CT Etsy Team Jewelry Spectacular!

Details, as promised!

(Please feel free to pass this along)

Also, check out this link to view a slideshow of samples of work from the designers listed above: http://www.freewebs.com/jewelryspectacular/

See if you can find my pieces!

She sells sea shells... & pearls too!

Finally! The sun is shining today, and I got outside to take some more pictures of the pieces I just made. The first is a sea shell circle which I wire wrapped into a pendant and strung on sterling silver wire and then added matching teardrop shaped sea shell beads in various spots on the wire. Great for the summer, it's such a simple and lightweight piece!

The other piece is made with snowflake pearl slider beads which I have accented with Swarovski pearls and Silver balls. Great for a dressy outfit or a bride? A very elegant necklace and earring set. Hope you are all enjoying your day, I know I am so far!

Rain rain go away!

I must have been a cat in a former life or something, because the best thing to do on a rainy day is curl up in a ball and take a good nap, which is exactly what I did today! (With my cats next to me of course! That's my Mimi in the picture above!) Boy, did I need it! But all the while I was dreaming up new designs in my head, I'll have to get to work on them before I forget.

The weather is certainly not cooperating today, but I have been a busy bee creating all sorts of new things, preparing for the Brass City Harvest this weekend. A little dash of this, a little pinch of that... If the weather is dry tomorrow, I'll get outside to get some pictures!

I am struggling with my photographs lately. Oh, how I need a lightbox! I depend on the sun to capture the beauty of the colors in the glass beads that I incorporate in my designs, but the only place that I have great sunlight around my house is on my deck... where the kids have their TWO sandboxes and my husband has the grill. I have been using the top of the sandbox as my backdrop as of late, and sometimes I like it while other times I don't. I try to make the pictures interesting (that's the photographer in me), but I know better. I need to keep it simple, so I'll be working on a new backdrop soon.

Hope you are all staying dry! I'm going back to my nap.

Whispering Birch

One of my favorite bead sets by Melissa Rediger... This is such an awesome collection of jewelry! The necklace features a curved bead that is anchored on sterling wire, and I made the matching bracelet and earrings set out of the glass lentil style beads. I was amazed at the Swarovski colors I found to go with these beads... Lime, Cantaloupe, and Crystal Golden Shadow. Pair that with a load of silver spacers and you have a match made in heaven!

Everything with the exception of the ring is up for sale on Etsy (I have to get something out of this deal since I originally bought these beads for me!) See, I can Share!!

I may have to go back and ask for a special order of these beads again for myself! ha ha I am my best customer! Enjoy your Friday!

Tis' the season to be... SASSY!

Picture this... The mail arrives (highlight of my day!) and there is a package for me (duh, there's always a package for me). I open the carefully wrapped golden box, lift the greenish blue tissue paper, and below it find the most exquisite color disk beads I have ever seen. The only words I am able to utter are "Are you kidding me"? In my head the thoughts are swirling, I'm thinking..."this girl is so talented, I can't believe these beads, and there is NO way I'm sharing!"

So Carey, of Sassy Stoppers, this entry is for you! I know that you know that I love your beads. The colors are so pretty and I have many idea's for what I can and will do with them. You have gained a new customer, and I have put a link to your store in my Favorite Places. (Thanks for doing that for me on your site too! I appreciate it!)

*

This bracelet is mine (I designed it in my head at 3am this morning and made it as soon as I woke up), however, I did buy another set of disks from Carey the other day, and I am sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of the mail! Stay tuned for another piece featuring Carey's beads soon!

It's a Ring Thing!

I was in the mood to make some rings! It's an intricate process and takes a while but I love the finished product! I had these glass beads made by Michele of Moonfairy Glass specifically for rings and they are a great size if you are looking for something different and a little chunky! Hand wrapped in copper filled silver wire, they will make a wonderful addition to your collection! I'll be bringing these to the craft fair, and putting them up on Etsy if you are interested. I have a few more beads if you would like one custom made for you, just drop me an email!

Straight from Down Under!

OK, so I have all "my" beads in these beautiful bead boxes in the closet in my office. I am also the keeper of my mom's stash and Ann's. Well Ann was here today and we were rummaging through her stuff in hopes of making something cool. I have SUCCEEDED! Holy cow, I am loving this pendant that I made for her with these gorgeous beads that she bought from a glass artist in Australia! I made the bail large enough to string on her Pandora necklace. I wrapped the two larger beads in silver wire and dangled the smaller ones from silver chain! It's love, I tell you! She's taking this one home and wearing it to work tomorrow, so I'll have to dig in MY stash to make something similar to share with the rest of the world! Keep checking back to see what I have come up with! Have a great day!

Raspberry Sorbet

What a perfect color for the season! These beads remind me of Raspberry Sorbet (they were made by Michele of Moonfairy Glass, OF COURSE!). I was asked to make a custom order for my friend Cathy with these beads and I split the set into two necklaces. This one went up on Etsy this morning! The weather is just gorgeous today, I hope it's nice where you are and that you can get out and enjoy it! Cathy, thanks so much for the inspiration! Hope you enjoy your necklace!

Craft Fair - Mark your calendars!

I have just been invited to participate in the second annual Craft Fair, Jewelry Spectacular at the Holiday Inn in North Haven on June 7, 2008. This is a fair dedicated to the talented jewelry designers throughout the state of CT. I'm so excited! What I know so far is as follows, but I will post more as I get more info.

Jewelry Spectacular - June 7, 2008

The Holiday Inn

201 Washington Ave

North Haven, CT 06473

10am - 4pm

Stay tuned for more details, and if you'd like to come down and need directions, just let me know!

Anklet anyone?

So Ann and I were shopping at the mall this weekend in our favorite stores and while I was buzzing through the sale racks, she was perusing the jewelry. When we met up, she said..."I want a bracelet just like this". So we came back to the house, sat in my office and made a prototype, with my own spin on it - naturally! I made my own "s" charms, and wire wrapped them in, plus added one as a drop near the clasp. I made Ann's with black leather in a bracelet size and made my own with brown leather in an anklet size! Now I thought to myself, why not make them multipurpose? So I added jump rings to the end so that if you want to wear it as a bracelet you can, and if you want to wear it as an anklet you can... How smart am I? I'll be making some of these for the Farmer's Market in a variety of gemstones (the one's in the picture are gone, I only had a couple left over from another project) but I can pretty much make them with anything. Let me know your thoughts, do you like? Drop me an email with your comments. If you want one, let me know and I can custom make one just for you!

Spring Garden Party!

Who doesn't love a good spring garden party? These earrings represent the best colors of spring, lovely shades of pink and green! I wrapped these stunning glass beads into works of art! I combined Swarovski Crystals and matching Cat's Eye donuts. I'm putting them up on Etsy, so swing on over and take a look! Enjoy your Saturday!

For little girls...

It's that time of the year again when certain little girls make their Holy Communion. I have designed a bracelet, that I have made for so many special girls and would be happy to recreate it for you! If you are interested, I have put up a custom order listing on Etsy for a bracelet that I can make with either a regular or a Celtic Cross charm. Congratulations to all making their Communion this year, especially Kayli for whom this particular bracelet was made. It's a special event, I hope you enjoy your day!

Eggplant Envy...

The name of this bead set is Eggplant Envy, made by my favorite - Michele of Moonfairy Glass! I have been on the fence about this one, because I love it so much and I know that other people would too, so Meghan put the words "keep" and "sell" on pieces of paper and held them behind her back and I picked "KEEP"! So for now it's mine! (If anyone out there is interested in it, please let me know - I'm not selfish and I'd be willing to share! ) The perfect purple colors with magnificent depth. I don't know how she does it but she's truly an artist! I put in some Hill Tribe Silver tubes and used a Bali silver toggle that I got at the Gem Show in March. Not the best picture (sorry), but I wanted to put something up to keep you all coming back! The weather is so unpredictable here and sometimes I can't get outside to take photo's of the pieces. I promise this weekend, I'll be making more jewelry, it's going to be cold again and rainy. So what better to do on a cold rainy day? Make some sunshine inside with a beautiful rainbow of Swarovski Crystals and handmade glass beads! Be sure to check back!!

KOOZA!

I don't know how many of you are Cirque Du Soleil fans but we went last night in Hartford to the KOOZA show and it was simply phenomenal! The performers were unbelievable, and Meg really enjoyed it! We laughed so hard at times, and I encourage all of you who can get tickets before they leave Hartford to do so. Don't miss it, it's definately an experience!

So check out the jewels that I wore to the show... Glass set made by Deb Rosely, I accented it with Bali Silver everywhere and Swarovski Crystals to match. Love it!

Update - New Jewelry

I took advantage of the beautiful sunshine today and took some pictures of some new items that I added to the store. I'll be working on it again a bit later or tomorrow, but head on over to Etsy (you can click here) and check them out! Going to play with the boys now and close the windows to prepare for tomorrow's rain (yeah, it was nice to air the place out today - COME ON SPRING, let's get a move on!!) Have a great night!

Stay tuned!

It's such a beautiful day today, so I am going to focus on photographing the other pieces that I will be adding to the Etsy store later on. I have lots of good stuff ready to go, so be sure to check back!