ATLA-inspired jewelry preview

[misora]

So as I discussed in zutarotica recently, I have opened up an etsy shop! The purpose is to create and sell jewelry (fine gemstone and otherwise) inspired by Avatar: the Last Airbender. ^^ Geeky, I know, but I was inspired to embark on it after seeing these posts in avatar_fans, and the idea took hold and wouldn't let me go. I've had a thing for making jewelry anyway for a while now, and this seems to be a great outlet.

So for my flist, I thought I'd give a sneak peek at some of the stones and focal pieces I've been gathering for my upcoming projects:



This is a red pendant carved out of carnelian stone, with a Taiji dragon on one side and a phoenix on the other. The symbol in the middle, the yin/yang surrounded by boxes, slightly resembles the Korean flag. Pretty appropriate for Fire Nation royalty attire.

An ammonite fossil embedded in silver. Ammonite is an ancient mollusc that went extinct somewhere in the Cretaceous period, and the fossils of their tightly spiraled shells were called ammonis cornua, after the Egyptian god Amun who was often revealed as a ram. (TBT flashbacks, anyone? ^^)

Given the spiral design, and the fact that ammonite is an ancient fossil buried deep in the earth, I thought this would make the *perfect* focal piece for a hypothetical Toph/Aang necklace. ^^

Volcanic cherry quartz. I thought this would make a great focal piece for either a bracelet or necklace inspired by Ty Lee. (Along with the tagline "Your aura will never be pinker!" XD)

And this is a wolf's head relief, carved out of mookaite jasper. Mookaite jasper is an Australian stone, and is considered to be a source of healing that bestows strength. It is said to shield the wearer from difficult situations and to connect us to loved ones who have passed away.

I thought this might be a good focal stone for a Sokka wolf-warrior-inspired necklace. It's not blue, but it definitely resembles what might be intricately-carved Water Tribe jewelry.



That's it for now...I've assembled most of the items I need, and I'll be spending the next several weeks busily constructing. I'll be sure to make a link to the finished projects when they're done! :D

Comments

[jennibare.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous! I'm really torn between the pink quartz and the dragon/Phoenix one. Do you have a guesstimate for prices?

[misora.livejournal.com]

I know! I've really taken a liking to them, myself. I have more in store for FN jewelry, and I think you're gonna really like it. ^^

I would say preliminary estimates for the dragon/phoenix necklace will be somewhere in the area of $40, while the cherry quartz necklace/bracelet will be more like $25 or so. :)

[jennibare.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's not too bad. I was thinking like over $50. We have a friend that does them and Robert had bought me a necklace last year for my b-day and it ran close to $100. It had lots of turquoise beads and sterling silver. I don't know enough about that to say she overcharged or not.

By any chance would have leads on Chinese-style Horses? My son and I are both Horses so I thought that would be awesome.

[misora.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the price of individual pieces will depend on the prices/scarcity of stones that I've bought. Some will be pricier than others. ;) Also depends on the wire and findings (sterling and/or gold-filled compared to plated metal) and time spent on each piece, etc.

I haven't been on the lookout for Chinese Horse zodiac pieces (John is a Dragon and I'm an Ox), but I'll definitely let you know if I see something!

[seserakh.livejournal.com]

beautiful, beautiful pieces. Thea amonite fossil is especially attractive to me. I can't wait to see what you do with them.

[misora.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! I've already gotten started on a few of these, and I hope to have at least 6-8 pieces or so from the first elemental group (haven't decided if I'm going to get the Fire Nation jewelry done first, or the Water Tribe) done around January or so. ^^

[alexb49.livejournal.com]

these are very pretty. I'm curious. How did you find them? Is there like a gem shop or something?

[misora.livejournal.com]

A couple of them, such as the ammonite and the volcanic cherry quartz, were obtained at a local gemshop near me. The other two, the carnelian and jasper pendants, were obtained on ebay. :D

The bulk of my jewelry supplies actually come from ebay (semi-precious stones, pearl, crystals) and etsy (wire and metal findings). But I hit up the (slightly more expensive) gemshops around here for the more hard-to-find pieces.

[qiushuwen.livejournal.com]

LOVE the wolf's head! :)

[misora.livejournal.com]

It's cool, isn't it? :D The carving looked too good to pass up. Plus it looked like something either Hakoda or Sokka would wear. :D

[miss-sassy.livejournal.com]

These are all amazing :)

I LOVE the flower. That's absolutely gorgeous. The wolfhead is perfect for Sokka, too.

[misora.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like it! I have more stones that I didn't show (wanted some of them to be a surprise), but hopefully you'll like those as well! ;)

[okami-no-yume.livejournal.com]

Oooooh. These are seriously neat. I love the flower and I think my favorite is the wolf's head. Such beautiful pieces. :3

I can't wait to see what you do with these! :D

[misora.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! I hope to have some of the pieces finished soon. ^^

[intervigilum.livejournal.com]

AMMONITE. Dude, I'd buy that shizz in a heartbeat because I am a sucker for pretty, different jewelery. alkjdlklksjf. And LOL @ the flashbacks to TBT...more like flashbacks to every day of my life, hanging out with my sweet dog Amon! hahaha.

I totally encourage this project and will probably spend many monies I don't have on pretty things so I can feel pretty when I go to work. Feeling pretty when I go to work enables me to think that by appearing pretty, I shall garner more money whilst at work. ahahah

[misora.livejournal.com]

Girl, you know I owe you free jewelry since you're knitting that blanket. ;) So don't worry about the moneys; when it comes time and I have some pieces finished, just let me know and it's yours. :D

[singingaway.livejournal.com]

That's really cool. Those pieces look very pretty xD

[moko-moko.livejournal.com]

The TyLee and Sokka pieces are gorgeous! It'll be so cool to see what you make of them. I would totally pay 25 for a bracelet like that. And the idea for Avatar inspired jewelry in the first place is pretty damn neat :D

(PS: total segue, but are you planning on using any formula at all, as either primary or a back-up? Because we just got tons of samples and goodies at my work, and we tend to hoard them to give to our own friends who can use them ^_^)

[misora.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! Hopefully I can keep some of the prices on these pieces lower, because I realize that money is tight these days for everybody...there are some others that will be more pricey because the stones are super-expensive, but I think those will be fewer and far-between.

(And we're definitely considering formula as a backup...I plan to breastfeed for *minimum* 6 mos, and after that I have to go back to work, so I may do a bf/formula combo depending on the situation. :) That's cool that you get samples and goodies at work! I kind of wish I was in the medical field and not biotech, in that respect. ;)