i'm baack!

so... i know it's been a few months, i've been really busy and haven't forgotten about you all who follow my blog - i've just been trying to get my feet back on the ground, which is slowly happening!

since my last post i coordinated my first official wedding {i'll be sure to start blogging the photos soon}, but, also my hubs and i found out some great news... he passed the CA Bar exam on the first try - yep that means as of this thursday's swearing in ceremony, i'll be married to an attorney!  it's been such a long journey in which i feel like i've been his "wingman" on, from all the law school final exams, Bar prep study classes, and 3 months of studying like a crazy person... it's all paid off and he's now crossed the finish line on this part of the journey! i'm so proud and so thankful that his hard work was rewarded, and i can't wait to see what's in store for him and us down the road.  also, congrats to anyone else out there who just went through what my hubs did, and was fortunate enough to pass!

ok now down to business.... =)

sorry for my absence

i've been away for a little while since i've been doing a lot of work on my "other" business... Blair Britt Events.  it's my other pride and joy... event design and wedding coordination, which i now offer as a service to my clients... any-who... i just coordinated my first client's wedding this past saturday at saddlerock ranch in malibu, ca - and i really can't wait to show off the day... but i'll have to wait to do that... i'll post as soon as i have the pro photos!

but in the mean time take a sec to visit my new {other} blog: BlairBrittEvents and follow my other twitter profile {twitter.com/blairbrittevent}, find us on facebook too!

i'm back... again - i really could get used to this traveling thing =)

hi again everyone! i know its seems as though i've been away from the blog for awhile, and, well, admittedly i had been trying to keep my head above water in july... it was a crazy month with my hubs taking the CA bar exam, trying to prep for our vacation for our first anniversary, and get all my clients orders on track and shipped prior to leaving! in short - it's been a whirlwind past few weeks! =)

now we're back to reality, i'm back to blogging, and i really have so much to show, tell, and catch y'all up on!

i'm so happy to announce that this starting this friday {august 14th} i will be hosting my very first jewelry give away on my blog... i'll post more details toward the end of the week, but i'm very excited to get some of my new goodies listed in the shop which will make the give away even more exciting!

*b

oh and here's a pic from the san diego leg of our anniversary trip - in the lobby of our gorgeous hotel - the us grant in the gaslamp district... if you haven't been... GO! it's UH-mazing

{shop update} jen aniston inspired necklace

awhile back i remember seeing this photo of jennifer aniston wearing a cute, petite little wishbone necklace... ever since i've been on the lookout for a charm that would make an equally cute necklace! and ta-da... i found it, and here's the necklace.

the necklace is 18 inches long {however you can request it longer or shorter} and the wishbone charm is approx. 3/4 of an inch long.

here's a close up!

i think these would even make a great little bridesmaids necklaces/gifts!

{recent project} hydrangea cocktail napkins

just finished these pretties up the other night - i really am in love with the hydrangea image we used for these custom napkins! the bride, lisa used the fonts from their wedding invites to help tie it things together in a chocolate ink, and then the hydrangea puff is in cornflower blue to keep with their color scheme....

i always love seeing the beginning black and white gocco image turn into .....

... a beautiful color, real life print =) it's just such a neat process. one that i enjoy immensely! these are great napkins for a summertime wedding.

and here's a pretty little shot of the final product!

lisa - i hope you love them and congrats again on your upcoming wedding! =)

if you're interested in a similar idea, wanna change up colors - feel free to message me via my shop

{follow along} JDV Jewelry is on twitter

just in case you didn't know, you can follow along with Joie de Vie Jewelry on twitter as well - i've been tweeting for awhile, but i just wanted to let new followers know that you can find me there too!

find me here

{shop update} new necklaces

made this cute little necklace today while at the pool - it's already hanging around my neck, where it'll probably stay for a few weeks =) it's the starting piece in my new "petite necklace" collection...

the petite leaf in gold fill

and just get an idea of size - here it is on me... it's pretty petite and cute!

happy shopping!

{things to come} hand stamped personalized jewelry!

i've been toying with the idea recently of getting into hand stamping gold, silver, and brass jewelry... and two weeks ago i finally decided to go for it!... 

if you're wondering what hand stamped jewelry looks like, here are two examples:

it makes great family jewelry, jewelry collages, the options really seem to be limitless!  while i'm waiting for my custom fonts to be manufactured - i'm dreaming up some creative ways to incorporate this concept into my current line which appeals to brides... and i think i've already got some fun ideas!  but you'll just have to wait till july for me to announce those =)

also, the photo below is inspiration of what i one day hope to have in the way of a workspace...

seeing how the supplies and tools to craft hand stamped jewelry take up much more space than the tools i currently work with! 

photo sources

{recent project} rustic elegance cocktail napkins p 2

the other half of the rustic elegance napkins were inspired by erin's wedding guest book below -

so we came up with a graphic for little "love birds" - one flying and one sitting on the branch

and the "work in progress" shot on the dining table =) ... if you've ever wondered what the gocco looks like .... here it is below!

{recent project} lemon inspired napkins & coasters... and jewelry!

about a month ago i had the pleasure of working with a fabulous bride {named erin} on quite a few aspects of her palm springs wedding ... 

her wedding had a pallet of black and white, with a punch of yellow.  so we incorporated lemons for their custom cocktail coasters and cocktail napkins!  their last name is meadows - so in the spirit of lollapalooza - they branded their wedding reception as "meadows - palooza"... super cute!

we went ahead and used the same design for both the napkins and coasters - after gocco'ing all of these babies i have to admit i had visions of lemon wedges dancing in my head! =)

since she was varying the bridemaids attire {some gals work black dresses w/ yellow sashes and the others wore black & white floral print dresses w/ a yellow sash} she opted for my 

belle earrings w/ petite onyx teardrops and the circle esprit necklace with mini onyx rhondelles... i love how classy and formal this jewelry can be!

erin also decided to treat her gals to my swarovski gold flip flops - so they could kick off their shoes and busta move on the dance floor!... she also treated herself to a pair! =)

if you see anything you like, please don't hesitate to contact me!

busy, busy, busy

thanks.. err... and i'm sorry to all of you who i've been really delayed on getting back to about your etsy inquiries...  please bear with me as i get my act together, i'm much more caught up on orders now after having a "real" two day weekend!

as some of you might know i have quite a few brides i've been working with on orders, all of them with weddings the first 2 weekends of May - here's a small sample of the things i've been working on recently:

200 custom wedding cocktail napkins for etsy user CelebrationsbyDesign

custom bridal order for etsy member edube021408:

bridesmaid jardin bon bon earrings

and bridesmaid bonne chance bracelets

the necklace portion of a bridesmaid order for erahn:

so far we have 5 oynx esprit necklaces in gold with twisted circles -

still have to finish up her gold belle earrings with onyx wire wrapped teardrops, finished her swarovski gold flip flops, need to tackle the custom cocktail napkins, AND custom wedding coasters!  all before her May 9th wedding! =)

another necklace that i haven't named yet - but will be part of my spring/summer designs

another newbie in the spring/summer group (will come in more colors soon): 

mélange necklace in gold with mother of pearl teardrop

two more that i'm super stoked how they turned out

macramé necklaces - shown in sapphire and peridot - more colors to come

(forgive me if these link to the opposite color, etsy's down currently)

another custom item - the dimanche chain, yet to be listed - makes an awesome layering necklace - comes 54 inches long

another custom, long layering necklace for the same client - the eternite oval necklace (long)

this is yet to be listed (can you tell i'm a little behind), comes 48 inches long

well that's all folks, i'm off to bed - i hope you enjoyed looking at SOME of what i've been working on lately! =)

{shop update} the Viv collection

just wanted to let you know i added the "viv collection" to my shop tonight - 

these have been really popular at my trunk shows and jewelry parties....check them out!

the Viv bracelet {single strand}

the Viv necklace/ bracelet combo {bracelet - triple strand}

as the necklace

next two photos as the triple strand bracelet

hope you love them... they're both such timeless pieces!

b

*thanks ej for the photos*

{ JDV freebies } a give away on Sandier Pastures

just a quick note everyone... wanted to announce that Grace of the Sandier Pastures blog is giving away one of my silver esprit necklaces, visit before april 14 and enter the giveaway if you're interested in winning another favorite JDV Jewelry necklace!

visit the giveaway here

{recent projects} michelle's custom wedding cocktail napkins

a few posts ago i showed you the custom escort/ placecards i gocco'd for a friend's wedding which is THIS SATURDAY!!!!  and after a great weekend out with all our girlfriends for michelle's bachelorette party - pictured below - michelle is in the back left with the side-veil =)

i'm left front... hehe sporting my fun tie-dye shirt (i've loved tie-dye since i was young)
now we're back - and i just finished up her custom gocco'd cocktail napkins...

so here they are:

and here's a behind the scenes photo of the first run with just the gold heart... and my happy little gocco machine making a cameo =)

if you are interested in creating custom napkins or any other personalized paper goods feel free to contact me at JDVJewelry{at}gmail.com or message me in my etsy shop!

{shop update} new items

hi folks - just wanted to let you know i just posted some great new items in my shop tonight... and a few shown here are yet to come!

esprit earrings 

(come in gold or sterling silver)

esprit necklaces

(comes in gold and sterling - with either oval or circle links)

couquette earrings

(crystal color can be customized)

la tour gift tags

(such a steal - 6 tags for $5)

flourish gift tags

(same as "la tour" - 6 tags for $5)

happy shopping!

{blog love} pretty. pretty. paper - by cevd

i want to give a big shout out of thanks to Christina of the pretty.pretty.paper blog!

you can also find her on etsy where she has these super sweet valentines

thanks for the sweet words on your blog and seriously, i hope you find you precious necklace...

cheers, and good luck to your business!

things i love....

i just found this on sweet papery's blog and i just got the chills in a good way! =)

check it out: simple truth's

here's why:  

even before starting my jewelry business, i had a background in customer service, and since it's inception i'll be the first to admit that it's a challenge to have a "one woman show" (as JDVJewelry) is!  the challenge comes when you are the creative force designing everything, you're also the business manager coordinating payments and shipping time (for all you type A's out there, this isn't so easy for us creative types, we tend towards disorder) =), and then you're responsible to wear the customer service/PR/HR hat at all times too!

don't get me wrong, this is not a downside to owning and operating your own business, it's just some of the challenges that come your way.  i enjoy the challenge, but always wonder are my clients happy? and i love getting feedback saying that they love an item and never wanna take it off! i also love feedback about my packaging; i myself love opening shipments only to find that the company has taken the time to make my order look special, like a sweet gift.  so you'll see that i've just changed my packaging to be more fun to receive!  but in all, i love the challenge to, plain and simple, make those who choose to support me happy.  the video from sweet papery really made me think what i can be doing to make my clients' experience special!

if you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment, or if you have ideas that have worked for your business that you care to share... feel free!

*b