Creating With Cabochons Blog Hop

When I came upon this challenge from Sally Russick of studiosublime.com I immediately knew it was for me. The challenge was to create a piece of jewelry using a cabochon: basically a piece that has a flat back, no holes. I have already been creating jewelry using cabochons by wrapping them in filigree or using them in already made bezels. So the challenge for me was to try something new. I have these wonderful vintage reverse painted intaglios of Arachne and Athena .

The one I used was pink with gold but the same design. Recently I have started to delve into some metal work so decided that is what I would do for this challenge.  I cut two hearts out of copper sheeting and then torched them. Out of the center of one heart I cut out a jagged opening into which I set the cabochon. The two hearts were then riveted together. I added some vintage chain and here it is:

Not perfect but I am pleased with how it turned out. Thanks for taking the time to read! If you would like to see what other participants of the  challenge created you can check out the list at Sally’s Blog.

Bats Aren’t Just for Halloween

I was sitting outside on my deck last night enjoying the beautiful weather.  The air was crisp:a prelude to fall.  It got me thinking about how I love the autumn season. Big orange sun, pumpkins, apples, falling leaves…( though I don’t enjoy raking all of the leaves). As I was thinking about the upcoming season I saw some bats swooping through the air.  We often see them as we enjoy the summer evenings outside.  I quietly thank them for eating millions of mosquitoes! This got me thinking about bats and of course Halloween.  Why are bats just associated with Halloween? Are they scary to most? Legends of vampires? I find them to be lovely and important creatures.  Sometimes they are called flying fox. Here are two bat necklaces that I made….and they are not just for Halloween!!