Artful Blogging…Pinch Me, I’m Published!

A couple of months ago, I was interviewed by the creative and talented editors at Stampington, for a Q&A article to be included in the Spring 2009 issue of Artful Blogging. Not only was this wonderfully fun for me, but also the subject matter for the Q&A was near and dear to my heart….Marie Antoinette.

The subject and photographs were about the Marie Antoinette Birthday Soiree I hosted on my blog back in November. That was such a FUN event and there were so many talented creations shared for that party. I am tickled beyond pink (what color would that be?) that not only is my article published, but also beautiful photographs appear in the article that were posted by participants on their blogs, from the Soiree. I love sharing the fun!

The spring issue should be hitting newsstands any day now, and I highly recommend that you dash out and get a copy for your very own self. This issue has to be the most beautiful yet. It’s jammed packed with stunning photos, new blogs to visit and is full of so much inspiration that it will have you running for your craft room, or computer, or wherever you find a spot to sit down and create.

This is my second time being published with Stampington and just for a little tease, I am in the shoot for two more upcoming issues! I have to tell you, I am walking on clouds most of the time and it’s not because I am blonde : ) Mr. Cupid has even taken to teasing me. He is taking great joy in sneaking up on me, at all hours of the day, with a pad of paper and pen in hand, saying “excuse me madam, may I have your autograph???” When driving on the highway if motorcycles pass us or when helicopters fly over our house, he yells out for me to “duck” …..informing me that “the paparazzi are here”. He has a way of making everything extra fun…no wonder I love this man so much!


Soooo, long story short, I’ve been working in the studio to revamp my Queen jewelry and Taaa-Daaaah…..I’ve just listed in the shop my new Queen Marie Antoinette jewelry in celebration of the article release. And it's also on SALE! Click HERE to see the collection.

Little Beauty Portrait Necklace, Marie age 7

This jewelry is really special to me because I’ve combined true history with each piece. Not only is the jewelry created with historical elements, but I try to provide historical reference where I can. The background on each piece, showing the French handwriting, is from a copy of a document that was the official Revolutionary inventory of the jewelry owned by Marie Antoinette. This inventory was made in August, 1795, a couple of years after she was executed. So many pieces of her fabulous jewelry “disappeared” or were sold off to the highest bidder, that I am surprised there was anything left to inventory.

Tiny Dancer Portrait Necklace, Marie - age 10

I’ve made a collage of my favorite portraits of Marie, with her silhouette layered over a copy of her jewelry inventory. This is literally jewelry about her jewelry!

Graceful Beauty Portrait Necklace - Marie, age 12

On each of her portraits, I’ve added touches of German glass glitter and added Austrian crystals (in a nod to her homeland).

Marie With A Rose Portrait Necklace - Marie, age 28

All the crystals are in shades of “diamond” and “French blue”. I’ve also added Swarovski pearls. Did you know that Diamonds and Pearls were her favorite jewels??

Betrothal Portrait Necklace - Marie, age 14

I’ve also made this jewelry double-sided, with the back showing a snippet of more writing from the inventory list.

Marie Antoinette Charm Bracelet

If you love Marie, I am sure you would love this jewelry. I’ve created necklaces, charms and a gorgeous charm bracelet. They are so much fun to wear because I promise you, that you will have people comment on this jewelry EVERY time you wear it! I really hope that these pretty pieces can help to spread information about her extraordinary life. And if you don’t know very much about her, I encourage you to read a biography, my personal favorite is “Marie Antoinette….The Journey” by Antonia Fraser. And like me, I am sure you will be awed by the beauty and grace of her early life, but you will also be inspired by the strength and courage she showed as her life began to unravel.

We Have A Winner!!!

I am sending a BIG heartfelt thanks to everyone who posted for my giveaway. Cupid used the Random Number Generator at Random.org to input the total number of comments and the generator popped up with lucky number 34. Congratulations to Renee G!!! You are my winner for the vintage Cupid soldered art pendant. And since Renee also left a favorite idea to celebrate Valentines Day, she also wins a pair of coordinating earrings!

I hope everyone enjoyed reading the lovely, romantic and sentimental comments that were posted. I know I did. Everyone had such great ideas and it was so sweet of you to share your memories or the way you celebrate the most romantic day of the year. Thank you dear blog friends for your visits this week. xoxo ~ Joy

A Romantic Valentines Giveaway!!

Soon, the most romantic day of the year will be here and to kick-off this holiday celebration, I am offering one of my soldered art pendants as a prize! This sweet image of Cupid is from a Victorian calendar and is under a pretty piece of beveled glass. All the findings are Sterling Silver and the pendant is beaded with beautiful Swarovski Crystals and Pearls.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. For a little extra fun, if you also include a favorite romantic memory or tip for celebrating this fun day, and your comment number is drawn, you’ll also win a matching pair of earrings!!

I’ll use that swanky Random Number thingamabob to draw a comment number, next Friday, January 30.

I think I have the sweetest blog readers in the world and this is just my little way to say Thank You for all your visits. Good luck to each of you and hopefully I’ll be sending some romantic jewelry your way in time for Valentines Day.

Lisez-vous des francais?

Bonjour!
I am turning to my blog friends for some help with translating a historic French document into English. I’ve tried using a translation website, but I am having a bit of trouble reading some words and distinguishing between all the de, des, le, la, les, from this handwritten document. Unless the spelling is accurate, the web services can’t translate it. I am sure that someone who is fluent in French would be able to read this document straight away. If you can seriously read French, please send me an email HERE and I’ll let you know the details of this little project.

Merci!

** UPDATE *** Thank you to everyone who sent me a note to offer help or suggestions. Your kindness is very much appreciated. Through the wonderful world of blogging, I’ve met a real sweetheart who is in her 3 year of a French degree. She has been a great help and I can’t wait to share this exciting project with everyone. Sorry for the tease, but you’ll need to stayed tuned to my blog for this one! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Broken China Jewelry

Beautiful vintage and antique broken china necklaces have been added to the shop this weekend! In-between working on custom orders, I’ve been trying to revamp some of my jewelry lines to streamline ordering.

I recently re-organized the Great Wall of China and now have everything organized by pattern styles, in sets. I love it when I come across a whole neglected set of china that I can recycle into jewelry. This is great because it means I can offer more than only one piece of jewelry. With a set of china in stock, I can duplicate and offer more customers the same beautiful design.

It’s still fun to come across that single, beautiful plate, bowl or teacup when I visit antique shops or flea markets. Creating a truly one of a kind piece of jewelry is very creative for me.

But what I really love, is being able to offer many pieces of jewelry created from a special set of china so that I can spread the love around, so to speak. Even when I create many pieces of jewelry from the same china pattern, each piece will still be a little unique because they are all handmade creations.

I just organized my Broken China Necklaces page on the website with samples of all the china I have multiple pieces of. Some pieces are more limited in quantity than others, so if you see something you like, it’s best to go ahead and place your order. With the busy holiday season past us now, my turn-around time is back to being about 10-14 days for most pieces of jewelry.

With the most romantic day of the year fast approaching, this is the perfect time to order a sentimental and keepsake piece of jewelry for dear loved one…or even your dear self. To see more, please click HERE.

Life In The Construction Zone…

Right now my life is all about boxes…and finding a clear surface to hold the remnants of our lives as the closets and cabinets are unloaded.

Where did all this stuff come from?

Several months ago, Mr. Cupid and I attended a neighborhood home tour and we were inspired by a number of great ideas we saw.

Half done built-in cabinet project

After that tour, we took a tour of our own home, clipboard in hand, and made a list of all the home projects we wanted to tackle. You know…all those little things you’d like to do, but just put off doing for whatever reason. Living in an older home (a 1924 bungalow) there is always a project to do.

Restoring the original 1920's cut glass drawer knobs

I knew he was serious when he transferred our list into a spreadsheet program. Every project was broken down by type, room and projected start/finish dates. Our weekends are booked from now until early summer with the projects we will tackle together.

During the week, I now play hostess to a parade of hired hands. Men who come in big trucks and set up shop on our patio. It looks a lot like one of those extreme home makeover shows on TV, except that we are footing the bill....no donations here.

Adding crown molding to finish off the kitchen cabinets

These past few weeks, I’ve overseen electricians and finish carpenters. Next week the plumbers arrive. Some of the going rates for these tradesmen are a little eye popping. I have to be careful because Mr. Cupid is threatening to send me to trade school to become an electrician – now there’s an industrial accident waiting to happen!

While everything was pulled out and unloaded, I took the opportunity to refinish this old cabinet in the kitchen. I wish I had taken a before photo. The finish was plain old brown. Nothing exciting. I want to move this cabinet into the studio to hold craft supplies, so I did a shabby, slightly distressed treatment to it. I also added the molded floral appliqué to the drawer for a little extra charm.

So for now, our home is completely topsy turvey and my fingers are crossed that an HGTV film crew arrives to save the day.

Just a Chick…with a New Camera…

I love my UPS man! The man in the big brown truck paid me a visit today bearing gifts.

Christmas came a bit late for me in regards to my real gift, my hearts desire, my gift to myself… my new big girl digital SLR camera!!! I pooled all my Christmas money and gift cards in order to purchase this new baby.

I’ve been operating with a great little Canon point and shoot camera, but the time had come to upgrade. I want to take my photography to a whole new level and an SLR is the only way to go.

For the month of December, I debated the whole “Nikon vs. Canon” thing. I took a year of photography in school and used a 35mm Nikon, which was a wonderful camera. But I’ve been so pleased with my recent experience with Canon.

In the end, both the Canon and Nikon cameras I was considering, each offered high quality photos as an end result, but the Canon offered “live view” which meant I could continue to edit and stage my photos on the big view screen on the back of the camera without having to look through the little focus hole…something my aging eyes appreciated!

I tell ya' I was dancing with excitement as I unpacked this little beauty. It’s been a long time since I’ve used 35mm features. Now I have some control over focus and depth…but I see that I need LOTS of practice to take the kind of photos that I can see in my head that I want to take.

So I starting taking pictures of all the vintage chicks that hang out in an old cabinet in our kitchen.

So please work with me as I brush up on my long forgotten photography skills. These are my very first photos with my new camera and I am really pleased with the vivid color, highlights and depth of shadows. But I can see that I really need to work on the focus thing.



But that’s part of the fun. Rediscovering a past love and learning to do things with a camera that in my school days I could never have imagined doing. Stay tuned…

A Peek At My Work Bench & Exciting News!

I thought I would share a few photos of my workbench from this morning. I am putting the finishing touches on a number of custom orders and then it’s on to a whole pile of broken china bits in various stages of completion. I’ve been so busy with custom orders that my website has been neglected. For all of you sending your sweet emails to inquire about more jewelry, may I please indulge your patience just a wee bit longer…

These pretty pendants are headed to the soldering area today. I love seeing the cut pieces in heaps like this! They remind me of stacks of colorful coins, although I’ve never seen real money that looks like this!

This plate is full of mostly rough-cut pieces that will be ground smooth before applying the copper tape around the edges for soldering. Lots of pendants and charms in this pile!

There are numerous bowls all around my studio filled with bits and pieces, just waiting for a little attention….. hold on little ones, momma’s coming as fast as possible……

I’ve also been working on a redesign of my Queen jewelry line and also adding fun new Cupid & Cherub designs, just in time for Valentines Day….the OFFICIAL holiday of Cupids Charm. Please be sure to check my blog often because I will be offering a fun giveaway for this most romantic of holidays!

And in the middle of all this creative work, I have to tease you a bit with exciting news that will be posted in several stages on my blog between now and early summer, so stayed tuned for those announcements. With each announcement, I’ll be having a celebration give-away too!!!

Fasten your seatbelts girls, 2009 is promising to be a fun ride!!!

Shopping From The Sofa....

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over, it’s so nice to savor the calm and take time to renew your spirit for the upcoming year. I enjoyed an afternoon on the sofa today flipping through a favorite catalog that the mailman delivered on Saturday. THANK GOODNESS I received this catalog AFTER the holidays, because now that my shopping budget is long gone, I won’t be tempted to splurge on myself.

But a girl can dream and I thought it would be fun to share a little “window shopping” with my favorite blog friends. I love the Victorian Trading Company! If you don’t know about this divine company, click HERE to visit their website and signup for their free catalogs. Everything within the pages of this catalog is devoted to living a romantic and beautiful life. Not only are their products wonderful, but they donate ten percent of their profits to charities that cater to women and children in need. Always a good thing.

Here are some fun items that caught my eye today…

A pretty Victorian Pineapple Lace Valance. What a beautiful way to dress up a bare window!

How comfy to do you think these Ballerina inspired tees would be? One is adorned with "Hopeless Romantic" and the other tee proclaims "..touched by an Angel" and even has a graphic of angel wings on the back!

You can always find a use for these pretty Venetian Lace Cloths. I have one very much like this and it travels all over my house from room to room.

And how comfy do these Lacy Slouch Socks look? Even your socks can have a touch of romance and these would be fun to wear for cozy nights at home.

Just look at these soft Cottage Flannel & Crochet Lace Trimmed sheets! The perfect romantic touch for your bed on cold winter nights!



And speaking of cold winter nights at home, are these Chintz Rose PJ's not the cutest?



And for a touch of romance in the living room, how about a set of these gorgeous Silk Aubusson Pillows?

Your favorite beverage would taste twice as nice being poured from a beautiful Etched Pitcher & Tumbler set!

I am rather partial to Lemon Drop or Godiva Chocolate Martini's, and with this Etched Glass Martini Set, even my favorite adult beverages can be romantic!




Even your laptop can be toted to and fro with feminine beauty in this romantic quilted laptop case.

And look here! Doing laundry can even be more beautiful when using a pretty Brocade Pop-Up Hamper. When not in use, it folds down for easy storage. Pretty and useful!!




These Chantily Lace Totes are pretty AND practical since the lace is between clear liners. A romantic way to tote anything around town!

I LOVE the duffle bag tote here in a velvety suede cloth. It has roomy pockets all around the sides and could be easily used for a weekend get-a-way or for carting your craft supplies around. I've seen pretty craft totes like this on internet sites going for a lot more money then this beautiful duffle bag.



Marie Antoinette Slippers! What pretty slippers to glide around your house in!!! Made with silk and velvet I would never take these off!

And for all of you who asked about the Marie Antoinette shoes I received for Christmas, Victorian Trading is now offering these shoes in their catalog!!! They only have the pink and black colors available, but they are sooooo cute, I am sure you will have a hard time selecting just ONE color!

Thank you for window shopping with me today. I hope you enjoyed these beautiful AND romantic products as much as I did when I discovered them from the comforts of my sofa this afternoon. I hope your holiday was filled with love and may 2009 bring you only good things…plus a little extra beauty and romance!