There's a first time for everything - it's GIVEAWAY time!

All the cool kids are doing it.

Well I'm cool, too.

So here's my first ever blog giveaway. Yay!

Fresh off the jeweler's bench, made today, 
just for you.
 

One Must Have Sunshine 

necklace etched in sterling silver with ocean jasper

featuring my original hand drawn art

This jaunty little butterfly flits about 
...footloose and unfettered.
Those carefree sunny days of summer
can't get here soon enough, wouldn't you say?

I like to make jewelry that carries special meaning.
A necklace that reminds me that sunshine and freedom reside in my heart
year round
regardless of how endless January may sometimes seem,
or how dreary February's known to be.

The silhouette of the pendant is a fluffy cloud in the outline of a butterfly.
The back features 2 hidden bails, my signature poppy tag and my maker's mark,
and is embellished with my custom font. A quote that reads:

"just living is not enough" said the butterfly

"one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower" ~ Hans Christian Andersen

Pendant hangs by a double rolo chain in bright sterling silver.
Necklace is adjustable 16"-18"
 

 Would you like it?

You can bring it one step closer to your little hands by doing one or all of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post,
telling me in a quick sentence how you came across my blog.

(Value: 1 Entry)

2. Mention this giveaway in your own blog,
and leave me a comment confirming that you did so.
In your comment here please include a link to your blog.

(Value: 1 Entry)

3. Share the link to this giveaway on your facebook wall,
and leave me a comment here so I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

4. Tweet tweet! Share a link to this giveaway on your Twitter,
and leave me a comment here letting me know you did.

(Value: 1 Entry)

5. Become a fan on facebook of Istanbul Designs,
and leave a comment for me here so that I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

6. Start following this blog, and
leave me a comment here letting me know.

(Value: 1 Entry)

7. Start following me on Twitter.
And leave a comment here to let me know.

(Value: 1 Entry)

You have 7 total possible ways to enter this giveaway.
Enter with one, two, or all of them!

Giveaway closes at midnight EST on Friday, February 5th. 
The winner will be announced Monday, February 8th.

The winner will be chosen randomly from among all the entries.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Let the FUN begin :)

Work in Progress Wednesday - Spin Me Round - Ring a Day #6

I went down to the studio today having no idea what I was going to make.

This was one of those design-as-you-go-along kind of days.

You'll see if you compare the first picture below with the rest of the pictures that follow - I thought I was going to make something with a square amber cabochon...but the design took a different turn.

There are some major gaps in the step by step pictures, and that's because I got a little distracted with my creative flow and forgot to take pictures of the in-between steps.

Materials: sterling silver sheet and wire (the stone changed, but the sheet and wire were used).

This is me trying to figure stuff out.

Oops!  Here's where I skipped about 5 steps.  (Form the ring shank, solder bottom of shank, punch a whole in the sheet, form the sheet into a dome).  And now we're about to solder the dome to the shank. Did you get all that? :)

The bead that's going into the ring I think it's some kind of jasper.  And two little bits of silver that are going to anchor the bead in place from the inside.

Soldering the little anchor in place.

Finished ring.

Side view.

Watch it spin :)

That was fun to make. I'm loving this Ring a Day challenge. I always think I'm out of ideas, and then I surprise myself.  Right now I have no idea what I'm going to make tomorrow...I really think I'm all out of ideas. We'll see what happens.

Have a great day :)

Amber Dynastic - Day 5 of Ring a Day

This is my day 5 out of 365 of the Ring a Day challenge. 

Here's the ring I finished today.  It looks and feels like something out of another time and place.

This showy little bauble is made of one delicious square cut of juicy amber, tiny granules of sterling silver, sterling silver sheet and wire, and liver of sulfur for that antiqued looked I'm obsessed with. Oh  yeah, and the steady skill of my hands.

 It looks completely different from every angle.

And wears like something out of the Tudor Dynasty
ok, minus the precious jewels and high karat gold :)

 So, that's today's ring!

I'm trying to figure out what tomorrow's ring will be.  Check back.  I'll see if I can make it a Work-in-Progress-Wednesday. 

A lovely day to you. See ya tomorrow.

Never say never - New Rules

Running is my life. It's part of what defines me.

Ever since I moved to Atlanta 5 years ago, my running has been inconsistent. The summer heat is unbearable here, let me say it again - unbearable. The hills in my neighborhood are too many and too steep (shinsplints, anyone?). My daughter's gotten too big to push in a jog stroller. Ah, the list of excuses goes on and on. The bottom line is, I don't run as often as I wish I could.

But I am a road runner.

With 4 international marathons under my belt so far, I've always said I'd never own a treadmill.  Treadmills are boring. Treadmills don't offer the same awesome challenges as hills and weather conditions and the like.
But never say never.
A quality treadmill placed in front of a television offers you the opportunity to work out any time of the day, with no excuses.

So, meet Trudy - our new treadmill.  She is solid and sturdy and strong - just the qualities I look for in an inanimate object that costs me a small fortune.

Special delivery - 300 lb treadmill.

Moving her from the garage to the basement was a workout in itself.

The best part is my New Rule:
I can only watch trashy TV if I'm on the treadmill.

I see myself doing a lot more of both in the near future. 
I love garbage television, and I love to run.

Happy Monday everyone!

Ring a Day challenge 2010 - Jumping right in

Alrighty.

I've decided that now that my post-holiday-craziness furlough is over, I am ready to plunge head first into a challenge that many of my metalsmith friends have enticed me with.

Ring a Day 2010 -  make one ring every single day for the next year, out of any material.

The personal goal for me is to challenge myself to:

a) create something every single day

b) explore the hard to reach crevices of the corners of my imagination

c) push my creativity to the limit

d) push my metalsmithing skills to the limit

e) have fun

The challenge started on January 1st. I'm about 21 days behind schedule, but no matter. Better late than never.

Today's ring is 1/365 for me - The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

To see all the rings that have been made, by the almost 200 participating artists so far, check out the flickr page for Ring a Day here.

You can also become a fan of Ring a Day on facebook here.

If you're a jewelry artist and you're interested in participating - it's an open challenge, so jump right in.

Lessons from the Lepidoptera

Live your purpose.
Own your destiny.

 Dare to soar to heights you never imagined.
Everything is possible. If you believe.

Rest when it's time.
Emerge renewed.

Embrace change with patience. 

Trust that change brings growth.

Unfurl your potential.
Your uniqueness lies in your truest, most brilliant colors.

Revel in your splendor.
And share it with the world.

Based on my own hand drawing on of an online specimen of a real Papilio Blumei. Every spiral, swirl, and detail started with pen on paper.
Etched in sterling silver, and embellished with green tourmaline and 14k yellow gold.

In the Etsy shop tonight...

Playing catch, and catching up

The blog posts have been kind of few and far between around here all of 2010, huh?  I went from posting 4-5 times a week to what now seems like once a week. Hmmm.

Blogging for me is kind of like exercising. The more often I do it, the more often I know I will do it.  But once I fall off the wagon, I'm alllll the way off.  Good thing it's easy for me to get back on.

Really though, for as long as I've had my jewelry business, January has always been my take-it-easy month. Come, take a listen to what I tell myself in my mind...did you hear that? "Just take it easy today, Alice. You can work tomorrow instead". When you're your own boss, you can do stuff like that.

These past few weeks I've been spending a lot of one-on-one time with my daughter. We've resumed our regular playdates with friends (playdates from which we were on jewelry-business-imposed-hiatus since the fall).  All month we've been ultra busy doing puzzles, having Play-Doh parties by the way, when did Play-Doh get so fun?  and playing catch outside in this lovely June-like weather we're having here in Atlanta.

Thus my absence from the blogosphere.

But, although I haven't been blogging, I've been working in other ways. I've been putting a lot of ideas to paper for new designs. I'm really excited to show you some of them. I have in mind to branch out in all sorts of brand new directions.  If I announce my ideas to you now, I'll be more apt to follow through on them:  I'd like to make a few hollow formed pieces (lockets, big rings) that open and close with hinges, and have little secret elements inside. I'm also currently designing a monstrously magnificent cuff bracelet, embellished with 18k gold swirls and colorful stones. In my mind it looks like a Gustav Klimt painting on my forearm.  Look for that in mid-February.

Oh by the way, I forgot to blog about something very important last weekend:  My zodiac pendants have finally, finally been listed in my Etsy shop.

They look amazing and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The pendants have a deliciously weighty feel to them, and the thick chain makes them all the richer.

I'm so proud of this new line. These are like no other zodiac pendants you'll ever see out there, and each one is from my own hand drawn picture.

You can check them out here.

What else....?....

I've been thinking about doing a give-away here.  I think the One Must Have Sunshine ring (see my previous blogpost) would look beautiful as a necklace.  So...look for my first-ever blog giveaway...let's say next week. Yeah, that sounds good...next week.

Oh, speaking of blog giveaways, my friend Jess of Rosy Revolver (she makes the most incredible jewelry) is having one right now. Go, go, go to her blog and enter. Spread the word far and wide - the more you do, the more chances you have of winning the stunning piece she has up for grabs.  She is so phenomenally talented.  I love her.  Go check it out. You'll see what I mean.

That's it for today. I do believe we're all caught up now.

Ok, now please have yourself a wonderfully beautiful day.  And I shall do the same :)

Work in Progress Wednesday - One must have Sunshine

The endlessness of this icy cold weather is so grey and confining.

I'm totally  yearning for the warmer months, aren't you? 

Though I may be born and bred in Northern climes, the inertia of mid-winter has me languishing...daydreaming of summer's carefree days, and the golden warmth of sunshine. 

So I took those daydreams down into the studio with me today.

And this is what came out of my hands.

Come and take a look...

From my pocket sketchbook (I love Moleskine notebooks).

The drawing,  the plate I etched in sterling silver,

a couple of ocean jasper cabochons to choose from, and the wire that will become the ring shank.

Piercing around the outline with a jeweler's saw.

Filing away rough edges.

Using needle files to smooth the metal between tight spaces.

Fitting the bezel wire around the cabochon.

Soldering.

A close up of soldering the bezel wire down to the base.

Finished ring.

The silhouette of the ring face is a fluffy cloud in the outline of a butterfly.

Side view of ring shank.

The back is open and airy, like the airiness of the butterfly. I didn't want this ring to have a restrictive and thick ring band.

Details and embellishments on the back.

"just living is not enough" said the butterfly

"one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower" ~ Hans Christian Andersen

Sunshine, indeed.

It will be posted in my Etsy shop tomorrow.

Winter games

Let's play a little game: 

Waking up to a snow-covered winter wonderland this morning: Good!

Realizing that your county has declared it a snow-day (meaning preschool is canceled): Not good.

A bright shining sun, let's drive to the bookstore: Good.

Realizing that the roads in your very hilly neighborhood are covered in deceptively invisible yet exceedingly slippery ice: NOT good.

Driving halfway through your very hilly neighbhorhood (it's not called Indian Hills for nothing, folks), and seeing various abandoned cars scattered all about the middle of the roads: NOT good :(

Abandoned...abandoned...abandoned...

Deciding to turn the car around and drive back home: Good.

Realizing that no matter which direction you try to navigate from, every road that leads to home is an up-hill, and every single up hill is covered in a solid sheet of ice : NOT good.

Attempting to drive your Honda Accord up the least steep of hills: Sure, let's say good.

Losing control of your car as it slides backward down a glassy hill: NOT GOOD.

Using your super-duper-Canadian-snow-driving skills to inch the car to a safe location in a cul-de-sac: Good.

Abandoning your car and carrying your 2.5 year-old chatterbox home in your arms up a treacherous mountain in impractically high heeled boots: Good? Nope.

Joining neighbors to talk about this insane weather. Good.

Walking around the neighborhood to check out the damage.  Not good.

Solid Ice: not good

Coming home to a warm house and a hot chocolate in my favorite mug. Good.

Stay safe out there, friends.

Stay warm, please

Well, much of North America seems to be in the grips of one of the most frigid cold snaps ever.  It is downright arctic down here in Atlanta.

Time to get out the winter woollies.

My poor little ice-encrusted potted herbs.

If this isn't soup weather, I don't know what is.  

A nice big pot of hearty winter soup.
The one pictured here is vegetarian, but if you're a meat-eater,
adding sausage will make it even heartier.

I cooked up a batch for dinner yesterday, and it was so good. Here's my recipe:

Hearty Winter soup with Lentils and Kale:

 1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz sweet Italian sausage (optional), casings removed
 2 leeks (white and light green parts) washed well, cut in half lengthwise, and chopped into 1/4" pieces
 2 ribs celery, sliced into 1/2" pieces
 1 28oz can whole tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
 2 sweet potatoes (or waxy potatoes), peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
 1/2 cup lentils
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves cut into 1/2" strips
 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and celery, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, and cook 5 minutes.

Add the stock plus 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, lentils, thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Reduce to a simmer until the lentils and potatoes are tender, about 25 - 30 minutes.

Add kale and cook until it wilts, about 5 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.

This'll keep you warm.  

Enjoy!

Holiday Happiness

Well, Happy New Year to ya!

Wow, spend two days in a car driving back from Toronto to Atlanta, and before you know it, it's January 4th, eh?  (Wow, spend 8 days in Canada, and start saying "eh" again, eh?)

Did you have a nice holiday? I sure did.  Did you eat a lot? I sure did (well, I also squeezed in a few workouts here and there. Pants still fit. *thumbs up*).

As always, we had a great visit with my huge, huge Italian/Armenian family. It was a jam-packed trip with night after night of parties, fun times, music, drink, and a nonstop parade of food. Here are some pics of my 8 days in my hometown of Toronto. 

Snow

My new sweater.

Yes, my parents like to remind me where I'm from.

Family

Siblings. Do we look alike?

Fooooooood

the multi-cultural delicacies that I love going home to

Italian Christmas Eve seafood dinner antipasto- marinated  octopus salad.

I ate the lobster tails and shrimp before I could take pictures of it.

At my Armenian aunt's house.

The sujuk and kasseri sandwiches to the right are to die for.

At my Armenian aunt's house. Homemade dolma and pastirma.

Can't get this stuff in Atlanta, that's for sure.

At my brother's house making my famous Bloody Marys.

Gingerbread cookies 

from scratch

Time for little hands to make holiday cookies.

My SweetPea and my nephew.

Cutting shapes out of dough.

Just look at the artistry in my 2.5 year-old :)

Decorating cookies with Nonna.

So cute!

Taking full advantage of this rare chance to eat candy.

My cookie.

I don't know who had more fun making these, me or the kids.

New Year's Eve bash

Raw oyster down the hatch (yes, I'm an omnivore).

Flanked by my adorable daughter and handsome husband.

Fun times, and love, love, love.

3 generations of Istanbul girls.

We all love to party.

Leave it to my family to turn a popular disco song into a "shourch bar". 

So that was my holiday in a nutshell. Hope you had a GREAT one, too.  And Happy 2010 to you!

Edited (oops forgot to add):

Can't go North of the border and not have one of these. 

I like to order it "double double" (for my non-Canadian readers, that's double cream, double sugar).
I like my coffee like I like my food: rrrrrich!