Paint It Cherry Red

Well, even without my camera, I gotta put something up that I'm working on, so readers, you'll have to deal with the less-than-perfect photo for now.

I introduce you to: Paint It Cherry Red, a brooch that incorporates the lovely colors of red (red garnet, red coral, and red Czech glass) into a mosaic technique against a hand forged sterling silver frame. In case you missed it, you can see the draft version of this brooch here.

These were quite fun, and took up most of my weekend! I made the frame out of 16g wire, and then hammered it to flatten it. Then, I used 18g wire to wrap the ends together tightly and form the pin. On the opposite side is also an 18g wrap that holds the hook for the pin to fit in.

Notice the one on the left has a defined set of Czech glass beads going up the middle, from the bottom left to the top right. I designed this one a little differently--I added this strip first, and then "mosaiced" (I think I just made up that word) each side of the brooch separately. I hope to post these next week in my Etsy shop.

Speaking of Etsy, have you started to put together your shopping list yet? Here's a few pointers: Check out my post on shopping picks for the holidays. You might also want to read up on this "Handmade Pledge" that's going around, especially in light of all of the recent toy recalls we've been seeing on the front pages. Need a quick refresher on the recalls? Check out fellow Etsy Blogger AliciaMae's article at: http://www.quazen.com/Shopping/Gifts/Christmas-Gift-Alternatives-to-Recalled-Toys.57776.

That's all for now...four days 'til I get my camera back!

Can't wait to click click click...