Opening Night on Broadway - A Performance in Black and White

A journey blending opposing colors in an elegant jewelry design! 

Black & White

Yin & Yang

Darkness & Light

Off & On

As she sashays down the winding staircase, her heels click, click, click on the marble.  Her hand glides down the bannister and at last, she appears.  The woman of the night is here.  All heads turn, the room gets quiet.  Her sheer presence commands respect.

She's a vision adorned in black lace.  Pearls dangle from her ears and drape softly around her neck.  And on her wrist, she models an exclusive work of art.  Custom crafted beadwork all in black.  Accents in Swarovski crystal and pearls.  Women whisper, "I wonder where she got it?"  "I've never seen something so unique."  "That's so perfect for her!" 

The men smile ever so slightly, they know they'll be commissioning one-of-a-kind art for their wives too.  Maybe for a birthday, maybe for an anniversary.  A romantic dinner, flowers and the gift of jewelry will surprise her on a Tuesday night.  One thing is certain, you can win her heart with love and jewelry.

I want to thank Sally Russick for inspiring a group of creative souls to design in Black & White for this amazing challenge.  You can visit Sally and see the other incredible creations for this Black & White Challenge.

Musings From Behind the Snow Shovel in Lake Geneva Wisconsin

It's a quiet morning and we got a dusting of snow earlier this morning.  It's enough that you have to shovel because the sun won't melt it... and yet if I didn't have a client stopping by I'd have just left the pretty white carpet on my driveway be.

So whilst out shoveling, my funny mind had some interesting musings... like the day my mind had many similar odd thoughts while sitting in the waiting room at the hospital.  So being that it's Friday... I wanted to share with you some Musings while Shoveling Snow.

* Gee, the snow is so light I could have used the leaf blower on the driveway.
* The snow on the end (where the snowplow piles everything) has a striking resemblence to Dalmation Jasper. (These are from Happy Mango Beads, one of my favorite gemstone dealers)
* Hmmm, I'm shoveling in a St. Petersburg stitch. (Take a look at my friend Triz' blog for a beautiful example of what the St. Petersburg stitch looks like.)
* God could have sneezed and blown this all away.
* Then again... God or not, I'd rather avoid the boogers.

Finally,
* Wow, the silence is magical!

 
Much to my surprise this morning, I was featured on Lisa Crone's A Bead A Day Blog.  Lisa wrote a great book A Bead in Time (Available on Amazon) that I found absolutely inspiring when I was starting out designing jewelry.  I loved how she introduces playing with colors and textures.  Since starting, I've fallen madly in love with seed beads and yet Lisa's principles still stick in my head as I'm creating.

So go check out Lisa's Blog - A Bead A Day and give her some love!

Since we're in the winter spirit, I wanted to share with you a piece I designed for the Jewels of January contest a while back.  It wasn't a winner in the contest, but it was a winner in my heart.

Hope your day is beautiful, and your lifting is light! ;)
{Hugs!}
Dawn