Welcome To My Store!

 

 

This is the front door to my store, as seen from across the courtyard of the fine dining restaurant next door to me.  Beautiful scrollwork chairs, a gorgeous stone fountain, and (although you can't see it in this picture) a huge schefflera tree to the right of the umbrella.  It's been my home away from home for going on 21 years!

 

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Rainbow Bracelet

One of my most popular bracelets, and one of my favorites as well.  I just LOVE a good rainbow!  In gold or silver wire, custom made to fit any size wrist.  $65.00.

 

 

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5 Ways to Stay Creative

I've been making and selling handcrafted jewelry for almost 30 years now, and I love it!  But even doing something you love has its moments where you might need some help.  Take a step back, reflect, recharge...however you want to put it.  Here are five ways that help me keep the creative juices flowing!

1) Listen to new music.  Rhapsody has a "New This Week" feature, and "You Might Like.." suggestions based on what I listen to regularly.  I've found some great new bands that way!

2) Carry a notebook everywhere.  I never know when the muse is going to strike.  I often get ideas while I'm driving.  I carry a small spiral notebook in my purse so I don't forget any of those great ideas!

3) Read a page of a dictionary or thesaurus.  I sometimes use those tools when I'm writing descriptions for my online listings, and I'll look over entire pages, just checking out words and words and words.  Starts some free-flowing thinking!

4) Get plenty of rest.  I love to sleep, plus right before I fall asleep and just as I'm waking up are very often times of creative thinking.  Many mornings before I get up I'll just lie in bed designing jewelry in my head!

5) Clean my work space.  If all else fails, sorting wire and putting beads away inevitably leads me down a creative path.  I run across a stone I forgot I wanted to set, or several strands of beads will clump together in a color combination that hadn't occurred to me.  Plus I end up with a clean-ish space where I can actually work!

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Largest Swimming Pool

The largest swimming pool in the world is located in Algarrobo, Chile. It covers 20 acres!  Just look at it!  No sharks to worry about, no fish nibbling at parts you'd rather they didn't, no jellyfish lurking to sting you.  Looks like you can swim and swim and never run into anyone else!  And is that a sail board?  Couldn't take one of those in the water down at the Y!

The Luella Collection

When my grandmother passed away in 2002, I told my mom to bring me some of her old jewelry.  Not the good stuff--that was split between my mom and my aunts.  The FUN stuff--the shiny beads and the big bubble clip-on earrings and the rhinestone things.  I wanted to take all those great old things apart and remake them into fresh new things to appeal to future generations. 

These are obviously limited edition or one-of-a-kind pieces, and in the years since Grandma passed, I have acquired other great old jewelry from estate sales.  But it originated with Grandma's stuff, and it is called The Luella Collection in her honor.

This one was part of the clasp on a strand of large amber colored beads:

These were clip-on earrings that I embellished with wire:

This set was made from parts of a strand of beads in multiple reds, and what is now a pendant was originally an earring to match the bead strand:

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Moorea

On my bucket list:
An overwater bungalow on Moorea, an island in French Polynesia.  The pictures alone curl my toes!

 

 

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Bumper Sticker

I saw a bumper sticker this morning that said,
"When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, the world will know peace."

 

 

In the aftermath of the ridiculous sniping session that was the government shutdown, I don't hold out much hope for those who seem to have that "love of power".  But since I can only control my own behavior, I will opt for the "power of love" as often as I can.  And I'll encourage everyone I know to NOT vote for their incumbent Congressmen next election!

 

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A Little Humor

Some things just should not be pierced!

What piercings have you seen that you really don't like?

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