Merry Christmas

 I took this photo 2 days ago, on our property. It is a garland of snow,draped around one of the bent poplar trees, and I figure that it occurred by melting and freezing over several days. What a beautiful creation from nature just in time for Christmas! Wishing all my faithful readers, and customers a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy this time with your families and loved ones, as I shall be. Relax and have fun! Pin It

Full Intentions!

I spent the last few days working on a necklace that I had full intentions of listing in my Etsy shop. I thought it would be a great necklace for New Years Eve.....something to wear with a little  black dress. I finished it  late last night, and was going to photograph it and do the write up this morning. Then I decided to try and model it, for the photo shoot. So I got dressed up and put the necklace on, and that is when I decided that I was keeping this bad boy! I guess I fell in love with it! I make a lot of jewelry, and I keep a few pieces here and there, but not as much as most people think...this is a business after all, and I am supposed to be making some money here! Oh, well....I guess it's an early Christmas gift to myself.  Now its back to work to create some new items for the shop. I hope you like the pictures anyway!

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Simply Charming!

 Here are two of my newest creations, designed with new and vintage beads, as well as upcycled parts and pieces from wonderful old jewelry.

An icy, sparkly creation that was inspired by a cold and frosty morning! Ice crystals on glass form beautiful intricate designs, that I have tried to capture in this Ice Princess bracelet.
 There are some fabulous beads in this bracelet, including vintage 1960's moon glow beads, some very old and unique sequin beaded beads from Japan and  vintage French sequins...ooh la la! This one of a kind creation is still available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

  The second bracelet is very romantic and feminine and is aptly named  Golden Romance. This piece is done all in warm gold and brass tones. Again, I have used several vintage pieces, as well as gorgeous lampwork glass beads by Canadian lampwork artist, Jane Perala. This one sold right away! 

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Lipstick on your collar!

With only 15 days until Christmas, I have a few more gift ideas  for you in this Etsy Treasury that I created. However, you better not delay, as the window for online shopping and receiving your order in time for the holidays is quickly closing! Enjoy!

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These are a few of my favorite things..................

I love to browse and shop on Etsy. There are so many talented artisans out there that create such beautiful things. I managed to pick up a few of my Christmas gifts from Etsy this year, and have found many more that I have added to my Favorites list for future occasions. I wanted to share with you some of my new found shops that I simply adore! Online shopping deadlines for Christmas gift giving, are fast approaching so keep that in mind if you are purchasing online. If you need somegreat gift ideas, or if you are looking for a special treat for yourself this holiday season, check out these very cool shops on Etsy.
 Gifts for the couple:
Daydreem Designs - unique hand engraved glass candle holders, champagne and wine glasses, vases etc. Gorgeous work!

Gifts for a romantic lady:

Etsylissimo

Victorian inspired, accessories, lacy gloves, arm warmers etc.

Irene Gasha
Unique handmade embroideries

Gifts for the trendy fashionista

  Emily Ryan
Fashion Designer from Portland, Oregon.

Ideas for the yoga buff:

Paper Maple

  Handmade unique yoga bags,(I bought one!), eye pillows and robes of the highest quality fabrics from Japan, Europe and America
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Ideas for teens and young adults:

Bare Tree Apparel

Extremely cool belt buckles, t-shirts, scarves etc. Screen printed with eco friendly inks on USA made apparel.

These are just a few of the amazing items that I have found while browsing on Etsy. Happy shopping!

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Bead School

I have already been stocking up on more vintage beads, and at the moment I am loving the Givre beads! So what the heck is a Givre bead? First of all it is pronounced gee-vray.  I know you have seen these before, probably worn by your grandmother or mother,  these were very fashionable in the 1950's and 60's. These  beads were manufactured   between 1940's and 1970's and  were  made of transparent glass  fused around a translucent colored core.

Usually the bead had a color within a clear casing, although there are milky opaque Givre beads. Apparently, Givre means "frost" in French.

Of course you can find them in many shapes, ovals, round, cubed and squishy shapes, as well as faceted, smooth and even in the sugar or bumpy encased versions, which are some of my faves!

The majority of these beads, especially the high quality ones, were made in West Germany and Austria, but many other vintage  beauties were  made in Czechoslovakia and Japan.

They are little gems of history from days gone by!

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Memories- vintage necklace

I had a pretty busy Black Friday, and sold a few items from my shop including my vintage snowflake necklace. I recently listed a new necklace in my Etsy Shop, that I call "Memories"

It is rather unusual, so I wanted to share it with you. There are three pendants on this long piece, a vintage brass locket, ( insert your own photos) a  huge, gorgeous sparkling vintage Swarovski crystal and this very cool miniature diary from 1954!

You can actually open the brass frame that it sits in, and take it out.....

Vintage chains, pearls and a fab vintage rhinestone clasp, that sits to the side round out this unusual necklace. 

I think this is a neat conversation piece, and so much fun too.There is not another one like it! Why not make your accessories fun?  Great for the fashionista on your list, or an especially wonderful gift for anyone  who enjoys collecting anything  vintage. For someone that  was born in 1954... even EXTRA special! So cool!

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Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sale!

  To help you get started on your Christmas shopping , or perhaps to treat yourself with a little holiday bling, I have 15% OFF EVERYTHING in my shop! From now until 10:00pm, MST, Monday, Nov. 29!

Use this coupon code -HRSALE2010-  to get the discount at the  checkout process.

(P.S ...Looks like I am back online, for now anyway!) Pin It

Too much free time

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I am writing this post from my iPad, and as of today, I have been 7 days without email access and Internet service. I am hoping to get into town where I can go sit in a Starbucks, and post this to my blog. I don't know what the problem is with our service this time, my husband spoke to our Internet service provider, and they are supposed to get back to us....so we are waiting. Satellite service sure does have it's problems! This is the second time since August, that our service has had something go wrong. Anyhow, I have had some extra time on my hands, since I have not been blogging, reading blogs, Facebooking, or posting items in my Etsy shop, no surfing the Internet, no online shopping for beads, or emailing friends. What have I done with all this extra time, you ask? Well, I have been preparing for Christmas! Hey, it's extremely cold and snowy here, so I figured what the heck! So far, I have managed to get all my Christmas cards written, the main floor of my house is decorated, and our artificial tree is up in our living room, also fully decorated! ( We usually have two trees, the second one being a real tree, that we will get later in December). Oh yes, and all my Christmas shopping is complete.....even the stocking stuff! I know....you all hate me. I will be relaxing during the month of December, wrapping my gifts, while enjoying a glass of red wine. Who knows if this Internet thing goes on much longer, I will have all my baking done too!
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Support your local artists!

Remembrance Day, on Nov. 11, usually signifies the start of the Christmas shopping season here in Canada. This past weekend, I was one of the vendors at a local art and craft show that has taken place for 33 years. I did OK at this show, covered my booth and made a little extra, however, I know that many fine artists and talented crafters at the show did not get the sales that they had hoped for, and they won't be returning to this venue next year. First let me say that these artists works were certainly not overpriced, and we had great weather for bringing the shoppers out. There seemed to be a fairly good turnout of people coming to the show, but they were hanging tightly onto their purse strings!

Now, I know the downturn in the economy could be to blame, however, my husband had to stop by one of the big malls in the big city to pick up some groceries, and he said the mall was packed, and had difficult time finding a parking spot. So the malls seem to be getting the shoppers already. My friend mentioned that she knows people that have had jewelry parties, and have had hundreds of dollars in sales in one evening! However, these parties are from those big companies that mass produce their designs, (often from China) and they seem to have taken over, from the independent jewelry designer, who used to sell well at these intimate affairs. Eventually, if unsupported, our local talented artists will disappear. So this season, when you are planning your shopping gift lists, stop by your community Christmas art sale, and try to include one or two gifts that were made by one of your locally talented artisans. Your support will be gratefully appreciated by the artist, and you will be buying a unique one of a kind gift for the recipient.

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