Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Have you noticed lately that a lot of jewelry featured in magazines is faux handmade? The makers of mass-produced jewelry (and if you see it advertised it has to be made in a factory somewhere) are trying hard to capture what is unique and special about handmade jewelry. But you know it just isn't the same. No one carefully sorted through every single bead, dreamed for days about how to finish a single bracelet, took necklace apart 3 times just to get the drape perfect or redesigned a $30 pair of earrings for a special customer.

Don't you just love it? Thanks to all our customers, friends and fans who appreciate what goes into every handmade piece of jewelry created by the women of Rose of Sharon Jewelry. Want to share your appreciation? Tell others about Rose of Sharon Jewelry - don't be stingy - there's plenty of wonderful designs to go around - no matter what you like!

This evening I've been busy joining a variety of handmade communities online. This gives me an opportunity to promote Rose of Sharon Jewelry, A.F.F. Jewelry and New Life Jewelry Art to people who appreciate the creativity, uniqueness and economic power of buying handmade.

There are lots of places to promote your handmade jewelry business online and even more communities that cover anything you might hand make.

You'll find us on PlumDrop now (see the box in the right column), JewelryGeeks and Buyhand.me. I just love sharing the photos I took recently - cannot just let those little digital images go stale in my laptop!

Here is a lovely Violetta by Sandra Lee. It will be in the store next week.If you cannot wait, drop me a line to reserve.

Swarovski crystals and pearls still are prized for bridal jewelry - but colorful gems are gaining in popularity. Today's Martha Stewart tv episode shows a wide assortment of gowns by Vera Wang and she talks with bridal experts on D-I-Y weddings. Bridal gowns in off-white and ecru colors are popular now and brides have themes in mind which incorporate bold colors. Dawn even has a friend with a purple and orange color-scheme! We are doing amethyst and Swarovski crystals in orange for her custom jewelry. Not my idea of wedding jewelry but as long as she is happy then so am I! As bridal season is upon us, Betty, Dawn, Sandra and I have been putting together our handmade spring wedding necklaces for a new collection. i just love pearls and will be doing plenty of unique designs to give brides some additional choices. Betty is doing a variety of illusion styles which are great for strapless gowns without overwhelming the bride's face. Many of the gowns Martha premiered have a very vintage feel and several of our necklaces will be vintage in length and style. We are working on making certain that the jewelry coordinates with the most popular Spring gown designs. A lot of fun spending time in the bridal salons and reading those 10 lb. wedding magazine.

Speaking of vintage - here is Snow Bride a beautiful new necklace by Betty using vintage glass pearls. We know they are at least 50 years old (me too) and have all the luster and sparkle of a period when quality was easier to find.  We're working on a new ArtFire store that will hold all of our found object, eclectic, retro and vintage designs under a new line we are calling New Life Jewelry Art.

Watch for our Grand Opening announcement next week. The ArtFire link is on the right but the store has yet to be fully stocked.

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• Recession Increases Interest in Vintage Wedding Gowns (shoppingblog.com)

One of Betty's lovely soft colored necklace sets , Purple Dawn, has a great bonus feature - you can wear the handmade necklace as beaded or create a "new" longer necklace by linking it with the matching bracelet.  The 20+ inch necklace suddenly becomes a dramatic 28 inches of rare Lepidolite beads in dusty purple with a bit of glitter.

Here's the Purple Dawn extended necklace.

Love the DRAMA! You can wear this full-length or wrapped to create a two-strand version with variable lengths.

Lepidoliate is not technically a gemstone but a mica - hence the great reflective sparkling qualities. Discovered in the 18th century and in the U.S. is found in Colorado and California, the original name was lilalite (a Hindu word referring to play or game). Lepidoliate is know as the "peace" stone - and who couldn't use more peace in their life! Only in the past decade have beads become available although they are still uncommon - a great thing for a handmade jewelry lover who loves the unique.

Wow! The twins are three years old now. They loved their birthday gifts - a quad runner and a all-terrain vehicle. They got them Sunday and didn't mind the freezing wind to ride around the cul-de-sac.

Orion grabbed the quad runner (as we had thought) and road it like a champ. Kael prefers the Arctic Cat (I think it is the green color) and kept his chocolate milk in the back. Orion mastered steering pretty quickly but Kael is still working on it as the Arctic Cat has a stiffer steering wheel.

Monday afternoon - Twins are officially 3 this afternoon. Grandpa and I are enjoying the warm weather today as Kael and Orion tour the neighborhood on their little motorized vehicles. Kael loves to try to play bumper cars with Orion who just likes to be on his quad runner and ignores Kael's taunts.

Monday night, we finished the official birthday celebration at Chuck E. Cheese. The boys love all the games and Mr. Cheese. We had pizza (?) and a birthday cupcake/cake with bright green icing. The boys love to bowl and the icing was a hit. Here's some pics from the party.

My delightful sister-in-law Olivia is a wildly talented gal. She quilts, paints, sews, beads and decorates her home with her creations. Her expressive sewing talents can be seen in her Beyond the Rabbit Hole Etsy store and blog. She uses wonderful bright colors to create purses, totes, home decor and more. Many of her items have Alice in Wonderland themes which I absolutely love!

In Olivia's Etsy store, you'll also find Granny's (Jennie of Rose of Sharon Jewelry) handmade quilts. I am the proud owner of several of her precious quilts - all of which hold tremendous meaning for me - including a Sunbonnet girl made from my Mom's (Betty of Rose of Sharon Jewelry) baby dresses. You won't have the family ties to the quilt but buying one can bring a lot of love from her 95 year old hands into your life. Stop by here to see what Granny has listed now.

Creativity is a fluid thing that if given the chance will fill every crevice and hole in your life. Take a few minutes to leave a comment and tell me how your creativity has filled your life.

The handmade jewelry we design at Rose of Sharon Jewelry often includes pearls, sterling silver and gemstones which require a bit of special care. Download our new one-pg. flyer on Caring for Handmade Jewelry today to learn more.

Need a mood enhancer? Does the world seem so heavy lately? Help may be as close as your jewelry box. Even if financial woes aren't a constant in your life - buying a new handcrafted necklace may feel like a "betrayal" of others. But I believe that all of us deserve to be lifted up daily. A bold purple necklace or a golden yellow bracelet can be a good antidote for negative moods.

Having a positive outlook has been scientifically proven to increase your stamina, help you cope and improve your health - all things we need more of. Handmade artisan jewelry combines multiple mood enhancing features into a single, easy to use, natural solution.

• Color - look for jewelry pieces with gemstone beads, pearls and hand-polished glass beads that add a pop of color to your wardrobe.
• Reflection - necklaces and earrings featuring Swarovski crystals, precious metals and pearls reflect the light and brighten your complexion and spirits.
• Feel - jewelry isn't just a visual medium. Use your sense of touch to fully experience the coolness, heft and  movement of a treasured necklace. Touching a pearl, feeling the silver, caressing a pendant are all ways of soothing yourself.
• Sound - the faint tinkle of a charm bracelet or swinging earrings can be a Zen-like reminder to "be in the moment."
• Texture - organic, freeform stones and handcrafted jewelry designs create a grounded feeling.
• Creativity - unlike department store jewelry, one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry shouts creativity. Even a single strand of beads is a reflection of the artist's vision and soul.

Why not take a few minutes to stop by the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store to find a great new mood enhancing necklace? We'll ship it out immediately so you too can experience the joy of owning beautiful handcrafted jewelry. You'll be glad you did!

To learn more about how handmade jewelry enhances your life, don't forget to bookmark my blog or better yet - use the RSS feed (top right column) to never miss a single post!