Arizona Treasures

 

 Concho's

The word concho comes from the Spanish "concha" which actually means "conch" or "seashell" but has come to mean round or oval disks (occasionally rectangles) of silver used to decorate saddles, bridles, clothing, used as jewelry such as for pendants and bolo ties and for adorning or making belts.

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I have returned home from Arizona with lots of little treasures for making jewelry and a terrible cold. It was not the most pleasant plane ride with my ears feeling like they were going to explode and to tell you the truth I was hoping they would! I am really excited about my finds and if my nose wasn't dripping all over the place I would be in my studio right now. 

 great leather scraps from the saddle shop, milagros and some great beads from the Town Dump.

My antique and vintage finds from the Antique Emporium in Cave Creek Az.. I coveted the most awesome green glass rosary beads and more milagros.

My little collection from the Scottsdale Bead Supply. I fell in love with all of their handmade bronze components..all though they were very pricey.

I am glad to be home amongst all my goodies and I can't wait to get started on a few Arizona inspired pieces. I hope everyone is doing well, thanks so much for stopping by!

P.S. I am having a 20% off sale on all of my handmade etched components in my Flapyourwings Etsy shop. New etched pieces are in the horizon!

The town dump

 

We were told to go to the town dump ( in my favorite little town of Cave Creek Az.) I was a little skeptical to say the least...but we went anyway, as you can see it not full of trash.

I want that angel girl in the worst of ways!!

great selection of crosses...I see a new collection in my future.

some really great ironwork...unfortunately my suitcase is way too small!

We went to beautiful Sedona yesterday....it was an awwww kind of day!

The Creative "Us"

 The Sonoran Desert

We enjoyed another great day in Arizona and got to take a class at Creative U in Care Free. My friend Eileen and I took the PMC Organic Forms class with the most fabulous and talented Jen Hanscom as our instructor. The class is pretty easy and relaxing , Jen also taught us so much about PMC and its uses and different techniques. Creative U is a really warm and inviting place with the nicest instructors, they also offer studio time at a very reasonable cost...if only I had them in Nashville!

Jen and Kathy (the owner of CU)

Me and Eileen

I know it is hard to see...My little leaf projects before firing. Jen is going to fire them on Monday for us.  We took home the rest of our PMC slip and will make a few more pieces for firing on Monday...see they are so nice that way.

... I will leave you with this picture that is posted on the CU bulletin board, a little chuckle to end your day!

ha! Off to Sedona tomorrow!

Amazing Saguaro's

 The saguaro  is a large, tree-sized cactus species. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state  The saguaro blossom is the State Wildflower of Arizona.

I am here in Scottsdale Arizona with two lovely friends. This is my first visit here and my first to the desert. I am in amazement of the scenery and the incredible landscape. Our day started with a nice soak in the spa and a swim then we visited this small charming "cowboy" town called Cave Creek, I was smitten...while there we went and signed up for a jewelry class on PMC, had lunch at the "Horny Toad" and shopped at a great antique emporium ...where I found the best treasures!! A perfect day!

A few more pairs...

I have had these findings from AD adornments for about 2 years and finally they came to life. I added some vintage metal and glass rosary beads in keeping with the vintage feel that the findings have. I also added some tiny czech glass beads and rhinestone roundels for a little sparkle. Handmade sterling earwires.

Prayers of the Past

Falling Leaves

Czech glass leaves and sterling

these are so lightweight!

I am packing my bags once again, on Thursday I am leaving the very hot and humid state of Tennessee and heading to the extremely hot state of Arizona.  I am meeting my good friend Eileen (from Massachusetts) in Scottsdale and we are staying at her friends home. I have never been to Arizona and have never seen the desert. We plan on having a spa day and will also be going to Sedona, I think a jewelry class may fit into our schedule too.

Sedona

This piece originally started out as a bracelet, instead a very earthy pendant was formed. I have been trying to create with other colors...that are not blues and turquoises. I always seem to gravitate towards those colors, but when you scroll down you will see I was not too successful. 

 Gorgeous fire agate, red river jasper, copper and some brass, originally I thought a copper ball chain would work well, but I felt it had to much copper going on, so I substituted a mellow antique brass chain. I am calling this piece Sedona. You can find this later today in my Etsy shop.

Sedona is on my bucket list of places I would like to visit...someday. 

The lovely LeAnn of Summers Studio  created this great porcelain pendant that I used as a toggle for the focal for this bracelet. I paired it with sterling, smoky quartz and fancy jasper. The glaze on this toggle is wonderful, blues and greens, my favorite combination.