Well, I was doing well with the daily posting for a WHILE there....

Let's see.... what have i been up to?

The baby has stopped gaining weight, now he's losing weight. Scary. Supplementing as much as possible, and i have an appointment with a Lactation Consultant on Thursday. His pediatrician doesn't seem too concerned though. He's still in normal range for his age, too.

I finished the 4th anniversary Tree of Life sculpture. She really liked it, which is always so nice to hear... I love how there are so many subtlely hidden allusions in there! Without getting into any presonal details, it seems like a perfect symbol for their relationship.


And, I made a couple of Chunky necklaces which is something I haven't made before. I have a lot of really nice beads that I have purchased over the years and many of them don't really fit into what I am doing these days, artwise, but some of them came together in this necklace:

http://mandala.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3713249
This 17 1/2 inch necklace has big luscious beads on it in Blues, Greens , and Purples , and the Pendant is a Dichroic glass piece about 2 1/4 inches long that reminds me of a peacock feather. The other beads include glass beads, glass Lampwork beads, rectangular green Aventurine stone beads, round barrel shaped deep green Chrysocolla gemstone beads, and purple Fluorite and Green Fluorite crystal / stone beads.

And, while acquiring some Blue Topaz, I ran across some Peruvian Blue Opal that the same seller had, and it looked so beautiful, I just had to buy some, for no specific reason. I found just the right stones to go with it:

I really love this necklace. It was a pleasure to work with these lovely stones. It consists of spherical Turquoise beads from Tibet, about 3/8 inch in diameter (slightly smaller than a marble ) , lightly faceted Rondelle Peruvian Blue Opal beads, also about 3/8 inch in diameter but not spherical, more of a disk shape, and in the center, an Amazonite that is about 3/4 inch long and is rectangular overall but has some light faceting . Fastens with a clasp. The necklace is about 19 inches long and is very elegant and ethereal, and striking at the same time.











I decided to start putting it out there that I am willing to make custom Mother and Grandmother Tree of Life and/or Heart pendants for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, and I have had one sale. I really love how the piece came out - so vibrant and colorful! The familial relationships are hinted at because the necklace is for a grandmother, and the branches with birthstones for the grandchildren are coming off of the branch of their respective parents. The piece contains Jasper, Yellow Opal, Turquoise, Garnet, more Jasper, and Blue Topaz. This piece went to Spain, and I haven't had an International jewelry sale before that i can recall, so that was exciting!

I finished the Custom Elk teeth commissioned earrings, with hammered oval frames, Wire wrapped elk teeth, 2 types of faceted Amethysts hanging from chain. I met up with the person who ordered them, and he was so happy, he paid me more than my price, so that was nice of him. He said he wants me to make a necklace for him in the future.. Another satisfied customer...


And, another commissioned pair of earrings, a lady contacted me a while back wanting a pair of earrings with Gold Danburite and Seraphinite. I told her no problem. Then i started looking into the prices for these stones. Wow! I had to charge her $75 and i actually lost money, but i have some materials left, so it was worth it (i suppose). These are highly valued Angelic stones, used in connection to a higher power for those who use crystals and stones in meditation.

I also made a Tree of Life pendant for which I have the highest price tag of anything I have made so far. Still, I hope it sells because it is so beautiful that its a shame its just sitting on one of my boards. I have to charge what I am because it took me a week to make it, a whole bunch of Sterling Silver, and some very nice stones went into it. Maybe it will take a while for it to find a home with the price tag of $200 but then again, people pay thousands all the time for pieces that are a lot less original than this...
http://mandala.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3750673
One of a kind piece - there will never be another like it because these stones were sculpted over time by Mother Nature and are from all over the world, and now I bring them together in this original design

All wire in this piece is Sterling Silver. It is woven to create the frame. At the top, a Tree is created out of Sterling Silver and Czech glass leaf beads. The rest of the piece seems to be the roots of this tree. This reminds us that often what lies beneath the surface is as important as what meets the eye and is a hidden source of strength.
Nestled in these roots, in various shades of green, are Collector's Quality naturally formed Crystals, gemstones, and Minerals including:

-- a 38 Carat Green Kunzite aka Hiddenite
This stone is valued by healers that study the metaphysical properties of stones for its ability to promote feelings of unconditional love for self and others, to aid in releasing feelings of inferiority, and facilitating dealing with the past in order to move forward.

-- an 11 Carat Moldavite
A stone treasured by Royalty, this stone is purported to have the ability to participate in bringing dramatic change to one's life and to open up access to other realms of existence

-- a 9 Carat Green Kyanite
Kyanite aids in aligning the Chakras of an individual as well as helping energy to flow properly between other stones.

--a 4.5 Carat Green Apatite
When placed near the throat, facilitates feelings of peace and harmony. Also helps people relinquish influences in their life that are causing them harm.

-- 1 Carat Peridot
Traditional birthstone of August, stone of new beginnings and growth

-- 1 Carat Amazonite
Considered a sacred stone in Egypt. Associated with luck , self confidence, understanding of others, and reception of inspiration

-- 4.5 Carat raw Emerald
Traditional Birthstone for May, associated with Venus the Goddess of Love

-- 12 Carat Malachite
Removes blockages between ourself and a higher level of existence. Counteracts the tendency for self destructive behaviors in love, encouraging pure love instead. Cleansing of negative energies.


-- 2.5 Carat Green Tourmaline aka Indicolite
Green Tourmaline aids in Concentration and Stimultion of Creativity

I include this metaphysical information for the benefit of those who are interested ; Obviously this information is not necessary for an artistic appreciation of the piece :)

Overall, this piece is approximately 4 inches long. So it is substantial although not enormous! I will include a Sterling Silver plated 18 inch Figaro Chain or other chain if you wish, or a black leather cord with clasp if you prefer.

A lot of work went into this piece, and I hope it goes to a good home!



And, since February is coming up, I made an Amethyst tree of life.

Made a simple pearl necklace... http://mandala.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3761409

And I made a wire wrap that includes two of my favorite magical looking stones in one piece: Moonstone and Labradorite. Because of the shimmering unusual nature of these stones and my horrible photography skills, i never really did get a good picture but there are a couple at the link:
http://mandala.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3761326
This necklace consists of a 20 carat luminous Labradorite with beautiful markings and brillliant blue flashing fire, and a 16 carat genuine Rainbow Moonstone glowing a lovely purple

They are elaborately and durably wrapped in all Sterling Silver
shown here on a Sterling Silver plated Figaro chain or we could work out some other chain or cord


I'm sure i've done a thing or two that i'm not recollecting right now..

Oh well.

Ordered a bunch of Silver and Gold wire from a couple of different sources, some new beads including Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Tanzanite, and more. Every time I make a dime, I spend it on new supplies! But i love doing this, so...

Tree of Life sculptures

Mostly just worked, hung out with the baby....
Someone on Etsy in the Alchemy (custom requests) section, looking for a custom item for their Mother In Law, took me up on my offer to make them a Family Tree / Tree of Life sculpture including photos of her kids and grandkids, incorporating their Birthstones. I must be nuts, I quoted her $50 and i am going to be including raw uncut Rubies, Emeralds, and Sapphires. No joke. But it is good to turn some of the stones i have collected into money for now. Plus I will actually have to full on wire wrap these stone and I have been wanted to do a Tree of LIfe sculpture with stones in addition to beads, for a while.

Here are a couple other Tree of Life sculptures I created, including the first one i made also as an Etsy custom piece ($35) which gave me the idea in the first place, and another I made that hasn't been sold yet, of Amethyst (I'd like to get $35 for this one too). The Amethyst one is pretty interesting because i went through all my jewelry supplies for Amethyst pieces, running across Amethyst from all different sources I've collected over the years, resulting in varying shades of color. I was really surprised that it didn't sell over the holidays. Amethyst is February's birthstone though; Maybe it will sell then.

Since I will need it for the custom tree, I ordered beautiful Blue Topaz gemstone beads from an Etsy seller and couldn't resist buying some Peruvian Blue Opal at the same time. Looking forward to working with the Peruvian Blue Opal! I am thinking that it will look really nice with this Seraphinite I special-ordered for someone recently.... I will have plenty left over after making her earrings. (Someone contacted me looking to have some Gold Danburite and Seraphinite earrings made. I was amazed how expensive and rare Gold Danburite is. To make her earrings, I am actually going to LOSE money, but I will have some of each stone left over to work with in future projects, so it was worth it to me and also she got a good deal.)

I have tomorrow off from work. I'd like to start on a complex wire wrap with a lot of Sterling Silver. Some kid contacted me before the holidays saying he wants something custom made but that he wanted me to call him to talk about it, and since cell phones don't work in the mountains where I live, I can only try to call when I'm in Boulder. Haven't been able to get ahold of him yet. I only have so many nice wire wrap stones to last me until the Tucson Gem and mineral show in February and I would like to get this kid's commission. But I guess I will just see what comes out of my endeavors. I would rather not take too many custom orders yet for the more elaborate wire wraps. I am still enjoying feeling the synergy of the stones and which ones want to be together. Sometimes artists when they achieve commercial success wind up having to cater to what will sell, and this particular artform is even more prone to that. But there is a way to find a happy medium. Personally, I want to learn how to do all sorts of cool techniques with the wire wrapping and metalsmithing and have these skills at my disposal. However, a lot of the high end wraps that I see, the stones are suffocating in all that metal. Not all. But many. I want to make jewelry where the stones play a starring role too. I can do it.

Didn't have time to write yesterday really - worked two jobs, and then, well.. i will just repost some things i rambled about in a thread on Tooboard, a Deadhead message board I used to haunt but now just visit...


(in light of the suicide of a member of Tooboard being announced that day, someone was commenting on synchronicities they'd encountered that day involving the Grateful Dead ...Their day had involved a trip to Eldora Ski Resort with their son, and encountering hearing the Grateful Dead playing in various locations throughout the day. i remembered that i personally had walked into a local organic grocery store that day and heard Shakedown Street playing... and also...

"i hang out on this site for handmade items, called Etsy... its like ebay except for stuff that people atcually make themselves. you can find anything in the world on there that anyone could imagine.... and if you CANT find it, you go to the Custom section called Alchemy, put your idea up, and people bid on making it for you. I've seen some amazing things be conceived of this way. This morning, someone posted this insane rambling monologue resulting in a request for a $750 bodysuit... it turns out to be Courtney Love Cobain. It is definately her because this person has bought 1094 items , expensive ones, on this site since August 28. Plus only she could be this nuts. For some reason, she is stuck in my mind all day. Then i went to take the bus home after work today, and it turned out the road home was closed due to a car wreck... so the bus was going to take the long route. I started thinking about it... and just as the bus left, Tree emails me on my phone asks me if i want a ride home. I think about it and when i realized that this huge bus was about to attempt a winding mountain road with hairpin turns in the snow, i decide to take him up on it. However, i thought we passed all the places we could chill and wait, but i look out the window and there's a gas station. So i get the bus driver to let me out. Turns out it is a hippie gas station with a little coffee shop inside, a hippie girl working there, even a dog that hangs out there, and vintage posters and pictures of Jerry in it. What comes on the radio while i'm in there but "heart shaped box" "

[ i had originally wondered if the horrible news they mentioned earlier in the thread was the war breaking out between Israel and Hamas that day, or the suicide.... surprised not to see a thread about the conflict...]

my thoughts about the war include"

what i don't understand is that most people in high offices are parents , and that through these conflicts, they are putting the lives and futures of their children at risk
as a new parent, i can't see how anyone in a position of power would want to make the world anything but a safer place for their children. i guess they must think that it is unavoidable, or the situation will get worse but it seems to me that only steps towards peace, not escalating conflict, will ever work in the long run. but what do i know? "

someone else in the thread : "i didn't read this yet, but i just saw the word etsy....perezhilton.com posted some rambling Courtney blog I just read 20 min ago and it mentioned all about etsy.

weird alignment stuff going on here...... "

I post the Courtney Love Cobain Etsy request :

jminkee wow gotta link? etsy is one of my homes online... curious what she had to say...
she is a Huge shoppaholic on there as far as i can tell

here is how she asks for someone to make a custom lace bodysuit for her, this morning:
handmade custom lace bodysuit2
posted 1/3/2009 , expires 1/24/2009
new approcah inthe frugal months ahead prepare to be copied like hell by the way this iis an origianl idea and its going to be in many mgas and many many shows but well deal with it! new idea for a handmade bodysuit based on learning that cutting ONTHE BIASa net suit to my exact propertions and then sewing a static lace soltis, fantstic and id o mean fantastic lace or better yet chantilly you or i find ( ill pay if its pendy as it generally st tho someof the stiffer is not) affixing with good sewing the ;ace to the bdysuit jmy assnt will give you all exact measurements and then tearing up a paino shawl illsend you you put one leg the ;eft one dense wth the larger florals and you can also dye in reds vermillions more crimsons the stretch piece in the botom leep thte top black for now unless your dying for some silver metallic crewel
youl lookat emma cook 30 and 31 for an idea but were going cooler that that were taking lace that isnt stretch qandmaking it so - the bias stretch fabric trick genius@ n emroidering lace for me jut sewng it on thenet !the most beuaitful lace you can find when you bid if youve found the lace send me there and ill grab it if i accept your bid, footless and with chantilly crochet on top of the round crests in chenille so it looks like velvet, put circles of silk tulle underneath and when you cut the chantilly leave some blank space so you can do some psycho embroidery in metallics even metallic blacks, what i know about depressions is black is OUT red is the new black i promise, and guady colours that clash noone needs to see blakc right no unless its rick, or ricardo, otherise pffft to black, its all very well to make fun of stifr atthe top of a recession but darlings ill be touring in the middle of a depression, so we need bidyuits that can go under sheer flapper dresses even be worn alone the scallops atthe bottom of any chantilly shawl use as legs and when you hit that scallop i need a ruffle can you pintuck s do shirring? iof so i have alot of business for you hutrry cos ive ordered alot of fabric from solstiss were you look for your lace or sophia hallette tho nothing beats long ago suff, its a very collabartice priocess but youll have to read mt midn edera has done a pyshco brilliant job and will share with you what shes done untol i get my other computr back and can pull up the almost strictyly dancingbut saved f machine that could fgo psyhco on us, but we dont however this was a food lesson i dont have to use patch bits like emma i can have one beautiful lace just one style, and thats what im going to use for the entire suits, with a circelt of embroidery on left leg and a series of appliques try m and j go for the crown golf boulions and they have many other cool ones fredfrabjle too and very very cheap, youll need cabochaon and teardrop matte crystals, are you up for this task if so youll be up for alot of others, it depends, if i could put up that dress afaon id go for 2000 dollars see who came out for the dress, that was worth 3k in this frugal time wehre i need to keep my eye onthis record and getting my kid into a safe owend home, these will be knocked off fast but fuck em youll get the credit andme tio for thinking of em and theyre way harder than they think, just pelase lord dont let ahemvommy knock me off! ha! now you see mt nasty side sorry, okay bids ladies???lets GOOOOO> remember modesty issues, a little thicker around the vageegee area,

Materials: chantilly lace sha, fishnet or floral, atop that my measu, cabochon and teard, e600 if must be, piano shawl i priv, appliques, for starp left and, cique feathers and, iridescent i think, velvet stretch for, scalooping for teh, pijk
Tags: bodysuit, handmade fantasy, emboridery on one, this one easier as, ruffles on the bot, chantilly lace wch, colours, wild wild colours, freedome to do wha, crewel in silver o, a bit of a doublin, circus, rocjk n roll


[interest insight into the workings of her mind, through a request for a body suit to be made, no less... like i said, after reading this, it stuck in my mind all day]

The lady who mentioned reading the Courtney Love Cobain blog posts what she read, and sure enough, it is the same writing style, and CLC is talking about her love of Etsy and how she has even taken on some creative endeavors of her own, such as embroidery, crocheting, dyeing, etc., through her involvement there (as far as I can decipher anyway!)

It just now occurred to me that not only were synchronicities involving the Grateful dead, as well as involving nirvana arose, but also, last week at Eldora, a lunatic with a gun freaked out and killed the manager at Eldora, then committed suicide by cop
http://themountainear.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196&Itemid=33
Kurt Cobain committed suicide
And so did the fellow from Tooboard.
Not to mention, I just looked, and the reason why the canyon was closed was because someone driving a sewage truck was involved in a fatal accident
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/04/sewage-truck-accident-kills-erie-man-boulder-canyo/

RIP Jerry Garcia, Kenny Rogers of Tooboard , Kurt Cobain , Randy Snyder the sewage truck driver, Bryan Mahon of Eldora Mountain Ski Resort, and even you, lunatic-with-a-gun