Aquamarine - March's Beautiful Birthstone!!

I love Aquamarine.  Mainly because it's so beautiful, but also because it's my birthstone (lucky me!!) and because of all the properties it's associated with it such as Peace, Courage, Self-Expression, Purification, Intuition, Preparedness and Balance!

From the Latin word aqua marina, meaning 'sea water', it's noted that the first lenses for eyeglasses were cut from it in around 1300. Medieval astrologers believed it had the power to calm the seas, to banish troubles of it's owners (hense the reason ancient sailors took it with them for protection) and to guarantee friendship and justice.

To me, Aquamarine means Calm, Protection, Confidence, Mystery, Creativity, Other Worlds/Dimensions, Love, Peace, Tranquility, Hope, Trust and Beauty.  I guess we all feel different powers of stones and gems as they apply to us. If you'd like to see for yourself what Aquamarine means to you, hold a stone of Aquamarine gently in your hand, close your eyes and let the stone tell you  - and it will! 

It's amazing once we become quiet and are open, what the world will tell us - secets, many secrets - but mostly things we already know somewhere deep with in!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and all things Aquamarine Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Wanna Smile?

Sometimes we're given things in life that we just don't know what to do with - illness, loss, pain, challenges, people, you name it,.....but there's some people who always, no matter what, seem to produce the best "Lemonade" ever out of all they are dealt.....

My niece, one of my MiShel Designs Models, is a good example.

Her blog, "Lymphomania" is a tribute to her life during her bout with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's genuine, heartfelt, upbeat, quirky and absolutely a "feel good" blog - so please, if you want to see what those with true strength are made of, read it - you won't be sorry!

Here's little quip from last week (she writes daily):

"At the bottom of the picture the man says “We live as if we are never going to die, and we die as if we never lived! I WILL live as if i am never going to die, I live each day to its fullest and even in my darkest of days try to find the one little light to pull me out but I REFUSE to die as if I never lived…because when I get to that point in my life I will know I have lived, and I have loved and I have enjoyed everyday to its fullest!"

She's got a great sense of humor as she goes through her treatments and actually cheers up folks who are in the same boat, gives homeless people her girl scout cookies, tell's men w/testicular cancer "good luck w/your balls" and talks regularly about 'poop'......it's a hoot and a real soothing read. So, cleanse your palate and see for yourself!

http://mishaegan.tumblr.com/

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and LIFE, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Got a Prom Dress?? Donate it to a great cause!

As regular donors (of our jewelry, of course!) to the Santana House Youth Action Center Prom Connection, we'd like to invite you to donate any evening gowns you might have that are collecting dust in your closet to this wonderful cause:

Join the 3rd Annual Santana House Youth Action Center Prom Connection and Make a Young Girl’s Dreams Come True!

The Santana House Youth Action Center in East Los Angeles will be hosting its “Third Annual Prom Connection” on Saturday, March 27th! Hundreds of teenage girls from nearby high schools and the surrounding neighborhoods will be invited to the Center to find a dress and all the accessories that go with it for their special night. We are accepting donations of new or very lightly used dresses and shoes. We are also interested in any jewelry, cosmetics, or hair product companies that might be interested in sponsoring or donating to the event.

To find out more about the event or to arrange a donation, contact Carol Zou at czou@vip-cmhc.org, visit http://www.santanahouse.org, or call 323.221.4231, x 170.

Thank you for your generosity and interest.

About the Santana House:

The Santana House Youth Action Center was created by teens for teens as part of the Violence Intervention Program, a nonprofit agency in East Los Angeles. The mission of the Center is to involve young men and women in a leadership role in building positive futures and preventing violence in their own lives, homes and neighborhoods. The Center offers free after school educational and cultural enrichment programs, tutoring, college preparation assistance, and opportunities to work on community outreach and prevention efforts. The Center is open five days a week and offers a safe space for teens to work together and develop friendships with other young people who are involved in positive endeavors. Donations to the Violence Intervention Program, www.violenceinterventionprogram.org, are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

So, dig through that closet and "go green" by sending your cleaned, but looking new and beautiful dress to the Santana House for their annual Prom Connection!!

Until next time,

Peace, Love and Helping Others, Baby!!

Cheers,
~Shel~

MiShel Designs Models

Just wanted to send a big "Thank You" to my MiShel Designs Models in this video! You ROCK!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Until next time,
Peace, Love and Pearls Baby!!
Cheers,
Shel

The Creative Process

It's fun creating things.  All types of things,...not just jewelry, either (don't tell anyone I said that!).

In trying to become my techno and web savvy, I'm playing around with some video clips of our jewelry.

Now,....to just get all the jewelry pics we lost over the winter holiday (yep, lost over 8,500 jewerly - and family - pics) back into their prospective folders and backed up and we'll be in business to create better jewelry videos and even our jewelry classes online for you to view.

Here's just the first littele practice run.  

Clickl the MiShel Designs Jewelry link below and Enjoy! (And give us your feedback too, please!)

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Videos of Great Jewelry, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~
MiShel Designs Jewelry

Tucson Gem/Bead Show Finds!!

Wow! The 2010 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (and, Bead Shows, too!) were fantastic this year - as usual.

Each year we try to find some super "fun" things to bring back and play with like these super-cool multi-colored stones pictured above and the mod peace signs you see at the bottom of this post - how fun are these!?!

We had a great time walking around and drooling over all the beautiful gemstones, beads, carvings, fossils and everything in between!

We met some new people and swapped stories of "Who's got the best,......and what show are they at this year?" We chatted with some familiar faces and trusted vendors, watched cool demonstrations on Kumihimo Braiding, Stamping, Metal Etching, Pearl Knotting and much more!

We've returned from Tucson and have finally 'cataloged' all our our items and wanted to share some of our cool treasures and also some of our "Just for the fun of it" finds with you as well.

We visited so many vendors and places and here are just a few:

Majestic Pearl - Pearls, Pearls, and MORE Pearls!!

Pearl Concepts - Your guessed it - Pearls!

Anil Kumar - Beautiful gemstones, silver and vermeil findings. (510-498-855)

The Realm of the Goddess - 24k gold dipped leaves, chain galore, pendants, and more.

Cargo Hold - Wonderful selection of pendants, chain and findings.

Beaducation - Geat supplier for metal stamping tools, online classes and jewelry supplies.

Hip Chick Beads - Charms, clasps, stamping tools, connectors, etc.

Object and Elements - Cool findings, great designs.

The Fiber Goddess - Exotic, hand-dyed fibers, kits for weaving/braiding cords, etc.

Rio Grande - Catalog in Motion - way cool tools!

Swarovski Crystal - Crystals, Crystals and more Crystals!!

Bokamo Designs - Boro Glass Beads - Beauitufl!!

Kent's Tools - Tools, tools, and more cool tools!

1239 Corp - Semi-Precious Stones and Pearls (212-889-0555)

Evergreen Trading Co - Freshwater Pearls (626-279-2723)

Shivam Imports - Precious and Semi-Precious Gemstones and Diamonds

Prominent Gems and Rough - Gemstone Beads and Loose Gem Stones (212-730-1562)

The Bead Palce - Beads, Beads, and more Beads!

Queenly Global Trading - Beads, Crystals, Pendants and More!

We've got some spring jewelry designs we'll be putting up on the website and our MiShel Designs Facebook Fan page in the next couple of weeks - so be on the look out!



Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!

(And all kinds of fun finds from the Tucson Gem/Mineral and Bead Shows!!)

Cheers!

~Shel~

My Fat Chance Give-A-Way Fun!

Woo Hoo! Our *Believe* pendant necklace is being given away to one lucky person who follows Jullee Petersen's 'My Fat Chance" UTube videos to help people with their weight loss!

Jullee's done a fantastic job of motivating people by giving recipes to help with a healthy lifestyle, sharing tips and just being a great source of encouragement and support!

She's announcing the winner of our pendant this Saturday, Februart 6th, so hurry on over and sign up and follow her instructions for your chance to win!


MY FAT CHANCE - Give-A-Way Fun!


Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Valentines Reminder and Some Cool Links, too!

Hi there all,

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I wanted to let you know I've added some cool things in our shop that might suite your sweetie,...plus, I've searched the web for you and found a bunch of cool stuff to spark ideas of what to get for your 'lovie' this Valentines Day.

One tip: Buy handmade where ever you can this year. With so many items being hand crafted right here in the good ol' USA, you won't be hard pressed to stimulate the economy, get stomething great for yourself or your loved ones at great prices and you'll be supporting those entrepreneurs who are fearless enough to venture out on their own! It's good for everyone!

Until Next time,

Peace, Love and all things hand made baby!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Have a look at these great finds:

Lorelei's Shop - beautiful jewelry,...vintage looks, very cool!

Button Head - Laugh your butt off buttons, tats and magnets!

Suzanne Stevens - Very pretty, colorful, jewelry at great prices, made by a cool person!

Martha's Makes - The cutest little (miniature) animals on the planet - seriously!!

Peanut Tree Designs - Modern goods with a vintage feel!

Sewn Natural - Cool stuff, sewn naturally!

Allagheny Clay Works - Beautiful Ceramic Dishes of all kinds!

Macy's Open Call for Designers!!

Hey all you great designers,....here's the link to Macy's Open Call happening NOW!!

http://www.macysinc.com/opencall/

Good luck to all who take their shot!

Wish I could say I was production ready - maybe next year!!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Beautiful Pearls Baby!!

Cheers,
~Shel~

Base Metal or Not To Base Metal,.....

Okay - so at the end of last year, I asked you, my blogging friends, family and fans, both on here and my Facebook (MishelDesigns.com) Fan Page what your impression was of all the handcrafted jewelry out there being made by independent jewelry designers with base metals - aka: Copper (which I personally think looks really cool!), brass, gunmetal and steel,.....

I posed this question because all the jewelry magazines out there now seem to have at least 1/2 (if not more) of their jewelry designs in base metals of some sort, and jewelry designers who are blogging have tons of jewelry posted with base metals and all over Etsy and Artfire are gobs and gobs of handcrafted jewelry utilizing mostly base metals - it's everywhere - even in mainstream department stores such as Macy's, etc.

Your answers completely surprised me. You said that you'd prefer jewerly NOT made with base metals and would even be willing to pay more for sterling silver, fine silver, gold filled and gold than to even mess with Base Metals. You further went on to tell me that one of the main reasons you didn't really care for base metal jewely is because of the way it wears (or doesn't wear, we should probably say) and turns/loses color so quickly, of the way it feels (cheap, was one word someone used) and the kicker,....the way it 'smell's...yep, (and I thought I was the only one who noticed this!!) someone actually mentioned that most of the base metals, especially the brass, not only felt like something out of the industrial park, but smelled like it as well!

However, because I still had people asking about it and for it due to the lower cost and also because of it's trendy fashion roots, (all things Vintage, SteamPunk and Mixed Metals) I went ahead and tried my hand at a piece and found it kind of fun!

Granted, I used sterling silver wire to link my necklace because I couldn't quickly find gunmetal wire and didn't want to use just black craft wire to start off with, but the results even surprised me - I kinda like it. And, it doesn't smell either (maybe because I handled it so much all the 'smell' rubbed off on me!).

So, let me know what you think. I will start to play with some brass this week and next and fill you in on how it goes.

Oh, and by the way - one of the inspirations for this piece? Our Subaru Outback sitting in the snow up at my sis's cabin over the New Year - looking dark, and green, under all the pure white snow - kind of 'industrial' looking,...I'll post a pic when I get one!

Until next time,

Peace, Love and Change!

Cheers,

~Shel~