SToNZ

Need a hand?

2012-02-02T16:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I am not sure that I do, but I found one this morning at an estate sale. I don't know what happened to the rest of her, but she gave her right arm so that I could have a new jewelry model. What do you think?

Good for photographing SToNZ bracelets, maybe?I dunno. Maybe it's just too creepy. I'll have to try it out and see. But for $5.00, I think it was worth the investment. The hand does detach from the arm, which is cool.

Oh, and I also picked up a great vintage

cashmere shawl collared coat.

Also $5. No kidding.

Many The Miles

2012-01-26T13:59:00.006-05:00

A little story about my Many The Miles seaglass and beach stone necklace.

One day our 21 year old daughter asked us if we were familiar with singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles. Yeah, she knows what we like. We were instantly hooked on Sara's music. (She's a three time Grammy nominee, by the way) Have you seen her on the a capella competition show The Sing-Off? She's one of the judges. Adorable, smart, and oh so very talented.
So my husband is a bit of a musician himself, and one evening while I was working on a new necklace in my studio, he was playing one of our favorite Sara tunes on the piano upstairs.

The necklace turned out to measure more than 60" long and somehow the name "Many The Miles" just seemed to fit. So the necklace was named for Sara's tune. As you can see, there are tiny little silver tags scattered all around the necklace which I can stamp for customers if they ask me to.

A short time later the necklace was purchased through my Etsy sho p by a lovely customer in Roumens, France. We'll call her Diane. (Because her name is Diane) After much back and forth via email with Diane over how to ship the piece to her safely, she asked me where the inspiration for the name of the necklace came from. It seemed so appropriate as it would be traveling MANY the miles to get to her! I told her about the Sara Bareilles tune that gave the necklace it's name and sent her a link so she could listen. She loved it, and said it was the first she'd heard of this performer. What would she like stamped on the 12 little tags on her necklace? Yep. "Many the miles."
Perfect. Done.
Oh, and Sara, if you start to see a spike in your popularity in Roumens, France over the next few months, I think I should get a little of the credit for spreading the word.

Leather & Silver Bracelet

2012-01-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

This week I had a hankering to make something completely different from my usual SToNZ beach stone and seaglass jewelry.

My not-so-tidy workbench

I had some lovely black leather cord lying about, and because it looks so nice with silver, I set out to create a leather and silver bracelet, just to see what would happen. This funky thing is what I came up with:

I guess it struck a chord and it sold almost immediately after I added it to my Etsy shop last night. There are 8 tiny silver paddles tags (which I had custom made for me in Thailand) on this piece, and the customer asked me to stamp them with numbers and letters.
I really like how the stamping turned out:

So, I am off to pack up and ship this latest creation. Sure hope she likes it!

Win Mixed Metal SToNZ Necklace at Orange After Prom Fashion Event

2011-11-09T15:19:00.000-05:00

Win this SToNZ necklace!
A long sterling silver chain with 4 great charms. Perfect for the graduating senior!

Holiday Collections and Top 10 Gifts for the Holidays

a fundraiser for Orange After Prom

Sunday December 4, 2011 10:30am

A morning of fashion, shopping and fun.

Informal modeling by OHS students
View this season's “most-wanted make-up”
• Continental Breakfast
• Complimentary makeovers
• Raffle & Giveaways!

Dress Department Level 2

Saks Fifth Avenue • Beachwood Place

For tickets and more information email Mindy Weiss at weiss5264@aol.com
All proceeds benefit The Orange High School After Prom 2011

SToNZ Trunk Show was a blast!

2011-11-08T11:20:00.000-05:00

The Once In A Blue Moon SToNZ Trunk Show at three.home in Chagrin Falls was a huge success last weekend. I am so grateful to the many friends, new and old who stopped by and said hello. (And bought so much!) I love you all~

A super huge thank you to Rory who is the creative genius behind three.home, and to Dan and Ashley Derecsky of 26 briks who I have to thank for this awesome new SToNZ sign made from a steel drum lid. I know...SO cool, right!?

Sneak peek at the new three.home

2011-11-01T18:00:00.002-04:00

The new location of the fabulous Chagrin Falls store three.home is shaping up and just about ready for their grand re-opening / Once In A Blue Moon SToNZ Trunk show this coming Friday and Saturday. (Though Rory is still working her magic and adding more great stuff every hour until Friday!) Here's a sneak peek at what's "in store" so far, in addition to SToNZ Jewelry.

These pics will make you say, "I want to go to there!"

Making a Beach Stone Silver Chain Bracelet

2011-10-23T15:41:00.001-04:00

I tried to take some process pics this morning as I worked on a new bracelet.
It's tough to work and shoot, and also tough to stop and take photos when you are in the middle of working. Managed to get some of the steps in pics to share here...

Selected a Lake Erie beach stone from my stash.

Cut a base for the bezel from 20 gauge sterling silver sheet with a jewelers saw

Wrapped bezel wire around the stone for size

Marked length for cutting

Used jewelers saw to cut bezel

soldered bezel using hard solder

Cleaned and filed bezel to prepare to solder to base

Soldered bezel to base plate with hard solder

Trimmed excess base, filed and sanded bezel cup until smooth

Um....OK, so I got caught up in my work and forgot to take photos for a bit! I had this great vintage curb chain bracelet and cut it apart, then soldered the bezel cup between the cuts. Cleaned up the whole thing with sanding pads and files.

Set the stone in the bezel and used burnishers to tighten the bezel around the stone.
Sanded, polished....ready to wear!
Click here to see the bracelet in my Etsy store.

My New Kim Murton Ceramics

2011-10-22T17:01:00.002-04:00

A favorite blog that I follow is Worry of The Day by Kim Murton. Her quirky cartoons are so good and right on the mark. It’s like she's inside my head.