Simply Said

New Camera

Doing a happy dance… I got my first DSLR today! Looking forward to learning all the camera's ins and outs and hope to get even better pictures now.

What's Your Season?

I've been asked by several people if I could do their "colors" to see what season best fits their skin tone and hair color. Here’s a simple way to determine what colors that are best for you!

Each Group has a section that will fit you the best; A, B, C or D. Write that letter down after looking over each section carefully.

Skin Tone

A

· Olive

· White with pink tones

· Beige

· Very white

· Black

· Charcoal-brown with freckles

B

· Pale beige with pink cheeks

· Pale beige with no cheek color

· Very pink

· Rosy or charcoal brown freckles

C

· Ivory

· Ivory with freckles (usually redhead)

· Peach

· Peach with freckles (usually golden blonde, brown)

· Golden beige

· Dark beige (coppery)

D

· Ivory

· Ivory with pale golden freckles

· Peach

· Golden beige

· Rosy cheeks

Hair Color

A

· White

· Blue-black

· Dark brown

· Salt-and-pepper

· Silver-gray

· White blonde Medium brown

B

· Ash blonde Mouse blonde

· Mouse brown

· Dark brown (taupe tone)

· Blue-gray

· Brown with auburn cast

· Platinum blonde

C

· Red

· Coppery red-brown

· Chestnut brown

· Golden brown

· Golden blonde

· Charcoal black Golden gray

D

· Golden blonde

· Flaxen blonde

· Auburn

· Golden brown

· Red-black

· Strawberry blonde

· Strawberry redhead

· Golden gray

Eye Color

A

· Dark red-brown

· Black-brown

· Hazel (gray-brown plus green or blue)

· Dark blue

· Gray green

· Gray blue

· Green with white flecks in iris (may have gray rim)

B

· Blue (with brown around pupil)

· Gray-blue

· Gray-green

· Pale gray

· Blue with white flecks

· Green with white flecks

· Hazel (blue and brown or green and brown

· Bright, clear blue

· Clear, pale aqua (changes from blue to green)

· Soft brown

C

· Golden brown

· Amber

· Dark brown

· Hazel (golden brown, green gold)

· Green (with brown or gold flecks)

· Pale, clear green

· Blue with aqua or turquoise tone

D

· Blue with white rays (may appeared gray from a distance)

· Clear blue

· Clear green

· Aqua

· Bright blue with turquoise tone

· Light golden brown

If you picked mostly A's from each group you are a Winter.

If you picked mostly B's from each group you are a Summer.

If you picked mostly C's from each group you are a Fall/Autumn.

If you picked mostly D's from each group you are a Spring.

"Winter": Winters should wear colors that are sharp, stark and clear. White, black, navy blue, red and shocking pink all go well with winter complexions. For lighter colors, wear icy tones rather than pastels. Avoid subdued tones like beige, orange and gold.

"Summer": Summers should choose pastels and soft neutrals with rose and blue undertones. Lavender, plum, rose-brown and soft blue suit summers well while black and orange do not.

"Autumn": Autumns should select colors with golden undertones, like camel, beige, orange, gold and dark brown. Avoid colors with blue tones, like navy.

"Spring": Springs can wear warm colors like camel, peach, golden yellow and golden brown. Avoid dark, dull colors.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Smile

I love smiling, it's my way of saying I'm thrilled to be alive.

Isn't that the truth!

Gung ho for the holidays

I know it's only the start of November but for some reason I'm really looking forward to getting prepared for the holidays this year. It's still way to early to deck the house but I've already begun thinking about how I'll be decorating and I've already started some of my Christmas shopping. If you know me, this is very unusual, I'm always the one doing last minute gift shopping and last minute mailing of gifts to friends and family. This may be because business wise this is the busiest time of year for me and it's rush this and that. I'm really hoping to be able to take it all in this year and enjoy prepping for the holidays. How about you?

Happy Halloween!!!

Wishing you all a safe and fun Halloween!

and the winner is…….

Thank you everyone for entering my blog giveaway! I loved reading all of your suggestions and have written them all down as upcoming projects for me to do.

Drum roll please……. the winner is entry #8 and that's Cheryl Foreman! Congratulations Cheryl, I will be in touch to get details from you as to what you want stamped on the discs.

Thanks again for following my blog and your great suggestions!

Blog Giveaway - Gorgeous Bronze Family Tree!

As promised, it's time for another blog giveaway! One lucky winner will win this beautiful Bronze family tree necklace. I will customize it with any three initials you like (retail value $50).

To enter the giveaway:

1. Follow my blog or let me know you already do.

2. Leave a comment in this post telling me what your favorite item is and what you'd like to see more of in my shop.

3. Be sure to leave your name and e-mail address right in the comments section, so that I have a way to get in touch with you. If you do not wish to publicly leave your email address please make sure you check back on the 29th to see if you are the winner and contact me, otherwise another winner will be picked the following day.

I will pick a winner at random. The giveaway will be open until October 28, 2011; the winner will be announced on October 29th. One entry per person please. It is open to all readers. Good luck!

New Nina Designs Component Creations

I"m excited to finally be able to show you my creations as a design partner with Nina Designs and the beautiful components that I received from them!

The inspiration behind this peace is my love of color and the fact that I just adore peacocks. They have the most beautiful natural color combination and I tried to mimic that within this necklace. The large bronze peacock feather pendant is very substantial and simply stunning. I paired it with gold filled chain, and peridot, amethyst, and lolite rondelles.

This beautiful necklace features the large bronze tree of life pendant. It's a gorgeous focal piece and I have hung 3 small discs from it with my son's initials on them. It hangs on a gorgeous silk ribbon that is finished off with a bronze tulip hook and eye crimp clasp.

I've been wanting to make a "Bee" Happy necklace for a while now and this cute little bronze bee charm is perfect! I love mixing metals in my designs, the sterling silver tag goes beautifully with the bronze bee and I think they enhance each other just so.

Last but not least is the "Queen" bee necklace. As a mother of three boys I have to admit that I sometimes consider myself the queen bee. Keeper of all things and managing my little hive. The bronze honey bee charm and the bronze round stamping charm are so smooth and so pretty, they really look very much like real gold and the quality is outstanding.

One of these lovelies is going to be given away shortly in a blog giveaway. I'll be announcing which piece within the next couple of days. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these piece and if you'd like to see them in my shop. Thank you!

The materials above were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

Blog Partner with Nina Designs

I'm very excited to have recently been selected as one of Nina Designs Blog Partners. This is an exciting opportunity for me to have a chance to play with some of their latest products and showcase them to you. Nina Designs is one of my favorite vendors for many reasons. They participate in Fair Trade, they provide outstanding customer service, and have quality products that are current with today's trends. I highly recommend them, you'll never be disappointed!

My wonderful box of goodies contained a large bronze tree of life pendant, 2 very cute bronze honeybee bumble bee charms, a bronze peacock feather pendant, 2 very versatile bronze round stamping charms, a set of bronze tulip hook and eye crimp clasp, small and a hand dyed silk ribbon. These are all new and a part of their new line of bronze products. I'm a touchy feely kind of a person and touching these pieces is like touching silk, smooth to the touch and the quality shines through and through.

In the next few days I will be making new designs with these pieces and showcasing them to you here. I also plan on doing a blog giveaway with one of these new creations, so stay tuned!

The materials above were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

You have The Power of Choice

What's your life choice? I choose to be happy.

Nina Designs Success Story Feature

I'm absolutely delighted and honored to be Nina Designs Success Story this month! Nina Designs is a wonderful source for the most beautiful charms, be sure to check them out here.

Jewelry Design Success Story: Alison Kelley Designs

Filed under: Success Stories — Tags: business tips, Inspiration, jewelry business — juanita @ 10:00 am

This month we’d like you to meet Alison Kelley, a jewelry designer who grew up in a family of artists, woodworkers, and seamstresses. Her family roots are in Malta, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea that inspires her jewelry design. Alison started designing jewelry 17 years ago, but in the last few years, with the encouragement of her husband and three sons, she has turned her passion into a successful small business.

What is your favorite Nina Designs charm?
I love the sterling silver pineapple charm. It’s the first charm I ever bought from Nina Designs and still my favorite. It reminds me of my second honeymoon in Maui. I love pairing it with a white fresh water pearl and a champagne cubic zirconia.

Where do you find your inspiration?
Color is my biggest inspiration. I love to study how nature combines colors. This makes it easier for me to come up with inspiring color combinations for my upcoming jewelry designs. I used to watch a TV show on BBC America called “What Not to Wear,” hosted by Trinny and Suzanne, who offered advice on how to wear color and that’s always stayed with me whether I’m designing jewelry, decorating my home, or getting dressed.

If we were to visit your studio would we see a neatly organized workspace or messy mountainous piles of beads?
I’m a bit of an organization freak and I don’t work well in a mess, so I’d have to say most of the time you’ll find my studio well organized and tidy. If it’s not, then I’m not designing jewelry.

What is one piece of trusted advice you would give to someone just starting their jewelry business?
I’m a completely self taught jewelry designer. I’ve been making jewelry since I was a teenager. When I started selling my jewelry I did loads of research, mined the internet for how-to’s, and bought books on jewelry making. But, in the end, I learned most by trial and error, and it’s still that way. Don’t be afraid to go for it. If you never try, you’ll never succeed. I would also say create what you love and others will love it too! The jewelry I make are things I would wear, colors I would wear, and styles I would wear. Go with your gut and trust yourself to make what you love, and you will find that your love and confidence in doing so will inspire and attract others to your work.

Who is your ideal customer? Who do you make jewelry for?
My ideal customer is a woman who’s not afraid to wear color or add a little glitz to a casual outfit. She’s a woman who loves to wear jewelry because it brings a smile to their face. This tells me my designs are heading in the right direction.

How do you choose where to sell your jewelry?
Over the years I have become more particular with where I sell, because I have a better sense of who would buy my jewelry. I’m currently selling on 3 online venues, Etsy, ArtFire, and TrunkT. I’m also in a couple of local shops, including a day spa in Los Gatos and most recently the Hudson News Gift Shops in the San Jose Airport.