I finally took the plunge and I am learning metalsmithing. I couldn’t find a class nearby so I am teaching myself. Here are some pictures of one of my first rings!

This ring is made from a domed sterling silver disc and has a green dichroic stone. I will be offering some rings for sale in my online store soon.

Lisa, the talented jewelry artist behind All Wrapped Up on Etsy, creates beautiful “upcycled” jewelry by combining older pieces - many of which she finds at estate sales - with new components, like dichroic cabochons. By restoring and reworking vintage jewelry Lisa is putting a new spin on the Green Movement – right down to the dichroic cabochon in this ring! Her designs are very unique, and many of them are one-of-a-kind. You can see more of Lisa’s rings and her other jewelry in her Etsy store: ldobbin.etsy.com.

I am so excited about this amazing new dichroic crackle glass. It splinters in the kiln creating a cool textured effect deep in the glass. The way it reflects colors and light is simply spectacular.

Each of the pendants I have made with the glass crackles in a different way. You can check them all out here.

Check out this awesome copper flower ring created by Amy of oblinaknit using one of my dichroic cabochons. It’s one of the many beautiful jewelry pieces in her Etsy shop (AND she also makes really nice handbags and knit hats and scarves).

I met Amy at a craft fair last year, and not only is she incredibly nice, but she’s an amazingly talented artist. See for yourself at oblinaknit.etsy.com!

I just bought a gorgeous necklace from a fellow glass artist with a style that I absolutely love. Natsuko, a glass enamel artist, created this seahorse pendant by fusing glass to copper.

Isn’t it pretty! She also makes exquisite enamel leaf pendants and starfish pendants. You can check out more of her work in her Etsy store: jewelrybynatsuko.etsy.com.

I am super excited about this new earring design, so I made a bunch of them in different colors over the weekend. They feature semi-transparent circular dichroic glass cabochons on 18 mm sterling silver hoops. Because they are semi-transparent they sparkle and reflect a ton of light.

Here are a few more in different colors…

I have to take a break from blogging about my new glass creations to blog about someone else’s new glass creations. Check out these glass earrings created by stained glass artist Brian Western:

Brian has taken recycling to a whole new level with these Italiana Peroni Birra Ginkgo Leaf earrings. He cut each leaf from the side of an Italian Peroni beer bottle and then expertly soldiered them together after what must have been quite a few beers. Very cool!

I created these funky dichroic glass dangle earrings by cutting glass cabochons into a rounded puzzle shape. They are made with dichroic glass that shifts from blue to green in the light and they hang from sterling silver earwires. You can view some additional photos of these earrings here.

This dichroic pendant design is for women who love larger jewelry. At 1 and 3/4 inches in diameter, this piece is fun and dramatic. It is made with green dichroic glass and hangs on a black satin cord. Check out more pictures of this new design here.

Another new pendant design! This pendant, made with silver Coatings by Sandberg dichroic glass, has a star shape cut in its center to hold a black satin cord necklace. As always, you can see more pictures of this new design on its page in my online store.