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!

Mailing List

At the suggestion of my dear friend Michele, I have been doing some research on adding a Mailing List to my site so that people can sign up and receive newsletters and special announcements. There are a lot of hosts out there, and lots of information, so while I sift through that please feel free to send me an email (see the right column under the Mailing List header) and I'll be happy to sign you up! I promise, I wont spam you all or share your information. Just send me a note with "Mailing List" as the subject line and let me know that you are interested! Thanks everyone, hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you Michele!

Ok folks, I have spent the day talking to a GREAT friend and phenominal glass artist, Michele Nesworthy of Moonfairy Glass! I asked her a couple of questions and I got some of the most generous and best advice I have ever had in my jewelry making career. She is very talented and since I make a great majority of my designs with her glass beads, I thought I would just take a few minutes and express my gratitude! Your talent astounds me!

Among the changes I have made, as I'm sure you will notice, is on both my blog and Etsy banners! I have "beefed" them up a bit to make them stand out and draw your attention and I am really happy with them. Great advice, I hope you like the change!

I have a link to Moonfairy Glass in My Favorite Places, and I visit there daily to see what's up, what's new and to get inspired! Oh, and of course - to BUY BEADS! (Check me out, I'm in her Designer's Gallery!)

So thank you again Michele, for taking the time to help me today. I look forward to your newsletter, glad I could help you as you certainly have helped me!

New Jewelry up!

I sat for three and a half hours the other day with my music on and made jewelry! I am so excited with the pieces that I came up with. I have listed three items on Etsy this morning, shown above, so swing on over and check them out. The other's I made I am still photographing. I have also came up with a new idea for a bangle and I made a couple for me and Ann to wear and try out before I offer them up for sale. I am already loving them and have gotten the kudos from a few of my trusted fans so maybe I'll get them ready for sale soon. Other than that, we're just plugging along here. Had a nice holiday, now just waiting for the warmer weather! It was 29 degrees when I brought Meg to school today, so I am not happy about that! Oh well, the Robin's have eaten all the berries off our holly tree so I know that Spring is right around the corner! Hope you all have a nice day!

March News!

Hi Everyone!
It's been a while since I have posted, and yes, I am STILL editing wedding pictures. Long process but they are coming out great! I just attended the annual Gem Show in Hartford on Sunday and got some really pretty beads to create pieces with including some Tourmaline and some really pretty natural gemstones (not sure of the "real" name) in great shades of blues and browns. Really nice stuff!! I am hoping to get to use them soon, I'm already envisioning what I can do with them.

I have no shows booked yet this year, although I am planning to have a booth at the Farmer's Market in Waterbury this summer. So, I am calling on all of my friends, and previous show hostesses to check your calendars and call me with a date for a repeat engagement! ha ha I have some wonderful new pieces and lots of ideas so I would love to come and present them to you with all the bells and whistles! The picture above is of a piece that I recently transformed from a bracelet into a necklace and I love it so much more this way! It's on Sterling wire, and the beads are anchored in the center so it sits so nicely right on your collar bone.

That's all for now, be back soon with more news/updates, and hopefully more JEWELRY!