Baby Name Pendant! (edited with new photo)

My mom makes jewelry.  She is, in fact, a jewelry artist.  Her stuff is unreal--incredibly detailed and unique silver pieces with pearls, gemstones, glass, what have you--and I haven't ever seen anything like it.  She also teaches classes, so rather than paying my money to take her class, I imposed upon her this week (as she's trying to finish her custom orders before heading overseas on a trip) because I really, really wanted to have a pendant with Little Sister's name on it before she turns one (!!!) at the end of the month.

Back when The Boy was a baby, she helped me make one with his name on it.  We did it when we were all at the beach one weekend, so The Boy's dad and the other three grandparents were all there to play with him while my mom and I worked.  This time, my dad kept The Boy company downstairs while my mom and I scrambled as Little Sister tried hard not to stay asleep during her nap, and therefore "mom helping me" was really "mom doing it and stepping aside to let me do a step here and there that she could have done much more quickly herself," but I still feel a little pride of ownership in the final product.  I did design it (The Boy's too, for that matter), but once the very basic first steps were done, Mom thankfully took over for me so it's finished so much more nicely than I would have been able to do myself.

Just some fun shots I took in between "working:"

The workspace

The name, stamped out (one of the few things I did myself)

Front, middle, and back

The one who really got it done:

She actually did the final patina and polishing after I had gone home, so she's going to mail me the completed pendant before she hits the airport (does she rock, or what?) but she did send me a picture.

We picked a design with what looks to me like an iris in it.

When it gets here, I'll post what it looks like with the boy's name charm.  His is a circle, with the same idea of an overlay with a hole in it.

And here they are together!  As a side note, the postal carrier almost didn't deliver the package my mom sent with the finished necklace, because she addressed it using my maiden name instead of my married last name (it's only been seven and a half years, Mom!), but it got here!

Oh, and you can see her other work or contact her for custom jewelry HERE:  www.debsteele.com