Post No. 1- The Beginning

 

I've just sat down on my bed to write this first post.  It is a lovely spring day outside in Utah- sunny, bright, high 60's.  It smells great and the birds or chirping as they seem to do in the springtime.  I hear the gentle clacking of the Venetian blinds in the breeze, a train honking as it passes somewhere not too far away.  Outside my window, past my messy work table (it's particularly chaotic right now, halfway between sewing and jewelry-making), I can see the edge of the next house, the blue sky, a few snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains.




The cat, of course, has immediately curled up beside me with her little paw on my arm, and I think I'm ready to start this blog!


I'm Anne-Marie.  I'm a musician, a mom, a jewelry designer.  I love to cook, sew, write, create.  This blog is going to be mainly about JEWELRY!  Handmade, creative, unique; some of which I make, some made by others.  Join me in my little world!

I love COLOR.  I love not-color too; plain metals, neutrals, black and white, but color...  Color makes me feel things.  Oranges and yellows make me thirsty, greens and blues relax me, red and purple make me feel rich.  haha  Might as well feel it, right?

I made a necklace lately using waxed Irish linen cord and using lots of COLOR.  I've got quite a few beads at this point, so I just went with my gut, and out came Spring on a String!

I love working with this grey linen cord; it's so me! Strung along it in this piece are:
5 pieces of Indonesian glass
2 cherry quartz
3 chalcedonies
2 carnelians
4 aventurines
2 lampwork glass beads(by radiantmind on etsy; love!)
sterling silver
and Indonesian bone.

I use quite a few of these Indonesian bone beads in my work; you'll be seeing more!  There's only one of them in this necklace; that orange one right in the center.  Those of you who know me know of my long love affair with transparency.  I love clear things!  What I've learned as a jewelry designer, however,  is that clear things look even clearer when they're with things that are not clear, like Indonesian cow bone.  Plus the colors these beads come in are great...  again, you'll be seeing more in the future!

This necklace, which extends from 17 1/2 to 19 inches, is also listed in my etsy shop here:   http://www.etsy.com/listing/74719046/spring-on-a-string-gemstone-sterling

One more thing for today.  I was just accepted into the Jewelry on Etsy Team, or JET Team.  I'm excited!  Every day they have a featured member, and today's is an amazing artist from the Isle of Arran in Scotland.  I love her organic-looking pieces, like these:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ovgilliesdesigns?ref=pr_shop

See you tomorrow!  -Anne-Marie