Gossip Around the Studio!

Every Day is Earth Day

04/20/2012 00:22:00

Happy Earth Day month!! The Conserve Camel says "Every Day really is Earth day"! I strive to remember this every day so on that note I thought I would celebrate by sharing some of the eco friendly items and materials that I use to make my jewelry along with featuring some of the added items you get when you order a piece of jewelry. The descriptions beside the items are direct quotes from the suppliers themselves and are noted below.

Also just for fun I am adding a poem I wrote ages ago and also one of my all time favorite Earth Day music videos....Enjoy!

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First of all the studio is Wind powered! So all my lights and equipment use renewable energy! yay!!

I get my cards and postcards from Vista Print.com...they have a 100% recycled paper option!

All Items, Images, and Quotes below are from Rio Grande (Jewelry supplier):

This colorful kraft tote is made of 100% recycled paper and has 100% cotton twill handles

Tote is recyclable and biodegradable.

These recloseable, 2-mil bags are made of 100% oxo-biodegradable plastic that will break down naturally and return to nature once its useful life is finished. This plastic will not clog landfills for decades to come and will help reduce the unhealthy buildup of methane.

Ribbon~Eco-friendly ribbon is made with matte-finished paper harvested from a managed forest. Dyes used are non-toxic and water soluble.

Findings~ the Findings and Metals sections, are green products made with reclaimed/recycled metal or from third party certified, ethically mined metal. Additionally, our recycled metals are produced in an environmentally award-winning plant.

Metal~

....What does Sustainable mean to Rio Grande? It is a social pact with future generations. Sustainable means meeting our present needs without compromising the needs of our children.
How is Rio Grande going about accomplishing that? In part by offering products to you that are made from materials that are recycled/recovered or made from renewable materials. Another is to encourage manufacturing processes that minimize environmental impacts. More than 85% of our gold is recycled and the majority of the balance comes from American gold mines.

Actually, we’ve been at it for a long time. Our refinery, which recycles silver and gold from a variety of sources, is 30 years old and has won numerous environmental awards over the years.

In 1968, Rio Grande eliminated harmful cadmium from the solders we sell, twenty years before this became common practice.

We’ve devised a way to reduce the investment material consumed in our casting operation by 20%.

We have done energy consumption audits of our buildings for many years and currently use a third less energy to run our facilities than we did ten years ago.

We have eliminated toxic solvents from our cleaning processes and now use soap and water to clean our products

This is just a partial list. We see sustainability as a never-ending process. One filled with opportunities to make our future better than the past. One we can all participate in and benefit from together. Our commitment to you and more importantly, to our children, is to never let up, and encourage others to do the same.

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Images and Quotes below from my Recycled aluminum supplier CMC:

Founded in 1915 as a single location, family owned and operated scrap processing facility in Dallas, Texas, Commercial Metals Company Recycling has grown into an industry leader. With operations in over 60 locations globally we have the capacity to process and ship more than 4.0 million tons of ferrous and non ferrous scrap annually. We buy, process, sell and manage scrap in collaboration with our partners regardless of their size throughout the United States and around the globe.

Commercial Metals Company is committed to preserving and protecting our environment for future generations. We utilize the most modern technologies in a way that minimizes the impact on the environment. Compliance with national and local laws and regulations is viewed as the minimum requirements by our facilities. We continually strive to find improved solutions for protecting our environment.

We have implemented industry best practices across all of our facilities and are committed to a continuous improvement program that monitors and ensures our environmental program is aligned with protecting our environment.

Our strict guidelines regarding the types of scrap we will not purchase coupled with our rigorous processes of inspecting all inbound materials and proper maintenance of our equipment demonstrates our commitment to operating our facilities in a manner that protects human health, natural resources and the environment

~As one of the world's largest metal recyclers, our vertically integrated manufacturing processes saves over 215,000,000 cubic feet of landfill space annually. Our recycled metal scrap is melted into new metal in our electric furnaces, rolled into finished products in our rolling mills, and fabricated into project specific lengths to be used in projects that build America's buildings and infrastructure.

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Michael Jackson - Earth Song (Official Music Video)

Michael Jackson - Earth Song

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Sessile

What if the best we can do is really the way that it is?

What if it is all really written in every bodies hands,

The truth, the journey, the instructions one so seeks,

That we think others outside of ourselves must already know.

That is if we are so insecure, that is if we believe

That it is really so hard. Is life to be solved or ignored?

Each person being the "And", and the, "The" that

Altogether make this whole story.

The Einstein's and Galileo's taking all the big words

And I am an "is"....

Will this story end well? Or will this story be full

of run on sentences?

Will all just be forgotten? or will we leave our own

Cliff notes.

Of existence in the mud and rocks as the

Dinosaurs did?

I think Our story shall have the same ending.

None is bad and none is worse

It is just as a hinge knows not what else

To do but swing back and forth until it rusts.

If you are interested in seeing more of my writings check out my poetry blog:

Yep,Nope,Maybe, So long...

New PETA Exclusive~ Super cute Bunny Necklace

10/20/2011 12:10:00

I am proud to announce a New PETA Exclusive Design~

Show your love for animals with this super cute PETA Bunny necklace! This would make a great every day necklace and/or gift for the animal lover in your life...Hey, that could be you!

Leaping bunny is handmade out of Recycled aluminum, which is a very lightweight metal!

Measures approx. 1 1/2" x 3/4" comes with silver plated chain with lobster clasp and is 18" in total length! Has blue epoxy eye and is handstamped on back

PETA.org

$25

Get yours today!!! As a PETA Exclusive this design can only be purchased on PETA.org

Click here for more info.

Win Animal Rights Jewelry on PetaKids.com

09/20/2011 19:47:00

WIN ANIMAL RIGHTS JEWELRY ON PETAKIDS.COM

We have teamed up with the awesome PetaKids.com for a fabulous a jewelry give away! Accessorize with compassion and spread the word of Animal rights! Enter to win one of your choice of the above necklaces! Click HERE to enter!

Hurry as entries must be received by September 29,2011. Winner will be chosen at random on October 3, 2011

I Heart Vegan Cuts~25% off Vegan Necklaces by Christy Robinson + Free Shipping

08/04/2011 11:11:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely love bargains and vegan goods! So I was pleased to find Vegan Cuts combines two of my faves in one spot! yay! If you have not gotten addicted to them yet you soon will ...they offer weekly deals on all kinds of vegan goodies and must haves. So of course I am extremely flattered two of my all time most popular jewelry designs are now this weeks feature! For a limited time only (offer ends Sunday) you can get either the "Friend Not Food" necklace or the "Not a Nugget" chick necklace at the one time rock bottom price of $15~ Shipping is included! Now is the time to stock up...these make great birthday or holiday gifts for Vegetarians and Vegans alike!

See details of the deal below!

http://vegancuts.com

Featured deal from Christy Robinson:

If you like to wear cute and contemporary jewelry but don't really buy into the whole "diamonds are a girl's best friend" ideology, then you're going to love Christy Robinson's line of necklaces. She makes adorable pieces that promote positive animal-rights messages in a stylish and fun way. Her pendant necklaces are made using eco-friendly and ethical materials like recycled aluminium and each one has a hand-stamped message that will make you smile.

This week you can buy Christy Robinson's "Not a Nugget" chick pendant or "Friend not Food" pig pendant for only $15, which includes free shipping to the U.S. or Canada. These necklaces makes great gifts for animal lovers (like you!). They're fantastic conversation starters that have an uncanny ability to make people think twice about their relationship with animals. What more could you ask for in a necklace?

Product Description:

The pendants are made from earth-friendly recycled aluminum, which is a very lightweight metal.

Both pendants comes with a 1.5 mm sterling silver flat cable chain with lobster clasp. The chain length is 16". The chain, clasp and metal are from ethical sources that are made in the USA.

The "Not a Nugget" chick pendant measures approximately 1 1/4" x just over 1". It has been hand stamped with "Not a Nugget."

The "Friend not Food" pig pendant measures approximately 1 1/4" x 3/4". It has been hand stamped with "Friend not Food."

Due to the handmade nature of these items, they may vary slightly from original image.

Studio Tour

07/01/2011 16:37:00

Welcome to the jewelry studio tour!

Love my Peace Banner it is on my studio door to remind me through out the day to stay calm and not stress out even when all it crazy around me! Also it reminds me to spread the word of peace whenever possible! Positive affirmations really work for me!!! I learned this great tip and many others from the awesome Dianne Wenz she is a vegan Holistic Health counselor and if you need to destress your life or learn some healthy tips you really should get in touch with her! She is the best...check out her site: http://www.diannewenz.com/

Also check out her veggie resource site at: http://www.veggiegirl.com/

View of the studio in the background from the garden and where my tiny little peppers are growing! Also here is the pond, the lily pad is blooming and also the fishes just had babies!! So I when I take a break to stretch my back I love watching them...they are so cute!! When the weather is cooler I usually have in the windows open so I can hear the fountain which is very relaxing and keeps me from stressing out!!

I have animal medallion stickers on both of the skinny windows by the door... Love these!!!!

Here I am at the messy jewelry bench...it just occurred to me that I probably should have clean a bit before taking these shots ...LOL...but oh, well...who has that kind of time!!!

I love my Shepard Fairey print !!!! I try to do this every day!!!

Okay messy area #2: This is the packing area... where orders are placed in gift boxes,proofed, and packaged to be shipped out!

This is the polishing area this is where the sterling items get a really high polished finish also where I do satin finishing on most items.

Letter stamping area~ This is where the words come into the picture!! I use letter stamps and a hammer to stamp each individual letter that you see in a piece!

Soldering area~ Above is the Oxy/Acetylene tanks

This is where I solder all the loops and silver misc. together

The bench pen where I spend most of my days!

I get asked a lot how I learned how to make jewelry so here is a brief bit. At first I started on my own then took some classes at the Craft Guild of Dallas and also worked with two other jewelers a long the way. A couple of my favorites resources are below! The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight is a must have!!! Metalsmith magazine is just so inspiring creatively!

But really the key I feel to making jewelry is that you really, really, need to love it!! It is really messy , labor intensive, detail oriented work and behind the scenes is just not glamorous at all so I feel like in order to stick with jewelry making it really needs to speak to you in some creative way!!! Fortunately for me it does and I LOVE it!!

Click on the images to check these out:

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Love these!!! These are my inspiration cards...little thank you notes and mementos from happy clients! I cherish these...they remind me of how thoughtful and connected we all are as people and the images remind me to always keep working to get the messages of those that have no voice out in whatever positive way I can.

Last but not least my dear Julep is with me every single day!! I am soooo lucky to have her ... she is the best studio companion and friend ever!!! Julep and I say thank you for stopping by the studio!!

Kale, Raw Foods and Fun!

06/14/2011 21:58:00

Time for a summer update of all that is going on in and out of the Jewelry studio!

Like so many people out there I heart Kale!! And to honor this love and spread the word about the awesomeness of eating your greens one of my latest designs is the "I Heart Kale" necklace or if you may prefer " Kale -Grow Some" They are already getting a great response! Thanks to all the kale lovers out there! Hurray for Kale!!

Also this Spring and summer I decided to grow my own and save a ton of money! In addition to the kale pictured above, I grew some baby spinach, carrots,green onions, basil, Jalapenos, and Poblano peppers! So far the Carrots, onions, and Poblanos are still in the works but I am daily enjoying the others at most meals!!!

And my little Gnome Chomsky is watching over them at all times!!!

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Also check out my cool new Kale Tee! Got this from Verbing on Etsy! Their tees are upcycled ... they scour thrift stores for perfect condition tees that have been cast out then hand stencil them. This means no two shirts are alike, and every shirt is one of a kind. Verbing says that hand stenciling uses no extra chemicals (looking at you, screen printing) Love my Marie Antoinette quote inspired one instead of "Let them Eat Cake" it reads "Let them Eat Kale", HEAR! HEAR! I could not agree more!!!

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It is also a raw food summer here at the studio or should I say mostly raw! I do still cook some with a rice and slow cooker. And In case you have been living under a rock Texas is really,really HOT in the summer which makes it seem kind of ridiculous to light a fire for any reason!

So Raw foods is the best! One of my fave recipes so far is the Sweet Corn Chowder pictured here! The recipe can be found in my new fave raw cook book by the wonderful Ani Phyo "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" Check out the link below to her site and also where you can purchase her book:

There are also some wonderful raw desserts if you have a sweet tooth like me and they are so much healthier than non raw desserts! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the lemon Coconut bars and also the Carob Crunch Torte pictured above!! Ani is Awesome!!!

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Last but not least we get to the fun! Every year for the past 7 summers my husband and I get together with his brothers, their wives and kids for our family camping trip! This year was at the Guadalupe river in the Texas Hill Country near Austin and we had so much fun as always! It is so relaxing to get away and be in nature 24 hours a day watching the moon and stars! Also Being with all the wonderful animals who call the river home! A big thank you to all the racoons,armadillos, lizards, birds, deer, and many insects who shared their home and time with us on our visit!

Hope you all are having a lovely summer!!

Black Beauty Ranch Sanctuary

05/25/2011 12:20:00

For my Birthday this year I wanted to spend it with all the wonderful animals at Black Beauty Ranch Sanctuary! It had been a few years since my last visit and I was pleasantly surprise to see that it has grown so much! We were there for the spring open house and also for the grand opening of the Doris Day horse adoption and rescue! (more info. below)

In case you are not familiar with the Sanctuary here is a brief biography.

The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch is a world-renowned animal sanctuary in Murchison, Texas.

Its nearly 1,300 acres are home to more than 1,200 domestic and exotic animals, many of whom have been rescued from near-death situations such as slaughterhouses, biomedical research laboratories, and trophy hunting ranches. Others are discards from circuses or roadside zoos, or were former victims of the exotic pet trade. Still others have come from public lands where they were threatened with extermination by the federal government.

Bison and cattle, horses and burros, antelope and apes, camels and llamas, all have permanent, safe homes at the ranch, which was founded in 1979 by Cleveland Amory, author and animal advocate.

The Turkeys were so amazing I kept coming back to visit with them! So precious

Say Hello to Omar!

Three tour buses were giving tours on the vast grounds all day during the open house!

Roaming Free!

Nothing like the sun!!

Love this image!!! We had the pleasure of seeing all the burros traveling in a single file line over the many miles of area that they have to roam freely it was super impressive!!!

This is where the buffalo(bison) roam!

So amazing to meet these guys in person!

Say hello to Roo!

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALL THE RESIDENTS AT BLACK BEAUTY RANCH AND THEIR COURAGEOUS PERSONAL STORIES

CLICK HERE!

We were also there for the grand opening of the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center! Two new beautiful buildings are now open to rehabilitate the many abused horses and to adopt them to good homes. We were assured that this is a very rigorous adoption policy including visits to the potential adoptees homes! To find out more about this wonderful place and program

CLICK HERE!

Awwww! Such a sweetie!!

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I also recently received this book and absolutely love it! It is very informative and the photography is some of the best I have seen....so beautiful! It showcases various farm animals from different Sanctuaries. It is great to get to know animals stories, struggles, and the many lessons they can teach us if only through words. This is so perfect if you are unable to travel to all these wonderful places! If you can travel I advise that you do as much as you can as there is nothing better!

New PMC Designs & Dallas Vegan Bake Sale for Japan Relief

04/13/2011 11:25:00

New PMC designs!

In the mid '90s when PMC or Precious Metal Clay started to become popular I played around with it some but at the time I was so deeply rooted learning traditional jewelry techniques such as casting and fabrication that I just did not really take the time to experiment with it as much as I would like! So I am taking this year to really play with it and have a bunch of new design ideas in the works! Here are just a couple I have so far! PMC is a really fun and versatile material I can not wait to see what happens!!!

If you are not familiar with PMC it is pure silver particles mixed with an organic binder that produces a clay-like substance. Once the piece is created, it's fired in a kiln at 1650 degrees for two hours. The binder burns off and the particles fuse into solid, pure silver. Both the clay and the resulting silver piece are non-toxic.

PMC was developed in the early 1990s in Japan by metallurgist Masaki Morikawa....gotta love him and Japan for this great invention!

On that note in order to help Japan in their recent string of natural disasters I will be donating some of my jewelry pieces as raffle items for a Dallas Vegan Bake Sale whose proceeds are going to Japan relief! (Note:You will have to attend the event to see which jewelry items are up for bids!!!) See details for the event below!

Jade Degrio, the mastermind of last year’s vegan bake sale, is once again heading up the Dallas Vegan Bake Sale to take place on Saturday, April 30th from 12:00pm –4:00pm.

This year’s bake sale is run in coordination with the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, an event occurring – well – worldwide to raise funds for causes of the local event’s choice.

With the recent unfortunate tragedy in Japan, Jade has designated the Dallas Vegan Bake Sale to benefit Direct Relief International, an organization praised by Forbes magazine as being “100% efficient” with a proven track record in providing support for those in need.

The bake sale will take place on the patio at Beauty Bar Dallas(click on the logo for directions and info) in the popular Henderson Avenue area, and is sure to attract hungry buyers from all over.

Contact Jade at dallasveganbakesale@gmail.com Or Click here to check out their Facebook event page

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Spring Preview

03/30/2011 13:07:00

Spring is almost here!! Yay!!! To celebrate I will be adding some new designs to the site that will be part of the new SPRING Section! This will include designs for Earth Day and also Mothers Day as well as just fun springy looks for all occasions...Here is a preview of some of the new designs! Hope you love them!!!!

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EARTH DAY SECRET MESSAGE PENDANTS!

Recycled aluminum and brass with sterling silver chains!

BRASS FLOWER AHIMSA CHICK NECKLACE! Will have the option to change the chick to either a pig,fish or sheep!!

EARTH DAY OR MOTHERS DAY RING!

"The Earth Laughs in Flowers" -e.e. cummings

LEAPING LOVE BUNNY- recycled aluminum!!

Juleps Surgery a Success!

03/25/2011 14:29:00

As many of you know either through Facebook or Twitter my beloved Julep was found to have a tumor on her spleen just a couple of weeks ago. I was completely devastated and extremely nervous about this as she is 12 years old and I was not sure how she would do with the surgery! But I am very happy and relieved to say she is recovering very well! She is still taking pain meds and some extra vitamins. She did lose about 4 pounds as her tumor was about the size of a fist! Poor baby! We will find out in the next week if her tumor was cancerous but hopefully it will not be. Fingers crossed! I want to send out a big, huge, thank you to everyone for their support with prayers, positive energy, and encouragement all in support of little miss Julep. They made all the difference. The world would not be the same without her or all the wonderful thoughtful people who adore her!