Swirl Heart Earrings

Love is forged from the soul and strengthened by the heart.  

This week's earrings are made from silver and  topped with a crystal bead and can make a romantic addition to your outfits.  The earrings are on french hooks and are 1 7/8 inches long.  At the widest part, the hearts are 5/8" wide.

I wanted to make something to wear for Valentine's Day to add my collection of fun dangle earrings.  You can find these in my Etsy store

Thanks for reading and I'll be back next week with the finished earrings from the first Fan Fabulous project.

Denise 

Vintage Hearts

There are new earrings from my workroom to show off.  This week I’m getting into the spirit of Valentine’s Day with these vintage look earrings.   The antiqued copper make them look very vintage and the pink Swarovski crystals in the center bring an additional feminine look to them. These are a great gift for the woman in your life, or for yourself. 

Copper is the metal to wear this year and the color of the year is Marsala, a wine color. These earrings will compliment your Masala outfit perfectly and many other colors too.

The airy design of the hearts makes them lightweight, and at a length of 1 and 3/4 inches they are great for any hair style.

These earrings can be found in my store at www.demdesigns.etsy.com

Have a great week and I'll see you next time.

Denise

The ring is the thing

Making metal jewelry I find that I have scraps that are too big to be tossed in the recycle pile, so I try to incorporate them into other pieces of jewelry.  Today's blog shows how I converted those left over pieces into great jewelry.

I made several bracelets using strips of silver with really pretty designs pressed into the metal. I had several pieces that were each 2 or 3 inches long and decided to make some rings.  The results are so good that I'm actually buying the silver just to make rings. 

One day I had on a ring that is similar to the one on the left. On my way to work a woman in the train commented on it, then in the doctor's office I got another complement from one of the nurses.  At work I got some great comments and a couple of orders too.  I call it the cascading crystal ring because the beads are free flowing and every time you put it on the beads fall into a different configuration.  It's a fun ring. 

The ring on the right is the first ring that I made and is a casual ring. Very simple in style with a stable swirly looking bead that reflects the swirl on the side of the ring.  The wire is simple, yet beautiful.

Inside both rings I've stamped a secret message.The purple ring at the top says "Laugh" and the blue ring says "Dream".

Making these rings was so much fun and I will have several on my website, if they aren't purchased before I can post them.

Visit my website at http://www.jewelrybydm.com

Challenge Week 33

This week I have a special treat for the guys in the audience.  I made a masculine bracelet.  Most of my jewelry is for females however, I have made some cufflinks and tie pins.  It surprised me that most of the male jewelry that I made has sold.  One gentleman at a craft fair told me that he didn’t see many things for men and he was disappointed, so that’s what gave me the inspiration to add the cufflinks and tie pins.

One of my co-workers asked me to make him one of the new macramé bracelets that they are showing in the stores.  He wanted all black, so I used black hemp cord and 8 mm black onyx beads.  The bracelet fits an 8 inch wrist and can be adjusted by either pulling on the cords at the end of the bracelet to make it smaller, or pulling the bracelet apart to make it larger.  The piece that keeps  the bracelet closed is also the mechanism used to adjust it. 

I have several new orders for this bracelet so it may be after the first of the year before I put one in my shop.  If you would like to place and order for one I will need to know the size, in inches, of the person’s wrist and the color beads you would like.  It’s too late for Christmas but you can always put a certificate in an envelope letting the person know that their gift has been custom ordered. To place a custom order please send an email to me at denise@jewelrybydm.com and I will get back to you with an expected completion date.

Have a very Happy Holiday season and Happy New Year!

Challenge Week 30

Halloween has passed and the commercials are in full swing with gift ideas for the holidays.  I received an email today that I thought was a great idea, this is unusual for me because usually I cannot stand getting the forwards and just delete them. However, this email said that we should all buy American for the holidays. This means giving gift certificates for local services like car washes or oil changes or beauty services like hair cuts or manicures. It also suggested buying from local artisans. If I can help you with this in any way let me know, and not just my jewelry, I know people that make all kinds of hand made items from guitars to paintings, photography, t-shirts and sweatshirts, cards, scarves, toys and more. Let's get our economy back on it's feet by buying American and buying local.

Now I will get off of my soap box and get back to the topic at hand, week 30 of the 52 week challenge.  This pair of earrings is a little different from my usual conservative look.  I like the animal print look but rarely wear it because I'm a bit shy when it comes to bold prints.  These earrings bring the animal print in without being too bold. For those of you that aren't afraid of the bold prints I salute you and for those of us that shy away, lets just try something new.  I think that if you wear these with a black  or white sweater and a nice silver chain it could be a very classy look.

The earrings are the size of a quarter, so they aren't too big and they have a nice finish to them.  Each pair will have a little bit different pattern on them so don't expect the exact look of the earrings shown above.  The pattern is quite close though.  I bought these beads in New York on one of my lunch hour walks, it was a short string of beads, so there will be limited quantities.

You can find these and other earrings on my McLachlan Design Studio website.

Changes Coming

It's almost the official end of summer, only a few days away and I'm excited about the upcoming fall. I like fall a lot, if only it didn't lead to winter I would like it even more. So many things are going on with my business I can't wait to tell you.

First let me tell you the big news. As you may know, I discovered while doing some craft shows that there are other jewelry sellers out there with the business name Designs By Denise. So I did some research and compiled a list of new names, then put a survey on my newsletter and website to get opinions on what the new name should be.  As of September 1st the new name will be:

McLachlan Design Studio

I'm so excited about the change, but it was a lot of work getting all new business cards and post cards printed, having a new banner made, etc. I wanted to get it all done before the upcoming craft fair/holiday season.  I'll have a new banner on the website, here on my blog and also on my  Etsy Store.

I've also opened a new store at 1000 markets and will eventually phase out jewelry in my Etsy store. My jewelry business won't change, just the name. In addition to the current jewelry I'll be adding more sterling silver bracelets and a new line of rings. 

McLachlan Design Studio on 1000 Markets

In addition to craft shows and my online presence I am starting to do Home Parties also.  This way I can come to you, so you can shop from home.  I realize that sometimes it's difficult to get to a craft fair, you work all week and want to get errands done on the weekend.  Shopping online is sometimes difficult because you want to see the piece in person, touch it, try it on and that can't be done online. If you want me to come to your home or your office just let me know. My email address is denise@jewelrybydm.com - tell me what date and time and leave your phone number.  I'll call to get directions and answer any questions.

So, you may be thinking, "Why all the changes?" That's a good question. First is that I want to make shopping for jewelry easier for you, give you more of a selection and be able to keep my prices reasonable.  Etsy is costing me a lot and for some reason I am not selling on their site. 1000 Markets is much more cost effective which will help to keep my prices down and less overwhelming in terms of the number of sellers.  The price of silver and gold just keeps going up and I want to keep my overhead down so I don't have to pass it on to you. That's why I'm changing my sales venue. Doing home sales will be much better for you as a customer, saving you time, as I mentioned above. And adding more jewelry selections will give you a broader range of jewelry to choose from and help you with your holiday shopping.

I look forward to seeing you at one or all of my craft shows (listed in the box to the right). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a special order. I'm always willing to work with you on that special piece of jewelry that you need for an outfit or a gift.

Gearing up for the Holiday Season Ahead

Yes, I know, it's been a while since I've blogged. Life has been a bit overwhelming. February 26th was my official last day at a traditional job, since the company that I worked for closed and put 100 of us out of work. Oh well, it happens, that's life. So I've been spending a lot of time on my jewelry business, trying to get it going so I don't have to go back to work. I've also been looking for a job, my plan B. Or is building my business plan B? At this point I'm making slow progress on both fronts.

I do however have a great plan for this holiday season, and that's doing the craft fair circuit. So far I have 4 shows lined up and I'm very excited about doing them. Last year I started doing craft fairs in November, and had so much fun. I am looking forward to this year and have some great shows to go to. Here is my list so far:

October 9th - Barron Fest in Woodbridge, NJ this is a juried craft fair
November 13th - Sgt John F Basilone Columbiettes craft fair in Raritan, NJ
November 20th - PTSA Holiday Craft Fair in Brick, NJ
December 4th - BRHS Band Parents Association Craft Fair in Bridgewater, NJ

Come out and visit. If you tell me you are a follower of my blog I will give you 10% off of your order total. I'm even including free gift wrap.

There are great new pieces of jewelry for you to get for yourself or for people on your gift list. I'm excited about the new techniques that I've learned using sterling and 14K gold wire and can't wait to show you. I also picked up some new beads at the bead show recently and have been working hard to make some new pieces for you.

September I will be announcing the new name for my business, so if you took my survey, watch to see if your suggestion was the winning name.

Happy crafting, I hope you see you soon.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and if you are celebrating any other holiday I hope you are enjoying them. This has been the most hectic holiday season, for me, that I can remember.

2009 was my first year in the jewelry business and my first craft fairs were all done in November and December. Whew, I had fun but I'm happy to get a rest. My next scheduled event is the Englishtown Street Fair in May 2010, which was rescheduled from October due to bad weather.

For 2010 I'll be adding more sterling silver bracelets accented with gold and I'll also be adding a line necklaces and rings to my collection. My main selections have been bracelets, earrings and my big seller eyeglass/badge holders.

Also planned for 2010 is a blog contest with a give away of one of my new necklaces. Watch for the announcement.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Blessings!
Denise