Artbeads: Blogging for Spring

Yes, Spring is finally here!  It's everywhere right now and it's lovely! Spring means my rose garden is full of the most beautiful roses I've ever seen - and their smells are heavenly!  When artbeads announced that it's next assignment for bloggers was "Spring" - well I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use these gorgeous roses as my inspiration. 

Searching Artbeads.com for beads in soft colors to match my roses was easy,....choosing which ones I actually wanted, wasn't!  I love pearls - being the pearl geek that I am - and they also put off a soft glow, just like my roses.  I wanted to give the Swarovski Crystal Pearls a chance this time too, since they come is such great colors, so I chose both  freshwater, cultured pearls and some Swarovski's, too.  The cultured, freshwater stick pearls I chose arrived and I was a tad bit disappointed with them because they all didn't have the great luster and sheen that I'd hoped for and there were a few 'dark black' patches in the nacre (yes, I'm pretty critical when it comes to grading cultured pearls!!) but over all, they were better than some I've seen at many other stores. They really did bring a more natural and organic feel to my necklace and like the actual roses themselves, they were not with out blemishes, and sometimes that's what makes things so beautiful and special - because they're not absolutely perfect!

I decided I wanted a hand knotted necklace this time and found the perfect color of griffin silk to knot my pearls on. To liven the piece up a bit, I needed some sparkle and what better way to say sparkle than with a few Swarovski crystals!  And, I needed a clasp that was bursting with style for my spring design, and I found this star shaped toggle clasp to be the perfect match! 

I chose to do a sort of "tin-cup" style of knotting so the emphasis would be on the beads themselves and I also wanted make the necklace long enough to wrap around and wear it as a double strand - or you can just wear a simple tank and have one long, luscious necklace!

The end result is quite romantic - like love in bloom I guess you could say.  The necklace itself is a respresentation of things gently awakening in spring,...waiting to bring forth the more vibrant summer energy!

Until next time,

Peace, Love and all things SPRING!

cheers,

~Shel~

The items specifically referenced from ArtBeads.com were provided free of charge as promotional gifts for review and/or design partnership purposes only.

No monetary compensation has been provided.

Digging Deep!

As I was reading Art Biz Blog I came across an interesting question and since it made me stop and think, I decided it would be a good question to pass along and find out your thoughts.

The originial piece can be found here: Deep Thought Thursday: Commissioned art

Here's what it asks, "Is commissioned art inherently of lesser quality?"

"Does the fact that you, the artist, must please another person with the work make it less important? Or does it mean that it is somehow tainted, impure?"

Wow, that's sort of deep, I think.  At first I blurted out "NO!"  Then, I thought,..."Well it can, at times, compromise an artist's signature style or way of producing their art." (We're not just talking jewelry designs here either - all forms of art are included in this question.) 

Hmmm,......(Remember that?  "Things that make you go 'hmmm'?) 

Whether you're an artist or a designer, a person who just knows what they like and what they don't, an avid collector of various types of art, a business person, whatever,.......let me know what you think and let's get this discussion going, shall we?

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Art In All Forms!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

March Madness Blowout Sale

We're having a March Madness Blowout Sale to make room for some of our new designs which will be added next month - so go check out our ESTY store and click on the "ON SALE NOW" section for some great spring time deals!!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Great Deals, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Aquamarine - March's Beautiful Birthstone!!

I love Aquamarine.  Mainly because it's so beautiful, but also because it's my birthstone (lucky me!!) and because of all the properties it's associated with it such as Peace, Courage, Self-Expression, Purification, Intuition, Preparedness and Balance!

From the Latin word aqua marina, meaning 'sea water', it's noted that the first lenses for eyeglasses were cut from it in around 1300. Medieval astrologers believed it had the power to calm the seas, to banish troubles of it's owners (hense the reason ancient sailors took it with them for protection) and to guarantee friendship and justice.

To me, Aquamarine means Calm, Protection, Confidence, Mystery, Creativity, Other Worlds/Dimensions, Love, Peace, Tranquility, Hope, Trust and Beauty.  I guess we all feel different powers of stones and gems as they apply to us. If you'd like to see for yourself what Aquamarine means to you, hold a stone of Aquamarine gently in your hand, close your eyes and let the stone tell you  - and it will! 

It's amazing once we become quiet and are open, what the world will tell us - secets, many secrets - but mostly things we already know somewhere deep with in!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and all things Aquamarine Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Wanna Smile?

Sometimes we're given things in life that we just don't know what to do with - illness, loss, pain, challenges, people, you name it,.....but there's some people who always, no matter what, seem to produce the best "Lemonade" ever out of all they are dealt.....

My niece, one of my MiShel Designs Models, is a good example.

Her blog, "Lymphomania" is a tribute to her life during her bout with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's genuine, heartfelt, upbeat, quirky and absolutely a "feel good" blog - so please, if you want to see what those with true strength are made of, read it - you won't be sorry!

Here's little quip from last week (she writes daily):

"At the bottom of the picture the man says “We live as if we are never going to die, and we die as if we never lived! I WILL live as if i am never going to die, I live each day to its fullest and even in my darkest of days try to find the one little light to pull me out but I REFUSE to die as if I never lived…because when I get to that point in my life I will know I have lived, and I have loved and I have enjoyed everyday to its fullest!"

She's got a great sense of humor as she goes through her treatments and actually cheers up folks who are in the same boat, gives homeless people her girl scout cookies, tell's men w/testicular cancer "good luck w/your balls" and talks regularly about 'poop'......it's a hoot and a real soothing read. So, cleanse your palate and see for yourself!

http://mishaegan.tumblr.com/

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and LIFE, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Got a Prom Dress?? Donate it to a great cause!

As regular donors (of our jewelry, of course!) to the Santana House Youth Action Center Prom Connection, we'd like to invite you to donate any evening gowns you might have that are collecting dust in your closet to this wonderful cause:

Join the 3rd Annual Santana House Youth Action Center Prom Connection and Make a Young Girl’s Dreams Come True!

The Santana House Youth Action Center in East Los Angeles will be hosting its “Third Annual Prom Connection” on Saturday, March 27th! Hundreds of teenage girls from nearby high schools and the surrounding neighborhoods will be invited to the Center to find a dress and all the accessories that go with it for their special night. We are accepting donations of new or very lightly used dresses and shoes. We are also interested in any jewelry, cosmetics, or hair product companies that might be interested in sponsoring or donating to the event.

To find out more about the event or to arrange a donation, contact Carol Zou at czou@vip-cmhc.org, visit http://www.santanahouse.org, or call 323.221.4231, x 170.

Thank you for your generosity and interest.

About the Santana House:

The Santana House Youth Action Center was created by teens for teens as part of the Violence Intervention Program, a nonprofit agency in East Los Angeles. The mission of the Center is to involve young men and women in a leadership role in building positive futures and preventing violence in their own lives, homes and neighborhoods. The Center offers free after school educational and cultural enrichment programs, tutoring, college preparation assistance, and opportunities to work on community outreach and prevention efforts. The Center is open five days a week and offers a safe space for teens to work together and develop friendships with other young people who are involved in positive endeavors. Donations to the Violence Intervention Program, www.violenceinterventionprogram.org, are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

So, dig through that closet and "go green" by sending your cleaned, but looking new and beautiful dress to the Santana House for their annual Prom Connection!!

Until next time,

Peace, Love and Helping Others, Baby!!

Cheers,
~Shel~

MiShel Designs Models

Just wanted to send a big "Thank You" to my MiShel Designs Models in this video! You ROCK!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Until next time,
Peace, Love and Pearls Baby!!
Cheers,
Shel

The Creative Process

It's fun creating things.  All types of things,...not just jewelry, either (don't tell anyone I said that!).

In trying to become my techno and web savvy, I'm playing around with some video clips of our jewelry.

Now,....to just get all the jewelry pics we lost over the winter holiday (yep, lost over 8,500 jewerly - and family - pics) back into their prospective folders and backed up and we'll be in business to create better jewelry videos and even our jewelry classes online for you to view.

Here's just the first littele practice run.  

Clickl the MiShel Designs Jewelry link below and Enjoy! (And give us your feedback too, please!)

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Videos of Great Jewelry, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~
MiShel Designs Jewelry

Tucson Gem/Bead Show Finds!!

Wow! The 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (and, Bead Shows, too!) were fantastic this year - as usual.

Each year we try to find some super "fun" things to bring back and play with like these super-cool multi-colored stones pictured above and the mod peace signs you see at the bottom of this post - how fun are these!?!

We had a great time walking around and drooling over all the beautiful gemstones, beads, carvings, fossils and everything in between!

We met some new people and swapped stories of "Who's got the best,......and what show are they at this year?" We chatted with some familiar faces and trusted vendors, watched cool demonstrations on Kumihimo Braiding, Stamping, Metal Etching, Pearl Knotting and much more!

We've returned from Tucson and have finally 'cataloged' all our our items and wanted to share some of our cool treasures and also some of our "Just for the fun of it" finds with you as well.

We visited so many vendors and places and here are just a few:

Majestic Pearl - Pearls, Pearls, and MORE Pearls!!

Pearl Concepts - Your guessed it - Pearls!

Anil Kumar - Beautiful gemstones, silver and vermeil findings. (510-498-855)

The Realm of the Goddess - 24k gold dipped leaves, chain galore, pendants, and more.

Cargo Hold - Wonderful selection of pendants, chain and findings.

Beaducation - Geat supplier for metal stamping tools, online classes and jewelry supplies.

Hip Chick Beads - Charms, clasps, stamping tools, connectors, etc.

Object and Elements - Cool findings, great designs.

The Fiber Goddess - Exotic, hand-dyed fibers, kits for weaving/braiding cords, etc.

Rio Grande - Catalog in Motion - way cool tools!

Swarovski Crystal - Crystals, Crystals and more Crystals!!

Bokamo Designs - Boro Glass Beads - Beauitufl!!

Kent's Tools - Tools, tools, and more cool tools!

1239 Corp - Semi-Precious Stones and Pearls (212-889-0555)

Evergreen Trading Co - Freshwater Pearls (626-279-2723)

Shivam Imports - Precious and Semi-Precious Gemstones and Diamonds

Prominent Gems and Rough - Gemstone Beads and Loose Gem Stones (212-730-1562)

The Bead Palce - Beads, Beads, and more Beads!

Queenly Global Trading - Beads, Crystals, Pendants and More!

We've got some spring jewelry designs we'll be putting up on the website and our MiShel Designs Facebook Fan page in the next couple of weeks - so be on the look out!



Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!

(And all kinds of fun finds from the Tucson Gem/Mineral and Bead Shows!!)

Cheers!

~Shel~

My Fat Chance Give-A-Way Fun!

Woo Hoo! Our *Believe* pendant necklace is being given away to one lucky person who follows Jullee Petersen's 'My Fat Chance" UTube videos to help people with their weight loss!

Jullee's done a fantastic job of motivating people by giving recipes to help with a healthy lifestyle, sharing tips and just being a great source of encouragement and support!

She's announcing the winner of our pendant this Saturday, Februart 6th, so hurry on over and sign up and follow her instructions for your chance to win!


MY FAT CHANCE - Give-A-Way Fun!


Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~