beetlejuice! beetlejuice! beetlejuice!

happy official halloween ghosties! i just returned home from an amazing time in SF.....last night was the opening of  'darker, my love' at loved to death with writer danielle vogel. thank you so much to those of you who came out to the opening and especially to the lovely audra & brennan who made it all possible! i'll post more pictures soon, but here's the title piece (& my personal favorite) just in time for tonight's festivities. i hope, wherever you are, you're safe and enjoying the night!

xoxo

Hey, Sandra!

by MaryAnn Carroll

"Have you heard that Love My Art Jewelry is offering its first Call-to-Create?"

"I HAVE heard that, Sally...Sounds like fun!".

"I think so too!  Winners will be picked at random to win some
fab beads by Barbara Lewis!"

"Wow!"

"...and there is even more....Each week a new designer will be in the spotlight."

"Really? I'd love to share my designs!"

"You would think it would stop there, but the monthly winner who is picked at random will also get a month on their new website with links to the winner's choice....Check it out!"

"Guess I've got to get busy, but I can't decide on what to make."

"Well Sandra, I've made it easy for you." "Since the focus is on the Pantone winter colors, I've come up with a couple of shades that I think go great together." "Perhaps, you will too."

"Here's some fiber choices from stemellinasupplies, rainydayyarnshop, tealroot and ebrown2503." 

"And then I found some lampwork beads by Suebeads, and Donna Millard along with enamel painted copper by Barbara Lewis."

"Wow, those are great, Sally!"

"And some polymer designs by humblebeads and rolyzcreations..."

"And if that's not enough, I've found some very cool earth clay beads by NKPbeads and ArtrageousClay." 

"So, there you have it, Sandra!"

Sandra is all set.  She will be designing with shades of green and purple.

Have you started you creation?  What pantone colors with you be using?

For more information, click the Call-to-Create link on the sidebar.

I Finally Created an Artfire Collection

and it was easy! Artfire has some very cool tools. This one features some members of the Artfire Artisan Jewelers Guild that I belong to as well as members of the Starving Artists team.

Falling Leaves

Curated By: WickwireJewelry

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

like birthin' babies

                                                                                                 mary jane dodd


gestation: n. the act of carrying young from conception to delivery


sometimes taking a piece from idea to execution can be just like that... replete with discomfort, moments of anticipation and planning, hopes for what it may 'grow up' to be... and a lot of anxiety as the due date nears... 


take for example a piece i have been carrying around in my head since may - this is not uncommon for me... my etsy shop doesn't have 4 pages of listings, i don't make things quickly... i admire those people, i am just not one of them... 

meet 'tenacity'... we are going on 6 months now... i know i am closing in on delivery - my chest pounds just thinking about it... 

the sketches are basic - nothing fancy, but it is a way to bring some kind of reality to the project... at night i just put down what i am thinking about... 


the defining components are made - 

resin paddles with antique dictionary paper... 'perseverance', 'tenacity' and 'blooming'... 

glass from patty lakinsmith... 

'tenacity' was born of her meaning - 'holding fast' ... there are things that we at times must hold fast to - if we do and carry it through, we blossom...


and, seriously, who can resist a good meanie?!

Mourning Jewelry – Cool or Creepy?

(This is a popular older post that seemed appropriate to share again before the Halloween weekend. Be safe and bedazzle, jewelry hounds!)

Most of us associate jewelry with happy occasions like weddings, birthdays and Valentine’s Day. But many folks are wearing jewels these days that symbolize quite the opposite.

Mourning jewelry is apparently all the rage right now, according to TrendHunter, and with vampire chic taking over our pop culture – from Twilight to True Blood - it’s no wonder.

So what is mourning jewelry exactly?

The earliest examples of mourning jewelry were found in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Black and white enameled heads or skulls were often set into both rings and brooches and worn to signify a period of mourning after the death of a loved one.

The jewelry category reached its height of popularity in England with Queen Victoria after the premature death of Prince Albert in December 1861. Black jewelry soon became a must-have accessory, as thousands of Brits sympathized with their grieving Queen.


In the United States the use of mourning jewelry increased with the outbreak of the Civil War, which included the emergence of hair jewelry – lopped off locks given to loved ones by soldiers who went off to war, often worn as pendants or in closed lockets.


Today, mourning jewelry is making a comeback, with young designers like Anna Schwamborn from London designing a range of styles made with the hair and cremated ashes of loved ones mixed with black bone china. Her “Mourning Objects” collection includes a rosary, necklace and a watch chain tear catcher, among other styles.

So what do you think about this ‘trendy’ jewelry category? Would you wear the remains of your loved one around your neck, for example, or in the form of a ring? Or is the thought of it too morbid to even consider?

I'm curious. Has anyone out there worn mourning jewelry before? Share your story!

Ode to the Artist's husband

by Kelli Pope

Every year, around late August, early September, my dear husband Steve has to hear those dreaded words...."art show season is about to begin". What this means is he won't see much of me until Christmas. It means other than working full time and sleeping, I make jewelry. If I'm not making jewelry at a show, I'm at home making jewelry. It means he cooks a lot more, and cleans a lot more. He gets to help load and unload my Explorer at least a dozen times with my tent, tables, displays, etc etc etc. And, he's even begun oxidizing components for me. (Oh, the smell of Liver of Sulphur in the Fall!!!) He becomes a massage therapist, working on achey shoulders, and the giver of pep talks. He must often listen to hammering late into the night. He becomes my number one fan and supporter. In short, I could not do what I do without him.

So, to reward both of us, and bring a little normalcy and calm into our lives, we grab our 2 furry kids and head for the Smokey Mountains between the October shows (which is where we are now). We try to plan the trip around peak leaf week, so we can hike among the majesty of the Fall colors, and enjoy the beautiful Fall sunshine, and cool breezes. Soaking in the hot tub doesn't hurt either!!! :)

The boys will hike with us, and play in the river. The joy of watching them play in the water is therapy in itself.

Sunsets from the hot tub are magical. And mountain views breathtaking.

All in all, we will come home rested, relaxed and ready for life to get crazy hectic all over again. Thanks honey for all you do for me.

Autumn's Necklaces

Autumn's Necklace
18" .925 Sterling Cable Chain
Crystallized Swarovski
SALE:$40

Autumn's Amber & Amethyst Necklace
18" .925 Sterling Cable Chain
Crystallized Swarovski
SALE:$45

Amber Pegasus Necklace
18" .925 Sterling Cable Chain
Crystallized Swarovski
SALE:$45

My boyfriend Minh recently started a law related blog to compete with me! jk.
Both him (Bankruptcy Attorney) and my sister (Harvard Freshman) have started blogging recently. They're both pretty legit people and probably have interesting things to say, but I like my DSK Jewelry blog better (more pictures!!!) ^_^

Pictures = Cool

They both threaten to post ugly pictures of me, and talk smack if I ever piss them off. I'd like to see them try. : )

He's a partner at a law firm in Seattle and is the one who manages tech support, and marketing. (Minh's background is in networking, and nerdy computer stuff..bonus for me!). His topic of the day is defamation,which he thinks lots of bloggers like us would be interested in learning about.

Minh's blog: http://www.arrowlawgroup.blogspot.com/

He mention's his younger brother who is also a business owner in Washington.
And in his line of business there's a lot of competition among other production companies. Defamation of a person or company is a common dinner topic for all of us. It's kind of fascinating.

p.s. True Blood is such an intense show! lol you girls were right.
Do you have any movie recommendations?

Twisted Baseball Necklace Ropes In Players

With the 2010 World Series underway (GO GIANTS!), I had to get an answer to a question many of my guy-friends have asked me this year:

"What's with those weird rope necklaces?"

I have to admit, while I am thrilled to see the menfolk embrace a jewelry tradition, these things look about as appealing as a twisted chain of sea slugs. And neck ropes? They don't really conjure up the warm/fuzzies, if you get my drift...

But apparently there is method to the rope-filled madness (and I mean 'madness' literally).

Phiten, maker of the official "Phiten rope necklace"explains it this way on MLB.com:

"We have a really unique product. It has the effect to stabilize your electric current inside the body. Every single product has been permeated with what we call the aqua titanium. We have technology to dissolve the metal into the water. That specially treated titanium allows the flow of energy."

"So many players believe in our technology, and at the same time, some players wear [them] as a fashion statement, some as a lucky charm. It all depends. There is a reason why they're wearing it -- that special water we permeate into the fabric."

Special water? Electric currents? Aqua titanium? And I thought we women were the only suckers for jewelry marketing. It's never dull in Mudville.

Baseball players may use twisted logic to rock the Phiten rope, but the Los Angeles Lakers don't need ANY excuse to sparkle in one of these little beauties... See Jewelry.com today for more on what folks are calling the most extravagant championship ring in the history of sports!