Blue the Colour of Life

I'm honored to have one of my pieces included in a treasury, once again on Etsy.com. Treasuries are collections of items from Etsy Shops, handpicked by other Etsy Sellers & Shop Owners, grouped together in collections. This one is "Blue the Colour of Life" and it's such a gorgeous page. The colors are soothing, but yet inspiring at the same time! My ceramic pendant necklace, "Summer Stroll" is perfect for the collection. I'm appreciative!

Natural Nuts from the Rainforest

New to my shop today, natural earrings featuring natural acai nuts from the rainforests of Ecuador! Very neutral, very natural, these tan, brown and black gunmetal earrings are a neat go-to option. It's nice to have earrings that are lightweight and natural, so they're comfortable to throw on with "whatever" and wear effortlessly - yet still be visually interesting! It's great to find natural elements to use in jewelry and I'm thrilled I found these.

Terracotta Mixed Media Multistrand Bracelet

Orange, orange, orange ... I love it, can't get enough of it. It's bright, it's warm, it exudes HAPPINESS! I was thrilled that several of my favorite fashion designers used some gorgeous shades of the color this spring and summer, and so of course I needed to make a special bracelet to coordinate and celebrate the color. Textural, warm, earthy, this bracelet is perfect to pair with so many different things. There are a few sprinkles of brighter orange, so it even looks great as an earthy option to wear with a brighter shade of the color. I used mixed metals in this piece, Thai silver, copper and gunmetal. I wore mine the other day and paired it with a sterling silver bead bracelet, adding just the right flash of silver for a dressier occasion. It's a joy to wear all the casual, warm goodness of the season around your wrist ... and it will carry that warmth right into Fall, with the earthy hues and mixed metals! I'll likely make another one to offer in the shop at some point and will take special orders for them in the meantime. This one obviously makes me smile ... orange happiness!

Metal & Glass Earrings - very summer chic!

Love, love, love these earrings! The colorless transparent glass bottom half of the teardrops are kind of mystical and let the mixed-metal speckles shine, separating the cloudy white glass at the top. I've casually hand-wrapped them with gunmetal wire, providing a great "go with everything" neutral, metal look. I love it when jewelry pieces go with all kinds of stuff! I will probably introduce these into my Etsy Shop at some point, likey by special order ... I'm too in love with these to not keep a pair for myself! Very casual, very chic, very translucent-metal-summery, VERY HAPPY! I just had to share these on the blog, rather than just keep the secret to myself ... hope you enjoy them!

Breast Cancer Awareness Necklace

Just sharing the latest addition to my shop, a Breast Cancer Awareness necklace in sterling silver. A friend recently special ordered a Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet from me for a gift, which we custom-designed to be a little more trendy and stylish than the typical awareness jewelry you find on the market. It was so popular with her friends and family that it resulted in multiple repeat orders, including one for herself! Not only was I delighted that they enjoyed the design and piece so much, but it was interesting to learn that people are very frustrated with the lack of "nice, interesting Breast Cancer Awareness jewelry" available. Out of these discussions came the idea to make a sterling silver necklace that was nice enough to wear regularly, but still stylish enough to get some attention. The dangle pendants on this necklace add a splash of fun in color, yet retain a sophistication with the sterling silver & glass and offer the current trend of wire wrapping - all at the same time. It was a difficult piece to photograph though, as I think it looks nicer in person than the photo represents. I love the opportunity to adorn a clasp with beads or maybe a charm ... as a person with very short hair, I like to have something interesting in the back too! :) This necklace is currently available in my shop and I just thought I'd share the background with you here on the blog. That's my piece of happy to share today - hopefully bringing a smile to someone out there who would like a Breast Cancer Awareness piece that's a little more fun, and a little nicer than the usual! Have a happy day!

Dragonfly Bracelet

Dragonflies dance around your wrist on this fun, lightweight bracelet. Connected by hand-wrapped gunmetal wire, two wood-carved dragonflies are surrounded by little bits of happy blues, greens and browns. The second gunmetal strand of the bracelet holds two colorful dangles, that further highlight the hand-wrapped wire strand. The bracelet closes with a Vintaj swirl & loop - easy to connect yourself. Very casual, calm, cool and lots of fun! Available in my shop soon: www.MyHappyThings.etsy.com

Earrings are still coming with two more Rabbit Hutch handmade lampworked teardrops, and I'm so thrilled with the dragonflies I'm considering doing a few pieces in some warmer colors too!

Dragonfly Debut

DRAGONFLY DEBUT: Overdramatic? Okay, maybe ... but I'm so excited about how these pieces came out!! I'm not typically a "theme" person designing around something like this, but these dragonflies caught my eye. I gave you a sneak preview of the beads previously, and now they finally have come together and I'm sharing the necklace and bracelet here on my blog first! They will soon to be available in my Etsy Shop (www.MyHappyThings.etsy.com). The colors are so calm and cool, and go wonderfully with the mixed metals of gunmetal, silver and oxidized silver. The beads are muted gray-blues and darker blues, with sage and blue-green shades of green in stone rondelles. Clasping on the side with a silver dragonfly, a wood-carved dragonfly mirrors it on the other side. The lampworked focal bead is handmade, and is something you have to see to really appreciate. The beautiful taupe and brown hues of the glass are just perfect against the gray-blue below, and the speckles are wonderfully interesting hues of various metals - truly gorgeous!

Earrings!

I am finally getting some earrings in my shop! I'm so thrilled with the way these two pair of earrings turned out. Honestly, I knew I wanted to use the beads & color combos to make earrings, but the designs just unfolded as I started working. I love a good pair of earrings with great, basic colors ... but wonderful & unique design. I'm hoping these bring someone some happiness somewhere!

New Bracelet: Warm Desert Colors!

I absolutely love the warm hues of terra cotta and tans, mixed with gunmetal in the latest bracelet in my shop (www.MyHappyThings.etsy.com)! These are such great colors for summer and even into Fall ... okay, so I wear these colors all year round, but you get the idea! I've had the tan desert jasper beads for some time and have been waiting to find just the right terra cotta-colored items to mix with them. These fossil and jasper rondelles are perfect, just enough of a splash of dark orange-brown to create the effect of the warmth of the Arizona desert. I've really enjoyed working with gunmetal lately, it adds a touch of "steampunk" style to pieces. I love the way it all came together in this bracelet and only wish the true warmth and richness of the hues were represented better in the photo!

Dragonfly Tranquility

Look what I get to start creating with tomorrow! Dragonflies - they're so popular now and no wonder, the image is so light, carefree and summery! I fell in love with the gorgeous rich, deep copper & amber browns in these handmade lampworked glass beads, paired with the cool mystical blues, as soon as I saw them. I was delighted to come across the fine silver dragonfly toggle clasp soon after, and knew they would work perfectly together. They've been "on deck" for over a week now and I can't wait to start working with them! The thought of it makes me want to go to bed early, so tomorrow will get here that much faster ... now that's jewelry-making happiness! Thanks for checking in with my blog today, of course I'll share the finished product here when it's ready. Have a great day!

Strawberry & Chocolate Yumminess

On Day #2 of my Etsy Shop existence, another shop owner graciously included one of my bracelets in a treasury of pink & chocolate brown items! The page she put together is absolutely gorgeous and my bracelet looks so good right in the middle of it all. This particular bracelet is so neat because it's petite and dainty, but yet lucious at the same time. You can click on the photo, if you'd like to view the treasury directly on Etsy, it's linked and will take you to it. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope you've found something to make you smile here today!

Butterfly Arrival

As promised, I'm sharing the butterfly bracelet with you! I'm calling it "Summer Morning", because everytime I look at it I think of breathing in the fresh air and enjoying all the sights and sounds the season offers. I'm quite pleased with the way this piece turned out, a mix of eclecticly textured fresh-palette beads, balanced on the other side by multiple strands of dainty, light & airy Miyuki seed beads. Happiness in a bracelet that's a breath of fresh air! It will debut in my Etsy shop (MyHappyThings.etsy.com) this weekend.

Summertime Colors

Summertime, summertime, summertime! These beads scream "SUMMER!" when I see them! They've been catching my eye everytime I walk past my bead inventory and I can't help but smile when I think of all the fun and wonderful things summertime holds. Laughing, running, jumping, swimming, playing, shorts, sandals ... all good and happy things. I've decided the fact that even just seeing these beads makes me smile, is a call to create a happy summertime necklace from them. It's next on my list and I'm enjoying emercing myself in the summer happiness these colors envoke ... so for now, here's a snapshot of the happiness for you to enjoy too, until the piece makes its debut! Enjoy and think HAPPY!

Butterfly Happiness!

A friend recently mentioned that she loved butterflies and soon after, I came across the most perfectly crafted sterling silver toggle clasp I'd ever seen. Visions of the perfect summer butterfly bracelet started spinning in my head and soon I was collecting the textures and colors that would bring my vision to life. This is a snapshot of some of the items I've assembled, to create my next jewelry piece. Don't these colors instantly make you feel light, airy and just happy? I special ordered the clasp and am anxiously awaiting delivery to begin working ... when it's off the design board, I'll be glad to share my next piece of happiness right here with you!

New Mother/New Baby Jewelry

Ooh ... look what's on its way in the mail to me!! I have big plans for these beautifully handcrafted lampworked glass beads. Visions of a wonderfully plump, oh-so-sweet "Baby Boy" bracelet are dancing in my head! I can't wait to get them on my design board and start working with them, as Sterling Silver and a few other well-chosen materials will begin working their magic together, crafting a beautiful piece of jewelry, and likely a family heirloom! Can you imagine opening a "Mother-to-be" bracelet like this, when finding out you're having a boy? I can remember spending so many hours dreaming of what my little boys would be like during pregnancy. How wonderful it would be to have this adorn her wrist, as a visible promise of the little boy she's beginning to create, as her heart and mind dance wildly with dreams, fears and expectations! Stay tuned ... this bracelet will likely pop into my shop in the near future. And there's a rumor that this might be Part 1 of a 3-part plan ... maybe a Baby Girl version as well, and then even the possibility of a gender-neutral option with a variety of sweet baby pastels, for those mom's who are waiting to be surprised on the big day! BABY HAPPINESS!

November Wedding Bridesmaids' Jewelry

I recently completed a set of bracelets and earrings for bridesmaids in a November wedding, and I just loved working with the color palette! The dresses are eggplant and flowers are orange and yellow. This stunning bracelet elegantly, yet boldly presents the colors together in richly balanced elements that effortlessly glisten as they dance around the wrist. The glass foil-lined eggplant beads sparkle, while surrounded by elegant deep purple Swarovski pearls. Orange shells and beads couple with fragile golden lucite leaves, offering the bright autumn colors that glimmer when the setting sun falls on Autumn evenings. A fantasy of fall color sparkles and shines in this bracelet with glass seed beads and sterling silver metals. I am thinking of making one or two additional ones to sell in my Etsy shop, later this fall. I love those fall colors, no matter what season it is - COLOR HAPPINESS!