Blue is the color of summer....

I've got a new beaded necklace that I think you will love. There are a lot of interesting things going on in this piece....shiny black glass beads that look like onyx, a shimmery foil-lined center bead, furnace glass cylinder beads that pick up the blue color, black crystals, and other shiny silver accents!

Blue makes me think of summer -- the beach, crystal clear ocean waters (particularly in the Caribbean,) icy cool tropical drinks mixed with Curacao, the perfect blue Colorado sky as seen on a summer trek above the timberline, the blue of my husbands eyes. Ahhhh meeee. It's summer.

Check out my new necklace:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71221741/pretty-glass-bead-necklace-in-ocean-blue

QwikSwitch Interchangeable Earring Collection....

Check out some new additions to my Qwik Switch collection. What a concept. Each earring dangle connects to a lobster clasp/earwire combo that makes switching things up effortless. The look is a little edgy and defnintely clever. Buy one lobster clasp/earwire set and as many earring dangles as you like.

I just listed these QwikSwitch earring dangles -- they're made with a faceted Czech fire-polished cut glass bead in two-tone peachy/pink. I think they're cool.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71018022/qwikswitch-vintage-look-faceted-czech

In honor of my mom, Marie..




Detail of one of the pink rhodochrosite necklaces I created in honor of my mother Marie.

  



Pink is the color of spring!

This weekend, I made a trip to a local bead shop to scout for strands of semi-precious gemstones, brass beads, and findings. I was looking for stones and beads in springtime colors..hoping to find beads to add to some new charm bracelets I'm conceptualizing. The color pink has been in my mind lately. This is, in part, because I've been thinking a lot about my mom's memorial service last May, and the gorgeous pink roses and baby's breath that we picked out. She loved pink -- a color which matched the warm glowing nature of her spiritual beauty, and her carefree easy laugh.

I stumbled across a length of pink rhodochrosite beads, and knew I'd found what I was looking for. Examining the strand, I admired the beautiful natural striations of light to darker gray on a background of deep pink to lighter pink. Perfect! I bought two strands...one of the puffed coin shape beads, and one of cylindrical-shaped beads.

I love to learn things about the semi-precious gemstones that I purchase. A little sleuthing uncovered the fact that rhodochroside, sometimes called Inca Rose Stone, was discovered by the Inca Indians as they explored deep caves filled with stalagmites and mineral deposits. Today the colorful stone is found in mines in Argentina, as well as in Peru, Canada, and Colorado. Rhodochrosite is thought to have the metaphysical properties of healing. It is thought to sooth the emotions, open the heart, and stimulate love and passion. These unique metaphysical properties have led to nicknaming this mineral the stone of "love and balance."

As I design new jewelry pieces featuring this lovely stone, I will strive to exemplify love and aesthetic balance.

Yes, it's almost the middle of the week....hump day they call it (is that about a camel? I think not....) Things at my real job have taken the spotlight of attention thus far this week. Yet, at the rare moments of "intermission" I have already begun to plan my design initiatives for the weekend! Oh WOW! My thoughts right now are focusing on CHARM BRACLETS! I've done a number of charm bracelets in the past which have received rave reviews. They're fun for me to create, and fun for people to buy! Here are a couple of bracelets I've done in the past.

My beautiful cobalt blue beaded earrings.....in three versions

Today was a photography day. It was gorgeous, in fact! A tad on the cool side..but who cares! The sun was out and shining brightly.

Since I'm not a professional photographer, I'm still experimenting with how to get the best photos of my jewelry. It would probably be quicker to take a class and get some real advice...but for the moment my long experimental sessions are how I'm learning.

I recently listed these beautiful earrings which are the prettiest cobalt blue ever. The hand-painted beads have an intricate look, and the faceted quartz dangles are really sparkly. Each picture was shot at a different time of day, with different backgrounds, and different orientations to natural light. Which picture do you think makes these earrings stand out the most?

(click to enlarge photo)

Version 2...

(click to enlarge photot)

Version 3....

(click to enlarge photo)

Meet our three "babies"....

Our boys are growing into independence, but our three felines continue to be the "babies" that we coddle and cajole with unabandoned affection. Here they are lined up on the loveseat. (This is actually quite an unusual shot, because the three rarely sleep together in such close proximity. Usually it's one or the other of the girls sleeping with Sass, and once in awhile the girls sleeping together.)

From left to right, Zoro (Zoretta), Sasquatch (the only male -- he is a polydactyl and has extra toes on all four feet) and Zeta.

Glamour shot of "The Culprit"

As I mentioned in an earlier post about the cat who terrorizes my jewelry workstation...I thought I'd share with you another of her photos.

This is Zoro (see her black mask?)  Because she's a miss, however, we call her Zoretta. She was the runt of a litter of lovely calicos born to a mamma cat living on my brother-in-law's rural homesite in Wisconsin. He nicknamed her "The Whiner." True to that nickname, she is famous for uttering a low growl any time a person pets her too long or tries to pick her up. It's all talk, however, and we've grown to understand that. She's truly harmless.

Doesn't she look glamorously relaxed? That's the way I'd like to be!



Okay....so you've got to check out this beautiful long necklace ---

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68714975/stunning-blue-gray-baby-pearl-and

I'm not sure my photos really capture the beauty of this lanky neck piece. To me, this piece is phenomenally beautiful. Longer length necklaces are so popular these days. This piece is dainty and intricate -- it has the warm glow of pearls enhanced with touches of glimmer in the form of tiny crystals. It's really a feminine piece!

I'm telling you...in secret, I hope nobody ever buys this necklace! Then I can have it for myself. I've told people at times that selling my jewelry is more like finding a loving home and arranging an adoption!

Goody, goody, a package in the mail!

I always love to receive packages in the mail. And of course, because I need lots of interesting materials to fire my creative passions, I'm constantly ordering things.

I am buying more and more supplies right from Etsy.com, as I find that sometimes you can find really unique items. Tonight my package was from Yadanabeads.etsy.com. I purchased some really cool gold-plated link chain, some beautiful citrine quartz faceted beads, and some interesting copper links. Awesome!

I purchase many items from my favorite supplier, Fire Mountain Gems & Beads, located in Washington State. I've got to put in a plug for them because their service is phenomenal: very reasonable rates for shipping, and speedy delivery! They're at: http://www.firemountaingems.com/.

...and finally...my work tonight...

In honesty, I really didn't get much work done tonight. I got stuck watching The Biggest Loser instead.  But, my most recent project --- and I always seem to have several going at once -- is working on this amazing spring bloom bracelet! I bought the pretty acrylic flower pieces on Etsy (akaLulaBeads.etsy.com.) and am weaving them into a slinky band worked in herringbone pattern. This should be really cool, and I'll be excited to see the finished project!

.....the culprit....

I couldn't get an actual photo tonight of the culprit who terrorizes my work station. But, here's an old photo of little Miss Zoretta (the one in the back) snugging up with her sister Zeta.

My work station...

I love to spend every free moment doing beadwork or working on my latest jewelry design. What I found, however, is that I also want to be part of the family. The perfect solution? A collapsible table that fits right behind the couch, and allows me to work on my projects while the rest of the family relaxes in front of the TV watching their favorite sports teams (The Hawks) and movies.

I have to be very careful to cover my projects up at night because of the feline members of our household (we have three.) One feline in particular, Miss Zoretta, loves to jump up onto the table right as I'm working. She steps gingerly between the tubes of seed beads and tools that I've laid out, and sniffs here and there with great interest -- eyeing in particular the beading thread that I'm using to weave back and forth in my beading pattern. We had an incident of "beading thread ingestion" last weekend involving our polydactyl cat Sasquatch (he has 22 toes.) A sudden trip to the emergency vet (and a quick shelling out of $140) made all better. Whew! We had anticipated a $2,000 surgical bill, so considerred ourselves fortunate (and learners of an important rule: to COVER UP THE WORKSTATION!)

The perfect yellow...you tell me!

Tonight I struggled with finding the perfect description for some pretty little earrings that I listed on NoelleLaBelle.etsy.com. When I came home from work early this evening, the light was just right for a quick jewelry photo-op. I'd been meaning to revamp some of the photos I'd taken earlier of some of my older listings, and took the opportunity to re-do a few shots.

I've always loved these charming yellow and blue lampwork bead earrings. They match a few of the beads decorating the sterling silver charm bracelet that my son's girlfriend purchased this past weekend (maybe she'll buy the earrings too...or maybe he will!) But a perfect description of the yellow color of the beads hasn't been a simple matter. Yes, they're yellow. But what kind of yellow? Margarita yellow? Citrine yellow? Maybe a little less citrusy....maybe more like banana smoothie yellow: a little on the creamy side, kind of milky/transluscent. If I had my Pantone color cards handy, I could tell you the exact hue/shade.

Well...whatever the color might be...they are sweet and adorable! See what you think.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53548870/banana-yellow-and-aqua-blue-lampwork

Crystal Dangle Earrings



Crystal Star Dangle Earrings



Today's photo session

The Weekend Jewelry Designer (that's me) is closing up shop for the day. I was pretty successful with my photo session, although I would have liked a few more hours of sun. I took a few breaks to water my plants and see how my miniature rose plant is coming along. It looks like a new bud is forming. I'll wait excitedly over the next days as it morphs into a lovely yellow blossom. Take a look at my shop and see what I've listed (http://www.noellelabelle.etsy.com/.) I particularly like the dangle earrings with the star crystal.

Good day for some photography..

I forgot about the time-change this morning, and realized it's time NOW to get out my camera. I have a south-facing window that brings in a good bit of light on nice days. Today Monsieur le Soleil is obliging me by peeking out from behind occasional clouds. The angle of the sun's rays are most favorable mornings and late afternoons Light from the east would be better, I think, but south will have to do.

Here's my model waiting for today's photo-shoot. I bought her on eBay. She's the perfect model because I don't have to make an appointment with her or wait until she can get to my house. My son thinks she's creepy!

My first blog...

Hello friends and visitors. My name is Lynn Noelle, and I'm a self-made jewelry designer and artist. My purpose in starting this blog is to share with you my passion for creating beautiful jewelry  that I'm sure you will adore.

My online shop is located at http://www.noellelabelle.etsy.com/

I created this shop in November of 2009 after reading about Etsy in a beading magazine. It sounded like a great showcase for my pieces. I originally wanted to call my shop Noelle ma Belle (I had the Beetles song "Michelle, ma belle" running through my mind), but that name was already taken. I thought some more. It dawned on me that "Noelle la belle" might work too...as my middle name is Noelle. I threw out the first box of business cards that I'd had made up (an example of a newbie's poor planning), and ordered a new batch to match my new store name.

It wasn't until July of 2010 that I started photographing and listing my items. There were lots of things to learn. I purchased a better camera, read the manual, and got to work. I'd never done macro photography, and soon discovered that trying to capture the special qualities of jewelry isn’t always so easy. Another challenge here in the north: the availability of optimal natural light.....on the weekends (beautiful sunny days during the week don't help me out, as I'm working at my real job.)

Stop back often to see my posts. Thanks for visiting.

One of my favorite bracelets ...

One of my favorites..

I made this fabulous bracelet with interesting black foil-lined glass beads swirls of red and flecks of gold. I'm not exactly sure how these beads are made, but it certainly gives these beads an interesting look. I also love the chunky pumpkin-shaped faced red glass beads. The red color is almost brick-red, but less orangy hues. Special touches on this piece are the interesting silver bali beads and the crystals. I often use a few dangles of smaller beads or crystals to attach to the clasp end of the bracelet. This helps to counterbalance the weight of the beads so the main part of the bracelet stays up.