Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Does anyone have an Ark I can borrow?

This rain has certainly caused it's damage this week. We've gotten so much that our basement is taking it on and let me tell  you, I am not happy! We're off to buy a Sump Pump as soon as Home Depot opens, but in the meantime we are just shop vac'ing it up, and it's taking forever. Unfortunately, the water is still coming in too... this will be my life for the next couple of days, I'm afraid. Although the hubby is doing the majority of the work (I can't lift those heavy buckets). But I'll be on clean up once the water is out. Another less than fun project. 

Mother Nature, please... we need some sunshine over here! At least to dry out our spirits. It's been a long night, with no end in sight. 

Monday, March 29, 2010

Update!

Just a quick update to tell you that I've named the pink/brown bracelet "Cherry Blossom" and it is listed up on Etsy right now! Along with "Mojito", and "Raspberry Lime Sorbet"

On a happy note, my "Rainforest" bracelet has Sold and will be on it's way to a new happy home in the morning! Thanks Bonnie! 

Have a great night everyone!
Be back tomorrow with more good stuff! :)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Favorite Color Combo's!

I had time to make some new jewelry the other day. Used some of my favorite color combination's too!
Take a look:
Brown and Pink
I still have yet to name this one. It deserves a REALLY good name. I'm usually good at coming up with them but I'm stumped. Someone suggested Tea for Two, but I'm on the fence about it... I'll take suggestions!!

Green/Blue (specifically Indian Sapphire, as it is one of my FAVORITE Swarovski Crystal Colors)
"Rainforest"

Green and Blue again, but BOLDER this time.. remember what I said about
Navy? :)
"Mojito"

Purple/Green (Raspberry to be exact!)
"Raspberry Lime Sorbet"

Green/Blue AGAIN! I was on a roll...
Still no name yet for these handwrapped glass bead earrings! 

Blue/Brown (Navy... of course!)
"Night Sky"
Beautiful dark blue with flecks of browns that look like little stars and things floating around in the night sky. 

This is one picture of each item, if you would like to see different views you can see the rest of the photo's on my Facebook Fan Page!
Don't forget to "Become A Fan"! 
See you there! :)
Etsy listing's coming this weekend for these and some others as well.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Mailing List

Are you on my mailing list?
I'm getting ready to send out a newsletter and you won't want to miss out!
Sign up in the BIG GREEN BOX to the left. :)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

A very productive day!

I can't believe how much I got done today, considering the amount of sleep that I got last night. One of my kids was up and I only got a few hours. Not to mention that I spent the evening in agonizing pain after the workout I attempted to do with my husband. The "AB Ripper" is ridiculous! LOL! It's SO HARD! Oh my god, I can't even walk today... my legs are so sore, my abs hurt so much and my back is killing me. But no pain, no gain right? ;)
New jewelry is coming! Not boutique jewelry, NEW jewelry!! I made 5 bracelets today...one of which is a very intense charm bracelet. In addition, I made 2 pairs of earrings. I'll photo tomorrow and post the pics up! It's Thursday night, so I am writing this quickly during a Grey's commercial so I'm off.. Have a great night! 


Monday, March 22, 2010

My clock grew wings...

I can't believe how fast I let the day get away from me!! Time really does fly, whether you are having fun or not. Today was a catch up on my cleaning day since I didn't do much of that over the weekend, opting for enjoying the warm sunshine while it lasted. I will be working on those Etsy listing's tonight with some new jewelry. 
Oh, and I got some beads in today... Seriously? I had to pick my jaw up from the ground. They were a completely unexpected find, I went on the recommendation of Kelly from Silver Parrot and grabbed some disks and a focal from this shop on Etsy. I'll give the info tomorrow when I take my own photo of the stash I got (simply because that would require me opening an entirely new window to look it up and I am on a roll). 
I love disks, I love NAVY blue... not all blues compare, but there is something about Navy blue that makes me weak in the knees, and I love shiny things. This pile of beads I got is a good mix of everything I love. 

I promise a picture tomorrow! I hope you had a good Monday! Dancing with the Stars is on tonight... maybe I'll watch while I list... I have it set to record in case I get carried away on the computer. :)

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A little Spring Cleaning...

Changing things up a bit! I sometimes get very bored with looking at the same things every day. Which is why I am so addicted to Lampwork Glass beads, because every SINGLE one of them is different. I never get bored with them. But other things, not so much. I tire of seeing the same colors and pictures. Which is why for the past few days I have been working on changing things again here on my Blog, in addition to my Etsy store banner and my business cards. It took me a long time to find just the right piece of jewelry when I switched from my original business card design two years ago. Now, I have so many favorites that I wish I could just print each one differently to have a variety. Now that's not very cost effective, however, changing your blog background and banner is easy! And free, since I design them myself. 
Here's my new layout:
When I change the business cards, I also have to change my earring cards, post cards and banners, brochures, posters, etc.
I wont do them all at once, I'll use up my supply (which is rapidly dwindling) and then reorder. But I am happy with the new look. It's Springy, happy and represents who I am as a designer. I hope you like it!
Have a great weekend!


Monday will be the day for new Etsy Listings!

The weather has been so nice this week....I think Monday is going to start the downward spiral again. Temps will be up, but there is rain in the forecast. I can't possibly tie myself to this computer when there is SUNSHINE outside! Please bear with me, and enjoy your weekend...I plan to! :)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy Shamrock Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day! It's a great day to celebrate the Irish! I broke out my green sweater, and the kids all wore green to school with their flashing buttons! I think everyone is Irish on St. Patty's Day!

The other day I mentioned that I was taking my jewelry out of Newburyport, and sometimes you just know when the decisions you make are the right ones. I already have a bracelet and earring set on reserve that came out of that shop, just from briefly posting photo's of them. It just wasn't the right venue for me. The jewelry was not being seen. I hope that now that more eyes will be on it, it will be enjoyed rather than sitting in a drawer somewhere. 

Here's a preview of what will be listed in Etsy this week:
 I have so many more pieces, but I have to find photo's of the rest of them. I have some beautiful bangle bracelets, and a couple of handmade chain necklaces with lampwork glass beads. Tons of earrings. It's just crazy the amount of jewelry. This will keep me busy for a while! 
To see the other photo's of these pieces, visit my Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/mjmjewelrydesigns
And don't forget to sign up to become a fan while you're there! 
More pictures coming tomorrow. 
Enjoy your St. Patricks Day!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Road Trip!

I wish the sun was out, but it's not. It's pouring rain and that will make this 3 hour drive even longer today. Ann and I are headed up to Newburyport. I have decided to take my jewelry out of the Boutique up there. There are several reasons, but the main one is that it's too far away for me to get there on a regular basis. I have a lot, let me restate that...A LOT of jewelry up there. Unfortunately, I'll be coming home with it as it didn't sell. They are very nice people and they have a beautiful shop but I think that they have way too much jewelry for sale. They have some beautiful artwork, paintings and such but the majority of it is jewelry. And although it is all different, it's very overwhelming and my pieces are just not selling enough. I've had some really pretty ones go, but all in all I am taking home quite a bit of inventory that I really thought, based on what they told me, would have sold by now. So, I will have some beautiful new things listed on Etsy throughout the week next week and I hope you'll stop by and look around! Have a great Saturday!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

What a beautiful day!

It was 56 degrees here today! I put on my flip flops, went outside with the kids and got them situated in the backyard playing. Then Clay and I vacuumed out all of our cars, washed and waxed them and they are SO shiny now! It was the perfect Spring day! I hope it lasts, I really needed this! I even opened up the windows in the house and let in some fresh air. I'm sure I'll have to do a ladybug roundup later on, because we are infested with them over here, but it was so worth it to have that nice breeze going through the house. 
I did not do much in the way of designing today, because I've been cooped up for too long but tomorrow is another day. I enjoyed the OUTDOORS today. 
I hope you were able to enjoy your day, and I hope it was sunny where you are!

By the way.. Emerald Isle is SOLD. :) I knew that wouldn't take long!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Emerald Isle is up!

UPDATE: 3-6-10
The sun was shining today! With the exception of the top one, I have replaced the photo's with the ones I like better! Just look at that SPARKLE!! What a difference!

I have not had an opportunity to retake photo's of this gorgeous bracelet due to the fact that it snowed all day yesterday. We are expecting lots of sunshine this weekend so I will replace these pictures then. However, in an effort to give people time to shop for one of my favorite holiday's, St. Patty's Day, I have just listed this bracelet on Etsy! Click the link to be brought right to the listing.

I will get some better photographs and replace these in the next couple of days but if you trust me... it's really beautiful in person! The Green is gorgeous, the glass beads sparkle in the sunlight and even though it's really pretty just the way it is, there is something special about natural lighting that draws me into the spectacular beauty of the glass beads. You know what I mean. 
OK, have a wonderful Thursday! I am off to work!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I need more daylight!

Time got away from me today as I was visiting with a friend and working at the same time. I love designing with company! It makes the time go by faster and it's like my hands just do their thing!
I was not able to photograph the beautiful bracelet I made before the sun went down and my pictures are not the best with the artificial lighting. Even with a daylight bulb, I find that the tint is a little too blue for my taste. I can correct that but the lack of sparkle in the glass just makes me hate them. Can you tell I hate indoor photography? I'll find any excuse to get the glass into the sunlight where it show's off it's true beauty!
Anyway, I have to retake them tomorrow but I thought I would give you a sneak peak of 
"EMERALD ISLE"...
 
The full bracelet in all it's glory will be shown tomorrow and listed on Etsy!
I also made these earrings for my friend who loved the ones I made the other day. She can't wear the heavy but loved the cascading crystals so I made her these...
I love these Bali Silver beads I got and they were the perfect addition to the Black and White color scheme I used. She wanted to be able to wear them with anything, and she left here with them in her ears and her sweats on! LOL! I guess that means she was happy! :)
More photo's tomorrow~

Signs of Spring

I'm so looking forward to it, that maybe I'm hallucinating! I can feel the sun today. It's actually supposed to be in the low 40's...can you believe that I'm actually excited about that?
It's the little things. And the opposite of little is big, and that's what I was thinking the other day when I made these...
I have been hearing that the look for this year is BIG, BOLD, and CHUNKY.
I believe these fit the bill.
 
I got the lampwork glass beads from Jenelle, and used some beautiful silver scrolled cones to accent the top, while adding a cascade of Swarovski Crystals below. 
These suckers are heavier than I normally would do for an earring, and would not suit everyone, but if you can handle a heavy, long flowing dangling earring...then these are for you! I know there are some of you out there, like me, who can carry the long look!
More to come! Enjoy your Tuesday!