Full Circle

It's been a while so I am making a "super post"! What's new? I have been busy, busy, busy the past week or so. I had a lot (well, a lot for me anyway : ) ) of etsy action last week thanks to some lovely customers; including my first international sale! Yea! Thank you Sonja in Germany! It was a pleasure ; ) What ever time I had to spare I was getting ready for the jewelry party I had last night. It went really well! I love doing home parties. It is fun to meet the people who will be wearing your jewelry. You can tell them all about what they are getting. Below is a picture with a great story:

I am the one in the green skirt (it's too bad you can't see my shoes, they really made the outfit...floral ballet flats, yum!). The woman to my right is Cathy; we worked at Eddie Bauer together 2-1/2 years ago. She had a party Feb of 2007. Deb, the one on the far left, booked a party at Cathy's party, which took place May of 2007. Then Cindy, the one in the coral shirt, booked a party at Deb's party for August 2007. And here we are, 2 years later together at Deb's 2nd party (which was last night). It was a fun little reunion. These ladies are the sweetest! I am so grateful for their support and generosity! They really helped me get the ball rollin'

Moving on. Here are some pictures from my families camping trip from a couple of weekends ago. We had the best time!

Here's my sweetie being his helpful self setting up my little sister's tent. Emily (my sis), Caleb (my nephew), Mike (my husband) and I shared a site.

Here are some of us around the camp fire Friday evening, we were waiting for 3 more families to arrive (I come from a ginormous, blended family...8 kids total. 7 girls, 1 boy).

Me and Mike. We look like total crap, but what else can you expect while camping! ;)

Saturday morning. Bella loves to stick her nookie in her mommie's mouth. She is ADORABLE!

Saturday morning breakfast.

My mom and sister Meagan.


I do not understand the faces Mike kept making??? What a dork (we are self-proclaimed dorks, he and I)


The boys were all about catching stuff. Here is Isaac and what we deemed to be an army worm.

What is camping without some jewelry orders...wait, that makes no sense! Well, I got orders anyway.

Each year we have this little family reunion it gets better. I cannot wait for next year. Mike and I have another trip planned for mid July. That will be a nice little get away. We are going to canoe and hike the entire time...FUN! Anyway, that's what I've been up the the last couple of weeks. I'll be spending lots of time in the studio this weekend so I'll have some pics to post of new work later on. Have a great day :)

Pics for Crystal

Crystal ~ Here is my design proposal for your ring. I know it's really different than what you originally asked me about so let me know what you think.

Here is an image of the 4mm onyx stones that I have. They would be set into sterling bezels. It would be a rustic/feminine ring that you could wear with everything. Talk to you soon! Janell

Crystal's Custom Necklace

Crystal ~ Here's your necklace. Sorry the images are so crappy! It turned out really pretty, my sister wants one now! It's 17.5" to 18" long. The pendant drops up to 2-1/2" long. I hope you like it!

A Special Hello

To the special guests of Deb Carr's jewelry party:
Hi! Welcome to my blog. I invite you to browse through and get to know me a little bit. If you scroll through older entries you can view pictures of my studio, various custom projects, and lots of other fun stuff!

Just a quick introduction; I have been making jewelry for as long time. I went to school for Art and started my business, Karena Bella Jewelry, in the Fall of 2006. I started out doing home jewelry parties and art fairs selling all my own jewelry. I added my metal smithing studio (which allows me to do custom metal work - soldering, sawing, hammering, fabricating, and more) the summer of 2007 and that opened many doors for me. I started selling my creations in fine art galleries and that has been going really well! I am now starting to do home parties again after taking a short break last year due to focusing on getting into and maintaining gallery relationships.

I am so grateful for Debs support and her willingness to open her home to me and to all of you (again, she hosted one of my first parties Spring of 2007... you may have been there). I really hope I get a chance to meet you all there! So, sit back, relax and enjoy my blog! If you have not had a chance yet, take a peek at my website (there's a link to the right of this entry). I will have almost every thing you see there and more available to purchase at Deb's party. The best part is that you can enjoy your jewelry right away! No waiting for orders to arrive; you can take home your purchases with you that same night! Plus you will recieve AWESOME discounts!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!
Janell

Cutsom Ring

Happy Friday, everybody! I finally got to go spend some time in the studio today... that always puts me in a good mood (not that I was in a bad one). I had a custom order for a unique CTR ring (in Mormon culture that means "Choose The Right"... like a WWJD thing, but older). People usually have a CTR ring as a reminder to always do what's right. I really like the concept, I know I can use a reminder through out the day! Anyway, it is a graduation gift for a girl at my church. I am really happy with the result! I might have to make one for myself. It's been years since I've had a CTR ring.

I packed up all of my tools etc at the studio today. They are all in boxes in my car. I cannot wait to be able to move my benches here. Hopefully that will happen very soon... we'll see. Have a great weekend!

Custom Earrings

Crystal - Here are your earrings! I hope you like them. I'll be putting them in the mail first thing tomorrow.

There is a mix of oxidization levels among the chains. A couple are dark, a few are medium, and a couple are bright. They really catch the light! They are light weight and really dangle-y. The lever back wires will be very secure for everyday wear.

They ended up being just barely over 2-1/2" long. Let me know if there is anything you'd like different. If I don't hear from you I'll put them in the mail.
Thanks again!
Janell

Sketch for Crystal

Hi Crystal! Here is a sketch of my interpretation of what you described you would like. Does it look right to you? Do you think 6 chains would be too much? I may have gotten carried away!

Here are the two chains you mentioned you liked in the necklaces on my site. I will add these in to the mix on the circle with chain earrings. Well, let me know what you think. If you like this design I will make them for you right away. You can let me know through etsy.
Thanks! Janell