{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.

holiday madness! {sort of}

i will say that i love the holidays... i love them A LOT! but at times working in an industry that has such large mood swings with the seasons can be difficult.  i think the holidays are naturally such a busy time of year and on top of the regular hustle and bustle i run around like a crazy woman sometimes trying to reply to client emails, picking up supplies, dropping items off to my printer for holiday cards, going to the post office, fed ex, etc {that last one being my least favorite part}.... i sacrifice sleep, time with my husband {which thankfully he is pretty tolerant of}, and sometimes a little bit of my sanity...


i promise i'm not griping!


.... but when i see custom projects completed, hear the excited responses from clients, and get feedback from my readers and facebook fans - it makes it all worth it! making a client's day makes me so happy, there is something so gratifying about creating to help produce joy in another's life.... and that is why i do what i do.  sometimes my friends and family tell me i'm crazy, and maybe i am a little bit =), but i'm crazy about what it is that i do.  i'm crazy about creating!


here's a little eye candy from a few things that i've shipped out this week...

:: :: a monogram/ mommy necklace :: ::

mixed metal of gold and silver, 

the gold tag is stamped with the mom & dad's married monogram & anniversary date

the little silver disc has a hammered texture and then is stamped for their son's initial!

 :: :: italian christmas banner :: ::

for my parent's to gift to a christmas party hostess

{i left it unstrung because my mom wanted to choose her ribbon}

... don't you love the glittered letters? 

:: :: custom luggage tags {modern style} ::  ::

for a friend/client to gift to her brother's fiance and girlfriend 

{one loves purple and lime green & the other is a TCU cheerleader, hence the purple & white}

{i didn't get the best shots of these because i took them at night, so hence the flash on the casing}

:: :: sorry for the blur, i don't want her getting solicited :: ::

::  :: address side for the TCU tag :: ::

more goodies to come!

and thanks everyone for the christmas orders =)

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!