I’ve been talking up my new mother’s line for some time now. I spent many days and nights working to perfect my ideas for great gifts, including an initial necklace, birthstone earrings and even a watch.

But I’ve decided to scrap them all.

Not an easy decision by any means. The reason is simple, though: I had already created the perfect gift.

A few months ago, one of my great customers came to me with a problem. She is a mother of two young boys and wanted a piece of jewelry that represented her family. She had looked around on the Internet, but couldn’t find anything she liked. We talked a lot about what she was looking for and the design for the perfect mother’s bracelet was born.

Champagne Sunset is the perfect gift for Mother's Day. Don't forget about all of the other moms in your life, too. What about your daughter just starting her own family, a dear friend or your wife?

I liked how the pearls were the perfect showcase for the crystals, and I liked that the design was classic and easy to wear. I was so pleased with how the bracelet turned out that I decided to develop a number of pieces that could be customized for moms. As I put new ideas together, though, nothing made me as happy as the bracelet did.

So instead of a line I have lukewarm feelings for, I offer you my one pick for the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift: Champagne Sunset. This personalized family birthstone bracelet features honey-colored freshwater pearls around a string of Swarovski crystals representing your family members. It’s sturdy enough for everyday wear (it has to be!), yet elegant enough for a special evening out. (Go here for more details and ordering information.)

And how do I know she will think it’s the perfect gift? Because it will be from you!

Twenty-five of Hollywood’s most talked-about moms (and moms-to-be!) will receive a specialty gift bag of top-notch handmade items for Mother’s Day thanks to The Artisan Group. As part of this highly talented group, I am one of only 25 lucky members who will get to add one of my business cards to each bag, as well as 5 bags going to press members. I’m so excited!! Wait to you see the list of celebrity moms who will receive the gift bags …

Beyonce
Kourtney Kardashian
Hilary Duff
Jessica Alba
Uma Thurman
Alyson Hannigan
Jessica Simpson
Rebecca Gayheart
Keri Russell
Bryce Dallas Howard
Evangeline Lilly
Jennifer Garner
Lindsay Price
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Molly Sims
Sienna Miller
Kristin Cavallari
Marley Shelton
Sarah Polley
Mrs. Jason Bateman (Amanda Anka)
Mrs. Bruce Willis (Emma Heming)
Susan Downey, Jr.
Lisa Loeb
Mrs. Kelsey Grammer (Kayte Walsh)
Jessica Capshaw

That’s an amazing group of women! I hope they enjoy their gifts and get the chance to visit our shops!

I was a little giddy when I finally received my invitation to join Pinterest a few days ago. I kept hearing so much about it, and I was eager to get started. At first glance, the online pinboard site didn’t look that addictive, but I knew I was in trouble when my five-minute “I’ll just take a look” venture turned into hours of pinning, repinning and creating new boards, then looking at the clock thinking, “What just happened?”

There are a ton of reasons to love Pinterest: First of all, it’s easy to use. Really easy. Second, it’s filled with beautiful photos of all different kinds of interests, including art and design, beauty and fashion, DIY/arts and crafts, photography, people, pets, science … there really is something for everyone.

I love it because it puts thousands of images in front of me and I can quickly collect the ones that speak to me. Like visual bookmarking. I’ve created a board for color inspirations that I will look to when creating jewelry. I created a board dedicated to my love of cigar boxes. Another one for styles and sayings that I love, things I want to try and stuff I just plain like. All this in only a few days! I’ll be creating many more in the future.

I also love how I can peek at other people’s boards. I’ve already started following other jewelry makers, bead stores and magazines, as well as friends and family. I love seeing what other people choose for their boards, and I’ve repinned a few things to my boards as well!

OK, so I don’t really hate anything about Pinterest. Except maybe that I’ll never have enough time to create all of the DIY goodness I see there. And that’s probably because I’m just too busy looking.

Want to know more? Check out this Time Techland article: “What You Need to Know About Pinterest.”

Come find me here and let me find you – leave a comment with your address!

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.