jewelry class

My students come up with some of the greatest ideas for their projects! Here are some photos of a handful of the pieces my jewelry students have created so far this session. The session is not over yet (it ends Dec 21) so I will post more photos as their projects are completed. There should be plenty more photos to come since most of the women in my class are making Christmas gifts for family and friends!

Vicky's copper earrings

Vicky's tree necklace

Jen's black onyx cuff bracelet

Jen's matching black onyx choker

The class hard at work...a few people were absent the day this photo was taken..sorry to those of you that I missed but I will get you next time!

9th Annual Holiday Artist Trunk Show

The 9th Annual Holiday Artist Trunk Show went off without a hitch! It took place yesterday and I am TOTALLY worn out from such a busy weekend! Not only did I host Thanksgiving for 17 people at my house I also hosted the trunk show 3 days later! I think I spent more time cleaning my house in the past week than I have done all of last month. So needless to say I am spending today in my pj's. It was great fun having the 13 other talented artists here to participate and overall things went really well. We had an awesome turn out and I can't wait to start planning next years event!...Here are some photos from the event.

My studio all set up and ready to go.

"Thank you" bags were handed out to all of the people who came to our event

Shopping ,shopping and more shopping!



Kathy answering questions about her pottery

This is only a handful of photos from the trunk show. To see more check out my facebook page Michele Grady Designs

Girls night out

Saturday night I hosted a girls night out event at Creative Genius Art Gallery and Studio. You can bring food and wine and it's a great way to get together with your friends, or this case mother and sisters, and learn something new while spending time together. Below are pictures from their girls night out.

This is the project they were working on.
And they all did a great job!

I also come to you to host an event. You can read more about one of these girls night out parties here.

Phila Art Museum Exhibit

I went to the Phila Art Museum with my friend Anita, who also makes jewelry, to check out the "Desert Jewels" exhibit...It was pretty cool to see that some of jewelry made way back in the late 19th century could still be in style today! If you get a chance you should check it out. The exhibit only runs thru Dec 5th.....

Halloween pirate brownies

Since we are going to a Halloween party tonight and a lot of people are bringing food I figured the best bet was to go for a dessert. I love brownies and I do make pretty tasty ones too but I wanted to spice them up a bit for Halloween. Since we are going dressed as pirates I figured why not put the jolly roger (if you don't know what that is it's the skull and cross bones from a pirate flag) on them and make them into little pirate brownies so here's what I did....first I found an image online the size I needed and printed it out onto card stock.

Then I cut around the image with a razor blade to make a stencil. Below is the back side of the image so you can see it better. I had to leave a little section of paper next to the eyes and nose so that the face parts would stay in place while using the stencil.

Next I place the image over each individual brownie and put some powdered sugar in a sifter (or strainer) and sifted it over the image.

I lifted the stencil off carefully and there you have it! Halloween pirate brownies!

And here is the finished tray all ready to go to the party tonight! I think they came out really cute!

I love Halloween....

It's the most creative holiday, if you ask me, and I love to be creative and to see what others do with their creativity!

We went to the PA Renaissance Faire last weekend and they had the BIGGEST scarecrows I have seen this year! They were taller than the 2 story buildings next to them. I love how they made the "guts" out of dried gourds. I want one for my front yard!

9th Annual Holiday Artist Trunk Show

Just finished the postcards for the 9th Annual Holiday Artist Trunk Show I hold every year at my studio.I can't beleive this is the 9th year!...So mark your calendars! Nov 28, 2010 from 1-5pm....more info to follow!

lois' birthday gift

I went to my cousin Lois' 40th birthday party last night. My cousin lives in CA but her parents (my aunt & uncle) live in PA and since she was coming for a visit they decided to throw a party for her. My sister Jennifer, a graphic designer, made the invitations. They had sunflowers on them since is Lois' favorite flower. I had no idea what to get for her birthday. I kept coming up with ideas but all of them were shot down by other family members. Everyone told me to give her cash because it was easiest to travel back home with. But to me cash is the easy way out. I wanted to give her something that would remind her of her 40th birthday. So the night before the party I came up with idea. A sunflower necklace! So i sat down and started sketching....this photo of the finished product. It is also stamped on the back "happy 40th birthday" and she loved it!

new pieces for fall...

I have created some new pieces inspired by the colors and shapes of the fall ....what do you think?

Pricing your work...

I came across this great article today which someone had shared via facebook and I had to share it too. I just wanted to say thank you to Jamie Pickering of Bella- Bijou Jewellery for writing it. Check it out.......Bella-Bijou Jewellery: The Price is Right... or is it ?

Wheaton Arts Festival of Fine Craft - Oct 2 & 3, 2010

I will be participating in the Wheaton Arts Festival Of Fine Craft again this year. The show is this weekend Oct 2 & 3, 2010, rain or shine. Wheaton Arts is located on 1501 Glasstown Rd in Millville, NJ. For more info on this great event click here. For a coupon good for discounted admission click here

Etsy store

I have added a new section to my Etsy shop since reopening it 2 weeks ago. I am offering some of my enormous inventory of jewelry making supplies as well as my beautiful handcrafted jewelry. Here is a sample of a few of the items that are and will be for sale.

lot of 10 rubber cord necklaces

butterscotch amber cabs


ring sizer

freeform hand cut jasper cab

new t shirt

Just bought this t shirt at Target today. It has the image below on it and it's from their "artist series" which made it even more appealing to me being an artist myself and all...So when I got home I googled the artist name, Aline Yamada which was right inside the shirt. I wanted to find out a little more about her...was she famous and I just haven't heard of her? is she alive or dead? where did Target find her?....I was very surprised that the first thing that came up was that she's on ETSY! That's pretty cool! You cna actually purchase a print of this image on her Etsy store.

jewelry class

The next session of jewelry making classes starts today. I am excited to see what my students will come up with! Here are some photos of a few of the students working diligently in the last class I taught....

For more info on classes and workshops check out my website http://www.michelegrady.com/

Artist retreat in Mexico

Would you not just love to go away somewhere warm and tropical to learn how to make jewelry? I wish I had a place like this where I could teach my classes!

It's called Hacienda Mosaico and its in Mexico. They offer many different jewelry workshops and also give you a place to stay! It's an artist retreat and I love this idea!

Another ring is featured....

Another one of my rings is featured in an Etsy treasury. This time its the Oxidized Jasper Ring. You can see it here in the "Peaches and Cream" Treasury. Check it out! Thanks Alchimiste!

Custom work

I love to do custom pieces. There is nothing like letting your creativity run free while creating something one of a kind. It's always a challenge to try to make the customer happy while actually making the piece work. Here are just a few of the many custom pieces I have done for customers in the past.

customers amber prong set in a ring to her specifications

prong set smoky topaz cuff bracelet to be worn at a wedding by the aunt of the bride

engagement ring made to customers specifications set with faceted garnet, opal, jade, tiger eye, amethyst, blue sapphire and black onyx


custom stamped name charms set with each child's birthstone

necklace ordered by a customer through a gallery that carries my reversible puffed , small puffed and constricted hearts

front and back view of a necklace ordered by a customer from another gallery that carries my work

custom dragonfly necklace made using customers faceted garnet stone

Students are so creative!

As some of you know I am a certified PMC instructor. Last weekend I taught a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) workshop. The women in the workshop had no prior experience in working with PMC. They learned the basics of how the material works and they each got to use a package of PMC to make whatever they wanted. Below are images of their pieces. What a great job they did!

in the kiln

all polished and pretty!

Turquoise is the color of the year...

I just read that according Pantone, the worlds color authority for the past 45 years, the color turquoise is the color of 2010. Good thing to know after making all my new turquoise jewelry! Little did I know but I picked the right stone color for some of my new work!

My ring is featured....

I just found out my oxidized wire wrapped amber ring is featured in the Creations with Heart blog in the top handmade creations of the week! All the items are chosen from Etsy shops so check it out!