Update To "A Month Passed By Quickly"

Update to my post regarding my month off, due to moving, processing new inventory, etc.  I did get the desk cleaned up last week and here's a picture.

So, a little while back I showed the inventory I worked on sitting on the back side of this nook.  Its a wall of cabinets with a counter.  There is a small sink and a space for a mini-fridge, which we need to purchase soon.  Right now its just an empty hole.
I love this work space.  It is nook at the top of the back staircase.  On the other side of the staircase is the girls' playroom.  So, hypothetically I could work while the girls are playing and still be able to keep a close eye on them.  But, I decided to quit my work from home job for an office job right at the same time we bought this house.  Oh well, this workspace will still be here when I am able to sell jewelry making supplies full time... whenever that may be, probably a long time from now.

Here's a picture of my girls playing in the area to the right of this built in desk.  Oh, they do love making a mess of their toys!

Opal, October's Birthstone

October's birthstone is the opal.  Opals are such beautiful stones.  According to Wikipedia, opals are an amorphous form of silica, similar to quartz.  Amorphous means its a non-crystalline solid. Silica is the common name for silicon dioxide, which is known for its hardness and found in nature as sand and quartz.  It has many uses from production of glass to optical fibers to porcelain.  Opal is a mineraloid, not a mineral.  This structure makes opals diffract light and they come in a variety of colors, however white and green are the most common.  Australia is the primary producer of opals; 97% of the world's supply.

According to the International Gem Society, opals are the most delicate gems commonly worn and require special care to insure their health and longevity.  The main precaution one should take is to ensure that the stone's environment contains adequate humidity.  So, if you live in a dry climate or keep them in a dehumidified room you should store your opal jewelry in a plastic bag with a damp cloth.  Also, Opals can withstand a wide range of temperatures but should not be exposed to sudden temperature changes because it can cause the stone to crack.  Furthermore, opal are best for earrings, broaches and other jewelry that is will have less contact with other objects, like a ring might.  But, if you have an opal ring, you can always have it polished to remove the scratches that will inevitably occur.

As for the symbolism of opals, Gemselect.com states that opals are "regarded as a stone strongly associated with the emotions, including love, passion and spontaneity. Opal is said to aid in visualization, imagination, dreams, and healing."  Opals help the wearer to see possibilities and discover a broader view. Opal gemstones increase your imagination and dreams, and also assist in general healing.

Unfortunately, I don't have any in my store as of yet, but I would love to find a supplier.  In the meantime, here's some opal jewelry that I like a lot.  Let me know if you agree!

I like this ring because of the black diamond outline.  I could wear this with SO many things.

I still love long necklaces.  This one is lovely, soft and romantic.

Ribbon necklaces are so cute.  This necklace only has one section that is opals, but the other gems that are matched with the opals seem perfectly coordinated.

These opals have a lot of fire color in them.  It looks great with the gold filled wire and the lovely vermeil charm.  This bracelet is so feminine.  I love it.

Another feminine bracelet.  Aquamarine is one of my favorite gems and it looks great with these fire opals.  The delicate sterling silver findings really create cohesion between the two types of gemstones.

This bracelet is so interesting.  The design of the metal is unique.  But, more so, the boulder opal is is really amazing.  A boulder opal is a solid opal and occurs as thin veins of precious opal in cracks and cavities of ironstone. During processing, the stone is cut leaving the natural host rock as backing. According to the Etsy listing for this bracelet, the boulder opal has a layer of clear quartz on top of it to magnify the beauty of the stone.

Happy Anniversary to Me and Lacy

I made a post on my facebook page this week that inspired me to write this blog post even though my anniversary is now two weeks ago.  I get a feed on Facebook from a jeweler named Gabriel & Co.  I reposted a ring that they displayed on their facebook page which is absolutely gorgeous.  I said that if my husband hadn't already bought the most amazing engagement ring I could imagine (paraphrasing), then this ring would be tops on my list.  And that's true!  It's beautiful!

I follow that company on Facebook because my husband, who has fantastic taste, has also bought me some jewelry from Gabriel & Co., but I'll save that story for another post.  This post is about my engagement ring... and lack of wedding band.

My anniversary was 9/15.  It was our 5th.  When we were first married I never got a wedding band.  I have been wearing only my engagement ring since then.  The reason we never bought the wedding band was  because we bought a house just two months after our wedding.  Actually, we didn't even go on a honeymoon for this same reason.  We bought a real fixer-upper of a house and we had entirely too many costs related to the house to spend money on frivolities.  We did take some vacation time from work right after our wedding just to spend some time together and have a "honeymoon" at home.

So, we always said that on some anniversary we'd buy the wedding band to match my engagement ring.  The ring was made by a company named Fotiny& Co.  Here's a picture of the ring right after Lacy gave it to me.  I didn't have the nice camera then, but I'd rather use that photo than taking a new one for some reason.
You can't see in the pictures, but the whole underside is engraved with a design.  When I look at it (and I do often gaze at it) I think that every detail was considered when it was designed.  Can you tell that I really love the ring my husband picked for me?

Lacy was told when he purchased the ring that I would need to send the engagement ring back to California, to Fotiny's design location, so that the wedding ring could be fitted specially around the engagement ring.  The ring sits at such a low profile that this really does seem necessary.  It always made me nervous about sending the ring across the country, but I am willing because I do want the wedding band badly.

For our wedding I acutally used a gold band that we bought at at pawn shop for $10 in North Myrtle Beach for the ceremony.  It was about 3 sizes too big, but never intended on wearing it; only using for the ceremonial act.  I still have the pawn shop ring.  I saved it, along with some other keepsakes, for scrapbooking purposes.  Of course, I never made a wedding scrapbook.  It was a small wedding, so there wasn't that much to save and commemorate in a scrapbook.  Plus the album from the photographer turned out so nicely that it seemed like a waste of time to do it.  For a long time I just carried that pawn shop ring around in my purse.  I finally put it in my jewelry box for safe keeping.

So, time has passed.  We spent our money renovating our first house and investing in the stock market.  I never fussed about not having a wedding band or considered it a priority.  But, I think we both always assumed that on our 5th anniversary we would drive down to Columbia, SC to the jeweler where Lacy bought the engagement ring, order the wedding band and have him mail off my engagement ring to match it correctly.

However, a snag in that plan occurred.  Close to three weeks before our 5th anniversary, we decided to buy a new house.  Another fixer-upper.  It was my in-laws old house which sat on the market for quite a while, then off the market... a few minor renovations done, but essentially no one lived in the house for almost six years.  So, when we bought the house, along with it came a laundry list of repairs to be made.

And there went my wedding band.  Another house; another postponement of the symbol of our eternal love.  We already have a contractor working on the house, so that should be complete soon.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have a new job, so hopefully we'll get some cash freed up soon for this purchase that continues to be pushed down the priority ladder.

I occasionally browse Fotiny's website and I wanted to embed some pictures from their website of some jewelry I like, but the website isn't conducive to copying links.  Check it out though, http://fotiny.com/

A Month Passed By Quickly

Its been about a month since my last post.  I have so many ideas of things to write about, but so little time!  Really, I do have a good excuse.  We bought a new house and we moved in two weekends ago.  There are still boxes in almost every room, but its slowly coming together.  This house is a fixer-upper, like the last one.  Except it is a lot bigger.  There will be plenty of room for my girls to grow up here, and maybe, possibly their future baby brother ;)

We are definitely going to do "before" photos this time.  We have some from our first house, but they are incidental, not intentional. 

Also, in late August I got a new shipment of beads and findings in.  I've been counting, restringing, making tassels, labeling, photographing, retouching photographs and organizing my growing inventory.  It was a lot of work, but I'm pretty much finished. 

There are definitely some photographs I'd like to retake.  I have had an extremely difficult time taking good pictures of the strands of Rose Quartz beads I bought.  When I use a white background and then color correct the lighting to make the background solid white, the edges of the beads seem to disappear into the white.  So I tried to use a black background.  I still have to color correct that to remove the lent and tiny but visible particles from the black background of the light tent.  But, I can't seem to get the settings right on my camera to start with when using the black background, so when I do the color correction the pink no longer looks pink; instead more coral.  I guess it will be a matter of trial and error until I get it figured out.  It's a shame, the Rose Quartz is lovely.  I can't wait to list it, but I have to figure out the photography first.  I don't want to misrepresent the product.

Finally, during all this chaos, I found a new job!  I've been a bit bummed out about my job at the bank since I came back from maternity leave last year.  My job started to feel monotonous and working in the financial industry has been and still is highly stressful since the economic downturn.  I may be a bit jaded, but I really think the the press has been unduly brutal towards the big banks.  I really liked working there and it seems kind of weird to leave after six years of tenure.  But, I am really excited about my new opportunity.  One big change will be that I've been working from home for the last two years and now I'll be back in an office.  I really liked the freedom of working from home, but I am kind of looking forward to being back in an office.  It gets lonely by myself sometimes. 

So, here is a photo of all the work I did.  It may not look like much to some people, but all this organization took a lot of time.  This picture includes one of my favorite purchases of all time; my label maker.  Every bag of beads is labeled with an identificaiton code as well as length of the strand and quantity of beads.  I love making labels!

This is just the counter of the cabinets behind the desk in the office area of my new house.  I will post pictures of both the desk and the storage once it's neater looking.  One thing I love about the office is that its really more of a large nook that is part of the girls' play room.  So, hopefully I can do some work while they are playing with their toys.  We'll see how that goes :)

Wooden Beads, Cont.

My last post was about the popularity of the wooden beads I listed on Etsy. I have been doing some online shopping since then and found some wood jewelry that I really like and thought I would share. It's not all beaded, but its all wood.



I like this bib necklace. Based on the price, I doubt that the black portion is ebony, but it looks like it.

I really love this necklace. The wooden beads are faceted like a gemstone. I think it's quite witty.



The owners of this Etsy shop hand paint the beads. The two artists who made this necklace definitely have a way of matching the right colors together.

This polished wood bracelet is really interesting. It is lined with gold plated brass. I like this because the shape of the bracelet is so unique that it doesn't need any other embellishment. The gold lining is just the right accent.

Wooden Beads

I have almost finished listing all the old jewelry making supplies that I had in my stash.  I just have a few more findings to add. Last night I got around to listing the wooden beads that I had.  And I am amazed by the number of views they have gotten already. 

Soooooo... I still haven't sold anything yet, BUT I still keep hoping and working hard at it.  And I'm still watching my Etsy page views (like a stalker) and keeping track of what items that I have for sale are getting the most traffic.  These wooden beads are doing the best by far!  I recall mentioning to my sister, when I was showing her my stash, that I was going to list the wooden beads and make a section for them in my shop, but that I doubted I'd maintain an inventory of wooden beads after those sold.  I guess my instincts were totally off!

Now that I think of it, the necklace that I made for myself which I have worn the most (by far) contains wooden beads.  But the clasp broke, because it was cheap, so I haven't been able to wear it in a long time.  I got that clasp when I first started making jewelry and bought some supplies at Michaels.  Oh what a fool I was.  The crimp beads broke apart when I tried to "crimp" them.  And more than one clasp broke.  I figured out quickly that I only wanted use high quality materials to make jewelry. 

So, I need to find a new wholesale supplier for wooden beads now!  It's harder than you'd think.

Here's the necklace I like so much.  This post inspired me to finally getting around to fixing the clasp!
I'll usually wear this with a white tank and khaki pants, or any solid color, earth toned shirt and jeans.  It's definitely a casual look, but I really like it.  What do you think?  I used my dress form again because its really hard to take a picture of your neck, even with a tripod.

Enamel Jewelry

I have a new love for enameled jewelry. The sleekness of the material appeals to me.  I also like that the design made with enamel is traditionally trimmed out with metal.  The affect has a finished, polished feel to me.  I find that aesthetic appealing.  I also like when a ring's stone is set with a complete band of metal, rather than being held up by prongs.  However, that is a biased opinion.  My husband picked an engagement ring for me which is set that way.  (I am already writing a blog post in my head about my engagement ring, so more on that later.)

I really love anything cloisonne.  My father has some amazing Chinese cloisonne horses he bought on igavel.com that I covet.  He has great taste in antiques, paintings, and those sort of things.  They look something like this picture I found online:

So, enameled jewelry makes me feel like I'm wearing cloisonne.  Actually, the technique to apply enamel to jewelry is the same as it would be for that horse or a vase.  Modern cloisonne is made with porcelain enamel.  And since ancient times, cloisonne has been used to adorn metal jewelry.  But, cloisonne designs are usually more intricate than modern enameled jewelry; well the jewelry I'm featuring below anyway.



I love these bangles from Stella & Dot. They are shaped like coral, which is in fashion again this season. I also love the color scheme. I feel like these would go perfectly with a simple white sundress or a pair of loose linen trousers and a fitted tank.



I think this cuff by Stella McCartney is so adorable. In my last post, I mentioned that I had reservations about a dress that I really love, but feel that it may be a bit to youthful for someone my age. I think this cuff captures the essence of youth without being childish. It's fun and cute, but doesn't cross the line over to kitchy or immature. Also, due to the colors, I could wear it with a lot of the dresses in my wardrobe, since black is my go-to color.

I love watches that look more like jewelry than a watch. This one by Kate Spade definitely fits the bill. Lately, Kate Spade has had some really great enamel jewelry. I posted some of my favorites on my Pintrest page, but when I went back to their site for this blog post, most of it wasn't available anymore. From my Pintrest posts, I really like the gold and white leopard print bangle and the long chain necklace with enamel shapes scattered around. Currently they have this necklace for sale that's similar, but the shapes are little spades. I'm not a fan of overtly advertising that I'm wearing or carrying a luxury brand like that. Anyway, I like this watch even more than those necklaces or bangles. I don't think that my husband reads my blog, but if he is, (hint- hint) I really need a new watch! 

I found this necklace on Etsy. I love the blue color and the irregular shapes. I may have mentioned this already, but the colors in my wardrobe are typically more muted, so I would wear this as a statement piece to add a pop of color for fun. The artist's name is Alison Swindles and she makes a variety of silver and vitreous enamel jewelry in England. Her contact information is on this page. Every piece of jewelry I saw in her shop is unique and delightful.

 

 

The intricacy of some of the enamel rings I found on Etsy and elsewhere definitely resemble cloisonne, as well as ancient enamel jewelry I found researching the subject prior to writing this post, more than the other jewelry I featured above.  Here are a few that I particularly like.

This Coach ring makes me feel like I need one more trip to the beach before summer is over.

Etsy designer Ozznick1 created this beautiful ring. He makes a lot of amazing enameled jewelry, most of which has a more masculine aesthetic. This ring is a simple band, but the flower design is very pretty, plus bands are very kid friendly. I hate it when, for example, I poke my baby with a ring while changing a diaper or she rubs her head against my necklace. Not a problem with this ring; you can have bling and safety all in one! More information about his jewelry can be found at www.handengraver.com.


There isn't much that Betsy Johnson makes that I don't love. I've followed her designs since I was a teenager. She is so cool, and so is this ring.


I cannot understand what draws me to this odd Marc Jacobs creation, but I like it. Or maybe I'm just intrigued by it. Anyway, I would wear it... I think. I'm not sure where I would wear it though. Maybe I would wear it on a day when I'm feeling like that face seems to be feeling. Post-partem will do that to a woman sometimes ;)




Lastly, I just had to include this ring. I doubt I would wear it, but now that I have two little girls, there is a lot of Hello Kitty in my house; we love it. My sister is also a big Hello Kitty fan and has a lot of the Hello Kitty kitchen stuff. I know that her daughter, my 1 year old niece, is too young for this ring but I feel like I should go ahead and buy it and save it for her 10th birthday. That is a long time for me not to loose something though.

About My Current Fashion Situation

I am by no means a fashionista (BTW, thank you TJ Maxx for making that a term I detest now).  So, let me rephrase, I am by no means a person with the natural ability to pair clothing and accessories as well as maintain a fashionable wardrobe.  However, due to my interest in sewing, I have always tried my best to follow fashion trends and runways collections each season, and thus I am a long time subscriber to Bazaar and Lucky magazines; I was getting Bazaar when I was 11 years old. 

Unfortunately, there was only about one year during my adult life thus far when I had a good paying job, was renting (so no mortgage), had no children, a paid off car; therefore I had enough disposable income to make some clothing purchases that were higher quality.  And by high quality, I don't mean Dolce and Gabbana... please, get real.  My job isn't THAT good.  My preferences were White House|Black Market, Banana Republic, the designer dresses from Anthropologie, and most anything from the SouthPark Belk.  I live in Charlotte where Belk is headquartered, and their flagship store is very near to my house.  It is totally different from other Belk's and has some really fabulous higher end clothes that you will not find in most of their other stores.  I also must mention that I love Joe's Jeans and will still splurge on them if I need a new pair of jeans.  They make a style called Honey that is cut for girls with a bootie and it fits mine perfectly!

These days, I am mostly shopping at Marshalls and the Gap brands (Old Navy primarily) online.  Why you ask?  Because the times, oh they have 'a changed for me.  I still have my pretty good job that I like, but I am now fortunate enough to be able to work from home, so I don't need much of a professional wardrobe anymore.  Also, I have a Banana card which gets me free shipping from Gap Inc., which in turn coerces me to browse their website first.  I have found some clothes on Piperlime that I really like, so even though some (not all) of their clothes can be a bit expensive for my budget, I feel a little more trendy when I buy clothes from that site.  As for Marshalls, there is one in my neighborhood, which has a good selection of name brands and a "Shoe Mega Shop".  I manage to sneak in there every now and then before I go to the grocery store that is in the same shopping center.  Aside from my stealth Marshall's shopping trips, online shopping is the only way for me now.  Although I have done it a few times, I have no desire to drag the girls and their giant double stroller to the mall ever again.  Maybe I'll try taking them shopping again in a few years.

As I just referenced, I have two small children, one who is a terrible/terrific two and another who is 9 months old; so I am crawling around on the floor, picking them up and carrying them around... I need comfort.  Plus I can't fit into a portion of my wardrobe, since I still have an extra 10 pounds of baby weight hanging on.  Despite all my wardrobe debilitations, I do have a few things that I am currently liking a lot and I will share with you via photos.  I am bit self conscious about my post-baby body, so I decided to use my dress form for display instead of modeling them myself.

This is a dress I got from Zulilly recently.  The brand is Rosalita Senoritas.  I LOVE this brand and love this dress also.  I will go ahead and admit that I have a slight obsession with Zulilly.  I didn't mention it above because it would have made the post unbearably long.  Anyway, how do you like the dress.  Is it too immature for a 33 year old?  I think that maybe it is, but I still really like it.

I am also loving chambray this season.  I wear the chambray skirt on the left at least once a week.  I bought it on a whim at Old Navy, but wish I purchased the one on the right instead.  However, it would be difficult to play with the kids in the one I find more stylish.  Tighter skirts don't work very well for playtime.  You need a flowing, longer skirt if you don't want to show your panties to the other parents on the playground.

French Connection is one of my all time favorite brands.  I found this rarity at Marshalls.  I think the fit could be better, but I still like it a lot.  I would wear this to the office if I ever needed to go in, but I did wear it to church recently and I felt good in it.

I'd love some feedback, so please leave me some  comments!  For example, I'd love to know how you think I should accessorize these outfits.




I'm working on another post already.  Next week I am planning on writing about some jewelry I have found that I really like.  It took me a while to get around to taking the pictures for this one, but my plan is to post once a week, so please add me to your blog list and visit regularly!

The Grand Opening

It finally happened.  I have had my Etsy shop, this blog, and a Facebook page for The Jewel Farm for over 3 months and finally, I launched the Etsy shop yesterday!  I really put a lot of effort into making sure I was organized and prepared to run the shop properly before offering any products for sale, despite the fact that I have owned some of the jewelry making supplies that I have for sale there for several years.  They were all safely tucked away in some thread boxes in a cabinet.  On a few rare occasions, and usually with the help and guidance of my sister, a bonafide artist, I'd pull out all my beautiful gems and clasps, dust them off, and make a necklace for a friend or family member for Christmas or a birthday.

Looking back, I have determined that for many years I was a "serial crafter".  Any sort of craft I saw online, at a craft fair or that a friend told me about, I was gung-ho.  I had all of the following and more:

• A drawer full of tubes of very expensive oil paints and acrylic paints plus some canvases and other accessories.
• A rainbow of dyed wool for needle felting.
• Yarn, knitting needles and crochet hooks even though I could never remember how to do either.  Every so often I would decide that I "needed" to know how to knit.  I'd read my book on it and get to work.  Then a week later, pick up the 1/4 of a scarf I'd made and wonder how I made that.  I can needle point though, so at least I have something crafty I can do in 40 years.
• A giant bag of bottles to store the handmade soap I was going to make.
• A small collection of scrapbooking supplies, with which I intended to preserve all my wedding keepsakes, but never got around to it.
• A wide assortment of jewelry making supplies, including some very pretty gems that I bought in large quantities.
• A computerized sewing machine, a serger, a dress form, and two dressers full of fabric stash and notions.

Then I had a baby.  And once I got adjusted to being a mom I decided I needed to keep it to one hobby and no more.  That was an easy choice for me, sewing.  I made all of my daughter's nursery linens and then after she was born I think I made her one dress.  Any hobby or interest comes last on the priority list once you have a baby.  But, sewing is still my # 1 hobby, when I have time for such frivolities!

Here's a photo of the nursery.  I adore the funky Indian inspired print that is the focal fabric for the room.  I made the curtains, pillow, quilt, & bumper guard (the last of which you can't see in the photo, but was the most elaborate and difficult).  And on the wall I was standing beside when I took the picture is the changing table, above which hangs a fantastic print of two rabbits wearing top hats and tails that I found on Etsy, of course.

Then, 18 months later, I had a second baby girl.  That's when I decided I needed to declutter.  My attic quickly became full of baby toys and clothes.  I kept cleaning out all of the afore mentioned craft supplies from every drawer, shelf and storage space in my home when I realized that I should try to sell the jewelry making supplies.  I think I had good taste in what I purchased.  The items don't expire in any way.  Plus, I spent quite a bit of money on the beads, so it would be nice recoup that.

THEN, I realized that I could possibly make a small business out of this.  My husband and I tried to purchase a small business before our first daughter was born.  We did a lot of research on starting a small business (even took a class at our wonderful community college, CPCC, on writing a business plan) and decided we would prefer to buy an existing business.  Finally we found the perfect coin laundry to buy, but our offer fell through because the current owner wouldn't provide the previous year's tax returns.  I imagine the tax returns did not match up to the revenue that she claimed the coin laundry was generating.  It was a big bummer for us.

So, when I had this revelation that I could sell my jewelry making supplies on Etsy and maybe turn it into a business, I was ecstatic.  I am not passionate about laundry.  But I love nothing more than hand picking the prettiest beads and organizing them for sale.  I get a lot of pleasure from finding something nice from a supplier; trying to find the best price and/or the best quality of bead and knowing that I am putting a great product up for sale in my shop.  I really don't have any interest in selling anything that is not a real gemstone or a precious metal though.  I do have some wood beads that I made a funky hippie-ish necklace with.  Of course, I bought way more than I needed so those extra wooden beads are for sale, but I don't know that I will maintain that product in the future.  I do really like that necklace though.  It is long and the bead pattern alternates dark wood beads with earth-toned jasper stone beads in a rose and olive color.  It looks good with a maxi dress I have and I get lots of complements on it.  I'll post a pic later.

To conclude, with this post I intended to kick off my Etsy shop opening http://thejewelfarm.etsy.com/ and explain how and why I decided to do this.  My next post will definitely not be about me and my shop.  I want to mix up the topics and explore any and everything to do with jewelry, gems, jewelry making techniques, fashion trends as they relate to jewelry, jewelry designers I like and on and on. 

Thanks for reading!