Sneak Peek and Advanced Sales

For my blog readers, I thought I'd set up a sneak peek of a few items that will be on sale in the shop tomorrow. Feel free to stop in tomorrow or contact me for advanced purchases at sale prices - available only to you. Remember that some things are one of a kind pieces and may be sold out.

Some pretty posts in sterling silver and gemstone cabachons:

Were $19.50 ~ now $15

Post earrings are always a real sweet choice for a simple day or a loving gift for a friend or family member. These are bezel set by me in sterling silver and come with the earring backs.

One of a kind sterling silver pendant:

"The Boneyard"

This piece is made from bits of sterling silver and reminds me of what you'd find at a scrapyard - bits of treasure. It was $75 and will be on sale for $44. It is a one of a kind piece.

One pair of "Branching Out" earrings. There are only one pair of these and they were $34. Will be on sale for $28. They are made from sterling silver and lovely, iron pyrite.

For more deals, come see me tomorrow at: www.RockYourWire.com and check out the Rockin Birthday Sale Section or contact me in advance at rockyourwire@shaw.ca.

Let's have some fun!

Upcoming Birthday Bash - Sale in the Shop!

When? Friday - March 19th

Where? All my shops:

http://www.rockyourwire.com/

http://www.rockyournose.com/

http://www.rockyourbelly.com/

Come and join in the fun and savings!

Sneak Preview

Sort of a 'back to my roots' line - the URBAN Elegance collection is a marriage of copper and sterling - hammered, antiqued, wrapped, and otherwise funked. I absolutely love it and think the earthy tones are appealing and inspiring.

I love to add the patina slowly...darkening the hammered copper and then polishing it to an earthy brown. Too fun. You followers get a sneak peek - the listings will go up in the shop on Friday for the newest pieces in the collection.

Honey Drops:

Swansong (these have a matching necklace too):

A great big chunk of moonstone necklace that really needs a cool name. Help me anyone?

Mulberry Twizzles (matching necklace will be posted too!):

Pop by the shop on Friday to see the rest www.RockYourWire.com

What's New - What's Hot

Over the holidays, I created a new line of pretties called, "Urban Elegance". These pieces are a bit more earthy and raw; combining oxidizing process on copper and sterling silver. I introduced matching earring and necklace sets and they have been SO well received. I really love the edgy look and plan to do some more. I'd love to get my hands on some flashy labradorite briolettes - hmmm...do I smell a shopping trip on the horizon? ;)
I adore the look of these blueberry pearls with the antiqued copper....simply yummy!

The Year of the Guitar Pick

Holy smokes am I busy cutting out both sterling and copper guitar picks! Stamping and lovingly polishing them to a gleam - that's how my days are being filled. In Chinese culture, there is the year of the ram, the year of the monkey, etc... so I have dubbed this "the year of the guitar picks" in my mind.

Every now and then, as an artist and an entrepreneur, we stumble upon something, or a few somethings that just take off. For me, it's been the nose jewellery and now these picks. Perhaps it's the authenticity factor. I wear nose jewellery and I play guitar (ahem...when I have time). Not a great player by any means but I have fun with it and I rock pretty good around the campfire. I came up with the idea of doing a copper pick because I hadn't really seen it done and I love copper. It's been a good seller all year but this holiday season, they - along with their sterling silver cousins - are simply flying off the shelf.

I'm so glad I took the week off my regular job!

Much Ado About Millimeters

This chart is a reference for all of my shops jewelery creations - please print to confirm your size.

The world of millimeters (mm) can be a frightening place when you have no frame of reference. Feel free to use this chart to help you find your way. Cheers!

Quick Tip About Tumble Polishing Metals

When I excitedly bought my Lortone tumbler to make all my sterling silver and copper shiny and pretty, I carefully read all the information I could find about how to correctly tumble polish my pieces.

I learned that I should add the shot, then my pieces, and that the water level should be about 2/3 full - just under 3/4; depending on how many pieces were in the bucket. I learned that I needed a burnishing compound of some sort - the first time I bought some with my tumbler to be on the safe side, although I had heard that "Dawn" dishwashing liquid would work equally well.

I set out to find some "Dawn" but it isn't available in my area of Canada - perhaps not at all in Canada. I wondered how Dawn could be that much different from any other dish soap for the purpose I needed it, and despite all the advice I'd read that Dawn was the only choice, I used what was beside my sink one day, which is "Sunlight". Guess what? Works perfectly! I would have no hesitation to go ahead and use a couple squirts of whatever you have on hand.