Grow Up...

When I awoke this morning there was a fabulous treasury featuring my emerald necklace.  But it was the title that really made me giggle.  It's called "grow-up," and just made me snicker.  Here it is below:

Grow-up by Efratul

Enjoy!

~Maggie~

A Few Valentine's Day Ideas

So, I admit, while I am not a shopper in the "I have to go to the mall and get some retail therapy" variety -- I do like to peruse other ideas for home decor, candles, and to generally see what other Artisans are creating.

I found a few things that I think would be just adorable for Valentines Day so I thought I would make a list:

 

 

 

Valentine's Day Candle by Unique Candle Boutique

Pink Cabochon Ring by The Singing Beader

Happy Valentine's Day Conversation Hearts Handmade Card by Cards by Li Be

Brick Stitch Heart Earrings by CraftingMemories

Spring Wall Hanging with Heart and Flowers by Putman Lake Designs

Heart Earrings with Swirls by  ShanghaiTai

Lovely, no?

Magic Happens -- or so the saying goes.

I am going to come out and say it once and for all-- I do believe Magic Happens.   You're probably wondering where I come to this conclusion from, having had a rough month or two -- mostly personal but partly frustration in the shop.

See, in the shop -- summer months are notoriously slow.   Like snails pace -- or more accurately, it takes time for a caterpillar to become a butterfly.  And honestly, who wants to be online shopping when you can be out in the markets, enjoying the sunshine and that one guy selling "Cadillac peaches" who gives free samples?  The juice just drips from your chins, right?  Delish.  It's what summer is all about.

Photo Courtesy the Very Talented Vermont Photographer at Moonshine Designs and Photography.

I have fought the urge to put my shop on vacation mode -- and just go out to enjoy the sun.  Instead, I have just sharply focused when I do things, so that I can spend the summer with the kids, still clean up a bit around the house -- and keep the shop fruitful.

I also made one slight change in the shop that has done a world of good for my psyche.  Usually I have on my listings:  "Ready to Ship in 1 business day."   But, a few weeks ago, I changed that to "Ready to ship in 1-2 business days."

I know, I know, it doesn't seem like much  -- and generally I still get everything in the mail within a 24 hour period -- even on weekends which are technically not business days.

But, in giving myself that little bit of leeway for the summer -- I am now free to have an item sell at say 2 pm, and get it in the mail the next morning without dropping whatever I am doing for the day, but still be within what I promise.  Just knowing I have that takes a load off, I must say.

Granted, when school starts back up, I will most likely return to the "1 day processing time"  -- but the shipping will remain the same -- free and super fast. (I do first class mail for free -- during the holidays, expedited shipping will have a bit of a fee.  First class generally gets across the country in 2-3 business days).

But the one day has left me with some fun in creating -- which means magic for my poor weary soul. 

This Sapphire Necklace is more about technique for me -- plus it is September Birthstone Jewelry, so I had to add it.  I was perfecting my wire wrapping by doing these rosary style dainty necklaces.  So Much Fun.

I am adding this because in addition to being a rare form of apatite -- I love how much fun I had with the photography.  It's a necklace, and individually wire wrapped in sterling silver and this beautiful Green Apatite.

Simple and elegant -- these are the color of the year, and a little bit like Angelina Jolie's famous emerald earrings.  These are Emerald Quartz -- created by heating the clear quartz to bring out the green.  I am not a scientist, so I don't understand all of the techniques -- but I do know they sure are pretty.

I made these as a process piece.  I wanted to perfect the "all in one piece" earrings that these really are.  They are Natural Peridot and Freshwater Pearl, on a one piece "ear wire".

I have made heart hoops before -- but I have not played much with the precious stones on them -- leaving them to showcase the "hoop" more than  the stone.  With these shaded ruby heart hoops -- I played with both the ear wire and the stones to make something very unique.  And I made them in gold because then I wouldn't steal them for my own jewelry box.

I am adding these pearl earrings because I just can't get enough of the color.  Classic and elegant -- the perfect holly red for holiday events.

Spring Colors: African Violet

I admit -- I have never been a lover of flowers.  I only know the differences between the biggies: Roses, Lily's and my personal favorite, Tulips.  I sure do love me some tulips. 

So when one of the colors was announced as "African Violet" I was all kinds of "ught-oh," because I barely know what violet is, let alone "African Violet."

See, I think I grew up on the 8-pack crayola -- not the 128 or 150,000 Pantone is clearly working with. So for me -- even well into my almost ten years of jewelry design, colors have been like a rainbow--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black.  And, I suppose pink.  

The pink is more like an add-on to me, like the "and sometimes Y" when working with vowels.  

So African Violet is somewhere between true "purple" and lilac -- but I would hazard closer to lilac.  So the most obvious gemstone would be amethyst -- but not just any Amethyst -- Rose de France Amethyst, sometimes called "Pink Amethyst."  You can imagine what "Pink Amethyst" does to my stoic brain -- I mean is it pink or Amethyst?  

Because to be honest, Amethyst is actually a specific color of quartz -- so how can you make that "color" pink instead of it's true form, Amethyst?  

Rose de France Amethyst Earrings

It boggles the mind.  Especially a mind like mine that like to look at what words mean (semiotics) to people -- like, what makes green mean green linguistically.  Or to go back to the subject at hand, what makes "African Violet" the color it means in the Pantone universe?

Rose de France Amethyst Large Heart Hoop Earrings

Massive hoops and a Dangle -- yeah for Rose de France Hoop Chandeliers :)

These Pearl Earrings are some stunners -- they can be found in my Bridal Line, But the softeness of the Lilac Pearls can be worn anytime, not just at weddings :)

These lovelies have both "African Violet" and "Lemon Zest" it's like a 2 for 1 deal on these 1.25 inch Ametrine Hoops in Sterling Silver

OMGosh it's jewelry that isn't earrings!  This Rose de France Cluster Cocktail Ring is made to order in the shop.

~Maggie~

Inspiration...or something like it.

Here's the cold, hard truth:  I can not draw to save my life.    No, I mean it, if I had to draw a picture to literally save my life, the consequences would be grave.

There is only one thing I am worse at than drawing, and that is spelling.  Luckily -- there are all kinds of programs for that, to help a girl out.   But, even with all my schooling (You know, just a few classes until I finally get that master's degree), I still can not spell -- and I have to work rally hard at proper grammar.

But back to the main topic -- okay I have my coffee ready, so I can certainly write this, right?

So when you have inspiration, I see that most of my artsy friends see things in their mind's eye, and often, if they design like me, they draw it out.  Huge hindrance for me, since, again, I can not draw.   Literally, I need help with a circle.

This is not to say things do not inspire me -- they do, and I look for inspiration everywhere, the autumn leaves, the winter snow, the many colors of spring and summer.  But, my favorite place to find inspiration for my designs?

The lyrics to songs.

Seriously, I sit there, or am running around the house picking up after my three kids like a mad woman, with crazy red hair and half bleached pants, blasting my iPhone (which is currently charging so that I can do this inspiration thing while cleaning again today) and a lyric, or line from a song will hit me and I will see colors and stones in my head.

Then, since I can't draw, I have to make it.  Then and there.  At least the design elements.  Maybe it's not the stones I saw in my head, because potentially I do not have those on hand -- but something has to be made so that I capture the essence of what my mind saw. 

Then, I will go back to the song, holding the piece and sort of give a yes or no as to whether it works.  Most of the time, however, it doesn't, and I see something else when it's produced -- or even in the middle of production. 

Currently, one of my daughter's favorite song's is "Firework" by Katy Perry.  Listening to that, I saw a fire work earring design in my head -- it was difficult to make it because I wanted it to be perfect, and colorful -- but I am pre-show right now, so my gemstones are a tad limited.

I ended up with these because of my gemstone limitation right now -- I will still have to work out the full "Firework" design.  More stones, more colors, more wire wrapping, but still a hoop earring -- remember watching fireworks as a kid on New Years or the 4th of July?  Yeah, that's what I am going to Evoke there. 

That set above, while beautiful, became "Fire"  without the "Work."

How are you inspired?

~Maggie~

Why Silver and Gold

I have gotten a lot of questions as to why I only make sterling silver and 14k gold-filled jewelry. 

The first and most honest answer is this:  It's about allergies. A lot of people are allergic to metals, myself included. It's actually a funny story, because I didn't really find out about the allergies until I was an adult because I always preferred sterling silver to anything else.

But when I got married to my hubby (almost 14 years -- actually in a few days), I found out I was deeply, uncompromisingly allergic to gold.   Oh sure he tried, buying me wedding ring after wedding ring (I go for simplicity, so he didn't shell out a ton of money each time), and each time I had to take it off in less than a weak because my hand would break out.

The last wedding ring he got me, however, is a wonderful design, with a dolphin holding a heart between its tail and nose, that has a wonderfully brilliant diamond in the center of the heart.  For not liking diamonds, I sure do love that ring.

Only trouble is: it is 22k solid gold, so I get about two weeks out of it before I start getting a reaction and then I have to take it off and let my hand heal until I can wear it again.

So I chose to only make 14k gold filled and sterling silver jewels -- it makes sense from a hypoallergenic point of view.

The second answer is just a personal preference:  I like to feel like the piece I make is going to be an heirloom. Since we already know the pieces are going to last -- knowing that the design is simple and not trendy, but classic and always wearable...knowing that it is made from high end findings really means it will appraise much higher than I sell it for. 

I know this because several customers have gotten my pieces appraised, making me wish on a selfish level that I had charged more.   But, I don't charge more -- because I want everyone to be able to afford that little piece of luxury I offer.

I suppose it's mostly about bang for your buck -- I wouldn't want to pay too much for something, being the cheapskate I am, so why would I want my customers to?

I wouldn't.  I want you have have an item that will last forever, will never go out of style, and that you can hand down to your family members to continue wearing.  So, I use those high quality items, and simple, elegant designs.


Plus, as an added bonus, when only working with Silver and Gold, I get to hum one of my favorite U2 songs: Silver and Gold off  "Rattle and Hum."

Did I just show my age?  Darn...

~Maggie~