Vinegar and Lemon Juice?

You may or may not know this, but 2009 is the year of green here at Elisa Shere Jewelry. I started hearing about other jewelrs using recycled metals, and finally have found a source. Even though it took a while to figure that part of it out, it really is the most important part since mining metals is devastating to the environment, and it's pretty easy to buy pre-recycled metals. The harder part is getting rid of some of the other nasty chemicals lurking about in my studio.

One of the things metalsmiths use when making their jewelry is a substance called "pickle". It's a yucky chemical that removes the dirt that collects on your metal after you've heated it. Some alternatives are citric acid and, as I found out today, vinegar and salt. I am currently using citric acid (which is really lemon) in my pickle pot and it works just fine. See, that wasn't so bad? And the earth is just a little bit happier!

Spring Showers

Spring showers have begun here in Maryland. Yipee! It feels like forever since it's rained and although I don't miss the Pacific Northwest perpetual rain, I do enjoy the occasional rain shower. One of the reasons I love rain is so I can have an excuse to break out one of my fancy, girly umbrellas.

Imagine my joy when my monthly copy of Body + Soul Magazine arrived the other day and there was an entire feature on cute, Eco Umbrellas. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Look at this colorful and fun upcycled umbrella made from detergent containers and other packaging destined for the landfill. This site features lots of other upcycled goodies, not just umbrellas! By Monsoon Vermont.

This cute umbrella is made from recycled plastic bottles, as is the umbrella shown at the very top. Sophisticated and earth-frienldy! By Dayton from Radley out of the UK.

Snow Day

I woke up to this lovely winter wonderland today! This picture shows my faithful companion, Louie, checking out the snow in front of the barn. This was taken just after I attempted to drive my husband to the metro, only to turn around after about a 1/2 mile of driving on treacherous roads. After we got back we were wondering what we were thinking? We've surrendered to the weather now and are all snuggled up in our cabin house.

This weekend was the ACC in Baltimore and I really enjoyed it. On Friday I volunteered at the Hello Craft booth. Hello Craft was interviewing folks that had purchased items and hearing their story about why handmade is important to them. The Hello Craft ladies, Kim, Kelly, and Sara are so smart and were a joy to talk to and spend time with.

Sunday I went back to the show and took it all in. There was so much to look at and so much talent, I am truly humbled. I even reconnected with my very first metalsmithing teacher and super talent, Amy Tavern. Other favorite artists include: Eric Silva, Arthur Hash, Rebound Designs and Pistol Stitched. It was great to see what all these amazing talents are doing. Overall, the ACC experience was fantastic.

New Designs

Now that I have the time to do it, I've been focusing on my jewelry and creating new designs. I've also been challenging myself to work on some new techniques, pushing out the designs that I have and exploring certain themes. You'll see more bezel set work incorporating vintage cabachons - I've been so lucky to find some good ones (check out the two pieces below).

I've also been torturing myself with these miniscule glass flowers that my friend Jill Popowich gave to me. They have about a 50% mortality rate so far, but I'm hoping to improve. For those interested in these pieces, they should wear well and not be fragile - as long as you aren't hammering on them like I do.

Still Life

I love still lifes. I especially love perfect little still lifes that you stumble upon, particularly sparse ones that occur by chance. While photographing some new pieces yesterday I noticed this nice little still life in our kitchen. A little pile of fresh bay leaves that I was drying for future use and a stack of fabric napkins. So simple, so serene that I couldn't help taking a picture of it. In this 250 year old cabin I live in, these still lifes are everywhere.

Weekend Sale: Necklaces!

To kick off the weekend (yes, Valentine's Day weekend) I am having a sale on my best seller - necklaces. 15% off all weekend long just for you. Also, my sale was featured in this week's Etsy "Weekend Deal" email and blog feature, which is very exciting. Thanks to Mary in admin and Etsy for the feature.

• To take advantage of the sale, please enter the code "kisskiss" at checkout and you will be refunded via paypal. Have a lovely Valentine's Day and a restful weekend.

The Man Bracelet and My New Life

Well, we never know where life is going to take us right? For months I've been slammed with tons of Etsy orders, shows and more. At the same time, I was working at a demanding day job, fantasizing about the day I could just work on my art. All of the sudden that day is now. Here I am with no job and all day to work on my jewelry, starting yesterday. It's a little shocking, but exciting at the same time. For instance, I could go for a hike - right in the middle of the day or write this blog entry. It might take me a little while to wrap my mind around this.

On another subject, I was commissioned to create a "man bracelet" for a very nice Baltimore girl a few weeks ago. Her boyfriend is Mexican and we brainstormed different Mexican themes and landed on Day of the Dead. I'm so happy with the way this bracelet turned out. I'm especially proud of the little skull that I sawed out by hand, and the manly badass quality of this bracelet. It was such a thrill to be challenged and to spend a lot of time developing one piece, sort of like being back in art school (except without the stress and grades). It was the perfect project for me right now, and I dropped it off in person right after I left my day job for the last time on Friday. Pretty symbolic, I think.