Contemporary Jewelry with Eco Friendly Metals
Clockwise from top left:
This is my latest commission piece - a 14K gold pendant with a 4mm round faceted ruby. Due to the high cost of gold (eeek!!! $1,004 per oz as of this very moment), I sweat solder a piece of 14K with a piece of 10K, to achieve a .006 inch (1.5 mm) thickness of this pendant. Hey, you skimp where you can , right? The rest of the necklace is all 14K. 
Clockwise from top left:
1. Sacred, watercolor print and verse by mishmishmarket
2. Kiddush Cup with Pierced Blessing by agru
3. Magic Bird Town Hamsa Print by doodlage
4. Fused Glass Menorah by toocraftyladies
5. Shalom Floral Wall Hanging by sieberdesigns
6. Ahava is Love (in Hebrew) by inbarbareket
7. (Sale) Rosh Hashanah Cards by tamarhammer
8. Petite Copper Star of David by oakgeorgia
9. Happy New Year Cards by karmabee
Clockwise from top left: 
Clockwise from top left:
1. Petunia Piglet, Pattern by funkyfriendsfactory
2. Baby Poodle Hound Dog, Friday by raewadolly
3. Bella Octopus Pin by lizzieboo
4. Piper, Creature Toy by adoptanalien
5. Annie, Sock Creature by beezmiller
6. Sadie by sereneonion
Clockwise from top left:
Clockwise from top left:
Clockwise from top left:
Now, here's a model of biblical proportions. A retired farmer has spent more than 30 years building an enormous scale model of Herod's temple - and it is still not finished. Alec Garrard, 78, has dedicated a massive 33,000 hours to constructing the ancient temple, which measures a whopping 20ft by 12 ft.
The pensioner has hand-baked and painted every clay brick and tile and even sculpted 4,000 tiny human figures to populate the courtyards. But Mr. Garrard, who started the epic project in his 40s, says his masterpiece will not be finished in his lifetime. "I have an interest in buildings and religion. I thought maybe I could combine the two and came up with the idea of doing the temple. I'd see one or two examples of it in Biblical exhibitions, but I thought they were rubbish and I knew I could do better."
"I have sculpted and painted 4,000 figures, each measuring just half an inch and they all wear their correct costumes. Each one takes about three hours to make and there are 32 versions of Jesus, although no one can ever spot him no matter how religious they are." Visitors come from all over the world to see the model, and Mr. Garrard provides binoculars so they can see all the details. "I personally know all the top archaeologists from Jerusalem and I've had experts from the British Museum visit," he says.
But he chases the money-changers out of the temple: I've had a lot of offers from people to buy it, but it's not for sale." He says his wife Kathleen thinks he is mad. He adds: "She wishes she'd married a normal person." Mr. Garrard, from Norfolk, spent more than three years researching the temple, which was destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago and deemed to be one of the most remarkable buildings of ancient times. 
He then started to construct the amazing 1:100 scale model, which is now housed in a huge building in his back garden. "Everything is made by hand. I cut plywood frames for the walls and buildings and all the clay bricks and tiles were baked in the oven then stuck together," he says. In its heyday the temple complex covered 36 acres - four times the area of Windsor Castle. 
The Temple was probably located on the site of today's Temple Mount, and it is also the location of the Islamic mosque, Dome of the Rock.
Clockwise starting from top left:
Clockwise from top left:
Clockwise from top left:
Jetson – Copper Wire Woven Bracelet
Golden Bliss
A shout out to my readers that you can submit your website link to Handcrafted Creations for their blog consideration. They have an impressive directory with different catagories such as handmade jewelry, wedding jewelry and accessories. Check out the featured artisans and their unique crafts.
Lori Dean Dyment of DeanDymentStudios bestowed the honor of the "One Lovely Blog Award" to my blog, and I am ecstatic because this is the second time I received this award in the past month.
My friend Meltem has given me the Kreative Blogger award. I'm just thrilled and honored because she makes such wonderful silver jewelry. Check out her two shops, Meltemsem, Warmandsoft, and her blog.-watching my son succeed and maturing
-jewelry making tools
-China
-Chinese martial arts
-hanging out with my friends
-warm summer nights
-traveling
Seven blogs I love and for you to visit:
Clockwise from top left:
1. Arnold - The Gym Rat Robot by reclaim2fame
2. Two Level table by timothyadamdesigns
3. Dark Chocolate Dream Caramel Apple by doubledippedsweets 4.Music in Rome by starrybluesky
5. Beach Chairs by lauratrevey
6. Diving Eagles by aosleather
Scientists found the largest diamond in the universe. Lucy, named after the Beatles’ song, is 2,500 miles across and weighing 5 million trillion trillion carats (34 zeros after the one, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 carats). OK, that’s a lot of diamond rings. This rock chunk is virtually crystallized carbon, measuring about 4,000 km in diameter, is approximately 50 light years from Earth in the Constellation Centaurus.
Following several team members' footsteps, here are a few tidbits about me:
Clockwise from top left:
1. Hidden Doorways in a Gothic Church by jenkiabaphotography
2. Golden Bliss by juliemagerssoulen
3. Pearl Moon Necklace by melissamemandesigns
4. Sassy Teapot with Attitude by creativewithclay
5. Southwestern 1, artisan lampwork beads by artfaerie
6. The Original Handbag pdf knitting pattern by bijouxboutique
Mandi of MandiBeads had given me the One Lovely Blog Award. She painstakingly weave each delica beads into a super-cute pen cover. This process typically takes 2-6 hours to complete. I admire her patience and good eye-sight. My favorite is her Hug Me pen.
Anticlastic raising is one of the many metal techniques. It is a surface having two curvatures (transverse to each other) that lie in opposite directions - convex in length and concave in breadth, or vice versa.
Today, I'd like to talk about an Etsy street team, eSMArts and our team shop. We are a support team within the awesome artisan community. Our team has global members who work in a variety of media, and our common bond is social networking, online marketing and online promotions to increase exposure of our artwork. Team members are super talented, encouraging, helpful and fun.
Three weeks ago, I introduced my Giveaway Contest for a new bookmark design. The deadline was last night and I received some excellent and inspiring quotes. As promised, I've selected the winners by popular votes and by generated numbers on Random.org. Here's the results.Congratulations, and I will contact the winners soon. Thanks everyone for participating. Until the next contest, I hope you all have a wonderful spring.
In case anyone missed the breath-taking performances at the Shaolin Temple Day 2009 (March 21) in the San Francisco Bay Area, here's a chance to snap up a commemorative T-shirt at 20% off, while supplies last.
A friend of mine, Julie, sent me this link where you can get a newly published copy of Passover Haggadah – China. It is a traditional haggadah mostly written in Hebrew and English. There is an introduction of the Passover holiday written in Chinese by Professor Xu Xin of Nanjing University. Artwork includes traditional Chinese paper cuttings and historical photos in the Chinese Diaspora.
The third wave (1938-1952) comprised of fleeing European Jews during WW II. This time, the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities worked together to help these European refugees. At the time, Shanghai was the only place that did not require entry visas. Up to 20,000 refugees came from Germany, Austria, and Poland. When the Japanese occupied the area around Shanghai, these Jews were relocated to the Hongkou district known as the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto. By 1945 (the end of the war), there were about 24,000 Shanghai Jews. The community dwindled after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, when many Jews emigrated to Israel, the United States, Australia and Hong Kong.
Rules of this Contest:
I can leave the hammered texture, which has it's own appeal, or I can sand it smooth and give it a matte finish, or I can bring it to a high polish finish. The high polish finished interior gives these rings a luxurious feel when slipping them onto the fingers.
Each is made to order. More designs to come - watch for them as I post them to my store.
