Emerald Green in 2013

the Pantone color of the year is Emerald Green...a color I happen to love!

guess I was ahead of the curve with some of my jewelry designs!

a good color for a good year :)

photo saturday...work-a-holic

what to do with friday's with no school?


WORK!

yup, I spent all day yesterday photographing new jewelry to put in the shop...of course I started too late and lost the good light...so there will be more of that happening today...


and HW for grad school...

oh, and I took a nap.



*somebody* got stuck in Ohio for work until Tuesday now...so since I had no one to cook for...well besides myself...I took a nice long nap.




but I think I bruised my vocal cords in school this week...the kids are getting louder the closer we get to the holidays...not a fan of that...so that, combined with a stomach bug that is going around...today I am not talking.



we'll see how that goes.


anyway, happy weekend all!

throwback thursday - 1st sale

my parents are cleaning out 25 years of papers and belongings from our family home in preparation to move away and sell (insert lots of tears here) but seeing how happy they are in South Carolina makes me feel a little better and the transition will hopefully be a little less painful when that day comes...

I know you're reading Mom :) see...I'll be okay when you guys move...eventually ;)

but anyway, in all of their cleaning, and telling me just how much work it's been...I was inspired to start cleaning out my own file cabinet...I had 7 years worth of paperwork in some of them...so it was about time to let go of credit card statements from cards I didn't even have any more...

it was pretty boring and time consuming...but my files are 6 trash bags lighter...and I found this!

it is the receipt from my first EVER sale of JerseyGirlDesign!  $10 for a necklace with wooden beads on a silver chain...I think I actually hugged the girl because I was so excited that someone wanted to buy something that I had made...and I never looked back :)

squeeeeeeeeee!!!

yup...exciting things are happening in my business-world...the business I have sorely neglected for oh, the past 12 months while I was completely consumed by being a first year teacher...now it's time to recharge my batteries and get some work done that is my own...and I just had a lovely phone call with someone who is going to help me get those dreams under way...

SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!  you'll just have to stay tuned until I have stuff to show you..ahh anticipation :D

A hot pink treasury!

I have been sorely neglecting my business, both in production as well as the Etsy side since school started in August...but I am thrilled to have some of my delightful hot pink earrings in this treasury featuring lots of my BEST friends :)

April 9th - Silver Spring Bling at Fenton Street Market!

it's my first show of the season!!!

come on out to Fenton Street Market's Silver Spring Bling this Saturday from 9am-2pm for a jewelry extravaganza!!

all the artists involved were hand picked by the Fenton Staff....so you need to come check it out for yourself!  great gifts for yourself...and remember, Mother's Day is only a month away!!

the market is located in it's brand new space, on Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring- and there are tons of restaurants and other shops in the area - so make a day of it!!

for a list of all participating artists, click here!

and hope for good weather!!

Item of the Week! 04.04.11

this week's item is....these stunning and brighter than bright hot pink chalcedony earrings!  I just love this gemstone- so pretty!  They are a nice size- not overpowering, but they pack a punch of color!

 

 any order placed that contains this necklace until Sunday, April 3rd will receive free shipping*!

*shipping cost will be refunded after the purchase :)

Favorite Etsy Shop - The Littlest Bean

for this week's favorite shop, I am bringing the love right back home to The Littlest Bean, run by Jen Menkhaus, BEST leader extraordinaire!  she truly does everything, and does it well...keeps our group running and still manages to create beautiful designs in felt- and she's always coming up with something new!

most likely you'll be drawn to her shop or booth by all the bright pops of color...like what you see in her felt circle rings

or maybe you need a pretty flower headband?  who doesn't!?!

and another new design that I just love...the bubble necklace!

check out The Littlest Bean on Etsy, for all your colorful, felt needs...you know you have them!!  and the best part about all of Jen's work...is that most things can be custom ordered- in any color you want!!  felt galore!!

Glitter Giveaway with Ms Charm's Chic!

I am super excited to be doing my very first giveaway of JerseyGirlDesign jewelry with an awesome blogger and fashionista, Paulette of Ms Charm's Chic!  Besides being super sweet, she runs a blog that helps promote local designers!

 

So whether you live locally or not, go check out her blog for instructions on how to enter the drawing to win this sparkly, purple goodness!

You only have until April 6th- so hurry up!!  Go enter to win!

tutorial - framed!

jewelry truly is a work of art...so why not display/store it that way?  I love this tutorial, brought to us by the Poopscape Projects blog, on how to turn an old frame, into unique and beautiful jewelry storage!

What you'll need:

• Frame
• Paint (if you need to paint your frame)
• Foam core or heavy cardboard
• Fabric to cover the foam core
• Hot glue gun
• map pins or hooks to hang jewelry from 

the steps to this tutorial can be found here!

Item of the Week! 1.24.11

this week's special item is...the Let it Snow necklace!  this stunning snowflake is Swarovski crystal, and is perfect for this time of year when we're all wishing for a snow day...

any order placed that contains this necklace until Sunday, January 30th will receive free shipping*!

*shipping cost will be refunded after the purchase :)

Item of the Week!

Happy Monday everyone!!

this week's special item is.......the aqua chalcedony drop necklace!!  this bright aqua stone will have you dreaming of warmer days in no time!  so it might be cold and snowy out, but it's summery in your heart!  the color of this chalcedony is just like the water of a Caribbean ocean...put it on and it will warm you right up!

any order placed that contains this necklace until Sunday, January 23rd will receive free shipping*!

*shipping cost will be refunded after the purchase :)

Favorite Etsy Shop - knap

even though I make jewelry, which I typically end up wearing myself as well...I am always tempted by new designs I find on Etsy!  one of my new favorites, Knap is a shop based out of Japan...the pieces in this shop are made of sterling silver and different colored glass, and it is stunning!! 

these beautiful designs are also very reasonably priced, which made me impulse buy them, moments after discovering this shop!  I am now the proud owner of these dark glass drop earrings...and bonus- they shipped and arrived so quickly!!!  go shop Knap!!  you won't be disappointed!

what I'm working on - new pendant designs!

something that I've been wanting to do, for a very long time (as per usual), is design my own silver pendants...I've had great success incorporating the designs of others into my work with gemstones, but the true creative inside of me wanted to be able to say, "yes I designed this pendant myself" and not, no...I just put it on the chain...of course it helped me to make my designs better, and get people's attention, which in turned led me to be able to further my business and sales, etc...but it's time to grow...new year, new designs!

my first line that I'm working on is a series of astrological sign pendants...so I'll have 12 new designs, one for each zodiac sign...I hoped to have them ready for my fellow capricorns...but being sick put me back a bit...

anyway, preliminary sketches are done, and now I'm working with companies who will cast the designs in sterling silver for me, so I can start putting them out there to see what reactions I get!  very exciting- I can't wait to see my sketches come to life in beautiful jewelry!

new designs! finally!!

it has been about a year in the making...but my new designs that I dreamed up last December have finally come to life...the 'refined' glitter collection! 

and thanks to the motivation of my super friend Jen, of Yummy & Company fame, I got my stuff together, and tried something new...we soldered, tumbled, polished, resined and came up with a line of products that I am really proud of. 

earrings in a variety of sizes, and delicate pendants are the first round of this collection...stackable sterling rings and free floating earrings and pendants come next!

Towson Town Festival...year 2!

Erica, Anne and I are braving the elements for Towson Town Festival this weekend...come on out and see us!!

one application down...oh so many to go...

first show that I've officially applied to for the 2010 spring craft show circuit...


Richmond Craft Mafia's Spring Bada Bing!

oh, how far I've come...

as I was sifting through photos of my jewelry designs to submit for a few craft show applications...and I came across a photo of one of my very first 'booths'...















how sad is that?! it was one of the first shows I had ever done, and I am so glad that my style has evolved...into something like this...















I am glad, however that I kept a record of this, and all the original designs I came up with, to see how awful some of them were, and most importantly...to see how far I've come :)

Monday's Item of the Week!

another Monday, another item of the week!!

the Christina Earrings...stunning labradorite onion briolettes on sterling silver...in honor of my Bean who's birthday is Wednesday!



















for the Etsy listing...click HERE!

***if you purchase the item of the week...you get free shipping for your entire purchase!***

Monday's Item of the Week!

Happy Monday...once again :)

this week's item of the week...drumroll please......

Jersey City Earrings in silver shade!



















for the Etsy listing...click HERE!

***if you purchase the item of the week...you get free shipping for your entire purchase!***