Demure Dragonfly

She's a bit demure, but she carries a tail full of jewels and has a sweet little smiling face, too.

This necklace made from a vintage mold has a graceful pose with a 2 1/4 inch wing span. From her gracefully curved tail she trails, from left to right: a moonstone tooth, held aloft by a copper headpin with a rosy head. Next to that is a gorgeous and hard to find purple moonstone with lovely blue fire (it's very difficult to photograph the fire, but you can see it in the photo to the right), a white freshwater pearl, copper Czech glass seed beads, and a beautiful simplicity cut 6mm golden shadow swarovski (it has beautiful little flicks and striations of gold inside) crystal holding up another moonstone tooth that's finished off with another rosey copper headpin. The longest drop (1 5/8") is made from a helix-cut 8mm purple velvet swarovski, a large iridescent purple and two small copper, Czech beads, supporting a little brass orchid. Lastly is simply a iridescent mauve freshwater potato pearl and a little copper Czech bead. All of these are wrapped with copper wire.

Up the necklace, on the opposite side of her treasures, is another puple moonstone, another pearl, and a danglie supporting a 4mm tanzanite swarovski crystal and a 7mm labradorite briolette. You can see its blue fire in the photo. It's a beautiful little stone. Some truly stunning lovelies are in this necklace: moonstone (and purple, no less!), labradorite, pearls and crystals. Can't go wrong with those.

While I can reproduce this necklace, in some ways it's a one-of-a-kind in that these stones vary and no two are exactly alike. I would venture a guess that you'll not see anyone else selling one just like it -- unless they copy Adorn Me's design, of course ;).

The last photo is horrid, but it gives you an idea of how the necklace is designed and how it lays.

The necklace has 23" of antiqued brass chain for a total length of 26 1/2". This can be sized up or down, according to your needs, and it closes with a lobster claw clasp. It's ready for a home at $37.00

Gifts of love

Pairs of mated swallows are monogamous, and these sweet little antiqued brass swallows bringing gifts of love. And quite a heavy load for these little guys, too.

I really love the critters, so here are some more to add to the other cute little creatures in the Adorn Me stock of jewels.

The swallows are hung from antiqued brass lever back ear wires and each swallow carries a lovely cluster made from a sparkly quartz crystal stick with some lovely inclusions, a pale pink glass briolette, a 6mm round sodalite bead, various kinds and colors of Czech glass beads, from copper to teal (including a lovely fire-polished variety), celestial larimar and 6mm fuchsia bicone swarovski crystals. As you can see from the closeup, these earrings are loaded with good things.

The last photo is not a great one, but it good just so you can see the lay of the land when it comes to seeing the whole earrings. They're nice and swingy and catch the light beautifully and are a total length, including the ear wires, of 2.5 inches. They are great for daytime or evening and sell for $27.50

Olivia II, The Silver Version

Olivia in Silver and Aqua
This new Olivia is antiqued silver over brass, and she is just as saucy and charming as the original.

I'm disappointed enough in my inability to capture this Olivia Octopus in her entirety to start with the treasures she gathered from the ocean floor. She still holds a nice, big cultured freshwater pearl, and some lovely little celestial larimars, a sprinkling of little hematite seed beads and little Czech glass copper seed beads, but also some fantastic golden shadow swarovski crystals (which are clear and have little gold striations running through them, though they aren't photographing well), a 6mm top-drilled simplicity cut swarovski, and a juicy 14mm aqua cosmic-cut swarovski crystal.

She is put together with antiqued silver over brass findings has a lobster clasp, and will be just as long as you'd like her to be (though, keep in mind, if she runs much over 20-24", there will be a small fee for the extra chain).

As a whimsical touch, up and to Olivia's left, just out of her reach and safe from harm, is a little dolphin charm hanging from one of those big, lovely pearls, a couple of celestial larimars and a little hematite bead.

Ms. Olivia II sells for $35.00.

I also have the makings for the original Olivia, where you can choose the metal colors and the colors of the stones used. Contact Adorn Me if you're interested.

More Abundant Goddesses

Caramel Venus
These gals don't last long. The first one is still available; the second one, taken, though, as always I will duplicate, as faithfully as possible, for those who are in need. ;)

This first sugar druzy agate goddess is made up of shades of caramel browns, very light and medium brown, with a sterling silver-wrapped belly bracelet and a sterling wire wrapped pendant bail. On the bail is a nice squarish chunk of firey moonstone. She hangs from a chocolate brown faux suede cord, finished with sterling connectors. The cord isn't cut yet, as I like for people to be happy with their purchases and not have their pendants too long or too short, so if you decide you want Caramel Venus for yourself, you'll need to contact Adorn Me with the length of cord you desire.

Around her waist, on the belly bracelet, is a little moonstone chip and a four little 4mm labradorite stones. Labradorite is one of my favorite stones. It has a quality that's a little like opal, a little like abalone, but much more subtle. Often, labradorite has a kind of brown/grayish non-descript color until the light hits them and then you see little bits of fire here and there. And she has a nicely sized sugar druzy.

She is 2 3/8" from the top of the silver bail to the bottom of her rounded belly. She costs $25.50.

Another beautiful Ebony
Before she was sold, the other goddess was an ebony sugar druzy agate with gray striations here and there.

Again, I used the jet Czech glass coin disc beads, but this time, evenly spaced with little 4mm quartz crystal rondelles with a diamond-like sparkle and blue fire. There are four slightly larger stones near the middle, coin beads, that have little gray striations that rather match the striations surrounding her beautiful sugar druzy, though they're really difficult to see in the photo. She has little hematite seed beads in-between each bead, and some clear glass Czech seed beads with black centers right where the pendant bail hangs. At the sterling silver S-clasp dangles more hematite, a quartz crystal bead, a tibetian silver butterfly and a jet swarovski rivioli.

On her belly bracelet is strung more hematite beads and one of the quartz crystal rondelles.

She is 23 1/4" long and cost $60. A matching pair of earrings was included.

Again, if you like this one, contact me and let me know, and while I cannot match these OOAK little Abundant Venus goddesses, I have some black ones I can use to make you something just as gorgeous.

Dragonfly Lore

They say when a dragonfly lands on you, you will hear excellent news from someone far away from home.

Dragonflies, or damselflies, were connected to Freya the Norse goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Freya was famous for her beauty and her knowledge as a magician. It was she who taught Odin the shamanic practices known as seidr which were still practiced during Christian times. The paired bodies of mating dragonflies form the shape of a heart, perhaps being the source for that modern symbol of love. In ancient lore, the dragonfly represents transformation, adaptation and insight. (Source: Crystalinks)

I find their iridescent gracefulness charming, and have clothing and jewelry featuring their images, so this necklace seems like a natural to me. I have taken a brass casting dragonfly made from a vintage mold and paired it with a beautiful 29mm ocean blue jade briolette to signify the water, which draws them, and some moonstone nuggets that are iridescent, like their wings. The necklace also has two kinds of small coppery Czech beads. The necklace is 21" long and has a lobster claw closure; if you would like it longer, let me know. If you want it a lot longer, a small extra charge may be involved.

The dragonfly has a 2 7/8" wing span and is 2 1/2" long. It's meant to hang just below the clavicle, but wear it as you feel comfortable. It sells for $27.50

Garden In Miniature

These little earrings are like having a little garden on your ears. The colors are happy ones, and they dangle fetchingly, with the little pink flowers picking up the light and making them a little iridescent, too.

The flowers hang from sterling silver headpins with a 1.5mm bead, and are made from 4mm Czech milk glass baby bells in a color that is called milky strawberry. Above them are little silver ball beads. The leaves are also Czech milk glass, with lovely variegated green and brown striations that are set off by little copper glass Czech beads.
It's all held together with sterling silver findings. They hang 1 3/8" from the drop and sell for $14.50.

Custom Design, and a Jewelry Renewal

Adorn Me jewelry, as makers of artisan, hand-crafted jeweled creations, welcomes custom design orders, repairs (if it's within the realm of possibility) and what we call jewelry refreshing, which is really a sort of renewal.

Custom and Special Order Jewelry
Because Adorn Me believes in beautiful jewelry in all sizes, your jewelry will be made to fit you. We custom, special order jewelry in various sizes, and if you ever see something you want that's already made but want it re-sized to fit, that can be done.

If you have a piece of jewelry that you want re-created, it might be possible. Sometimes we can make an exact re-creation. Othert imes, just an approximation, copying the spirit of the piece, if not the exact elements of your jewlery. We can also often do re-stringing, or taking pre-existing jewelry and putting it together in a fresh way, with new stones, crystals, etc.

It is also usually possible for us to re-create something we have already made and sold before, unless it is listed as a one-of-a-kind (OOAK) item and the client has paid extra for to keep it OOAK and not available to anyone else -- the caveat being that sometimes we cannot always get the exact same materials used in the piece you've seen and want, and stones always vary. If you see something you like and it is not marked as OOAK, and you would like for Adorn Me to re-create it, contact us and mention the name of the piece and if you would like it to be the same size, color, etc. If you like something but prefer to have it in gold-filled, or using different colors, that is possible, too. Keep in mind that for some alterations there may be an extra fee. Please contact us for more information.

Belle Nuit, or Beautiful Night

This set is a perfect example of one piece inspiring others. Here is a bracelet and earring set that was made specifically for a client a short while ago. It was created after a client saw the Ebony Abundant Venus and the black coin disc beads used on that piece. She told me what she wanted, and using black glass disc coin beads, hematite seed beads, sterling silver, and jet rivoli swarovski crystals, we created them. The earrings are suspended from sterling silver posts and are 1 3/8" long, starting from the post, so its total length. The bracelet is almost 8 3/4" long.

It is attractive in its inability to define each piece perfectly at night, by candle light, but yet it still sparkles and glows. This set is not, of course, for sale, but similar items can easily be made to fit you and your tastes.

Jewelry Renewal
Refreshing and renewing your tired jewelry is an Adorn Me specialty. If you have a necklace, for instance, where you have outgrown it, literally or figuratively, and you want it made larger, or refreshed a bit with some other stones or elements added, we can do it. Often, a nice piece of jewelry just needs a new look to bring it back into wear-ability again.

The top photo, for example, is of a pair of earrings that the owner stopped wearing. She loved the dichroic glass tiles, but the metal was silver-plated and the plating had worn off, making them look dull and rather ugly. She liked the swingy quality of the earrings and wanted something a little different, in silver. As you can see, they are much more wearable now. Contact us for more info.

Repairs
In many cases, Adorn Me can repair your jewelry, depending upon what the job calls for. We do no torch work for now, but will in the future. Re-stringing is definitely possible, as are many other repairs. The best way to find out is to contact Adorn Me and we'll talk about it.