Musings From Behind the Snow Shovel in Lake Geneva Wisconsin

It's a quiet morning and we got a dusting of snow earlier this morning.  It's enough that you have to shovel because the sun won't melt it... and yet if I didn't have a client stopping by I'd have just left the pretty white carpet on my driveway be.

So whilst out shoveling, my funny mind had some interesting musings... like the day my mind had many similar odd thoughts while sitting in the waiting room at the hospital.  So being that it's Friday... I wanted to share with you some Musings while Shoveling Snow.

* Gee, the snow is so light I could have used the leaf blower on the driveway.
* The snow on the end (where the snowplow piles everything) has a striking resemblence to Dalmation Jasper. (These are from Happy Mango Beads, one of my favorite gemstone dealers)
* Hmmm, I'm shoveling in a St. Petersburg stitch. (Take a look at my friend Triz' blog for a beautiful example of what the St. Petersburg stitch looks like.)
* God could have sneezed and blown this all away.
* Then again... God or not, I'd rather avoid the boogers.

Finally,
* Wow, the silence is magical!

 
Much to my surprise this morning, I was featured on Lisa Crone's A Bead A Day Blog.  Lisa wrote a great book A Bead in Time (Available on Amazon) that I found absolutely inspiring when I was starting out designing jewelry.  I loved how she introduces playing with colors and textures.  Since starting, I've fallen madly in love with seed beads and yet Lisa's principles still stick in my head as I'm creating.

So go check out Lisa's Blog - A Bead A Day and give her some love!

Since we're in the winter spirit, I wanted to share with you a piece I designed for the Jewels of January contest a while back.  It wasn't a winner in the contest, but it was a winner in my heart.

Hope your day is beautiful, and your lifting is light! ;)
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Playing with Turquoise & Petrified Wood on a Custom Order

Most of the pieces I create are custom orders.  Whether people want to pick their colors or have a particular style they like making something one-of-a-kind just for them is really a process that brings me great joy. 

I have a client that is real estate agent in Lake Geneva WI.  She's also a very talented artist, so when she wanted to talk about me creating a custom piece of jewelry for her, I was really excited to hear what her desires were for a special piece. 

It's not often that my clients are local to me, so having a face-to-face meeting was wonderful.  We first discussed color palette and stones.  She looked over some of the pieces in my private collection and we talked about what she liked from various pieces that I could incorporate into the custom beaded necklace I was making for her.

Having a good idea of what she wanted for a finished look, she was even able to pick her specific stones for the focal part of the necklace.  Being an artist, her eye for color balance, texture and the veining running through different stones was exceptional.  She wanted to make sure it had both brown and black so it was a versatile piece she could wear with either selection in her wardrobe.

The necklace turned out beautiful.  One part that was a special touch was the beaded chain necklace.  I created my own version of netting using Preciosa twin beads and Miyuki 11/0 seed beads.  It created this lacy beaded tube which I then strung and filled with Swarovski glass pearls.  It's really hard to capture just how cool this technique looks in a photo. 

Needless to say, the finished piece turned out just beautiful.  My client was pleased with the piece and I'm sure will get lots of wear out of it. 
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If you would like to have a piece of artisan jewelry custom designed for you, contact Dawn Marie on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/designsbydawnmarie 

Dawn Marie is a jewelry artist from Lake Geneva, WI.  She creates custom beaded jewelry in her home studio while being inspired by her two furry children and soul mate.  Each piece she designs is one-of-a-kind and created to be passed down as heirloom jewelry. 

A Cuff Reminiscent of the 19th Century

Bead Embroidery as an art form can tell the story of a Greek Goddess or a contemporary diva... by starting with a blank slate and allowing your soul the space to create, each piece is unique and something truly special.

Lady Lilith Beaded Art Cuff

This cuff speaks to an elegant woman, someone who loves fine pieces and wears them well.  The filigree band just speaks to me, with is delicate cut outs and flower designs, it's almost like wearing lace on your wrist! 

The focal is loaded with sparkle!  Using Swarovski Crystal as the centerpiece and surrounding it with even more Swarovski crystals, this OOAK piece of wearable art brings out rich tones of eggplant, peridot, turquoise and topaz in a myriad of iridescent rainbow finishes.

Available for Purchase - Email Dawn@DesignsbyDawnMarie.com

When invited to a ball, dress like royalty!  This piece is the perfect marriage of the romantic, Victorian style with modern bead artistry!