icicles

Blue Winter by Robert Francis~
Winter uses all the blues there are.
One shade of blue for water, one for ice,
Another blue for shadows over snow.
The clear or cloudy sky uses blue twice-
Both different blues. And hills row after row
Are colored blue according to how for.
You know the bluejay's double-blur device
Shows best when there are no green leaves to show.
And Sirius is a winterbluegreen star.
_______________________________
I took pictures of icicles today and manipulated in photoshop (clickable for the full experience)...

yo te amo

....newly listed vintage laced multi-chain charm bracelet, featuring an awesome "yo te amo" charm made from 1950s vintage tooling and a sweet little etched bird charm. there are layers of different sized and textured chains, burgundy and sienna colored rectangular glass connectors and vintage champagne glass pearls. this bracelet can be purchased here

mirrored images

I'm a tiny bit obsessed with mirroring photographs I take in Photoshop :P These were all taken in my backyard and then mirrored and manipulated. You can find me on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/labellesavage/ so feel free to visit me there or add me as a contact!

~bells & trumpets~

Newly listed! Beautiful bell and trumpet flower vintage style layered earrings. Prices range from $12.00-$15.00 as part of my new shop promotion, and shipping is only 1 dollar in the US. You can find them at my new shop, www.earringemporium.etsy.com

champagne dragonfly~necklace and earrings

I love this new set! I used champagne color cubic zirconia faceted teardrops and beautiful detailed dragonfly charms. A vintage ivory rose is added to the necklace along with asymmetrical accents of copper beads and delicate antiqued brass link chain. I've listed them in my shop seperately, as not everyone likes sets, but I'm hoping someone loves them enough to buy them together. I'm experimenting with a new photo background of grunge style handwriting. I think I like it as it adds to the vintage feel of my jewelry. What do you think?

using props in jewelry photography

Not that i'm an expert, but I thought I'd share my recent discovery of how cool it can be to include props in photographing your jewelry designs. I made this ring using a vintage flower cabochon and copper filigree ring base. I was thinking of how to showcase it in the best way and my mind stumbled across this pretty teacup... I decided to try it out with the ring on my finger. I took it on my front porch after it rained which makes for a good lighting situation, and you can see the wet wood in the background. I'm excited about the outcome and about trying out more options in the near future. sophia ring available HERE

my top etsy picks! first edition!

Welcome to the first edition of my TOP ETSY PICKS! I'm going to start posting every week or so to feature my favorite items/gift ideas. Support handmade! Click on the image to see a larger view.

these are the shops featured in order of appearance from left to right, all clickable:
www.JoannasPhotography.etsy.com
www.sweetheartsinner.etsy.com
www.lindylou2.etsy.com
www.toybreaker.etsy.com
www.stevester.etsy.com
www.carambatack.etsy.com
www.redrubyrose.etsy.com
www.frostingcouture.etsy.com
www.whatyoumacallits.etsy.com
www.PrettyRaccoon.etsy.com
www.ArtsNcharms.etsy.com
www.fromthehipcreations.etsy.com
www.BindMe.etsy.com
www.ItsAllAboutThePrint.etsy.com
www.dreamy1.etsy.com
www.JacqleenBleu.etsy.com

lovely lockets

I just listed some awesome locket earrings, HERE, in my new Earring Emporium shop.

They remind me of Molly Ringwald's style in Pretty In Pink!

collage art

I've been wanting to get into collages more for a while now. I have plans to create tin boxes, magnets and more with resin coated collage images. I created these using Photoshop. Copyright, 2008, La Belle Savage Designs.

new

~aquamarine~
It's an asymmetrical style necklace made with... of course... vintage re-purposed embellishments. The fantastic aquamarine and rhinestone focal on the side is an earring my Mom picked up for me at a yardsale. The chains and rhinestone beads(1940s) are from my Grandmother's stash. I added aqua pearls, silver czech crystal beads with sterling silver caps, an aqua and silver handmade Murano glass bead and a shimmering vitrial jewel cabochon surrounded by silver "roping".

my babies are leaving the nest....

Aha! For those of you who are artists, you may know that some of your pieces feel like your babies... yesterday I sold two more of my nicest necklaces, to the lovely buyer of Couture Charms. Now, I better get to work making more!

three words!

I was just posting in a forum on Etsy, and was very moved by what someone said! (and also am having fun with my new screen capture tool! :)

nouveau pearls

I've had this beautiful art nouveau style silver stamping for so long... I finally decided to add some simple pearls to compliment it in an elegant way. It's an asymmetrical piece, so the focus is on the side...which is my favorite style these days! It's 21 inches long, with pearls that are handwrapped together, going all the way up around the neck.

buried treasury blog

WooHoo! Featured in the Buried Treasury Blog today... showcasing Etsy shops... in the Jewelry Lovers(HOT) section, HERE, check it out! Fellow Etsians, you can be featured too!

appletini!

Sometimes things are created more easily than others... this piece kind of made itself! I named it Appletini because I can just imagine some trendy chica wearing it with her cocktail dress during cocktail hour :) The gold swirl beads and textured chain come from my Grandmother's stash of beads from the days when she worked for the Vogue jewelry company in the 50s. I like the chunky architecture of it.

frosting couture-check her out!

I just discovered this awesome new shop on Etsy, HERE. I love her beautiful silk ribbon necklaces that double as headbands!
♥Frosting Couture♥
...and look at this gorgeous model!....
she was also sweet enough to write about me, here... you never know who you're going to meet when posting in the Etsy forums!

vote! vote! vote!

This is my favorite quote from Barack Obama..."Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." As the time draws closer for us to choose our next president, it is my sincere hope that everyone will do the right thing and vote for Obama.

mad about mocha

I was asked recently to do a custom order...there was a set in my shop with vintage celluloid ivory roses and portrait cameos. She wanted the roses a MOCHA color. I searched and searched all the sources I could think of, and finally broke down and asked a fantastic fellow seller and friend of mine on Etsy (MataHariJewelry) how on earth I could find them...as the only ones vaguely close to what I needed were in Italy and would cost me about half what I would end up charging.
She told me that she had JUST been experimenting with dyeing the roses with RIT powder dye, and showed me the gorgeous outcome of her coral roses.
I decided to give it a go, using Cocoa Brown dye, and a little patience... after a few tries I was able to get the right shade for my customer, and now I am obsessed with dyeing everything mocha! I don't know what will happen when I get my hands on more colors...the possibilities are endless.

a new beginning

Not long ago I looked out of my window in the wee hours of the morning, and was lucky enough to be able to capture the sky in pictures... all pink and soft blues and clouds and early light. I'm thinking about this as I come back to re-vamp my blog, amazed at all the changes that have taken place since my last blogging attempt. I'm on to a whole new style of creating, and enjoying it now more than ever. I'm excited to start all over...