Back to Work

"The Studio" It's a bit of a huge mess at the moment but it works for now.

It's been a month and we're finally getting settled in to our new home here in Iowa. I have my studio in order (aside from a few random boxes that still need to find a home) and it feels SO good to be working in there again. My creative juices are flowing and now I just wish I had more time in the day to play.


These babies are first on my list. I made the bezels for these stones shortly before this whole Iowa thing came about...they've been waiting patiently to be finished (so have I). They are intended for my etsy shop. I'll post pics when they are done.


*Sigh* Pearls. I {l o v e} pearls. I bought a ton of them at the last gem show and cannot wait to play with them. It's a shame that they're not draped around someone's neck or dripping from a pair of lobes. They'll get there! I never did post pictures of all the treasures I found last month at the gem show. I got to buy the 'fun' stuff this time (last time, if you remember, it was all of the necessary supplies...not fun and always expensive); namely pearls, stones, and a wide variety of cabs to set. I'll try to remember to take some pics of them.

Well, break time is over. Time to get to work.

A New Adventure Begins

Life has been NUTS lately! My husband recently found a new job...in Iowa. This all happened so fast and really I should say this job found him. He'd been looking since last November and nothing had been happening. And when I say nothing I really mean n o t h i n g. Resume after resume, application after application and n o t h i n g (with the exception of a couple phone interviews, so maybe 'nothing' isn't completely true). Then one day a few weeks ago he received an email from a nice man at a bank in Iowa which was followed by a phone interview...then a family trip down including an entire day of interviews, lunch and a tour of the town he'd potentially be working in. Within a week he had the job (!!!). It's quite a big promotion and is EXACTLY what he was looking for. So yay! But in the past 3-1/2 weeks we've been to Iowa twice, come to terms with the fact that we're moving there (away from family and everyone we know), and begun packing. Needless to say I am tired (keep in mind we have a 4 month old!).

Unfortunately, my business will take a little hit from this move. I am leaving behind lots of customers and one of the galleries I have been in (who has a strict 'local only' policy). Big bummer there. They have been a big money maker for Karena Bella. But my husband kindly reminded me that when God shuts a door, He opens a window. It's exciting to think about a whole new market to tap in to.

So, what's on the bench? Hmmm...a batch of half finished work for etsy...a PILE of jewelry for the gallery (sigh...this used to be galleries) waiting for tags and waiting to be delivered. Oh, tags. You have been the bane of my existence as of late. Hours upon hours of designing...changing my mind...coming up with better ideas...and redesigning. I am finally getting there though. I think.

I will soon be packing up my studio (yet again). I should be back at it in a few weeks (hopefully). One really good thing about this move is there will be very little distraction considering that we are leaving everyone and everything we know. I can see myself spending lots of time in the studio! That will be heavenly : )
Later!

p.s. Since I have no jewelry pics to post here is a cute one of Evelyn...*sigh* I love this little girl!

It's About Time

I am so happy to have new work to post. I feel like it's been a really long time. I suppose it has been! The following is a mix of jewelry I've made for the galleries, my etsy shop, and a couple things I made for myself. Enjoy!


I made the "Evelyn" necklace shortly after she was born. I was aching to make my 'momma' necklace my entire pregnancy. But that's hard to do when you don't know the gender of the baby. I gotta tell ya...this was a difficult necklace to make. Any little mistake in the stamping led me to re-melting down the gold, re-hammering it back out flat, re-polishing it...etc. I probably did this 4 times before I got it right. When it comes to jewelry, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. That fact makes my life difficult sometimes! Ugh. The moldovite necklace is something I made to layer with the Evelyn necklace. I LOVE moldovite. It is the most stunning shade of green (love). I bought 4 stones about 2 years and have not been able to part with them. I also made a pearl pendant to layer with Evelyn but I forgot to take a photo of it. Anyway...

Vessuvianite and variegated green amethyst.

Crazy lace agate (this stone is AMAZING in person).

The most beautiful green/gold freshwater pearls knotted on matching green silk.

Chalcedony

Earrings to match

Pearl studs...love these!

Little rustic hoops

Mmmmm, paisley and pearls. Does life get any better?!

An authentic 100+ year old Indian charm (called "Patri").

Silvery-aqua freshwater pearls

I love this color combination of pearls...it's fresh.

And some bracelets to match!

There you have it. New jewelry. Now I need to attack my next project, new tags for the gallery jewelry. I have no ideas so far. Hmph.

Other than that--life continues to be good. Take care ; )

A New Life

Nearly 8 weeks have passed since the birth of my sweet, little girl. In some ways it feels like it's been a lot longer than that--for example, it feels like it's been a lot longer than that since a decent nights sleep! At the same time, part of me wishes time would slow in passing. Evelyn has out grown all of her newborn clothes, diapers, and even the need to be swaddled. My heart broke a little while cleaning out her drawers, putting the teeny-tiny newborn clothes away to make room for the 0-3 size.

This new life as a mother has been beyond rewarding. Even though it comes with it's challenges the blessings have been abundant. Things I struggled with for what seems like forever are starting to come easy to me (time management being a big one!). Every little smirk and smile fill my heart with joy. Every diaper, feeding, bath...every opportunity to serve my little one makes me love her more.

I have had some time to play around in the studio here and there the past 7 weeks. I FINALLY got to make my 'momma' necklace : ) My camera is currently full to the brim with pictures of Evelyn so I have yet to photograph some of my new work. Hopefully that will happen soon. I think February will be a fresh start in the studio. I am anxious to re-open my shop and get some new jewelry to the galleries (which is actually in progress...yay!). My husband will be my new assistant. That is he will be in charge (feedings and all) while I work in my studio a few nights a week. I cannot wait to get started!


Love and Hugs!

It's a Girl!!!

Evelyn Grace Armstrong was born Tuesday, December 7th at 8:55pm. She weighed 7lbs 3oz and measured 20" long. The labor and delivery were 'text book' (according to the nurses)--everything went just as I hoped and prayed it would. We have been blessed with a perfect, healthy little girl and words cannot express my gratitude!


Evie and I locking eyes for the first time--she is so beautiful.


She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. Have you ever scene such a look of love?


She ALWAYS has her little hands on her face and every now and then she gets her thumb in her mouth. It's so dang cute to watch her suck her little thumb.


Amos is so interested in her and shows very cautious interest. We've noticed his protective instincts have doubled since we've brought her home. He is already very sweet with her.

So now we're just trying to get adjusted to life with a baby here at home. So far things are going well. But the last 5 days are starting to catch up with us and we're pretty tired today. I'll continue to be in touch but it might be spotty (much like it has been the past 9 months!).

His and Hers

A friend/customer commissioned me to make her and her boyfriend a 'his and hers' necklace set for Christmas. It was such a fun and challenging project because I had never made anything for a man before. After doing some research on etsy (of course) I found there are some really awesome designs out there for men. I just might bust into that market one of these days. Enjoy the pictures (and ignore the reflections in the stones...there was no way around it!).

Hers & His

We chose to use onyx as the stone because it represents constancy, steadfastness, permanence, & courage (among many other things).

Debbie--this one is yours. It features a 25mm onyx stone set in a very feminine setting with a 18" textured chain (that matches the wire detail around the stone).



And here is Phil's. I *hope* the setting is masculine enough. This is also a 25mm stone and is on a 3mm thick natural leather cord that measures 20".

"love of my life"

Let me know what you think! I hope you love them. I'll send them with Mike Wednesday wrapped and ready to go : ) Thanks Debbie!

New Work

I finally took some pictures of recently finished projects. Enjoy!


Labradorite. One of my favorite stones, e v e r. This is a particularly beautiful stone. I put it in a very simple setting to not distract from the stone itself.


This stone has such beautiful 'flash' (aka labradoresence)...blues, grays, greens, golds. Lovely!


This necklace features a 100 year old Indian charm, called a Patri. The stones are varigated blend of green amethyst (another personal favorite) knotted on thick, brown silk. I used soft deerskin suede for the bail.

Diamonds, anyone? I used some of the raw diamond beads I bought at the last gem show in this necklace. My new trick--using silver 'drop' beads layered on a sterling hoop for a lovely rustic effect. Here's a pendant and earrings to match.

Other than that my studio time has been taken up with custom orders and some odds and ends repairs. I am feeling a huge relief having just finished up the last of my custom orders (which will appear in another entry today)--the baby can come any day it wants now! We're going to be 38 weeks this week so I am REALLY hoping the baby will decide to come soon. We shall see ; )