Unfortunately, it was a rejection letter.  Too bad, my heart sank.  However, being the eternal optimist, I decided I’d just submit to another of my favorites and hope for the best.

After I had a chance to digest the rejection I realized my tutorial probably was not appropriate for the magazine because it was a little bit above a beginner and required more than three steps to complete the project.  Next time, I’ll spend more time analyzing whether or not my submission fits with the audience of the magazine; I’m sure it will make a difference.

All in all, I’m glad I took the risk even though it didn’t result in a success.  You can’t go big without trying and it hasn’t deterred me one bit from trying other magazines.  So, to all of you out there disappointed in a particular rejection, don’t fret, there are plenty more opportunities that will result in a “YES!”

Here are a few photos of the final design of a very large topaz a client originally bought while on vacation.  It was originally set as a bezel, but no light came through so you couldn’t see how beautiful the stone is – I decided to prong set it.  I know it was a risky move for a stone this big, but if you get the setting right, it’s very beautiful.  I think she’s going to love it.  One thing to know, she’s a very tiny woman so this ring will look HUGE no matter which finger she wears it on – her ring size on the middle finger is a 2.75!  Yes, she’s really that small, but a wonderful woman and likes flashy things…  I think this will work.

I made these for a very good friend of mine.  His daughter turned 5 last weekend and she just LOVES jewelry and being a big girl so I made a set just for her!  I know she loves them and I hope to have a photo of the bangles in action.

Mini-Me Bangles

They were so much fun to make and boy, perspective is strange.  I had my friend measure his daughter’s little hand and when he said the measurement was 7 inches I thought, “wow, that’s kind of large” – thinking that my wrist is 8 inches.  But, when I measured out the wire, bent it into the bangle and began to solder the pieces I realized how tiny 7 inches really is.  All I kept saying is, “how stinkin’ cute are these?”

If any of you out in web-land have young girls that would love to have their very own set, please feel free to shoot me a comment or an email message at jujubeejewelrydesigns@gmail.com and I’d be happy to make a set for anyone wishing to give their little girls a big girl gift!

Each day I realize I’m meant to be creating joy in someone’s life by making gorgeous, sparkly, unique, extraordinary jewelry…  Some days it seems hard to get in the studio, but once I’m there I have a hard time leaving.  Tonight I’ll be up until the wee hours of the morning preparing my shop front on indiehandmade.com – here’s a link to the storefront I’ll be working on…      http://indiehandmade.com/content/jujubee-jewelry-designs

Go check it out and oh yeah, check out my fellow shop mates and see all the wonderful items that will be featured during the month of March!  Go check out the blog for I Heart Handmade as well – click on the picture below:

Also, if you’d like to custom order your pearl color see the attached chart for the options I have available!

Colors available for custom orders

Dizzy

Julessa with Jackson

This is the lovely Pink

We decided to take a break from the daily grind and went to Ripshin Goat Dairy in Lenoir, NC.  I have to say that Liza, the dairy owner, is a wonderful lady.  She runs a beautiful farm with goats, chickens and the farm dog, Fritz.

The main staple of the farm, of course, is the goats, Saanen Dairy Goats to be exact. I have to say, they are the friendliest creatures next to dogs.  They love lots of attention and each one has a very unique and sweet disposition.  We just had so much fun!

For the majority of the day, we helped around the farm including participating in the live birth of two baby girls, Penelope (aka Penny) and Pink – their mother, Paris, of course.  Here are a few pictures just so you can see how sweet these babies are and just how much fun we had at the farm.

We’re planning to go back to help out at the farm and learn more about these beauties so someday we can have a pair of our own.  Can you imagine all of the wonderful cheese?  I can’t wait!