Horse Gifts for Christmas!

I just realized it has been a while since I posted to my blog! It definitely feels like winter now, it has been very cold. I recently added several horse necklaces to my Etsy store, so go take a peek! I also made several styles of snowflake earrings for a fun, classy winter wardrobe accent. I have another batch of silver pieces in progress, not sure when they'll be finished and made into jewelry. But I have pieces designed for earrings and a bracelet in addition to a few more necklace pendants.

I was thrilled to be included in the Inspired Gifts article of Flying Changes December 2009 magazine! Only oops, the URL for my Etsy shop was incorrect. It should read www.jkistlerstudios.etsy.com. So if it didn't work for you, please try again!

I recently enjoyed a visit from a long-time friend. We spent some time talking about the warmblood medallion shown in the previous post, and as a result he will probably be evolving into a plaque. She had some excellent insight for how to make it a more interesting piece and better showcase the handsome horse! Like the saying goes, "two heads are better than one"! (thank you, Teresa!) So watch for that in coming months. Still considering more medallion designs, though, especially geared for fellow English riding enthusiasts!

A great day to work indoors

I took this photo of a neighbor's tree yesterday. I just love how the fall colors glowed against the stormy gray sky. Though I'm afraid the photo doesn't quite capture it. The weather has been full of variety lately, and I enjoy working at my table in my cozy house and looking out the big window to see what the weather has brought next! I've been enjoying fall, and it is going by entirely too quickly.

I'm gearing up for holiday shopping in my Etsy store. I'm planning to fill my store with some special goodies! I really want to be prepared this year, so a few other projects are temporarily on hold (or getting less attention) for the next few weeks. Then I'll be right back to them!



(above: just completed, custom earrings for a neighbor)

New Jewelry Pieces, Medallions

In addition to some longer, bigger projects, I have also been working on some fun smaller ones lately. Trying to get some things ready for the Christmas shopping season! Above are some silver clay pieces I took to be fired today, I get to pick them up tomorrow, and then they will become my next jewelry items for sale. Next time you see them they will be shiny .999 silver.



I discovered I still had not only one good mold left of the stock horse "American Hero" medallion, but also one more of the Arabian "Desert Breeze II". So I'm casting in them as long as they'll hold up! However, I may keep most or all of the Arabian medallions to paint myself and sell as ornaments, at least until I find out how many more I get. Once those molds are done, that will be the end of those two designs. However, I am working on a new design, a proud Warmblood stallion (shown above, after first session of work). I'm planning to do two versions, first with loose pulled mane, second with braided mane and dressage bridle. We'll see how that works out! I may start adding a loop to the top of the
medallions, as I can see there is no good place to put a hole in this new design that won't be too close to the horse's ear to look good.

In contrast to my last post, this is what a casting *should* look like!