Chat…Just Because

I finally picked out some items from IKEA for my jewelry studio a few months ago. Remember, I was trying to figure out what to do in my newly finished area? Unfortunately, the closest IKEA to St. Louis is in the Chicago area, and cost of shipping was more than what items cost! So I backburnered the plan for a while, making due with the kitchen table again as the makeshift workbench.

Then we found out a few weeks ago that Don’s ex was traveling to Chicago and would be heading to IKEA. What luck! I told her what I was looking for, and she offered to pick up the items and bring them back to St. Louis. Sweet!

So on Sunday, she dropped off my brand new work table and drawer cabinet. I’ll get to work on the table in the next day or so, but I was able to put together the little cabinet that will house some of my jewelry supplies.

This piece went from this (oh my)

to this, in just under two hours.

AND, I did it by myself!!! Yep. Don is out of town for a few days, so I decided I would just dive right in. Of course I could have used his brawn to help take the box it was packed in to the lower level (this sucker weighs 74 pounds!), but since it was just me and Elyse home with no brawn in sight, I had to take it downstairs myself, basically one piece at a time. That alone took about 10 minutes with all of the up and down! I was already sweating by the time I started.

But it was worth it. Turned out so cute. Of course, IKEA makes it pretty difficult to mess up. Even the directions have only pictures, no words. So unless you can’t interpret a picture, the piece should go together pretty smoothly. Now I just need to clear a space so I can set up the table. I’ll be so organized! … I think.

Keep you posted!

Most of us are probably aware of what our birthstone is for our birthday month. But did you know that there were several variations on that theme depending on if you were referring to the traditional birthstones or modern birthstones? This means you may have more than one choice when it comes to claiming a birthstone. Here’s a little breakdown that shows which months have different stones associated with it.

Birthstones have also been separated into healing and mystical categories, as well as categories that represent the day, hour and season in which you were born. Who knew?

As I mentioned earlier, I was busy this past weekend and managed to complete several designs that have been bouncing around in my head for a while. Here is another item that I happily put on the ’finished’ list. Created with African opals and turquoise howelite, it’s a longer necklace at 24.5″ with a 2.5″ pendant of sponge coral. You could easily shorten it a bit because I used large link sterling silver chain in the back. Look for it to be posted on the site in a few weeks.

Good Monday morning! Here’s a quick shot of one of the fun necklaces I finished this weekend. It’s made of beautiful faceted carnelian, some small smoky quartz rounds (in the back), along with a turquoise pendant. The bright sun actually washed out the color a bit in the photo, but it is absolutely gorgeous in person.

All of the components are sterling silver, and I hand wire wrapped the links on to tiny sterling silver rings. It measures just under 17″ with a 2.75″ pendant. I only have one of these, so if you’re interested let me know. I’ll add it to the site with its formal studio photo in the next few weeks, along with the other new pieces I’m finishing up.

Did you know that the 2009 color of the year as reported by Pantone.com is Mimosa?

Also known as Pantone 14-0848, the color authority states, “Mimosa embodies hopefulness and reassurance in a climate of change. It is a warm, engaging yellow, which exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance.” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute explains that, “Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovations.”

I noticed yellow and green accessories were big last season, so it appears yellow has some staying power. Depending on the shade, yellow can work with many other colors, but looks amazing with shades of purple (its complementary or color opposite) and green (its analogous partner or ‘neighbor’ on the color wheel).

Personally, I am a big fan of yellow, and would totally use yellow accessories to punch up an outfit. Remember my yellow scarf from last summer? On the gemstone side, I have several beautiful yellow-hued beads I’ve used in past designs, including arogonite, citrine and honey jade. I look forward to creating some new, sun-kissed pieces in the coming weeks.

Does yellow bring out the sunny side in you?

One of the things on my to do list this year is to set up and furnish my in-home jewelry studio. We did a bit of remodeling over the summer and now I have a room of my own dedicated to all things jewelry. First up was figuring out a way for me to have easier access to my bead inventory. So my solution was to purchase this nifty display grid.

This only represents a portion of my bead strand collections. I’ll need to purchase a few more hooks and baskets, and possibly another grid if I decide to display all of my inventory. I chose this particular display item because it helps me to see the colors and types of beads I have available at a glance. For a long time, I had beads contained in plastic Ziploc bags or trays, and although easy to spot color, it was a bit of a drag to go through each bag every time I had an idea about what color/type of beads might look good together. Being able to just look at the hooks and go right to the colors I need will definitely save time.

Next up was figuring out the actual work surface area. Here’s where I hit a wall. I stalled out on making a decision because I was hovering about whether I wanted a workbench specifically designed for metalsmithing, or something on which I could lay out all of my beading/wirework materials. I hemmed and hawed for a few months about it, while my beautiful beads sat in their trays on the floor. (Sometimes I get hung up considering a decision about one thing for so long that I become paralyzed to do anything else! Doesn’t happen too often, but when it does … grrr.) Ultimately, I decided to hold off on the metalsmithing aspect for a while, and instead focus on finding the perfect table/desk is conducive to my work style. I’ve still not found what I wanted, but I’m on the hunt right now.

Anywho, once I finally find that work surface and organize the space a bit , I’ll give you a nice tour of where I create Just Because Jewelry.

In the meantime, can you believe it’s already the middle of January?! I think another item on my list to do this year will be to slow down a bit and savor the little moments.

I know some of us are “bracelet women,” and some are “necklace women,” but for those of us who are “earring women,” we can’t get enough.

Earrings are that one little adornment that most of us can wear each and every day without too much effort. They provide everyone who looks at us a glimpse of our personalities and our current state of mind (well, at least our state of mind when we put them on). Hoops, chandeliers, crystals, gemstones, silver, gold, wire, posts, pierced, clip, whimsical, elegant, teeny or gi-normous, we love us some earrings, don’t we?

There are some great earrings available on my site (see the Va Voom party earrings and the sweet Wise Girls set), to get you going.

And if you’re really crazy about earrings, please check back tomorrow for a fun surprise!

It’s hard for me to come up with a favorite anything when someone asks, but I know many people can rattle off their favorite everything if called upon. They are so lucky!

Even though I am ‘favorite-challenged’ it doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear about YOUR favorites! In particular, I thought it would be fun to hear about your favorite piece or pieces of jewelry. (I know. Shocking, isn’t it?). Is there some particular piece that you wear every day (ok, aside from a wedding/engagement ring or a watch) that you just adore?

I’ll go first: Years ago when the Mothers Bracelets were all the rage, I proudly wore mine each day to work, without fail – for years. Someone else made this for me as it was long before I even thought about making my own jewelry. Anyway, I think it was between jobs that I got out of the habit of wearing it because the routine of preparing for work just wasn’t there.

The past few years though, my go-to piece of jewelry (that I haven’t made) is a sterling silver link bracelet from Tiffany & Co. It was one of the first Christmas presents my boyfriend Don gave to me, and I’ve barely gone a day since then without putting it on. This one piece is not only special, it can hold up to the daily wear and tear I’m sure I expose it to!

I certainly love wearing my Just Because Jewelry and do so on most days, but I also have a great appreciation of other types of jewelry. So please spill it right here. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry and why?

Without so much as a sideways glance, it appears summer is moving on and fall is knocking at our door already. You can tell by the explosion of art fairs, festivals, cooler evenings and brisk mornings. Won’t be too much longer and the leaves will begin their vibrant display of changing colors! Don’t you love the smell of firewood burning on a cool autumn evening? Loving this time of year!

But back to the fairs and festivals. We’ve hit two of them already. So much fun to see all of the amazing creativity that comes out of those. Check out this pair of silver earrings I bought from my metalsmithing teacher, Nikki Nation. She had a booth at one of the art fairs and I was able to see all of her terrific pieces. Aren’t these great?!

She’s in the process of moving to Colorado, and I wish her much success. I hope to showcase her Web site when it’s up and ready (plus I’m sure her photos will do these earrings justice!).

In the meantime, I’ve been putting together some great autumn-inspired pieces that I hope will be ready very soon. Lots of bronze pearls and beads, the gorgeous reds and oranges of carnelian, agate and gold coral. I can’t wait to show these to you!

What is it about fall that you love or inspires you?

… make jewelry, that is. Why do I make jewelry? Because as with any endeavor or activity that I enjoy, it just feels good on so many levels for so many reasons. Here’s a slice of what I mean:

1. The beads physically feel good in my hands. I like the texture and weight of them … energy I can feel.
2. It feels good to release my creativity and use my hands.
3. Feels good to learn a new technique or work with new materials and experiment with them.
4. It feels good to discover new beads and learn about their colors and composition and lore.
5. I get a kick out of playing with colors and textures.
6. I feel just a tad giddy when I go to open a shipment of beads I’ve ordered. (k, actually a lot giddy).
7. I love to see the finished items I make.
8. I’m excited to talk with others about the jewelry.
9. It feels great to see my customers get excited about buying a piece.
10. It feels good doing shows.
11. Feels good giving back.
12. Feels terrific to hear the Just Because Jewelry stories my customers tell me after they’ve worn their items.
13. Feels amazing creating a space for me to just be.
14. It feels good to concentrate so intensely when creating, I lose track of everything else.
15. Feels so good when I hear that I’ve made others happy.
16. Feels good letting people in on my world and sharing ideas with them.
17. Feels tremendous to imagine the possibilities.
18. Feels FAN-tastic knowing I’m setting a good example for my children to learn about how to follow their passions.
19. Feels good to be in charge of my creations.
20. Feels wonderful to be inspired by my surroundings.  

Why do you do what you do? (I know, I sound like Harvey Korman’s Hedley Lamarr in ‘Blazing Saddles!’)