Exihibt: Bridesmaid time!

The wedding is in 3 weeks - ACK!  

I thankfully made progress this weekend when Jen's sister was in town who offered some direction - getting a little nervous otherwise.  I had laid out a few ideas and sent over email, but it is much easier to brainstorm in person.  We decided that the color combination is good except I need to change the "fuchsia" crystals to a different color per bridesmaid requests.  I realize this may appear extremely simple but it is hard to make something simple look good - cluttered jewelry can mask flaws with large volumes of beads.  While I myself do not wear much of this style, I may have to make a variant of these earrings for myself!

Next weekend I will get to do some sizing when the entire bridal party is in town.  I can't wait to see one of the dresses live!  I won't give away the color, but it's been challenging trying to make sure the jewelry complements everything.  I probably won't have any more updates until the actual wedding so wish me luck and I'll show you the results in a few weeks!  


Happy Easter!

Exihibt: Wedding Jewelry for Jen!!

So my dear photographer friend Jon is constantly telling me I need to get into wedding jewelry and I think it is a sign because my lovely friend Jen is getting married in April and wants me to make her jewelry!  I'm no diamond designer but I figure there's a good market for nice looking affordable jewelry that can compliment a wedding dress.  It's also a good sign if my friends want me to make it for them.  I must be doing something right!  

While I cannot spoil any of Jen's other wedding plans, I will document my progress on the jewelry.  There are reasons for my choices based on the style of dress, which I will share AFTER the wedding! =)  Regardless we opted for a very simple necklace with nothing dangling with the components being a combination of white pearls, clear swarovski crystals, sterling silver beads and sterling silver chain.  

I like the idea of having necklaces that are heavier at the bottom and taper up around the neck.  I had a necklace laying around that was similar to this style, but we added some crystals and silver to the mix to create what you see in the photo!  From here it was pretty easy because I had already made the earrings that went perfectly well with the necklace!  All I need to do is actually put the pieces together then we'll have to have a fitting and tweak whatever is needed.  Sooo excited! =) 


Congrats again Jen and thank you for liking my work!  Can't wait to see the final look!

P.S.  Notice the brown and pink pearls in the upper left corner.  I will write more on this later but this was the initial brainstorming for the bridesmaid jewelry.  Stay tuned!

Exihibt: I'm back!!

Good news:  After many months of nothing, I am back and making jewelry again.  
Bad news:  It will take me forever to post anything because my new job takes up a lot more of my time than before.  

I skipped posting my whole gold collection.  There was no time to properly photograph them and thankfully I sold out of most of them at a boutique.  I haven't had time to make more but here's a taste!  And of course if you want anything just ask and I can probably whip something up for you.  =)

However, the latest line I am working on is inspired by peacock feathers and Mardi Gras.  I've spent most of my time working with pastel pearls and I felt the need for some richer jewel tones.  It will probably be an all sterling silver line as well.  Let me know what you think!! 

Exihibt: Jello Shots & Jewelry??

What do jello shots and jewelry have in common? Typically nothing, but combined they have given me an idea!

Before I go any further, I apologize for being a bad blogger. Not that it is any excuse, but I am in the midst of starting up a new "day" job. Thankfully everything is working out but my blog and jewelry have taken hits. I promise I will get around to uploading photos of my latest stuff, but until then I will show you what has inspired my creative side as of late!

I follow Luxirare because the blog covers my two favorites: fashion and food. I am amazed at the creativity behind these adorable jello shots and love the how-to part at the end.

Next, we have one of my favorite jewelry lines, DANNIJO which totally has the vibe I love. My favorite is Freja. Click on any of these items and the price tag will make your jaw drop considering most of these don't even use sterling silver or full gold. Yes, they are more along the lines of "art" than attainable jewelry, but this is what started my jewelry making in the first place... I copied the expensive designs for myself.

So this brings me to the idea that I show how to make your own version of the high end designer jewelry as well as the designs I come up with. The question that always remains is are people willing to sit down and make it or will they just settle for the more affordable alternative?

I'm going to try this out with the following design from Gemma Redux. Simple concept but nicely executed. I have some grayish gemstones that will work nicely combined with simple silver or gunmetal chain. Stay tuned for when I create my own version of this $398 work of art for significantly less!

Exihibt: Design circa 2003

I am sitting here trying to pack for my trip to NYC/CT and am trying to narrow down 30+ outfits down to 8 of which I will only wear 4. Of course there's always the option of bringing nothing and being forced to shop. =) Though my biggest question is always... what jewelry do I want to bring?

As much as I love my current pieces, I tend to always wear this one pair of earrings I made in 2003. It is one of my last pieces that I have held on to since I sold off the rest of my older designs at the vendor fair. Their new owners will make better use of them than I did anyway!

Should I bring this style back? I have tried to move to a lighter, more feminine look. Maybe this move represents my personal change in style and taste. The college years were more hipster casual and now I'm trying to become a sophisticated professional.

You can probably tell from the photograph I hadn't ventured into sterling silver yet and this is definitely base metal and has tarnished over the years. It is a good example of why you would want to stick to sterling!

Is there a solution to my style dilemma? Yes, I can make both!!

Let me know if you prefer this style to my latest designs on etsy!!

Exihibt: A bad case of the "I wants"...

Well hello again! I apologize for being away so long but I was working on creating enough jewelry to participate in a vendor fair in Pasadena last week on top of an extra stressful few weeks at my day job. The good news is I have a TON of new items that should be posted soon (or at least once Jon has free time to snap some shots for me)!! Overall the fair went well and thanks to everyone who bought from me!!

As I have no new photos of my creations, I will show you my latest "I wants." When I was little my dad would tell me I had a bad case of the "I wants" whenever I asked him for something and sadly I rarely ever got what I wanted unless it was a book. Now I am able to spend my money on whatever I want, but I really can't get myself to spend a good chunk of my paycheck on a piece of jewelry.


I love this Aurelie Bidermann ginkgo earring not only because it is beautiful but because my grandma's house has always had a ginkgo tree in front of it that I remember from when I was little. I will find a way to incorporate the ginkgo leaf into my designs one of these days!!

And we all know that I have an obsession with Dior's jewelry... but what's not to love?? It's wearable art! Thank you Vogue.

Then there's the Gucci bamboo hearts which are also completely up my alley at saksfifth.com... and this Jacquie Aiche Hummingbird Waif ring I found while browsing shopbob.com. Yes, I do need to learn to shape my own gold and silver and expand my horizons!

Lastly we have the Juicy Couture white flower earrings, Saks again, which are more in my price range at $55. Although typically I am not the biggest fan of Juicy Couture (everyone in the OC wore the velour track suits plastered with Juicy), I do quite like these earrings. I may break down and get them... since I cannot make them. However the problem I do have is they are gold-plated brass. I make special effort to make all of my jewelry out of gold-filled (i.e. no brass or base metal inside) or sterling silver. I have heard that brass will do OK as long as you do not abuse your jewelry and/or have extremely sensitive skin, but I still like the idea of keeping everything made out of quality materials. It bumps the price up, but I'm typically willing to pay. Are you?

OK check back soon for another installment from my latest creations! I sold out of a few of them (yay!) so I have to make more to complete my collection again! I will be in NYC this weekend so we will have to see what fun inspiration that brings!

Exihibt: The Iris

I've always envied the people who can prop up an easel and start painting what they see in front of them. It's a great way to capture a moment in time and whenever you see that photo you can reminisce about what occurred. Instead of painting, if I see something I like, I figure out a way to make it a piece of jewelry.

The iris, one of my favorite flowers, is a classic example. I have seen these in many gardens and flower arrangements and I always get excited if they are in a bouquet I receive because their color is so vivid. Naturally I would want to use it as inspiration for some pieces.

First, I analyzed the iris. Most of the petals stand upright but the outer 3 petals are key in that they fold outward. I like to use 3's so this concept worked out well. The purple petals in contrast with the green stems and leaves is something that I wanted to translate over to the jewelry as well.

Second, I had to figure out what could make the petals. After walking around bead stores for hours, I decided on purple Keishi pearls because they have an amazing resemblance to individual iris petals. I sifted through my current bead selection and settled on a combination of white freshwater pearls and green beads to represent the non-purple parts of the iris, like the white detailing and the green stems and leaves.

Third, I had to figure out a way to hold the beaded iris together for earrings. Its easier to make things using wire if you have a way to fasten it down. I sketched a few ideas and the best designs involved various silver hoops. You can read my other blog posting for why I like using circles!!

The hardest part is going from a sketch to figuring out the real layouts on the hoop. The pair of earrings with the pearls dangling below the "iris" was pretty straightforward to make. For the bigger hoop I had to make sure the final earring balanced properly. I wanted to place the iris off center and surround it with green and white beads, keeping with multiples of 3. Because the green were bigger I should have less of them to maintain balance. I wavered between 6, 9, and 12 white pearls, but 9 really looked and felt the best when I let gravity do its duty.

My recommendation to you if you are looking for inspiration is to carry a camera around and when you see something you like, take a photo. When you've collected enough photos start sifting through them and imagine different ways you could create each photo with certain beads. Go into a bead store with a few ideas in hand and buy up a selection of beads (you can't always get away with knowing exactly what you need unfortunately). Lay them out and start moving them around and trying different things or combinations. You'll know when you've got a good design!I can guarantee you something similar to the iris will be coming back in some future designs. Stay tuned!!

As usual many thanks to Jon Chan for taking the awesome photos of the earrings!