Since all my claws are antiques I tend to buy them in lots - and in lots you get varying quality.  These lion's claws are not of a quality I feel like I can sell but I went ahead and made them up for raffle prizes for the cat club I'm part of.  I bet someone will really like them.

Here are more alligator teeth.  I was trying to figure out something to do with the half ones and I think having the stones to the side looks pretty neat . . .

Boulder opal is my favorite stone - bar none.  I have some others that I like a lot but none as much as boulder opal.  Boulder opal is only mined in one area of Australia and is basically opal that has grown into cracks and crevices of larger rocks, often iron or just plain stone.

A gem buyer friend of mine said it is going to get harder and harder to get so I had to buy some extra.  I find that it is really hard to photograph, so I gave it its best chance of showing you how pretty it is by getting it wet and putting it in the direct sun (which we have had very little of for the last few days).  When it is wet and in the sun it looks a whole lot like it will when it is finished.

Here are all my pieces:

Here are the best ones - can't you just see little universes and worlds in each of those little rivers of opal?

This little bird and I have a complex relationship.  He was brought to me after he was killed by a friend's cat (cats get me a lot of the birds I work with).  But this little guy was different - he had this LOOK on his face.  I tell people he looked like he was lecturing the cat about karma when he died.  I took a picture of the look for myself, but I'm not going to post it here since some people get upset by that sort of thing.  However, I want to show you all the finished piece.  I thought this brave little bird deserved to have brightly colored wings (made of parrot feathers), a rose quartz heart, blue diamond chips on his beak, and welo opal beads on his head.  I honestly don't plan to sell this little guy but I'm super proud of him . . .

Here he is from every angle possible:

And a few detail shots for people who work with bones - I was able to preserve his little trachea:

And then his little rose quartz heart:

This weekend went really well - I sold one of my most expensive bear claws to a lady with a bear totem.  The money is always nice but it is even better to put a totem piece in the hands of someone who will appreciate it.

Becky also talked me into doing a new kind of tree - the pictures are not great because it sold pretty much immediately after I made it - these pictures are on the cat show benching space of the person who bought it.  I plan to do a weeping willow in the same style soon.

I was hoping to get some sun today to take pictures - but no luck.  Since I plan to sell these pieces this weekend I wanted to get pictures taken and posted even if they aren't the best.

Here are some lion's claws:

Different sizes of bear claws:

Alligator teeth (we think):

Wolf teeth:

A racoon scapula pendant:

My dermestid beetles got a long overdue home upgrade today!  They also got a whole pack of hot
dogs since I don't have anything dead to feed them right now - so I assume they are about as happy as a bunch of flesh eating beetles can be!