A classic combination with a twist. Toumalinated Quartz is a milky white quartz with striking black needle-like inclusions of black tourmaline and was the inspiration for these pieces. The necklace is 17 inches and has 4 layers of high quality seed beads, Tormalinated Quartz, Black Onyx, black and gray Pearls and Snow Quartz. As is the case with this piece I usually add in some Swarovski fine lead crystals from Austria for some extra sparkle. The Onyx in the necklace center is faceted for a little sparkle of it's own. All of the silver in the the necklace and both pair of earrings is Sterling. You can see more photos of this piece and a lot more at my new website at http://www.divelladelights.com Come and browse and sign my guestbook!

Falling for Polymer

I love the colors this time of year, I think it comes from being raised in New England. Jennifer lives in New York Sate and studied anthropology, sculpture and painting in college. About 5 years ago she began working with polymer clay and I would say from the looks of her work she has mastered the art. Her jewelry is very detailed and absolutely exquisite as you can see. You can see more at her shop at http://jennifermorrisbeads.etsy.com/ It was very difficult to only select 4 photos but I have to leave something for you to see in her shop! Cruise into the sold section while you are there for more delightful eye candy.

Falling Leaves

In honor of my new website and my love for the fabulous Fall in New England I have created this new set. It was created with genuine gemstones, pearls, vintage Lucite and gold. You can see more about it at my new website http://www.divelladelights.com/. If you go by please sign the guestbook!

WEBSITES FOR ARTISTS

Are you interested in selling on line? If so, you want to take a look at at Artisans Accomplice. I looked around for a year for someone who could help me set up my "shop" and had all the features I needed for a reasonable price. Just to design the site I was quoted an average of $1500.00!! Let me tell you, these guys have it all. For $20 they set up my shop with the colors, designs and features I wanted. They held my hand every step of the way, never more than a couple of MINUTES away. Yeah, minutes, not hours or days or never like some I tried. Whenever I had a question I would e-mail them, start to go downstairs and before I got out of the room I had my answer, amazing! I have been "on my own" now and I am so pleased. The entire site is so easy to maneuver around and I am basically an IT idiot. The upload times are amazingly fast. I can tell from my experience with these guys that they really value my time and that means a lot to me, how about you? By the way, I am never really on my own, they are always right there. They wrestled my domain away from a large company for me, handled everything, the entire process took them less than 2 days and I was up and running. Check them out at http://www.artisansaccomplice.com You will be glad you did! I know I am! You can by and see what they have don efor me at http://www.divelladelights.com

Felted Furry Friends

Do you have a furry friend that you adore? If so you can't miss this shop owned by Amelia Santiago. These "pets" are needle felted to the likeness of your own beloved buddy and the likeness is amazing. Amelia lives in Portland, Oregon and has a degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art in painting but finds herself almost entirely consumed in making her needle felted dog sculptures at the moment. While this seems to be her passion she also enjoys animals, records, drag shows, recycling, gallery strolls, going out to breakfast, roller skating to disco, Leonard Cohen, vegan cooking. Quite the lady! Be sure and cruise by her shop at http://www.ameliamakesart.etsy.com/

She also makes these wonderful felt soaps, a super gift. They are made from saponified oils of palm and coconut:fat obtained from the fruit or seed of the palm tree or kernels of coconut which lathers readily and cleanses skin glycerin: humectant, mild emulsifier, and emollient used to hold moisture. Available with or without fragrance and/or color some soaps contain Organic cornmeal & polenta or Oats. She says "Felted soap eliminates the need for a cloth or bath sponge. The felt is a built in soft cloth that shrinks with the soap as you use it and keeps it from slipping out of your hand. When the soap is gone, you are left with a tiny little scrubby . The soap will also last longer than an unfelted bar, just store it in a drainable soap dish. Buy some a s a gift or to treat yourself!

Weaning off Etsy

NEW WEBSITE HERE!!!
I am so happy to finally be online with a shop all my own! Please come and see me at http://divelladelights.com/ I have taken lots of my stuff off of Etsy and will slowly weaning away although I will keep one shop open throughout the Holidays. If you stop by by new site, please sign the guest book so I can see where the traffic is coming from. Thanks!!

PERFECT HOSTESS GIFTS

With the Holidays and Thanksgiving just around the corner I have been looking for suitable hostess gifts for all those parties and dinners coming up. This shop has the perfect answer. Made from a variety of luscious locally harvested hardwoods these utensils are gorgeous, practical, artistic, and handmade in coastal Maine, USA using. This is a hostess gift to be treasured and what a wonderful way to express your appreciation. Heron Cove Wood Carvings has been been a woodworker for over 35 years--a boat builder, carpenter, cabinetmaker, and woodcarver. Stop by his shop at http://heroncovewoodcarving.etsy.com get your shopping done early!

ROVING AND OTHER KNITTING SUPPLIES

SO yummy, this wool blend roving is hand painted and is wonderful for spinning and felting. You had better hurry though because I intend to get some of this for my needle felting! The prices here are excellent their products varied. They also feature handspun yarn as seen here. In addition to the roving and yarn they have other supplies and even kits making this shop a knitters paradise. They have swifts (yarn winders), knitting needles made from Birch wood that are handpainted, slipper kits and fantastic sock kit. "The kit includes 440 yards of hand painted 2 ply wool sock yarn (fingering weight), a set of our handcrafted birch wood sock needles, our hand beaded glass, metal and floral clay row counter and full illustrated instructions to make these socks. This all comes in a plastic drawstring bag for storage.Everything you need is included to learn & complete a beautiful pair of handknit socks. Basic knitting knowledge is needed." Get one now and knit up some socks for someone special on your Christmas list. As with all their supplies they use non-toxic, colorfast dyes and have a smoke free environment. Check out their shop now at http://www.mainewoodsyarn.etsy.com/

Beading Masks

With Halloween coming up CUBE Gallery http://www.thecubegallery.com/is currently seeking submissions for their first juried show of masks and hats. Since I am in that gallery already with my jewelry I have decided to try my hand at a beaded mask...no easy task. I am using free form peyote stitch so far. I will be using some gemstones and pearls as well but I have not decided which as of yet. The primary colors in the mask are going to be purple,gold and green and I am hoping it is going to be wearable as well as artistic.

It will be a 3/4 face mask coming down to the tip of the nose. perhaps if things go really well it will cover the entire face. I looked for some sort of book to guide me but could find nothing. I will also be making some hats, but this piece is the real challenge. I am hoping to have it done by the end of next week! Ideas, tips or suggestions?

WEDDING JEWELRY

I am so excited! I was commissioned to bejewel an entire wedding party at the request of one of the jewelers I wholesale to. Her niece is gettting married so she requested that I make jewelry for the Bride, Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids and Mother of the Bride. The Bride wanted something simple, just pearls and sterling with some Swarovski. I have made other, more dramatic Bridal sets but this was the first time I was actually asked to do the jewelry for the Bridal party. The nicest part is that I was able to give them exactly what they wanted and stay well within budget. I made 2 of the 3 strand necklaces with pearls for the Bridesmaids, the Maid of honor is the peach gemstone using Peach Moonstone and the Mother of the Bride wanted greens. Hers was the hardest to match but everything turned out wonderful and I am looking forward to photos of the big day!

You can see more of my Bridal Jewelry as well as other gemstone and crocheted jewelry at http://www.divelladelights.etsy.com/

PASSION FOR ART,SILVER AND SCISSORS

Gergana lives in Portland, Maine and works in graphic design. Although Gergana has a "day" job her art is not simply a hobby to work away those cold Maine winters. It is a passion for her and a major part of her life that began as a child and has taken many forms throughout the years.
As a young girl Gergana was often seen with scissors in one hand and crayons in the other. Trading in her childhood supplies she has graduated to more sophisticated tools but is still bent on cutting things up and putting them back together and does just that in a style that is all her own. You an see the items pictured here and many more exquisite and fascinating pieces at http://www.bg2770.etsy.com/

When she is not working Gergana enjoys the bountiful beauty in nature in Maine by going on a hike or riding her bike. She also enjoy movies and music and loves to travel.

Gergana states that one of her biggest challenges is "too many ideas and mediums to play with and not enough time to explore them all." With her talent and interest in all forms of art I would keep my eye on this talented lady, who knows what comes next?!

GEMSTONE JEWELRY USING ARTISAN LAMPWORK

This stunning set features 3 lampwork beads by Generations Lampwork in the center. Surrounding those are luscious pale pink and yellow freshwater pearls, Pink Opal, Citrine and Rose Quartz. The neck has Yellow Jade, Citrine and Rose quartz as well as Pink Opals. It measures 17 inches and has a 14K gold filled clasp with 2 pink Opal dangles and pearls. The dangle earrings are included and are made with the same materials. As with all my designs this OOAK (is one of a kind) and contains only high quality seed beads and fine Austrian Swarovski crystals purchased locally and chosen by hand. All wire work is done by me using only hand tools. This set (and lots more) can be seen and/or purchased at http://www.divelladelights.etsy.com/ .

A note about gold filled wire:
Gold filled wire is very different from "gold plated". 14KT gold-filled wire has 100 times more 14KT gold in it than plated gold. This wire is created by bonding a sheet of 14KT gold to a core of brass with extreme heat and pressure. The end result is a 14KT gold tube totally encasing the brass core. This gives us a lovely strong wire that never tarnishes. The gold surface never wears off, cracks, or peels like gold plate does. It is used to create designs meant for a lifetime.

WOUND AND WIRED

Judy, a Portland, Maine artisan by night and a librarian by day has a true knack for twisting things up in a fabulous way. Pictured here are 3 of the items from her Etsy shop located at http://www.judyb.etsy.com/. She works primarily in sterling silver and occasionally incorporates semi precious stones such as the blue one pictured here with turquoise. Pounding the evenings away she creates beautiful and truly unique pieces of jewelry including earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces. Hers is a style I have not seen anywhere else which makes me love it all the more. You can check out her profile but she does not have much to say about herself, with talent like this I guess not much is needed!

STAINED GLASS AND OTHER WONDERS

Let the sunshine in! These fabulous works of art are done by Coco of Maine. Coco grew up in New Orleans, was a military wife for over 30 years and is a mother of 5 children. She has traveled extensively within the U.S. and abroad discovering and absorbing the native values and artistic expressions indigenous to each location. In addition to her beautiful glass works she has talents in many other areas such as decorative folk painting , carved candles, soap, clay, needlework, fountains, basic carpentry and refinishing, various types of sewing, and jelly making...whew! Remember now I told you she is also a mother of 5.

These original paintings in the traditional Austrian Alpbach style double as Shaker style boxes and are extra strong and durable so they are as functional as they are enchanting.

Treat yourself and maybe a friend and visit her shop. There is so much more to see and you can find out a lot more about this wonderful Artisan and her family on her profile bu going to http://www.ByCoco.etsy.com

SOLAR POWERED ARTISAN AT WORK

This is a very small example of Roxy's work all made in her solar powered house in the Maine woods. In fact she has 2 shops on Etsy, http://roxyjewelry.etsy.com/ and http://www.gigglinggnome.etsy.com/ . In the first she has these wonderful barrettes, jewelry, ID lanyards, etc. In the second she has handmade recycled gift boxes, envelopes, cards, notepads, magnets, and more. Get this, she also has a "day job". Talk about a busy lady! Her prices a very reasonable beginning at $2.00 and her shipping is quick according her to her reviews. It sounds like a great place to get some of that Holiday shopping done early.

It's all about wood

Born and raised in Millinocket, Maine David went into the Air Force when he was fresh out of high school and remained there for 10 years. When he got out of the Armed Services David came back to Maine to raise his 2 children who are now grown and gone. Finding spare time on his hands and seeing his wife immersed in her passion he decided he needed one of his own. He tried his hand at a few mediums and found scroll saw art to be his newly found passion. Working at the VA by day he spends his evenings in his home shop creating! He came up with the military commemorative plaque and has been commissioned to do several for fellow Veterans. Wanting to give his daughter something special and hand made for her graduation he made her the clock in the photo which he now takes orders for as well. You can have pretty much any theme you want as long as it is "clean". He uses a variety of hardwood and pine in his designs, different routing edges, etc...It just depends on what you want. He also does some home decor; candle holders and coasters. Check him out at http://wackywood.etsy.com