Alone Star Jewelry

Bronzed

2009-11-07T17:54:00.006-06:00

Good evening. I have "finished" these earrings, bronze with chrysoprase and moonstones. They are the bronze domes I showed in a recent post, just fired with the three holes in each. I think these earrings are prettier with all three stones green, but these will stay as they are unless something else occurs to me, which is possible since I am not settled with them.We are going to start making our

Make Your Plans! (The holidays are here!)

2009-11-01T19:14:00.011-06:00

I would like to talk about the Mary Queen Christmas Bazaar this evening, because it's coming up--before we know it--the first weekend in December! This art, craft, and food festival is held annually in Friendswood, and was first suggested to us in 2005 by my sister-in-law. We learned that the bazaar is a juried arts and crafts event with top-quality goods. We got in that year, and plan to

Happy Hallowe'en! & other (technical) topics

2009-10-31T09:40:00.010-05:00

Working on a few projects at once, as usual. Keeps it interesting...I have been working with bronze clay over the last few weeks. My first experiences were with domes that fired to about 1.5" but I had some problems with uneven shrinkage so had to cut them to a smaller diameter. Warping is always a strong possibility, but uneven shrinkage is when the edges of your shape pull in; a circle is no

All Hallow's Eve

2009-10-30T22:48:00.007-05:00

ArtoberFest 2009, Galveston, Texas Tomorrow is Hallowe'en! It's always been my second favorite holiday. Mom used to make donuts in our kitchen, and we trick-or-treated faithfully until well into junior high. So now our kids are carrying on the tradition! I will be out contributing, dressed witchly with my pit

Ready to show!

2009-10-14T13:01:00.002-05:00

The last new pieces have been finished and we are now in our packing mode, getting ready for the trek to ARToberFEST!This pendant is called "Warmth" and features a Rhodolite cab (garnet family) and 24k gold, which was applied using the Keum-boo technique. Read more about the pendant at our site. We hope to see many friends at this show. Please come by if you are out and about this weekend.Hope to

ARToberFEST is this weekend!

2009-10-13T06:03:00.006-05:00

We are burning the midnight oil getting ready for ARToberFEST on the 17th and 18th! It's great to be down in Galveston--an important historical town in Texas, and there's nothing like being at the Gulf! I anticipate meeting the artists who will be on either side of us--an inevitable and pleasant aspect of doing these shows. Last ARToberFEST we met Becci King and Kathy Spanier, very nice people to

One Down and Two to Go

2009-10-10T13:00:00.011-05:00

Alone Star was in Austin at the Pecan Street Festival just a couple of weeks ago. It was a good experience for us going back to Austin, our home town, and as usual, such jaunts continue to be learning experiences as we hone down just what we want to to with our presentation during shows. Every show is different, so our displays have been different for each. One thing we know for sure is that we

ARToberFEST Gallery of Artisans

2009-10-04T10:28:00.002-05:00

Shauna and I have received special mention this year in the ARToberFEST gallery. Please take a moment to go view the gallery to get a small taste of the outstanding art to be shown this coming weekend. We hope to see you there!

Almost Showtime!

2009-09-24T10:45:00.003-05:00

Well, tomorrow we head for Austin and spend the evening making final preparations for the Pecan Street Festival on Saturday and Sunday. We are both working fast today to finish up any pieces that still need final touches. For instance, this image features a new necklace that I started yesterday and completed the remaining necklaces this morning. It's called Twirly and is made from Greek leather

Alone Star Jewelry Shows

2009-09-17T11:40:00.002-05:00

To find out what shows we do each year just follow this link. Maybe we'll see you there!Here's where you can find us throughout the year:Old Pecan Street Festival: September 26-27, 2009, Austin, TX, for more information http://www.OldPecanStreetFestival.comARToberFEST, October 17-18, 2009, Galveston, TX, for more information http://www.ARToberFEST.comMary Queen Christmas Bazaar, Dec. 4-5, 2009,

Come see our new pieces!

2009-09-17T11:37:00.003-05:00

This is just a quick note to let you know that we've been adding new designs to our site and invite you to go take a look. Just follow this link to go directly to our new pieces!

The question of reworking existing designs

2009-06-10T16:58:00.013-05:00

No matter the reason, whether an old design leaves something to be desired or it is good enough to inspire further ideas, it's cool to rework older designs. Just so happens the Texas Star earrings (right) were recently the target of such reconstruction. My ears are currently adorned with them since I love the smaller dime-size and bouncy sparkle, but resistance was futile as a new idea pushed its

Just Dropping In

2009-06-02T06:38:00.005-05:00

I had insomnia (again) which resulted in some very early morning jewelry work. I have been buried with lots of other things to the detriment of exorcising jewelry projects but am exerting myself to make up for it, which has resulted in some long-awaited revamping of a couple of pieces. The first photo shows, among others, a larger "Heartbeat" drop that is now nickel-sized compared to its original

Deerskin Lariat

2009-05-08T12:51:00.001-05:00

Wrap a lariat around your neck for a quick way to dress up your outfit! This lariat is made out of "dusk" colored deerskin leather which is so buttery soft to the feel! The lariat is 47" in length and you can wear it so many ways. Fold it in half and wrap it around your neck and slide the two ends through the loop. Wrap it up close around your throat and then loop the ends through each other.

Three Silver Hearts Bracelet

2009-04-29T10:19:00.007-05:00

I've just added my latest creation on our website and, as I've decided to do from now on, wanted to update the blog for those of you who subscribe. Thanks for that, by the way! Below is the text taken from the website describing this new bracelet.I like working with leather, and more, I like wearing it! My three hearts bracelet is 12mm wide (just under 1/2") and is cut from a hide of chocolate

The Outer Rim Territory

2009-04-22T16:31:00.006-05:00

I'm a Star Wars fan and this explains the name of this necklace. Tatooine is in the distant Outer Rim and is a desert planet. Tatooine has an endless desert environment and twin yellow suns. The soil is very parched, yet life persists. You can find all of this information on the Internet or from the movie itself, if you're a fan like me. The necklace has a free swinging disc in the center that

First Copper Clay Pieces

2009-04-18T10:32:00.005-05:00

Just as you can create beautiful pure silver jewelry from PMC (precious metal clay), you can now create beautiful copper jewelry from Copper Clay! There is also another jew product - Bronze Clay - but I haven't tried it yet. I believe Shauna is working on a bronze clay piece. Anyway, the copper clay is a dream to work with. You have plenty of time to work with your piece before it starts to

Hanging in There

2009-04-12T14:21:00.005-05:00

'Lo. I am trying to stay in the loop, but as happens in life, priorities must shift periodically. My husband's new business over the past few months has been eating most of my time, and my elderly mother and 10-year-old boy demand the rest. I need a maid and some sleep, but this will pass. Finally pried myself away one recent afternoon to visit the bead shop down the road that is called Antiques,

Check out our Gallery!

2009-04-10T08:36:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make sure that everyone knew we had a gallery on our site that includes pictures of all of our pieces from the beginning of this exciting venture. The pieces shown in our gallery are not for sale but most were at some point in time. I've added 2 more items to the gallery: a Silver on Leather bracelet that I made as a special request from my youngest son and a turquoise pendant that

More New Pieces

2009-04-10T08:03:00.007-05:00

I have created some new pieces and wanted to let you know so you could check them out on our website. I know it seems like it's been forever since some new stuff got posted here on our blog but I've had some kiln issues to work through. My kiln decided to roll over on me one day when it was loaded full of new pieces and just continuee to heat up, completely ignoring the set program, so all of my

A few new pieces

2009-03-07T10:30:00.009-06:00

There are a few new pieces on the website and since many of our customers follow our blog for updates, I decided to get them posted. And here they are.The first image is Amber Pebbles. This can be worn many ways. The entire string is about 48" long and has a sterling silver lobster clasp. You can wear it as one long necklace, doubled around your neck, or wrapped like a bracelet, as shown in the

The New Year

2009-01-01T15:40:00.006-06:00

As I write this Lisa is revamping our website. We hope it will give a fresh look to our jewelry, and symbolize a renewed commitment to what we do at Alone Star. New designs are on the drawing board and the work tables! The year 2008 was very busy for us with other engrossing projects for which Lisa and I gave our time for others in our family. We are excited about our new beginning for this year,

Changing Tides

2008-10-11T13:21:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed a change on our website. No? Well, what we have decided to do going forward is show stock levels of our jewelry in inventory. Once those are sold out, they will no longer appear on our website. There are a couple of reasons for this change. As you know, Shauna and I make every piece of jewelry by hand. We are not in the business of mass produced jewelry; there's enough of

April 30, 2008

2008-04-30T20:46:00.006-05:00

I finished another pair of earrings tonight. The inspiration came from a drawing in the sketchbook made a while back when I was looking through some African artifacts on the internet. Drawings have to incubate sometimes. I think the thing was actually a rattle, but the copper disks on these earrings just simulate the round rattle. The sticks are made of PMC3, and the rest is sterling wire. I

Hello?......

2008-04-28T08:07:00.006-05:00

Hello, is it us you're looking for??.....reminds me of David Cook's rendition of Lionel Richie's song on one of the first "top 12" episodes of American Idol. I loved Dave's version. But that aside, we have not been around lately, and the details explaining that would be too boring for anyone. Lisa and I have been working when we can sneak in a second but it's hard to get in the zone with that