Enter to Win Holiday Giveaway

The Holiday's are always an exciting and busy time of year for me. There is never a shortage of things to do balancing work with the additional Holiday events and activities. It can be stressful at times, but I always remind myself to relax and have fun along the way.

One of the "fun" tasks I do each year is to identify a great prize for the Holiday Giveaway. This year, I'm excited to announce the grand prize is a $100 Macy's Gift Certificate. Wouldn't it be great to win $100 to spend any way you wanted at Macy's?

There will be opportunities to enter through December 23 and the winner will be announced on January 2, 2010. To start the promotion, all new Facebook FANS will receive an entry into the giveaway. Become a Facebook FAN here! Once you've become a FAN, comment on this blog post indicating you are a new FAN so I can track of your entry.

Another opportunity to enter will be during the Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale at my Etsy Shop . I'm offering FREE worldwide shipping and FREE gift wrap on all purchases from during the November 27 - November 30 Sale. And, all buyers during this sale will automatically be entered into the giveaway.

I will be announcing a few other prizes for 2nd and 3rd place winners. Those announcements will be made in the coming weeks. So check back for more information on opportunities to enter the contest.

Pinocchio the Pearl

Have you ever seen a Pearl with a nose like Pinocchio? Well I hadn't, until I was searching through some beautiful naturally colored freshwater pearls I had purchased about a year ago at the Tucson Gem Show. The photo on the right is a few of the strands I purchased. As you can see by the photo, the pearls are baroque shaped and somewhat irregular. I was excited when I found them because the Chinese freshwater pearl farmers have begun to nucleate freshwater pearls with beads (similar to the culturing process used for Akoya and South Sea pearls). This creates larger pearls in a shorter period of time which ultimately results in a less expensive larger pearl.

The colors of these pearls also appealed to me, the beautiful array of gorgeous golden, cream and metallic colors where absolutely beautiful (it's hard to capture this beauty in a photo). Normally, these pearls would be bleached to remove the inconsistent colors however these pearls were left untreated making thing all the more unique.

So, one day I began to make some necklaces showcasing these new pearls. I thought it would be wonderful to find some of the most interesting pearls and create a simple pendant. I wanted each individual pearl to stand out so I added the pearl to a simple black cord. As I was searching through the strands, I found this unusual and unique pearl with a natural protruding blemish.



The first thought I had was "it has a nose as long as Pinocchio". So, I put a sterling silver bead cap on top for a hat and created this fun pendant. A pearl with personality! Although Pinocchio is no longer for sale, there are other beautiful pearl pendants available in my ETSY shop http://www.HTJewels.etsy.com. I hope you enjoy viewing these beauties as much as I enjoyed creating them.

San Francisco Opera Costume Shop Sale

The economy doesn't seem to be a factor for those buying costumes from the San Francisco Opera Costume Shop sale. Sure, lots of $1 - $25 items - but from what I saw, people were coming out with garbage bags full and rumors spread of folks spending upwards of $2,000 (I think the average sale was probably about $100 though - from others I spoke to). There was a separate section of costumes starting at $500 and UP. There didn't seem to be a shortage of people buying from that area although it was much less crowded than the sections of $1 - $250.



I had my eye on a costume from the Opera LuLu. It was $5000 and I believe it was designed by Bob Mackie (the white jumpsuit pictured). It was completely beaded - and probably worth the price - maybe more - but that's too much for me - so I left with a few gowns and miscellaneous pieces that I will use as inspiration in my Jewelry Designs. If you want to see a collection of photos from the sale, you can find them on my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/htjewels.

It was a great day of waiting and shopping. I got there at 9:30AM on the first day of the sale (scheduled to start at 11AM). The line was already 1 1/2 blocks long. I waited in line for 6 hours before I got in (they were only allowing so many at a time). Then, shopped for about 1 hour and waited in line for 3 hours at checkout. Everyone was friendly and it was loads of fun seeing all the costumes and reading the tags of the Opera it was used in, the year and sometimes even the performer. Can't wait till the next sale, but next time, I'll get there much earlier!

Pantone's Color of the Year 2009 - Mimosa

The Pantone Color Institute is where color trends are made. They have teams and experts that evaluate colors and announce their picks (including Color of the Year) which industries such as fashion and home furnishings and accessories use for their new season. The Color of the Year for 2009 is Mimosa - a Vibrant Yellow. From the Pantone website "Mimosa Embodies Hopefulness and Reassurance in a Climate of Change". If you want to read all the details of the announcement you can folow this link: http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20634&ca=10

Although Pantone always announces their Color of the Year in December, I'm writing about it now because I think this color works great for Summer and Fall fashions. Some experts also say that Eurpoe is the first to adopt these trends, and the US usually follows about a year behind. But now that you know the 2009 pick, you spot the most Fashion Forward outfits and accessories NOW. It's not hard for me to adopt this color into my wardrobe and jewelry because I love the color Yellow! It might even be the new "black" for Summer and Fall!

You can find great jewelry options to coordinate with your Fabulous Fashion Forward outfits at my etsy shop http://htjewels.etsy.com/. All the jewelry is handmade by me and I will be incorporating more "Mimosa" inspired pieces so you have many choices.

Happy Shopping!

Starting with an Inspired Piece

I'm a Jewelry Artist and getting started with a Blog so others can follow my journey if they choose. I've enjoyed reading experiences from others Blogs, so here it begins.

I was watching the Oprah show a few weeks ago, and she was wearing a bracelet I really liked. It's a cuff style bracelet with connecting circle shapes. Simple but great to wear with casual outfits, or maybe even layer for a more dramatic look. Here's a sneak peak - I took a photo of the TV with my camera, so it's not a great photo - but it gives you an idea of the design.

I'm going to work on a bracelet for myself inspired by this piece. I'm starting with Argentium Silver, thick 8 gauge round wire. I'll start by cutting a length of wire (about 5 inches) and begin to shape the wire into a circle, then I'll start hammering! I'll update soon with my progress.