Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word aptly spoken. Proverbs 25:11

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Hammered Heart on Long Chain

This is another version of the hammered heart birthstone necklace.  A customer wanted the pendant on a long 34" chain, but the heart was too lightweight for the chain.  We added two custom stamped charms to give it some 'heft.'  Up to 8 letters fit comfortably on the 13mm charm shown. The heart measures at about 1" wide.

(Stamped Charm options found here: http://happleymade.blogspot.com/2011/11/charmed-im-sure.html)

Contact me via kelsey@happleymade.com or on facebook for custom options!

Heart w/ Long Chain

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Making of a Custom Order

Working with a customer to turn a vision into a wearable reality is an amazing experience.  A beautiful piece of jewelry often starts with a thought or an idea specifically with a a certain person in mind.  Then the concept is worked through until the final piece meets the requirements of beauty and function. I recently completed a custom necklace and I wanted to share the process with you.

 
A previous customer saw my bird nest necklace and wanted something that could represent 5 children for a mother's gift.




 Since the nest works best with 4 stones or less, I recommended this hammered leaf pendant.



But she did not think this was the right style for her mother, so we came up with this design.





Then, another customer saw this pendant and wondered what it would look like with only three birthstones.  



 
 So I came up with this.  The same hammered heart, but I added small silver beads to center the birthstones.  

She then decided she wanted the pendant to hang on a long 34" chain, instead of the typical 18" chain.  This looked beautiful, but caused a problem.  The delicate heart was too light for the weight of the chain.  We needed to add some 'heft' to her pendant.







 This one was the first winner.  She loved the idea of adding a stamped charm, but was not fond of the extra bead dangles.
 And then considered adding three charms.  Too much of the heart was covered up, so we tried two 








 
and moved them to the back. Yes!















 And here it is! A totally unique piece, created by the customer that reflects her heart.  "so thankful"

And that's the process! Is there something you've seen that you'd like to create for yourself or a loved one?  Let's work together to make it a reality!



Friday, October 12, 2012

Birthstone Heart Pendant

This custom silver heart pendant is petite, yet stunning!  It measure approximately 1 inch wide.  It can hold up to 5 birthstones of your choice.  The wire is hand shaped and hammered to hold its shape. A chain can be added separately.
 


Birthstone Leaf Wire

Special Order

I made this pair of earrings as a custom order.  We started with metal, size and gemstone desired.  14k gold fill wire with freshwater pearls are what we ended up with---hammered into a precious swirl and hung from tulip embellished closed ear wires.  Do you want me to create something you have in mind? Contact me and we'll get our creative juices flowing to create a truly one-of-a-kind piece--designed by you!