repositioning.

september is always a hard month for my psychically and i'm glad to see it go. this past week has been filled with travels, crystal mining, studio cleaning, bleeding and all the other general tomfoolery that goes into maintaing an independent business run by a sensitive. hence my internet absence. but here's what i've been up to:

snaring quartz.

reading 'the brothers quay: into a metaphysical playground' at night.




visited david hochbaum's  inspiring studio in nyc. (more on that soon)

added to the glorious garden of phantoms.



serious phantom quartz. this will be hard to let go of.

october is my love and i's month. we fell in love in the autumn & were married on halloween.

& lastly, super proud of my lady amanda (adelina mictlan) for releasing her lookbook:

Love Bait Earrings

Siam Gold Love Bait Earrings
14K Gold-filled Earrings
Swarovski Crystals
$15

*last pair*

Little AB Star Gold Love Bait Earrings
14K Gold-filled Earrings
Swarovski Crystals
$15

Necklace: Summer Princess 18"

"Summer Princess"
18"(45cm) .925 Sterling Silver Necklace
Engraved Silver DSK Tag
Swarovski Crystals
*Temporarily Sold Out*

Thank you!

SALE.... How many ways can you say it?

Well......  So far......  38 different ways!

And how many ways can you say GIVEAWAY.....  

So far 13 donations have been made for 1 lucky winner!!!

All sellers and shoppers are eligible to participate in the giveaway.

Check out the right side of the blog.  If you would still like to donate for Sunday's giveaway, please send an email to lovemyartjewelry@gmail.com with your name, the name of your shop and a picture of the donation.  In return, you will receive one month on our blog with a link to your shop that will be included with the group on the right.

There's something unique with our sponsors this time.  Just hover over the buttons of individual shops to get an idea about what each artist designs.

Don't miss out...... Sunday, October 2nd!  Yes, that is in just 2 days.....  all of the shops that you see below and maybe more will be added by Sunday will be part of our first LMAJ Cyber Sale that will be an all day event!

There are still 2 days left to link up if you are a shop owner.  Please click HERE, HERE and HERE to see all of the past posts in the order that they were published.  If you create ALL handmade or are just beginning to create handmade with handmade, please join in.  If your shop includes other types of items, I would ask that you either have a section in your shop that is dedicated to handmade with handmade or you renew listings that meet the criteria the day of the sale.  If this is you, please mention that in your shop announcements.  Thanks!

Also.....  if you have a shop such as Etsy who offers coupon codes, please use a code that begins with LMAJ.  I will be offering 20% off so my shop coupon code will be LMAJ20.  Thanks for helping with consistency.

and.......

~Thank-you for creating handmade with handmade~

MaryAnn Carroll


Special Note:  There seems to be a little mix up with today's post.  Looks like Kelli and I are both taking this day.  A bit ironic considering what a surprise it was for me to read what she wrote about me.  It made me tear up.......  Thanks so much Kelli....  I LOVE it and will LOVE wearing it.

PS  Sorry for stomping on top of your post with mine....

An act of kindess

by Kelli Pope

As you may recall from previous blog posts, I started making ceramic beads last year. And I LOVE it!!! My love for handmade ceramic beads started when I found a WONDERFUL artist named Mary Ann Carroll on Etsy. The rustic natural colors spoke to me. Strangely enough, she was the one who encouraged me to try making my own. Not only did she encourage me, she sent me a tutorial, clay and tools so I could see if I liked it before I made a big investment. Then she fired the beads for me. Recently she fired another batch for me before I finally bought my own kiln. I'm not sure I can express to her how much her kindness, encouragement and help mean to me. And we've never met!! We've actually only spoken by phone once. The "art world" is not always a kind and sharing place. There is a lot of worry about having ideas stolen or copied, and competition for sales can be very stiff. Mary Ann's kindess has been a beautiful gift to me.

She and I had numerous e-mail conversations, while I was in the bead buying stage, about the joy of making and wearing handmade. And then her brilliant idea of this website and blog were born. I am amazed today, by how it has grown, and the incredible talent that has joined us. The kindness, and willingness to give abound in this group and I am just so very honored to be a part of it. Mary Ann's dedication to our group is just astounding. So Ms. Mary Ann, this one's for you.........

handmade beads (red on black clay) by me with hand hammered, flame painted copper, on an antiqued copper chain

I hope you feel the love when you wear it :)

May you all experience and give kindness daily !!

*SOLD* Peridot Starfish Necklace

Peridot Starfish Necklace
16" (40cm) .925 Sterling Silver Necklace
Engraved Silver DSK Tag
Swarovski Crystals
Freshwater Pearl!
*Sold*


Thank you!

Capri Necklace

"Capri Necklace"
16" (40cm) .925 Sterling Silver
Engraved Silver DSK Tag
Swarovski Crystals
Fresh Water Pearl!
*I can also add a little Swarovski Crystal (color of the buyer's choice) at the tag of this necklace*
Please leave me a message with the color at checkout!
*One Available*
$42

Wish Granted

by D'Arsie Manzella of Mamacita Beadworks

A while back I told you What a Girl Wants over here in Mamacitaville.

Well one seller was so generous she sent me some of her beautiful beads

to experience first hand and I want to share in that generosity with you, our readers!

Here are some earrings I made with the gift, they are some of my favorites as they incorporate a vintage stamping from earrings I found as a teen in my Grandma's jewelry.

I have had these silver stampings in my collection

for over 15 years and now I enjoy them weekly!

Jeanette at ClayHappy on Etsy makes these polymer clay beads which are light, complex and sophisticated. The time she takes to hand polish the beads give them a wonderful luster.

If you'd like to win 4 of these beautiful beads for your fall jewelry designs, just leave a comment below about an act of generosity that just knocked your socks off, a wish

unexpectedly granted or a surprise that enriched your life.

While thinking, head over to Jeanette's shop and choose your favorite bead design to share in your comment. Only comments including a favorite will be considered for the giveaway. Saturday morning I will randomly choose a winner from your comments and post the winner on our Facebook Page:

Love My Art Jewelry

Lets share the lovely moments!

Many heartfelt thanks to Jeanette, making the world a

sweeter place, one bead at a time!

xoxo,

Mamacita

Playing with Light

Photography and getting my little pieces presented is one of my least favourite things to do. I've read heaps of things on this. I've tried heaps of things. I always come back to there has just got to be a better (and less expensive) way to do things. 

Now that autumn is here that means for a lot of folks a there will be a limited amount of natural light for photos over the next few months. So what do we do? How do we compensate for the light in the grey days of winter?

Enter Carol Bradley Designs and her post and links to Boo Jewels, truly excellent tips on her experience of getting great jewelry photos.  Boo Jewels  is not only a jewelry designer but a photographer as well.  She's got lots of information in there in a very easily understood language of just what your camera is doing and what you can do with your camera. Which is fabulous for me because sometimes I just zone right out when it comes to technical stuff.

Back when I was in Texas, I did a lot of my photos in relatively low light. Mostly because the natural light was so intense that I had to or all of my photos were over exposed and had deep distracting shadows. So while I was there I did a few experiments based on the tutorial by Boo Jewels.

Two of the things I picked up on straight away were reflecting light and changing your Ev setting on your camera. Mostly because I could reflect light with a cheapo 5 minute hand crafted fix and I actually knew where my Ev setting (that's an exposure compensation setting) was on my point and shoot camera. 

So what I did was set up a tiny little experiment. I photograph most of my jewelrey components on a colour background because I think white is sort of boring for the pieces I make. This green that you see up there is one of the colours I find most pleasing for bronze pieces. It's also one of the most difficult I use to get good and true colour on a computer monitor. But I can't help it, I like how it looks with golden colours of bronze.

So basically, I bounced light around and compesated for indoor exposure. Easy peasy. The first photo, top left is without any 'enhancement', just my normal factory setting on the camera. I usually go in and edit these types of photos to make them brighter.  The top right uses a reflector to bounce light onto the piece. Still kind of dark. The bottom two use and Ev setting of 1 (normal is 0) to compensate for low lighting. The difference is that in the bottom right photo I used a reflector to shine light back onto the pendant. (More on that later, promise) See how they get lighter and brighter?

None of these photos were edited in photoshop or other types of software. These are straight out of my camera. You could and probably would go in and do this.

I know a lot of you photograph jewelry and components on a white background. This is the same sequence, 1) top left, camera factory settings, 2) top right,  light bounced back with added reflector, 3) bottom left,  exposure compensation, 4) bottom right, exposure compensation plus light reflected back onto the component.

And here is that same set of photos adjusted in a photo editing program to be brighter. It works but I still feel like it is over exposed and lacking depth. So I think this is really just a start.

So here's the photo set up. I use an inexpensive clamp lamp from the hardware store fitted with a daylight bulb, one of those spiral types.Those bulbs last forever. I think I've been using this one day in and day out for about 4 years now. It is clamped to the back of  a chair in my dining room. The reflector is on the right and is a piece of kitchen foil scrunched up and then smoothed out and wrapped around a Whitman's Sampler Chocolate box. The chocolates are long gone and I really would like some more. The background paper is scrap book paper from the craft store. Low tech, not very elegant. Easy peasy!

Go check out the tutorial from Boo Jewels. There's heaps more information and ideas there.

How do you use light to photograph your work?

What will you do when the grey days of winter come around?

I'd love to here how you set up your photography!

Rock Star Crystal AB Studs!

Rock Star Crystal AB Studs
.925 Sterling Silver Posts & Earring Backing
Swarovski Crystals
$15

The Rock Star Studs in Black are also available now.
You can find those on the upper right hand side of the blog.

Thank you for visiting!

Floral Delights in Polymer - Elvira Lopez del Prado Jewelry

Elvira Lopez del Prado's jewelry

is captivating.

She has several collections but it's her

 Whispers in White collection

that really catches our eye.

Created using polymer and wire

these designs are dreamy and feminine.

The multitudinous swirls and loops

evolve into rings, necklaces and bracelets
that are punctuated with blossoms

that appear so realistic they

seem to have been plucked

 directly from a garden.

This particular necklace called

is made with polymer, copper wire,

anodized aluminum wire and gold sheet.
The creamy flowers seem freshly

gathered.

Most of her pieces have strong textural contrasts

that keep one's eyes

moving throughout the piece.

This next piece also shows continuous movement

as the tendrils curl and dance throughout the ring.

 The wire helps guide the eye around

the various and contrasting shapes.

Here's another view of this ring.

Each twist and turn adds life to her design.

This graceful neckpiece utilizes polymer,

copper wire, and silver sheet.

Malleable wire combined with floral elements

created from polymer combine to

become dainty and delicate pieces of jewelry

that look incredibly realistic.

These delicate and tender blooms are so lifelike

you almost think you're smelling their

 sweet fragrance.

For more info you can visit her website.

The aging journey of my beautiful, brown eyes...

by Izzy Winterhart


"Age is an issue of mind over matter. 

If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

~ Mark Twain

This past January I turned 42.  I've had bifocals since I was 39.  I spend my jewelry making days looking at my pieces through my bifocals, over the top of my glasses, even without my glasses.  I come in each day from my workshop rubbing my neck, readjusting my shoulders and wondering why I'm so uncomfortable.  

One day I picked up my current issue of Art Jewelry Magazine and noticed an ad for jewelers glasses.  Are you kidding me?  Why didn't I think of that?  I've been arching my head in the most insanely uncomfortable positions to help my aging eyes adjust.  

Immediately I went online.  I was ordering those things asap!  But after seeing the price, well, that idea was tossed.  They were more than I pay for my regular specks.  Surely there was something less expensive.  After five minutes at Rio Grande I found the perfect alternative.  And boy are they sexy!

(This beautiful, bright green table top is my sawing/patina table, don't you just love it?)

Okay, so I look like a big geek, but who cares.  The lenses fit nicely over my glasses, they are comfortable, they are a stylish red (which matches my red bandana that I wear on bad hair days) and best of all NO neck ache!  I think I paid $12 for these beauties and it was money well spent.

I don't mind welcoming the coming years as long as I can find ways to keep my aging body from interfering with my daily activities.

Septembers Sentiment Challenge Winner is.........

by Staci Louise Smith

Sandra from sandra5461 on Etsy!  Congratulations!

Sandra created this piece in honor of her Mom.  She poured her heart into this piece and boldly shared it all with us.  Great work Sandra!

All the designs submitted were wonderful and everyone put their heart and "sentiment" into them.  Thank you so much for sharing them with us!  I can see everyone holding true to the handmade portion of this challenge, and the designs were beautiful.  We had leaves and flowers, etched discs, ceramic beads and handmade chains, we had beginner earrings with hand hammered metal, and beads with sentiment made right into them in polymer and metal.  It's so fun to see how differently people interpret the challenges!

May all of your designs inspire and touch someone!

forever eyes.

i've been a fan of kelly tunstall's otherworldly femmes for quite a bit now & was recently given the opportunity to interview her for her new show 'secret state' for hi-fructose. check it out here.

xo

New Necklace! "Sweetest Pair"

"Sweetest Pair 16"
16"(40cm) .925 Sterling Silver Heart Link Necklace
Engraved Silver DSK Jewelry Tag
Swarovski Crystals
$45

"Sweetest Pair 18"
18"(45cm) .925 Sterling Silver Heart Link Necklace
Engraved Silver DSK Jewelry Tag
Swarovski Crystals
$50