A new customer recently asked me if I had any turquoise jewelry. It took me a minute before I realized I didn’t. None at all. How strange, I thought, that this very common stone was not even on my radar! In fact, I don’t think I have ever used the stone in a design before.

I figured this was a good time to step out of my comfort zone and give it a shot. The customer mentioned she really liked it paired with red, so I set off to find the materials I would need for a new necklace. Here’s what I came up with: turquoise chips and cinnabar flower beads with a cinnabar butterfly pendant. Can’t wait to see how this turns out. Thanks Kim!

Turquoise and Cinnabar

I was at an event recently when a woman stopped at my table and asked, “Is this a new line? I’ve never seen it before.” It took me a minute to realize what she meant. She thought my jewelry was part of a new direct-sales company line. I told her no, I make each piece by hand. She seemed impressed and replied, “So, you design all of this?” I smiled and said, “Yes. Yes I do!”

That got me to thinking … where do these designs come from? Where does your inspiration come from? Maybe you get a thought stuck in your head, as I did in this In the Studio … post. Maybe you like a particular color scheme or see a painting that uses colors in an interesting way. Maybe you are inspired by nature or the city or whatever you see around you. This “whatever” category sure fits for me.

The other night I was struck by the color combination of towels in our bathroom. I know, I thought it was weird, too. This is what I saw.

Bath towels. Really, inspiration CAN come from anywhere.

I thought the colors looked fantastic together. I kept thinking I really needed to find a way to incorporate those colors into a jewelry piece. I put the thought on the back burner for my next bead shopping trip.

Last night, I finally picked up a piece I had started many months ago but had never finished. I started working on it when I realized what I was looking at: the same three colors as the bath towel. I couldn’t believe it. Now I have to wonder … maybe it was the necklace that inspired the towels!

The unfinished necklace is seen here. I've arranged three of the bead units in order of the towel colors below it.

Just put these pressed glass and gunmetal earrings together quickly for a giveaway on Deals is the Deal. They are understated and could be worn with just about anything. Could also add a tiny pop of color to all of our winter blacks and grays. I’m calling them Storm Cloud. Here’s the recipe:

Storm Cloud

I haven’t had too much time to sit down in the studio lately, but I was able to put a few quick things together. Here’s what I’ve been working on. Would love to hear what you think …

The idea for this necklace hit me while I was driving home from a bead store run the other night. I suddenly thought of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I don’t even like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but thought the colors would look nice together. I found these beads among my stash at home and put them together the way I would make mint chocolate chip ice cream – heavy on the chocolate, light on the mint. Only after I was nearly done the necklace did I notice the crystals started to look more teal than green. So what, I thought. I like it!

The necklace features rich chocolate-colored freshwater pearls separated by tiny Swarovski crystals in Pacific Opal. I used a swirled resin bead for the pendant.

I made these glass and sterling earrings to donate for a raffle at an event I will be at this weekend - Ladies Night Out at Cowabunga's in Hooksett. Come on down!

I liked the amethyst glass so much I decided to make a copper version as well. These feature tiny, faceted Czech glass in bronze. I don't know which pair I like more. Quite possibly these, as I haven't yet done much in copper.

After following the three “R’s”: red carpet, runway and real life, JCK Magazine has put together its top 12 jewelry trends for the year. Out of these 12, three really caught my eye, as they are recurring themes in a lot of my jewelry and cigar box purses.

Here are my favorites:

Pearls

Hot Apple Brandy showcases a full strand of rich bronze freshwater pearls. They are perfect for highlighting the small Swarovski crystals and teardrop porcelain pendant.

Chandelier Earrings

They're back! Well, small versions are, like those seen here in Fruit Fantasy. JCK says the modestly sized drops are popping up in several markets.

Jazz Age Styles

Shady Lady features a 1920 Beer evening gown. Floral and Art Deco-inspired styles are seeing a revival on the runway, as well as in the remake filming of "The Great Gatsy" and HBO's hit "Boardwalk Empire," according the JCK.

JCK Magazine is the jewelry industry’s leading trade publication and industry authority. Check out its “12 Jewelry Trends for 2012″ to see all the trends for this year. Which one is your favorite?

Trying hard to get some new stuff ready. Here are three necklaces I finished recently. What do you think?

Finally got to take a break from Web updates and other un-fun things to sit down and work on some jewelry. Yay! Starting out with this antiqued brass piece.

The good folks over at Epiphanies Inc. have been posting a ton of free resources lately. I decided to try this 30-second video maker from Animoto.

Wanna see how it turned out?

After you’ve had a look, you can see what Lani and Allen Voivod (aka The Content Lovers of Epiphanies Inc.) had to say here.

To see some more of the Voivods’ videos, check out their blog.

Enjoy!

Finally setting aside the time to get some proper updates done on this site. Look for lots of new changes in the coming weeks, including “That’s What She Said,” our fabulous new testimonials page. Do you have something to add? Send me an email. I’d love to include you!

Once the updates are done, I’ve got to get started on making some new stuff! I was nearly wiped out last year! Thanks to all of my loyal customers. Keep coming back to see what’s new. You won’t be disappointed.