Angelic Ethreal Pearl Jewelry

When we see pearls, we admire their soft finish, their beautiful luminescence and their elegant look.  Combined with Swarovski crystal, those pearls magnify their divine feeling. 

Sometimes the most elegant design speaks to the heart, on a soul level.  Earlier this summer, I took my jewelry to display at a really special event in Scottsdale, AZ.  There I met a woman that just embodies living your purpose and your passion.  She and I discussed having a necklace custom designed.  The colors that best suit her are warm, amber tones, earth tones, olive greens, terracotta and the like.

I had one necklace on my table that was made from beautiful white pearls and crystals.  It had a touch of silver, but was very elegant in contrast with such a vibrant pop of color.  The necklace sold to another client, but the original vision stuck in the mind of this amazing woman.  You see, she's living her passion and helping people to heal from the darkest of places in their lives.  She's lifting people up and helping them work through their addictions, take control of their actions and rise above their vices.

The way this pearl and crystal necklace spoke to her was like hearing angels singing.  The light, white balance of the necklace felt ethereal to her, so much like the work she's doing to help others.

I re-created a necklace very similarly with a tiny tweak to make it an original, one-of-a-kind design with the same ethereal feel.  Each piece I make is truly special, but when I have the ability to infuse love in the process that ultimately will be worn by a healer, I am the one who feels so richly blessed.

Thank you, Janet, for giving me the privilege of designing something so special for you!  I know you will wear the necklace beautifully and help so many women find their light!

{Hugs!}
Dawn

Classic Pearl Earrings add the nicest touch!

P.S.  Because I'm so excited and have a hard time keeping really fun things to myself, I wanted to give you a sneak peak into the project I'm working on for Cousin as my August project.  I'm not going to give you any hints (yet, until my dogs sit on me and make me do it) but I will show you the array of beads and components I'm working with to Rock the Casbah on my very first assignment.  Are you drooling yet?

Some with stay, some will go - what will be the big reveal?

"My Dear Dawn,

There are no words to express my joy and support of you.  I admire that you are owning how significant and meaningful your jewelry is.  Your packaging, announcing the arrival of a future heirloom, reflects your ownership of your talent, positive energy and labor of love.

I will be honored to wear my angelic necklace; I pray that, our combined energies with the intent to serve and love others, will indeed reach those whose hearts are willing to receive it.

With huggs, cheers and gratitude!" ~Janet
 

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Spring Inspired Jewelry Designs

Yes, we still have snow on the ground where I live in Lake Geneva, WI.  BUT I'm going to use the Power of Positive Thinking that Spring is on the way soon... she just had to stop and pick up a new handbag and killer heels.  :) And until she arrives fashionably late I'm going to stay inspired by pieces I've created that remind me of spring. 

Butterfly Kisses - Available for purchase

Fern Gully - Available for Purchase

Princess for a Day - Custom Order with JulsBead Focal

The funny thing where I live, the old saying goes something like this: "If you don't like the weather in Wisconsin, wait 5 minutes and it'll change."  Interestingly enough... it still feels like Winter.  However, this weekend we're supposed to be in the upper 40's (and maybe hit 50 - gasp!) for Easter Sunday.  So at least all the little adorable girls in the precious little white Easter dresses won't be too chilly.  They will have to worry about muddy shoes though!

GRAND Prize Winner - Romance in Bloom

Flowers for the Queen

I'm finishing an amazing cuff that I can't wait to share with you... picture this, chunky turquoise and amethyst with a druzy focal.  It really will be the bomb diggity when it's done... so off to the studio I go!

Walk in the Woods

Hope you have a fantastic day!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

P.S.  I'm still sporadically having that thing with the "no-reply" email address when I'm commenting on other people's blogs.  It just did it again yesterday when I commented on my superstar glass girl JulsBeads!  So if you aren't sure if yours is also working right, I'd be happy to email you and let you know... just include your email address spelling out AT and DOT so the quirky online gremlin robots don't spam you.  :)

Custom Jewelry Inspired by the Peacock - and my sister

"Hey Dawn, I know it's short notice and I was going to wear that set you made me last year to go with my grey dress, but it really didn't go, so I was wondering if there's any way possible that you can make me something to go with this dress I bought for a wedding."  *Yes, this was spoken as all one sentence for those of us that are grammar conscience.*

"Sure, how "short" is short notice?" 

"Oh, a week from Saturday..."

Yes, the things we do for family are priceless.  This was an actual conversation had between my baby sister and I last Tuesday... and after she emailed me a picture of her wearing the new dress she had purchased, I knew exactly what I was going to make her for the wedding she's going to this weekend.

Short notice and custom made aren't often used in the same sentence, but when inspiration is ready to cooperate (and I can hand-deliver the pieces eliminating shipping time) then once in a while magic can happen!

Peacock Amore... that's the inspiration behind this custom beaded set.  I made a necklace and bracelet using the teal that is the color of her dress with black and cobalt blue accents.  It'll give the pieces even more options to wear again and again.  This set is going to be a staple in my baby sister's wardrobe.

When I delivered it to her yesterday, her response was priceless... "How do you DO that?"

My response:  I pointed my very high-energy niece (4) and nephew (3) whom I love more than words and responded "How do YOU do THAT?" :)  

Brenda will be the belle of the ball, second to the bride herself and true royal beauty in the eyes of her husband! 

Birthday Giveaway Presents Revealed

So excited to share with you the first of the birthday presents I gave away.  If you're new to my blog, I had a brief stint on the Celebrity Creators Television show.  On my live show I talked about turning your passion and purpose into a viable business.  I also offered to give away a piece of custom made Designs by Dawn Marie jewelry to one lucky winner.


Well my little Bella has a big mouth and picked two winners.  So here's the present I created for Nancy.  Actually when Nancy found out she won, she asked me to create something special for her granddaughter.  So my first step was to find out a bit more about her granddaughter.  I saw a photo, learned her age, found out the colors she likes and what type of jewelry she wears.

As a teen, she wears a lot of black and red.  So I wanted to make something really "cool" that she'd wear to school or the movies and feel beautiful wearing.  I created a necklace and bracelet set.  The custom made necklace is a choker style with a vintage style skeleton key dangling.  It's a touch of gothic with a dance of vintage romanticism.

For the matching bracelet, I used the classic tiffany-style bracelet with the heart charm.  I used a substantial gunmetal chain and added a few dangly charms, one being a great crystal heart.  Again it has that flair of romanticism with the pop of color!

I can't wait to hear what Nancy's granddaughter thinks when she gets her pretty package.  From what Granny said, she's a very special girl that deserves to be treated as such.  She makes her Granny very proud and it was such a priviledge to create a set for this special girl.  It really touched my heart to be brought into the family.

So I ask my fellow artisan friends, what is one of the most special pieces of custom jewelry you've been asked to create?  I love to hear stories from the heart and I know we all share in the sentimental moments!  So let's spread love together! 

The other winner was Gen and I have finished her heirloom necklace and will be sharing that later this week.  I can't wait to show Gen and hear her reaction.  Hopefully it's the perfect piece that matches her beautiful, generous heart!

Have a terrific week! {Hugs!}

Yuppers, this made me cry!

Over the last several weeks, I embarked on a bead embroidery piece for a very dear friend.  Kathy has had me custom design several sets for her in the past, but this set of jewelry was to be over the top - supremely special - the belle of the ball... get my drift! 

Kathy is attending a very special charity dinner where the attendees are all very well known people.  I had blogged about it here if you're new to "Dawn's World."  No worries I'll give you a moment to learn about what the charity is.

Having so many ideas racing through my mind, and wanting to deliver on Kathy's desire to have an awesome necklace that features that "IT pink" that has been named most popular for this spring, I played with a few different color pallets. 

After much deliberation (you should have heard the voices in my head.) and on more than one occasion at 3:15 a.m.,  brilliant ideas shot me straight out of bed.  Finally, I opted to go with a WOW pink and multiple shades of pewter!  In my opinion black was going to be too big of a contrast, and would try to over power the pink.  So I chose different colors, finishes and textures of pewter & grey and prepared the piece of Kathy's dreams.

What struck me as I was working on this necklace was my inner peace.  I started with a blank slate (I drew nothing out on paper) and just beaded as my heart desired.  The colors just flowed into each other like the blending of frosting and food coloring.  When it was finished, I stepped back and looked at the piece through new eyes.  This was the most striking necklace I have ever made.  I love big bling, so designing with Swarovski montees and crystals were something out of a dream.  Kathy had given me instructions to do whatever my heart and the beads want to do... so I did.

For me, this necklace symbolized a milestone.  It was a much bigger stretch than I've ever allowed myself to reach for.  But the reward in seeing my very own heart & soul laid out in beads for Kathy to wear was amazing.  I feel like this was my caterpillar moment!  I've come out of my little chrysalis and become a bright, colorful, graceful butterfly! 

I'm working on a few more pieces as we speak, and have a great open house planned for this Sunday with another very dear friend, Elaine.  Also, I've had an offer to debut my bead embroidery jewelry at an evening gala at a local boutique.  So that's in the works for the end of April.  In the meantime, I will continue to learn, grow and discover a creative ME that I never knew was in there just 10 years ago!  Seriously, I thought I'd major in accounting... what was I thinking?

Let your dreams take flight... the scenery will be beautiful and you just don't know where you'll land! 
{Hugs!}
Dawn

Open House in Review!

What a wonderful experience I had this weekend for my Holiday Open House.  I spent the last week or two cleaning and prepping my studio and decorating for the holidays.  All the invitations were sent out (I have to say paper invitations in the mail increase your success rate by 10,000% seriously!)

Saturday proved to be cold, windy and raining - BUT - it didn't affect the turn out!  People were to so happy and ready to celebrate and share in the festivities.  We sipped on Hot Sangria.... which was delicious, sampled some Tastefully Simple dips, bread and desserts and feasted on homemade cookies generously baked by my mom.  Thanks Mom!

In addition to my custom designed jewelry, my dear friend Angela was displaying and sampling her Mary Kay products.  The Tastefully Simple was demonstrated by another local business woman Roberta Pollak (FYI I'm closing out my party this week, so if you need to restock your Bacon Bacon or Garlic Garlic - or any other T.S. products, let me know and I'd be happy to put your order in for you).

Finally I had my good friend Stacy Petersen sent up some of her amazing crafts.  Stacy sent ornaments, bookmarks, fabric baskets, brag books... it was like Christmas for me just opening the box!  I put up a great display of all of her crafts and was able to have her here in spirit with me!  People just loved the variety and I think I can speak for all of us that we were all very pleased with the end result.

Angela and I - bff's since we were 14! ♥

The results of the open house were amazing!  It exceeded my expectations and made me even more excited to spread Christmas cheer this holiday season! (For more photos, click this link to my Facebook photo album http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=567622&id=10150114260055133&ref=mf ) And now, I'm headed back to the studio to tidy up and work on some custom orders from over the weekend!  Hope you all have a TERRIFIC week!

{Hugs!}
Dawn

P.S.  If you're wondering where the photos are with all the people... ummm, yeah, I was flapping my jaw and socializing so much I forgot to get the camera out... nice, right?  Silly me...

Counting Down...

As I poured my first cup of coffee this morning and logged onto the computer and Ebay flashes "45 Days until Christmas."  I start to count on my fingers... realizing quickly how much more coffee I'm going to need today.  WOW, only 45 days until Christmas, really?!?!

I absolutely love Christmas.  Partially because I love LOVE... so I get to spread love all over by sending cards, delivering homemade cookies, picking out or creating gifts made specially for that person, and spending time with family.  I love listening to Christmas music, and setting up our nativity set which Chris' mom handmade over 20 years ago... it's absolutely stunning!  Click on the photo of the camel to see the detail.  She used Swarovski Crystals, 14K gold overlay paint and just stunning detail.  I love putting the ornaments on the tree and reminiscing about where this one came from or whom gave me that one. 

But before I get swept away in this winter wonderland of love, I must put the finishing touches on my open house.  This coming Saturday, Nov. 13th from 10:00 - 3 I have tidied up my studio, decorated for the holidays, invited a few friends over that are also in business for themselves and we're opening the doors to help people start their holiday with lots of CHEER! 

In the past, the open houses I've done have always been at a hostess' house.  This will be the first at my own studio.  I'm very much looking forward to it and seeing some people that I didn't get to see over the summer months.  While I finalize all those last minute touches, I'm as busy as Santa's elf hoping to create warm, cozy and fun environment for all who stop by.  I'll post pictures when I've got everything set up and we're all having a grand time!

Make the most of your 45 days... spread love and cheer... and of course, share a smile!
{Hugs!}
~Dawn

P.S.  Yup, that there pendant is a wire wrapped Juls Bead original... and yes, the bead was stunning from the minute I opened the package... So if you like it, let Juls know... she just listed a whole bunch of new pieces.... including some birds!  Tweet Tweet Y'all!  :o)  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Julsbeads