Design This – Necklace to Match Bracelet, Part 2

It has taken me a bit longer than I had intended to find time to write/fit in the second part of my “Design This – Necklace to Match Bracelet” post. If you need a refresher on this challenging project, please see Part 1.

I was excited when my order from my supplier arrived. One of the rose quartz pieces pieces seemed perfect to compliment the soapstone bead of the bracelet and what was even more exciting to me was that one of the filigree beads that I had ordered as a possible companion to the large filigree bead in the bracelet actually was flat and delicate enough to serve as an accent on the oval piece of rose quartz, much like the silver decoration on the soapstone bead. The other filigree bead was perfect for spacers between sections of the necklace.

I laid out a design and asked my customer to come back and check it out. She suggested a couple of changes and asked about the possibility of a pair of earrings using some of the same components as in the necklace. Now that we had a final design, I got to work putting together the different sections and joining them together. I sent a photo of the almost completed necklace for approval. When that came through, there was just one thing left to do, come up with the perfect length.

My customer came back for a “fitting” and we decided that the best option would be to make it adjustable. I didn’t want to just add a standard extension chain however since my customer planned to wear this with mostly uncollared shirts. I didn’t want the clasp to look lopsided on her neck in the shortened position, so I came up with a double clasp extension chain that would allow the clasps to be symmetric at any length. Since I still had a bit of work to complete the necklace before it could leave and my customer was really excited about her new jewelry set, I sent the earrings home with her then. Soon thereafter she was able to pick up the necklace and wear the completed set.

Since the bracelet that I was trying to match was so complex and a necklace of similar complexity was desired and because I had so many matching materials, it was very helpful to be able to accomplish part of the design process of this custom order in person. Don’t let this stop you from contacting me though if you have a piece of jewelry or an outfit that needs a special companion piece and you haven’t been able to find it anywhere. Most of my custom orders have been easily handled by email, including photos at various points during the design process.

Fabulous First Day of Winter

So you might be asking, "How do 'fabulous' and 'first day of winter' go together?" They might go together for you if you are into winter sports or love the cold weather, but neither of those reasons is why I say that the first day of winter is fabulous. The first day of winter, the winter solstice, December 22, 2011, marks the shortest daytime and longest nighttime in the northern hemisphere this year. The daylight portion of each day starts getting longer from here. That is fabulous in my book! So if no one else has wished you a wonderful winter solstice, let me be the first. I wish you a fabulous first day of winter and a wonderful winter solstice.

As we round out the year, there are other, more celebrated days and I wish you Happy Holidays for your remaining 2011 celebrations as well as an early Happy New Year for 2012. And since today has the shortest daytime of the year, you will get to enjoy all of them with a little more daylight. Yippee!!

Thanks for the Treasuries - November 2011

The Holiday craft show season has pushed this post back a week, however there is still time to shop for holiday gifts with these wonderful Etsy sellers that featured me in a treasury of theirs. And as the card in the center of the image below says, "Have a Berry, Merry Christmas".

Five different Etsians let me know that they had featured one or more of my items in a treasury during November. Six November treasuries, that treasury makers let me know about, included one of my items. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic that were featured during November. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)

I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 5 Etsy shops that let me know that they featured at least one of my items, as well as an item from their shop that I like.

Enjoy window shopping and please click on the shop links of anything that catches your eye.

CorkyCrafts
Corkycrafts' unique wine cork wreathes and cork crafts make the perfect gift for the wine lover.

DecoHearts
Find heart shaped items and items that will touch your heart at DecoHearts.

IntoTheLight
This jewelry artisan creates beautiful fused glass jewelry and accessories.



LaughingFridge
Find magnets with colorful, funky, OOAK designs at this shop.

MothersAtelier
A great assortment of kilim (rug) pillow cases are found here.

Handmade Holidays - Arts, Crafts & Vintage Marketplace

I am very excited to be a partner of 817ArtsAlliance LLC and a leader of Etsy817 as we launch a brand new all handmade and vintage shopping opportunity. Handmade Holidays will be held this coming Friday (noon - 7pm) and Saturday (10am - 4 pm) at the Maverick Activity Center on the UTA campus.

In addition to shopping for unique items such as handcrafted glass, Southwestern, gemstone, hand painted, wire wrapped and other jewelry, photography, crochet, home decor and so much more, there will be entertainment in the form of fashion shows and music. For more information about this show, including some of the vendors that will be there (I will be.), please check out the Handmade Holidays web page. There is also a great write up about the show in the Shorthorn.

This will be a great opportunity to complete your holiday shopping list with unique, handmade or vintage finds.