Sunday, December 11, 2016

Holiday Shopping with the Jetteam



This lovely collection of Holiday themed jewelry designs is contributed by some of the members of the Jewelry on Etsy Team, (Jetteam)

Follow the links to see the items and stop by and visit the shops of the other members as well. There are many different styles of jewelry for those on your gift list this year. Many of the shops are offering gift wrapping and special discount codes and sales.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

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Sunday, June 26, 2016






Independence Day in the United States of America is a holiday which is highly celebrated with picnics, parades and fireworks across all states. It is recognized as the day the USA gained their Independence. Due to the fact that it falls on the same date each year, most people refer to this holiday as the "Fourth of July".

What better way to accessorize for the day's events than to wear a piece of handmade jewelry from the artisans on the Jetteam on Etsy. Here is a collection of pieces which are representative of the unique skills of the members. Be sure to check out the other members' shops using the Jetteam link.


Let's Celebrate!!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Cooking with the JETs!!


SPICY CHIPOTLE BLACK BEAN BURGERS

Hello!

I'm going to share with you one of my favorite go-to vegetarian night recipes. These burgers come together pretty quickly, maybe 20 minutes, and are packed with awesome flavor. I've tweaked it a lot over the years, so it's always a little trial and error, but here goes the latest rendition. What you will need:


The ingredients:
  • 2 cans black beans (I like organic and low sodium), drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 red onion (or whatever type you have on hand), roughly chopped
  • 1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available in the ethnic foods aisle) -   forewarning: I use half a can, but I love chipotle peppers and I love spicy! The adobo sauce is very spicy, so if you are not a fan of spice, you may use less or leave the adobo sauce out all together.
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin - or to taste - as more or less as you like!
  • Salt & pepper to taste (those are my Star Trek Enterprise shakers!)
  • 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 egg or egg white
  • 1/2 cup corn off the cob (optional)
  • 1/4 cup chunky salsa (optional) (add scan 1/4 cup more Panko is using)
  • Buns or bread, whatever you have on hand
  • Avocado for topping (the creaminess of the avocado helps to cut down the heat and combine to a really amazing flavor profile)
Equipment:

     Food processor
     Frying pan



Directions:

       1.  Combine 1 can black beans, red onion, chipotle pepper in adobo sauce to taste (I use about half the peppers and half the sauce, but it is admittingly spicy so you may want to err on the side of 2 - 3 teaspoons sauce and 1 - 2 peppers for the first attempt), garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to taste in the food processor. (I had a really nice picture of all the ingredients set up in the processor, but my hand moved faster than my mind.) Pulse until nearly smooth, you may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice.



       2. Move bean mixture to a large mixing bowl and add optional corn and salsa. Mix in bread crumbs and egg until incorporated. The mixture will be wet.

      3.  Heat a medium or large skillet over low-medium heat. It is easier to use a larger skillet to accommodate more than one patty at a time, as not demonstrated below. Spray with non-stick coating or a swirl of olive oil. Shape the mixture into patties - should make about 6 - 8. I like to make them about 5 inches in diameter, too large and they are harder to work with. Cook for about 5 minutes per side. The first flip will be difficult, as they are somewhat fragile, but will firm up as they cook. They should be firm and browned on each side when done.

        4. Serve on buns or toasted bread (which I did because we did not have buns). Top with your favorite veggie burger toppings - for these I love avocado. Actually I just love avocado. As you can see here:




Enjoy!

Samantha

SammysBeadworks



Thursday, May 26, 2016

Kicking off Summer with the Jets






Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer season with the opening of Theme Parks, public Beaches and resorts across the country. State Parks and hiking trails, closed for the winter, spring to life and welcome visitors to their beautiful surroundings.

The Jetteam on Etsy has put together a collection of handcrafted jewelry that can be worn all summer long. Spice up your wardrobe and add one of these beauties to your jewelry box.

As always, you can visit the Jetteam to purchase other handcrafted items from the members' shops. There are lots of beautiful items for you to chose from so head on over and get that bling!!





Monday, May 23, 2016

Cooking with the JETs!!

Oatmeal Cake



This is a yummy recipe for Oatmeal Cake.  It’s very easy to make, and turns out delicious and moist.  I used a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Ingredients for the cake –
·         1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
·       1 ½  cups hot water
·       1 cup white sugar
·       1 cup brown sugar
·       ½ cup butter (room temperature)
·       2 eggs (beat the eggs)
·       1-1/3 cups flour (plain)
·       1 teaspoon baking soda
·       1 teaspoon cinnamon
·       ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the topping –
·               ¾ cup butter
·       1 ½ cups brown sugar
·       1 ½ tablespoons evaporated milk
·       1 ½ cups coconut (I used Bakers)
·       ½ teaspoon Vanilla flavoring
·       1 ½ to 2 cups chopped pecans (optional, but really adds to the yummy-ness)



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 dish with nonstick cooking spray.  

Combine the oatmeal and water and let it moisten while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for the cake.   

Cream the butter and both sugars. Mix in the eggs.
In another bowl, mix the flour, the baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add half the flour mixture to the creamed butter/sugar mixture, then mix in the moistened oatmeal and then the remainder of the flour mixture.  Be sure to mix between these additions.  

Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake 'til done, about 35-40 minutes.  I usually check it with a toothpick to be sure it is baked through, and then I let the cake cool a short while before mixing the topping.



When you get ready to make the ooey gooey topping, turn on your oven to broil.   In a saucepan, add your butter, brown sugar and evaporated milk and vanilla.  Bring it to a boil while stirring.  Boil for one minute.  Remove from burner.   Stir in the pecans and then the coconut.  Pour it over the cake and spread it over.  Then put it in the oven to broil for one minute.


After letting it sit for a while (to soak in the topping), I love to eat mine with a glass of cold milk.  Give this yummy cake a try, it’s so easy to make, and great to take to gatherings. 



 Wanda,


Thursday, May 12, 2016

Fathers Day Treasures

June is a month of celebrations. Graduations, weddings, flag day and of course, Father's Day! 




*Webster's Dictionary......


Simple Definition of father

  • : a male parent
  • : a man who is thought of as being like a father
  • : a person who was in someone's family in past times










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Here are some great ideas for gifts for that special fellow. All made by the Jewelry on Etsy members and ready for purchase in each of these fine shops.

Stop by and check out all of the Jetteam artisans here.

Sardonyx Ring








Rose Gold Wedding Ring




Keum-boo ring

Monday, May 2, 2016

Cooking with the JETs!!

We have had some hot sticky weather here in Australia over the last few weeks. I have been throwing out so much fruit as it was going soft really quickly so my daughter in law gave me this easy recipe so I can use some of the soft bananas. She actually uses all gluten free ingredients and it tastes just the same.

BANANA MUFFINS



2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed



1] Preheat oven to 325, line muffin tin with paper cases
2} Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl
3] whisk up all wet ingredients
4] mix together the wet and dry ingredients
5] Bake for 30 minutes and check, cook more if needed


You can remove the cinnamon, vanilla and honey for your own taste.
  



Saturday, April 30, 2016

Review of Setting School

As a professional jeweler who earned a bench jeweler diploma from the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts (http://www.revereacademy.com/), I find myself occasionally wanting to brush up on old skills, or gain new ones altogether.  I learned basic stone setting at the academy and wanted to push those skills a little farther. 

I had the opportunity to go to a week long session at the New Approach School for Jewelers (http://newapproachschool.com/) to study comprehensive stone setting.  Some of the techniques would already be familiar but many would be new and tricky to learn!  The instructor was well known for being excellent and he has taught thousands of students both in his school and via DVD instruction. 

The instruction was solely on setting techniques.  We did not create the jewelry that we set stones into.  The techniques we learned were as follows: 



Flush Setting.  We set both colored and colorless stones.  Colored stones often have a heavier base to saturate their color, so they need to be set slightly different from clear stones.



Gypsy and Heavy Walled Bezel Settings.  In both cases you need to refine a seat for each stone prior to setting it.  Both settings use a hammer and punch in order to move a fair amount of metal over the stone. 



Bright Cut Setting.  This techniques requires you to create a seat for the stone.  Next, you set the stone by creating prongs to lock the stone in place. You then carve away the metal around the stone at an angle.  Lastly, you can add a mill grain to finish to the edges.



Claw Prong, Traditional Prong and Square Stone Prong Settings.  The ring on the left begins as a traditional prong setting that is then modified to create a talon like appearance to the prongs.  The middle ring is a traditional, Tiffany style prong setting.  The ring on the right is set by creating a seat within each prong to accommodate the square edges of the princess cut stone.



Regular Channel and Floating Channel Settings.  In a regular channel setting, you create a seat for each stone in the floor of the channel, and with a hammer and punch, move the metal over the stones.  In a floating channel setting you carve a precision seat in the walls of the channel.  You then manipulate the stones into their seat.  Lastly, you tighten the metal around the stones.

Gaining new skills is always an exciting challenge and a great opportunity to expand your creativity.  I definitely recommend doing it!  







Thursday, April 28, 2016

Bonnie's Magnificent Jewelry Shop






Babbleon is one of the great shops that offers rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings on Etsy. Bonnie is a member of the JewelryonEtsy Team and hails from Ogden, Utah.  Married with 2 babies (fur babies that is). she was born and raised in the great state of Kansas.  She started selling her jewelry on Etsy in 2009.

Bonnie, the designer and owner extraordinaire, created the beautiful winning piece in the recent, Jetteam Spring Challenge. In case you didn't get to see it, here it is again!


 

Bonnie works with many different materials and her shop is filled with bright colors. There is something for everyone so be sure to stop on over to browse through the shop. You'll be glad you did!!

Here are some of the other items for sale in Bonnie's shop.




 
 
 
 


 
Chakra Bracelet and Earring Set
 
Butterfly Pottery Cuff










Leather and Copper Bracelet








Judy Lott
JETTEAM

 


Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Celebrating Mother's Day with the Jetteam







Mother's Day is May 8th this year. This holiday is observed by over forty countries. What better way to honor her than selecting a beautiful piece of jewelry made by a member of the Jetteam on Etsy? Of course, it goes without saying that you will tell her you love her, thank her for all she does for you and your family too. Something extra special handmade by an artisan, would be the "frosting on the cake" so to speak.

We all have special women in our lives; aunt, step mother, sister or friend. Celebrate them all, not only on this special day of rememberance but all year long. For those who are fortunate to still have their mother with them, give them an extra hug!! And let's not forget those pet moms.

According to Webster's Dictionary, this is the definition of a mother.

Definition of mother. 1 a : a female parent b (1) : a woman in authority; specifically : the superior of a religious community of women (2) : an old or elderly woman. 2 : source, origin <necessity is the mother of invention> 3 : maternal tenderness or affection.


Here are just a few of the many gorgeous jewelry pieces for sale on Etsy by the members of the Jetteam.




 

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Book Review

Simple Soldering - A Beginner's Guide to Jewelry Making
by Kate Ferrant Richbourg
As jewelry designers, haven't we all decided at some point that learning to solder would be a good thing to do?

Those times when an open jump ring or cold connection just won't get the job done, soldering can offer the solution to many a problem.

But, as those of us who have tried soldering, whether we've mastered the technique or are still struggling, already know, this is not an easy technique.

After a couple of disgraceful and embarrassing attempts to go it alone, I looked around for a how-to book and, because of its title, chose this pretty paperback.



Starting with The Basics - how soldering works, fire scale & flux, types or solder and flow points & grades, the author leads us through the wheres and wherefores of setting up a work space and choosing our tools and materials.






Then comes the real nitty-gritty: a sampler of 16 pieces to create before moving on to a set of 20 projects. The projects include hook + eye clasp & dapped bead caps, soldered beads, stacked rings, chain earrings, tube riveted pendants, and more.






While all the sampler pieces and projects I worked on are interesting, educational, and fun to make, I found them a bit more time consuming and creatively restrictive than I had hoped. 
















No, I didn't make my way through them all, mainly because I wouldn't be able to claim any of the results as my own designs.




A couple of wonderful things I did gain from this book: 
1) Lots of inspiration and ideas for new designs and creations of my own. The color photos are lovely.
2) A generous helping of "pride of ownership." This 160 page book brings a professional aura to my jewelry making shelf, and expecting guests, I manage to have it "just lying around" for them to ooh-and-aah over. Did I mention that the photos are lovely?

Other assets include a useful index and a helpful DVD.

Simple Soldering, published by Interweave Press, 2012.
Find it here:
http://www.interweavestore.com/simple-soldering
Also available as an eBook + Digital Download Bundle:
http://www.interweavestore.com/simple-soldering-ebook-a-beginners-guide-to-jewelry-making
More temptations by Kate Richbourg:
http://www.interweavestore.com/metalsmithing-made-easy
http://www.interweavestore.com/chain-making-using-the-copperhead-torch-video-download



Mollie
RoughMagicCreations