Jade and Copper Necklace

I designed this copper and jade necklace while flying back from Bar Habor. It's a great summer piece - perfect with Khakis!

Aventurine Stone Deisgn

Here's a picture of a new style that I created recently. I've made a few of these for recent birthday gifts. The wireworking on the center drop seems to be a favorite. The small green flowers are beads that I picked up in Denmark.

Twine Necklace Set

I found a great bead shop in California visiting my girlfriend a few weeks ago! Here's the necklace I made from the goodies. The twine design (no tools!) allowed me to finish it during the 6 hour plane trip.

Turquoise Choker

This was the last design of the weekend! I finally found a project for my sterling silver clasp and turquoise pendant.

Vacation Treasures

One of my colleagues picked up some cool stones on vacation. Here's a shot of the necklace I made with them. It looks much better on than sitting on the table. The dangling stones create an interesting look around the neckline! I might make a similar set for myself. :-)

Beautiful Bridesmaid

I spent last week preparing for my girlfriend's wedding and making jewelry for the bridal party. Here's a picture of my beautiful college roomate, Corinne, wearing the finished set. I think the blue looks awesome with her eyes!

Here's another one of my favorite shots - me, the bride, and the the terrible towel! Go Steelers. :-)

Spring Rings!

Here's a slightly bizzare design that I fashioned with the ring mandrel this week. It's an unconventional combination featuring an elegant looking pearl with a crazy-curled wire!

Rock On!

I'm really lovin' stones this week. They're so unique, interesting and rich with detail! I designed a bracelet to match the necklace set I featured yesterday. I finished the braclet with a sterling silver magnetic clasp and a dangling stone. The clasp is a breeze to fasten one-handed!

One Necklace, Many Options

I've been having fun wearing my new stone set in variety of different styles. Here are four of the options I've tried

Versatile Stone Set

This necklace set features a variety of stones and handmade links. The necklace can be worn in a variety of styles - as a single strand, double strand, multi strand choker, and with a loop as a pendant.

Mother's Day Inspirations

Inspried by mother's day, I designed this set using rose quartz beads.

New Ring Mandrel!!

I purchased a new ring mandrel this week and simply can't stop making rings! Here's a few picture of my favorite ring set.

Bridal Shower Gifts

I made a few earrings for shower gifts this past weekend!

Vacation Inspirations

Office Decor

I finally finished the polymer clay mosaic for my office. I selected warm colors to match the silk flowers on my desk. This was definately my most elaborate and time consuming project yet. :) Unfortunately, the picture was too small for the wall I wanted to hang it on... I guess that means I'll need to start the 2nd one for the office set!

Spring Inspires Butterfly

Inspired by our 50 degree heat wave (in Boston) and thoughts of spring; this weekend I created a stone necklace accented with a butterfly pendant.

Western Style

Over Easter weekend I designed this Western Style necklace using some Turquiose stones I've had for ages and a few new tube beads I picked up last weekend.

Caroline's Birthday Party

This weekend Caroline celebrated her 8th birthday by beading with 7 of her friends. Each girl selected her favorite colors and designed a strand with special magnetic beads. The finished piece can be worn as bracelet or a necklace. I also found a special Swarovski crystal heart and made Caroline a necklace for her birthday.

Beauty in the Background

I've really started to enjoy the photography side of my blog. It's interesting to see how lighting and background can alter the look of a piece. Here's an example of a necklace that I shot on both a copper and blue background. Isn't it interesting to see how the copper stands out on the blue background and vice verse. It makes you think about what part of the necklace you want to showcase - in this instance I chose the blue beads.

Here's another interesting example of 6 different backgrounds and props I tried for the pearl earrings. I started out with a blue background and ended up choosing a soft pick to represent the feminine style of these dangly earrings.

Photo Fun

This turquoise set was inspired by a necklace that one of my colleagues has been wearing lately. The style is bolder than my usual...not sure if I'll gift it or keep it!

Can you tell that my sister and I had fun with new photography props this weekend? She is a scrap-booking wizard and had more paper and props available than Michaels. She even had a neat idea for updating my blog header. I left her with a few of my handmade beads to photograph. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Delightfully Danish

I finally designed a pair of ear rings with the silver disks that I purchased in Denmark. They're clean, simple and a little funky.

A Birthday Gift for My 30-year Old Sis!

My sister turned the big 3-0 this weekend. Here's a picture of the necklace set I designed for her.

Pink & White Pearl Earrings

I designed these very girly pink and white pearl earrings on the way to my sister's house this weekend. Together with a nice blouse, these ear rings are perfect for softening the look of a suit.

Birthday Beadiness

Last week I celebrated my birthday...gulp, I'm getting old.

The week was filled with many surprises and "beady" highlights. My friend, Kim, kicked off our Saturday game night with party beads - notice the crazy set they saved for the birthday girl. She even made a cake for the birthday folks ~ notice my half is decorated with yummy jewelry!

The next day, Vern flew me to his family for a surprise party. Despite 'no gift' warnings, I received lots of surprises - including handmade jewelry from my nieces and nephew.

The next day, I arrived at work to find a completely decked out birthday office! I'm still finding the confetti everywhere I go. Again, despite 'no gift' warnings my colleagues made a cake and bought me Clinique's Happy perfume and a gift card to the Bead Cache - my favorite bead shop. Now I can eat, bead and smell pretty. :-)

My last 'beady' surprise was a jewelry cabinet from my husband...woohoo! Finally, no more jewelry around the house and stuffed in drawers. Can you believe this 18" by 4' tall cabinet is nearly full!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday extra special this year. I am truly blessed to have you in my life.

Bridal Shop Inspirations

This weekend my inspiration came from a trip to David's Bridal. I tried on a marine colored dress for my friend's wedding. The dress was gorgeous - a deep, rich shade of blue! I combined the color with a necklace style that another friend shared with me for today's creation.

Pearl & Crystal Ear Rings

Here's a new ear ring design that I created for a recent order.

Silver and Black Swarovski Necklace

Valentine's Day Sparkle

I designed this necklace set last week while watching the super bowl. Don't ask me how football inspired this delicate pearl and crystal set?! Anyway, it's a nice piece to add to my inventory around Valentine's day. Ladies ~ let me know if you want me to drop hints to your man! This piece is for sale.

The Dead Monarch

Remember the Monarch butterfly from December? After several attempts to reduce the clay cane failed, I started to use the scraps to make Monarch beads. Here's a necklace fashioned from many pieces of the butterfly. I like the dead Monarch better than the live one! :-)

My 1st Challenge

My "Artist Goal" for January was to enter some sort of competition. I selected the 'Art Bead Scene' which holds a challenge each month. It was a great inspiration to figure out the Flickr world and link a slide show into my blog. There are a lot of entrants; so it's unlikely I'll win. The coolest part is seeing the comments that others have left about my design. An entire community of beaders making their own beads; just like me....how fun!!

The Black Dress Necklace

This week I designed a necklace to compliment a black dress and gold coat that I purchased for a sales banquet. The comic part of this design was that I finished it at 11:30 PM the night before the event in my hotel room. It was the only beading opportunity I've had all week! Lately my life resembles the main character in the movie 'In Pursuit of Happyness' - constantly running, always late, too many things to do. Time to slow down...schedule some vacation time...and curl up with my beads. :)

Randomness

I hate monotony! While my randomness may not bode well for finding my keys on a regular basis; it's a perfect quality for designing wine charms. The beauty of these charms is that no two are exactly alike. The pattern, the shape, and the colors are all different!!

Ice Storm

Today's project was a design for the 'Art Bead Scene' monthly challenge. Their January's theme is Ice Storm; so, I slected shades of blue and white framed in silver.

Variety Adds a Little Spice!

Lately I've been making more pieces with this blue, turquiose and silver theme. I've also strayed away from simple patterns and started making 'theme' beads in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors to use in the same necklace. I think it adds a little spice and variety to the designs.