New Years Sale on Etsy-20% off

Stop by my Etsy store anytime between now and New Years Day to receive 20% off your purchase. Just enter coupon code NEWYEARS20 at checkout.

THANK YOU!!!!

To all my wonderful customers that kept me super busy this season, I send you a big huge THANK YOU!
I had a great week this week and it would not have been possible if it was not for all of you! Happy Holidays to all!

I'll be taking the week off to relax and enjoy the family, but look for NEW items after Christmas.

You can still purchase items now, I will ship all week, just no new creations.

Holiday Sale at Thirteen Gems

Enter Holiday20 to receive 20% off your purchase at Thirteen Gems on Etsy.

www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenGems

Falling in Love with Leather!

With the price of silver rising every day I have been thinking about what other materials I can use to keep my jewelry prices reasonable and maintain the level of quality I expect in my pieces. I have been experimenting with using leather for bracelets and I love it! I love the look, I love wrapping the ends, and I love that I can keep the prices reasonable!
What do you think?

This is turquoise, sterling silver and black leather.

Pretty New Ring

Just a little post about a pretty (not so little) ring. Turquoise and sterling with flower embellished band.

New Work Finally!

I have finally finished some pieces that I have been working on. I love them! Especially the bracelet! It's a great piece of Sonora Sunrise and the clasp is handmade by me. A great way to end the bracelet, isn't it!
It feels good to have some work done and actually edited and listed. It seems like it was such a long time before the weather broke and cooled down. I missed sitting at my bench and creating. BUT, it gave me a good amount of time to sketch and come up with some new ideas!

I'm melting!!!!

Seriously. It is not supposed to be this hot here. My truck registered 100 degrees. I think somebody pissed Mother Nature off big time! I have so many great ideas that I want to bring to fruition. Somehow lighting up a big ol' torch doesn't seem to appeal to me.....I am tired of sweating!
Oh well, hopefully the week gets cooler so I can get to work. In the meantime, enjoy a new picture of our puppy Hazel. She has gotten very big, very fast. She is a total sweetie and doing great!

As Promised! New Rings

Here are three more of my newest rings. Only the first two are in shop right now, but the dinosaur bone is getting ready to be listed.
Also new is this beautiful necklace of Ocean Jasper. Isn't the stone AMAZING?!

As always you can purchase these items or others in my Etsy shop at.....

www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenGems

New Ring-Knuckle Buster

I love this piece of Laguna Lace Agate. I set it in a fine silver bezel that I hammered, oxidized and sanded.
I struggled with how to set it, horizontal or vertical. I am glad I set it horizontal. It is much more of a badass ring this way!

Bench Mascot!

Okay, so the kids started school last week. BOTH kids are in school for almost 7 hours a day...I admit I have a little bit of the empty nest syndrome. But really, what household is complete without a furry creature creating havoc around the house?

So here she is....my little (not so much) bench mascot. She is a 4 1/2 month old, 40 pound black lab puppy. She is really amazing! We got her from a rescue. She was turned in by a back yard breeder. She and her sister were the last two left and by this time at 4 months, nobody was going to pay for a puppy that old. At least the breeder turned her into a rescue and not the pound!

She is wonderful, sleeps all night in her crate, potties outside, plays well, sleeps lots and finally has learned to walk on a leash.

So, may not be a jewelry update...but she has relieved some stress and will help me to be relaxed and read to create! Oh and her name is Hazel :)

New Ring!

I have had this stone for MONTHS and have tried to design a pendant for it. But every time I tried, I failed.
Then yesterday, it spoke to me! It said it wanted to be a huge, honking, massive, gorgeous ring. And so I listened. It came together immediately, the solder flowed, the bezel fit, the stone was tight! It was a success.

And happily it has already been spoken for. It is on reserve for a very wonderful customer!

I love it when everything works out right!

New Bracelets Added to My Shop!

I have added two new bracelets to the Etsy shop! One is a Sterling Silver Rare Death Valley Plume Agate stone. The other is Turquoise and very, very sweet!

SALE coming soon!

It's almost August!!! That means it's almost my birthday. To celebrate, I will be having a store wide sale on my Etsy site! It will run August 1-17th. Check back on August 1st to see the deals that I will have for you!

NEW In My Etsy Store! Finally!

I have finally had time at the bench this week. It was good time too! I love when everything works out and comes together without melting, crunching, falling apart.....etc...although I must admit I did break an amber stone when trying to set it.....so one out of three-not bad actually!

Up first....an agate druzy cocktail ring. This ring is full of bling (ha ha). It is one inch in diameter and set in sterling and fine silver. The band is nice and thick and has three stars soldered on the band. The stone reminds me of a beautiful night sky. This ring measures a size 8 which because the band is thick, fits a size 7 1/2" finger perfectly......THIS RING HAS SOLD.

Next up is a heart Larimar from the Dominican Republic. It is set in fine and sterling silver and set to hang at an angle for a modern twist.

To purchase either one of these items, or any other design you see on my blog.....please visit my shop at

www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenGems

It's not supposed to be this hot here!

Last year we didn't turn our air conditioner on until October! Today, I couldn't stand it. It is so hot and muggy here in So. Cal. It's really gross! Because of that, I have only been working at my bench on purchased orders. Nothing new to create....it's too muggy!

So I leave you with a beautiful picture of natural waterfalls from our trip in Colorado!

New In My Etsy Store

Before I hit the skies for vacation, I wanted to get a few of my projects completed and listed.
I hand set this beautiful Chalcedony in an open back bezel to allow the light to shine through. It
is accented by a tiny cz and petals made from sterling silver.

Then I created this all sterling silver linked bracelet. I really, really love this bracelet. I hammered each link individually, stamped some random images on it and then oxidized it. The closure is a hand made toggle. It's really a perfect bracelet for everyday wear.

Coming Soon-I hope :)

I have this amazing Pineapple Agave tree/bush in my yard (I had to look up what a Pineapple Agave tree actually was).  Apparently it produces some amazing fruit in the late summer, early fall! I can't wait! As of right now, the flowers are beginning to bloom and they are really cool flowers! I am hoping to translate one of the flowers into a ring. I think it could be really beautiful!

I think I might be the most spoiled wife ever......

For Mothers Day this year, my husband out did himself! He knows how much I have been wanting a dedicated space for my work. Well, last week he drove himself down to the Mexican border, not once, but TWICE to get this set for me. Then he set it up and surprised me with it! I was amazed and stunned! Not that he would do that, he is always doing something special for me, but just that I finally had MY OWN space! No more working in the dining room and hating that it junked up the house.

Oh and then I also got the Flex Shaft!!!! I have wanted this FOREVER! Now I just need to learn how to use it!

Fathers Day Gift Ideas

Mothers Day is coming up next weekend, but remember that Fathers Day is just around the corner too! Order now to make sure you get what you want in time! All items can be customized just for you, just shoot me an email if you want to customize a piece you see here.

This first piece is a custom, hand cut sterling silver dog tag. It is made from 18 gauge sterling silver, which is thick enough to stamp on both sides. It has been oxidized and given a matte brushed finish. It hangs from a 20" oxidized sterling silver bead chain. Perfect for your man! Click on my Etsy shop to purchase......

The next piece is a hand stamped keychain. This keychain can be one large sterling silver stamped disc, two medium discs or three small discs. The disc is attached with a soldered sterling silver jump ring. The key ring is solid sterling silver as well. This gift will last forever, and is sure to make dad or grandpa happy! To purchase please visit my Etsy shop.

Such A Pretty Stone!

I bought this turquoise stone awhile ago. I fell in love with it! Okay, I love all my stones, but this piece is extremely beautiful on its own. I was afraid I wouldn't do it justice.

I LOVE the way it turned out! I hand set it in a fine silver bezel with sterling silver back, added handmade sterling silver balls, leaves and a rose. I then soldered the toggle circle to the pendant and finished the chain.  Turquoise is supposed to be the new "in" color for spring and summer! I think the piece has a modern twist with a romantic feel. What do you think?  To purchase see my shop at www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenGems

For All My Stone Friends.....my little collection

I caught the stone buying bug a few months ago. In the beginning, I bought a stone at a time and then immediately made something with it. That was good for the budget. But then the bug got worse and I started falling in love with stones, and if you love stones, you know once you love a stone, it has to be yours!

Now I have seen many stone collections and know that mine is teeny tiny! You should see some of the metalsmiths collections! They have so many stones it makes me dizzy!

Here is a picture of my little teeny tiny collection-hey you have to start somewhere right?

They are: agate, turquoise, ocean jasper with druzy, amethyst sage, lapis lazul, agate with druzy, onyx, sonoran sunrise (which I set and then hated-so not sure what I am going to do with it.), chalcedony, some type of jasper (I think), not sure, and fordite.

My favorites are:

This Ocean Jasper. It has a great druzy on the top and another pocket on the left bottom corner.

I think I am going to prong set this, just not sure how yet.

This Amethyst Sage. It has the prettiest purples, creams and browns in it, with dendrites

throughout. I want to make sure to set it so light can get to it....hmmm maybe

a good time to try an open back setting.

Lastly, 

This Agate, that also has a beautiful druzy in the middle.

I love these, the crystals shine so pretty in the sunlight.