Long time no blog ;)

Received this text pic from my brother Chris of my little Nephew Ian saying "HELLO FROM FLORIDA!" First time on the Florida beach and he loves it. Yep, he and Tina left Tuesday morning - this was Ian's first plane ride and he had a blast! Chris has been in Tampa for about 2 weeks now and is very happy to have them home - their new home that is. We go to visit them in December and I can hardly wait!

So what has been up? Gosh... where to even start. Obviously I'm not blogging much. Okay, haven't blogged in about a month to be exact. I'll probably only post once per week for the next few months as I'm super busy in all areas of life. Have had some ups and downs, but such is life and life is good.

Went on our 1st 3 day cruise. This is us - well, part of us - as we're leaving port. I'll leave this one alone for the most part as I ended up horrifically sick more than half the cruise due to being served the wrong meal in the dining room. I'm allergic to wheat & dairy and my meals were preplanned (Carnival offers this for food allergies). However they messed up on one of them and I ended up in the Infirmary and spent the rest of the cruise in bed. Now I understand cabin fever.

Mark was really sick for a while and ended up with bronchitis. Luckily he got over it in time for the U2 concert we went to Tuesday night. He still has the nagging cough though. I've been fighting from getting sick, but mine is from lack of sleep and my crud trying to kick in.

My shop has been keeping me real busy and I've been making more finished pieces as well. Like my new Curly Q earrings above. I made me a pair to wear at the concert and decided to make another for my shop. I have other styles coming soon.

Oh and my new Simply Sweet Hoop earrings. Made with Fine Silver and am offering these in an oxidized & bright finish, as well as in Copper.

Well, that's about it for now. Need to get into the studio as I have another busy day. Hope everyone is well and healthy.

Happiness,

Rocki

Chemical Element Cu

Bueller. Bueller... (work with me here. Have you seen the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off?)

Yes class, Cu is the symbol for Copper. Okay, school has been out a long time for me and I admit it - I had to look it up. But I honestly loved when we studied about Chemicals and their symbols in class.

Soooo, as you can see I've added a new metal to my shop. And what is is pray tell?

Put your hand down Petunia. Yes, I know you ALWAYS know the answer.

Class? Class? ClaaaaAAAAAssss!
(think Cheech and Chong here folks)

You guessed it. Copper! Pure natural copper.

I'll be creating several of my handcrafted findings that I already make (and then some) with Copper as well. It is so very pretty and can be as organic, rustic, southwestern or elegant as you want it to be. I did not realize how enjoyable it is to work with. Nice on my wrists and...

Johnny sit down and quit pulling Susie's pony tail!

Oh and yes, I'm playing around with different oxidizing techniques as well. Above is my Antiqued Finish and...

Barnaby! That is NOT where a test tube goes! Take that out of your nose right now young man!

Anyway, I have more oxidizing to play with and look forward to playing around with it.

Well, class is just about over and I'm turning gray here, so I'm going to dismiss class early and ....

Whoa!, watch out! Let me.... da du thump thump thump (being run over by students)

Happy Monday!
Rocki

Awe, go fly a kite!

When I was growing up in California we used to fly kites all the time. Our house was at the top of the street, which sloped downwards, and my brother David & I would tie our kites onto our our bikes (the ones with the cool sounding cards clothe pinned to the spokes) and would zoom down the hill. Too much fun! However, my FAVorite place to go kite flying was the beach! I loved it when we went to the beach and dad would put together our kites.

I haven't flown a kite in years, until now. Well, sort of . While sitting at my bench, I came up with a fun idea for an earwire and these are it. They remind me of kites, so I just had to name them "Go Fly A Kite". Funny, but true, "go fly a kite" was one of my mom's favorite sayings. I can't repeat the other one.

That's it for this morning. Just a shameless plug for one of my new creations. Oh! Wait, one other little tidbit. Even though I'm working this morning (which I need to get into the studio, like now), I worked most of the day yesterday so that I could get into the salon for a cut & color. Long overdue, as always. This go around I want something very different. My hair is already short, but too long for me and out of shape. I want something bold, drastic, different, unique... we shall soon see.

Happy Monday,
Rocki

Brief Updates

Back from vacation (I need another one!), our holiday was fabulous, finally over my neck and back thing and now fighting a cold/flu crud - but life is good!

Here's a brief post of some new creations of mine. Hopefully later in the week I will post some fun pics of the past week and my goals for 2009. Oh and tomorrow is my birthday - #48 on paper, 20 something in life! Mark treated me to an early surprise birthday present this past weekend: Broadway Musical of "A Christmas Carol" - it was AWESOME!

The pic above is of my new "Twist n Wrap" findings - available in different lengths, finishes and wire gauges. One of my customers uses these in her own jewelry and suggested that I make them. You know I ALWAYS listen to my customers! You can twist them around wrapped beads, wire, connectors, links, charms, etc. Your imagination is the limit.

I finally added a small version of my Organic Wrapped Clasp.

Above is a smaller version of my Retro Balloon Hoops.

Above is my Elongated Squoval in a hand brushed Antiqued Finish.

Although I always make hearts, below is my Trio of Hearts. I also sell them separately.

Okay, back to bed for me. Until later in the week, be well, be happy and enjoy!

Rocki

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Specials!

Muy Caliente - Hot Cherry Pepper Coral and Turquoise Nugget Necklace

I'm having specials in both of my shops for Black Friday & Cyber Monday - all 4 days! So what are the specials?

Rocki's Rock 'n Beads: 20% off my entire shop or 25% any item with the color RED in it! Ahem... like the hot piece above (read the description and you'll see why I call it Muy Caliente!

Rocki's Supplies: Free Shipping! Sorry, due to the International mailing process this is for US only. BUT for my International customers you will receive a very nice bonus gift instead!

Oxidized Wild West - Artisan Handcrafted Sterling Silver Ear Wires

Above is another new addition to my Etsy supply shop. I've actually added a couple other new ones, but just haven't been able to post them. I'll be introducing another new item next week.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday festivities. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you all next week!

☼ Rocki

More New Additions...

I planned on blogging about something else this morning, but got a late start and am running out of time, so thought I would just share some more new additions that I have added to my shop.

Above are my new Oxidized Brass Long Ovals. I've been trying different methods of oxidizing Brass and I think I've found my favorite one :)


These little hotties I call "Sexy French". What can I say? That's the first thing that came to my mind.

I know, nothing exciting about headpins, but I'm slowly adding a variety of gauges and below, obviously, are my 20 gauge headpins for larger beads.


Well that's it. Just another quickie and now I'm off to get some orders filled. I'll be back later on to visit all my buddies blogs :)

(added note: Hop on over to my buddy's blog "Heart of a Cowgirl" to read the awesome feature she did of me this morning - plus look around, her blog rocks! Thank you B!)

Happiness to all,
Rocki

Just a quickie...

Yes, I said a quickie - as in a post (yes, I hear those of you saying, "Rocki? A quickie without getting wordy? Riiiiiiiight"). I'm just too exited to wait and want to share my newest additions like the ones above: Oxidized Fine Silver Headpins! I've been working on getting these oxidized just right (as I like them to be anyway) and am quite pleased with how they turned out - even more so with the photos (not my favorite thing to do (folds arms and shakes head no-no-no-no...)

I'll be adding the above later tonight or tomorrow morning. These are my Long Ovals that I already offer in my shop in Sterling Silver, but now they are also available in 14K Gold Filled!

Alas, my Elongated Squovals are now also available in 14K Gold Filled - per Laura's request. Yes Laura, I finally did it (happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you... :)

Well, that's it. My quickie post. Now I'm off to make supper then watch the new Journey to the Center of the Earth - in 3-D!

Happiness to all,

♥ Rocki

Just a few new creations

Just thought I would share with you some of my new creations and what I've been up to.

Above is a pair of my new Long Ovals French Style earwires that I just posted last night. I really love this pair: sleek, slender, secure, sexy...hmm, maybe I should have named them SSSSexy Earwires?

Above are my Oxidized Elongated Squovals that are selling pretty well. I also offer them in Sterling Silver and, by request of my dear sis Laura, 14K Gold Filled - coming soon!

These are my soon to be added Sterling Silver Rings/Links. They are a tad over 10mm in size and will be available in Hammered or Bright Finish. These came about from a request from one of my dear friends... Ang :) and since shipping them off to her, I decided to start offering them in my shop as well.

There are a few other new goodies in my shop, so feel free to take a peek at your leisure.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Rocki

Patina, Patata, Pinata

So I owe another big thank you to one of my customers. She wanted dark oxidized earwires and asked if I could do that for her. Of course I said yes as I will do anything that I am able to in order to please my customers. I don't just say "I'm happy when my customers are happy" for nothing, I sincerely mean it.

Above are my Medium Hoops in a dark patina, rather like a gunmetal to black. I was quite surprised how cool they turned out. Even Mark commented how great they looked.

These are my Signature Elfin earwires in a random brushed type patina, kind of like an antique look. Again, big approval from Mark who originally thought that oxidizing them wouldn't look very good. Okay, I have to be honest, I kind of thought the same thing, but wow - these are so pretty!

Above are my Baby Elfins in the same finish as the hoops. I just can't get over how awesome they turned out.

I've oxidized before and having been wanting to add some oxidized supplies to my shop, but guess I was waiting for someone to nudge me along. It's actually kind of fun to do, well except the horrific smell of the Liver of Sulfur (LOS). If you don't know what LOS smells like here's a little hint: have you ever smelled rotten eggs? I mean LOTS of rotten eggs? Well, put them all in a zip lock bag, stick your nose in the bag and take a little whiff. There you go. Now you know.

My customer's order has been shipped out and I listed my new additions the other day. Last night I sold 2 of them! Much to my surprise they were sold to one of my sweet friends who I will not name unless she wants to let everyone know (just in case what she is making is a surprise).

I'm off to start my day. Lots of earwires to make and the smell of LOS is calling my name.

Patina, Patata.... anyway you say it, Patina ROCKS!

Smell you all later,

Rocki