Being Norwegian

This is Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, skier extraordinaire with an amazing back story. He crashed, BIG time, only 2 years ago and now holds Olympic gold. I'm sure you can see why I blogged about him...



He's an inspiration. Lucky me that I am part Norwegian. ;)

cheers!
xo diane

Completely off topic...Dexter

I've been hearing everyone I know talk about the show Dexter, but since I don't have Showtime I haven't made my way to see it yet. Until now....



I signed up for Netflix the other day and have streamed not only the first but second season already! This show is riveting! Great writing, amazing cast, wonderful characters the whole shebang. Now I know that might seem like a LOT of television...but since I sit here working all day I need something to listen to. (I'm accustomed to working long hours anyway so this just keeps me company.) I have written before about several ways on how I pass my "aural" time through listening to podcasts, last.fm & hulu but now I've got streaming Netflix? What a genius idea.

Almost as genius as Dexter.

cheers!
Diane

Olympics!

Anyone who really knows me knows how much I LOVE the Olympics. I don't care if it's the Winter or Summer games I get the fever and am relatively glued to watching as many events as I possibly can. How awesome is it that Vancouver is this year's host for the Winter Games? It seems like such a beautiful place and Canadians are some of the nicest people that I've ever met!

I am always filled with inspiration from the athletes who compete. I love hearing their stories & feeling that anything is possible. What a great way to unite the globe for a few weeks every two years.

Congratulations to all the athletes & GO TEAM USA!



cheers!
xo diane

Feeling a little empty....

Here is a before & after picture of one of my drawers that I've been working on...

Before:


After:



I think it's pretty clear how I feel about it...

cheers!
xo diane

Getting personal....

Lately I have been rifling through what I would call my "life's work" of a bead collection. I wouldn't say that this has been a simple task seeing as I have amassed beads & findings over the past 20+ years. When I say I've been making jewelry my whole entire life, I mean it. I started when I was about 6 years old (maybe even sooner) and I haven't stopped since. Until now.

I realized that as much as I love what I do and that it helps define me as a person, I also have other facets of my life that still have yet to be "polished". So as I figure out my next step I am sorting through thousands of beads and am getting quite emotional about it.

If you have ever collected anything in your life and have continued it past a simple "phase" you know that it can become much more than just "stuff", it can become a real part of your life. Or at least who you think you are at the time of collecting. I have decided that along with my choice of moving to New York City that I will have to pare down about 80% of my belongings and I'm really okay with that. I think the thing that has become difficult for me is that I'll also be changing careers, so I will need to relinquish my collection of beads.

I feel that I need to pass this collection on to other designers. When I originally saw these items I was inspired and saw the potential in them for creating beautiful jewelry. I think they still hold that potential but now it's up to someone else to take that and run with it. I would rather think of it as passing positive & creative energy along than see it as a "loss" for me.

So soon I will be having a huge sale of my "life's work" so to speak. Amazing beads with amazing potential...and all because I've decided to move on and create something new for myself. Not a bad deal at all.

cheers!
xo diane

More Marie Antoinette inspired jewelry....

Here are a few more pics of some lovely jewelry that I've made lately. These are all "limited edition" pieces that I will not have listed on my website. If you are interested in any of these pieces you may contact me through the website. :)
tastyjewelry.com

yellow enameled flower necklace, 18" long, $48


blue enameled flower necklace with Swarovski® crystal accents, 18" long, $48


love birds necklace with metal leaf detail & red jade accent, 18" long, $44


roses necklace with metal leaf detail & rose quartz accent, 18" long, $44


orange bird necklace with metal leaf detail & coral accent, 18" long, $44


olive green birdcage necklace with metal leaf detail & Swarovski® crystal accent, 18" long, $44


I have only these three earrings to match the necklaces: $32 each



I hope you enjoy this new collection as inspired by Marie Antoinette. I will be posting a few more pairs of earrings soon....

cheers!
xo diane

First Thursday canceled

Sorry to say, but tonight's set up for First Thursday has been canceled due to the crazy rain we've been having for the past few days...

I'll be back next month with lots of great stuff, so come by and see me then. Thursday March 4th from 5:30pm - 10 pm.

cheers!
xo Diane