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Friday, January 21, 2011

Custom Swarovski Crystal Earrings

Custom Swarovski Crystal Stack Earrings (E044-E047)
Joyce had visited the Crystal Allure Jewelry website and found a pair of earrings that would coordinate with a crystal necklace her brother-in-law purchased for her sister. She contacted me to create a custom pair of emerald Swarovski Crystal earrings to complement this necklace and she also requested a custom pair in sapphire too.

We took an existing handcrafted beaded earring design and customized it a little more to fit her needs and desires. The results were simply stunning. A minimalist look in a purely feminine style with a hint of sparkling presence.

One of the things I love most about Swarovski Crystal is there are endless possibilities when it comes to color and cut options. I find I could make the same earrings 20 times over and never get bored with the brilliance of Swarovski Crystals. Their quality is unmatched which is why they are the hallmarks of my designs.

Enjoy your earrings Joyce!
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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Personalizing Jewelry with Hand Stamping

I finally decided to just jump in and switched gears to start the bracelet, which was to compliment the Green Grossular Garnet Hill Tribe Leaf Pendant Gemstone Necklace. For the bracelet, I wanted to keep with my signature technique of beading. But, as the design progressed, it just didn't give me that "fuzzy" feeling, so I added to the design some chain and wire-wrapping in a three strand style. Then it was time for the metal stamping.

You can see at left, attempt #1 resulted in a double stamp of the fern leaf. In my very first shot at handstamping, I stamped the metal, but the image wasn't very good. So I thought the stamp was in the exact same spot and I tried again -Oops! No good. Attempt #2 turned out much better. I did end up stamping it again but this time, I got the metal stamp positioned correctly in the image impression.

Attempt #3 shows the last step of the fern leaf metal handstamped charm. The stamped image is further improved upon after having darkened it and buffed it with a pro polish pad.

The necklace, as well, evolved from a single strand where the handstamped charm was going to be the "main" charm with the acorn charm right next to it. But that seemed too simple, lacked personality and that feminine touch! So, I decided to do two strands to really showcase the beautiful handstamped tag. It took forever to come up with a 4-5 letter word that would fit on the stamping blank and be tied with the autumn season. But, as I thought about the fall time and how beautiful it is, the first thought that came to mind was a renewal of body, mind and spirit.

The dangling autumn colored Swarovski Crystals are remininscent of falling leaves (a theme in all my fall jewelry) with an acorn charm that one might find that has fallen from the tree and landed in the pathway. The sterling silver blank stamping tags at Artbeads pair perfectly with both the starter metal alphabet stamps set and fern leaf stamp.
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Friday, January 14, 2011

NEW Awareness Bracelet: Ovarian Cancer Survivor

The Transplant Awareness Survivor Heart Bracelet has been so popular that I customized it in red for a customer in celebration of her daughter's heart transplant anniversary. I love every design I produce and especially love this design so I have begun expanding the design for other awareness causes and colors.

Now available at Crystal Allure is our teal Ovarian Cancer Awareness Survivor Heart Bracelet. A sparkling beaded strand of Swarovski Crystals, sterling silver beads and letter heart beads, finished with our signature jewelry tag.

Call me unaware but I was completely surprised to learn PAP smears do not detect ovarian cancer. Then what the heck do I do them for? I know. Precaution. But still, my whole focus of doing them was because I had thought (up to today) that they detected ovarian cancer, if it existed.

How about you? Did you believe PAP smears detected ovarian cancer?

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About Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer has long been called “The Silent Killer”, because it usually isn’t discovered until its advanced stages. However, early-stage ovarian cancer does produce the following symptoms:

-Abdominal bloating, pressure or discomfort
-Frequent urination or gas
-Persistent nausea, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea
-Unexplained weight gain or loss
-Fatigue or backaches
-Abnormal bleeding or pain with intercourse

Listen to your body and if in doubt, see your doctor. YOU are your best advocate.

Help spread the word: Ovarian Cancer -"It Whispers -So Listen!"

Other Facts:
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Teal is the nationally recognized ribbon color for ovarian cancer awareness and support.
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