Japanese Flower Necklaces, Vintage Style Poppy Pins & Collage Pendants

Here's a few of my favorite new items from the 2010 Market Season.

First up are some handcrafted crocheted Japanese style flower necklaces. I love, love, LOVE these!! Each one is made completely by hand and is one-of-a-kind creation. They are crocheted with delicate premium yarns, hand stitched with embellishments and a proper backing, and then featured on a hand-patined necklace with various old-fashioned crystals, pearls .. or if I have them.. matching vintage beads. I could make these all day I just love them so much!!

$35 and up from Jeweled Elegance.
Stock is varied and limited. Email for current offerings.

These bright red poppy bobby pins are sure to brighten your day! Each one is delicately embellished with tiny black beads at the center. They come on a pretty vintage label.

$10 each from Jeweled Elegance.

And last, but never least, I adore how each of these vintage image collage pendants features a different word. I make these completely by hand starting with a blank plain piece of wood. Many steps later ... voila!...a beautiful classy inspirational pendant. These also are one-of-kind and come on high quality, lead and nickel free, hand-patined vintage style metal chains.

$20 each from Jeweled Elegance.
Stock is varied and limited. Email for current offerings.

Now ... off to make more flower necklaces! :)

Evolving at Last: Romantic Lace Crocheted Chokers

Yeah! I'm so excited to finally have the first few of these up! I've been working on my romantic crochet choker line for a long time and this is a big milestone for me as I move into crochet patterns and develop a more distinct look as an artist. I'm no stranger to crochet, been whipping up crocheted goodies for 18 years. Have always loved those super romantic eras, the Gilded Age, Art Nouveau, the Jazz Age, etc. And I've always dreamed of creating crocheted glamorous chokers. Always. In fact I have doodled sketches of them in almost every art notebook I've drawn in.

I went back and forth on designing patterns (the original idea) vs. actual product, but finally decided to produce mostly patterns with just a few pieces of each design available to purchase as a finished product. I've also decided to produce items from the patterns on demand for weddings, both for brides and bridesmaids.

First up is L'Amour, an actual lovely lace choker with ribbon tiebacks and pearl accents. So soft and lovely!! Available at Etsy.

And here's Victoriana! This is the first pattern I am offering, available at Etsy as a PDF pattern emailed to you. Would make a gorgeous bridal choker! I've had this pattern tested numerous times, but I'm still a little nervous about selling my first design. Big step!! If anyone makes this, I'm always open to feedback.

It's exciting to be evolving as an artist! Those who know me know that family medical issues have nearly derailed this artistic evolution several times , but I have persevered and am so happy to have finally reached this point :)

Store Update: Part I The Jewelry

Whew! Surgery is now behind me and recovery is well under way. Big, big thank you's to my uber-wonderful neighbor, my supportive husband and all my caring family and friends!! They say your true friends are the ones that stick with you when times are good AND bad .. and that saying certainly proved true last week.

Now .... I have been photographing market pieces every day. The variable fall Oregon light is making every photographic session an artistic adventure, but I finally have a few that are good to go. I'm going to start with my favorite, "Fleur de Gorgeous" . I adore the design of this necklace!! Followed by a few more lovely neck adornments, some Mouline Rouge inspired earrings, and a new lacey scarf like the beautiful ones in this post.

"Fleur de Gorgeous -- asymmetrical vivid floral necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Satine Earrings -- mother of pearl and freshwater pearl earrings"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Eternity Circle -- vintage style pearl circle pendant necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Affair of the Heart -- candy jade little bird necklace"
for sale at my Etsy Store.

"Tuscan Sun Lacey Scarf"
for sale at myJeweled Elegance Boutique.

You may have noticed the title of this post: "Part I: The Jewelry". I am very, very, very close to finishing my crochet jewelry patterns and will be showing them to you for part II. I have been working really hard on these since the beginning of the year and can barely wait to finally get the first few up. Just 1 more week!! Assuming the H1N1 Flu moving through our neighborhood will stay at bay :)

My Bust Gets Dressed! .....New Vintage Style Flower Necklaces

Today I tried "dressing" my handmade paper bust with neck that I made for photographing my scarflettes and scarfs. I put a pale blue camisole on it and shot a few pics. I think it looks cute dressed!

Waterlily -- vintage style flower and jade necklace
available at Etsy

Passion -- vintage style flower and leaf necklace
available at Etsy

The colors in this necklace are so soothing and tranquil, like one of Monet's Waterlily paintings. Can you see the influence?

Waterlily -- vintage style flower and jade necklace
available at Etsy

Waterlilies by Claude Monet from Wikipedia

FAM Scavenger Hunt!

I joined my first Etsy Street Team! I am now a proud new member of FAM, Fabulous Artistic Moms and they are just a super bunch!

Fellow FAM Winklepots was so kind as to ask me to participate in the FAM Treasury Scavenger Hunt. I really had no idea what that was, but it sounded like complete fun. And now that I've seen how it works .... it is GREAT FUN! Click on this link to go the treasury. The instructions for how to play are in the first comment from Winklepots below the treasury pictures.Remember, Treasuries expire after a limited time, so get over there to play before 3:37 pm Sun. Nov. 30. Happy Scavenging!!

And if you really love the piece Winklepots picked from my shop (that's me -- the Happiness Bird Necklace second row from the bottom) I have three other hand-illustrated bird tile designs available at the web boutique on this page. Check them out!
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Other posts you might enjoy:
Treasury Happiness
My First Treasury!

Quotes Meet Art

There is just something about winter that makes you want to curl up with a good book. A really, really, good engaging book. Something like Wuthering Heights or Rebecca. I've been haunting the library getting great literary reads to enjoy during the cool rainy weather, so it was natural to have thought provoking quotes on the brain while I was creating art.

Here are some pieces I made last week and I am SO proud of them! I've worked really hard the past year at developing a line of quality handcrafted polymer clay pendants and I think these two are just soooo beautiful! These are my favorites out of the new bunch, although that high gloss lacquer is beastly hard to photograph!!! So here they are (after wrestling for 4 hours in photographing them - oh, that gloss!!!) paired with the quotes that inspired them ......“How does one become a butterfly?" she asked. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” -- Trina Paulus


“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.” -- Dale Carnegie

And if anyone has a great book lined up to read this winter or a killer recommendation to share, please feel free!

Now, it's time to stop blogging and go back to baking bread. I can't cook, but I can bake bread like a goddess! Tonight it's homemade pumpkin and zuchinni breads. YUM!!

And for those who asked when the free holiday goodies are going to start being enclosed in packages ... I'm still not sure what to do yet .. thinking ... but you can bet you will find something besides your product starting this weekend, November 21. Maybe a little candy, maybe a little handcrafted goody.... I might even do little craft packs of supplies for some of you, if I can figure out who you are and if you would like that type of thing. Guess it going to be a mystery goodie to start with!

Market Pics!

The last day of the Saturday Market I sell at was a fantastic success!! These pics are a bit late being posted, but the family was really hit hard by that pesky virus and we are just now getting back on our feet. My husband is still pretty ill but the kids are fully recovered which is great news! Me? I'm really tired but almost fully recovered and should be back up running at full speed by early next week. Yeah! Because I have a TON of things I can't wait to get crackin' on in the studio for the holidays. So excited! Wait until you see!

Remember the images from these posts?:
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Marie Antoinette in Color
Hand Tinting an Engraving -- Further Explorations
Well, I bought a color printer!!! This is the first color printer I have ever had in my life and it is so exciting! And these are my first little efforts into printing. The printer came without an instruction manual, which is extremely annoying, because I'm sure the things I'm trying to do could be taught in about 10 minutes, but... I don't give up easily and am learning as I go. These framed pieces had a great debut at market and they went to a gallery the day after, so we'll see what happens!

Some of my reproduction vintage image tile necklaces from market. "Dream Bold" sold quickly, but "Dream" with the nest image is still available ($24). I just love the whole line of these pendants!

The Little Tweets have gone from 3D to 2D! I did these two mini-paintings on rough wood for some handcrafted cottage chic charm. I added real buttons for the eyes just like the real Little Tweets and drilled them so they can hang from a sweet lime ribbon. I really want them to sell as a pair, so they might be heading to the gallery too. Thinking, thinking .....

Oh, I also added a Little Tweet in red to my Etsy site! The listing is for one, but I had enough red fleece to make two. I'm thinking they would be super, super cute Christmas tree ornaments?

These are two Starfish Necklaces from market. I applied patinas by hand to the sterling starfish and then complimented them with various gemstones, beads and freshwater pearls. They turned out just fabulous! I called one "Sandy Starfish" and the other "Ocean Starfish" because of the colors the necklaces ended up. Hmm.. maybe I'm longing for a tropical vacation?? LOL! I'm going to try to get these added to one of my boutiques soon ($28 each). Still have a bunch of other things to catch up on first :)

That's all the news for now. I've got a bunch of correspondence waiting for me to answer and a pile of mail to go through still, but I still need a day or two more to rest so please bear with me!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

My family and I had a fantastic visit with my mother last week! Look at the bright and cheery sunflowers she bought me while she was here. Aren't they fantastic?! Oh look! You can even see our new pumpkin walls behind them in this photo if you look closely :)
Do you remember the custom order I was working on last week just before my mother arrived? It turned out fabulous!!! Even more beautiful than I had dreamed!! I do quite a few custom orders, usually based on existing designs (this one has the natural brass and matched an existing earring set), but for some reason I never really share too many of them here. But this one was too gorgeous not to share! Can't get over how those faceted beads shine and sparkle!

I have sold a *ton* at Saturday Market this year. So much that I need to get some new lines under production pronto. I was working on making some flower hair pins last night. This is a shot of my worktable at around 2:00 am. I stitched them with wire, not thread and they didn't gather quite the way I had hoped. I don't know ....... are they cool???? Should I make more?????I distressed the fabric edges gently so they would have a soft, casual feel. A tiny freshwater pearl is stitched into the center. Maybe I'll take them to market tomorrow and see what people think of them?
For those of you who have wondered at the free bird's nest hairpin in your Jeweled Elegance package even after the freebie giveaway was over ...... those hairpins ended up being so insanely popular that I made a second batch to ship with orders. But.... they are really all gone now! Seriously! I will probably bring them back at holiday time, but they are all sold out/given away for now. Thank you so much for your orders and I hope you all enjoy those little nest hairpins!

I'm trying to get together a tutorial or a giveaway or a virtual swap or something else fun for next week. Stay tuned!

A Tale of Pumpkin Walls

At last! The great painting project of 2008 is done! And I must say, with neither my husband or I having painted walls before, the end result is quite beautiful. Especially love how the setting sun catches this pumpkin wall in the evening making the whole room just glow!

My new pumpkin wall above the fireplace.
The lavender was handpicked locally last summer.

Why did this project turn into almost a two week monster? Well, that would be because we elected to leave the window casings white for a depth effect and the line between the orange and white did not go as expected. Blue tape is now my new mortal enemy. Our walls have a bumpy texture and when the *very* well-pressed blue tape came off .... paint had bled under it just horribly. So .... after many days touching up and handpainting with a 1/4 inch fine art brush (TINY!!) all the transition lines were prettied up to look like this:

Ah, a beautiful handpainted seam!

And now ... as promised ... some new pretty jewelry. It's all about vintage style! I've discovered all natural brass and I think I'm in love!! Just adore the Art Nouveau feeling of many of the brass pieces. And one of the great things about natural brass is that it's nickel free so it's more friendly to people with metal allergies. These are all part of my new line currently being featured at Saturday Market. (The new line also includes a rare stash of loose vintage costume gems reworked in natural brass filigree and reproduction vintage images fashioned into bamboo tile pendants and chokers.)

One of a kind, asymmetrical brass sparrow necklace.
$25 at Sherwood Saturday Market
SOLD - THANK YOU!

Art Nouveau style brass butterfly necklace.
$25 at Sherwood Saturday Market

One of a kind, vintage flower bead and brass sparrow necklace.
$25 at Sherwood Saturday Market
SOLD - THANK YOU!

And the painting is finished just in time, because my mother arrives from out-of-state for a week long visit in just a few hours!! Time for a Starbucks and chocolate donut double combo. Think I can clean up all the painting stuff, tidy the house to get ready for her visit, pick up the kids, read some blogs, and finish making my custom order for Saturday in the next 4 hours? Yeah - no problem for superwoman :) Gotta have the coffee and chocolate donut though - that's the secret :)

Garden Poetry

Dragonfly Necklace $25 from Jeweled Elegance (SOLD - THANK YOU!)
and cherry blossom tree from ... my garden!

dozing in the garden
a shower of petals
swift dragonfly

Dragonfly Necklace $25 from Jeweled Elegance (SOLD - THANK YOU!)
and chives and thyme from .... my garden!

in the herbs
a bejeweled dragonfly
is happy

Sprouting radishes in a huge re-purposed urn
in .... my garden!

first leaves
in the garden pot
-- table's bounty

One of the wonderful things about doing markets and shows is that you get a chance to interact with customers, make new friends and ... get invaluable feedback about your art. I really pay attention to what people say at market and use it to better my product and produce new jewelry lines. For example, last week I listened to many, many people rave about my dragonfly necklaces. They loved the vintage aspect and the dragonfly imagery, but what really attracted them was the free-form asymmetry. So..... today I took my portable bead box out to my garden and inspired by the natural beauty around me, created several more asymmetrical vintage dragonfly necklaces for this week's Saturday market.

I think the garden pictures turned out great! I usually struggle so with my pictures, but these turned out wonderfully without any photo tweaking at all! I can hardly believe it was my camera that took them :)

And I would like to thank Silver Bell Cottage for this lovely award!! She said I had "amazing and feminine designs" and seriously, my heart just melted in joy when I read that :) Thank you!!!

Spring Arrives in Style

Spring is here! Blue skies, singing birds, blossoms and flowers bursting out everywhere ... it is just beautiful!

Just yesterday, my little 1st grader came in from playing outdoors grinning happily from ear to ear and holding out this bunch of Spring daffodils. "These are for you, Mommy!! Happy Spring!" He was so cute and sweet and it was such a beautiful, thoughtful gesture. We made a big show of putting them in water on the kitchen table. (Yes, I am a Japanese pottery addict). I was, however, a little mortified, because you see... I have never, ever planted daffodils on our property. That means that someone, somewhere in the neighborhood is now missing three daffodils.No illicit flower activities for me, but I have been gathering rushes of pussy willow branches - which I just love to decorate with. A container of dried branches adds instant visual height and a certain sculptural element to any room. If you have cherry trees, a vase of cut flowering cherry branches is a great idea too.
And what a lovely backdrop they make for a glamour shot of one of my Bird's Nest Necklace Deluxe necklaces. These have driven me absolutely batty trying to photograph them, but I finally achieved some decent pictures and they are up on the website. Each one turns out so unique that I decided to list each one separately so you can choose your favorite.
And if you've checked out my etsy site lately, you will see a fresh crop of pink hand crocheted embellished brooches. These are so festive for Spring and look just gorgeous pinned to a shirt, hat, purse or blouse! And each one is one of a kind, so you'll have a true original.

More exciting Jeweled Elegance news: The very sweet and talented Nyx Enchantments is doing a running blog article on etsy sellers and was so kind as to feature me! If you've ever wanted to know more about the inspirations behind Jeweled Elegance, check it out here.

This week is the start of Spring Break for us, so my little guys and I will be busy enjoying the nice weather, going on field trips, working in the garden, and baking yummy goodies. We are not so fortunate as to be able to go on vacation, but we have our copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys on hand (which they adore) and we are going to have some great boy adventures! I hope you all are having a happy Spring!

Anne Boleyn Would Be Jealous.

I started watching The Tudors over my blog break and was inspired to make a gorgeous crocheted collar with pearl accents.

But first ... I wanted to share this lovely custom silver bird's nest necklace on it's way to Natalea! I spent a good chunk of my blog break studio time weaving more nests for the secret garden portion of my shop. They are all back in stock (except for one) and I now have some with white/cream "eggs". I should have the pics of the white ones uploaded in the near future. I've been spending much of my free time trying to get my Etsy shop off the ground. Not having much luck yet, because there is SO much competition in jewelry, but I'm not disheartened yet! And here is my Tudor inspired collar! I picked a really rich red color and crocheted it with a wonderful complex lace pattern. The front is embellished with some large white pearls. I think it looks very regal! Worthy of any of Henry the VIII's queens!

Wait, one more thing :) My friend Michelle at Hold Dear is having the most awesome swap. A mermaid and seaside inspired swap featuring mermaids and all the bounty of the sea. Sign-up closes on Jan. 14th though, so hurry!

Happy, Lovely Things! And One Sad Thing.

Time to do the Happy Dance!!! Looks like I'm featured in not one, but two marvelous gift guides this Holiday Season! The Modish Holiday Gift Guide and the Creature Comfort Holiday Gift Guide!

The Modish Guide is featuring my new line of Vintage Dictionary Earrings.The Creature Comforts Guide will be featuring these combs and these necklaces.To celebrate such wonderful holiday press I would love to offer everyone a discount. Unfortunately my website shopping cart can't do discount codes, so instead .... every order $24 or higher is getting a free holiday gift! Hammered copper and turquoise earrings! (Sorry about the fuzzy picture. I need to retake this with my undamaged camera).
If you've read the premier issue of Victoria Magazine's relaunch, you may remember the glamorous photo shoot of Tasha Tudor's historical gowns. You can view all the gowns being auctioned at this site. You can also purchase a full color auction catalogue. I was a huge fan of the old Victoria and this new version, while nice, just doesn't have the same magical grace or sense of style ... at least for me. This auction gown, however, is lovely! Look at that great seafoam color! You can almost see the cameo at the neckline and the upswept hair pinned with a tortoiseshell comb.
Green Changeant Silk Dress, 1840s - Lot 77 (from the Tasha Tudor auction site)
And the sad thing. My husband and I have "date nights" (where we dress up and dine out without the kids) and I was so hoping to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age on our last date, but the movie showtimes didn't match up with the childcare opportunity available to us. So, alas .... looks like I will be watching it on DVD in the spring of 2008 in our family room. Not quite as romantic as I'd envisioned. :)

Oh! And I DID go to that graveyard. Not at midnight though :) My oldest son and I went for a walk to check out this bit of our town's history. Very still and creepy. And the creepiest part? One of the graves had ... dare I say it? ... had a stake on top of it wrapped in a silver wire! Now, I don't know if that wire was real silver or not, but one look at that and we were out of there. Waaay too spooky!