Where oh where has Dawn been?

Creating, of course!

Earrings...

Lengthening a Mommy Bling necklace I had made earlier for Treena...

I love it long!

(My friends/customers come up with the best ideas.)

Which inspired this bracelet...

(Which will be added to my website next week)

And this one...

In fact, I like this design so much that you will likely see it come up in a few more colours.

Some Mommy Bling for Lynn...

Some Angel necklaces for Avery School's Thomas' Treasure Boxes Project...

(Thanks to Marc & Shauna for involving me in such an amazing project).

I actually had most of these made before Christmas, but as most of you know,

I hit a wee blip in the road, so it took a little longer to get them all done.

Before the blip, we had planned a vacation.

It was wonderful - the Bahamas for one glorious week of relaxation...

A week on the beach and diving is a great cure for anything!

Which inspired this ring... a work in progress.

It still needs some polishing and detail work,

but I wanted to share my FIRST metal clay ring project!!

And that's where I've been.

Please give the new website a visit.

http://www.sunshineindustries.ca

Like it? Hate it?

Suggestions to improve how it works for you?

Please leave a comment or email me at

sunshineindustries (at) shaw.ca

Dawn

Just back from a Stella and Dot party!

What to do when you are a jewelry designer and a friend is having a jewelry home party?

Go!

There's nothing better than good girlfriends, good food and jewelry inspiration

on a Sunday afternoon!

Stella and Dot makes some fabulous leather bracelets and cloth/bejeweled

bib necklaces that are trendy and beautiful that I would never make.

I was very tempted by one ring that I still might buy - shhhh!!

I don't think we as designers should see other kinds of jewelry as direct competition.

Anything that makes women feel beautiful should be honored.

There is enough glory out there for us all! If I see quality bling out there, I will promote it.

It doesn't take away from what I do, it enhances it. Thanks for inviting me, Amy!

Here are some pieces I have been working on since my last blog entry:

This is a Mommy Bling Necklace. They sell for $65.00.

I make the pendants by hand from silver clay.

The birthstones are semi-precious stones or Swarovski crystals, whichever the

mom prefers.

This particular one is a peridot for August and it is a baby gift for a very special "almost niece"!

The 16" or 18" box chain comes from Artbeads.

They ship to Canada for $1.99! You can't beat that.

This is a Double Pendant Mommy Bling Necklace.

They sell for $130, although they can be more expensive depending on the stones or the shape of pendants chosen.

Both sides are stamped, so if the pendants turn, both sides are interesting.

This is another one that I made earlier. (I forgot to take a photo of the back of the one above).

The Double Pendant Mommy Bling Necklace comes on a 22" sterling open link chain that looks antique. I love this style of chain! It is my chain-of-choice. It comes from Nina Designs.

They have amazing jewelry findings from all over the world. They are my go-to supplier for findings that have gorgeous detail to them.

Shipping from them can be expensive to Canada, but oh-so-worth-it!

This is a Mommy Bling Bracelet I made as a special order.

The first strand is $60 and each additional strand is $50.

The first strand comes with the beautiful sterling heart clasp.

Up to three more strands can be added onto a single strand bracelet.

The rounded sterling letters also come from Artbeads. They are a great resource!

The bracelet may be ordered either with semi-precious stones or Swarovski crystals to represent birthstones. The above bracelet was made with clear crystals as requested.

This one is made with peridots for August:

Next up, earrings!

These earrings are so delicate looking. I just love them.

They almost didn't make it to the website... except that I really needed some blue earrings added in there!

They are rough aquamarine rondelles with rice pear drops. All metal is sterling.

10-0149 Seafoam earrings - $16.00

Also made in the last two weeks - a long purple glass & sterling necklace

made for my gorgeous cousin, Thora.

She should receive it in the mail any day.

I love this necklace. The oval links are all hand forged, along with the "s-curve" links.

Putting this together was a lot of fun.

It's another piece that almost didn't make it to the owner... : )

And because I took so long to get around to making it for her,

(Procrastination Girl strikes again)...

I added in these bonus earrings.

(Shhhhhh...)

I think I'm in love with this new clay pendant from Magpie Gemstones.

You'll likely see one of those in one of my upcoming designs.

As I'm creating, I often take breaks to read my email and the occasional blog.

I found this decorating idea in a blog - remodelista.com.

I thought that if I painted some frames and put cork inside them, they would make a beautiful jewelry display on a wall in my someday-store-with-real-walls...

I already have these great displays in my studio:

I think a series of white or off-white frames added to these would make a great store wall!

Oh - and great news! Speaking of stores, the website is almost ready with it's new design and amped-up security. I'm soooo excited!! Thanks to my web designer, Seth Etter. He is amazingly talented and very easy to work with.

That's it for this week...

May the Bling be with you.

Dawn

Sunshine INdustries
http://www.sunshineindustries.ca
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Newest Bling - Personalized Jewelry

What has happened in the Sunshine INdustries studio lately? Well, for awhile, nothing. We have been renovating our kitchen, and anyone who has been through that knows that it can be all-consuming. However, I have been creating between making all those tile and colour decisions. I haven't been sharing much on here because most of the creating has been for special orders. Many were for gifts and I couldn't share for fear of ruining the surprise. Most have been given now, so here they are!

These two watches were for Rhonda, who had a gift certificate from Christmas. I'm particularly proud of the all sterling one. Rhonda picked out the watch face and the one large sterling bead opposite the watch face, which happened to be a three-hole bead. The three strands give it an antique and modern look all at the same time!

Mommy Bling necklaces have been HUGE! I have had several orders for them lately... This one, ordered by a husband as a surprise for his wife, is accented with a citrine, the birthstone for November.

It occurred to me as I was working this that this two-name style would work nicely for bridal jewelry or a Valentine's gift as well...

Kathleen from Toronto wanted a pendant with both her children's names on it rather than two pendants. I wasn't sure they'd both fit at first, but it worked out well. It's accented with a rough sapphire and a moonstone - birthstones for September and June.

Shelly ordered these next two as gifts for her nieces - Birthday Bling! Abbey's birthstone (for March) is aquamarine.

Cady's birthstone is peridot for August.

This beautiful tag bracelet was ordered by Marvin for his wife. It was my first bracelet with more than one tag in it. It has their two daughter's names and their grandchildren's names as well. Swarovski crystals were used for their birthstones between the names. I added a fine silver heart on the end to finish off the design.

Holly ordered this Double Mommy Bling Necklace. The birthstones are a ruby for July and a tourmaline for October.

The dime gives you an idea of size.

Necklaces and bracelets tend to turn on our bodies, so I make sure to add an interesting texture to the back of all my pendants and bracelet tags. This is the back of Holly's necklace.

A colleague of mine recently had a baby girl. I think this is the most letters I've ever put into a Baby Bling Bracelet - what a beautiful name!

Baby Bling Bracelets are a keepsake for a baby book or to frame with a photo. They aren't meant for baby to wear. (Beads could be swallowed too easily!)

This Baby Bling Bracelet was ordered by Mary-Ellen. This is a more typical size. Each bracelet is created with resin letters, metallic glass beads, sterling silver hearts, Swarovski crystal birthstones and a pewter flower. They may be ordered with a dragonfly instead of a flower and I have added some blue glass beads for boys.

Special order personalized jewelry makes a thoughtful gift, sure to be cherished. These are only some of the personalized jewelry options available to you from Sunshine INdustries. Have a look at www.sunshineindustries.ca under "Mommy/Baby Bling" for more ideas or contact Dawn at sunshineindustries@shaw.ca with your idea. If it's possible, I'll do it!

May the Bling be with you...

Dawn

Newest Bling

Many of you have probably been wondering, where are all the new pieces, Dawn?! Well, here is what I've been up to lately.

First of all, the watch pictured here. It was a special order and was very difficult for me to give up. I love the colours!! The stones are chrysocolla and opal.

This is a personalized Mommy Bling Necklace I've been working on. You can order these on the website. The pendant is handcrafted with silver clay (99% silver as opposed to sterling, which is 92.5%. Fine silver doesn't tarnish near as much as sterling will). The birthstone dangles are both amethyst.

Next, another Mommy Bling necklace. This is only part of it. It presented a particular challenge as I don't have Japanese stamps. I'm drawing in the Japanese letters for their names. Yes, Treena, I'm working on it! Tomorrow is Takeo day in the studio. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I think this necklace is going to be a different shape than most... stay tuned.

This photo of the Toshi pendant was initially made using the template behind it. That's how much silver clay shrinks when it's torched. Sanding it to make it smooth also shrinks it some.

THESE beauties are actually for sale! #09-162 - Amethyst Kiss Earrings. The ear wires are Bali silver in a gunmetal finish. The rings are pounded fine silver. The stones are all amethysts in different shades. Grey and purple are HUGE this fall...

This is the latest Baby Bling Bracelet. These may be special ordered via the website or email. I need the baby's name and birthdate. These are meant for the baby's memory book or perhaps to frame with their photo.

More to come next week...