HAF Spotlight Artist Jennifer of Mewes Mountain Arts

Jennifer and her husband live in the foothills just outside of Denver, Colorado. Her faith inspires her artisan jewelry. She uses many different materials such as stone and silver. She created these beautiful pieces. On her profile she states that she earned a BFA and worked in painting and pottery. Which led her to truly understanding what it means to be a starving artist! From there she had a myriad of jobs, including one at a dairy. Later she earned a degree in IT and worked in that field. Her dream is to run a bed and breakfast in the mountains of Colorado.

You can buy her jewelry at her Handmade Artist's Forum Shop You can also visit her at her blog and on facebook. . Don't forget to check out her Etsy shop.Check out her beautiful jewelry  and read about her and her faith on her blog. You won't be disappointed.

HAF Member Spotlight - Dreams and Echoes

Today i have the pleasure of writing about Linda Talbott of Dreams and Echoes. She goes by Raedawn on Etsy, where she has a beautiful shop filled with jewelry.She started out as a visual artist and moved to beading after her daughter started beading.  She states in her Etsy profile,  "I grew up and lived most of my life in Maryland, but a short “sabbatical” in Ontario, Oregon, and a longer one in Silver City, New Mexico, had a definite influence on my work. My current jewelry includes themes that are primal/mythic, romantic/decorative, contemporary, and southwestern. " 


Her jewelry has sold in Maryland and shown in galleries in New Mexico and Oregon. In addition, her jewelry has been shown with her visual art in various venues. Now she showcases and sells her jewelry online. Her are some of her beautiful creations below.

You can also read her blog, follow her on twitter, and follow her on facebook.

HAF Team Artist Spotlight T.Rusk4U

Here is a talented lady, Teresa. She is a jewelry artist and also loves to sew as well as many other crafts. But her obsession now is jewelry. And it shows. Her jewelry is classic and beautiful. She uses wire along with many other materials such as natural stones such as garnet, obsidian, turquoise, and jade. You can find her store on Etsy where she sells these beautiful treasures, see below. She also shares herself with the world through her blog where she writes about "... my jewelry business, promoting others and the handmade movement, sharing information, and making new friends! You will also find tidbits about me, favorite recipes, interviews,etc...."


She, of course, is also on Facebook and Twitter. In addition she is in Find It Handmade, the Handmade Artist's Shop, and LinkedIn

Her aqua terra jasper bracelet

Her gold oval earrings with green picasso beads

Obsidian and pearl double strand necklace

Check out this talented lady and let me know what you think of her talent and creativity. I know I am inspired to make more jewelry!

HAF Team Artist of the week: baublezptoa aka Carmen

Carmen makes beautiful jewelry as can be seen in Baublez, her Etsy store.  You can also find her beautiful jewelry on ArtFire as Baublezptoa.  Carmen Trueheart hails from St. Agustine, Florida. She uses precious Metal Clay, metalwork, bronze, copper, wirework gemstones, vintage beads. She says she is an ex hippie that loves the colors and smoothness of beads. As a beader and jewelry maker myself, I must say that I understand completely. And you will too. One look at her jewelry and you can see that she loves her work.
You can see below her 

Mandala of Fine Silver with Gaspiete Green Necklace

I have to say that this is just stunning, as is the piece below.

Here is a large amethyst pendant necklace. I love amethyst.

There is something else very special about Carmen, her love of animals. She donates a percentage of each sale to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. You can see the cutest dogs on her blog also. Oh, did I forget to mention the blog? Well go check it out! She has more beautiful jewelry there as well. So check out Carmen's jewelry because you are really going to like it, and she is just a caring lady with a heart for the animals. I must admit, I am an animal lover as well. The fact that she donates some of her proceeds to an animal sanctuary makes me just want to buy her jewelry even more.

New HAF Team Artist Tuscanroad

Today I want to tell you about Tuscanroad Designs, run by Holly. Holly was inspired by a trip to Italy. On her profile she states. " It all began with a trip to Murano, Italy. After touring the glass and bead factories on this island, I was hooked. Upon returning home, I promptly signed up for a Lampwork class at the local glass store to learn how to make my own beautiful beads" She uses her own lampwork beads, swarovski crystal, and semiprecious gemstones. The metals she uses are: sterling silver, bali silver, african silver, gold fill, copper and brass. She is a talented lady who makes beautiful jewelry. In her Etsy store you will find beautiful items with a mod and vintage flair. She makes timeless, classic jewelry whose beauty lasts throughout the seasons and beyond the trends.

This is a beautiful necklace with mauve crystals and silver fringe. Below are her chubby love bird earrings. They are so cute. Above is the golden book locket necklace. It is simply stunning.

Holly also has a great blog where she talks about these wonderful owls she has. You have to check it out.

New HAF Team Artist Spotlight Snips and Snails at HelenaPuck.etsy.com

Robin Hart man is a part time college professor teaching english. She has her MA in British Literature! I am duly impressed. On top of this, she is a wife, mother, and artisan. She works primarily in cross stitch and pattern design, however, she also ..." dabble in a little bit of everything: jewelry design, bead work, decoupage, crochet, polymer clay, card making, rubber stamping, and plastic shrink." This is one well rounded and talented lady.

At Snips and Snails Etsy store, she welcomes all "... to Snips and Snails, home of the seahorse silhouette cameo earrings." These are beautiful and unique earrings. They are so cute.
You can also find her on Twitter, Flickr, and her Blog.



She also sells a scrabble tile necklace with a tiny cross-stitch of a snail. It is so tiny and intricate. It took a lot of talent to do that. I have seen cross-stitch and I have seen scrabble tile necklaces, but never the two together.

She also made this very creative bamboo tile of a Van Gogh painting. Check it out below.


Robin is a talented lady with a beautiful Etsy shop. She even offers free shipping on some items. Check it out and let me know what you think!

HAF Etsy Team Spotlight!! - K & K Crafts and Designs

K & K Crafts and Designs hails from Yokohama, Japan. Kazumi B. is the person behind the goods. She makes lovely frame purses. They are perfect for change and lipstick and whatnot. This one is so cute with the strawberries. It looks so sweet!. Kazumi has a blog where the crafts and drawings are discussed. She has also a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter account.

In addition, K & K Crafts and Designs makes sock monkeys!  She has a set of sock monkeys, a bride and a groom. They are just adorable. I want one!

These have to be the cutest things I have seen in a long time. Not only does K&K Crafts and Designs do frame purses and sock monkeys, they do sock monkey frame purses! See the cute one on a keychain below.

As if all this wasn't enough, she also does chalk art on another Etsy shop.  It is called K&K Chalk Art Designs. She does chalk art for individuals as well as businesses. She does them for coffee shops and weddings. Check out a picture of her chalk art below.

Kazumi also has Socky's World where you can see what Socky the Sock Monkey is up to.

My Article on Photo Editing

I wrote an article on photo editing with Gimp 2.6. You can find it published on Rena Klingenberg's site Home Jewelry Business Success Tips


I think it's a great article and I hope you do too! Let me know what you think after you've read it.

HAF Member Spotlight iKnitQuiltSew!!

iKnitQuiltSew is from Cedar City, Utah. She was taught to knit and sew by her grandmother before there was even color TV! I think this is great. To be handed down a craft from grandmother to child is quite special. This long background in knitting and sewing enables her to create such beautiful items such as this.
These beautiful and colorful booties sell at her Etsy Store. Also in her store you will find beautiful knitted hats and soft little teddy bears.

                     Check out this orange knitted cap for $10. She has a great variety of knitted booties and caps in all sorts of colors.

She also makes teddy bears. I have no idea how you would even go about making one. They look so perfect, I'll have to ask her how she does it. I'm just too curious. My favorite is this white teddy bear seen below.

                       Just as I thought I had seen everything in her store, I find that she hand quilts these beautiful baby quilts. Here is one with rainbow fish. So bright and colorful.

She also has a blog.

On the blog she talks about other artists and offers insights into her life as well as offering tutorials on knitting a baby headband and sewing a barbie doll outfit. Check it out. This is one talented lady.







  iKnitQuiltSew Etsy Store

   iKnitQuiltSew Blog

New Chainmaille Jewelry for Dream Again Jewelry!!!

So, I have been playing with some new rings for my chainmaille line of jewelry. This is something very new for me. I had seen others make chainmaille and thought, "Oh, I could never do that!" So imagine my surprise and delight when I tried making chainmaille, and I CAN do that! I have been playing with some different weaves: Byzantine, European 4in1, Japanese Flower Maille, Cable Cross, and Spiral or Rope weaves.




All I can say is it has been so much fun. I really enjoy making chainmaille. It is the closest thing to weaving or knitting that I am going to get. I am not very handy with yarn. But I absolutely love making the chainmaille. I must admit, I had to keep a few pieces for myself. :) I am nearly feverish with my need to make more jewelry. Which is good news for all of you. Check out my Etsy Store. Over the next few days I will be adding new jewelry.

 I am afraid that soon I will need more rings! I'll have to go back to The Ringlord. 

They have great rings and great prices. 

Artist/Crafter spotlight Twiddletoes!

I am a member of HAF - (Handmade Artists' Forum). I am a part of a blog ring there and will be highlighting different artists each week. This week it is twiddletoes. She has an awesome website here.

She hand knits different types of luxury socks. She specializes in tabi socks. These socks have a separated toe so that you can wear them with flip flops. You can get rid of that annoying sock bunch up between the toes when wearing the flip flops. And  I am guilty of doing a little flip flop and sock wearing myself.

She also makes traditional socks out of some natural fibers, including alpaca, cashmere, and yak. They come in a variety of colors, and she also takes custom orders. just contact her here.

She also has a great blog. It is interesting, personable and funny.

From her website, in explaining the tabi socks she states, "Some of these features include:

• A ribbed cuff for elasticity and a comfortable fit for just about any ankle width.

• Grafted toes that eliminate rubbing and discomfort around the toes.

• Reinforced heel 'rise' to prevent rubbing and wear when wearing inside shoes and boots.
• Reinforcement between the toes to prevent flipflop thongs from wearing through and rubbing."

So check her out at her website. She also has an Etsy shop and a 1000markets shop.

New Chainmaille Rings

So I ordered rings from a new supplier, The Ringlord. You can find his website here. They sell rings made of all types of metal such as aluminum, copper, bronze, and sterling silver. They are very competitively priced and are based in Canada. I have to wait about a week to get the rings, but it is well worth the wait.

So, I am designing my new chainmaille line of jewelry using a variety of techniques including byzantine weave and Japanese flower maille. I am excited and I can't wait to upload some pictures when they are done and put them up for sale at my Etsy store.

I am just learning these weaves. Before I have only done the flat chainmaille, the European 4 in 1. Now I am venturing out. I was worried I wouldn't be any good at it, but I am doing well. Most importantly, I really enjoy it!

What inspires me to make my beautiful jewelry - a trip to the coast

I am planning a trip to the coast, and I am very excited about it. I find myself continually inspired by the ocean. I don't mean the paua shell necklaces on cord. I also don't mean the sunshiny beaches with bikini clad women and muscular men.

No, I am talking about the rough and wild northern coast of California. There is only a little sand and lots of ragged, rocky coastline. It is free, unencumbered. I want to create a line of jewelry that reminds me of the raw, stark beauty of that coast.

Perhaps I can make some jewelry that reminds me of a dark and stormy day at the beach. The kind where you are bundles up in a hoodie and rolled up jeans, with bare feet braving the iciness of the water. I want to make jewelry that is natural and raw.

So this means only one thing.... a bead and jewelry supply shopping trip is on the horizon. Which means good news for the customers of Dream Again Jewelry.

Ta Da!!!! New blog - about my jewelry and how I became a jewelry artist

I have my own blog. This is all new for me. Here is a little about me, so we can get to know each other a little better.

How I came to be a jewelry artist...
-------------------------------------------------




I have been making jewelry for 17 years, since I was 20 years old. I had happened into my first bead store while on vacation in Santa Cruz, CA. I fell immediately in love. The glass, clay, porcelain, metal, pearl, and shell beads overwhelmed me. I had no idea how to make any jewelry, but I bought some African trade beads and some leather, and some clasps. My first attempts were rather simple, but I was hooked. I am a completely self taught jewelry artist. I read all the books I could get my hands on, and later I searched the internet. I find great pleasure in making jewelry and I hope you find great pleasure in wearing my one of a kind treasures.

--------------------------------------------------
A little about me...
--------------------------------------------------

I grew up in a small town in California, USA. I actually lived just outside of town, in the country. We had dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, wild turkeys, wild coyotes, some quail and pheasant. Oh, and we had grapes, lots and lots of grapes. That's how my parents paid for our large family, all seven of us. I admit I was spoiled, with pretty , girly things - I was the firstborn girl, and apparently, my mom was waiting for me for quite a while. This is where I learned to love and appreciate pretty things, including jewelry. So you see, I really never stood a chance. I was born to appreciate pretty things. Eventually I made my own pretty things.

--------------------------------------------------
My Jewelry
--------------------------------------------------

I make all my jewelry by hand with pliers and wire, chain, beads, and stones. I don't solder anything, it is all securely wrapped in wire. I sit at the work table and look over all my beads, and there are many, and just let the inspiration strike. I start dreaming up the jewelry and before you know it, I have a beautiful necklace, or bracelet, or one of many other beautiful things. I love to do custom work.
--------------------------------------------------
Check Me Out....
--------------------------------------------------
Find me on Etsy here.

Find me on Facebook here

Find me on Twitter here