Devine Designs Jewelry

Spring, in Florida? It's hard to comment on a season that you sort of don't have here. I mean typically we have warm, hot, and the rainy season. I guess you could say that it is now spring and our spring here on the gulf coast could look like summer to many others in different parts of the U.S. Temperatures could range from the 60's to the 80's. The trees look basically the same. Lots of green, although some have retreated for the "so called winter", and some grass appears dead, dry, like hay. But we do have the birds, beaches and some of these: I must say that I do like spring, and having been transplanted from the northern states of the U.S., I can appreciate when the snow melts, the birds come back, it starts to warm up, the trees begin to bloom, and flowers come back to life. As far as spring activities; well, it does give me a chance to make some jewelry that is season related; thus my "Springtime Splendor earrings": http://www.etsy.com/view_lis...

This month's featured shop is Designbynora.etsy.com. Nora lives in Los Angeles, California and has a Bachelor degree in Art, concentrating on Graphic Design. Her shop features polymer clay earrings, belts, and purses. Check out a few of the purses that I found: Betty's Purse: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16110526 Love the look of the red faux ostrich leather! Tina's Purse: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20637945 Yet another red purse! And here's one for the gothic/wild side: Christina's purse: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16329502 (Makes me want a new purse.) O.k. everybody, go out there and shop!

This is how I felt on Tuesday, as I was feeling rather ambitious and assertive. I decided to search out more local shops that would be interested in my jewelry. I spent the day driving, walking, promoting, and applying for a couple of jobs in there also. I did manage to get an appointment with one upscale clothing boutique, and a couple of new leads for other shops that I did not know of. Yesterday, I finished another pair of boro lampwork earrings, a little bit different from what I usually make, and a necklace, brass, that I mentioned for the TEAM FILIGREE March challenge. Much design thought went into this piece! Much work is still to be done! I need to post this necklace on the filigree blog, update FLICKR, and add this items to my Etsy shop, plus new supplies in my supply shop, make more jewelry, etc, etc. AND I must now pick the winner of the JOYCE MEYER GIVEAWAY for her book, "I dare you". O.K, I've mixed up all the names, and the winner is: "MJ". I will ...

It's late in the day, as I write this post, but I promised to do my earring giveaway today. So here we go: THE WINNER IS..."GIVEAWAY DIVA"! I will be contacting you for your mailing info. Congrats! Now, let me whet your appetite with some beads that I got at the bead show on Friday. First, I bought a big batch of Kazuri ceramic beads. Lots of pretty colors. I was drawn to the pearlized gray beads; I don't know why, but I envisioned making something with labradorite gemstone. Maybe something vintage looking, with brass components (we'll see). I didn't go overboard at this bead show, so I just picked up some pearls and Swarovski crystals that I needed and a few gemstone cabs, that I think I will use as focals on necklaces, probably wrapped in filigree. I found a (new to me) lampwork artist team, "FORWARD MOTION ART". They have shops on Ebay, Etsy, and their own website. I bought 2 pairs of boro lampwork beads, which you can see in the back of the photo...

I've got nothing to say, but I'll say it anyway. I've been kinda busy this week, looking for work, and going on a "working" interview; which is where you follow someone around for a couple of hours, help out, look around, ask questions, and generally get a feel for the place. It went o.k. I won't know the results probably until next week. So with some of my earnings from my jewelry business, (thank you all that made purchases) I decided to treat myself to some new stuff, tools, etc. from Rio Grande. I bought a very expensive embossing hammer. I can't wait to get it and work with it! I have some new ideas and projects in the works! Now here's a couple of new items that I completed this week. First is a bracelet that I made with twisted wire, twisted jump rings (that I made) some golden cube beads and a beautiful lampwork focal bead made by "Sassy Stopppers". You can find her shop on Etsy as well, see side bar for "Websites I like for lamp...

What item from another sellers shop do you secretly wish you had thought of first? Here's a topic that upon first glance I thought would be an easy writing. But with further thought; not so much. I love so many items of other's work. And being a jewelry artist, I must admit a jewelry addict, I fall in love with lots of jewelry! It could be sterling silver, brass, vintage or contemporary. I tend to change my style of jewelry around quite a bit. If I had to pick one genre, I would have to choose southwestern inspired jewelry. I just love the look of it. And it really never goes out of style. The beautiful gemstones from Mother Earth: ie: turquoise, coral, adventurine, quartz, and many others. And being that sterling silver is my metal of choice, well, there you have it! Most southwestern pieces do use silver as their base metal. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18831419 So I can't really say that, "I wish I had thought of this first", because really, ...