{special order} custom necklace for a cause

a few weeks ago a sorority sister of mine sent me an email asking me to make a very special necklace for her mom... she asked me to make the following necklace because her mom had been in remission from battling melanoma, and then recently found out that the melanoma was back and now her mom is in the middle of cutting edge treatments to knock the cancer out again! she said that her mom's tag line is "hope."  she wanted something that she could wear throughout this new chapter in fighting this cancer... so we did a stamped disc with her inspirational word, this way she could wear it always, during treatments, on the good and bad days... and to remember there is hope!

we did the green stone because that's her mom's favorite color...

i really was honored she asked me to make this for her mom, it was especially meaningful to me because this past summer my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma.  a good part of summer was spent visiting my mom's FABULOUS doctor, playing chauffeur to and from chemo treatments, and of course shopping on the good days!  Cancer is such a scary word to those who haven't dealt with it personally or observed it firsthand with ones you love.  While it's not a walk in the park, it is something that builds family unity, and in our family's case strengthened our faith in God too... He really blessed my mom and our family in that she never lost her hair, never really was sick from chemo, and a few weeks back we found out my mom is in remission already!

i'm praying that my friend's mom can stay strong and have faith & hope that she will be healed... and i hope that my little contribution will be one that will help keep her spirits up through this chapter in her family's lives.

{follow up} custom collage necklaces

wow, i'm amazed at how crazy this wedding season turned out to be, crazy busy, but absolutely amazing all the opportunities that have been presented to me... but to start catching y'all up on all of my projects from this past wedding season, i figured i'd start you off with the follow up to the sneak peek i showed of the custom collage necklaces i had been working on back in june.  

if you don't remember them you can see the sneak peek post here. 

so... it's no secret that i work on jewelry while i hang by the pool {it's a rough life designing jewelry sometimes} =)... here's a gratuitous pool side day designing and prep'ing

and here's another photo as i was finishing up the necklaces

and here they are being modeled by the bridesmaids on the wedding day... also i did create some earrings for some of the other bridesmaids with different dress necklines.

if you're wondering why some had earrings and some had necklaces, it's because the bride let her gals pick from varying necklines of their dresses {great idea imo} so she did earrings for the BMs with higher necklines and necklaces for the gals with strapless necklines... what a great way to naturally create some visual interest and variation between your gals' styles and looks!

if you're wondering why you don't see pieces like this in my etsy shop, well... that's because while i love doing work like this, it's really difficult to create, list, and successfully sell pieces like this in my shop.  these are such custom pieces that if you're interested in having me create something similar, i'd love to chat with you about it!  i'd be happy to chat about colors, metals, components, etc... and would love to create one, three, or as many as you need of custom necklaces!

you can contact me at JDVJewelry{at}gmail.com

{sneak peek} custom collage bridal jewelry

one of my brides just adores the collage-y style chunky necklaces floating around all over etsy, yet couldn't find anything that she loved, or loved her budget!  so... since she's friend of mine as well, we made a trip to a few spots to look for some individual pieces that would work well together if taken apart and reassembled - i love when my clients challenge me to think outside the box and allow me to do something totally new... even for me.

so i'll be using these earrings as a focal piece for 5 bridesmaids necklaces

these chains below will be mixed in with some beautiful crystals 

{unfortunately the crystals weren't photographing well, so i'll show those when the project is finished}

and these pearls and glass beads with be worked into the necklaces as well!

and the remnant beads... because no doubt i'll have left over goods, i'll be using for some bridesmaids earrings & and a MOG necklace!

can't wait to see how this project turns out =)

this past week in pictures . . .

so this week started off with finishing up these gocco'd save the dates for Amy & Derek... love the way the turned out... they're wedding is going to be so chic with varying shades of green & white to make up their color palette.

there, moved the tag so now you can see the text at the top!

the work in progress - 100 std cards & 110 envelopes and

throw in a few left over christmas decorations...

shipped out these twinsies to a very thoughtful husband/son-in-law

they are matching stamped mommy & grand mommy necklaces for two lovely ladies in his life

tried out some new baked goods this week when i was rained in on wednesday, actually i just had no motivation to go out in the downpour on wednesday!  these were a hit, coconut-blueberry cream cheese bars - yummy! look like they're a funny yellow in the photo, but the weren't, hmmm... recipe here

and the finale of my week...

made this evening by moi - a bibbed rhinestone & swarovski necklace!

i've been dying to make one but haven't wanted to back it on felt, it didn't seem pretty enough on felt... so i opted for netting which provided a "floating" appearance.  i just love it and can't wait to wear it and make more, i'm debating if i should list these in the shop?  i just love that it can be worn with jeans & a plain T or w/ a sassy black dress, oh the possibilities!

wow,  what a week! now it's time to hit the rack... i have a client/venue visiting day bright and early in the morning... g'night all

{shop update} new necklace

well folks... i've been wearing this and taunting people by not having it listed in my shop... this necklace is what i'd like to think of as the sister style to my eternite necklaces.

             so here it is: the infinité necklace

and just to give you an idea of it on:

i've been wearing this necklace daily for about the past two weeks and it goes great with any outfit... would also be a great option for your bridesmaids!

*Blair

what else i've been up to

so i've been getting more and more orders for custom handstamped necklaces and here are some of those that were christmas orders...

below left was created for a friend - she wanted her husband & her initals for Bill & Brenn, another tag that said "faith," and a small gold tag with a paw print for their golden doodle Ralph, i love that it's a mixed metal necklace, silver and gold tags dangled on a gold chain... this way you can wear it with anything!

below right was for her MIL - S stamped on a gold tag for her initial and since she loves all things horses we did a horsehoe charm.

this next necklace was for her dear friend, obviously the L is her inital, and the giraffe has a special meaning since her friend has done humanitarian/mission work in Africa she wanted something to represent that - and when i found these cute little charms, we thought they were perfect!

and yet another mixed metal necklace.

this one was a necklace created for one of my bro's wives... their initials are stamped on a copper tag layered on top of a sterling silver tag with each of their boys names - zek. luke. & daniel... and of course a paw print for their pets and the dogs they breed.

this next one you may recognize from posting a few months ago, i made this for my other SIL lisa awhile back, but for Christmas i gifted her the middle tag that says Prov. 31... this is significant because everything she touches with her hands is blessed, from interior design, to sewing, cooking, even her cleaning & organizing skills!  she's a great mommy to my nephews and in my opinion a Proverbs 31 woman - which if you're familiar with the chapter it speaks of a Godly wife, woman, and mother, but this was specifically in reference to "she works with her hand in delight" and lisa truly does!

this tag addition also is a great idea, once you have a necklace you don't have to stop there - you can add to it at any time, when you hit a milestone, have a baby, or discover a verse you really love... i can figure out a way to incorporate a special idea or meaning into your necklace.

this next necklace was for my MIL - a tag for my hubby and her son Justus, and his brother Josh, and then a tag for Sammy the dog {her fur kid}

if you have a custom stamped necklace in mind, feel free to contact me jdvjewelry{at}gmail.com and we can work together on a design!

{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!

{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} 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!

{shop update} new items & revisions

attention attention... new items appearing in my etsy shop... FINALLY!... 

la femme earrings - 

gold with mother of pearl rhondelles

double entendre necklace - 

gold with hand wrapped aquamarine teardrop

another macramé necklace - new addition

gold with ruby stones

les doux necklace - new photos in my etsy shop

cote d'azur earrings - 

gold with aqua and bronze pearls - new photos of these earrings in my etsy shop

cote d'azur earrings - 

in amethyst - coming soon to my shop

also coming soon - dimanche necklace - 

gold with clear swarovski baroque crystal - more colors to come!

as well as: dimanche earrings- 

in clear swarovski baroque crystal - more colors to come too!