Special Finds

I snapped a few photos this morning of several vintage goodies I purchased last week in Utah…

I love this turn-of-the-century dresser box with an antique French hand colored engraving “Le Serment D’amour”…. The Oath of Love… it features two romantic lovers surrounded by Cherubs and Angels. I thought this would be a great place to keep my stash of special components I’ll be using for my vintage bracelets. I love opening this box and seeing all that sparkle! It’s going to be hard to let any of these special pieces go…..

I also purchased numerous vintage dress clips, rhinestone chains & buttons, rosaries and more…







Thank you to everyone who came by to place orders from my website last week while I was gone. Your orders have shipped and you will be sparkling in no time! Now I am off to create more sparkle so please stay tuned to the blog to see what’s coming next! Merci ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Back In The Studio!

I am back in the studio after our getaway break and happy to announce 2 winners for my $50 Gift Certificates!!! The photos on my previous blog post are from UTAH!!!

The Random Number Generator selected #10 from all the comments which means that Dotti from True Self Studio wins the first $50 Gift Certificate. The bonus $50 Gift Certificate goes to Terri Gordon for guessing exactly where I was…..the beautiful Sundance Resort!!! Congratulations to Dotti and Terri! Please contact me for info on how to use your gift certificates.

We were able to visit several beautiful areas in Utah and the most peaceful was our visit to the Sundance Resort owned by actor Robert Redford.

(Please forgive the quality of the photos – I do not travel with my big girl camera and these photos were snapped with my cell phone and our small point-and-click camera.)

He has truly created a beautiful and pristine resort. It’s a place I would love to visit again.

We also visited Arches National Park in Moab…..


…..and Canyonlands……

While in Moab we stayed in the charming Sunflower Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn…

We saw incredible scenery everywhere we drove. Living at sea level in Florida really makes you appreciate the majestic beauty of cloud reaching mountains. Here is just one pretty shot I took from our car as we drove….

Our final stay was in Park City on their historic Main Street. We enjoyed great shopping and dining all within walking distance of our hotel, The Caledonian.

Antique malls and shops are few and far between in Utah, but I had really good luck on a quick trip into Salt Lake City. An afternoon there busted my budget for sparkling treasures and I can’t wait to start creating special pieces with my finds.

Stay tuned for treasure photos and THANK YOU to everyone who played along trying to guess where I was and left a comment for the giveaway. Have a beautiful week!

Studio Update and a GIVEAWAY!

We are taking a break to escape the hot and humid flatlands of Florida to find cool, fresh mountain air. While we are away, I thought it would be fun to offer a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate good for anything in my shop!!!

Here is a photo of where we are headed…

While on our trip, I’ll have the opportunity to visit an Outdoor Flea Market that was recently included on the Top 50 Flea Markets in the U.S. by Romantic Homes Magazine and I’ve scheduled visits to numerous antique malls and shops through-out this beautiful state. I hope to return with a suitcase full of jewelry treasures to use for upcoming designs.

To be entered for the $50 gift certificate, just leave a comment below with a guess of where you think I might be. You don’t need to have a correct guess to win, but you do need to leave a comment. And if someone happens to guess the specific location from the photos, I’ll give that person a $50 Gift Certificate too! Bonus!!

As a side note – My shop will still be open to place orders, but orders will not ship until after our return on Monday, August 29th. The Gift Certificate winner will be selected on that date too. Good Luck Mon Amies and have fun! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

The Locket

Truth be known, I suffer from The Cobblers Children syndrome….you know, the story about how the Cobblers children have no shoes…well, that’s me, but with jewelry. I make a lot of special pieces, but I end up selling everything I make and then never have pretty pieces left for me. Well, that changed….

…when I came across this beautiful locket. I purchased this directly from an antique dealer and she purchased it for herself, over 50 years ago from an estate. The locket dates to the Civil War and is certainly the oldest piece of jewelry I have ever owned.

Although the age of the piece is very special, what caught my breath when I saw it were the initials in the monogram……those are my maiden initials….JMD….what are the odds?

The back of the locket is also engraved with a beautiful “D”…which corresponds with my maiden family last name of Dunbar. The antique dealer told me she purchased it for herself because her last name started with a “D” but the front monogram did not match the rest of her name…but it matched mine perfectly!

Although I was not shopping for myself, this piece was too special to walk away from and I knew that I’d never find another one like it.

So last night, I gathered my favorite beads, rhinestones, chains, rosaries and cameos pieces and sat down to create a pretty necklace for myself…..the Cobblers Child is now bejeweled!

The inside of the locket was empty and I often think about what treasures it held. Lockets became very popular during the Civil War because so many husbands, sons and brothers marched off to war and the women left behind kept photos and small trinkets inside to remember their loved ones.

So, to fill the empty inside, I add a couple of special images from my collection of antique French prayer cards…..a Sacred Heart Mary and a rose covered Sacred Heart symbol. I then added vintage rhinestone chain inside the locket around each image…..the little flash of bling when you open the locket is so pretty.

I am very happy with how this unexpected and serendipitous find turned into a special necklace that I will finally keep for myself.

Although my locket necklace shown here on the model is not for sale….how strange for me to say those words….Not…For….Sale…. - the antique Mother of Pearl Wedding Rosary Necklace that it is pictured with, is for sale, and can be found HERE. ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Organizing the Studio…

Happy Weekend!

I added these pretty grocery store roses to the studio this weekend to enjoy while I work on getting a bit more organized….

I’ve been sorting through my stash of jewelry making elements....

…trying to gather and store like items together…

…as I add more pieces to my collection, it’s more important then ever to be able to find what I am looking for (and not forget what I already have!)… as I work….

…I love using vintage jewelry boxes for storage. The compartments are just the right size to hold all the tiny pieces and I love the old velvet and satin linings too…

…I keep these boxes on my workbench so they are always within an arm’s reach. It took a few hours to sort through everything and I banished all the so-so pieces to a storage box in the closet and I am only keeping out the pieces I am truly inspired by. Now that I am organized I can’t wait to start creating some new couture pieces this week! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

A Renewed Heirloom….

…a pretty rhinestone and pearl dress clip….

…on its way back to Carol…



…a sentimental family treasure that was once tucked away, now will be enjoyed by Carol in a new way….Thank you Carol! It was a pleasure creating this for you. Enjoy! ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Studio Snap...

...a few new pretties found their way into my studio today! A lazy afternoon shopping at my favorite antique shop produced a few treasures for me to create with this upcoming week...

...dreamy strands of freshwater pearls in creamy white and grey....a vintage mother of pearl rosary for my collection....

...victorian cameos, vintage pot metal rhinestone bracelets and dress clips, and victorian cut steel buttons....and a few other treasures to surprise you with soon....stay tuned to the blog! ~ Merci ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Antique Baby Shoe Buttons

A sweet snap from the studio today!

I just received this darling collection of antique baby shoe buttons collected by a European source. How precious are these!

Teeny Tiny little Mother-of-Pearl buttons on heavy shanks that once were used for the smallest of shoes. I plan to use these as special accent charms on bracelets and necklaces coming soon to the website. Stay tuned to the blog to see what they turn into! ~ Merci ~ xoxo ~ Joy

Sparkling Vintage Buckle Bracelets!

Nothing sparkles like vintage rhinestones and these gorgeous new *old* bracelets are full of sparkle! Just listed on the website today…

Yummy vintage patina on the metal and the rhinestones…

...can’t get enough of that vintage sparkle…



…so pretty worn casually on your wrist….



Can you tell that I’ve been busy at my workbench this week? If you would like to see more information on these newest additions, please click HERE. ~ Merci ~ xoxo Joy

Vintage and Antique Trinkets….

I just listed a few new, One-of-a-Kind designs on the website today! Here are a couple of my favorites……sooo special and sooo much sparkle…

Art Deco Vintage Rhinestone Dress Clip Necklace

I love how you can dress these pieces up or down…

I also love mixing antique jewelry pieces with vintage rosary pieces…

Antique Blue Stone Filigree & Rosary Necklace

These are so unique and the antique elements will always have value that will increase as the years go by. Beautiful jewelry that can become heirloom pieces tomorrow but can be worn and enjoyed today.



Both these beauties can be found on my Necklace Page if you would like more information. Merci ~ xoxo ~ Joy