One Day Getaway...

Well finally, the hubby and I were able to take a break during the week and drive over to Mobile, Alabama for the night. We went for the sensational and fabulous Cirque Du Soleil show "Drallion". And it absolutely did not disappoint! This was the second Cirque show I had seen and it was a feast for the eyes!!! The art direction behind all of their shows is the best of the best and if you ever have a chance to go see one of these incredible shows, go and see it!!

We stayed at a really nice little boutique hotel and the picture below was their top floor lounge. Sooo Gorgeous, I loved the decor! I know the people working there must have thought I didn't 'get out much' to be taking pictures of their everyday bar, and they were right, I was hypnotized by the lights and just had to break out the camera...

 

the beautiful view over Mobile Bay and luckily this was the same view from our hotel room...

I love this crazy picture...I call it "Lights over Mobile" (heehee). Now we know how they get all those UFO pictures. (HA)....

I bought this sweet little headband-hat at the Cirque Du Soleil show for my little niece. She is always talking about how "stylish" she and other people are, so I knew she just had to have this. It is just too darn cute! I'll post a picture of her modeling it on a later post...

And of course there was time to do some antique shopping! There's always time for that, and look what I dug up...

Can someone please tell me what that silvery tube in the center is for???? It has a spring inside, and the mother of pearl tip on the end moves in and out, like something was supposed to be dispensed from it. I bought it because it was very mysterious and had a date inscribed on the outside of it. It reads,
I.M. 1923.

I know the I.M stands for "Infant Mystics"and that they are a Mobile Mardi Gras crew formed in the late 1800's. And I think the tube-like pendant is some type of party favor they threw from their floats. If anyone else has any ideas about what this could be, feel free to leave me a comment, because I am dying to know what went inside of it!



And the Winner Is...

.....Kathy B.

the drawing video...

Kathy, please contact me through my email so I can give this bracelet to you. I drew the name last night and have spent most of the morning (and part of last night) trying to upload the video, (Ahhh the wonderful world of computers) but I wanted to let everyone know, that I will be giving jewelry away all year this year, so you have more chances to win!!! Up next week, I will be posting a pair of beautiful earrings to be given away. So please come back and say hello to me on my blog to be put in the next drawing. And thank you to ALL who have stopped by my blog and left such kind words, you all are so inspiring to me!

Fun at the Annual Antique Show....

In the exact words of my sweet little adorable niece at Christmas time: "Oh My Good-Ness" (with strong emphasis on the "ness") were my sentiments exactly on this past weekend's local antique show! I had a blast hunting for new treasures for my upcoming Spring designs, and I have posted pics here on this post to show the beautiful bounty that was found in the hunt....

The reverse painted glass cabachon butterfly brooch, pictured above, was my most absolute favorite thing I found! She is going to be the 'belle of the ball' this spring in a beautiful necklace or bracelet!!!! I dream about finding pieces like this when I go to sleep at night.

There is an underlying theme going on in this particular batch. I just couldn't resist all of the horse pieces I found. I found a sterling horsehead, reverse painted glass cabachon horsehead earrings, and 'THE' most gorgeous handcarved mother of pearl horsehead watch fob with a gold-filled bridle. I just LOVE him and he will be very hard to part with....

The cameo pictured below is the centerpiece of a fabulous old filagree bracelet with emerald stone links. It is just "To Die For"....

Another favorite find of the day was that huge sterling and marcasite bird brooch to the right in the picture below. The detail on this piece is exquisite and will be just perfect for a nice spring design. You know me and those birds, I just can't resist their "Georgeousness"!!!!

See anything that inspires you???????

As soon as I laid eyes on the red velvet piece below, I just knew I had to have it!

It is an Odd Fellows Organization piece and it is full of "handsome-cool". I just love all the different links, especially the beehive, hand and heart, and the bow and arrow links.

...when displayed on the old dress form, it reminds me of the movie series I have been obsessed with lately, 'The Tudor's' (about Henry the VIII and his wives). King Henry and the male counterparts of his court used to wear elegant pieces like this....

The earrings below were an amazing score I found yesterday too! They're Art Deco, and brace yourself, they are signed "Eisenberg". This jewelry house from the 1930's and 1940's were at the top of their game back in the day, and their jewelry is highly sought after by serious collectors. I was able to get these beauties for a song. Yes, the jewelry gods were smiling on me this past weekend...

And finally I was able to take a couple of hours this
weekend and design myself something (for a change).

Everyone always asks me why I don't have any of my own designs on and I always tell them "Because I am always designing something for someone else or the stores!" (Haha)

I really just love these old reverse painted glass brooches and pieces, but they are soooo hard to find! So when I stumbled upon this old bird brooch several months ago, I set it aside and told myself that it was 'Mine all Mine'!!(LOL)

I was lucky enough one day on a local shopping excursion to find that little plate with my name already engraved on it. Like it was just sitting there waiting on me to come and find it. Too Cool, Huh????

I was so fortunate when I found this little art deco rhinestone urn dress clip that I put in this necklace! When I got home and started inspecting it further, I noticed it was engraved with a date and some type of organization just underneath the clip part on the back of it. (Double Bonus!!!) I really love pieces inscribed with dates on them. It's sorta like they are frozen in their own little time in history...

The piece below is the very first necklace I made for myself. I had the antique handpainted Mary portrait in my collection for a few years and one day, sat down with it, and created this....

To this day, it is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I own!

Angels and Warriors

I love jewelry inspired by powerful and spellbinding things...and two of those beautiful things I'm obsessed with these days are angels (they are walking amongst us here on earth) and warriors, (incredible people in our everyday lives that power through something extraordinary on a daily basis). My current designs of late, pictured here on this post, are pieces dedicated to the valiant and wonderful existence of

warriors and angels...

 "Warriors Keepsake Necklace" is made with a beautiful antique chain-maille purse I found on my recent trip to Paris. I stuffed the little purse with a copy of a vintage Jeanne D'Arc postcard and fastened a vintage French Jeanne D'Arc Pin to the outside of it. Who better to design a necklace in the image of than Jeanne D'Arc? She was, after all, one of the world's most ultimate warriors!

The earrings below were designed around the little sillhouette's of Jeanne D'Arc. I called them "The Angels Have Spoken" because of the little sterling angels that floated just above her head. These earrings have already sold in my Etsy store, but they went to the home of a true 'warrior of life'.

I used more angels in this vintage Czech Bouquet Bracelet. The bracelet is designed around the fabulous vintage Czech rhinestone and brass floral brooch, accented with a bronze crucifix and angels, real emeralds, and a sweet little Victorian paste brooch serves as the clasp...

"Jeanne" earrings are designed with multi colors of tourmaline and vintage mother of pearl briolettes and are in honor of the fabulous Jeanne D'Arc again...

My very latest creation is not about angels or warriors, but another creature I love dearly...Birds! You will see alot of nature in my pieces and especially birds, they just sing to my Heart!!!! This is "A Starling's Pouch" necklace. I designed it to be worn long or doubled and it is a absolute one-of-a-kind piece. I found the beautiful old bird brooch on my trip to Paris, and it has been terribly hard to part with. But I have to make room for more stuff, because the annual antique show is coming up this weekend.( Lookout Mastercard, you're gonna get a workout this weekend!!!)(LOL)

Remember this piece that I created for a gentelman's lapel a few weeks ago????? Well you need to see this piece on the stylish gentleman who I designed it for. It is stunning and headturning on him to say the least! His name is Judson and he has posted it here:  http://judsonknowsbest.blogspot.com/ on his very cool blog. Go check it out, because he looks great wearing it and the photographer who took the pictures was incredible too!

Just one more reminder about the bracelet giveaway. Post a comment anywhere here on my blog, about anything you want, to qualify to be put in the drawing. I will be selecting the winner on next week's post. I can't wait to send this bracelet out to a very desrving home.

Love is in the Air...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I've decided to make a bunch of jewelry dedicated to that oh so wonderful and crazy little thing we call 'Love'...

 "Love is in the Air" earrings are just adorable with their sterling little lovebirds holding vintage mother of pearl hearts!

My little "Cherubs" earrings with their little faceted garnets on the bottom, just exude dreamy romance and
sweet amour...

You can see more pictures of these earrings in my Etsy store.

 My latest buckle bracelet is all about the Art Deco era. But I did add a sweet little cherub for the clasp, just so it would have a little Valentine's Day touch...

The piece below is a necklace I designed with a little hidden treasure chest on it. I took an old rosary container and stuffed it with little vintage treasures. I absolutely LOVE making little treasure chests and incorporating them into beautiful layers of rhinestones and gemstones to adorn the neck...

Stay tuned, because there will be more of these little gems to come in the coming months!

At last, I actually broke away from the jewelry bench for a few hours and went to watch my husband play the guitar. I have to brag on him just a little, because, well, he is a BRILLIANT player! He's been playing since he was 13 years old and now he is pushing 50. WOW, that's alot of pickin'!!! He is my Rock and my Rock-n-Roll all rolled into one. (heehee)

I Love you Dahling Hubby!

Keeping Busy...

Here are a few things I have been working on lately as I battle the winter blues and an oncoming cold...

I have been so fortunate lately in the fact that I have had several custom orders. Here is how they turned out...

A beautiful old enamel brooch, designed for a man's lapel,

I knew all of those initial brooches that I had stashed would come in handy one day! Here is a custom bracelet for a mother to give her daughter for her birthday. Isn't that tiny little cameo the cutest thing???

 And the most gorgeous turn of the century slide locket turned into a necklace.Cool thing about this piece is you can wear it doubled or long for two different looks. This was designed for the lady who commissioned me to create jewelry for her daughter's Art Deco wedding party.

This little ring is so simple, but yet so elegant. These little rings are only available through my blog or my local store locations. The little cross charm has a little tee-niney St. Joseph medal on the reverse of it. I've seen alot of religious medals in my day,but never one like this petite little piece.

The bracelet above is called the "French Flowers Bangle" and is made with vintage rhinestones and an old signed French industry medal with the date 1932 inscribed on it. I really just LOVE old pieces with dates actually inscribed on them!

The "Love Notes" necklace is made with the old Victorian sterling notepad that I found on my recent trip to the Paris flea markets. I accented it with fabulous old Art Deco rhinestones and a sterling hand-wrought chain. Both of these pieces can be found in my Etsy store. There are more pictures of them there too!

The "Royal Dove" earrings are not vintage but I just had to post them because they are just full of that old world charm that I love. They are not available on Etsy, just through me or my local stores.

Another pair of earrings loaded with chains! I have been on a tear with those chains lately. I get on a kick and I just can't quit! (HeeHee)

Another reminder about my bracelet giveaway, just two more weeks and I will be picking the winner. All you have to do is leave a comment anywhere on my blog about any blog post you want. Your name will be put in a hat and I will draw. It's a good old-fashioned hat pickin' and all of you anonymous people out there, make sure you leave your name at the bottom of your comment so I can include you too!