Rose of Sharon Jewelry

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.

We're finally finished with our marathon photo shoot - 3+ days and over 575 photos of our newest jewelry designs.  Mom (Betty)  and Granny (Jennie) left mid-day to return to Sandy, Oregon. We worked really hard for the two weeks they were here but it was a joy to be together.  Mom brought a ton of finished handmade jewelry and another ton of beads - the plane probably tilted a bit. Her newest releases range from wonderful crosses to delicate floral designs to elegant vintage glass pearls. Here are a few pieces to drool over until I can get them listed on Rose of Sharon Jewelry, Etsy or Artfire.

Hope you enjoyed the preview! New items will appear daily! Sign up for email or RSS feed to be the first to order your favorite.

These beautiful freshwater pearl earrings are part of the 2-piece necklace set called April Showers. Designed by Sandra Lee, the artisan necklace features a magnificent lampwork centerpiece. Unfortunately, we've lost the artist's information during a computer crisis so we don't have anyone to credit for this magnificient glasswork. To the talented artist who toiled for these - an abundant thank you. You'll find April Showers in the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store within a few days.

Since Wednesday a.m., we've taken over 270 pictures of new Rose of Sharon Jewelry releases. Whew! We've got a system down but it is very exhausting. My Canon Rebel camera is direct-connected to the laptop where I have software that sets the exposure,  tunes in each shot and then automatically opens it in Photoshop for editing. Saves a lot of time and helps me establish the best settings for each shot. With another 30+ necklaces and necklace sets still in the pending box, we've got a day and a half before we're finished. Then I'll spend the next week or so getting all the copy written as I upload each picture. Here's one of the shots from today's set-up.  This 3-piece set is called Blue Fortune. Mom used an assortment of deep blue glass and handmade lampwork beads for a set that would look great with T-shirts and jeans. Then I am going to take a week and just make jewelry! Bead until my fingers ache!

Betty's newest series of beautiful hand beaded cross necklaces (part of our marathon photography session this week) will debut in  ROSJ store next week. Her original designs feature everything from simple sterling silver crosses to ornate gold filigree versions with Swarovski crystals. Here is a sneak peak of my personal favorite with luscious green Malay Jade - Betty calls this necklace Wisdom. If you are interested in this design before it appears in the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store - send me an email and I'll provide you with pricing, etc

Dawn and I reshot one of my all-time favorites from Sandra Lee - Golden Moonlight. This elegant handmade necklace has a well-balanced asymmetrical design using beautiful sun yellow quartz flattened coin shaped beads, clear crystal spacers and three magnificent golf-ball style multi-faceted round deep yellow crystal focal beads. Whew - what a mouthful - but the necklace does take your breath away even without any extra words.

The matching earrings bring the crystal's natural glow up to your face - a great way to enhance your skin and hair!

Just received a box with 17 new necklace sets from Sandra. She certainly has her own distinct artistic style. Jump over to the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store (you can search by jewelry artist) for a quick tour. You'll immediately see what I mean- you can spot her elegant jewelry creations without any name attached. Sandra lives in Houston so we only get to work in together in my beading/photo studio for about 5 weeks a year. We collect beads together and share our growing inventory so I never know how she'll combine them. It always amazes me how two different handmade jewelry designers can take the same beads and come up with totally different creations.

Over the next week, we'll be premiering Sandra Lee's newest original jewelry pieces - many of them sets with matching or coordinating necklaces and bracelets. So don't forget to sign up for email notices or our convenient RSS feed.

Our new affordable, fun, fab line - A.F.F. - is starting to get hearts and individual product views. Etsy has a huge following; but it still can be hard for a new store to get exposure. Stop by the Etsy store to see what's happening.

The women of Rose of Sharon Jewelry are pleased to announce the launch of our new A.F.F. jewelry line and the grand opening of our new Etsy store. A.F.F. stands for Affordable - Fun - Fab handmade jewelry featuring the same creative expression and quality construction as our artisan line but using more price-conscious raw materials and less labor intensive designs. This line is perfect for gift-giving and for accenting your new Spring wardrobe.

Our customers have been asking for a value-priced line for 2009 and our first hot off the workbench products are now available online. We decided to launch A.F.F. in a new Etsy-based store under the Rose of Sharon Jewelry brand to reach out to a broader audience of handmade jewelry lovers. Etsy has a great reputation and it is a pleasure to join an active network of handcrafters.

The A.F.F. line will feature a wide range of beaded necklaces, watches, earrings and bracelets in classic and trendy designs. In today's releases, you'll find several fun decorative watches featuring various silver-toned Geneva watch faces.

I'll be posting new items daily in A.F.F. price range of $25 to $75. We'll also be offering regular specials and promotions as a thank you to our customers who still want to invest in handmade jewelry but don't want to damage the budget.

Stop by the new Etsy store today and tell us what you think of the A.F.F. line - and don't forget to add us to your favorites.

I love watches and what better way to tell time then with a beautiful beaded watch. This watch I call "Tell Me More" because every time I wear it I end up telling strangers all about it. Made from aqua, blue and green glass (some crackled and some plain), "Tell Me More" has a lovely silver-tone Geneva watch face and a simple silver toggle clasp.

This is one of six watches and bracelets that I took pictures of today for inclusion in the Grand Opening of our Etsy store. The store is live but pretty empty as I am readying Rose of Sharon Jewelry's new A.F.F. (Affordable - Fun - Fab) line. So many customers expressed an interest in original handmade jewelry designs in the $25 to $75 range that we decided to launch an Etsy store specifically for them - and for you too! We've combined our jewelry talents with less costly (but still great quality) materials to create a fabulous value-priced line of original handcrafted jewelry.

Don't forget to sign up for e-mail alerts (see link here in right column) on the Etsy formal Grand Opening and new product releases in our Rose of Sharon Jewelry web store. Another great way to stay informed is to join our Birthday Club on the web site - you'll receive our monthly newsletter filled with handmade jewelry buying advice, discounts and family info and we'll send you a FREE pair of earrings for your birthday! Today's question - Do you wear a watch every day or only for special occasions?