The Colors of Fall

This morning I took myself off for a long walk. I needed the exercise but I also wanted to capture some of the rich fall colors of nature. It looked like it was going to rain but in fact, the drizzle held off and I was able to capture some great images with my Hipstamatic app on my iPhone.

Enjoy!

Christmas in July Sale! 15% Off Everything in the Store.

I'm having a Christmas in July sale and everything in the SHOP is 15% off. You don't have to use a coupon code as prices have already been reduced. 

Happy shopping!!!

The Mystic Peacock

I've always been fascinated by peacocks.

When I was a young girl, my sister and I used to go to visit my grandmother in York, England for a couple of weeks each summer. One of the highlights of visiting, would be the day trip to the York Museum Gardens. Back then, there were peacocks walking free all around the gardens and my sister and I used to hunt for stray peacock feathers that were lying around.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't very higienic but we used to ride home on the train with "Granny" with several peacock feathers that we would put in a vase in her living room.

My love of peacocks has never faded and so I found myself looking for unique peacock themed items on Etsy.

Look at the marvelous treasures I found!

1. Peacock Fascinator by Madelinelittleboutiq 
2. Peacock Purse by AmericanCherry 
3. Peacock Necklace by JuliesJewelryStore
4. Peacock Crystal Necklace by WhimsyBeading
5. Peacock Print by Pictorialbloom
6. Peacock Magnets by StuckTogetherMagnets

Jacaranda Designs Jewelry - New Listings This Week

Friday is here already and I'm looking at my "to-do" list for the week and I don't seem to have done nearly as much as I set out to at the beginning of the week. On the bright side though, I have completed some of those long dreaded tasks which I had been putting off for ages.

I've been continuing to add items to my Etsy shop, preparing for Spring and Summer. Lovely colorful items full of vintage glamor! Here's just a sampling....

Nature's Beauty!

We've had a very short Fall season here in Ontario. We managed to get out for some fresh air and a lovely hike a couple of days ago. Although the colors aren't yet as spectacular as they may be in a couple of weeks, I thought I'd post these photos taken in farm country the other day. The wonders of nature!

Elegant Earrings

Two new pairs of earrings added to my Etsy shop yesterday, in between painting the exterior windows and having some family time!

First pair are made from these lovely sterling silver floral ear wires and a very pale rose colored coin pearl which has a magnificent lustre.


The second pair are very organic looking. They're made from silver plated leaf charms, sterling silver ear wires and boast a small pale pink freshwater pearl.

My Gorgeous Sarah Bernhardt Peony

Yes, it's that time of year when my favorite flower in the garden blooms. It's my Sarah Bernhardt peony. It's a lovely pale pink with a copious number of fragile looking petals. It blooms for about a week, during which I always try to cut a flower for indoors without ruining the appearance of the shrub in our front garden.

This year I'm tracking the progress of the blooms. These are the first few and I'm sure you'll be seeing some more in the next couple of weeks. Notice the little ants. Apparently they are crucial for the flowers to bloom well.

Enjoy!

Next Two Weeks of Freedom!

In two weeks my boys break up from school for the summer holidays! Ican't believe where the year had gone. I don't exactly lose my freedom when they're home, it's just harder to get any work done. I love having them around but I do get used to time on my own while they're at school.

So seeing as I'm going to be fairly busy for June, July and August and I don't want my Etsy business to go down the tubes, I am using these last two weeks wisely. Went shopping for beading supplies the other day and bought enough to see me through the summer. I've also been ordering some different supplies on Etsy too. My job this next week is to figure out what silver supplies I'm going to need and visit the silver wholesaler next week.

I also have tons of jewelry that I haven't got around to photographing so yesterday I took photos from 9am to 3pm. My eyes were red and scratchy by the time I finished but what a relief to get some of thos pics taken!

I've just posted one new item for today and then I think I'm taking the rest of the day off! heading out to lunch with friends which will be lovely on this rainy, gloomy day.

So here's the newest item I posted. You'll be seeing more of these types of designs coming in the next few months! I love the simplicity of these beads!

Have a wonderful day everyone and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Etsy Artist Feature - Dana Laymon Photography

This week I am featuring Dana Laymon of Dana Laymon Photography. Dana is relatively new to Etsy and is offering free shipping to her first customer. So take a look at her shop and you'll see her work is amazing. I've only featured a few prints on the blog but it was very difficult to choose!



Give us a little background about yourself.
My name is Dana Laymon and I live in Wilmington, NC. I'm fairly new to Etsy (just joined in Jan) and love the community here. I have a full time job but do photography on the side and it's truly a passion of mine. I do weddings and portraits mostly. My husband and my new puppy also keep my very busy.

How to you manage your time?
Time right now is pretty hard to come by :) I have my full time job and then I do weddings once or twice a month and then do editing and work on my website in my "down" time. It keeps me pretty busy.



What are your goals for 2009?
A goal for '09 would be to just sell something! i will probably jump up and down when i get my first sale. just the thought of someone wanting to own my work is cool to think about.



And just for fun...
Favorite color- green

Favorite food- sushi at the moment, i love food :)

Favorite music- all kinds, i listen to almost everything. i gotta help promote our friends' band the "annuals". i love them

Favorite movie- because i'm a sap, i haven't gotten tired of the Notebook yet

I made it to the ETSY Front Page - Yay!

I woke up this morning to a very nice surprise. An Etsy convo from another selling telling me that I had made it to the Front Page. My Gardener's Posy Bracelet was featured between 7:30 and 8:00 this morning. I didn't get any sales out of it but lots of exposure which is wonderful!

Here is the FP.

My Gorgeous Magnolia

We have a lovely magnolia tree in your front yard. Many people on our street comment on how they know spring is well on it's way when our magnolia blooms. Usually the blossoms last about a week but occassionally, when there's no strong winds, it can last for three weeks, as it did a couple of years ago.

This year I decided I would go out everyday and photograph the magnolia so we could see the progression over a week or so. Of course, yesterday, when I took my first pic, it was a glorious blue sky. Today it's pouring cats and dogs!

So here's my first photo in the series.




With magnolia's in mind, I'd like to post two lovely magnolia- inspired items I found on Etsy.

First, are these really cute Little Magnolia Baby Booties by Frostingcouture. Made with lovely wool felt or denim these booties have an elastic strap, cute contrasting felt insole(insole fabric may change depending on whats in stock), and slip-guard sole.

The second item is Pink Magnolia Handmade Coconut Milk Soap by SoapStore.

Colors of the Ocean

Yesterday I felt like working with blues and greens and turquoises.  I got out all my supply boxes (and there are a lot) and started working on an asymmetrical necklace using all these colors plus sterling silver.  I had this lovely sterling silver square link that I've been waiting to use so I incorporated that into the design also.  I love the finished product as the colors are so fresh!