Much to be thankful for

For you, because they're beautiful.

It was a whirlwind Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend and I'm still recovering. I have the absolute best customers!

Darling husband and I will be traveling to California for the holidays. While there, we have all kinds of fun and exciting things to do. One of them is to attend my mother and father's wedding. Dad is, well, he's a dad, but they're finally getting married, at 83 and 87 years old. So I'm making matching earrings for my mother, sister and myself. I'll post them here when I'm done.

There is a lot to be grateful for, and I am. I've made the best of friends on the internet, many whom I have met IRL (some, multiple times). You really just never know what life will bring, because life is full of surprises, adventures and wonders.

Just a completely off topic entry on an evening that I'm feeling particularly warm and fuzzy, and fortunate. Happy Holidays, lovelies. :)

Etched Jet Romantic, kind of Goth Earrings

Fantastic darkly elegant holiday earrings! These lightweight vintage-look teardrop acrylic beads have the look of black lace when lit. They seem to have been painted black and then etched for almost an etched crystal look. They have a fantastic kind of depth to them that these photos just don't represent properly (one of the challenges of photographing jewelry).

They hang from sterling lever back ear wires, with twisted silver holding in place jet Czech glass flowers, with small 3mm clear AB Swarovski bicone crystals above and below. From there, the teardrop beads hang from more silver wire, and are stabilized by some lovely headpins. These headpins are sterling, but at the bottom, instead of being flat or having a silver ball end, they have a tiny, faceted jet crystal held in place with prongs. You can kind of see that in some of the photos, but we don't have any that truly focus on them. They are subtle, but a nice touch. The earrings are 2 5/8" long, in total, including the ear wires. Would be fabulously appropriate for holiday evenings out.

Your jewelry will arrive in a glossy black box with an Adorn Me jewelry label outside and a folded burgundy-colored note inside, written in silver metallic ink on nice card stock. If your purchase is a gift for someone, you can send us a message at Etsy and tell us what you would like hand-written on the card. This is then boxed and wrapped up in a sparkly silver ribbon, all ready for gift-giving! If you prefer we can leave the ribbon untied, so you can peek inside to see the gift you're giving and then tie the ribbon yourself, just include that in your message. :)

You can see larger photos of, and read more about, these earrings by going to Adorn Me jewelry's store at Etsy.

Snow Princess - Modern Simplicity - Huge faceted Rock Crystal Quartz Necklace

Just a note: This big rock is clear; the green/aqua you're seeing in it is some of the facets picking up the colors of the studio walls. :)

The size of this stone defies description. It is huge and showy, yet simple in its design, so that it defines elegant, Modern simplicity. It would be well at home with red velvet. It would be equally at home, and slightly surprising (which I like!) with jeans, a white t-shirt, boots and a leather jacket.

The lovely stone hangs from an sparkling Italian sterling silver Giotto Chain, with each round ring being 3.5 mm in diameter. It's about 18" long (as you know, I'm willing to make it larger, if needed, though this is pricey chain, so it will be an extra $1.25 for each extra inch), and the pendant width is a fantastic 2" from side to side. The exact measurements are 38x28x18mm (25mm = 1 inch). It is finished off at the end with a sterling silver sweetheart toggle and a smooth, tiny 10x5mm Vintage Czech glass teardrop wrapped in silver wire. This beautiful piece of quartz crystal has, as they often do, some lovely little inclusions and areas that show it's actually rock, and not a piece of glass. They're very small, though. Some, like me, love inclusions, others do not, so I figured I'd let you know they're there, and you can see them here and there when you expand the photos to their full size.

Your jewelry will arrive in a glossy black box with an Adorn Me jewelry label outside and a folded burgundy-colored note inside, written in silver metallic ink on nice card stock. If your purchase is a gift for someone, you can send us a Conversation and tell us what you would like hand-written on the card. This is then boxed and wrapped up in a sparkly silver ribbon, all ready for gift-giving! If you prefer we can leave the ribbon untied, so you can peek inside to see the gift you're giving and then tie the ribbon yourself, just message us with the info.

You can see more, and larger, photos of this necklace by going to Adorn Me jewelry's store at Etsy.

Lotus Rising - One of a Kind Exquisite Flowers For Your Ears - Vintage Elements

Those of you who love purple and green together should love these. And they are the only pair of their kind, at this point, because I cannot find any more of these gorgeous fire-polished beads!

Vintage brass lotus blossom bead caps embrace the most beautiful fire-polished glass beads I've ever seen. And they are the biggest, too. Mottled shades of purple and violet swim inside a big, fat faceted rondelle that has a coating of purple-y bronze fire-polished here and there on the outside. They are simply stunning -- and large at about 15 x 11mm. Above are antiqued copper bead caps, and below, light spring green Czech glass flower bead caps.

They dangle from large brass kidney wires that are festooned, as I am wont to do, with large iridescent purple seed beads (you'll get a few extra with your order, just in case you lose one). They are a bit weighty in the sense that you can feel them swinging on your ears, but not overly heavy.

Your jewelry will arrive in a glossy black box with an Adorn Me jewelry label outside and a folded burgundy-colored note inside, written in silver metallic ink on nice card stock. If your purchase is a gift for someone, you can send us a Conversation and tell us what you would like hand-written on the card. This is then boxed and wrapped up in a sparkly silver ribbon, all ready for gift-giving! If you prefer we can leave the ribbon untied, so you can peek inside to see the gift you're giving and then tie the ribbon yourself, just message us with the info.

You can see more, and larger, photos of these earrings by going to Adorn Me jewelry's store at Etsy.

Ember - Captivating, Warmly colored Vintage Bead earrings

The firey warmth in these beautiful beads evoke the image of burning embers. You should know that those 'flames' were not Photoshopped in, but truly cast that firey glow onto the paper under the earrings.

The tortoise shell pattern infused within these vintage acrylic pinch beads make them captivating focal beads, particularly when lit from behind -- as you can plainly see. The design is simple, so these rich-looking 25mm round beads shine on center stage.

They hang from large sterling silver kidney wires, with sterling wire wrapped simply to give them stability. They are 3" long, including the ear wires, and easily dress up or down, according to your outfit. Their warm tones are perfect for winter evenings.

Your jewelry will arrive in a glossy black box with an Adorn Me jewelry label outside and a folded burgundy-colored note inside, written in silver metallic ink on nice card stock. If your purchase is a gift for someone, you can send us a Conversation and tell us what you would like hand-written on the card. This is then boxed and wrapped up in a sparkly silver ribbon, all ready for gift-giving! If you prefer we can leave the ribbon untied, so you can peek inside to see the gift you're giving and then tie the ribbon yourself, just message me. You can see more, and larger, photos in Adorn Me jewelry's store at Etsy.

Milliner Extraordinaire, Iris Lohninger

Iris is a new friend I met through the Etsy Treasury Street Team we both belong to. I was drawn to her first by her style. Not only are her hats unique and very hip yet timeless, but the way she displays them totally is consonant with her style, I think. You'll see what I mean when you see her work.

I've been thinking about occasnionally featuring other artists and designers here, as I sometimes get tired of talking only about Adorn Me products (much as I love making them!), and wanted to branch out a bit. Iris was the logical choice. A world traveler and very cosmopolitan, Iris is also very friendly and open -- very approachable and kind. I liked her from the start. In inviting her to let Adorn Me feature her, I requested an artist's statement, as well as how she got started in the business. Also, I was interested in what her vision and purpose is for her designs -- basically her process. So now I'll be quiet and let Iris speak for herself, from the unusually snowy climes of Berlin, Germany.

First, take a look at just a few of her designs from her BrownBunnybyIris store.

Etsy Buy Handmade brownbunnybyiris

Iris: I was always fascinated by hats - I remember paging through art and social history books - all these different cultures producing so many interesting designs combining function with lots of....magic! Yes, I really think hats are magical things. Think of the crowns of kings and queens, think of the designs religious ceremony masters came up with, indigenous tribes. Think of the military, or just think of baseball caps! Wearing hats makes oneself feel in a very special way - it's a great way to express oneself by choosing this or that design. Wearing the right hat really is the dot on the i ! In the end my love of designing hats simply comes from my love of wearing them. Graduating from a fashion design school in Vienna gave me the necessary technical know how and background.

I spent quite some time in South America, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia. I lived 2 years in France, 2 years in New Mexico, a full year in New York City and many years in California - all these different cultures have changed my lifestyle and way of thinking. I'm really grateful that I was able to enjoy so many different cultures.

I draw inspiration from everything that surrounds me and makes an impression on me. That can be colors, sounds, textures, music, you name it! Then there's the constant wish to change, to surprise, having fun! Of course finding new pieces of vintage fabric or ribbons inspires me a lot. And not to forget all the people who can't wait to see my next creation. That's a thrill for me!!!

It always starts with vague abstract feelings and a desire to express these feelings and condense them into reality. I pick material that I think fits and surround me with them and then I start working on a kind of a prototype. I do sketches, I cut pieces of paper to make a pattern to get a handle on the 3d space. I stop and go and change and take it all apart again and so on. It's like composing music. I never give up on a new design. If it doesn't totally satisfy me I feel challenged and have to come up with new solutions, and in the end I'm always surprised about the final outcome! I have so many ideas in my head. I only need to see a few buttons and some
fabric and I get the idea!

I also work in the movies, on set, on location and get quite some inspiration from the drama of being there. I'm also selling the majority of my creations during a film shoot. I wear a different hat everyday and there's practically no film shoot where one or the other actress picks one of my designs. So I get paid twice ;-)

AdornMe: Iris, thank you for being so gracious in allowing Adorn Me to feature you. Your hats really stand out in the crowd as being original and timeless.

Now, go take a look at Iris's store... :)

iReport

There is a little story and some photos about Adorn Me on CNN's iReport site, Here.