Amy Peters' Studio Buzz

Gratitude-Sneak Peak

There are very few memories of my childhood that don't involve my friend Kris. I'm trying really hard these days to not call her Krissey. I've known her since I was 3, she lived just 4 doors away from me, went to the same schools, same college, we were in each others weddings, we were pregnant both time together and became moms at the same time. We still talk as often as our busy lives allow.  We try to get together for weekend vacations and fun with our kids. She has a son Kyra's age and twin boys Nik's age.  The kids love seeing each other!

This past weekend she went above and beyond the friend duties. She took my kids for a play date, dinner and a movie without me.  While I would have loved to be visiting with her over a cup of coffee as the kids played, I was in the urgent care with my mom while she got IV's for a leg infection.

So what do you do to tell someone how much the help meant when words alone just don't seem to be enough. 

A sneak peak of our new pewter banners.  They will be available on our website in the early fall! There are 9 different sayings. I've been keeping these under wraps for the last several months, but finally had to share. Good thing Kris doesn't have time to read my blog with 3 boys home for summer break.

Kris and her husband Evan just bought a beautiful new house and I thought this would look great hanging on her wall to remind her of how lucky and blessed she is.  And how blessed I am to have known her for 42 years!

Thanks again Kris for everything!

how it all began...

My parents  still live in Palo Alto in the house I came home from Stanford hospital to live and grow up in. 

My childhood home with the kids in front being silly

Going to my family home always gets me a bit nostalgic.  The last time I started thinking about my jewelry career and how I got started. For me, my inspirational jewelry career started in my childhood.  I took a jewelry enameling class when I was 8 and fell in love with adorning myself and family with my creations.

What really started my love of hand stamped words and inspirational sayings on jewelry can all be traced back to a good luck token machine called the Harvard Metal Typer.  It was at the Woolworth's lunch counter in the Mayfield Mall in Palo Alto during the 1970's. For 25 cents you could type anything you wanted to on a aluminum disc. 

I spent over 10 years looking at every antique shop I could find to hunt a machine down.  When Ebay started it was one of the first things I bought from a collector in Oakland...I found the machine within 3 weeks of looking for it. 

I've recreated one of the Good Luck Tokens in sterling silver and offer it hand stamped with a personal message. I've been using mine for 3 years as my key ring. It is a strong heavy charm that works great as a key ring or a necklace. We sell it as a charm alone so you can decide!

It can be hand stamped with 28 letters or numbers.  You can have us stamp half on the front and half of the back if you choose. Just let us know.

Check it out now...

 

 

rings and promises {contest}

Our word, message, stacking and statement rings.

I still remember the day I received my engagement ring.  It wasn't really a surprise that I was getting it or how is was going to look. I had picked out the diamond, chosen the jeweler to make it and sketched out what I wanted.   My husband has always said it is hard to buy jewelry for a jeweler, so I "helped".  It was right before Christmas, so I was sure we wouldn't get it until after.  The jeweler was too busy to finish it and we were in no hurry.  The day I got it, it was a surprise. I remember thinking what it meant when Jim pretended to trip, dropped to a knee and asked me to be his wife, 3 days before Christmas.  It was the beginning of our family.  The promise of so much. 

Later that year I carved out and created his first wedding ring.  It was never really a perfect fit, the ring was too thick.  It was difficult for him to play violin while wearing it.  So one day after taking it off to play, it fell out of his violin case...he lost it.  I was upset, hurt and then I pulled off one of my rings and handed it to him. Of course with a few choice words thrown in. It fit perfectly.  He hasn't taken it off since.  I had the ring made for me again in rose gold. It's a special reminder of our commitment and the challenges we often face as a family. 

May your wildest dreams come true

I love everything that rings symbolize. No ending or beginning, eternity. A commitment to yourself or to someone else.   The promise of something incredible.  Whether or not it's given to you by a loved one, a dear friend or chosen by you as a present to yourself, it holds tremendous meaning.

For years now, we've been getting requests to have custom wording on our rings.  So HERE they are finally..ta da.  Custom hand stamped rings. We have three different font styles from which to choose. They are the same size and style of our word, message and statement rings and of course look fabulous stacked.  Think of lovely mommy rings filled with kids names just in time for mother's day! 

Go shopping now.

 

We are giving away one hand stamped custom ring!

First Entry: Tell us what you'd have us hand stamp on the ring and why.

Extra Entries: Tweet about it, Facebook about it, blog about it. 

We will let Random.org choose the winner tonight at 10 pm PST.