In Brazil

Update, part 2. I went to Brazil with my family. Loved it. I didn’t buy as many gemstones as I would have liked (I imagined I’d find a giant warehouse / market / street fair with stones everywhere, and me leaving with two full suitcases, but that wasn’t the case), but Rio de Janeiro is more beautiful than I could have imagined so I let that expectation go. We did go to a couple of small gemstone museums / jewelry stores, and they had great examples of rough, award-winning specimens, and a large selection of stuff for sale (but more on that in a later post).

Quick stop in Panama City.

Quartz display.

View from the hotel.

Theater in downtown Rio, so pretty.

Cathedral that changes colors, amazing.

The imposing Cristo Redentor statue in Corcovado. 39.6 meters tall, atop a 700 meter mountain.

New year update

It’s been challenging to get into work mode again after the holidays, I admit. Christmas is a big deal around here, and with two jobs, making my own schedule and going on vacation for New Years, it got a little crazy.

Now that I have digested the end of 2011 and start planning for 2012, I can show you some pictures of what went on. I’ll divide it into sections.

First, images from the tail end of 2011:

Carved some stamps with my ring designs for packaging. That’s the skinny zebra stamp!

Custom stamped initials on Nugget pendants.

Made a pair of pearl earrings for a newborn baby girl (here people usually pierce baby girl’s ears in the hospital when they’re born).

Had this mess going on preparing for a fair.

Wrapped some presents.

My table at the fair (weird angle, sorry)

And I joined Instagram, so there’s more photos there (@jimenab).

Branching out

I read recently that us makers have to do what we do and then tell people about it. Simple yet so true. I have been making a lot lately and my shop needs some more foot traffic, so I decided  to advertise. I chose Bri’s blog because it’s amazing for one, and I visit it every day pretty much. If you don’t know it yet, go ahead and click through, you can thank me later.

I admit I was a bit nervous about stepping out of my etsy-and-people-I-know-directly comfort zone, but it’s good to do scary stuff sometimes, right? I have to get over my shyness, even on the internet .

Later alligators.

3 new rings

One just for me and the other two are negotiable. The blue stone is a very lovely kyanite, bezel set, very simple. The other fatter babies are the zebra rings in silver, finally! I think the color suits them, don’t you?

Once I take some nice pictures I’ll post them in the shop.

xo

Playing with fire, part 1

I took a very very cool class at the school this weekend: low tech casting. It’s just as exciting and fun as it sounds. It pretty much involved playing with fire, burning stuff and looking at the amazing results.

Safety first!

Melt your metal of choice. We used brass to go easy on our pockets. And it’s very pretty too.

Experiment #1: lentils.

Pan it out. Make sure the metal has already cooled down because the green thing is made of plastic.

The result!

Second try: flax seeds. Very slimy.

We had other organic stuff lined up for the metal.

After I poured in the brass (which went straight down to the bottom), it kept boiling and burning for a good minute. That’s why we used steel cups. This flax seed experiment burned the bottom of this little cup, so you see how plastic would’ve caused a nasty foot burn.

And a mushroom was the result. Of all people, the mushroom had to be mine.

Lima bean experiment.

We all had some great fun I have to say. This class is sooo much fun. And it’s always good to experiment with new techniques with other people who enjoy it too. Thank you to Julieta our teacher!

This is only one of the techniques we learned! Stay tuned for the next batch of photos soon.

Seeds and beans in bags

Lima beans, lentils and flax seeds in water overnight.

Preparation for a class I’m taking today at the school, Crisol. Curious???

Just Color Treasury

Lovely treasury by Etty Geller, perfect for fall.

New rings in the store today

Meet the Shipwreck and the Braid knuckle rings!

In the shop sometime today.

Pow! Treasury

Great colors in this treasury by Delia.

New necklaces

These colorful necklaces will be in the shop very soon (some of them already are)! They’re made with waxed nylon cord and doughnut beads. The necklace is very durable and adjustable, so you can wear it long or short, your choice!

Visit my store right here.