What rhymes with bathroom?

I am a terrible person.  As I write this I'm eating only the red and purple Spree candies out of the tube. I pity the person who eats yellow after orange after green after orange in the hopes of finding just one red or purple one.  I don't play that way.  I pick the ones I want and I eat them, the rest go in the garbage if I can't pawn them off on my husband or son.

The topic for today is: bathroom renovation.  We live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in New York City.  That's right, I said ONE BATHROOM.  And guess what?  It doesn't have a tub.  Surprise!  The guy who lived here before us was in a wheelchair and had the tub removed, the sink lowered (with no storage underneath) and a neat wooden seat installed into a gigantic, 2-headed, roll-in shower.  Now I could think of about a hundred swingers who would love that kind of shower.  But I live with a 6 yr old and a 1 1/2 year old and the only swinging they do is from the monkey bars at the playground.  Did I just use dirty euphemisms regarding my children?  As I already said in my opening paragraph, I'm a terrible person.  But that's not the point.  My point is WE DON'T HAVE A TUB and what kind of parent deprives their child of that fairytale childhood event:  bath time!?  *pops purple Spree into mouth*  You betcha.

Up until now we've had the largest of the small kiddie tubs to bathe our older child in.  The first 3 years that was perfect, but now my 6 yr old's legs and head hang over the sides if he tries to 'float,' god bless him.  And we're using one of those tiny baby tubs for Chubbles (have I mentioned the size of his haunches) and the situation is at maximum capacity.

So it's time to renovate and put in a tub.  I have had to find alternate places to live for me and the little boys for the entire month of July.  I could bore you with the details of life at my mother's house in New Jersey, or I could lie and tell you we're spending the entire month in a beachfront hut in Tahiti.  You decide what you want to hear and go with it.

I'm heading out tomorrow after Asher's last day of Kindergarten (which I'm completely sublimating else I start welling up with mommy tears and apron string nonsense).  *sigh*  And I'm going to try to make it work, running my shop from an alternate location (and hopefully poolside).  Hope you like Hawaiian Punch with your Modern Rock studs, baby.

I'll be back in the Big Apple in August, hopefully with a lovely 6ft soaking tub to come home to.  Happy Summer, people!

I am love

Lately I have been SO into hearts.  Sterling hearts, pink gold hearts, tiny yellow gold hearts.  I think it has to do with the fact that my baby is already a year and a half old.  Not a baby anymore but a toddler.  I love my kids so much and my husband and I realize how lucky I am that they are in my life.

A few years ago I lost 2 babies at the end of my first trimester.  And it put me into such a depresson.  I carved this necklace as a way to heal from the miscarriages and I now smile whenever I wear it.

So now that I have 2 kids, and having gone through so much to have them I am thankful.  Just plain thankful.  And full of love for them.  So I went to work at my bench carving some hearts.  The first one started out like this just really simple and modern and soft:

It's also available with a customized hand stamped message like this one:

But then I wanted something smaller so I started carving again, here are some of the pictures of the process:

It's hard to keep it even, and can you see how tiny it is?  It kept flying out of my fingers as I carved it, but I finally finished it up and made this sweet 10k pink gold bracelet with it:

But then I wanted something in the middle.  I had one large and one small.  I needed a medium.  I know, I know, I'm never satisfied!!!  But it was all worth it because I made this personalized hand stamped necklace for all the moms out there.  I'll list it in my shop soon, I promise!

Until the next time, remember to love one another!

Casey Kaufman rocks Metalicious Jewelry

Sweet, sweet Casey Kaufman creator of the cool fashion blog Strawberry Freckleface is wearing Metalicious jewelry!  And she totally rocks it. 

Here are the 3 pieces she's wearing:

Brass shark tooth necklace

Metropolis Duo Skyscraper ring

Bold knuckle ring

Thanks Casey, you make my jewelry shine!

New Jewelry Ideas!

Some of you may recognize this ring from my Etsy shop.  It's a modern sterling silver band that I inlaid with rough yellow diamonds.  Teeny, tiny diamonds.  The most gorgeous colors of gold and brown, they are nearly edible.  But enough about my eating disorder.

I got a request from a customer to make this ring with black diamonds which required some time and research.  I finally found a stone cutter who sells conflict free diamonds from India.  And look at what I found!!

White ones that range from creamy white to dark silver...

Black cubes that are the size of ground pepper, if pepper were extremely rare and expensive...

and of course more yellow rough diamonds...

Stay tuned for the new pieces, I'm going to take the next few weeks to focus on carving models that will fit these tiny stones.  Let me know what you think, do you like them?

SALE! SALE! SALE!

It's Mother's Day!  In honor of all the wonderful moms out there, I'm having a HUGE sale!!  Everything in my Etsy shop has been marked down 20%.

While supplies last, all items will be shipped with FREE gift packaging!  

Nothing is more perfect than giving Mom jewelry for Mother's Day.  Metalicious jewelry will make your Mom feel loved!

Get there quick, the sale ends May 11th!

When I don't make jewelry

One of the people I most admire is Anne-Marie Faiola, the owner of Brambleberry, Otion and a self-proclaimed Soap Queen.  She has loads of ideas and energy which are infectious.  I got infected by a recent post on her blog about making whipped shea butter hand creme and it looked so yummy I wanted to make some immediately!!  So this post is inspired by Anne-Marie, who totally rocks!

It looked super easy so I invited my 6 yr old to help me out, it was lots of fun!  And it's cute to see him use it every night, too.

I ordered all the ingredients from Brambleberry:

Ingredients
14 oz Shea Butter
5 oz Coconut Oil (76 degree melt Coconut Oil)
6 ml your choice of fragrance oil
pipettes
Electric Mixer
4 ounce jars

Asher and I picked out the 'buttercream and snickerdoodle,' 'jasmine' and 'sweet grass' fragrances and we made 2 batches mixing them in different ways.  We came up with the names 'Jazzy Coco' and 'Damp Grass.'  Makes me laugh!

So once I ordered, I couldn't wait to get it all!  I know, I have no patience.  Until finally I got the shipment...

and we quickly unpacked it....

In addition to Asher, he brought his friend Hima, the stuffed cat who wants to help.

And then we got started, basically you just mix everything together just like baking.  Easy!  The shea butter looked delicious.

 mixing,

 mixing,

and finally it's finished!

Wow!!  And the final product all ready to give as gifts.

Thanks Anne-Marie for such a great project to do together with my little guy!

What about Love?

I had the dumb luck to run into an old friend of mine on the street a few weekends ago.  Pat is an incredible spirit, always looking on the bright side of things and a joy to be around.  We worked together at a jewelry company years ago and were both so happy to see one another and catch up on each other's lives.  So there was lots of hugging and jumping up and down when I saw Pat.

As it turns out, he's getting married!  And he asked me to make their wedding bands, right there on the street.  Sweet!  He's been together with his partner for 25 years and they are making a documentary about their journey together and what has led them to finally get married after all this time. 

I love being a small part of people's journey and creating a set of wedding bands is one of my favorite things to do as a jeweler.  I feel lucky whenever I get to work with a couple taking such a big step together, it's amazing to make such an important and symbolic piece of jewelry.  

Once we set up the appointment, Pat told me that his camera guy was going to film our meeting.  yikes.  I am not a fan of seeing myself on film (not that it happens often. okay never.) it just kinda freaks me out.  But I was determined not to let that get in the way of helping two people find the perfect rings for their union.  It's not about me anyway, it's about them.  And they are adorable.

Here I am, all dolled up for the meeting...

I'm wearing a silk dress (with pockets!), my faux diamond studs and my pyramid necklace.  Oh and MAKEUP.  And I wore a ponytail since I couldn't figure out what to do with my hair, which looks like this on a GOOD day...

And I used hair-straightening shampoo but it's just as frizzy.  Just let me be angry about it.

Well the meeting went just fine, we laughed, we reminisced and we talked about their wedding.  They are having a beautiful ceremony in a redwood grove in California, surrounded by friends and loved ones.  I suggested my bark texture rings in bronze.  And their faces lit up, in that way they do when you know something fits just right.  

A bit more about the couple.  Directly from them:  "Pat and Stephen are getting married in every state that currently allows same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire. They are also getting married in California, where the legal status of same-sex marriage is still unresolved. Their final wedding will be in Washington, DC on their 25th anniversary. "

I'm so honored to be contributing in a small way, to make such meaningful rings for people who truly define love and commitment.  Pat and Stephen, you are an inspiration.