Featured on front page of etsy.com!!

Woo hoo!!! Just realized one of my Little Gems made the front page of etsy.com and it just made my week!!

Recent Sources of Inspiration - Greetings From Southern California

Sea Port Village

My favorite section of my favorite shop in Sea Port Village, Urban Lounge. This corner was filled with tons of stuff by two of my favorite artists:  Kelly Rae Roberts, and Leigh Standley of Curly Girl Designs. I left feeling inspired!

My favorite of the street performers at the Busker Festival

Seriously could not stop starring at this whimsical, steampunk-esque couple and their uber funky umbrella ride. I really want to know what she's planning to do with that washboard/grader looking thing she's holding?

me. standing. in a tree. I climbed.

I think this is what Carrie Bradshaw (of SATC) would call a "hollywood kiss," like the ones she used to share with Jack Burger (in the show, season 5, I believe) whenever they were having an off day and wanted to try to shake it and start fresh.

Me. On the beach. Burning silently, while blissfully unaware... luckily Im feeling better now, thanks to some aloe and some increased spf  protection today.

Caitie and I. Laying in Our Oasis by the Ocean.

Chilling out in the backyard with Chico, the dog Caitie got right before our year as roommates (senior year at WMU).

My dirty feet. All I came back with on my 1st day beachcombing.

A few of my finds. from the MANY bead stores, antique shops, and estate sales, Caitie and I scavangered our way through in my first few days in southern Cali.

What's Trending This Season?

According to fellow etsy seller, ByJuliePie, you'll be rockin' out this season, or risk being left in our dust!! Check out these fab finds, including one of my Little Gems featured in this trend savvy treasury!!http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d87f8b23aca6d91c48b271f/its-all-about-the-rock-the-fashion

Time Alone with a Good Book

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d767a09c63e6d915fe9fce7/time-alone-with-a-good-book

A Treasury homage to Barbie featuring one of my Little Gems

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d78003682a86d91ca5c0f04/happy-birthday-barbie

Caught red-handed!!

Captured here: Fab finds by etsian newby team members, including one of my own - the popular "love slave" necklace has been featured here and is now being held captive for the world to see. Check out the other inmates here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d5dd47ab1078eef28979c5f/oops-youve-captured-me

Who Wood Know?

About all the fabulous handmade wood jewelry available on etsy?? Thanks to fellow etsy seller, elegantknitting, who curated this treasury full of fab finds - we can all be in the know!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d675cc9518a6d91d69e9e50/who-wood-know

Great Finds from the Great Lakes!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d6eacf1507b8eef64fcaae2/great-lakes-people

Dream On

Dream a little Dream of these dreamy etsy finds, including one of my Little Gems, featured in this inspirational etsy treasury!!

One of my Little Gems has been featured!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d6c2f47b7458eefcaf8eff9/these-are-just-a-few-of-my-favorite

All the creatures of the forest

Check out this adorable treasury collection, featuring one of my Little Gems : )

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d69a5ef1a788eef9c7f0c9b/all-the-creatures-of-the-forest

Looking for a Lucky Charm?? Check out this etsy treasury...

featuring one of my Little Gems, in addition to an assortment of other ideas!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d70035e2f968eefd10b32fc/lucky-charms

And the winner is....

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d6a8de388848eef121edfbb/and-the-winner-is

Check out this gold-medal-worthy treasury, featuring my Jem Glitter and Gold earrings!!

Feelin Groovy??

Check out this bitchin' treasury by fellow etsy seller, Alkaradesigns, featuring one of my Little Gems!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d7182436df38eefaaa1299c/feeling-groovy

Check out this awesome message I received about one of my Little Gems that a fellow etsy seller featured in a treasury:

An item from your shop has been included in a treasury about blues guitarist, Blind Willie Johnson. The treasury includes a brief biography about Blind Willie. I searched through a wide variety of etsy images to select 16 that were as powerful as Blind Willies Music. As it turned out there were just a handful of items powerful enough to represent his music and his story. Please take a moment to read about him at the link to the treasury@

www.etsy.com/treasury/4d73ded316046d91e3f5e281/dark-is-the-sky-cold-is-the-gr... http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d73ded316046d91e3f5e281/dark-was-the-night-cold-was-the-ground

In the spirit of Willie , please click on a couple of the items in the treasury that are not your own —thereby helping the other 15 artists represented here obtain a bit more support.

Thank you so much for sharing your item —I could not have told the story of Blind Willie without it.


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Luck of the Irish

Check out this St. Patty's themed treasury featuring my "Lucky Me" Earrings, among tons of other st. patty themed fab etsy finds

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d696c3951d56d911a49c5bc/luck-of-the-irish

Can you dig it?

No need for an explanation... it is what it is...and it ROCKS!! Check it out : http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d615377ec2e8eefcea85f88/things-that-rock#4d668427f4fe6d9106443252

Dreamy and Whimsical

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d661ab8fa828eef3a12f02e/vintage-dream#4d667a9b30686d9117b4a410

Check out this spectacular treasury by etsy seller HomespunGossamer, featuring dreamy etsy finds with a whimsical, vintage appeal, including the Little Gems “Dream Design Achieve” faux lariat necklace!

Where do I go from here??

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d5428178c636d9181657f2c/where-do-i-go-from-here

Check out my latest curation creation featuring all sorts of map related items that represents my current state of mind, which is distracted with thoughts of travel and exploration, hoping it will allow me to discover the perfect place for my next move, but with so many options and so little current knowledge, I have no idea where my next big move will take me...at this point, i just hope it's somewhere warmer than here. Hope everyone's keeping warm out there : )

Seafoaming at the mouth for these seafoam selections

Ok, so I'm not actually foaming at the mouth, but I am LOVING these fabulous seafoam etsy finds selected and collected in this seafoam green themed treasury which features one of my own Little Gems, specifically it's one of my novelty items created for valentines day shoppers for the 2011 holiday. Big thanks to etsy seller, Adornmegirl, for featuring my item in her lovely treasury!!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d50e21f36a06d91166549b6/swimming-in-a-seafoam-of-green#4d559d0808016d912f13c8ae

A plethora of pastels

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d54568e55748eefd05f32fd/prim-and-proper-pastels

Check out the Happily Ever After Charm Necklace by Little Gems featured here!!

Unexpected Words of Wisdom

Earlier this week I found some unexpected words of wisdom during a visit to deliver a custom item order to one of my favorite Little Gems customers. She hit on a little spark of genius when she said:

"Oh, no, I never wear gray - except to bed. It's the only color that is known to specifically show sweat"

Thanks to Stacy (who used to live in AZ year round) for sharing these words of wisdom with me on avoiding sweatiness. Haha.

Love this random pic!!

This picture is from July 2010, before my big transition back to metro Detroit. Living in this kooky downstairs apartment on the corner of church and market streets, in st. joe, mi. In my little corner of the world being all creative and playing with my beads for so long that I'd find myself 2 days later alone on my island of beads...where the creations run amongst you, and they run wild. See all the reasons I love this pic below:


Other reasons
I LOVELOVELOVE the layered look I was rocking in this pic.
How crazy HAPPY I looked
My AWESOME Double sided Monet Painting room divider/self proclaimed headboard in the background
My entire setup and amount of space in my old bedroom - even though the house itself was kind of crappy
The pretty pink of the tshirt I'm wearing (and just the t-shirt in general - it's so soft!!
The warm color palette - especially the tan color of my skin!

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d51d91de2018eefbb33ce33/brown-paper-packages-tied-up-with-string

My latest treasury curation creation!! Spreading the love to my fellow etsy sellers and featuring some of my favorite new finds, like a vintage Detroit map lamp by etsy seller, citybird.

View an Etsy Front Page Treasury List - The Vault on Craft Cult

View an Etsy Front Page Treasury List - The Vault on Craft Cult

YES! My First time making the front page of etsy….maybe? definitely, almost!!! Can someone out there…anyone, PLEASE, tell me what the hell the point is of having alternatives in treasury collections??? My heart will be broken if my first time making it to the front page I was sitting on the bench. Bummer city!

Bold, Bright Bursts of Mouthwatering Color!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4e080916128eef8947b016/etsy-needs-some-color#4d4fcd77f2876d9147edfc7b

Birds of a Feather Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4edc2e6c1d6d91efacc653/birds-of-a-feather#4d4fccf8f2876d914ed9fc7b

Check out the latest and greatest etsy treasury featuring Little Gems Rock On Amethyst Druzy Slice Necklace!!

Bohemian Dream

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4daa08616c6d91c65544f5/bohemian-dream?ref=pr_treasury

What Inspires You?

Check out this blog post by Tess at planet treasures to take a closer look at what inspires a few featured etsy sellers (including me) to create treasury collections on etsy. A big thanks to Tess for featuring the Little Gems 5-strand statement necklace in this new blog post that's her way of returning the love!

http://planettreasures.blogspot.com/

A Homage to Honeysuckle - the color of the year!

Check out the Little Gems Dare to be Different Necklace featured in this etsy treasury that pays homage to the hottest color of the year, according to the spring 2011 pantone fashion report... cheers!

Chocolate and the Many Possibilities

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d459b3212526d91bd1784c8/a-different-kind-of-chocolate-from

Be a Deer, Would You??

Be a deer, would you, and check out this cool new treasury on etsy, featuring the Little Gems OH DEER statement necklace.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d45a44472478eef6cf3c802/doe-a-deer#4d45c1d06a4e6d91e5b05d47

Treasure This!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d3c6cbbc38e8eefa642b8cf/mechanics-of-love

Too Cool for School Collection (or vice versa)

You Glow Girl!

Little Gems heartbreaker earrings are a BIG hit on etsy

checking into the heartbreak hotel? If so, sorry to hear that. Try these little gems to perk yourself up!http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4456b12c346d9112c480b9/heartbreak-hotel

pretty pearlescent pieces

Little Gems beachcomber necklace is featured in this pretty pearlescent collection. Check it out :)http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4305c82bf26d91fb444ba4/pearl-power#4d448953ae216d91e174d8f6

winey bitch earrings featured in this lovely vino themed collection

check it out!

Buy a Little Gem...

Get One FREE!!

Dare to be Different Necklace featured in this rosy red treasury!

Little Gems isn’t losing speed in the etsy treasuries… check out the latest and greatest, featuring L.G’s Dare to be Different necklace!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d38e6a6d66d8eef82178cb7/roses-are-red

Winey Bitch Earrings got some love in another etsy treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d38cedfb4516d914e62a75c/purple-passion

Check out this royally regal collection which features Little Gems winey bitch earrings...they are totally bitchin - and so is this awesome treasury!!

Etsy Sellers and Buyers are Loving the Heartbreaker Earrings by Little Gems

Yup, you guessed it... an LG item was featured in another awesome treasury. The theme? Anti-Valentines Day items and gifts... check out this dark, yet fabulous collection featuring the Little Gems heartbreaker earrings!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d375c8953e88eef724fbc59/could-you-break-my-heart-for-valentine#4d3785e2cf698eef0680d5cf

The Latest Etsy Treasury - New Item from Little Gems!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d36579d80766d915736583d/taking-the-stigma-out-of-yellow-brown#4d36632c345b6d91dd948c2b

Loving all the newbie love going round in the etsy treasury... I've got my fingers crossed that we'll be making the front page of etsy one of these days... Help me put the good vibes out into the universe for some etsy front page action! haha. I've been awake for waaaay to long. Check out this creative collection by etsy seller and avid etsy newbie supporter (thanks again), kateknit (http://www.etsy.com/shop/kateknit)

A collection that shows some love to some talented newbies

Little Gems Love to Spoon Necklace was featured in this etsy treasury that shows a little LOVE to this featured collection of newbie etsy sellers. Honored to be included. Check out this treasury created by etsy seller Shady & Lou

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d35ee12664c8eef83a03a8e/showing-some-newbie-love

Etsy Treasury featuring Little Gems Item: Beachcomber Necklace

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d347174ce8d8eefae66c24a/take-me-to-the-tropics#4d349f65647d8eefe9ef8402

Check out this lovely collection created by etsy seller "Sanibel's Treasures"

New Etsy Treasury Featuring Little Gems Item

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d31d44241c18eefa8a530ce/it-came-from-detroit#4d3494c3976e8eef8bc8d349

A cool collection of items from Detroit, created by etsy seller bitterrootdetroit! So honored to be included in this collection with other talented local etsy sellers. Thanks bitter root!

One More Treasury Featuring Little Gems

This is insane, but I'm loving every minute of it! I don't know what I did to get featured in all these treasury collections, but I need to keep up the good work because they are actually leading to sales! Because of this, I will continue to promote all the treasuries I make, and all the ones I'm featured in by others, hoping to drive traffic to the other featured sellers shops as well, so we can all enjoy more sales. This one is by Mary of etsy shop "love the unique" and it's inspiration is pretty clear from the title alone. Check out this cool collection of warm, wooden wonders!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d311f0d3c208eef13e83bfe/the-warmth-of-wood

Another Amazing Etsy Treasury Featuring Little Gems!

I don't even know what to say... I'm so flattered by all the recent inclusions in etsy treasurys created by other etsy sellers. And, when you see the collections, you'll understand why I'm so grateful to be included... seriously, this is an awesome one! This treasury was created by etsy seller Linda Paloma and it rocks! Check it out now!!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d30f79de38f8eefd0759ffc/it-aint-all-hearts-and-flowers

Another Etsy Treasury Featuring Little Gems

Check out this treasury called honeysuckle goodness...it's sure to have you thinking pink in no time! Big thanks to Katie of Paper Ink & Earth (etsy shop) for including my rose of rows bracelet in this lovely collection inspired by the 2011 pantone color of the year!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d311f503c208eef2c0a3cfe/honeysuckle-goodness

My latest inspiration has come from an unexpected source...

With the success of the Oh Deer Statement Necklace in the etsy treasuries, I've realized a new inspiration source I've been tapping into without much thought...my customers! You see the Oh deer necklace was a collaboration with friend/stylist/blogger/banana bread baker extrordanaire, courtney skoczek (of closet chic blog). Courtney originally came to me with an idea she had to make a necklace out of an actual antler and chain, but she wasn't sure about how exactly to go about doing it, which is where I was supposed to come in (although that wasn't exactly the case). Being the clever, resourceful girl she is, Courtney ended up figuring out the design and putting all the components together on her own (you go girl). Later, I found more vintage antlers and so I contacted Courtney about working together to expand on her original idea and bring a couple more versions of the necklace to life to sell in my etsy shop. With the help of Courtney (both the inspiration she provided and the connection with her grandfather, who helped us with the sawing down and drilling, I was able to create these unique statement necklaces that have been getting great response so far on etsy! I definitely see more collaborations with Courtney in Little Gems future! Want to know more about Courtney? Check out her blog at: http://closetchic.tumblr.com/

Another inspiration source has been Little Gems customer and friend, Stacy Herbstreit. Recently, Stacy came to me with an item she found on another etsy sellers page that she really like and wanted to use as a starting off point for earrings she is having me design for her. The earrings are very unique in both the length (a whopping 7 1/2 inches long - which happens to be standard length of most bracelets), and also in the use of found objects, specifically vintage bullet casings. Since, beginning the design process and working with Stacy to create her desired earring design, I've become further inspired to use other size bullet casings in other jewelry items I plan to create in the future.

I've always known that my customers were the best source for insight, but now I'm learning they can also be a wonderful source of inspiration - especially when it comes to creating custom items for them. Thanks to all my wonderful customers for continuing to keep me inspired and excited about designing jewelry that's both inspiring and exciting in return!

For your viewing pleasure...

Check out the two new collections I created on Etsy treasury to promote other talented etsy sellers and inspire anyone looking for a little inspiration on this dreary day in January... Enjoy!

A vino-themed treasury for the wine lovers out there:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d306fb3e02e8eef414235bf/a-world-where-wine-flows-like-water

A treasury featuring transcendant accessories to help you transition from winter to spring to summer in great style. Inspired by the new pantone colors and trends for spring 2011. None of the little gem etsy shop items were included in this treasury, but you'll find tons of transcendent jewelry in my etsy shop, so stop by after you check out this beautiful collection of items made by other talented etsy sellers:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d30778f8ef88eefca2dd9ba/accessories-that-transcend-the-seasons

Little Gems Oh Deer Statement Necklace has been a hit in the latest Etsy treasuries!

Check out the two Etsy treasuries my Oh Deer! Statement Necklace was treasured in... what an honor to be included in such cool collections!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d2f30e30fb46d91a56ac4e9/minimalism

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d3003d232b08eefc8f90ae0/deer-oh-deer?index=10

Little Gems by Jax on Tumblr

Check out my blog on tumblr for more little gems! http://littlegemsbyjax.tumblr.com/