A Crown Fit for a Queen!

WOW! When I saw what my fellow MSIA (MetalSmithsInAction) team member created, I knew I had to blog it! Tess is a talented MetalSmith and Jewelry Artist. This Bridal Crown was created for a close friend who is about to be married. I think the bride of this piece is lucky to have such a talented friend!

Please visit Tess's shop on Etsy at NovaDesigns. Here is her Bio:
"I was born and raised in beautiful Sweden, with the sea and forests just around the corner. Where children still played outside instead of playing video games... A childhood that encouraged you to use your imagination and creativity. With an artist mother I was consistently exposed to design, art, the joy of making things but I also learned that being talented doesn't always bring food to the table...

So I decided to take my artistic heritage and turn to graphic design in the hopes of actually having a job... I always wanted to explore USA so when I was offered to move as a graphic designer for a large swedish furniture company (you know... the big blue box...) to Atlanta in 2005 I accepted packed my bags.... I later moved to Philadelphia where I now live.

After staring at a computer for almost 10 years (yikes I am getting old!) I needed another outlet. Something more real. So I started my jewelry designs. And needless to say it's really hard to find the same joy in front of the computer as I do with my beads, silver wire and leather...

So I am hoping that this will be the beginning of a creative and inspirational life ahead of me."

Acution for A Cause Update!

The Auction isn't over yet! There is still time! Get your bids in before October 30th,2008 to win a beautiful basket full of handmade eco-friendly items! There is a ton of loot in this basket that is great for gift giving or to just pamper yourself and the proceeds all go to The Nature Coservancy, a worthy charitable cause! Take a peek at just a few of the artist's items in the basket!
Lake Erie Beach Glass (us) Genuine Sea Glass Earrings!

Lil Fish Studios donated this beautifully fun bouquet made entirely of buttons that have been recycled from old vintage clothing and leather recycled from an old purse!

FashionGreenTeaBags donated these adorable recycled T-shirt wristlets which are awesome for grocery shopping, storing things in, and beach combing with!

SteppingStones (my dear friend)donated a beautiful earthy genuine beach stone unisex necklace.

These are only a FEW of the artists that have donated to Eco Etsy's AUCTION FOR A CAUSE. For more information on how to bid and to few other items that are offered in this basket please click here.

MetalSmiths In Action!

I'm very happy to have been accepted to a great group of MetalSmith Artists and MetalSmith Artists in Training on Etsy! Check us out at http://metalsmithsinaction.webs.com/index.htm This will be an excellant source of encouragement, support, and knowledge. I work best when I have others to bounce ideas off of so I'm excited to be a part. Maybe! Just Maybe I might be able to offer some advice, too! So, I'm excited to start encorporating more metal work into my jewelry designs beyond bezeling!

I look forward to posting items soon! Here is a simple, fun, and versitile piece that uses a little bit of MetalSmithing technique.

This CHARMING necklace is offered for sale in my Etsy Shop with a few others that are similar. The purpose of the necklace is to use beach found objects including sea glass, drift wood, melted aluminum, beach stones, or any other cool objects found on our beaces in a "CHARM' style so you can intermix the pieces at will. You can wear one, two, or a whole bunch together as they easily slide off the leather cording and are replaced in different ways. I have handmade several of the sterling silver findings and the copper rings. The copper rings were forged and slowly fired to achieve a rose type finish. These were fun to make and are just as fun to wear. :0)

Team Eco Etsy AUCTION FOR A CAUSE!

Auction for a Cause is a collaboration of TEAM ECO ETSY sellers who have come together to auction their wares in order to promote handmade, eco-friendly goods and to support a worthy organization. This auction is entirely a non-for-profit auction and all proceeds will be donated to THE NATURE CONSERVANCY.

The benefit auction started preparations in the spring of 2008, and each participant that
donated to the auction basket were required to follow a set of rules for their items:
● Every item is Eco-related in some way. These include repurposed, recycled, up-cycled,
and eco-friendly products.
● Every item is handmade.
● Every item includes a small card that describes the item and how it relates to ecopractices.
More than 60 individual items are contained in this beautiful, eco-friendly auction
handcrafted by people who care about nature and our environment. The total of all donations
is valued at more than $300 retail.

AUCTION DETAILS:
Donation photographs will be available beginning October 20, the first day of the auction.
These photographs can be accessed by viewing the album at
http://ecoetsyauction.myphotoalbum.com/
Auction Start Date: October 20th, 2008
Auction End Date: October 30th, 2008
This auction is open to US residents only. This is to prevent any legal issues as well as prevent
shipping issues that may arise due to regulations that other countries have.
Bidding: Bids may be placed on the auction basket by emailing promo@ecoetsy.com. Updates
will be announced regularly on the EcoEtsy blog (http://ecoetsy.blogspot.com/) with the
highest bidding amount.
Please n ote t ha t t he mo n ies rai sed wil l a lso be u sed to s h ip t he do na t io n b asket to t he wi n ner.
The highest bid placed by 9 PM MST (-7 GMT) will be awarded. The auction basket will be
shipped within one week of bid payment receipt – payment details will be sent to the winner
after the auction via email.

We are back from Lewes Delaware!

The North American Sea Glass Festival was HUGE this year! The weather was perfect for the venue and the line to get in was long! There were many wonderful vendors with unique exibits and beautiful jewelry to sell. I was a part of this venue last year when it was held in Santa Cruz, Ca. and was amazed then! This year's festival added new and exciting things a long with some similarities to the Santa Cruz festival.
Lectures were offered from expert sea glass hunters and collectors. Collectors of old bottles and beautiful Japanese floats that wash up on the Alaskan coast were set up for viewing.

Several authors including Richard LaMotteof Pure Sea Glass were on hand to sign books and answer questions.

And the Shard of the Year contest brought in some of the most beautiful and unique pieces of sea glass, pottery, and stoppers that I've ever seen.

I know this was a very successful festival for sea glass enthusiasts alike! To view a slide show of the festival visit NASGA'S on-line magazine The Sea Glass Journal. So, where will next year's festival be? I've been listening to the crowd of customers, the sellers, the collectors, and the many members of NASGA and there is talk of having it back in Lewes or in my neck of the woods here in Erie, Pa. The official votes will be counted around October 30th so we will know for sure after that date.
On a second note, one might think that we would be tired of sea beach glass after such a huge event but not us! We went right back out to the beach the first chance we got and what does my daughter Hanna find? A marble, of course!