oh happy day!

my sweet friend kate over at shibori girl recently celebrated her 200th post by offering this gorgeous necklace as a giveaway........and i won!! and let me tell you, when kate celebrates, she does it big! this stunning piece of jewelry was created by kate herself.....she first made the kaleidoscope polymer clay focal piece and surrounded it with many little bulls-eye canes around the edge. then it went through the multi-step process of baking, sanding, buffing and then a protective coating was added. finally, for the finishing touch to the necklace, kate added several beautiful, sparkly czech crystals to the antiqued chain!!! wow.....it's an absolute beauty!!!

i am SO honored to own this masterpiece, kate......thank so you very much!!!

congrats on 200 posts.....here's to many happy posts ahead, my friend!!

please visit kate and see her beautiful artwork here!

backyard treasure

i have met so many wonderful people through etsy.  it's so much fun meeting folks from all over the world...and it's also a nice surprise when you meet someone in your own backyard! recently, i met sweet cristi as a result of her choosing my etsy shop as one of her "favorites".  when i noticed that she lived in my area, i dropped her a note to say hi, and before i knew it, we were chatting back and forth.  this necklace had caught my eye in her shop, and when she asked me if i was interested in conducting a trade, it didn't take me long to decide which item i would choose!  and as beautiful as it looks in this photo, it's even more stunning in person!  cristi's attention to detail and level of craftsmanship are above and beyond!  she chose some beautiful materials to work with, but i must admit that the silver tree hanging at the bottom is my favorite...inscribed on the sides are the words "grow strong".  cristi, this is an absolute treasure, and i so appreciate your generosity!  to see more of cristi's jewelry creations, please visit her shop here, and her blog here.  click on image for a great view!