2009 Capitol Christmas Tree - Alpine, AZ

We are so thrilled and honored that the Capitol Christmas Tree is coming from Alpine, AZ this year. We know that we live in one of the most beautiful places in Arizona and now the whole country will hear about our home!

It's no surprise that the tree was selected from the Apache Sitgreaves Forest - it's the centennial of Aldo Leopold's arrival to our area. The tree is being called "The Aldo Leopold Centennial Tree." Aldo Leopold was a pioneer in the conservation of our natural resources. To find out more information about the Aldo Leopold Centennial, please visit the website: http://www.leopoldcelebration.org/ Apache Sitgreaves Forest Service Headquarters. Home of the Forest Rangers - stewards of our beautiful forest.

We experience all seasons in Alpine, summer is vibrant green due to the almost daily rain showers - which also create beautiful rainbows. At 8050' we are close to the clouds which settle on the mountain tops during the night. If you ever have chance to visit this relatively unknown gem - Alpine, AZ, please spend a couple days. It takes that long to absorb the natural beauty, abundant wildlife and friendliness of all of us that live here. Here's a link to our chamber website for lodging and other information http://www.alpinearizona.com/

We've been excitied about the tree for months. It's been hush hush about the exact location - but through reliable sources the tree is coming from just south of Alpine off Route 191 - between us and Hannigan's Meadow.

We're dissappointed that we'll be out of town at a craft show during the procession. The cutting ceremony is November 7th. For more information on the tree please see the following links. http://tinyurl.com/q8dtcv , http://capitolchristmastree2009.org/ and http://tinyurl.com/ll5bdo

If you'd like to see more images of Alpine please see click on the Alpine subject bar on the left side of our Blog. Hope you enjoy the pictures and the beautiful tree we've gifted our nation!

Fine Jewelry Repair

Mark did two major repair jobs this week for a customer we met in Sedona. He doesn't just do jewelry repair - he does jewelry restoration. 14k ring with Turquoise and cracked opal inlay.
Ring re-inlaid with Bisbee Turquoise and Australian Opal.

Shank of ring worn through and cracked.

Mark milled 14k gold and 1/2 shanked the ring. Really solid now and will wear for a longgggg time. He also rebuilt all links in a heavy 18k men's bracelet for this customer - not as dramatic of a difference in a picture but better than new after he worked on it.

If you want to restore or re-dsign jewelry you own please let us know. Don't scrap it! You never get the full value of the gold that way. If it's sentimental, let us make it into a wearable piece of jewelry for you again.

Bisbee Turquoise 18k Jewelry

Mark was busy making jewelry this week too. This ongoing project is for his brother. Mark cast 18k settings for these beautiful Bisbee Turquoise stones. Once we get back he'll be finishing the gold, setting diamonds in it then setting the Turquoise. I'll post finished pictures. Going to be gorgeous!

Making PMC Jewelry

This is part of my busy jewelry making week. Here are some of the PMC (Precious Metal) pieces that I made.....they are made up into jewelry now but didn't have time to take pictures before we leave. They WILL be on our website by the end of the month - unless I sell them all this weekend! :) This was only one batch out of 5!

Top Picture - carving and sanding PMC while leather hard - just like you would do to porcelain.

My cute little kiln - firing the PMC at 1500 degrees for 25 min. It starts out as clay and when you fire it it shrinks, binder burns off and it becomes pure silver!

Craft Show In Sedona Arizona

We'll be exhibitors at a great show in Sedona Arizona this weekend - Red Rose Inspiration For Animals. For more info please see their link http://www.redroseinspiration.org/index.htm Hope to see you there!

Pre-Holiday Sale at Black Mountain Jewelry Co.

We are having a Pre-Holiday Sale ! Order by November 15th and take $20 off your purchase of $100 or more!

Black Mountain customizes each and every piece, specially for you or your gift recipient. To allow enough time for us to make each item, we need to receive your order by November 15th - that way we can guarantee delivery by December 20th...

For this holiday season we are introducing our NEW Gift Service - send Mom, Sis, Aunt or anyone you love a one-of-a-kind unique gift! Not only do we custom make it for them individually, we will also include a hand-written gift card, with your words, at no charge. We can ship directly to them or to you - your choice! This free service is our way of saying 'Thank You' for being such a great customer.

You can place your order on-line by using code # PH09 - your discounts will be calculated automatically. If you prefer to visit us at one of our shows, take advantage of this great offer by mentioning the same code. Click to see our Show schedule http://www.blackmountainjewelry.com/ShowSchedule.html

We have limited production time and cannot guarantee orders for December 20th delivery if not submitted to us by November 15th.

We look forward to discussing your needs - call us directly 602-526-6318 and we'll do our best to accommodate any special requests!

Don't forget to place your order by November 15th - $20 off any order $100 or greater!

Please think of Black Mountain Jewelry Co. as your source for quality, one-of-a-kind, meaningful jewelry heirlooms!

Best Wishes,
Mark & Carla

Things to Do In Sedona, AZ

If you're in Sedona this weekend, October 10 & 11, come visit Art For Sedona's Sake. On Hwy 89-A across from New Frontiers Market - Sat/Sun 10-5. Great Artists, nice show!

Steller's Jays In Alpine, AZ

We generally don't feed wildlife - it's not a good practice - but we do help the birds along with seed through the winter. Right now we have two Steller's Jays that are relying on us. I worry about them when we leave town for shows and hope they've stashed enough peanuts in the tree tops for while we're gone. (They do stash them in crooks and needles of the trees and bury them at the base of trees.) Both are injured so we may help them make it through the winter. The one, "Chicken" (she perches like a one) is missing a leg. She's the Momma bird. "Baby Girl" has a bad wing (she's one of Chicken's offspring.) They perch together chirping to each other. I have a scenario in my head - we often have birds of prey in the area - what if baby was getting attacked and Mom stepped in causing them both to have injuries? Who knows. Here's a picture of them perched together. I wish I could capture their personalities here. They are smart, agile and comical birds! Baby Girl In Flight