Custom Beaded Jewelry for the Southern Hemisphere

Most of the beaded jewelry we see is for the "Northern" Hemisphere (area above the waist,) however, I recently finished a custom piece for a woman needing "Southern" hemisphere jewelry.

Before you get all crazy saying "What?"  "She wanted what WHERE?"  Don't worry, this is G-Rated!

We were talking about designing a special piece of jewelry for her ankle.  She has an event coming up where she'll be presenting on stage to a room full of women.  In the past, when she is a speaker, she starts out with good intentions and has cute shoes... however about 5 minutes into the presentation the shoes lay on the side of the stage and she's barefoot. 

I can understand that completely as I feel much more rooted when I'm barefoot.  So until Jimmy Choo makes beaded adornments for barefoot lovers like myself, I set out with my client to create something really sparkly that would still accessorize her feet.

What I created was this super sparkly ankle cuff.  It wraps around the ankle in roman fashion.  it's embellished with sequins in the color scheme of her business logo!  How cool is that, bringing a little more bling to her brand.  I added a thin chain in a scalloped fashion at the bottom of the cuff for a little more frills and to create movement in the piece.  The cuff is finished with two lobster claws and chain to allow for the piece to be work at a varied length. 

Love the finished look and style of this piece.  The ankle cuff is something I'd definitely wear in the summer in particular as sundresses, shorts and capris are all just asking for more bling!  Seeing as it's -25 windchill where I live in Lake Geneva, WI today... I'll gladly dream about summer, bare legs and warmer temperatures.

Hope your day is full of inspiration!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

I specialize in custom orders.  To connect with me, visit my Facebook page:  www.Facebook.com/DesignsbyDawnMarie and send me a message.  I'm happy to discuss what you're looking for and create something one-of-a-kind that makes you smile every time you wear it!

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

Playing with Turquoise & Petrified Wood on a Custom Order

Most of the pieces I create are custom orders.  Whether people want to pick their colors or have a particular style they like making something one-of-a-kind just for them is really a process that brings me great joy. 

I have a client that is real estate agent in Lake Geneva WI.  She's also a very talented artist, so when she wanted to talk about me creating a custom piece of jewelry for her, I was really excited to hear what her desires were for a special piece. 

It's not often that my clients are local to me, so having a face-to-face meeting was wonderful.  We first discussed color palette and stones.  She looked over some of the pieces in my private collection and we talked about what she liked from various pieces that I could incorporate into the custom beaded necklace I was making for her.

Having a good idea of what she wanted for a finished look, she was even able to pick her specific stones for the focal part of the necklace.  Being an artist, her eye for color balance, texture and the veining running through different stones was exceptional.  She wanted to make sure it had both brown and black so it was a versatile piece she could wear with either selection in her wardrobe.

The necklace turned out beautiful.  One part that was a special touch was the beaded chain necklace.  I created my own version of netting using Preciosa twin beads and Miyuki 11/0 seed beads.  It created this lacy beaded tube which I then strung and filled with Swarovski glass pearls.  It's really hard to capture just how cool this technique looks in a photo. 

Needless to say, the finished piece turned out just beautiful.  My client was pleased with the piece and I'm sure will get lots of wear out of it. 
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If you would like to have a piece of artisan jewelry custom designed for you, contact Dawn Marie on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/designsbydawnmarie 

Dawn Marie is a jewelry artist from Lake Geneva, WI.  She creates custom beaded jewelry in her home studio while being inspired by her two furry children and soul mate.  Each piece she designs is one-of-a-kind and created to be passed down as heirloom jewelry. 

A Cuff Reminiscent of the 19th Century

Bead Embroidery as an art form can tell the story of a Greek Goddess or a contemporary diva... by starting with a blank slate and allowing your soul the space to create, each piece is unique and something truly special.

Lady Lilith Beaded Art Cuff

This cuff speaks to an elegant woman, someone who loves fine pieces and wears them well.  The filigree band just speaks to me, with is delicate cut outs and flower designs, it's almost like wearing lace on your wrist! 

The focal is loaded with sparkle!  Using Swarovski Crystal as the centerpiece and surrounding it with even more Swarovski crystals, this OOAK piece of wearable art brings out rich tones of eggplant, peridot, turquoise and topaz in a myriad of iridescent rainbow finishes.

Available for Purchase - Email Dawn@DesignsbyDawnMarie.com

When invited to a ball, dress like royalty!  This piece is the perfect marriage of the romantic, Victorian style with modern bead artistry!

Belated Christmas Presents are Good too - Right?

Christmas presents are good anytime of year in my book.

For jewelry artisans... and really artisans in any form of art... the holidays are a really important time of year for business.  Even more so this year, people are paying attention to where the gifts are coming from that they are buying for family, friends and loved ones.  I spoke with several people that were only shopping local or hand-crafted this Christmas.  They are lucky I didn't kiss them right there on the spot because that's how much I appreciate their decisions!

With so much going on in my family this last few months, I had a custom order that I knew wouldn't be done in time for Christmas.  I touched base with the wonderful customer and she was so sweet assuring me it's not a problem at all and the piece would be perfect for Valentine's day.  That's deserving of another kiss right there!

So I have now finished the necklace she ordered.  The stone is a green opal from Africa.  I purchased it at my local bead shop Beadology in Lake Geneva, WI and I was thrilled to be able to design around it.  The colors of green paired with the red brown and terracotta veining is just beautiful.  I put it on a twisted antique brass chain for a soft, vintage look and added a few faceted agates to pull the natural green into the chain.

The necklace is backed with a metallic chocolate lambskin leather... that alone is totally drool-worthy!   Suddenly I'm really excited for Valentine's Day, funny how that works! 

So let's hear... I know you must have gotten something really awesome for Christmas or helped somebody give something really awesome.  I want to hear your story!  I love spreading happiness!

May 2013 bless you and bring you happiness and joy!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

What I do when I'm not physically reminding myself to breathe

Upon arriving back to my house last weekend... I looked around.  

• I saw laundry that could be done - but it could wait.
• I saw emails that could be read - but they could wait.
• I saw bills that could be paid - those most definitely waited.

I had a feeling of Christmas - that needed action - massive, immediate action.

I busted out some Christmas music, did about 483 stair laps bring up tubs and tubs, a faux tree, carrying down the regular decor and all the empty tubs to turn my living room into a mini snow globe (without the snow.)  It was the first time I've felt the Christmas spirit this year and figured I better darn well harness it before it scooted out the window without my permission.

I put up our little tree (it's all I could carry up the stairs by myself) decorated it with many of my ornaments given to me throughout my life.  I have always had a fetish with glass... ever since I was a girl.  When my mom would take us ornament shopping to pick out our ornament for the year, I always wanted the most fragile, blown glass pieces.  They looked like icicles, bubbles, mystical orbs... the more fragile the more they called my name.

Crazy Kaleidoscope Lens on the Ipad - imagine the jewelry...

Today my little tree has white lights and all those glass ornaments (and a few wonky, hand-made ones that are still around from when I made them in 8th grade with Mrs. Pappa - and they still smell like gingerbread when I take them out of the box!) all these together made my tree even more special this year.  It was my moment celebrating bits and pieces of what makes up me!

Now I still covet glass... in the form of beads.  I guess it's in my veins!

So here's to finding Christmas Spirit despite the challenging moments and creating Christmas memories that will last forever! 

{Hugs!}
Dawn

Aimless musings from the waiting room

So as I sit these last number of weeks in hospital waiting rooms, my mind has had plenty of time to work (actually working overtime if I were to be honest.)  But in these weeks, hours, days and minutes... I've had some interesting thoughts that I just had to share.

• I've encountered wonderful, caring people with 7 different predominant types of cancer (brain, breast, prostate, liver, lung, cervical, leukemia)

• Everybody has a story (I knew this, but I've become a better listener)

• If you put a race car driver in a parking ramp, would he know what to do (race cars only go left... parking ramps, at least this one, is all right turns)

• Shouldn't hospitals have cell phone and iPad charging stations for patients and those that drive them to appointments? A wifi printer would be a total dream too...

• In the name of sanitizing, how many of those little paper disposable cups have I used for my burst o' coffee fix?

• Art, specifically hand painted murals on waiting room walls really do make a hospital feel warmer - I'm grateful for those talented artists that created them.

• Living in two homes is challenging... for the rest of my life, I will be grateful to go on vacation, but firmly believe I choose to have only one home. 

• Waiting... well I'm still working on learning to just BE... planning can be overrated (gasp, did I just say that out loud) but to BE in the moment and cherish every second is what makes memories to last a lifetime.

I thank each and every one of you that took the time to visit my blog during The Challenge of Color Blog Hop.  I will update you as my piece, The Journey continues to grow and eventually be finished.  Your comments, thoughts, prayers and positive energies have been felt from miles and continents away.  My family is filled with gratitude that so many of you care so much. 

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You so very much!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

In the little gift bags are Daily Messages of Hope.  They are paper chains with each link containing inspiration quotes and messages.  They were designed and made by a former patient and her friends.  The bags are free for anyone to take.  They have bags for male & female patients as well as breast cancer specifically.  What a generous donation of time and heart!