Happy Earth Day!! I hope you're able to get outside and enjoy a bit of nature today. I did some gardening and worked on maintaining my little pollinator garden this morning. I'm always so happy to see the bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies take what they need to survive and help make our world go 'round. 

Another activity I enjoy is fabricating jewelry using sustainable materials! Did you know that I strive to incorporate what might otherwise become waste products in many of my designs? 

• Scrap silver is forged and/or sand casted into decorative elements (such as the horseshoes that I cast from a vintage Cracker Jack toy!). I also use scrap to make my stamped makers mark that goes on the back of my finished pieces.

• I cut and polish Rosarita (slag glass that is formed as a byproduct of gold smelting) and surfite (excess resin that pools on the floor as part of the surfboard manufacturing process) into stones that make uniquely beautiful jewelry

• Vintage leather belts that have seen better days, but still have some life left in them, are cut and made into earrings, bracelets, keychains, and more!

I'm happy to do my small part to keep as much waste materials out of the landfill as I possibly can and will continue to look for more ways to recycle and upcycle as part of my jewelry creating process. Feel free to send me any ideas you have!!