Charm Swap 3: works in progress continued

Here are the latest photos of our progress in the Etsymetal Charm Swap 3:

At the last minute, with only 4 days to spare, Experimetal had a "change of heart" and decided to do these shielded rock charms.


Maggiejs did a charm version of her petal series.



DeliasThompson made a cobblestone series charm!



Erosasjewelry jumped in with only two weeks left and did this incredible charm using keum bo--a technique that fuses gold leaf to sterling.


Ashleyjewelry has added polymer clay to the copper pierced disks for color and texture!



Treanelli joined at the last two weeks and has been working constantly to get her charms done. These concentric rings will get soldered onto a sterling disk.

Calligraphy pendant

Calligraphy pendant
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

This is a new piece for me--sort of a continuation of the roman ruins with the pierced vine. I've used 18k gold, sterling and champagne diamonds. This one is already spoken for, but I'm hoping to finish one in all sterling for New Release Thursday with Etsymetal.

Back to work!

Etsy Metal Charm Swap 3 Progress

Just one week away and everyone is working so hard to make the post deadline by Saturday, February 28th! I'm excited to see everyone's design take shape and get closer to the finished charm. Most of all I want to thank everyone for their hard work on this project. If you are getting excited too and want to join in, we will have two sets of charms for sale in the etsymetal store. One set will be assembled into a complete charm bracelet and the other set will be sold per charm. All proceeds benefit etsymetal.


tuizui charm's has the water cast sterling cups each carefully enameled.



rubygirl used antique filigree to make this piece.



ninagibsondesigns is serving up some coffee (or tea!).



aubergine228 made one of a kind castings from natural artifacts.



Kathryn Riechert is making a sun rivet on her scenic charm.



ashleyjewelry made these copper forms to be encased with colorful polymer clay.



stamp has punched over 100 disks to create this charm.



Istanbuldesigns etched her owl design on bronze.

Etsymetal Charm Swap 3 *in progress*

Nina Gibson's charm design from NinaGibsonDesigns. Her charm is going to be a teacup!

Etsymetal's Charm Swap is now in its third generation and I'm very excited to be the curator of this generation. I am very grateful to have the collected wisdom from experimetal and stamp (former currators) to guide me along the process. Here's how it works. Twenty of our team members sign-up to take part in this project. We all donate 22 charms and ship them to the curator. As the curator, I get to sort through all the lovelies and send them out to each participant. The two extra charms from each of the twenty participants will be available for sale at our etsymetal store. One set of charms will be put together as a charm bracelet and the other set will be for sale as individual charms. All sale proceeds go towards the cost of maintaining Etsymetal.

The deadline is fast approaching (Feb 28th) and everyone is keeping me updated with their own works in progress. As a member myself, I wanted to be sure that my charms were done before any of the packages arrived on my doorstep!

Here are some of the other team members and their "works in progress":

experimetal with hand-formed and enameled heart charms.



rubygirl experimenting with colors creating a filigree patterned charm.



IstanbulDesigns hand sketched this Klimt inspired owl to be etched onto brass charms.



aubergine228 has taken orders to make each member's charm from her nature castings. I've requested a fox claw and a seahorse for the EtsyMetal Store.



KathrynReichert is stamping intricate nature scenes on sterling hand cut disks.

tuizui is water casting sterling cups that will be enameled and riveted on to a textured copper square.

sarawestermark is using leaf textured copper ornamented with sterling barbells.

Sara Westermark, Etsymetal member and Etsymetal Charm Swap 3 curator.

C'est fini!

EMCS 3 finished charms 004
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

I am finally finished with my charms! I am pleased with how they turned out and I think they will work well with the other charms in the works for the etsymetal charm swap bracelet 3. Here's a list of my fellow team members etsy stores and when they send me pictures I'm going to post them on my blog. Let's make this the best Etsymetal Charm Swap ever!
1. howlindoggie
2. TreAnelli
3. tuizui
4. duckduckgoose
5. nyhedy
6. stamp
7. aubergine228
8. experimetal
9. budgie
10. ashhilton
11. rubygirl
12. ninagibsondesigns
13. sarawestermark
14. ashleyjewelry
15. maggiejs
16. deliathomson
17. ninadinoff
18. IstanbulDesigns
19. KathrynRiechert
20.eRosas

wall case display

wall case display
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

Here is the new wall case display that Hans made for me yesterday. He is going to do one last thing to it and add a decorative piece like the top to the bottom, but on the wood. I am thrilled and can not wait to see my new jigsaw pieces in the case!

Etsymetal Charm Swap 3

CS3 in progress 007
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

I am very excited to be the curator of the Etsymetal Team's Charm Swap 3. There are about 80 members in etsymetal team and the first 20 to sign up to volunteer to make 22 charms (2 for sale in the etsymetal store to benefit etsymetal) are now making charms. We are 2 weeks away from our deadline and I can really see many of the ideas begin to form. I have been so impressed with the designs and ideas that my team have been working on. I will put together a bracelet from the EM3 Charm Swap and it will be for sale in the etsymetal store. I will also have the second set of charms listed for individual sale in the etsymetal store. This way you too can collect and take part in our excitement of our collaborative effort.

These are my charms in progress. They are made out of recycled copper and sterling silver barbells. I love to roll metal with my favorite leaf texture and then form in different ways. Another one of my loves is to use sterling silver barbells in my work. The charms still aren't done. I'll do some final clean up filing, polishing and add a jump ring to these little leafs.

I'll try to blog about each member as they finish their charms.

ETSY Weekend Deals!

I was doing my morning work, getting orders made and ready to ship when I noticed this picture in the etsy Storque Weekend Specials. I was thrilled to say the least and I feel very blessed for all the recent good fortune. I am grateful to my family, friends, etsy, etsymetal and to God. I really feel that there is some divine force steering my life for me. So I will continue what I'm doing and remember always to "pay it forward" and to "do the next right thing".

Etsy Front Page

Thanks to Sophie at duckduckgoose, I have a wonderful screen shot of my five minutes of etsy fame. Enjoy. I need to blog on my new favorite shop on etsy: pocomedio.

Chocolate Festival Donation!

chocolate diamond 010
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

Friday is the Opening Gala for the Wilmington Chocolate Festival for Liberty Hospice. I was invited to participate as a gift vendor as opposed to all the yummy chocolate vendors! I donated this ring for the silent auction fundraiser for the event. It is a 2.5 mm champagne diamond (sometimes called a chocolate diamond) in 18k yellow gold. The retail price is $325. I will have 5 other champagne diamond stacking rings in 18 karat gold as well as my gemstone stackers in 18k and sterling for sale there as well.

Tickets can be pre-purchased at Harris Teeter for $5, or they are $8 at the door. I hope to see you there!
for more info visit the Chocolate Festival Website