DIY = FUN: EVERYTHING You Need To Design Your Own Jewelry

My designing wheels are always turning. I wake up in the night with jewelry designs on my mind, envisioning  not only how  I will make it  and what the piece will  look like, but who would love it, and what it might mean to them.

I am really approachable when it comes to co-designing. Over the years,  I have come to learn that my customers have great ideas, crystal clear vision and strong intention when it comes to designing jewelry that fills their  particular desire/need.  It really makes my job easy, and so personal. It is wonderful seeing how satisfied they are knowing they had so much say in their final result. Their "intention" was met. This is so important to me.  We work  together to design a jewelry piece with great meaning to them; that they or their recipient will cherish forever.

Working with a designer is not for everyone. With this in mind, I have sections in two of my shops, Your Daily Jewels and Silver Initial Jewelry,  called "Design Your Own."  In these sections, you are free to look around at options for adding on to your jewelry design, on your own, without me hanging over your shoulder.  I include design ideas too, but mostly gemstones, charm bracelet blanks and necklace chain, leather, crystals, pearls, initial charms and lots more.

I can wire wrap a gemstone or Swarovski crystal in your birthstone or favorite color. What a perfect gift: a wax seal initial pendant necklace accompanied by the recipients birthstone. I would be happy!

Earthy, Wirewrapped Gemstones

Chalcedony comes in the most beautiful colors. You can add this to a necklace or create a lovely charm bracelet full of them!

Add Some Luscious Chalcedony

Brass with Oxidized Silver Finish Charm Bracelet Lots to Choose From!

 

 

 

 

Add Inspirational Words or Dates

These are just SOME of the charms I can make

 

 

Another of my favorite words...

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and read. I am so appreciative of your support.

Matte Gold - The Perfect Neutral

I love matte gold jewelry. It goes with everything. I mix it with shiny 18k gold and even with my  oxidized sterling pieces. Like fashion these days, anything goes, if you do it right! 

I just loaded  a few more pair of matte gold earrings into my original shop on Etsy, "Your Rustic Jewelry". I f you haven't shopped there yet, take a peek. It is very affordable and full of great and unique gift ideas.

This is my most expensive item and it is only $79. After this, the prices drop to $50 and some pieces are $15.00!

Pink Chunk Tourmaline Points Necklace - October Birthday Idea!

Here is a nice selection of some of my matte gold earrings, all between $24 and $28!

This Gorgeous Matte Gold Bracelet comes in Matte Black Too

Minimalist Matte Gold Triple Loops from Your Rustic Jewelry

one more:

Thanks for reading!

Tomorrow I will be reporting in from www. SilverInitialJewelry.com and announcing the two grande prize winners of the Facebook contest that has been running for the past two weeks!! The lucky two will choose wax seal silver initials to be made just for them by my newest shop

Bye for now!

Nancy's Crystal Fantasies Treasure Chest of Handmade Jewels: I Would Like to Present . . .

Nancy's Crystal Fantasies Treasure Chest of Handmade Jewels: I Would Like to Present . . .

CONTEST RULES

more days to enter!

2 First Prizes!! 

Large Personalized Initials!

 RULES:

Here is how you can enter,  (over and over):

Ring Up the ---BINGS---

1.   Visit  http://www.SilverInitialJewelry.etsy.com

Like it/ heart it/ follow it/ chase it/ or anything else you can do to it.---BING--- one Entry.

2.   Pick out your favorite Initial, (see # 1, do that again for the item). Then copy the link and…

3.   Drop the link on my Facebook page “Etsy Jewelry Stores”

https://www.facebook.com/EtsyJewelryStores

----BING--- one Entry   (feel free to reflect on why you like it, or anything nice or fun you would like to say :)

4.   “LIKE” my new FB page, (you’re there anyway) and leave me a post so I know. ---BING---one Entry.  Also remind me you "liked". etc.  my Etsy shop.

5.   Anyone who has already  “Liked” my Page and Etsy shop gets an Entry grandfathered in, just to be fair (Remind me, only once) ---BING---one Entry.

6.   You Can do #2/#3 once a day and rack up the entrees!

7.  Write a BLOG post about my new shop, (if you don’t have a BLOG, guest write on someone else’

·     with a little from my “about” section

·     and 3-5 big photos

·     with captions with links to my sections or listings

·     Tweet it, Pin it, etc.

·     BING – BING- BING 10 Entries!!!

 How The Winners are Chosen:

All entries will be assigned a number. All numbers will be compiled and a winner will be chosen by random.org’s random # chooser on September 23^rd.

Keep Calm and Tumblr On... and on

Just a little tease...
I will be posting about my Tumblr 'lookbook' later today or tomorrow.

I love Tumblr. You must check it out, (not just mine), if you don't visit already. You will find creativity like no where else on the internet!

Thanks for visiting!

9-11-01 Never Forget - How Could You Anyway?

I keep the phrase: "9-11, Never Forget"  on my blog, at the top, 365 days a year.  

But really, who really, if they were alive then, could ever forget? Even children who don't remember now learn about it in school and know it is a world changing day and event, never to be forgotten.

I lived in NYC that day and my nerve endings tingle as I write this. I remember each second of that day down to brushing my teeth hours before the first plane hit. It is like my brain went it to hyper-recording mode. I can tell you hundreds of stories from that day and the days following. Stories about people who died, people who lived, people who missed their regular train and got to work late, those whose children were sick and they couldn't go to work that day. 

I  know people who missed their plane;  and a man who lost his wife and daughter on a plane  and they had only just made it on with a stand-by fare.  On and on the stories flow. All about people I know or knew.  I can fill a book just with stories about people in my life who had incredible horror stories or incredible fateful salvation stories. And I don't know that many people! There were no in between stories that day.  It just seemed like everyone  had stories like this. It was such an odd, spiritual connection to everyone you spoke with. Everyone had these stories to tell.

I still miss my  friend  "Moh" from the newspaper kiosk from whom I bought my newspaper from for fourteen years.   He helped out many  of the homeless people in the  neighborhood and always had a smile and a kind word. Each morning we would joke and laugh about how I would have married him if he didn't have so many "God-damned wives at home".  Sometimes I  would buy a lottery ticket and he would say, "You buy me divorces when you win." I never saw him after 9/11. His kiosk was boarded up, he was gone. I still don't know what to think of this.

Each day, as people surfaced from their apartments and I would start to see regular faces again at the gym, at Starbucks, and walking the dog,  it became an endless recording of   "Did you hear...?" It became unbearable to see these living faces, knowing I was going to learn about more who were not going to show up. In my gym alone, one hundred members died. In my apartment building, thirty! I went to Memorial Services in NJ and Connecticut and all over the City. All with just photographs. Few remains were found early on.

I wish I could calm the nerve endings that tingle with the words 9-11. But it is as fresh a wound as 12 years ago. I did not lose a husband, child, parent or sibling.  I lost several friends  but none of my dearest friends. Its not that my life  changed in a catastrophic way it's that the world did. I mourn for life pre-9-11. The naivete that we lived in the best country in the world. I mourn for the days when I trusted my government even if they seemed dim-witted. I mourn for 2010.

Today, I live 22 miles north of the City. I mourn for living in the City, pre 9/11,  but I just couldn't stay.  I smelled that death smoke from my apartment for weeks and it was killing me. So  I started looking for houses  where I could live with my mother who had advancing Alzheimer's. I did stay to finish school but I couldn't take  the bomb scares and the bag checks that went on for a year after 9-11. And   I couldn't live with the fear of living with a big target on my back. 

I am still torn whether I should have stuck it out. I miss so much of the amazing things of The City. But I think after ten years up here I have lost my "edge". I would  never survive another 9/11. Oh, but guess what I learned after I bought my house? I'm just down river from Indian Point, Nuclear Power Plant. 

Just Tattoo that target right on my back!

Specacularly graphic and heart wrenching photos on this website. I will not post them so you can look at your own choosing
http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/09/9-11-anniversary-photos-pictures/

Ring up the BINGS: It's Jewelry Giveaway CONTEST Time

My new shop is open and in celebration I am  giving away TWO of my silver initial necklaces via a simple contest with lots of chances to enter. Read on for everything you need to know:

Most Importantly: As the prize winners, you may choose any one initial from the  “Large Initial” section of Silver Initial Jewelry on Etsy.

There are lots to choose from, and I will make you a lovely necklace.

Just Some of the "Large" Initials You Can Choose From.

 RULES:

Here is how you can enter,  (over and over):

Ring Up the ---BINGS---

1.   Visit  http://www.SilverInitialJewelry.etsy.com

Like it/ heart it/ follow it/ chase it/ or anything else you can do to it.---BING--- one Entry.

2.   Pick out your favorite Initial, (see # 1, do that again for the item). Then copy the link and…

3.   Drop the link on my Facebook page “Etsy Jewelry Stores”

https://www.facebook.com/EtsyJewelryStores

----BING--- one Entry   (feel free to reflect on why you like it, or anything nice or fun you would like to say :)

4.   “LIKE” my new FB page, (you’re there anyway) and leave me a post so I know. ---BING---one Entry.  Also remind me you "liked". etc.  my Etsy shop.

5.   Anyone who has already  “Liked” my Page and Etsy shop gets an Entry grandfathered in, just to be fair (Remind me, only once) ---BING---one Entry.

6.   You Can do #2/#3 once a day and rack up the entrees!

7.  Write a BLOG post about my new shop, (if you don’t have a BLOG, guest write on someone else’

·     with a little from my “about” section

·     and 3-5 big photos

·     with captions with links to my sections or listings

·     Tweet it, Pin it, etc.

·     BING – BING- BING 10 Entries!!!

 How The Winners are Chosen:

All entries will be assigned a number. All numbers will be compiled and a winner will be chosen by random.org’s random # chooser on September 23^rd.

 

Thank you all so much for joining in, playing along, and helping me to introduce my new silver initial wax seal jewellery shop and new Facebook page to the world.

Sneak Peak (Before I Make a Big Announcement!)

Hello loyal readers, customers and friends.  Hopefully hello to some newcomers too!

I just made the prettiest beads and they are not yet listed. You are the first to see them! They will be sold in Your Daily Jewels

That's it. One little peak. So far I have tried them on hoop earrings; on chains in groups of three or five; and sparkingly gorgeous "un-patina'd" (is that a word?) shiny silver.

I will have lots more photos, after...the big announcement.

Ok, here's a subtle hint:

Thank you for reading!
(more on the contest soon)