sterling silver – ML Jewelry Designs

More New Pendants and Beaded Necklaces

I add a variety of new items to my online shop and in preparation for two back-to-back art shows in Leavenworth, WA.

I was busy in my shop for most of last week, continuing to make inventory for upcoming shows as summer winds to a close.

I started the week by making six beaded necklaces to match pendants I’d already made. You can find all of these in the Necklaces section of my online shop; I’ll be displaying them with the pendants I made them for at upcoming shows, even though they can be purchased separately.

Bumble Bee Jasper Necklace Howlite Necklace

Kingman Turquoise Necklace Onyx Necklace

Picture Jasper Necklace Ruby Zoisite Garnet Necklace
New necklaces in my shop. Left to right, top to bottom: Bumble Bee Jasper and sterling silver, Howlite and sterling silver, Kingman Turquoise with sterling silver and copper, black Onyx with sterling silver and copper, Picture Jasper with sterling silver, and Ruby in Zoisite and red Garnet with sterling silver.

Then I got down to it and made a few more pendants.

Kt Square w Cuts and Neck
Kingman Turquoise, orange spiny oyster shell, and bronze cabochon bezel set on sterling silver.

I had this nearly square Kingman Turquoise with Spiny Oyster Shell and bronze cabochon that was really calling out to me. I bezel-set it on a nearly square sterling silver backplate, which I accented with hand cut lines and stamped sterling silver balls. I used a tube bail; the photo here shows the pendant with the Kingman Turquoise beaded necklace shown above, which is sold separately.

Malachite Pendant
Malachite cabochon bezel set in sterling silver.

Because I was completely out of stock on pendants with another popular stone — malachite — I chose a small round cabochon and set that with a completely new style, using square wire wrapped around the bezel to form part of the bail. I’m not sure how much I like this design, but the stone is certainly pretty. I’ll be making a malachite necklace to go with this this weekend.

Sterling silver cross with Kingman Turquoise accent stone.

And finally, since I was so happy with the way the prototype copper cross I made last week came out, I made one in silver using the same techniques but upgrading the bail. I really like the rough, handmade look of these pieces.

All of these pendants are available in the Pendants area of my online shop and will be at my upcoming shows — until sold.

Keep checking in for more items as I make them. I can’t update this site daily, but I hope to be able to keep doing it at least once a week as I add inventory, show dates, and classes.

New Pendants and a Prototype of a Christian Cross Design Now in My Shop

I add four new pendants to the shop, including some fresh new designs.

I spent most of the week working on projects in my garage, but I did get to spend a few days in my jewelry studio making new pendants for upcoming shows and my online shop.

Ruby in Zoisite cabochons on hand stamped and pierced sterling silver. Buy it online.

The first is a variation on a design I’d done in the past for a triangular stone. In this case, I’ve got two Ruby in Zoisite (or ruby-zoisite) stones bezel set into a pierced and stamped sterling silver back plate. I do all the cuts and stamping (and related filing and sanding) by hand, so there’s a lot of work in this one. It came out great (in my opinion) and although it comes with a sterling silver chain (like most of my pendants), I plan on making a beaded necklace for it that combines ruby in zoisite, garnet, and sterling silver. Look for it soon.

Ribbon Variscite on sterling silver. Buy it online.

Next up is the first of two “ribbon” stones. The first is ribbon variscite, a relatively rare and costly stone that I picked up two years ago at the Tucson gem and mineral show. The variscite appears in a vein like a ribbon it its matrix. I did a simple back plate design for this one that has evenly spaced cuts around the bezel setting.

Bio Chrysoprase on sterling silver. Buy it online.

The other ribbon stone is bio chrysoprase, a rare form of quartz with a great green color in a line through the stone’s matrix. It’s an almond shaped stone and I used a design similar to one I’ve done before, framing the stone in a hand-textured sterling silver structure and setting it with prongs. This design is a lot of work — there are 10 individual solders! — but I think it’s so worth it.

Copper cross with Kingman turquoise cabochon. Buy it online.

And finally, something completely different for me — by request: a Christian cross. I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to make this piece and decided to try a prototype in copper before I dive into silver. The design requires thick sheet metal — 18 gauge — which, in silver, can be quite costly. So I experimented with copper to get the right shape, stamping design, and cabochon positioning. I think it came out nice and I will be making more of these in sterling silver over the weeks to come. Until then, if you like copper, you can get this one at a very reasonable price.

I’ll be at Leavenworth art in the park for two consecutive weekends starting on August 24, so if these pieces don’t sell from my online shop, you can find them there — along with any other new pieces I create over the next 10 days.

New Fold-Over Pendants in Stock

Five new pendants added to inventory.

After last week’s visit to the shops in Winthrop and Twisp that sell my jewelry, I had to hustle to start building up stock. So I started with some items I already had partially made: my “fold-over” bail pendants.

Foldover Kingman T Bronze
Kingman Turquoise with bronze on sterling silver.

Foldover Kingman Turquoise and Spiny Oyster Shell with Bronze
Kingman Turquoise and Orange Spiny Oyster Shell with bronze on sterling silver.

Foldover Labradorite
Labradorite on sterling silver.

Foldover Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli on sterling silver.

Foldover Rose Quartz
Rose Quartz on sterling silver.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I make these in batches, completing one step on all pieces before moving on to the next step. For those who are curious, the steps are as follows:

Cut sterling silver sheet in two different sizes of the same elongated teardrop shape. These are all hand cut. I’ll normally cut more than I need for the pendants I plan to make so I have some already done for next time I make them. That’s why the ones I made this weekend were already partially made.
Sand the edges of each cut piece to smooth them.
Choose the stones for each piece. I have a dwindling inventory of small gemstones that are perfectly sized for these. I try to pick a variety.
Make the bezels for each stone. None of these are “standard” sizes so I need to make a bezel from scratch for each one. I start with fine or sterling silver strip and then size, cut, solder, pickle, and shape it.
Solder the bezels onto the teardrop back plates for each pendant, then pickle, wash, and dry them.
Stamp the backplates with a variety of designs. I have no set design so these are all different every time I make them.
Apply a darkening agent to blacken the silver.
Use a variety of techniques to polish the pieces so the silver is bright while the cuts made by the stamps remain darker. This involves manually polishing and putting each piece through a series of tumbling processes that take four to six hours.
Wash and dry each piece.
Set the stones. I need to remember which stone goes into which piece since they’re not interchangeable!
Roll the bail around bail-making pliers to create the bail.

Because of the assembly line process I use to make these in batches, if I start early enough, I can usually make 4 to 8 of them in a day — that’s how I can keep them affordably priced. The trick is to get them into the tumblers at roughly the same time as early in the day as possible. While they’re tumbling, I can usually get started on a new piece that isn’t part of a batch.

All of my fold-over bail pendants are made of sterling silver (and stamped as such on back) or copper with good quality gemstone cabochons set in them. They come with an 18″ sterling silver chain. They retail for $69 and can be found in my online shop or at many of the shops and galleries where my work is sold.

New Earrings: Tube & Bali Bead Dangles

A combination of several types of beads for interesting and often colorful dangles.

Tibetan Agate Tube & Onyx Earrings Although I’ve been making beaded earrings for years now, I’ve changed things up by adding tube beads and sterling silver bali beads to the mix. Tube beads are long, slender beads, usually between 1/4 and 1/2 inch long; bali beads are flat spacer beads with tiny round bead shapes around their edges. The combination of those beads and the standard round 4mm gemstone beads and 2mm sterling silver beads I use in necklaces make a more interesting and elegant pair of earrings.

Crazy Lace Agate Tube Earrings See for yourself! Here are two examples of the five styles currently available: Tibetan Agate, Onyx, and Sterling Silver and Crazy Lace Agate and Sterling silver. I’ve got more styles coming soon.

You can find these (until sold out) at one of the following places: various art shows I’ll be attending, at the galleries and gift shops that sell my work, or on my online shop.

New Pendants: White Buffalo on Sterling Silver

I finish two new White Buffalo pendants in time for next week’s art show.

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on a pair of similar but definitely different White Buffalo turquoise pendants.

This is real White Buffalo from Tonopah, Nevada — the only place this stone occurs naturally — that I purchased at the Kingman Mine in Arizona several years ago and had a local lapidary polish into cabochons. They are both set on solid 22 gauge sterling silver using bezels and feature sterling silver balls and tube bails that can accommodate 4mm beaded necklaces or just about any chain.

They’re shown here with a Howlite and sterling silver beaded necklace, which is available at additional cost. Otherwise, they each come with an 18″ sterling silver chain.

White Buffalo Turquoise Pendant You can find these (until sold) at the various art shows I’ll be attending, at the galleries and gift shops that sell my work, or on my online shop.

Larimar in Sterling Silver Pendant

Larimar cabochon framed in sterling silver.

Larimar cabochon framed in sterling silver. Comes with an 18″ sterling silver chain. (The beaded chain shown in the second photo is not included; it may be available in the Necklaces section of my Etsy shop.)

Larimar is the tradename for a rare blue variety of the silicate mineral pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic. Its coloration varies from various shades of blue to green, but is most often found as a vibrant light blue.

Some believe that Larimar is an emblem of all that is calm and clear in this world. Although it is considered a water stone infused with a sense of cleansing calm, it was actually formed volcanically. That marriage of molten fire meets the Caribbean Sea means that Larimar can cool hotheads and provide inner strength and courage to those in need.

Larimar in Silver Pendant
A Larimar in sterling silver pendant. If this pendant is still available when you read this, it’ll be in the Wire-framed Pendants section of my Etsy shop.

Amethyst in Sterling Silver Pendant

Amethyst cabochon framed in sterling silver.

Amethyst cabochon framed in sterling silver. Comes with an 18″ sterling silver chain. (An amethyst and sterling silver beaded chain like the one shown in the second photo may be available separately on this site. Consult the listings in the Necklaces section of my Etsy shop.)

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the ancient Greek word for “intoxicate,” a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication.

Chevron amethyst is a combination of amethyst and white quartz, blended in a V-striped or banded pattern. Some believe that chevron amethyst combines the strengthening and enhancing qualities of quartz with the stress relieving qualities of amethyst.

Amethyst is the traditional birthstone for February.

Hand-made by jewelry artist Maria Langer in her Malaga, WA, USA studio. Thank you for supporting American artists and makers!

Amethyst Framed in Sterling Pendant
Amethyst in Sterling Silver pendant. If it’s still available when you read this, you’ll find it for sale with my other wire-framed pendants on Etsy.

What’s New: Week Ending February 26, 2022

Jewelry made during the week ending February 26, 2022.

Here’s some of the jewelry I made this week. See more photos and buy them in my online shop. As always, new items are available online at 20% (or more) off for a limited time between art shows.