Angelic Ethreal Pearl Jewelry

When we see pearls, we admire their soft finish, their beautiful luminescence and their elegant look.  Combined with Swarovski crystal, those pearls magnify their divine feeling. 

Sometimes the most elegant design speaks to the heart, on a soul level.  Earlier this summer, I took my jewelry to display at a really special event in Scottsdale, AZ.  There I met a woman that just embodies living your purpose and your passion.  She and I discussed having a necklace custom designed.  The colors that best suit her are warm, amber tones, earth tones, olive greens, terracotta and the like.

I had one necklace on my table that was made from beautiful white pearls and crystals.  It had a touch of silver, but was very elegant in contrast with such a vibrant pop of color.  The necklace sold to another client, but the original vision stuck in the mind of this amazing woman.  You see, she's living her passion and helping people to heal from the darkest of places in their lives.  She's lifting people up and helping them work through their addictions, take control of their actions and rise above their vices.

The way this pearl and crystal necklace spoke to her was like hearing angels singing.  The light, white balance of the necklace felt ethereal to her, so much like the work she's doing to help others.

I re-created a necklace very similarly with a tiny tweak to make it an original, one-of-a-kind design with the same ethereal feel.  Each piece I make is truly special, but when I have the ability to infuse love in the process that ultimately will be worn by a healer, I am the one who feels so richly blessed.

Thank you, Janet, for giving me the privilege of designing something so special for you!  I know you will wear the necklace beautifully and help so many women find their light!

{Hugs!}
Dawn

Classic Pearl Earrings add the nicest touch!

P.S.  Because I'm so excited and have a hard time keeping really fun things to myself, I wanted to give you a sneak peak into the project I'm working on for Cousin as my August project.  I'm not going to give you any hints (yet, until my dogs sit on me and make me do it) but I will show you the array of beads and components I'm working with to Rock the Casbah on my very first assignment.  Are you drooling yet?

"My Dear Dawn,

There are no words to express my joy and support of you.  I admire that you are owning how significant and meaningful your jewelry is.  Your packaging, announcing the arrival of a future heirloom, reflects your ownership of your talent, positive energy and labor of love.

I will be honored to wear my angelic necklace; I pray that, our combined energies with the intent to serve and love others, will indeed reach those whose hearts are willing to receive it.

With huggs, cheers and gratitude!"

Druzy Jewelry for A Special Day of "I Do's"

Creating custom jewelry is an absolute passion of mine.  When I meet a client and get to know the woman, I can incorporate her personality, her tastes and her style into a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art.  The process with which I get to know my clients is really special.  It's like dating... and it's ALL flowers and chocolates.  It's all about the mush love stuff and none of the awkward silence!

Why?  Because each piece of jewelry I design is exclusively custom made for a really special woman!

When I'm creating a unique design, I'm thinking about how the piece will be worn.  Is it for a special occasion, does it represent a family lineage, is it reflecting the personality of the woman I'm creating for?  Many times, I'm creating a piece of jewelry to accessorize a specific outfit.  The best way to design the piece is to see the outfit on my client!  With the help of Skype we can actually visit, you can show me how the outfit fits and I'll get a better feel for the piece of jewelry that would best compliment it.

Recently I was privileged to create jewelry for a very dear friend of mine.  Her daughter was getting married and she had an amazing dress as the Mother of the Bride.  It was spectacular, vibrant and truly showcased her sparkly personality to a 'T'!  I knew the jewelry had to compliment the dress AND absolutely had to show off her sparkly personality! 

The dress was a vibrant fuchsia pink with a vibrant paisley print in purples, yellows and whites.  I found the perfect paisley shape druzy focal with the most magnificent sparkle!  It became the jumping off point for a total rockstar cuff!  Because the dress was sleeveless, the cuff was a necessary focal piece.  I created complimenting earrings inspired by a tutorial in Beadwork magazine.  I pulled in all the hues in the print of the dress and made jewelry that can be worn with SO many outfits!
Druzy + Swarovski + Pearls = Art for your Wrist

In trying to capture the sparkle of this cuff, there was just no way to show you just how much it glistened in the sun.  I was so excited when I saw my good friend Kathy recorded a video of the cuff so you can see how the sunlight dances with the crystals and frolics on the druzy!  It's a whole bunch of happiness all packed into a one-of-a-kind custom cuff!  Thank you Kathy for recording this!

Consignment Shopping - Its Amazing What you Find

I love a good deal... whether it's a BOGO or clearance rack... or consignment, I love finding the "treasures" amongst all the stuff. 

Last week while Bella was having her surgery, I stopped over at one of our local consignment shops.  Mainly to say "Hi" to a friend that works there, but also to see "what's new" on the racks.  I brought her an iced coffee, set it down and BLAM!  Like a bolt of lightening hit my eye!  THIS is what I saw...

Which then was immediately followed by I.Have.To.Have.That.Right.NOW!!!  Yes, I can make my own jewelry, but more importantly each piece I wear has to represent me.  This bracelet was WOW, sparkly!  Love the swarovski Montees... (fuchsia) love the Czech FP Rounds, love the gunmetal square-ish chain ... oh.my.word.  Just like Cinderella's glass slipper, it was the perfect fit for my tiny wrists!  And it was calling me, "Dawnnnnnnnnn, take me homeeeeeee!"

So I did, and I had to get a great shirt to go with... And it just so happened that there was the most adorable fuchsia shirt hanging right there on the rack.  AMAZING!  Let's call it Serendipity and they all lived happily ever after!

The moral of the story:  There's something beautiful around every corner.  You just have to have your eyes open to find it! 

Have a beautiful day!
~Dawn

Artbeads.com Design Challenge Reveal - Peeking into Paradise

I'm so excited to share something new with you this morning.  A few weeks ago I was accepted to be part of the Artbeads.com Design Partners team.  What this means is that we're given a subject/theme and asked to design a piece of jewelry that highlights that theme and features Artbeads.com products, and then sharing my honest opinion about the products I used.

This challenge was call "What's Old is New Again" and the challenge was to bring a vintage element up to modern day usefulness.  I'm so excited to share my creation with you.  I call it "Peeking Into Paradise."

Peeking into Paradise

I've used a vintage keyhole as my muse for this piece.  I also have a vintage key that goes with the keyhole, but found that using both pieces was way too heavy for the necklace.  So in staying with the vintage design, I've used an antique brass oval chain from Artbeads.  I love the texture on the oval links and it gives the necklace the perfect drape on the neck.

For the splash of color, I chose a mix of Swarovski crystals - Capri Blue, Indicolite, Erinite, Montana Blue Sky and Aquamarine.  This mix reminds me of the Caribbean... crystal clear, beautiful azul waters - a true tropical paradise.  There's no comparison once you've seen Swarovski crystals.  Their fire and sparkle are unparalleled - seriously!

As a finishing touch for Peeking Into Paradise, I chose a Tierracast Brass Oxide Pewter Lock and Key toggle.  It's the perfect finishing touch for this vintage inspired piece.  I really love how well the Tierracast closures are made, they are a good sturdy metal that will withstand even the heaviest of jewelry designs.

I also received two Tierracast Pewter charms that were not featured in this necklace.  One is a hummingbird, the other a dragonfly.  Both are of exceptional quality just like the toggle.  I anticipate showing you those in the near future, in another creation - like a bracelet to match the necklace!

I'd like to thank Artbeads for giving me the opportunity to share these great products with you.  It was such a great creative process bringing in something old with the keyhole and then turning it into something new.  It's like letting history tell a story!

Necessary Legal Stuff:  I have received the following products for this jewelry design free of charge from Artbeads.com and I am honestly reviewing them.  I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received:  Tierracast Brass Oxide Lock and Key Toggle, Swarovski Crystal Bicones in Erinite, Indicolite, Montana Blue Sky, Swarovski Crystal 6 mm rounds in Capri Blue and Aquamarine, Antique Brass Oval Link Chain, Antique Brass head pins, eye pins and jump rings.

Yuppers, this made me cry!

Over the last several weeks, I embarked on a bead embroidery piece for a very dear friend.  Kathy has had me custom design several sets for her in the past, but this set of jewelry was to be over the top - supremely special - the belle of the ball... get my drift! 

Kathy is attending a very special charity dinner where the attendees are all very well known people.  I had blogged about it here if you're new to "Dawn's World."  No worries I'll give you a moment to learn about what the charity is.

Having so many ideas racing through my mind, and wanting to deliver on Kathy's desire to have an awesome necklace that features that "IT pink" that has been named most popular for this spring, I played with a few different color pallets. 

After much deliberation (you should have heard the voices in my head.) and on more than one occasion at 3:15 a.m.,  brilliant ideas shot me straight out of bed.  Finally, I opted to go with a WOW pink and multiple shades of pewter!  In my opinion black was going to be too big of a contrast, and would try to over power the pink.  So I chose different colors, finishes and textures of pewter & grey and prepared the piece of Kathy's dreams.

What struck me as I was working on this necklace was my inner peace.  I started with a blank slate (I drew nothing out on paper) and just beaded as my heart desired.  The colors just flowed into each other like the blending of frosting and food coloring.  When it was finished, I stepped back and looked at the piece through new eyes.  This was the most striking necklace I have ever made.  I love big bling, so designing with Swarovski montees and crystals were something out of a dream.  Kathy had given me instructions to do whatever my heart and the beads want to do... so I did.

For me, this necklace symbolized a milestone.  It was a much bigger stretch than I've ever allowed myself to reach for.  But the reward in seeing my very own heart & soul laid out in beads for Kathy to wear was amazing.  I feel like this was my caterpillar moment!  I've come out of my little chrysalis and become a bright, colorful, graceful butterfly! 

I'm working on a few more pieces as we speak, and have a great open house planned for this Sunday with another very dear friend, Elaine.  Also, I've had an offer to debut my bead embroidery jewelry at an evening gala at a local boutique.  So that's in the works for the end of April.  In the meantime, I will continue to learn, grow and discover a creative ME that I never knew was in there just 10 years ago!  Seriously, I thought I'd major in accounting... what was I thinking?

Let your dreams take flight... the scenery will be beautiful and you just don't know where you'll land! 
{Hugs!}
Dawn

I'd like to buy a photo for this post.

Sorry, I don't have one... YET!  I'm working on a custom order this weekend and over the next several days.  I'm combining Swarovski Crystals with bead embroidery!  Let me tell you, this is going to be the knockout piece of the year!  I just hope when I'm done with it, I can get the sunlight to play well with my camera so I can get a good photo. 

This piece is being custom designed for a friend going to a grand gala!  It's a VIP Red Carpet charity dinner to celebrate a birthday!  The charity is the UnStoppable Foundation!  The woman hosting the event has such a HUGE heart, so it's an honor to be creating a one of a kind design just for this event!

Stay tuned for pictures & progress!
Have a FANTASTIC weekend!