WestEnd Celebration: Sand City's Street Party

Very proud of my husband! Jake submitted an application a few weeks ago to be one of the artists at the WestEnd Celebration in Sand City in August.

It's a gigantic street party with music, art, jewelry, dance, and more. All the local shops open their doors and the festivities spill out onto the street.

And he was just notified that he was selected to display. It should be a blast.  So, if you're local, come on out and see some new MannMade Creations.
Click here for more information about Sand City's 10th WestEnd Celebration.

Maker Faire Bay Area 2011

Though this post has nothing to do with my jewelry, it is a post about creations and creativity. My family and I were instantly intrigued by the Maker Faire and its tag line of "Build. Craft. Hack. Play. Make." How can you go wrong with that motto?!?

We attended Maker Faire 2010, wide-eyed and clueless, and left thoroughly overwhelmed, but we were determined to go again. This year, slightly more seasoned attendees, we invited our good friends the Novaks to join the fun, skipped the main parking lot, entrance, and loooong lines, and hit the kid-crafting zones before the faire was at its full 8000 bodies for the day. Next year we'll add to our plan 'bringing in our own lunches', and we'll be golden!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Lisa Pongrace and Greg Solberg's ACME Muffineering. Electrical muffin cars. Seriously. I saw them and started scheming about baked goods races. Maybe for my 40th birthday. I imagine a dozen of my closest friends racing those muffins around a track somewhere. Okay, it's farfetched, I know. So I can dream it. Can I build 'em? Or pay someone to build 'em?!? Maybe Riley will do it...

Robots. Last year I really like the tiny robotic bugs. This year, the PR2 caught my fancy. This one did a high five, a low five, and a double knuckle bump. I'm not quite sure what I liked about it, but it was cool.

Crafts and Stories. Not that we have to leave our home to craft. We have bins and bins - no joke - of crafting supplies. But we had a blast with the hot glue guns, found objects, recycled plastic pieces, and all the makers' displays - from knitted DNA to Victorian paper-cut birdcages to go along with Hans Christian Andersen's "The Nightingale."

Giant Bubbles and Hula Hoops. There are bikes to ride, swings to pump, strings to pluck, and things to pound. Maker Faire is a kinetic kids' heaven...and I do mean "kid" in the loosest sense possible. Danya, Stella, and Dylan stayed on the Holistic Hooping lawn for a long time while Craig, Jake, and Riley played in the ToolShed. Then I was reminded, yet again, how two sticks, some string, some soap and water can result in tons of fun.

There were definitely things I wistfully walked past since this was a family day. But if I had my druthers I would spend some time in the Homegrown Village. There was cheesemaking, pickling, and more that I would have liked to have seen. Maybe Maker Faire 2012 will have that in store for me.

Mint Chocolate Necklace II

I recently got some rough chrysoprase nuggets -  bright opaque green and rich brown matrix - that remind me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I paired one of the nuggets with Russian amazonite, bronzite, green aventurine, and oxidized sterling silver chain to create this one-of-a-kind necklace that closes in the rear with a sterling silver toggle.

Click here to view more photos or to purchase this piece.

Watermelon Chunks Necklace

Another one-of-a-kind watermelon tourmaline creation...

For this neckace, I handwired deep pink chalcedony ovals with matte recycled green glass, pale fluorite nuggets, and watermelon tourmaline with some repurposed sterling silver chain links. There are some moss agate rounds where the necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver toggle.

Click here to purchase this piece or to view more photos of this necklace.

Deep Ink Necklace

I came across these hefty, beautiful pewter beads by Green Girl Studios and immediately snatched up some ocean-themed ones. I made this Deep Ink necklace because I love octopi and I love deep, regal purple.

A pewter octopus bead hangs at the center of this piece, handwired to a sterling silver bubble with a small hematite round and a larger purple fluorite round. Recycled inky purple nuggets, amethyst nuggets, oxidized sterling silver chain and more hematite rounds complete this necklace that closes in the rear with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

 

Click here to purchase this piece or see more photos on my etsy site.

Juicy Watermelon Drops

Every now and then I come across a gem that just makes me swoon. For awhile I was enamoured with deep-sea hued kyanite, then it was bright pumpkin-y carnelian.

But I recently came across watermelon tourmaline and was instantly smitten.

What's not to love?! Watermelon + Tourmaline. Food and jewelry colliding. My mind immediately began thinking about what I would pair with this succulent gem.

One of the things that so appealed to me about this gem: it is two-toned, rich green and lucscious magenta. When I agonzied over which color to use - either pink or green - I decided that I wanted to use both colors to create this one-of-a-kind piece.

I handwired a deep pink chalcedony oval flanked by watermelon tourmaline drops and frosted Burmese rubies onto some repurposed oxidized sterling silver chain. There are some green glass beads where the necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver toggle.

 

Click here to purchase this piece or see more photos of it on my etsy site.

Initials in Trees

Though not particularly tree-friendly, carved initials on trees seem to shout to the world: we're in love!

So, for a friend's 11th anniversary present, I made her a necklace with a charm from Bonbon Charms - custom sterling charms by Erica Clements out of Eugene, Oregon.

Handwired with sterling silver branches, recycled green glass, and moss agate, I created this one-of-a-kind necklace for Pia. The piece closes in the front with a vine-wrapped sterling silver toggle. Happy anniversary to the Garneaus - P+B - with much love!

If you're interested in a carved initials necklace for yourself, let me know: camillammann at sbcglobal dot net.

Mint Chip Necklace

I recently got some rough chrysoprase nuggets -  bright opaque green and rich brown matrix - that remind me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I paired one of the nuggets with bronzite, Peruvian opals, prehnite, recycled green glass, and oxidized sterling silver chain to create this one-of-a-kind necklace. I have a few more chunks of chrysoprase, so keep your eyes open for a few more mint chip creations.