Custom/Commissioned Opal Pendant

Several of my fellow artists dislike custom/commissioned work - I absolutely love it! It's a chance to break away for the norm, and a challenge at the same time. The challenge being, to take someone else's idea - one whom I never actually get to talk to in person - and turn it into a piece of jewelry that matches as close as possible to what they had in mind.
I recently had such an opportunity..... A very wonderful lady, Barbara, purchased my favorite opal from my Etsy shop and requested I turn it into a pendant as a birthday present for her daughter.

Her requests were simple - pendant in 14k GF wire - special birthday present - no pressure, no pressure. Her request left a lot open for interpretation, and while I was excited to do the work, I was a little sad to see such a beautiful stone go...(I was still trying to justify adding it to the 'Me Collection').

After several emails back and forth we settled on a design, and I got to work. The morning came to package and ship the pendant. There had been minor issues with one side and the bail, that had become increasingly annoying, and at the last minute - I cut the piece apart and started over. The stone was/is spectacular, it deserved no less of a setting. The finished piece shown her
e is the second attempt, and while several people saw the first attempt and saw nothing wrong, I am much happier with the outcome of the second attempt. I could not in good conscience send it, if I wasn't willing to wear it myself. Barbara emailed me several days later, after she received it, and was totally thrilled with it - which made all the stress over getting it 'just right', more than worth it. Barbara said, "the hardest thing now is to hide it from my daughter, until her birthday in October". - Good luck 'Mom' :D.




Thank you for visiting - stop back again soon.....
~Bobbi
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. Bhuddha

Why I Do What I Do.....Showing Off Some Gifted Artists/Students

This post has been a long time in the making - mostly because of what had become a very hectic schedule for a time - but now that things have calmed down a bit, I thought I'd share some work of some very talented artists, who have chosen to take a bash at some of my designs..... After all the hard work that goes into writing, photographing and publishing a tutorial, nothing is more gratifying and flattering than to get photos from fellow artists, who have chosen my designs to create with...... It is why I do what I do and makes all the hard work well worth it....

Kelley from Silvery Ever After... chose my Swarvoski Crystal Bangle Tutorial - and did a wonderful variation in Sterling Silver, and a great blue-green-champagne color combination......
I love her color choices, and in Sterling, she created a stunning bracelet.

She modified the clasp a bit to better suit her needs, and all in all did a wonderful job.




She recently purchased my Fancy Band Prong Ring Tutorial, and I can't wait to see where she takes it to.





My dear friend Marika, chose my Antique Style All Wire Earrings Tutorial, and created a wonderfully vintage looking pair of earrings in Sterling Silver.....



Marika's wire wrapping skills are growing in leaps and bounds, and she has lots of wonderful pieces in her store on Dawanda.

Then there's Karlene who fell in love with my
Fancy Band Prong Ring Tutorial. After her first ring, she went to town, and tried her hand at a double stone ring similar to one shown in my tutorial.
I think she did a wonderful job....
You can visit Karlene at Celtic Gardens Creations.



.And lastly, but certainly not least is Shi . She also fell in love with my Fancy Band Ring Tutorial, and fell hard :)....
This is the first one that she did and featured on her blog.
I can tell you , there is never any better compliments, than when a fellow artist falls in love with your design, and creates such beautiful pieces. You can visit Shi at her Etsy Store ShiJewels , for these and other fabulous goodies.




I hope you've enjoyed seeing these wonderful creations from some of my fellow artists, as much as I have enjoyed sharing them.....
If you're interested in learning and creating your own versions of my designs, please visit my shop on Etsy. - I've recently added new patterns in the Complete Kit/Tutorial section.

Thanks for visiting....................~Bobbi
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea - Bhuddha