklace, it is one of my favorite pieces made with vintage finds including chandelier crystals, antique connectors and beads.  I wire wrapped the necklace using steel wire and a little key for the clasp.  This key necklace is scheduled to come out in the June issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry.  In this issue you will find the directions for making this necklace and the key bracelet that goes with it.  If you want to see a picture of the bracelet go to this link to find the new issue.

http://www.stampington.com/html/ba_jewelry_summer10.html

I have just finished putting some of these little keys on ribbons and will be posting them on my etsy site.  Watch for the new June issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry and you will find some keys designs in that issue and directions on how to make them. I will also have them available in Park City on June 2nd at the Canyons from 12-6pm.  I will be there every Wed in June and the first week of July. Then it is off to Ogden for the opening of the market there on Saturday July 10th. Let me know if you guys like these? or you have any ideas for these little keys.

I decided to post another picture of the butterfly bracelets, so you guys could get a better look. This one has black vintage beads from and old 1950's necklace.  It has wire wrapped  freshwater pearls.  The chain is from another old necklace that I found at an antique store.  Inside the bezel is old text and a cutout of a vintage looking beautiful butterfly. I then poured resin inside the bezel.  I hand make these bezels for use in my jewelry creations.

 

It has been a busy week as I started back to work this past week and started physical therapy and even had the nerve to tell my PT that it should be called physical torture.  I am sure he just thought it was funny since he is always joking about something.  I finally had the time to take some pictures of my finished bracelets.  I made eight of them and this is a sample of six since I could not fit all of them in the same photo.  Let me know what you guys think, I value your opinions and appreciate your honesty. It was fun to come up with a new design but these took a long time to make.  Next, I am planning on doing some with an ocean theme.