New Listing, just in time for Mother's Day!

Large and beautiful Cross of Christ beads, these Andalusian Chiastolite beads come from the Andalusian mountains in Spain. It is the only place it is found and has to be cut very carefully to ensure a complete cross shows. The Cross is formed by carbon inclusions in the stone.

I haven't seen much of this stone at bead shows recently, so when I saw these beautiful beads, I knew I had to have them! The necklace is a succulent combination of sterling silver Bali beads, onyx, silver spacers, and Andelusian Chaistolite. Wavy Onyx beads are the exclamation point. Together these beautiful elements create a stunning and elegant 20" (50.8 cm) necklace set that can be a silent but eloquent testimony and conversation starter. The earrings are just as unique, with 3" (7.62 cm) dangle featuring sterling wire, onyx, coordinating Chaistolite and handmade 1" sterling silver ear wires (21G). With a total length of 4" (10.16 cm) these earrings are long and dramatic. I can design smaller less flashy earrings to match, if desired.

What better realization of Luke 19:40 ... “I tell you,” He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

New Treasury! Check it out!

One of my earring collections has made it into a Treasury! THis time, on Treasury West. "Lemonade Stand" is bursting with that puckery-sweet lemon-y goodness that we have to look forward to this summer! Go check it out! Give it some love! Comment!

The curator of this Treasury is MossRoseDesigns.etsy.com, a fellow North Florida Craft Revolution Street Team member Street Teams on Etsy are a great way to combine forces to market your products, and share tips and techniques. The NFCR is a great bunch of ladies who are awesomely talented. If you search "teamNFCR" from Etsy's main page, you'll find hundreds of products by these great Etsy Artisans. Just in Time for Mother's Day, too!

Here's one of MossRoseDesigns' creations. My daughters and I love handbags, and this is one of my favorites in her shop. You'll love them, too, if you take a look:

For a limited time, purchase any handbag and receive a sunglasses case for free. At checkout, simply enter which case you would like in message to seller ( I re-printed this from her chop announcement).

So if you're stumped for Mother's Day and you need some inspiration, head on over to the Treasury West, check out the Treasury, and MossRoseDesigns' beautiful handbags. And if you need some jewelry...

New listings today! Plus, I love custom work!! See my newest creations!!

Here's another 3-in-1 combo set hot off my beading table. Recently I'm giving more emphasis to everyday pieces that can be worn to the office, the grocery store, and the ballpark. I love love love to create statement pieces, and have a few custom orders for them right now, but creating items with beauty AND utility has been my main emphasis in my shop for a while. In this set, czech glass apples in peachy pink and green are accented by leafy green droplets and spacers, then hand wired together to create a delicate jumble of smooth pendants and eye-pleasing color. Antiqued brass chain doubles the bracelet and adds a rustic, vintage-like flourish that you'll wear over and over again. This set would be perfect for a lady who avoids ostentatious jewelry, but likes a feminine, flirty touch to wear every day. The front section detaches at twin toggle clasps to form a bracelet, and the 15.5" necklace extender can also double as an additional bracelet. The earrings closely match the design of the bracelet, and can also be worn alone. Czech glass apples anchor the earrings, and they're surrounded by droplets of green and crowned with cherry quartz and antiqued brass.

My other new listing is a cute little pair of earrings featuring carved onyx beads, and mother of pearl. These will please just about any girl who likes floral, feminine fashions, and likes a little dangle to swing when she turns her head. I'm that kind of girl, maybe that's why I make earrings like these!

I know I've said before that I love custom work, but did I mention that I LOVE custom work? Maybe I did. I really love doing custom work. I've had a few jobs lately that have been extremely fun, and stretching at the same time. Here are a few...


Here they are, from left to right: The first one is a sea-themed bracelet, with TierraCast charms, from Lytha Studios. They are not only a TierraCast distributor, but also designers of beautiful jewelry. Kits are available on their site, or you can ask people like me to assemble them for you ;) I also did these earrings for the same customer, but the pictures didn't come out very well. The second is a Fine Silver charm in a line I'm working on for my Etsy shop. The top one was oxidized, and the identical bottom charm is a photo taken before oxidation. Stay tuned for more information, coming soon! I'll offer customized bracelets and necklaces based on themes like Mother's Day, New Baby, Wedding, Graduation, Engagement, and other life's milestones. The last photo on the top is a pair of wire-wrapped "statement" earrings. They're as flashy and swinging as a miniskirt at a club in Miami's South Beach. Imagine the attention you'd get wearing those babies! The bottom charms are all Fine Silver charms, and the one on the right, f.r.o.g. stands for "fully rely on God," from a line of missions fund-raiser jewelry I'm working on at the moment.
I've been a busy girl. For a while the discouraging economy really got me down, but I've found that when I am able to create things that people like, I don't have time to worry about anything else.

Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!! Etsy Jewelry Design and Supply Shops

One Etsy Street Team of incredibly talented Artsians, Etsy Jewelry Design & Supply Shops, is holding a Mother's Day Giveaway to promote their member's shops for you Mother's Day shopping fun. A handful of winners will win multiple prizes each. I'm giving away a white turquoise and carnelian earring set...like in this photo...

Check out the details of the promotion, under "how to enter" here.

In short, all you have to do is visit the team blog, click on 10 different shops listed, (including mine, of course!) and look in the featured items (i.e. the top 3 photos in each shop). Our mom's first names are placed inside one of the photos. Write down the name of the shop and the mom's name, then email the promotion leader at the email address provided on the team blog page in the "how to enter" section. While you're browsing, make sure you take a look at the awesome talent represented by the EJDSS street team. That's it! Hope you win!

Blockhead Radio Artisan's Challenge --VOTE for ME, Please!

Blockhead Radio Live is holding their Artisan's Challenge, and this week one of my necklaces was selected to compete! Please VOTE HERE! Every week 60 different artisans face off in 12 different categories to see who has the best handmade item. The weekly challenge is the previous weeks winners in each category. The winner of the weekly challenge will receive an audio commercial with banner the following week on BHR. "Indian Summer" features leopardskin and poppy jasper alternating between hand-made copper wire spirals. It is listed for sale in my Etsy shop, here. I wish they'd picked another photo to represent the necklace, but maybe it was me who uploaded the wrong one. Here are a couple of other photos so you can take a good look...

Coming soon...how are YOU keeping your business going during this slower period in sales? Want to sound off on how you're making a difference in your bottom line? I'll have interviews and more information coming soon. The great benefit of featuring someone in my blog is that their success and experience can add to my own. When we share our ideas, together we have two. Let's put our heads together and see if we can figure out how to sail these often frustrating waters until the economy picks up again!