My Year of Jewelry...day 2...

A-Tisket, A-Tasket...

Not sure why, but these remind me of this nursery rhyme...with a few adjustments of course! They make me think of a flowers in a basket. So, that's how I'm going to sing it! ;)

A-tisket, a-tasket,
Flowers in a basket...

These earrings are handcrafted out of sterling silver, and feature rhodolite garnet, peridot, freshwater cultured pearls, and vesuvianite.

My Year of Jewelry...day 1...

I named these L'Heure Bleue...

L'Heure Bleue, is a French expression, also know as the "blue hour." It refers to the magical blue light that is cast over everything just before sunrise and just after sunset.

They are handcrafted sterling silver earrings...wire wrapped adorned with genuine sapphire, iolite, and mystic green quartz beads.

Farewell 2009...Hello infinte opportunity in 2010!

It's been a great year, but as the midnight hour approaches my mind has inevitably wandered off in a million directions. It's impossible not to reminisce about everything that has happened in 2009, but mostly I am trying to imagine the possibilities and opportunities that 2010 will bring!

I'm hopeful. I am happy...and I feel blessed.

I believe positive thinking can take you a long way in life, and that it is possible for you to write your own story. Although I admit that I am not without the occasional doubt, for the most part I am an immensely optimistic person.

So, that being said, I'm ready to write my own story for 2010! I won't share all the details yet, but I'll keep you posted on how it plays out! :)

"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man." - Benjamin Franklin

XOXO, Jen

Sometimes I just can't believe how fast time flies by. I always have good intentions of blogging, but never seem to follow through. I think the biggest problem is that I have no concept of time! I often get tied up in a project and before I know it, hours have passed in what seemed like mere seconds. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing...but what I can tell you is that I love creating things. I love art...making jewelry...painting...ANYTHING creative.

Anyway, as summer comes to an end and fall begins, I am feeling more inspired than I have in months. I'm not sure why...maybe it's something in the air! :) The past two or three weeks I have been working on quite a few new pieces. I'm learning some new techniques and really enjoying experimenting with metal and soldering. One of the main things on my agenda in the coming days will be to restock my Etsy shop. It's been a little bare for a few months. I've had several people ask what happened to all the jewelry. This is kind of a 2 part answer! LOL ;) First, the jewelry in the shop was sent to artSHAK studio + gallery in Southport, NC. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I am now selling my jewelry there...anyway, I'm very excited to share that it has been doing really well! Since January, I have been sending a new shipment every 3-4 weeks. I have sent close to 100 pieces since January! Back in April, we spent 5 days at Oak Island, and I stopped by to deliver quite a few pieces. I snapped a couple of shots of the gallery while I was there!

(My mom in the green and Linda, one of the owners.)

Okay, the second reason my Etsy shop is empty, is because I've been a little slack this summer! :) I have felt like a kid on summer vacation! ;) I spent most of the summer reading by the pool! I know, I'm terrible...but I read some great books! Anyway, as summer comes to an end, as will my slacking off...maybe! ;) You know, it was kind of a weird summer for me. I don't really know why...and I can't really explain it...hmmm. It was nice though. A little cooler than most summers here in the south. I went to Myrtle Beach in August. I haven't been there in years. Boy, it was hot the week we were there. It was the first time I had been there since they tore down the Pavilion. It's weird, and a little sad. Man, I could sure go for some ocean time now!!! ;)

I bought a new digital SLR camera a few months ago. It is really amazing...I've been playing around with it. This is the first camera I've ever had that isn't a point and shoot deal! When I purchased the camera, they gave me coupons for free classes. I can't wait to take some of them! I could definitely use the help! I did get a pretty cool shot if the moon a while back...

Speaking of classes...a few months ago I came across another artist's website...her name is Victoria Lansford...and I can not wait to take one of her classes. In the mean time, I'm going to order the DVD's! ;) I have to admit, I have been playing around with the torch and wire, with the russian filigree technique...but then again, I've always have been the type to have at it and ask questions later! ...but I'm still going to order the DVD's! ;) I wish there were some classes offered here, in Charlotte!!! :) Especially the locket class and the repoussé class. Here's a sneak peak of what I've been making...

I haven't decided what I want in the center of the flower yet...and haven't quite decided on the necklace either...heck, by the time I'm finished, it may not even have a pearl on it! I even stamped a "G" on the back of the flower for me! One day maybe I'll invest in a personalized stamp! :)

We need more classes in Charlotte, geared towards jewelry making and metalsmithing! Maybe I just haven't found them??? The truth is, I wish I could go back to school and get a degree in metalwork...I have tons of books, but there is only so much you can pick up through reading.

Anyway, enough rambling for now...

WOW...2009!

WOW, New Year's has come and gone and now it's March. I can not believe how fast time is passing. What can I say....I don't really have an excuse for not writing sooner...I'm just a slacker! I have been off in my own little world of creating and playing around with metal, wire, and beads! :) LOL Sometimes it feels like the days blend together! I feel blessed to be able to spend my time creating something I love! However, I also feel a tinge of guilt for being so selfish with my time and being such a procrastinator when it comes to other things. Anyway!

Have I confessed my distaste for computers and technology lately? No??? Well, I hate computers...this one especially! It is a lemon! I've nothing but problems with it since I bought it. I tell it I'm going to throw it out the front door if it don't play nice, but then it just acts worse! :) LOL

I haven't been using the computer lately...it just results in more frustration than success! :) I guess I really should contact tech support, but the last few times I did that, I knew more about it than they did...which isn't saying much! It's about like the saying..."the blind, leading the blind." :) I guess it's time to do something though! I think I'm going to buy a Mac.

So, I bet you all thought I had dropped off the face of the earth? Now you know why I haven't been online! I am sooo sorry for being out of contact for so long. I just haven't been able to make myself use this computer!

So, last time I posted was October! Wow....a lot has happened since then...

My uncle passed away November 2, 2008. So, the holidays and past few months were a little difficult for my family, especially my aunt and cousins. We have had a lot of deaths in our family over the past few years...I family is getting smaller and smaller. I'm an only child, but my mom has 3 sisters...and I have cousins. We are all really close...I don't know what I would do without them!

We spent New Year's at the beach (Caswell Beach, NC). It was a gorgeous week! It was loud and chaotic...just as it always is! :) I met with Linda at the artSHAK Gallery while I was down there. She loved my jewelry, and asked if I would like to show some of it in the gallery. It's doing great...over half of the pieces I left have sold! I have my second order going to the gallery tomorrow. So, it was a great trip!!!! The artSHAK Gallery is located in Southport, NC, which is...by the way, my favorite place...where I hope to one day live!!! Have I mentioned I love Southport? :) LOL The gallery on Howe Street near Dosher Hospital. I love the gallery!!! So, you can imagine how excited I was for the opportunity!!!

March 1st, it snowed! It was the most snow we have had in years. We have had crazy weather...but I guess that's normal for the Carolinas! So, last Monday, the high was 35 and there was snow on the ground, and this past Monday, it was 83 and sunny. What is it the say about March??? In like a lion, out like a lamb!

Anyway, that's all for now! :) I have been working on a LOT of new pieces...can't wait for you to see them! :)

xoxo - Jen

October already???

Sometimes I just can't believe how fast time flies by! I know this isn't the first time I've said this, but sometimes I'm just shocked at how fast time really goes by...I have intentions of doing certain things, like writing in this blog, and before I know it, months have pasted! It's almost like I don't have any concept of time...but then again, everyone does joke that I'm in my own little world!

It's so funny though...at times it's almost like time stands still...no, maybe it's just that I'm oblivious to it. I have been very blessed in the fact that I usually get to take as much time as I want off to make jewelry...but in doing so, it's as if demands and time schedules of normal life have been tossed aside. It's not that I don't still have responsibilities...it's just that I'm kinda on my own schedule. It's just so easy to lose track of time when you are doing something you love!

So, last entry was in July...gosh, I can't believe it has been that long.

So, I took a metalsmithing class with Joe, at Lapidary Arts, here in Charlotte. I REALLY enjoyed, and can't wait to go back. I also got to meet Ruby, she teaches several classes, including gem cutting, which I can't wait to take! Joe showed me a few of the basics...using the torch, the basics about soldering, and I learned how to size rings...also, about polishing and finishing a piece. Okay...so, I have to tell you, they made me sign a waiver...it said if I catch myself on fire, then they won't be held responsible! I wonder if someone actually caught their self on fire there? It's not funny, but at the same time, I have to wonder if that's what brought about the waiver! Anyway, I'm taking another class with Joe, Wednesday...I'm excited! I'll let you know how it goes. :)

In the mean time, I've been playing around with a few things...I been painting a little, I've made some jewelry...this and that, you know how it is! :) LOL Whatever crafty urge I have at the time! :) I road around a few days and went to some of the galleries in Noda, which is the historic art district in Charlotte. I also went downtown one day. Yeah...can't help but think of Tolkien's quote, "Not all who wander are lost." I seem to wander a lot...that might actually be an understatement! :) ...it's more like I'm always wandering! LOL By the way, I'm not a huge Lord of the Ring fan...more indifferent to it than anything...honestly, I've never even read the books or seen the movie, but who hasn't heard the quote! Maybe it just stuck with me so strongly because it just rings so true to who I am...or how I live...whether mentally or physically, I'm always wandering....oh yeah, I'm a rambler too! LOL :)

Speaking of wandering around...a week or so ago, we had a huge gas shortage here in the south. It was actually pretty crazy...and kinda scary. It really makes you think though! They reported on CNN, that people were even fighting at pumps, and in at least one occasion, a gun was drawn. Now, I didn't personally witness that, but lines were LONG, in some cases hours, and there were a couple of days when I think most stations, at least here in Charlotte, were sold out of gas completely. I went to the doctor one day, up near Lake Norman, and I passed 11 stations, on the way there, none of which had gas. Anyway, just something a little crazy, I thought I would share! :)

So, a few weeks ago, I was looking online at sterling charms, and I came across the cutest sterling/enamel charms...I just had to order some of them. I have a charm bracelet...actually two bracelets, a silver and a gold one, but the silver one, is by far my favorite. I have had both of them for many years, and have been collecting charms and receiving them as gifts for a long time...the last was a gift from my cousin April. She brought me back a sterling Eiffel Tower charm from her trip to Paris in March. Anyway, I ordered a few for me, and a few extra, and from this, my new Say it isn't so...Charm Collection, was born...

These are the first few pieces:

By the way, my best friend, April, has worked in the airline industry for years. I had to throw in a little airline humor just for her...only because she said I would make one...I think I'll give it to her for Christmas!! :) LOL

These necklaces are sterling silver, and they feature hand-stamped sterling discs, that are stamped with quotes and phrases. Each charm is matched with a sterling silver or sterling silver/enamel charm that compliments it's meaning. The hand-stamped charms are chemically oxidized/antiqued, to better show the letters, and then they are polished back to a bright shine.

These sterling silver necklace are available in a variety of lengths 14", 16", 18", and 20"...and this round is available on a 1.5mm ball chain or a 1mm snake chain (available in 16, 18, and 20 inches).

...still updating! LOL :)

May 20, 2008 - Bust Magazine: For Women With Something To Get Off Their Chests



On May 20, the June/July 2008 issue of Bust Magazine hit the stands. Jennifer Gardner Designs was featured in a Co-op Ad along with other Etsy sellers. The "Serenity" necklace was featured in this advertisement, which can be found on page 31.

May 11, 2008 - Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion

On May 11, June/July 2008 issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion hit the stands. Jennifer Gardner Designs was featured in a Co-op Ad along with other Etsy sellers. The "A Little Drop of Sunshine Will Make the Flower Grow" necklace was featured in this advertisement, which can be found on page 5.