Wrap Bracelets for All

When somebody comes to me looking for a Christmas gift for a coworker, secret santa or the kids' teachers, one of my recommendations that is affordable for them and fits nearly anybody are wrap bracelets!  At this time of the year where people are looking for that little something extra to put with the coffee mug, or loaf of home-baked bread, a sparkly beaded wrap bracelet makes the perfect compliment.  No need to worry about is she a 7" or an 8" bracelet? 

As you can see from the photo, I'm still "working" on the whole I'm-going-to-figure-out-this-indoor-picture-thing-come-hell-or-high-water-with-out-sunlight.  This morning we've gotten 5" of beautiful fluffy snow (and that's enough for me for an entire year) resulting in no sun.  Bummer  So I'm a work in progress, as so many of us are when the lighting changes.  I'm really missing using my natural landscape for my pictures that I have during the summer.  I figure if I'm not learning I'm probably not living!  So here's to learning new things!

Make it a terrific weekend!
{Hugs!}

Inspired Monday!

I start everyday by making my "To Do" list of what I need to get done today, and bigger things that need to be done this week.  After finishing my list today, two words come to mind.  Holy Cow!

I've got more things to do today than I have hours in the day!  Yikes... and still, I have this burning desire to wish you all a wonderful week.  My two big projects this week are going to be creating special jewelry for two of my nieces for their birthdays.  One turns 15, the other is turning 14.  So they are at that age where they love jewelry.  That's a win for me as the gift giver! :)

I also have something very special I'm putting together for Chris' mom for Mother's Day... but that's absolutely top secret.  So for now, I must abandon my computer and get busy!  Time's ticking!

Here's your bit of jewelry inspiration for the week.  One of the books I have thoroughly enjoyed reading is A Bead in Time by Lisa Crone.  Lisa also runs a great blog and really makes it a point to get to know her readers and her blog followers.  She's become a dear friend and inspires me every day to never be afraid of trying something new!

So here's a spin on one of Lisa's projects in her book, the Golden Gate Bridge Bracelet!  You'll have to get to book to hear how she gained her inspiration for this great bangle.  One thing I can assure you is that you'll absolutely love all of her projects!

Make it a terrific day and have an AWESOME week! :)

The Biggest Compliment

The biggest compliment you can get is a special order from family. I'm not joking, when my Grandma (who happens to be very stylish and hip) called me last night asking me to make a custom piece for her long time friend Pat for her birthday, I felt so happy. Grandma saw some pictures of my designs over on our family blog and she knew I would make something special.

So after talking with Grandma we decided on a bracelet and earrings set. Now for the fun part... ahhh, what to make. I have so many wonderful memories of time spent with Grandma (and Pat) growing up. I would get 1 full week of Grandma/Dawn time every summer. As there were 20+ grandkids, this one-on-one time was SUPER special. One of the unique fun things we would do is go flying with Pat. Pat's been a small plane pilot for years and she'd always make a special day when the skies were blue to take Grandma & I up above the world in a little Cesna plane. We'd go somewhere just a few hours away, have a nice lunch and fly home!

I felt really special and I know it meant the world to both Grandma & Pat just seeing the smile on my face. So in memory of all our times flying, I kept thinking "Blue Sky." But the light blue just wasn't perfect... Pat wears bolder colors. So I chose a cobalt blue with the clear beads accenting like clouds accent the sky!

I know my Grandma will be so proud to give this set, and I know Pat will just love it too! Thank you Grandma for letting me help with Pat's present. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and such loyal family friends!

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends~
Dawn

Azure Islands Give-Away Contest

Isn't this GORGEOUS???

I'm really excited to share this contest with you! I've gotten to know Heather Cote, the artisan that created Azure Island Designs, for many months now. Heather does absolutely beautiful work and I just LOVE how she photographs her work. I often tease Heather that when I grow up in Jewelryland, I want to take pictures just like her! :o)

This week, Heather is a featured artist on Diane Estrella's blog. As part of being a featured artist, Diane is having a give away for this BEAUTIFUL bracelet that Heather created! It's super easy to enter, just go to Diane's blog and leave a comment. For a great second chance go over to Heather's blog and follow her! Anybody that wins this bracelet is uber lucky! I personally LOVE it!!!

Click here to go to Diane's blog
Click here to go visit Heather's blog

That's it...

Like I said, I've been following Heather's blog for months. All of her work is stunning. I love it when I log into blogger and in my dashboard see that Heather posted new pictures on her blog! I'm confident you'll absolutely love your visit over there too and be back frequently! :)

Have a wonderful day!

Purple... my favorite color

In case you didn't know from the looks of my blog, my favorite color is PURPLE! I love purple... purple anything is good by me... clothing, food, jewelery... you name it!

So imagine my delight when I saw that Zebra Wire made a magenta artistic wire in 28 gauge!!! My wire crochet jewelry just got even more fun!!! I found some great glass bugle beads from our brand new Ben Franklin the other day. They're an irridescent finish on black, purple, blue, green & brown base. Basically, I think it resembles the rainbow you see in a puddle of spilled oil.


Match the shimmer of the beads with the purple wire and I made a really fun cuff bracelet! Of course with the beautiful snow, I thought it was a perfect white background to get some pictures, so in my pictures you see a piece of my heart with a kiss from Mother Nature! **You can click on any of the photos to see them larger!**

My Charitable Contribution

One of our local High Schools is having a silent auction as a fundraiser. While I don't have children, I know how important fund raisers were when I was in High School. Our booster club made so many donations to help our athletic program out and I feel very blessed to have been able to enjoy 4 great years of athletics... including a win at the State Championship in Women's Basketball.

So when asked if I'd donate a piece of my jewelry, my answer was ABSOLUTELY!!!

3-Piece Set - Necklace, Bracelet & Earrings

I wanted to design a piece that would be appealing to both the female students and the mothers of students. Because I have no idea who the highest bidder will be, whether they'll keep my design or give it as a gift, I wanted something that had mass appeal and versatility!


I chose to go with a black and silver theme with a slight oriental feel. The school colors are Scarlet & Silver, so I wanted a piece that would match the school colors and could be worn anytime...


Double Strand Bracelet with Diamond Cut Black & Silver Beads

So here's what I created - a matching 3-piece set; Necklace, Earrings & Bracelet. I can honestly say, I love it! I really hope that it brings in a great donation for the High School and that the winner loves it as much as I do!

I wrapped it in pretty packaging so the winner would fall in love.

My First Dance with Wire Crochet

What a fun little project I've been working on today. I saw a necklace on Etsy about a week ago that just really caught my eye. It was a combination of fine wire, beads and gorgeous color.

The seller said it was crocheted... I was fascinated. So I started on a mission to learn more about wire crochet. I've talked with other bloggers to find out of they taught themselves or which resources they used to learn.


As a kid, my grandmother taught me how to crochet dish rags. I can't tell you how many beautiful cotton yarn dish rags I made for my mom. While my life got busy and I gave up crocheting. Now 25 years later, I'm so excited now to be finding the hobby again. I'm still busy, but it's a different busy than when I was in school. My grandma will be so excited to see my wire crochet jewelry next time we get together and I feel so lucky to be able to share it with her.


I started with crochet thread and tried hooks of various sizes to see what it did to the pattern. I'm still fascinated. This is the first real piece of jewelry I've crocheted with wire and beads. It's a wide cuff bracelet and I'm tickled... I have a long way to go, don't get me wrong. But it turned out really, really cool.


So we'll see what other creations I can put together.

Here's one of the books that was recommended to me: