March 24, 2008 9:25 PM,  Carol said...

Soooo.....
How do you wear those last ones?
'Cause those are pretty sweet looking!

March 24, 2008 9:51 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Hey, how are ya?

I just made a pair based on this spiral, though they're quite different from Natsuko's. I didn't oxidize them, so they don't have that blackened look (it's not hard to oxidize silver, you can use a hard-boiled egg to darken it, then you can use silver polish to brighten the areas you want to highlight).

Mine are hammered but not chased, so they're flat and shiny in places, and hard (hammering hardens wire) but not textured.

You just take the straight side and put it in your ear lobe. The stem balances the spiral so the earrings hang straight rather than leaning forward.

I put three little moonstones on mine...my daughter did some of the wrapped wire on a couple of them. I had to laugh when she did it, because it took me years to do a good wrapped loop.

March 19, 2008 10:34 PM,  Dain said...

What if you made a chain with the significant stones, that way you could have something close and sentimental with you always, and just switch the pendant around for fun?

March 20, 2008 2:18 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

That would be very interesting, since the stones don't really "match." I'll have to give it some thought. I had the idea first to make one of those small hoop pendants with the stuff hanging from it, but there's no reason why the elements can't be on the chain itself.

March 17, 2008 11:12 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

This isn't something I'd wear every day, it's for something rather specific. IRL it does have a lot of flash.

March 19, 2008 2:38 PM,  Duygu said...

I make jewelry..This seems pretty easy to make and looks so cute.

March 19, 2008 6:51 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Thanks! You do? Do you have a site?

Yeah, it's pretty straightforward. I saw a similar one on Etsy for $400+...they did theirs on silver with some ruby rondelles. Still I like mine better. :) The stones were so nice, I didn't want to detract from them too much.

March 14, 2008 10:02 PM,  Dain said...

Those are great! I think the lower grade stones can still be very useful. Sometimes the translucence has a hard time "showing up" without a setting, and the slight inclusions perhaps suit the handmade look better.

March 14, 2008 11:38 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Yeah, after trying out A grade tiny stones, and B grade bigger stones, I'll have to say it can be better to buy B grade. It depends on the stone...for less expensive stones, A grade can be noticeably better.

I think I'll redo the blue sapphire hoops...for one thing, it's not a good idea to use tiny beads on the ends. They tend to migrate up the sides of the hoop. I might also try the center loop idea and hang something there (probably a "big tiny" sapphire).

Here is another gem site: Beads of Cambay Someone posted it on a beading forum I go to. I believe she had bought from them at shows rather than online, but it's still a rec.

I haven't looked at it closely yet, the prices look higher than the Earth Bazaar sale prices but sometimes it's a matter of selection.

I'm dying to see the inside of that ship now! I really can't recognize the skyline anymore, except the Waterside building. Even when I was there, they were knocking down the old buildings. It looks as if they redid the entire waterfront. It's too bad in a way, I liked it the way it was.

March 15, 2008 7:42 AM,  Dain said...

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March 15, 2008 7:43 AM,  Dain said...

Hehehe... I forgot the closing tag on the last one. Found . It's a variation of the wrap design but they took advantage of the homemade look.

March 15, 2008 1:48 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Thanks...I will have to study it more closely. What they did was bring both ends of the wire up and twist them...and I think the rest of the wrap is the same, the two wires twisted.

March 15, 2008 2:20 PM,  Dain said...

Wah... fucked it again.

March 15, 2008 8:27 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

test

March 15, 2008 9:14 PM,  Dain said...

I think it's just me. I should get regular sleep.

March 16, 2008 11:27 PM,  Dain said...

I was looking at a pair of earrings today, and they had the large hoop have two little loops at the end, to connect to the main hoop, and had the main drop attached similar-wise. Er, if that makes sense.

March 17, 2008 11:21 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Sort of. :D

March 12, 2008 6:52 PM,  Dain said...

Hm, that citrine looks a bit too watery, but it may be the light.

I was thinking about why I automatically thought, "Colleen might like this" when I sniffed Bellodgia. I think it's because it really smells like the flower. Sure, there are other notes, but the flower really shines through, which is the case for the Montales and Joy. I'm gonna have to mail you this one. I have Normandie coming, and that's my carnation.

March 12, 2008 9:26 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

I tried it out with a deeper citrine...the thing is, the hair. The deeper citrine imo competed with my hair color, where this gives a sort of silvery pale golden look. For a pendant, a more golden citrine would be more striking, that's for sure.

Then there's a bead show I'm hoping to hit this weekend...I'll see what they have.

I dunno, carnation? I don't think I've ever smelled a carnation perfume.

March 14, 2008 1:08 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

My daughter wants to go to the bead show...that decides it! I'll see what they have.

I'm also going to try the weave out with soft wire...but that will have to wait until I can buy wire (it's much cheaper to buy it in bulk).

March 13, 2008 11:07 AM,  Dain said...

Lol, "mostly as a friend".

About the issue... I gotta roll my eyes. Wow, fascinating, people fuck. WOW. Sometimes, I wish I were as ignorant as dirt.

March 13, 2008 11:55 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Uh-uh, no one cared what this guy was up to, except he was breaking the law. He was doing the same thing he spent his daytime hours putting other people away for.

It's not the most important issue for the others mentioned, but you really have to ask yourself, what these public servants are doing on their taxpayer-paid-for time. If anyone else was screwing around on the clock, they'd be thrown out on their butts the same day.

March 13, 2008 12:38 PM,  Dain said...

Ah, I forgot about that bit. I haven't slept... : /

March 14, 2008 12:59 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Say, that guy is her real-life husband...Jason Jones, who's also a comic on the show (which is why Stewart is laughing so much at his expense).

March 5, 2008 4:41 PM,  Dain said...

Eh, the major networks trawl Youtube. You can't find a stitch of anything from Comedy Central on there for long.

Hm, I hate to point this out, but it strikes me that Clinton has gotten more plastic surgery done. I wonder if the sniping commentaries about her looks got to her? That would be a shame, though I can't blame her, I blame how vicious people still are about women's looks. Even after all this time, it is still the most important aspect to a woman, isn't it? She's skilled/talented/intelligent/qualified is a secondary compliment still.

What we need is for beautiful women to tell all the men to fuck off, but women are hardly notorious for solidarity, as this election bears out so eloquently.

March 5, 2008 8:53 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Eh...well I don't know, I suppose she could have "had some work done." It's become quite common, to the point I don't notice as much.

You will observe Mrs. Clinton won all of the big states--California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and so forth. She is getting more female support than it would appear, based on our media coverage. Recall we gave up our Fairness Doctrine some time ago; now there is no "equal time" requirement for the media. They cover whoever owns the media wants to cover.

March 5, 2008 9:08 PM,  Dain said...

Hahaha...

We grow so desensitized. I'm not one of those people to deplore violence in the media, etc., better it be the make believe of Hollywood than watching slaves being torn apart by lions in a stadium, right? But I suppose it's never been done on such a scale. That changes things a little.

March 5, 2008 9:30 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Weeellll...Hollywood. In Northern Cal, it's not as prevalent, but I'd say getting procedures done is pretty common in Southern Cal.

I've thought about it myself. Not seriously, but I have thought about it. Okay I really haven't thought about it. lol But it must be difficult if you're running for office. I'll bet even John McCain has a few procedures going on.

I like Hillary's necklace? It looks like rough-grade rubies. Sometimes if you wear something red or pink near your face, it makes you look better in pictures.

March 2, 2008 5:11 PM,  Dain said...

I found the Cleansing Milk lasted for a surprisingly long time. I used it sporadically, so I can't be accurate, but three months is probably a conservative estimate, I'd guess a bottle'd last twice as much.