Springtime - renewal of (he)art

I didn't know what to do with my etsy store. I certainly have no intention of closing it, but I am not feeling the old business at all at this point. Too hurried, too much pressure, too much a one woman shipping factory. I got sick and it stopped being fun. Or maybe it stopped being fun and I got sick.

A much slower way of working holds its appeal - and so I'm committing to that. A life that allows me to catch up on all the things that get neglected when healing is your main job. Including relationships.

I ran into one of my friends in Target (ugh, yes) last night - it was one of those funny moments where you're thinking about someone in the early morning and then there they are in some way later in the day. It was really a tip off that it's time to do things other than work and be sick. I'm just so grateful that I get to think about more, finally.

So the etsy store is really going to be my online gallery of serious work. Well, as serious as it gets.

The bunny cuff is a vintage paper image, the beads form a bezel. It closes with a fifties glass button in kelly green, measures 6.5 inches and there's only one in the whole wide world.

What else makes Paper Yum different?

I just pulled some things from the shop, because I just didn't feel right offering them.

It bothers me that so many pendants are sold using hobby crafter medium to hold the photos in place - this glaze is a great nontoxic product, and I absolutely would use it for my own gratification, but I just can't bring myself to sell things that you can't touch with a wet fingerprint or that you have to remember to take off just to do the dishes - never mind walking into the shower with it on.

I've found a suitable replacement - that still is considerably less toxic and environmentally damaging than a lot of two-part resins, but it's jewelry-grade. It behaves as plastic should.

If I'm going to be focusing on sterling silver options, it only makes sense to tie them into durable resin lacquers. Even in the cases where a bail might be silver plate - even if the pendant is a scrabble tile pendant - you deserve jewelry that lasts. Sure it's a little more expensive than some of the other options out there, but the lasting enjoyment will be worth it.

Here's a photo of a new offering - sterling silver chain and bail, resin and glass pendant with reproduction paper. It's scrabble-tile size - teeny!

The macro lens I have is relentlessly unsparing - I swear when I look for bubbles in the actual pendant I can stare and stare and not see any!

Paper Yum

Paper Yum is about my love of paper. I turn paper into wearables.
Vintage finds, fine Japanese Chiyogami papers, and some select reproductions are transformed with nontoxic methods and .925 sterling silver.

What's the difference between Paper Yum and other glass and scrabble pendants?
Sterling silver - for the longevity of the piece, for your sensitive skin, for your sophisticated taste.

I also offer pieces in brass which I have had antiqued through a nickel-free process in the USA, to my own specifications. No more mystery metal - just antiqued-finished nickel free brass. I myself can wear these pieces and I'm fairly allergic to nickel.

I do offer some plated for those interested in fast and fashionable fun - but personally, I choose to wear sterling - I'm allergic to plated myself!