Friday Goodies

Happy Friday, Friends.

If I haven't mentioned it lately,

or even if I have,

thanks for reading my blog.

You are all the cat's pjs,

and I like you a bunch!

Here are two goodies that are already in the

SHOP,

as I am writing this.

A Cowgirl's Gem Along the Path

(sterling and fine silvers,

with Turquoise)

Mountain Mama Charm Necklace

(handmade charms of sterling

and copper)

I am headed straight to Happy Hour,

after a few necessary errands.

Later week, I am done with you!

Hasta Luego,

Bizcocho Feliz

Introducing Our New Cutest Niece!!!!!!

Her name is

Madeline Frances McRae.

We are sooooo proud of you, Jef and Yolanda.

Our hearts are boiling with joy.

She was actually born on Monday 2.22.11.

My middle brother Jef says,

"She was born yesterday at 1231 and was 6lbs, 8 oz, 20".
She is a keeper."

He took all these early shots.  

I love her precious face in the first photo and how 

small she looks in my brother's hands.

Mom and baby are heathy and happy!

I am the proudest Auntie Bisquit ever.

Feeling the family grow with love,

Kristin Lee McRae Fletcher

Freshly Smithed

Howdy Doody,

Here are some freshly

smithed silvers and a

long over due shop update.

Thanks for stopping by for a gander

and have yourself a good day, will ya', eh?

A New Batch of Saddle Panache Rings:

made of copper and sterling silver,

some Mokume,

each are totally unique,

and wear like a dream.

I haven't taken mine off.

A custom order.

In the shop now.

This one is for the picking too.

Big Sky Western Ring

(handmade of sterling,

fine silvers,

and Peruvian Blue Opal)

Lineage Turquoise Spikes

(handmade of turquiose,

sterling,

and Czech Crystals).

They have a svelte movement

about them.

A Custom Anniversary Order,

Thanks Jon!

(garnet, sterling and fine silvers)

Snow Bunny Studs

(A B-Day gift for Kate,

she needed posts :)

sterling silver and faceted pearls )

Barbed Spikes

( For J.Bene.Shanky,

she lost a mate)

Now the dust has been

cleaned off the shelves.

Thank goodness I got off

of dead center for listing

items on ETSY.

Do have a swell day,

won't you?

The Smithy Bizzy

xoxo

A Jaunt in the BC

With all the great snow we have been getting, the back country skiing has been amazing. Enjoy these photos of our day. I can't tell you where we were, just in the Gallatin Mountain Range, or my friends would thump on me. Sorry!

I am always the caboose.

My new AT (alpine touring) boots.

New BCA backpack,

also from hubby.

He takes amazing care of me!

The turquoise color is swell and the

mesh helmet holder rules.

I was chanelling excellence

with my Apolo Anton Ohno bandana.

Scott and Don

John, Jess, Scott, Dan and

Don

We had a blast,

thanks for always waiting for me!

Happy Winter,

Snow Bisquit

Plata Brillante y Nuevo

Good day to you,
Here are some freshly smithed jewels for the new year.

And now I am getting on my metal crate and am standing up straight, eh hem. Some might call it a soap box.

I had a realization the other day that was profound. After a few years of metalsmithing jewelry of the handmade sort and really trying to flesh out ideas that represent myself and my roots, I have developed a western flared style that suits me just fine. Rather than constantly searching the interwebs for inspiration, I find myself looking to the real world for inspiration and then go to my sketch book to document the ideas. I would like to come clean on a stickler point. This used to bug the shit out of me. Why not just let the flow of ideas develop through your design as it is crafted (my old way of fabrication)? Well, it doesn't work for me anymore. As time has passed and themes within in my designs are built upon, becoming more involved, a sketch book holds my many thought tangents. One other thing I will also divulge. I couldn't understand why certain smithers refused to browse jewelry on ETSY. This too puzzled me. Plume, we conversed about this at length. Rather, you answered my myriad of questions, thanks. As time answers many questions, I realized this worked for me, as well. While ETSY is an amazing marketplace, it is also a huge source of copying and borrowing others ideas to be your own. I am not saying that you shouldn't do this, it just doesn't do it for me. In fact, it gets me heated and I realize, what I had written just a few sentences ago. Focus on your own design elements and build upon those, while drawing inspiration from your everyday experience. As my work flow has changed, so has my way of creating, which has allowed me to take baby steps. Because really for me, it just one big science project.

Great, now I am really sounding like an artist. Crap, I am just more of a fabricator. Artists have dreamy studios with the light gleaming in on fresh cut flowers. My work space is a shop...dirty, dusty, woodstove burning, damn it's cold in the garage, shop.

Okay, I stepped off my box now. Thanks for listening.

Maverick Earrings,

sterling silver

Panache Saddle Ring,

sterling silver and copper Mokume Gane,

in the shop now

This Panache hasn't left my finger since I made it.

Panache Saddle Ring,

sterling silver and copper Mokume Gane,

for me

Double Horseshoe,

sterling and copper,

a custom order of Cousin Morgan,

Thanks!

El Gran Suerte

made of sterling silver,

a second version, also in the shop.

Have a swell evening,

with gratitude,

Kristin