Stacking Rings, My New Favorite Things

It's been a while, sorry... but what can I say?  Well, mostly I got in over my head with some various and sundry commitments which side tracked me from this blog.  And I kind of lost focus on my goals for this blog and my Etsy shop.  I have a lot of new items to add to my shop, but haven't even taken photos of them yet.  It's on my "to do" list; high on it.

Also, I've really been excited about sewing lately.  It is my favorite hobby and I have missed it for so long!  After having two children 18 months apart; it became difficult to find free time for any artistic endeavors.  Plus there are the dangers of sewing.  The hot iron is always on, scissors are always out, straight pins fall on the floor, and while sewing, I'm facing the machine with my back turned to my children.  It all seems like the perfect recipe for an unattended child to prick or burn themselves, fall down the stairs, climb a bookshelf or worse. But, now they are both old enough to safely entertain themselves while I stitch a few seams and it's wonderful.

But, I digress.  Perhaps my sewing is a topic for another post... or another blog actually.
In addition to my reinvigorated passion for sewing, I also want to focus some more energy on my Etsy shop.  First and foremost I'll be getting my new products photographed and listed, rather than just continually renewing my current inventory.  And I want to maintain this blog on a monthly basis, at the least.  So, here I go.

I've really been eyeing some stacking rings lately.  I like rings because they are the least hindrance to everyday activities.  I do love necklaces and bracelets very much also.  However, even though my girls have quit pulling on my necklaces, they now want me to "share" with them.  And by share, I mean let them wear the jewelry for a few minutes before they take it off and then drop it randomly some place around our house.  Then the scavenger hunt to find my belongings ensues.

Aside from my children, I particularly have an issue with bracelets in the workplace.  My job as a database analyst requires me to be typing on my computer for the most part of each workday.  I can! not! stand! having a bracelet banging on the desktop all day long as I type.  Drives me crazy!  Sometimes I will still try to wear a bracelet to work.  I end up taking it off before 10 AM and then just look at it sitting on my desk all day long.

I'll discuss earrings at some other time. I have another whole diatribe on earrings and why certain kinds bother me.

Rings!  Rings are not obtrusive.  Having the slight extra weight on my fingers makes typing feel ... actually more fun???  It sort of reminds me of the pleasure of typing with acrylic nails, except the rings aren't annoying your cube-mate with the constant tick-tick-ticking sound of fake nails on a keyboard.

Well that's enough, blah, blah, blah from me and onto the stacking rings I've found in various places around the web that I hope you agree are fantastic.  I know, I'm surely late to the party on this trend.  But for the record, I did add this topic to my list of things to write about a LONG time ago, ...I just never made the time to actually do any writing.  My apologies if you've already seen these rings.

I found this set of rings on Amazon.  I think they are very versatile and very reasonably priced at $99 for sterling silver.  The URL to purchase these rings is here.

My favorite gem may be labradorite. It's gray so it goes with a lot of my clothes. But then when light hits it, flashes of blue and yellow shine within the stone. It's a really cool effect. I don't see labradorite rings often, the stone is primarily used in necklaces and earrings. Certainly I just never saw a labradorite ring that really caught my eye like this one.  I'm really into bohemian interior design right now and these stacking rings seem to have a boho feel to them. Then add the complex coloring of labradorite and I'm sold!  You can buy this ring from Stella & Dot at this link.

I really do love the chevron shape, but I think the pattern has been overdone during the past year or two.  That being said, these rings are still really cool.  They are designed by Rebecca Minkoff and can be purchased on shopbop.com at this link.

Of course, I love, love, love to shop on Etsy for all kinds of things, especially jewelry.  A new trend I noticed on Etsy is the above knuckle ring.  They aren't not specifically stacking rings, although many times they are worn that way.  I particularly like this delightful heart design.  This ring isn't shown stacked, although you certainly could wear it that way.  And many sellers on Etsy offer their above knuckle rings in a set of three.  You can purchase the heart ring below at this link.

Until next time, happy beading, stringing and/or adorning yourself!

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.