Cracking the Glass Ceiling with Marjorie's Cracked!

I love being part of the animal-friendly teams on Etsy, your place to buy & sell all things handmade. I belong to all four and enjoy them immensely. Here is a little more information about the teams and their respective focuses!

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Marjorie, one of the newest members of the EtsyVeg team! Marjorie is so nice and fun, and I adore her online shop's profile:

"Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry Store offers unique handcrafted jewelry made from broken china, porcelain and ceramic using wire wrap and wire crochet techniques. Also custom orders are taken to transform customer's broken china into lovely jewelry pieces that will be treasured for years to come. No more throwing your treasured broken china away! Now also offering sea glass jewelry."

I absolutely love this concept. Talk about reduce, reuse, recycle and HONOR...for our pasts, for items' ability to be repurposed...wow! Talk about "cracking" the glass ceiling on our consumeristic, throw-away society (pun intended)!

I just gotta crow about an Amazing Arizonian!

I live just 5 miles from the Arizona border and an hour north of the Grand Canyon. This post is to give a shout out to my "neighbor" in Tucson's two shops, Arizona Skies crafts and Earthly Creations jewelry. Her items are shown throughout this post.

Pretty, right? My faves are the trumpet/bell shaped flower earrings.

Wow, can she put together a good-looking treasury, too! Check this one out:

Neapolitan Ice Cream

Hurry, though, it's only going to be viewable for another few hours. And already 150 views!

Maria Elena's Having a Jewelry Sale for the Holidays!

Maria Elena is one of my very favorite names! More to the point, Maria Elena of Wearable Designs by M.E.G. is having a storewide sale for the holidays! Every one of her delectable pieces is discounted right now (53 pairs of earrings to choose from as well as several bracelet and necklace designs should get you off to a good start)!

From Maria Elena's profile:

"I LOVE creating AFFORDABLE, ONE-OF-A-KIND HANDMADE JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES. I use the finest quality elements to create, including and not limited to high quality gemstones/semi-precious stones, swarovski crystals, glass beads, sterling silver, metal, brass and copper. My handcrafted jewelry is often of LIMITED EDITION and is one-of-a-kind, many jewelry pieces I will only create once. Many of my handcrafted jewelry pieces are often advertised at Girls Night Out events which supports women in small businesses. Thanks for checking out my shop."

Thank you, Maria Elena, for being a positive force in the world...including when you put my Violet Purple and Pink Berry Handknit Scarf in your "Pretty!" treasury (a treasury is like "seller's picks" on Etsy, where Maria Elena and I both sell our handmade items).

You can check out her blog and get a chance to win free jewelry here, too!

Over the Moon about Dancing Mooney

This post about my dear friend Janell of Dancing Mooney is long overdue!

She's such a wonderful person; positive, caring and fun. At DancingMooney's you'll find excellence in Beaded Jewelry, Collage Art and Handmade Soap! I've shown an example of each in this post...and wish I had room to show all seven, dreamy pages of her online shop. Please visit her online today (pssst: her work makes fantastic stocking stuffers)!

One of the things I love about Janell is that she often lets me know when one of my scarves is on the front page of Etsy, "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade." I love getting my "Mooney alerts!" And today, I got to return the favor when her Oregon Mornings treasury was chosen for the front page! Thanks, Janell, for including my Non-Fat Chocolate Milk Skinny Boa Handknit Narrow Scarf in Cream and Taupe - 100 Percent Donated to Animal Charity in your collection! :)

Please also visit her blog and twitter!

Julie & Co's Jaw-Dropping Japanese Temari Ball Decorations

Since words couldn't possible do Julie's Temari work justice (she's a color GENIUS!), and I couldn't possibly fit all of my favorite pieces in this blog post...

...I invite you to simply visit her online gallery, instead, where her shop announceent invites us:

"Welcome to my little corner of Etsy and enjoy browsing through my handmade items! I love to work with my hands, I delight in the feel of soft cotton, smooth threads, cool crochet hooks, and fuzzy yarn. I love beauty and texture, detail and color. I have been sewing, crafting, creating and imagining for over 30 years and still find joy in each new project and idea.

Japanese Temari hand balls are my passion -- their colors and symmetry delight me and their design and precision challenge me. These ancient folk art creations are visually stunning and so wonderful to display. Perfect for housewarming gifts, unique thank-you offerings, and special-day gift giving.

Please linger, browse, envision temari in your home and in your custom colors! Be inspired!"

Julie, I couldn't be more inspired, thank you for putting your outstanding work "out there" for everyone to enjoy!

Why Does Desiree Do It?

Desiree's profile in her online jewelry boutique, Desiree Designs, reads like the beginning of a fascinating book:

"I'm from New Mexico originally, the child of flower children but adopted by a Catholic schoolteacher."

I'm featuring Desiree today as a thank you for putting my Red & Pink Delight Crimson Rose Handknit Scarf in her Red, Sexy, Fabulous or Fascinating treasury, with alluring images ranging from the subtle to blatant--in a good way!

One thing I'm always interested in when discovering a new artist is what drives or inspires them to create (most of us are BOTH driven AND inspired, lol). Desiree explains:

"WHY I BEAD:
The earring craze began after giving up on Cheap Crap...I used to love that I could buy several pairs at once for so little... but they always fell apart and were made from questionable metals that made my skin turn green... so I decided to make my own, using better materials (no base metal!) and my own aesthetic, honed in many years of beading, macrame and other self-decorative arts."

Thank you, Desiree, for living your dream!

From Denmark, with Love!

This post is set to the tune of Tom Jones InterNATional, baby! :)

Yesterday, the extremely talented Lisa Astrup sent me a note all the way from Copenhagen, Denmark! She's blogged about me in her Me & My Jewelry blog...in DANISH! How cool is that?! I feel sooo cosmopolitan!

And guess what? Like me, Lisa ships her handmade creations (some are pictured here) worldwide! She charges only $4 USD (United States Dollars) to ship the first piece of jewelry anywhere in the world, $2 each for additional items. Wowza!

I especially enjoy how she photographs her pieces with the tools that helped her handcraft each piece. I feel like if a ring or necklace can handle being hammered or plied, it's meant to be USED & ENJOYED in "real life." Wouldn't you agree?