My Favorite (Etsy) Things

I've been a bad Blogger - I know & my pre-New Years Resolution will be to amend that (I promise)! In celebration of Christmas and in fashion of one of my FAVORITE movies to watch around Christmas time (& well anytime for that matter), The Sound of Music, I have decided to share some of my favorite Christmas Etsy finds with you!!

LOVE these glittering tabletop figurines - what a chic and festive addition to spruce up a table in a surprising way! Imagine how candlelight will dance off of him!

(You have to check out her Pink Elephants too - they remind me of the "Elephants on Parade" in Dumbo - SOO cute!!)

(Wishdaisy)

Everyone needs a regal looking Nutcracker at Christmas! After all, who will vanquish the evil Rat King at night if you don't have one?!!? :-) 

(Twoems)

(PublishedArtist)

I can't help but smile when I see these as they remind me of all of the wonderful years that I spent Christmas Eve & Christmas at both sets of my grandparent's homes in Memphis, TN. They had sets almost exactly like these. 

(VintagePackRat)

And, well everyone needs some bling around the holidays! ;-) 

(MichelleChangJewelry)

(Rockcakes)

That's all for now - I'll be posting soon about the exciting new things I've been working on!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!!!

Rebecca J Give-away!!!!

All Rebecca J Fans - be sure to check out http://peekofchic.blogspot.com/! It is run by my dear friend Cheryl and is such a great blog to check out all fashionable things! If you're having trouble figuring out new outfits check out her "Style Me Chic" section and she'll help act as your own stylist! 

Rebecca J is hosting the first give-away for the blog! Once she hits 100 followers one lucky person from all of her followers will have their name drawn randomly to win one of my gorgeous "Beauty Unearthed" necklaces!! So follow quickly - the drawing will be happening soon!!!

What's New in the Shop

Ok - I know- ENOUGH about the other stuff going on in my life and back to jewelry talk! :-) ;-)

I know I've been a bit behind in my usual upload of new items to the shop - some items on backorder have delayed the creation of new adornments! Luckily everything is back ordered no more, so new items will be uploaded starting TONIGHT!!! Here's a sneak preview of some of the new goodies I've had waiting in the wings for when my backorder items arrived!! (It's a bit like Christmas at the house when these items arrive in the mail! Always super fun opening and playing with everything!!!)

P.S. Cheryl this post is for you!!! I would check your mailbox today!! :-) (I wonder if your b-day present could be one of these lovelies! :-))

(Click on the Pictures below to see the current offerings in my Etsy shop featuring these lovely pendants! Convo me to reserve a specific pendant and create a custom necklace!)

Gold Plated Agate Slices

Amethyst & Citrine Gold Plated Druzy Pendants

 Silver & Gold Plated Rock Crystal & Amethyst Point Pendants

Gold Plated OCO Geode Slices

Gold Plated Pink Druzy Pendants

Renovations, Earth Day, and Easter!!

I've been a BAD Blogger I know - My apologies! Things have been quite busy around the house - I get a bit distracted when the weather is nice and tend to frolic outdoors as much as possible! Thus, I've started my outdoor renovations on my house!

I bought my first house almost a year ago - a cute 1950's single family home that a builder renovated and flipped. The inside looks great - refinished hardwoods, new kitchens & baths, and lovely paint colors! There's very little I plan on tackling inside the house - installing a ventilation fan in the master bathroom and connecting the icemaker line for the refrigerator are the biggest ones, but those will left up to the professionals! However, the outside has been a bit of a mess and one that I am more than prepared to tackle myself (with a little help from dad and his chainsaw!! :-)). So, when the weather turned a bit warmer I decided to finally tackle my outdoor renovations!! 

BEFORE: The crazy bushes in the front have been KILLING MY LIFE since I bought the place- yes, I've hated them since Day 1! They do NOTHING for the curb appeal and trying to trim them is WAY more of an arm work-out than I would like in one setting (especially since they have to be trimmed every few days in the summer & as my boyfriend likes to tell me - I have little girl arms- so super OUCH!)! There was just no way I was ever going to get the curb appeal where I wanted it with them there and in their weird and uneven placement. As much as I would have loved to save them - they were planted when the house was built, so that's where dad and his chainsaw came into play!

AFTER: (Part 1). Sunday saw me caulking and re-painting the Wood Paneling on the Right. It went from Light Tan to now a lovely White that makes it POP just a bit more! Extended flower beds & new plants will be Phases 2 & 3, so stay tuned for more updates as the work progresses!!! 

Earth Day

I can't leave out the backyard and my outdoor renovation to celebrate Earth Day!!! Unfortunately the real "BEFORE" picture didn't turn out very well, but I had Dad with his handy chainsaw take out 2 Mimosa trees that had sprung up in the backyard and were growing like weeds. This before is after they were taken out!

Before: Yes, While Cavaliers romping in the backyard do add a lot to the overall aesthetic of the place, I needed something flowering in the back left corner! So, in honor of Earth Day......  

I now have a Lavender Crape Myrtle planted!!! (P.S. pay no mind to the rubber tote in the background - that is my compost bin that I'm hoping my rose bush will hide soon! :-)) 

Additional Colors...

As promised, here are the pictures of the Additional Colors and New Stones that just came in over the weekend:

"Reminiscent" Necklaces

Faceted Gemstones bezel set in 22k Gold Plating over Sterling Silver

**Available in an array of other Gemstones and in Sterling Silver - E-mail me for your custom necklace**

 Grey Moonstone

 Emerald

"Wonderment" Necklaces - Gold Plated Druzy Pendants on 14k Gold Filled. 

Shown in Cool Taupe Grey & Light Cherry Blossom Pink. Additional Colors and Shapes Available.

 "Quarry" Necklaces - Gold Plated Agate Slices on 14k Gold-Filled Cable Chain. Current Colors Available shown below. Convo me to reserve one of the colors! 

New Necklaces for 2011!!!

I'm really excited about the new pendants that I've found - they're Chic, Rugged, and Feminine all at the same time! Each stone or geode is unique, so every necklace is truly ONE OF A KIND!


I will be getting in additional colors in the coming weeks, so e-mail me at rebeccajdesigns@yahoo.com to create a custom necklace for you!! Also Available in Silver Plating or Sterling Silver upon custom order! 

"On Rugged Terrain" Necklaces 

Oco Geode Druzy Slices Rimmed in Gold Plate on 14k Gold Filled

"Reminiscent" Necklaces

Faceted Gemstones bezel set in 22k Gold Plating over Sterling Silver

**Available in an array of other Gemstones and in Sterling Silver - E-mail me for your custom necklace**

Aquamarine

Amethyst

Aquamarine

"Foretold" Necklaces

Faceted Crystal Points Capped in Gold or Silver

I'll have even more gorgeous and new pendant options coming soon! Stay tuned to my shop or my blog for updates!!

www.rebeccajdesigns.etsy.com

www.rebeccajdesigns.blogspot.com

(Wholesale orders available for these necklaces - see my wholesale linesheet at www.rebeccajdesigns.trunkt.com)

New Baubles!!!

Just thought I'd share the pictures of the new gemmies that came in the mail this week! It always feels like Christmas when I get a box of new supplies in! I can't wait to start working with these!!

Faceted Rondelles: Citrine, Blue-Flash Labradorite, Emerald, Amethyst, Smoky Quartz, Multi Tourmaline, Peridot, Aquamarine, Black Spinel, and Green Onyx.

Faceted Shapes: Black Spinel Onions, Black Rutilated Quartz Cubes, Sky Chalcedony Hearts, Hot Pink Chalcedony Pears, Pink Amethyst Pears, Lemon Quartz Pears, Amethyst Pears, Black Rutilated Quartz Pears, and Blue-Flash Labradorite Pears. 

E-mail me at rebeccajdesigns@yahoo.com if you'd like a custom order with some of my new gemmies!

For those interested, I buy direct from the manufacturers in order to offer the best pricing on my jewelry creations to my customers and I sell off what I don't have plans to use at wholesale pricing on my detash shop: www.cosabelle.etsy.com. 

Just for Me

Bobcat Necklace

It's not often that I create pieces just for myself - most of the designs that I like I will sell because I can simply recreate them; however, there are a few pieces that I've crafted as presents just for myself and I thought I would share them with you! 

The Bobcat Necklace shown above was a project that I undertook this weekend. This was my first attempt at cutting out shapes by hand from a sheet of metal and I think it turned out pretty well! It was quite a task since I don't have ALL of the tools that I would prefer to have at my worktable in order to do these in a more effective and easier way, but since it was for me I figured it was worth it to try it out anyway! (That and I was too impatient to wait to get everything before making it!) I wanted something a bit different for my animal necklace - the bobcat seemed the perfect choice - playful, wild, and is known for it's ferocity and grace.  I'm excited to have this necklace in my jewelry box to enjoy for years to come! 

(I do love this design, so I am going to recreate it to sell in my shop like the one above and as a larger version on a longer length of chain- contact me for your custom listing or for a different animal!)

Night/Special Occasion Earrings

I LOVE my two pairs of black and gold earrings. For Night & Special Occasions I always reach for the longer earrings that are eye catchers, so I made two different types that I wear all the time! The first one shown is what I usually wear when I do trunk shows - I like to wear my own designs, but not something that I'm selling at the show. The second pair has become my go to pair for nights out - I would have taken a studio picture of them as well to show them fully,but it looks like they have gone missing. It looks like I have my next project for next weekend, in the meantime, here is a picture of me wearing them one night out last year. 

Oh How I Miss Thee.....

So my New Year's Resolution was to find a healthier (and hopefully more toned) version of me! That included kicking up the workouts and also one of the WORST habits that I have - My Diet Coke Addiction. It started out all innocent like most addictions will - I would have just a Diet Coke during lunch. Then it proceeded to get worse and even the looks of disdain and scorn from the bf wouldn't stop my wake-up Diet Coke (WHAT!??!! It was my version of coffee in the am!). Basically with the stress of a full-time job in the business world and running RebeccaJ in the after hours, my diet coke habit just kept getting worse and it got to the point that I was only having 4-7 glasses of water a WEEK! Appalling, yes I know!

Thus, my New Years Resolution - to cut back on my Diet Coke Addiction. How do I decide to this?? Oh, the smart way - COLD TURKEY! Say hello to the caffeine withdrawal headaches and a bit of a grumpier me. But, the past few days have been a SUCCESS! I'm already feeling better, I have more energy after work, I'm not craving the carbs like I was before, and my skin is a lot less dry than it has been with this winter weather! I do think I'll be having a sip or two of the DC tomorrow just to try and stave away the headaches I've been getting, but I plan on upping the water to compensate! Good luck to everyone else out there trying to kick a food/drink addiction this year- right now I'm feeling your pain!

Recap on the last few months

Well, the holidays have passed, New Years resolutions have been resolved, and a New Year has begun! It was a whirlwind end of the year both in my RebeccaJ and personal life! Some of the happenings:

My sister took a new job this year and moved down to Evans, GA. She is such an absolute doll and such a huge supporter of my jewelry line, so she decided to host a RebeccaJ Trunk Show/Christmas Party. I owe a HUGE thank you to all of the lovely ladies in the Pharmacy Department at MCG Augusta - this was my most successful trunk show thus far and one of the most fun! It's always fun to meet my sister's friends and co-workers and these girls couldn't be more sweet, outgoing, and an absolute blast! If you're ever in the MCG hospital there in Augusta know you will be in good hands with these women looking over your meds! 

Christmas in my family has always been a special time. With the majority of my parents siblings and parents still residing in the Memphis, TN area, all of my Christmases since I was 7 and until I graduated from college saw us making the 9-10 hour trip every year to spend it with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins. We hated it that when I graduated we had to stop making the trip due to the amount of vacation time I had (it was WAY more fun when I had a month off when I was in school)! But, we've kept it a special time for the 5 of us and make sure that all of us take a couple days off in order to get some great family time in! It is funny though, as we all get older the presents have taken quite a different turn from the previous years - now there's an abundance of cookware and house decor! My big present this year wasn't really a surprise, but if you know my mom (and she's a total cutie), I still loved that she gave me this all wrapped up and with a big bow on it! 

My parents were total sweeties and gave me my New Year's Eve trip to San Jose, CA! A little back story on the trip: I was really fortunate last January that a friend of mine decided to set me up with one of her husband's teammates. I've been dating Russ ever since and this past year has seen a lot of growth and challenges for him in his career as a pro swimmer. It was a hard decision to make, but for the future of his career and his goal of making the 2012 Olympics, he made the move out to San Jose, CA to begin his training under coach John Bitter at the Santa Clara Swim Club. We're doing long-distance - me in Charlotte, NC and him in San Jose, CA, thus the plane tickets for Christmas! (You can follow his progress on his blog: www.russellpayne.org). 

My New Year's trip was absolutely WONDERFUL!! We had such a blast exploring the areas around San Jose and two of my favorite days were spent in Santa Cruz and San Fransisco. 

Santa Cruz: We stopped and grabbed lunch for a picnic and then drove down the coast until we found a beautiful cove to stop at. We had a blast for an hour or so playing around on the beach and taking pictures. 

San Fransisco: 

 At Ghirardelli Square getting some dessert. 

What's to Come this Year?

A LOT - The past few weeks I've been working on some new designs and on my picture taking skills. I'm hoping to get those honed a bit better in order to show off the sparkle and sheen of the gemstones and metals that I use. It hasn't been easy trying to improve, but I'm hoping that over the next few weeks I'll have better photos uploaded onto my Etsy site!