Saying Goodbye For Now......

Soon I'll be saying a temporary "good bye" to Hearts Abound, but it's not a sad farewell. I'll be shipping this beauty off to Fire Mountain Gems for the second round of judging and photography. What an honor!! I almost fell over when I read the letter from them.

Wish us luck!!



Kerri

Interview with Fellow Etsian

I'd like to introduce everyone to a new friend of mine on Etsy, Chel, of Fresh Picked Candles. Her candles are friendly to the environment, smell great and look great in your home.

She definitely knows her candles, having started making them over 30 years ago! In her shop profile she even explains soy and palm wax, which is what she uses in her candles.

Here's a little bit more about her, via an interview:

What types of items do you sell?
I sell scented natural wax (soy and palm wax) candles that I make in my kitchen at home. I primarly offer "fresh picked" fruit scents, but I have other fragrances available by custom order through Etsy, as well as unscented candles.

Where is your work available for sale?
I sell my candles online at Etsy (FreshPickedCandles.etsy.com), eCrater
(FreshPickedCandles.ecrater.com), Artfire (FreshPickedCandles.artfire.com), and 1000Markets (FreshPickedCandles.1000markets.com) as well as at local arts and crafts shows around the San Francisco Bay area.

How did you get started making your candles?
I started making candles with my mother as a child in the 70s. Candle-making was a very different experience back then. The only wax available to us was petroleum-based paraffin, and we used bits of crayons as dye in our candles. In college, I started making my own candles, and more recently become interested in making more environmentally friendly candles. I now use vegetable-based waxes (soy and palm) instead of petroleum derived wax. I am currently experimenting with pure essential oils to make an entirely new line of candles.

What other types of art do you make for fun?
In addition to making candles, I am a metalsmith, specializing in sterling silver gemstone jewelry and hypoallergenic earrings. My jewelry is available for sale on Etsy (http://lavajewelry.etsy.com), Artfire (http://lavajewelry.artfire.com), and 1000Markets (http://lavajewelry.1000markets.com). I also love watercolor painting, knitting, and crocheting.



Please check out her Etsy shop by CLICKING HERE!

Thank you, Chel, for taking time to talk about your wonderful candles!

Kerri

Inspired by Nature

Nature provides inspiration for jewelry artists in the form of stone choice, color choice and design choice. All you have to do is look out the window or take a walk through a park to be inspired by nature. Behind our house is a 100 acre community park that has a nature trail. While this week the weather was cooler and rainy, last week was absolutely gorgeous and my daily walks along the nature trail inspired this necklace. The feature stone is a beautiul piece of fuchsite that has been surrounded by dark green and smokey topaz seed beads. The fringe and necklace chain follow the same color scheme adding dozens of crystals for style.

I find that my beadweaving works best when I don't plan out an entire piece before I start, rather letting it evolve into it's own. I let the stones "speak" to me and creating a piece of jewelry becomes like music....one note building on the next until a masterpiece is created.

With that in mind, I'm going to start doing a series of works in progress, showing you how a work comes together.....

If you'd like to purchase this item, please CLICK HERE.

Sometimes You Just Have to Keep It!

I don't do this very often, but sometimes I fall in love with a piece and decide to keep it. This necklace is one of them. The combination of colors is awesome and the chain matches the fringe. I've titled it Heavenly Butterscotch.

To see more of my designs, please CLICK HERE