Men's Jewelry

A New Fish for a Man

I am still very busy making custom orders for jewelry in fine silver.  The latest necklace I just finished was for a man.  I love making jewelry for men.  They are usually very clear about what they want, or don't want.  In this case, he wanted a fish with a wide open mouth like a Largemouth Bass.  He also wanted him to have a bend in his tail and to hang as if he was jumping up out of the water.  I think I captured that...the client that I created it for is happy with it, and so am I.  In fact, I think I might make another one just for myself!  Here it is, what do you think?

Aso, a little tidbit of info...the largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama.

 

Have a great day!

Janie

P.S. Roll Tide!  :)



 

Just a Common Soldier by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

A wrote a previous blog post titled, "A Poem Worth Reading".  I didn't know the author and left the question open for anyone who might have the answer.  I'm very happy to say that I have been given an answer from an online polymer clay pal, Anita of Melody Designs.  Thanks Anita!  With this new information, I found out that there are several different versions of this poem floating around the internet.  I decided that I should create a new post to give credit to Mr. Vaincourt and to show the original poem in his original text.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER

(A Soldier Died Today)

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting  old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,

For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,

And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,

But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives

Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part

Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

© 1987 A. Lawrence Vaincourt

Have a great day!

Janie

A New Handmade Keepsake Collector Box

I'm still having fun making these keepsake collector boxes out of polymer clay.  This is a new one I made using a few different blends of purple Premo and pearl polymer clay.

And why in the world is purple so hard to photograph??  It took me forever to get a decent photo of this box.  Here's some other views from the inside and sides:



So, what do you think?

Have a great day!

Janie

The True Measure of a Man

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.-- Ann Landers

Have a great day!

Janie

A Poem Worth Reading

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.                      

Of a war that he once fought in

And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors           
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Joe has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

 

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier—

His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

I don't know who wrote this poem, so I can't give credit right now.  As soon as I find out though, I'll post it here.

Have a great day!

Janie

Fine Silver Palm Tree Earrings

I just finished a custom order for a pair of fine silver palm tree earrings.  They are large and thick, by request.  At first, I thought that would make it an easier job, as far as forming and sanding goes...but oh boy was I wrong!  It's funny, some of my more difficult jobs are the ones that I think will be simple or easy.

  There are almost 16 grams of clay in each earring.  I thought that might make them to heavy, but the lady I made them for tried one on before I finished, and they're fine.  Here's what they look like:

And here's a photo of them with a ruler to show size context:



I wanted them to have a mirror finish.  Oh my, the sanding and polishing that required!  Also, the top of the palm trees are not attached to the frame.  This gave me some concern because fine silver is softer than sterling silver.  But, they are pretty thick and I tumbled the daylights out of them to further work harden them.

In the end, I'm happy with them, and so is my customer!

Have a great day!

Janie

Handcrafted Fine Silver Artisan Jewelry

Not much to talk about today.  I've been really busy with custom orders in my local area lately.  Today, I was going through some of my inventory and decided to do some cleaning and organizing of my fine silver jewelry items.  I ended up with a big pile all together, so I decided to take a photo.  Now, if I could just get them all individually photographed, and get the ones that aren't already listed uploaded to ny Art Fire shop or my Etsy shop, I'd be real happy.  It's a joy to create, but it's such a chore to get it in the shop...I wonder how many other online sellers out there feel the same way.



Have a great day!

Janie