Monday, April 14, 2014

Mother's Day is on the way!

May 11 is Mother's Day in the United States, and while pampering Mom with breakfast in bed and a coupon for the local Spa is great - and appreciated - it really is nice to have an actual gift to help her remember the day as a special one! One of the best ways to do this ... is with jewelry!

Of course the JET membership has been busy making goodies for Mom, and they all want you to have these fabulous gift ideas in hand before the big day arrives. So without further delay, here are a few suggestions from me!

Moms are busy people but they do like to look good, and jewelry is a big help ... especially jewelry that's easy to spot! Earrings frame the face ... and so they're front and center!

Ombre Lucite Flower Earrings

These pretty lucite flower earrings are made with top quality brass leverback earwires and findings. The shaded ombre floral components are beautiful, and complete the vintage look. Made by Cheryl of DesignsByCher, these pretty earrings will please any Mom and they'll be appreciated all year!

Visit SatinDollCo for a great variety of earrings! This shop
Wild Thang Earrings by SatinDollCo
features very affordable, unique jewelry for the fashion conscious woman. You'll find earrings of every type in this shop - dangles, hoops, colorful, earthy ... there's always something for Mom here. Right now the Owner / Designer of this shop, Gaetana Parris has over 170 pair listed in SatinDollCo for you to choose from!

Maybe your Mom is a bit  well ... unique. Does she like things that are just a little quirky? Edgy? Does she like to wear something you're just not gonna see everywhere? Debbie, the Artisan Jeweler at stoutdg2 has something that might just be in your Mom's orbit. Admittedly, Debbie calls them "Organic Shaped Lampwork Bead Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings - Fall Leaves". I don't know ... Looks to me like they're actually alien spaceships ... 

Keeping with the quirky thing ... There is a new
Asymmetrical Gemstone and Silver Earrings
way of looking at earrings that says ... as long as there are design elements in common, they don't need to match to be a pair. This is called asymmetrical design. We have a couple of members who do this very well. Laura Stamper is one of them!


The earrings on the left are a great look at asymmetry. They are different. But ... they do go together! These amazing earrings are made with natural rough gemstones and sterling silver. 

Find these in Laura's shop: laurastamperdesigns

 Every Mom loves butterflies! This pair from Barbara at CapitalCityCrafts is so cute ... they're done in a contemporary style and are just the right size! These dangle from a wingtip, so they appear to be flitting around ... like butterflies should! Simply fabulous worn with just about anything Mom has in her closet, she'll wear them again ... and again!
(IF you can give them up) ...

Find HUNDREDS of items for Mom created by talented JET members here: Gift Ideas for Mom from the JET Team!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

JET Artisan Profile:
Debra Jeffries of DebrasDivineDesigns

Hi! I'm Debra Jeffries, and my Etsy shop is called DebrasDivineDesigns. I create unique jewelry and accessories.

You'll find a very diverse line of jewelry creations when you visit DebrasDivineDesigns. I use many traditional and some not so common supply items and components to create. The usual metals - silver, gold filled, copper ... are the basis for what I make. I do my best to use recycled metal parts to make my metal jewelry and findings, and I spice up my jewelry with fused glass, a large assortment of beads and stones, fiber, leather, feathers - and real butterfly wings!

My specialty is Butterfly Wing jewelry. I'm one of the original artisans to offer this type of jewelry on Etsy, and have worked very hard to perfect my own methods and techniques, resulting in a fantastic piece of unique jewelry people love to wear!

Real Viceroy Butterfly Necklace
I offer Butterfly Wing Pendants, for people who have a chain or necklace they prefer to use. A Butterfly Necklace can be on a chain (see left) or a Torque (I'm wearing one, above).

This jewelry is amazing. People love it!

Spring and Summer are the perfect time to show off your real butterfly jewelry. This nature inspired line of unique butterfly rings, butterfly wing earrings and bracelets is naturally colorful and a nice fashion accent!

Genuine Dotted Glory Butterfly Wing Ring
These butterfly wings are ethically sourced. The wings I use to make this jewelry are harvested from butterflies that are farm raised, and have lived their natural lives. No butterflies are harmed or killed for their wings.

I am heavily inspired by nature, the flight of a butterfly, the trail of a vine, the color in flowers, the ripples in water, the change in leaves. Love the organic feel of it all!

I am mostly self taught, but watch a lot of online tutorials and have had basic classes in jewelry soldering, patinas and stained glass.


Chiseled Copper Fan Earrings
I got this love of jewelry making as a child. I made jewelry all the time with broken costume jewelry! I sold my first piece of jewelry in 2002. I  was asked by a Woman's group at my church to do something crafty for an event on Time Management.

I had everyone make pendants or pins using broken watch parts and jewelry pieces. It was a hit and I was asked to create some jewelry for someone in the group - to sell for me.

 I'm working on my silversmithing and stone setting skills; there are no classes near me, so I'm doing it by practice, videos and reading. I just love banging and torching metal, and am loving my tools -  my soldering iron, my torch and my hammers are all important ... I can't pick just one. I'm having so much fun! I just learned how to enamel metal with a torch ...!

I'm active on Social Networks, and you can also find me here:

debrasdivinedesigns.wordpress.com/
www.debrasdivinedesigns.com/
shoply.com/shop/debrasdivinedesigns1/
www.facebook.com/debrasdivinedesigns3D?ref=hl
twitter.com/DesigningDebra
www.pinterest.com/3ddd/
www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=235272183&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profil...