SheFinds.com is Featuring My Necklace!

I just found out the other day that SheFinds.com is now featuring my new Custom Name Charms in their "Custom Made Buyers Guide" which is up on their website now! This is the same necklace that I made for sister for her birthday in June. (I only added it to my website and wrote about it on my blog a month ago.) You can wear one or many on the same chain and they can be customized with names, words, stones, etc and they make great gifts for the holidays!

New Jewelry Making Workshops

Sabina's "girls night out" was such a hit with all the women that participated that I thought others might enjoy it too. That's how I came up with the new "Memories of Summer" workshop that I added to my 2009 workshop schedule. Not only can sea glass, river rocks or sea shells be used for this project, but any found object from a summer vacation can be turned into a piece of jewelry!

samples of sea glass jewelry that can be made in the new workshop

I also added a few new PMC workshops. PMC (or Precious Metal Clay) is a clay like material made of silver particles, water and a binder that holds everything together. It works like clay until it is fired in a kiln. After firing, it then is worked like metal. During the firing process the binder burns away and you are left with a piece of fine silver. I have had a few requests for different kinds of PMC workshops so I am adding a PMC Rings and PMC Beads workshop to the schedule.

Some rings made from PMC

Hollow beads made from PMC

The other thing I thought would be fun is to teach a workshop that would be perfect for people who like to work with metal but might be a little intimidated by using a torch. This is how I came up with a cold connections workshop. Cold connections is a term used to describe any way of connecting metal without the use of fire. Rivets, nuts & bolts, jump rings, etc are all examples of cold connections. My small reversible heart necklace is a piece that I made and attached together using cold connections. It's also a way to add more detail and decoration to a piece. My friend (and previous student) Holly Priester from Blue Fish Moon Studio uses cold connections for a lot of her work. Below is one of her "Peace Key" necklaces. Check out her website to see more of her work. It's really great!

Peace Key necklace by Holly Priester of Blue Fish Moon Studio

My Annual Holiday Trunk Show

The post cards are finally finished and now they are off to the printer! I am working on organizing my annual holiday trunk show that I hold every November. This is the 7th year I am having the event and it gets better and better every time! This year we have 10 artists exhibiting and there will be fine art & fine crafts galore! So if you are on my mailing list, mark your calendars and keep an eye out in the mail and/or email for your invitation! If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, contact me and I'll add you to the list!

Beaded Wire Cuff Workshop

I taught another workshop yesterday and this time it was in my teaching studio space at Creative Genius Art Gallery in Medford, NJ. It was a small group of women, one whom was celebrating her 78th birthday by coming to the workshop with her daughter who signed her up as a gift. What a great idea for a gift!

They each created 2 cuff bracelets out of brass, copper and semi precious beads. Each bracelet came out great and everyone had a fun time as well!

We run this workshop at least once every month or so and if you are interested in making these great bracelets you can check out the next workshop date here!

PS.... the workshop photos were taken by Julie Basello-Holt

"Ladies Night Out" Workshop at Sabina's

Last night I taught another "Ladies Night Out" workshop. This time it was at Sabina's house in Medford Lakes. Her and her family have collected LOTS of beach glass over the years and she wanted to learn how to wire wrap it and turn it into jewelry. After contacting me and working out the details she invited 12 of her friends over for a jewelry making party. She served food and wine and all the women sat around her dining room table and worked on their pieces while enjoying Sabina's hospitality. I showed the women, none of whom had ever made jewelry before, how to make wire wrapped pendants, earrings and rings. They all did a great job! Some made Holiday gifts while others made pieces for themselves. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves (including me) and all went home with new jewelry and new skills that they can use to create more wonderful items in the future. I posted some of the pictures I took below....

Custom Charms

I made a necklace for my sister for her birthday that had 2 charms on it. One was stamped the name of her son with his birthstone and the other was her daughter's name and birthstone. Little did I know how much attention it would get! I have had multiple people request the same thing with their children names and the names of their grandchildren. Because of this I have now added the piece to my online store. If you are looking for a unique custom gift, you now know where to get it! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Adding new pieces to collections...

I have been quite the busy bee this past week. I have been a non stop jewelry factory pumping out jewelry for my show this weekend. I have been stocking up on my best selling items and adding a few new pieces to the mix. Here are a few pics of what's new (leave me a comment and let me know what you think). The top 2 pieces are new items for my grapevine collection and the 3rd image is new to my rose collection... you have to come see me at show to see the rest!

The Festival of Fine Craft is this weekend at Wheaton Village in Millville, NJ. It's a great show and you should really check it out. All of the work exhibited there is top quality and it takes place in a great setting. Hope to see you there!