New For 2016

The start of 2016 has been busy, busy!! For 5 years my business has been scattered all over our house, it was more like we lived in my business rather than having a business in our home. So as we rolled into the New Year, I decided it was time to take back my life (and our home) from my business. We are blessed to have a very large room that used to be our kid's playroom and while the conversion started over a year ago, I never finished organizing and settling in, so the mess had grown exponentially. I'm thrilled to say that other than painting, it is done! We have our dining room back (it has been a jewelry showroom for 5 years) and my bead room is a joy to work in now!

Different work areas for beading, metal stamping and polymer clay and not seen in this picture is an area for metal working. 

The "showroom" is now upstairs and there's even a corner for photographing jewelry so hopefully it will get me on track for keeping the website more up to date!

My bead wall! I love having beads hanging so I can see them, it helps tremendously with the creative process. And the back wall is the metal working area. As you can see though, there's still a lot of painting to be done.  Ugh, not my favorite part!!

In addition to getting organized for 2016, I've been working on metal stamping! This is the new monogram bracelet (it's available to be ordered!).

And here is a tree of life stamped bracelet. Some of you may have seen this, I had it at a couple of shows at the end of last year. More designs are coming!

And something I've wanted to learn to do for a LONG time is enamel. I really wanted to add some color to my earrings and this is the perfect solution.

Enameling over brass

Looking forward to what 2016 holds!!

Happy New Year

I can hardly believe it's 2016! I have been in business for a little over 5 years and it still amazes me that I get to do something I love for a reason that I love so much...  Jewelry and Swaziland!

First, thank you for an amazing 2015!! It was my best year yet! I was overwhelmed by how many of you return year after year and how so many of you have become friends. It made my day when I received a Christmas card from a customer! I have been privileged to hear so many of your stories and become a part of your life, far beyond simply accessorizing your favorite outfits. Thank you for allowing me into your lives!

As I look forward to 2016, I am excited and as always, a little anxious. As a jewelry designer, I always want to keep things fresh and new and unique. It can be a little daunting season after season to come up with something new and different. But the challenge is fun, so bring it on!

In 2016, I am adding some methods of metal working! The first, that I'm the most excited about is metal stamping! I tried a few pieces at shows at the end of last year and they were a big hit! I'm also experimenting with metal etching, enameling and riveting so I can layer pieces... stay tuned!!

Every year I say I'm going to do better at keeping up the website and while I haven't met that goal yet, I'm entering 2016 with a renewed commitment! Feel free to nudge me if you're not seeing new pieces from time to time!  For the next week I'm reorganizing my work space and then I'll take on updating the website.

Thanks again for being the most AWESOME customers anyone could ask for!

Christmas Orders 2015

Thank you SO much for an amazing year!! As Christmas nears, the last day I will take new orders for delivery in time for Christmas is Friday, December 11. Most pieces are made to order, so there will not be time after December 11 to complete and ship new orders. If you would like to email me and see if a piece is already made, please feel free, but please don't place an order until you check with me. Thank you! See you in the New Year!

Thank You! THANK YOU!!

I want to start with a Great BIG THANK YOU!!  I am so grateful to all of you who have purchased my jewelry designs in the last year and helped make our trip to Swaziland possible. It was my 8th trip, but what made it even more special was that my husband went with me for the first time. I have longed to share this experience with him and it was more than I hoped.

I will take a few posts and tell you more about it, but I wanted first to say thank you!

These are the ladies I worked with all week...  They are the Khutsala Artisans that make the jewelry for Heart For Africa. 100% of the profits of the sale of their jewelry (sold through the Heart For Africa website) goes to care for the 98 children living at Project Canaan. I had the incredible blessing of working as part of their team designing new pieces for the fall. I can't wait to go back!! 

Closed For June

I wanted to let you know that the shop will be closed for most of June, starting Monday, June 8. I will not reopen until July. I am off to Swaziland!! Lots of stories and photos to come when I return. Can't wait to get back to this beautiful country! Have a wonderful June!

What Inspires You?

The beauty of creation inspires my imagination to create jewelry in the colors that reflect its beauty... an aging couple holding hands on the beach inspires my imagination and moves my heart to imagine what's possible with my true love in our coming years...

Inspiration for the imagination is everywhere! Take a moment to be inspired today!

If You Can't Laugh At Yourself...

So I thought I'd tell a funny story on myself today that I did in the name of beauty!

Last week I saw a video on Facebook where the video blogger said you can use red lipstick (under your makeup) to cover dark circles.  It seemed a little far-fetched to me, but since I was tired and feeling a little adventurous, I thought, "Sure, I'll give it a try."

I'm just sorry I didn't take a picture...  It was hilarious!!  I put on the red lipstick like she said and then added my concealer, I was horrified when I looked in the mirror...  I looked like a pink raccoon!!  I had two HUGE pink goopy circles around both eyes!! (And I was in a hurry to get out the door.)  Can we say gullible?!

Note to self...  don't try crazy beauty tips when you're rushing to get ready!  Oh the things we do...