Randi's Bracelet

Recently, I (finally) completed a custom order for a very dear friend of mine... Randi.

A few years ago, she went to Israel on a tour of the Holy Land and had a wonderful time. She was able to see for herself many sites that we discuss in our weekly Bible study classes. The trip was very inspirational to her and created a deep fondness for the land and its people.

Like most folks who take life changing trips... she brought something back to remind her of that faith adventure. And I am so glad she did!!

Her little reminders (a handful of coins from the national currency and ones for the planned temple) turned into a great opportunity for me to create something different for a change.

The coins were drilled, cleaned & polished and arranged with beads. Then colorful crystals were added and voila... a wonderful charm bracelet!!

Now she can wear a great reminder of her trip that has sparked numerous conversations. And the added bonus... you can now hear Randi "jingling" from about a mile away!!

Let's Here It for the Girls!

As you may know by now, I have a passion for making jewelry that women can feel special wearing. But about four years ago, I acted on several customer requests for something for little girls. I came up with the Little Mama Bracelet, which is the smaller version of the Grand Mama Bracelet.

The Little Mama gives little girls the chance to start their jewelry collection off with quality and style. It features her name in sterling silver letter beads, Swarovski crystals in choice of colors, sterling silver spacer beads and a tiny sterling toggle clasp for a secure closure. The best part of the bracelet is that it is further customized with a sterling silver charm.

After making nearly 50 Little Mama Bracelets, I am very pleased to announce that they are now available in my etsy shop for custom order. Also posted in my shop is one infant/toddler bracelet from my Princess Charming collection. This bracelet has five heart charms and four Swarovski crystals and is specially priced at only $10.

Both bracelets are perfect for the little princesses in your life. They make great gifts for new births, baptisms and birthdays. Thanks for checking them out!!

Holly's Crosses

Ok, now that holiday season is almost over I can take a deep breath and share a little of what I've been up to. Life hasn't been too hectic, but an awful case of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) almost sent me over the edge. Now that I'm hip to what the lack of sunlight does to me, I made some major adjustments in how I approached this year's festivities. Basically, I was a slacker. That's right... killing myself with stress was not on the agenda this year. So you can just stop checking the mail for my Christmas card... it ain't comin' !

With that out of the way, I feel so justified in confessing that I put the brakes on business during my peak sales period. Actually, Mama Mayborne Designs intentionally experienced it's slowest holiday season in the five years I've been doing this. I only participated in one small show and only accepted one custom order.

That order was for a friend of mine, Holly, who asked me if I could make her a cross pendant with her favorite verse. Of course I told her "YES" and made her a quick sketch. Next thing I knew she wanted six!!

Now I had to figure out how I was going to pull it off. Just so you know, I always get nervous in between the "sketch" and "do something" steps. Think it took me two weeks just to get my mind around it all. But I kicked out a better sketch, a template and something to practice on (in this case, hand-scribing the verse was freaking me out).

After I had one done, I showed it to Holly to see if it was what she wanted. ***Fellow artists take note: Just because there is agreement with the initial sketch doesn't mean that is what the client wants. What they really want lies somewhere between the sketch and SOMEthing else. You'll never guess it on your own so go back for feedback, preferably before you use up all of your time and raw materials.

In this case Holly didn't like the "plus sign" looking cross when it jumped off the page and into real life. She preferred to have the traditional-shaped cross. No problem. New sketch, new template and everyone is happy!