Devine Designs Jewelry

I'm all prepared and ready for tomorrow's show, "Art in the Park/Bungalowfest" If you are local and want to stop by, click on the link above for show details. Here are some more new pieces from me that I'll have available at the show. We should have nice weather tomorrow too!

Today may be my last day to actually create anything new before my show on Saturday. I've been creating new jewelry like crazy! And I just found out that I will be working my "day" job an extra day this week to fill in for someone, so that leaves me with today. Friday will be my prep work for the show. I think this will be my first art show where they actually vote on and give monetary prices for the best of show. I had forgotten about that. How exciting! In case you are local, or will be in the St. Petersburg, Florida area this weekend I will be at the Art in the Park/Bungalowfest . And here are some new earrings that I will have available at the show. Hope to see you there! I should be in booth #5.

From New York Times bestselling author, Joyce Meyer, comes another fabulous and useful read. In this book Joyce breaks down feelings, step by step, in explaining where they come from and how they can affect us. In part one, she discusses emotions, where they come from, why we are emotional beings, how we get stuck, and behaviors. She identifies the four main personality types and how they influence us. In part two of the book, she talks about anger,guilt,resentment,depression, and other emotions that can give us trouble. Using biblical text, she shows us how God does have all the answers, if we just ask for His help, be willing to listen, and apply techniques that will help us overcome negative thinking, to be proactive and change our thoughts, which can change our feelings. This book is written well, and is an easy read, and easy to understand. The Bible verses presented throughout the chapters provide the knowledge and proof that the answers are available to all. Each chapter is conc...

There are so many fine jewelry artists that I admire. I have many that I have added as my favorites on Etsy. Being on my extreme, "artist's budget", I usually just drool over my favorite pieces of jewelry. So while browsing over the weekend, I found this gorgeous, unique ring; on sale, from Sandi Carrico's Etsy shop . I love how she incorporated the brass with the sterling and Montana agate. BTW: She's still having a sale! Stop over and check it out!

As I'm sure all of you know, the price of precious metals has sky rocketed this year. This not only makes it difficult for the small business jewelry designer, but also the customer as well. So, in looking for a alternative to sterling silver, I've been experimenting with other metals. Stainless steel wire is too "hard" of a metal to manipulate and work with. It is good to use as in a finished chain or finished ear wires. The newest metal to come from distributors is silver filled. I took the plunge and bought some in 16 gauge to experiment with. It is just half the cost of sterling silver, and claims to be 100 times thicker/stronger than silver plate, which would mean a piece of jewelry would hold up and last much, much longer and continue to look good and be wearable. Here's my results. I found it to be true to what has been published about it. Looks the same as sterling, has the same feel and reacts the same. Dead soft wire performs well. You can hammer it, tex...

It's been a stressful week for me, working at my "day" job. Depleting me of any kind of energy I might have had. Thankfully, I survived! I'm feeling much better today. So I say, "let the creative frenzy begin!" This is where I try to make as many pieces of jewelry I can, as I have a show coming up in about 2 weeks. But first, let's look at an Etsy treasury that I found myself in this week, created by " chantalmarieliving ". Next up, have a look at a few new link style mixed metal bracelets I've created, featuring Botswana agate coins, and artisan lampwork beads. and matching earrings: Now I'm off to create! ``

So I'm taking a short break between projects, waiting for 2 necklaces to dry, before I can finish them, so here I am. I thought about not blogging today, because truth be known, I am not in a great mood. But they say writing is very therapeutic, as well as journaling is. Do I dare to spill my guts here, for the world to see (read)? I have somewhat been skeptical of those who share their whole lives, like an open book on the "world wide web", as some stuff can come back and bite you in the ass. As you may or may not know, even prospective employers can "google" you and may read something that doesn't shine a very bright light on you. In a way, today, I kinda don't care. I'm quite discouraged and a bit mad about all the hoops we must jump through in life. Saturday I went to a high end art show to check it out. After talking to a few artists, I found out just how many hoops the promoter has for the vendors to jump. O.k., I understand that you want to se...