Whew! I have been rather absent from my little ol' blog this month, haven't I? It's been a whirlwind on the Buffalo Ranch.  I've been busy with my day job and single parenting duties while Foxy's been working her little tail off trying to get grants written and trainings completed and other such things necessary to keep a roof over our heads. Those kiddos leave little time for jewelry making and shop updating and blog writing... But when they're not making me cry, they sure do make me smile! ;)   (Did I ever tell you about the time Aidan brought home a "book" she'd written at school and it was clear that they'd been given a very structured outline to work with. It had to start and end with the same key sentence. Aidan's book started and ended with, "My mom loves me more than she loves making jewelry." That girl knows her mama).

Anyhoo...

Four sleeps until Newfoundland!

I'll be putting the shop on vacation mode while I'm away so this is your last chance to place an order before I leave. Orders placed before 10PM CST tomorrow (Friday, July 30th) will be shipped on Saturday morning. Then I'm closing shop! But just until I come back on the 13th.

Be warned... everything that's available in the shop now may not be when I reopen in mid-August. So if there's something you've had your eye on... :)

And just so I don't forget what she looks like between now and when we leave for vacation, this is my recently-mostly-absent wife:

Finished a new ring over the weekend but haven't had a chance to get any good pictures of it yet. It's too dark tonight; maybe tomorrow.  It's a pretty little (ahem, big!) purple African jasper and sterling piece.

Speaking of photos, I finally got one of the Foxy necklace being modeled:

She's being all modest and won't let me post her face. But you get the idea. This at least gives you an inkling of the size of the necklace. I think it's being worn to the full length of the extender in this photo. It can be worn shorter too.

I have a midterm on Friday (Western Civ) and a gem show this weekend (woohoo!) so it will probably be next week before I have any new pieces to share. But they're all tumbling around in my head with Antigone and Gilgamesh just begging to be released.

Happy Birthday, Foxy!

I'm a few days late with this post, but Happy Birthday to the funniest, smartest, sexiest, wittiest, fills-my-heart-with-joy-iest woman I know!!

I love you, Foxy.

And here is the necklace I made for her:

Mosaic Turquoise, Peridot, Rhodochrosite, and sterling. 100% made from scratch, each piece sawed by hand from silver sheet except for the chain (which I buy in bulk!).

I'll post some pictures of it being modeled as soon as I get some. She did wear it all day yesterday, even after she changed into her jammies (she knows how to make her smithy wife feel good).  I just didn't manage to snap a shot of it.

I'm really pleased with how it came out. And I love the very feel of it. It's weighty and smooth and satisfying to hold. Stephanie compared it to an old pocket watch in terms of weight and size and the way it feels in the hand. An apt comparison, I'd say! I'm glad this one will be staying in the family.

And for those of you who've asked, I will be opening an Etsy shop at some point in the near future. And I will be doing custom listings. Check back here, or follow me on twitter for updates.

xoxox