A spring bouquet bursting into bloom...

I was recently asked to design a statement necklace for Beth Anderson, the lovely Editor-in-chief of Chic Galleria. Beth is being featured this week in an article about statement necklaces on Luckymag.com, the online presence of Lucky Magazine (link to the article). At first, I wasn't aware that the article was on statement pieces; the necklace was already in her hands and had been worn in her photo shoot by Photographer Jill Solomon. When she mentioned it, I was really glad I'd spent the hours putting it together!

Unless you're like the groundhog, who only checks above ground to see if spring is coming, you're already aware that metal flowers and anything floral are hot-hot-hot this season, so when putting this one together I worked with Beth's stated preference for gold, and incorporated the flower theme. Rose gold, crystal, and pearlescent finishes are highlights that bring the whole piece together and give it a feminine softness.

On my worktable, I've been experimenting with making gemstone flowers for my upcoming bridal line, and decided to make a few to vary the materials used in the flowers on this necklace. Czech glass and mother of pearl beads, with freshwater pearl and crystal, are the components of the main focal, and enamel flowers and brass flower buds make up the remaining elements. Champagne crystal and pearlescent czech rounds give the necklace a soft glow.
I'll be listing this one in my Etsy shop this week, coordinating with the publishing of the article on Luckymag.com.

Can't get enough of those fall colors!

This was a really fun project. Carnelian beads in rounds and ovals accented with tiny Citrine rondelles and bronze seed beads. The frame is anti-tarnish brass, and the beads are wired on with anti-tarnish copper. With a warm metal palette and fiery orange palette, you can tel what's on my mind -- that's right, autumn!! Boy it's soooo good to have a cooling off here in Florida. It's been a scorching hot summer. This "Tree of Life" pendant, though it's done in Fall colors, and, yeah, I know the tree of life is always alive, never loses it's leaves, etc., but I just had to render this one in the beautiful fall colors that the mountains are bathed in this time of year.


When I lived in South Carolina, we would see the glorious changing of the leaves, and go for day trips into the mountains. I haven't done that in years! Sadly, my oldest has never seen the mountains. I'm going to remedy that, and hopefully soon. Meanwhile, I can make pretty "joolry" to make up for this loss.



This necklace set is gone....picked up first thing at the Mandarin United Methodist Church Fall Festival last weekend. I'll be re-visiting this topic again, as soon as I catch up on my custom work, and finish some sets for a model shoot this weekend here in Jacksonville. It's too hot a combo to let go, at least while I still have the beads!!

New listings from a frenzied weekend!

I listed 5 items today on Etsy, no thanks to my Slllooowwwwww laptop. It took nearly all day (that, and taking care of my croup-y 3 year old). I'll post them little by little for the rest of the week. I hit a beading frenzy yesterday, and was like a woman on a mission! Now I'm back to custom work. Shows are coming up, so I should continue to create more to fill the new display busts I bought.

First up is a faceted Amazonite and lemon quartz necklace set with gold heishi spacers. I've had the Amazonite for a while, waiting for the right accent beads to come along. If these aren't the ones, I don't know what else! For more photos, check out the listing.

The Amazonite beads are a beautiful sea-foam-green-teal mixture that reminds me of the water in Key West when my husband and I went snorkeling on our honeymoon. The lemon quartz beads are hand-faceted in a free form sort of way, and look like tiny Jolly Ranchers or distilled sunlight. I can't get enough of looking at them! I paired them with Gold-plated heishi wafers, for added sparkle. I don't usually work with gold, so this is a welcome change of pace. I'm going to a show this weekend, so this one might be gone by Saturday evening. That is, of course, if I don't decide to keep it myself!

I'll be back with more tomorrow. Right now I have to cook dinner!

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...

I've uploaded a mess of earrings as one listing on Etsy. Great for last minute gifts and stocking stuffers, these babies can be sent out quickly for your gifting. The prices are unbeatable, too!Check out my listing for the details!

While playing around with my beads or cleaning my table, sometimes I get on a roll. Same thing happens when I just decide to clean up or reorganize a small portion of a countertop -- pretty soon I'm up to my eyeballs. This d=beading session was no exception. I had lots of fun creating sassy little doo-dads of every color, and finding the perfect colored beads to complement the focal beads. Fun, Fun, FUN!!

If you have any questions on any listing, please convo me on Etsy. I'm online all the time!

20% off sale! Save big for Christmas!

I guess I'm jumping on the bandwagon in the middle of the parade, or maybe I'm just overflowing with Christmas Spirit. Starting today I'm offering 20% off my entire store inventory! Since I have 49 listings, I'll create an adjusted listing for each buyer who contacts me prior to the sale. AND, as an added bonus, whoever mentions my blog in the "notes to seller" section will receive an additional gift! Just enter "blogger" and you'll receive a surprise with your purchase.

Since it's getting so close to Christmas, if you'd like, I'll send your gift directly to it's destination, and include a card with your name on it. I'll send your free gift to your address. To accomplish this, put the giftee's address in the notes to seller section.

New Necklace Set!!

Just going up on Etsy is this Sesame Jasper set. This is an unusual stone, which at first glance looks nothing like my previous sesame jasper posting, but when you look closely, the stones are quite similar, with the exception of the color. These stones are gorgeous, and are set off perfectly with the Bronzite. Alternating black glass beads antique finish brass spacers and a black onyx focal bead in the bail makes the whole design just pop! It should be listed on Etsy tomorrow morning.

From Auntie's Beads....

Bronzite gemstone beads have a lot of personality. This stone is found deep beneath the surface of the Earth and contains iron. The color of Bronzite is either brown or sometimes green. Bronzite has a submetallic luster and the sparkles of bronze light are called shiller.

Luster is right. These beads have a tiger-eye-like shimmer, but deeper color, which gives them depth. They are uniquely drilled, and create an interesting look when strung together. This set has a unique style for ladies who don't want to look like the crowd.

"Tree of Life" Listings, up now!

(From Wikipedia:) A "tree of life" is a mystical concept, a metaphor for common descent or a motif in various world theologies, mythologies and philosophies. This concept has lent itself also to be used in science and other areas.

The Tree of Life is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, in which it has the potential to grant immortality to Adam and Eve, in Proverbs where it's a simile for a blessing. Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "Tree of Life", is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself.

Trees are prevalent in literature, and real life, as well. In J.R.R.Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, "The White Tree of Gondor stood as a symbol of Gondor in the Court of the Fountain in Minas Tirith. The White Tree also appears as a motif upon Gondor's flag." (from Wiki entertainment, here.) In Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series features "Avendesora, "a Tree of Life. In some parts of the Caribbean, coconut trees are given the title of "tree of life", as they can produce everything needed for short/medium term survival. The West African Moringa oleifera tree is regarded as a "tree of life" or "miracle tree" by some because it is arguably the most nutritious source of plant-derived food discovered on the planet. Modern scientists and some missionary groups have considered the plant as a possible solution for the treatment of severe malnutrition and aid for those with HIV/AIDS. (also from Wikipedia, here)

I'm not a tree-hugger. I do however, appreciate the beauty and value of trees. Since I was a little girl, I've loved to travel in the fall to see the changing leaves, and love to see the bare branches of trees covered with snow. For me, the seasons marked by the changes of the trees are a beautiful way to mark the passage of time, and life.

These were my thoughts as I pondered making jewelry that symbolized the Trees of Life, and celebrated their contribution to mankind. I hope you'll enjoy these creations as much as I've enjoyed creating them.

In these sets, I used fancy jasper chips and wired them to copper wire with anti-tarnish brass wire. Copper and 14kt GP beads are alternated by silver spacers, and paired with fancy jasper beads and blocks. The earrings for the necklace set feature tiny 3/4" trees of life created with the same materials, and matching bead segments.

The bracelet set features a smaller tree wired to strands of fancy jasper, copper, gold and silver, and has a hand-made wire toggle clasp. The earrings have "sprigs" of fancy jasper dangling from segments of fancy jasper beads and highlighted by copper, gold and silver.

From time to time I'll revisit the "tree of life" idea. The beauty I've found in nature, expressed by the variety of stones and metals available, would be hard to suppress.

It's so nice to be noticed...

I just got back from the bank, Vystar Credit Union, where I had to get some forms notarized for the upcoming club volleyball season. My kids play with JJVA, Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Assoc., and it's time to get the season tryouts up and going. I really like our bank. They have everything we need, and the people are very, very helpful. They must really screen their employees, because we've always had a great experience there. Anyway, I decided to show my latest necklace set, because I'd bought a new shirt this week that matched the blue foil-lined glass I used perfectly. It caused quite a stir! I was so pleased! The ladies there were so complimentary and so excited about it. I hope that's the feeling it creates wherever it is viewed. I'd like it to find a new home, and soon! The set is made with an adorable starfish, smaller than the one my daughter used in her necklace. It's accented with Topaz foil-lined glass and Ruby-colored beads with beautiful gold accents swirled all around. I paired them with Goldstone, it's become a trend in my shop recently, and faceted crystal globes with AB. Silver Spacers give it even more sparkle. I really like the way it's turned out! I figured I'd lost the pics of the set here, since I hadn't had the chance to list it yet. It's the weekend, prime time for listing, and I should be putting it up, but I'm going out to play "touchdowns" with my two year old instead. No regrets.

Here's another custom creation I just finished. It was an alchemy order (for those of you who have never bid on creating a custom order through Etsy, I highly recommend it) and I bid wayyyy to low for what I eventually made, but this idea just developed until the point that I'd spent wayyyy to much time on it. Oh Well, good blog fodder. At least I'll have a posting out of it. I hope the customer likes it as much as I do. This one is made with pressed glass lady bugs, scarlet-red coral, and black glass beads. The green leaves are also pressed glass, leaves and droplets, and "e" beads. The black bands are strung on elastic, so though the bracelet is a nice 7 1/2", it has no clasp and has a snug cuff-like fit. I have more beads like this, and could do another one, similar to it, if requested. The order did not include earrings, but I have some ideas on how to make a pair that would complement.

New Listing! Love Sponge!!

New Listing! Just finished today, this bracelet set is made of hand-wired links, alternating, of denim-blue sponge coral, and marbled white/grey howlite; and ebony lava rocks are tiny pendants that swing from each ad joining link, providing playful swing and movement. The 8" (20cm) bracelet set includes a 14" (35cm) extender with matching toggle clasp that can make the bracelet into necklace, or be worn as an additional bracelet. The earrings have 1 1/2" (4cm) dangles that match the bracelet perfectly. They're surprisingly light! Blue Sponge Coral and lava are both very porous, so their size does not give you any clue to their weight.


The findings are a gun metal grey finish, matching the howlite perfectly. These materials just belong together, and the result is a stunning set that you'll reach for every day!

On my table now: fossilized coral, leopardskin jasper, carnelian, and some custom work that needs finishing. I finished a cute sea horse set with topaz and ruby-colored foil-lined glass and goldstone that will be up very soon. Stay tuned!

Here's a closeup of the sea glass pendant in my newly finished necklace set. For some reason, Blogger wouldn't load this into my blog without turning it on it's side, so I decided to post it through Picasa. I know I'm just doing something wrong, but I couldn't figure it out. So, here it is. Amethyst and aventurine clusters huddle around the top of the hand wired sea glass pendant. Fluorite spheres are suspended on both sides, and a fluorite and aventurine duo accents the knotted double strand of glass beads in the center. The top choker chain is also amethyst, accented with sterling silver beads. The whole 3-strand set is finished in the back by a handmade S-clasp.

Sea Glass Necklace set just finished!!

It's done! I can't believe it's finally done!

This necklace set took 4 months and 2 days to create. You got it. Four months to gather just the "right" materials, starting with 3 pieces of Genuine Sea Glass gathered on a beach in Scotland. I wire-wrapped the sea glass, then added fluorite, silver, glass, amethyst and light green aventurine.

This necklace gives you a feeling of the ocean. The combination of colors was encouraged by the natural colors in the fluorite and inspired by the wildness and beauty of the sea.

I make earrings for every set I create. This earring set features lever-back findings, aventurine, fluorite and silver rondelle spacer beads. The bottom bead is hanging on it's own head pin, so it will sway back and forth independently of the top segment. I'm going to make a set with two more pieces of sea glass, but they will be listed seperately. All earrings can be converted to clip-in or post with no extra charge.

The clasp is a handmade S-style clasp made with Anti-tarnish silver, and stiffened with my rawhide mallet. I enjoy making clasps like this because they add a special touch to the piece that it adorns. The sea glass is also hand wired. I'll be listing this set on Etsy this weekend.

Through October 10, I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop. When you purchase any item from my shop, if you tell me where you heard about my shop I'll send you a free pair of earrings in addition to your purchase!

All that Glitters....

Just look at this cool glass bead shipment I just got in the mail! Many thanks to Vanessa at http://salvagenation.etsy.com/. They have really unusual stuff that is so fun for creating. Those critters are just waiting to play, aren't they? They are lampworked by a local artist in St. Augustine. I don't know which talented person did them, though. They're already spoken for, too. They're waiting for me to give them their beads and they're off to their new home. Custom orders are so fun!

So I'm getting my bead on after a dry spell. How do YOU get your creative juices flowing again after a while? It's been a frustrating couple of weeks. Productive, but not for beading. We started our schooling, I started this blog (wow it takes sooo much time to learn this stuff!) and my computer whacked me on the head and made me spend wayyyy too much time on it. To get reacquainted with my bead table, I had to find it first. Any level surface in our house is in jeopardy of accumulating piles of stuff from the many people and activities that go on here. So, I waded through a mountain, and reorganized. Then I went out and bought a whole bunch of beads.

Originally, I did not intend to spend anything except for what I desperately needed (I was totally out of clasps) but there was this great sale, and... well... Now I have a good dose of motivation. It's been a little quiet on the sales front at Etsy, many people will tell you, but I've always found that you sell more when you're really motivated. Ever invite someone over to your house for dinner when it's a complete mess? If you have, as a motivator for getting it clean, then you know what I mean. It works like charm. Buy beads, get motivation (dang, I need to sell some stuff NOW!!)

Last week Rebekah and I went to a fundraiser craft fair for St. Paul's Catholic School in Riverside. We had a blast. It was our first jewelry show, and it was a complete success for us. She sold some things, I sold some things and met some really great people, and donated some gorgeous blister pearl and Swarovski earrings for a door prize. We were just one of about 5 jewelry tables there, and it was fun to see everyone's craft personality as expressed in their jewelry creations. Not one of us was the same. I met a beautiful lady from Africa, and she told me her story, and about her sisters who send beads to her so she can make her jewelry. It was a very nice night. I hope to be invited back next year. I think the most enjoyable thing about making jewelry is seeing people where it, and enjoy it. When their friends try to talk them into buying it because it "just looks like you, don't you think?" It's supremely satisfying. Yep, I love this stuff!

I got started with jewelry making when I was in 6th grade, I think. My mom was making Christmons for our church Christmas tree here's a link, if you promise to come back...(http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/chrismon.html) These are cross stitch, and they're really nice, but the ones she was making were made of pearls, gold beads, wire, and the like. I was enthralled. I took money from my chores and bought some beads, sequins and other glittery things and made jewelry, mostly earrings, and sold them to my friends. I also took thick art paper and made earrings, painted different colors, added some jewels and different designs. I wore them for years. I took a jewelry class in college, and got into the "real" stuff -- I never knew blow torches could be so fun! We did formed pieces, soldered pieces, made bezels -- I was hooked. Then upon moving to Florida and going to work I pretty much forgot all about it. In fact, I tried to avoid beading altogether, but it sneaked up behind me and captured me when my mom started beading, and my daughter wanted to make her a bracelet last Christmas. There's no going back. I'm in up to my eyeballs. and ear wires...hehehe!

My husband is totally supportive! He encourages my obsession, er.... hobby, and tells me he knows I'm going to do great. Awwww, he so wonderful! It feels so good to have somebody believe in you.

That's my advice: To get motivated,

1. find or clean off your craft table. Dust off your tools.

2. Invest a little scary-ness into your inventory to give you a "have to"

3. Find yourself a cheerleader and tell them you've been a little discouraged lately.

4. Put on some relaxing otherwise motivating music, to set the environment

5. minimize distractions. It's hard when you have a darling little guy like mine who wants to play, but maybe daddy can take him to the park. Or he can take a nap.

6. Get busy! Not many days until Christmas!!

So I can't wait to get started with these beads. They look so festive and ... holiday! I'm thinking some Goldstone, some crystal, some of them with copper wire... We'll make them dangle-y and dripping with glamor. I think I'll put on some Manheim Steamroller Christmas, and bead until my fingers blister. Stay tune for the "after" pictures!!