One of my original Collections is still a strong part of my line. The SACRED SPIRAL story is near and dear to me. I strive to live my life employing it’s principals.

Sacred Spiral Collection; Because Kindness Matters

Each design is created by me in my Arizona Studio. The Spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth and evolution. It has been found in cave carvings, shells and even in the Milky Way.

 A spiral starts as a smaller, tight circle and expands quickly all the way to infinity. Each of our actions…a quick smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, a kind word to a friend.. seems like a small gesture but the ripples of joy it causes is infinite.

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”      Margaret Mead

My hope is that all of us follow these principals. What a wonderful world we would create.

Shop Sacred Spiral Designs Here

Become an Alene’s Adornments Collector

Provide your Email and first name to Get First Look at newest designs, tidbits and legends about gemstones, jewelry care tips and of course.. COLLECTOR ONLY specials and discounts

The post Sacred Spiral Designs appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

The Sacred Spiral Jewelry collection is one of the first designs I created all those years ago. I wanted a design that embodies the sentiment. “Because Kindness Matters”. Using a spiral was the perfect way to portray this. Here’s the story.

The Spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth and evolution. It starts as a smaller, tight circle and expands quickly all the way to infinity,  Just like the spiral, each of our actions; a quick smile to a stranger or a kind word to a friend; seem like a small gesture but the ripples of joy created is infinite!

“No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.” Aesop

This particular earring features a copper main component with sterling silver ‘dust’ and a sterling spiral fused into it. The dangles are sterling silver and the spiral ear wire is a custom design exclusive to my earrings. It is available now in my online shop.

Become an Alene’s Adornments Collector

Provide your Email and first name to Get First Look at newest designs, tidbits and legends about gemstones, jewelry care tips and of course.. COLLECTOR ONLY specials and discounts

SHOP Alene’s Adornments NOW

The post New! From My Sacred Spiral Collection appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

The OPEN SPIRAL Pendant! I have been playing around with new pendant designs centered around the Sacred Spiral. From all this playing emerged the Open Spiral concept. The frame is copper with a sterling silver spiral. And of course I have to add gemstones! These natural turquoise beads are from the Sonoran mine in Mexico.

The neck chain in sterling silver is 36″ long! this means you can wear it doubled up as shown here… or Super long as shown below.

The Spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth and evolution. A Spiral starts as a smaller tight circle expanding quickly to infinity. Each of our actions.. a quick smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, a kind word to a friend..seem like small gestures but the ripples of joy created is infinite.  “No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.” Aesop

Shop my entire Sacred Spiral collection here.

Become an Alene’s Adornments Collector

Provide your Email and first name to Get First Look at newest designs, tidbits and legends about gemstones, jewelry care tips and of course.. COLLECTOR ONLY specials and discounts

The post What’s New in Spirals? appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

The Sacred Spiral collection ‘Because Kindness Matters’
The Spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth and evolution. It has been found in cave carvings, shells and the Milky Way. A Spiral starts as a smaller tight circle expanding quickly to infinity. Each of our actions.. a quick smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, a kind word to a friend..seem like small gestures but the ripples of joy created is infinite.

Each time you wear one of these designs, whether it be a pendant, a ring, earrings or cuff… please carry the thought behind the creation of the piece with you. 
“No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.” Aesop

The post Because Kindness Matters… appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

I have so much fun creating cuff bracelets. The design possibilities are endless.

Here’s an overview of how I make the magic happen.

Evolution of cuffs

The post Evolution of Cuff Bracelets appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

Wearing rings of any size or shape is so much fun, don’t you agree?

Rings have been found in tombs dating back to 2500 BC. Many cultures fashioned their rings from stone. Others used metal and added gemstones. Sound familiar? One of the favorite designs for the Ancient Romans was a thick hoop that had an gemstone embedded right into the metal. This flush design is still popular today.

For me I love designing a more bold look. I adore it when the gemstone takes center stage and sits atop the shank.

Here are a  few more of my popular styles

Each of my rings is handmade. I have so much fun deciding on the design and adding the gemstone that inspires me at that moment.

Over the years I have accumulated lots of gems. Each time I sit down to design, I know that the perfect gemstone is at my fingertips.

See my whole collection here

The post Romancing the Ring appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

A collection is defined as a group of similar things that you have deliberately acquired, usually over a period of time.

My jewelry designs for the most part are grouped into collections. When I first began designing, I played around with anything and everything. Then I began to notice patterns in what resonated with me.   Sometimes this is as simple as absolutely loving a particular stone or design and creating a collection around that.  Other times it is about a story or event in my life that affected me personally. I want to recreate the feelings in my work. Either way, a collection is the way I express myself through jewelry.

If you are already a fan you  know that these collections tend to evolve with time. What seemed so important to me a year ago, now tends to land in the background. I am already on to some new idea for a collection.  Isn’t it Fun to be a designer?

Inside the Mind of a Jewelry Designer …  (my book about my journey into creativity) goes into more detail on many of my collections… highlighting processes used and photos.

[tweet_box design=”box_02″ float=”none”]”Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” Henry Ward Beecher[/tweet_box]

 Two of my favorite, and enduring collections are the Dare to Dream designs and the Sacred Spiral designs

Dare to Dream is the collection that embodies our desire to dream. Our wish is to allow our dreams to permeate our existence, grow, expand, morph into even bigger dreams and become reality. Every design is a limited Edition of ONE.  The fusing process is like our dreams. It starts with a concept (in this case my idea for the piece) and then it takes its own leap into the final design; one that I could not have imagined or predicted. Dream Big and Take the Leap forward!

Sacred Spiral  Collection: The Spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth and evolution. It has been found in cave carvings, shells and even in the milky way. A spiral starts as a smaller, tight circle and expands quickly all the way to infinity!  Just like the spiral, each of our actions;a quick smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, a kind word to a friend. These seem like a small gesture but the ripples of joy created is infinite.

[tweet_box design=”box_02″ float=”none”]”A Small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead[/tweet_box]

As you probably have guessed, I am designing a brand new collection as we speak. I am excited about the designs. Check the web site or Facebook page for more updates.

Enter to win this Pendant: Now through August 16.  Good Luck!

The post Evolution of a Jewelry Collection appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

If you have been following my blog or any of my Social pages… you already know that

I LOVE WORKING WITH COPPER!

When I first started taking metals classes, copper was used as the ‘learning’ metal.  Meaning ‘work with copper to get the feel of metal and what you can accomplish’ . Once past the learning curve, then venture on with Silver and/or Gold.

However, with the incredible price increase  for gold and silver, many jewelers have discovered the fun and beauty of working with pure copper…. like me!

Here then are 3 of my favorite patinas for copper. 

FLUX:

I  created this by accident. When working with silver you must coat the metal with flux before heating. This prevents firescale.

This is not necessary with copper but I was multitasking (not always a good idea when using heat!) and ended up spritzing the copper with cuprinol. (a spray flux).  The result is this reddish mottled effect. I just love it! 

  PEANUT OIL:

This one is a little trickier to work with. I brush peanut oil onto the copper. A VERY Thin Coating. Then I heat from BELOW the piece. IF you heat from above you run the risk of setting the oil on fire!  The resulting colors are brownish caramel tones. Please note that although I do treat all of my designs with a lacquer, this patina is NOT recommended for any person allergic to peanuts.  There are other oils that give a similar effect. Sesame oil is a potential option.

VINEGAR and AMMONIA:

The most vibrant blues and greens are created with this patina. I coat the copper with vinegar and keep an open smaller container of ammonia inside the larger closed bin. That way the fumes from the ammonia mix with the vinegar to create amazing blues and blue/greens.

[tweet_box design=”box_05″ float=”none”]Copper is easy to work with, affordable and provides so many beautiful design opportunities.  My designs are all available for purchase at Alene’s Adornments[/tweet_box]

Get your free copy 21 Practical Tips; Caring for your copper jewelry 

The post THREE Gorgeous Patinas for Copper Jewelry appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

Are you as fascinated by Spirals as I am? 

A Spiral starts as a smaller tight circle and expands quickly to infinity.

The spiral is an ancient symbol representing growth, spirituality and evolution. furthermore it has been found in cave carvings, burial sites, shells, weapons and the Milky Way. Skipping a stone on the water creates a spiral too.

Many believe that the Spiral’s center is where we find our spiritual balance and our connection to our higher self.The oldest spiral symbols are found in Ireland at Newgrange. It was carved at least 2500 years before the Celts reached Ireland!

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Each of our actions: a quick smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, a kind word to a friend, seems like a small gesture but the ripples of joy it causes is infinite.[/tweet_box]

 My Sacred Spiral Designs start from this basic concept. We are all in this life together. Let’s take the time to appreciate our fellow travelers and realize that our smallest actions affect others. We may not see the results instantly but the seed has been planted nonetheless.

I have fun creating these pieces. Each one features …a spiral!!

Some are created using pure copper, others with sterling silver. Many have added gemstones. Ideas and possibilities are endless. Additionally  I experiment using both copper and sterling in the same design. I love the results!

Purchase my Sacred Spiral designs here

SIGN UP TODAY for Alerts from Alene. Get First-Look at new designs and subscriber only specials and discounts.

The post Sacred Spiral; Your Spiritual Connection appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.

I am a jewelry designer and yes I do my own photography.

As in the case of most artists who create limited Edition and one-of-a- kind pieces.. It is not cost effective to hire a professional to photograph each design!

So I decided early on to take my own photos. And I can tell you that this became a whole new learning curve for me. I read lots of comments and tutorials online, purchased proper equipment for photographing small objects (jewelry in my case), purchased editing software  and then experimented a lot!

Each time I played around with the process I got just a tiny bit more competent.

Then earlier this year I took a workshop from a real photographer and had to unlearn  and rethink it all. Doug Baldwin, the instructor and photographer for over 30 years, drummed one rule into our heads.. and it finally sunk in.  “Don’t photograph on artsy backgrounds. Customers want to be able to see the product clearly.. they don’t CARE about the surroundings.”  Of course there were lots more helpful hints and insights in the workshop…I improved the way I photographed the gems and learned how to use diffused lighting.  I even ended up purchasing another photography system that I love. 

I live in Arizona and Love the outdoors. So a dried piece of cholla cactus seemed like a great option for a background. As you can see by the two images above… the background, while so cool looking, does not allow you to see the earring design clearly. The image to the left gives you a focused, clean image… so you can decide if this design is a must-have for your own collection.

Here is another example.. Again using the cholla cactus.

See how much better the image to the right is?

It shows off the texture and beauty (OK so I am a little prejudiced on that) of this pendant!

The Cuff image below is yet another example. Malachite is highlighted and featured prominently in the photo to the left.

Yes, I am still a novice when it comes to photography.. and yes I will continue to learn and improve my photos.

over the next several months, I should have all the images on my site converted over to the newer, cleaner looking images.

My next step is a class on editing. Cannot wait!

Check out my jewelry (and the current photos online) and give me your feedback.

Every bit helps me to improve my craft!

 If you liked this blog you may like The Secret Life of a Metal and Hammer Hoarder.

The post Photographing Jewelry… Harder than it looks! appeared first on Alene's Adornments Blog.