Gypsy Moon Designs

Christmas in July sale

2015-07-08T19:38:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year for my annual sale. Enjoy 15% off with coupon code CIJ15

You can use the coupon on my website http://gypsymoondesigns.com/ and/or in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/Gypsymoondesigns

Thanks to all my wonderful customers who have been shopping my annual sale so far! At the moment my Etsy shop is offering a wider selection.

Sale ends July 12, 2015

Handmade nature jewelry

2014-05-10T17:12:00.000-06:00

Today I want to share with you my nature inspired jewelry. Heron necklace I gave this beautiful brass pendant a blue patina finish and topped it with an opal turquoise glass bead. Last week I took it down to the Clark Fork River and shot pictures of it. Love the rushing water behind it! dragonfly necklace My best seller is this beautiful Verdigris Patina dragonfly. If you look closely you can see an ear of corn on the bottom wings. I love this charm so much because it reminds me of the Zuni Indian story of the Corn maiden and dragonfly. A short version is that the people were in the middle of a food fight and this really upset the corn maiden. A little boy made a dragonfly out of corn stalk and it really pleased the corn maiden. She forgave the people for their waste and to this day the dragonfly can be found fluttering about the corn. blue dragonfly necklace If you are in Helena, Montana my nature jewelry can be found at Frayed Sew. Also, the Arboretum in Flagstaff, Arizona carries my dragonfly jewelry. Of course, I would love you to visit my online shop too at Gypsy Moon Designs

small hoop, big hoop, double hoop...Bohemian hoop earrings!

2014-04-27T12:19:00.000-06:00

I love hoop earrings! Part of it is they make me think of my sweet Mom. If you ask her what type of earring she likes it is always big hoop earrings. So, today I thought I would share a variety of my designs on my blog here. Bohemian hoop earrings This design I created about six months ago, same with the one below. On the Bohemian hoop earrings with the mint glass, I gave the inner hoop a Verdigris Patina finish to. I love the combo of copper and patina. The mint glass has a cool glow to it is the sunshine! double hoop earrings Living in majestic Montana inspired the next two pair of hoop earrings. I dangled feather charms with a Verdigris and dark patina from the center of a hammered brass hoop...really like the rustic look mixed with the shiny brass. The deer are every where here in Montana...I love them so much, even though it makes gardening a challenge. bohemian feather earrings deer earrings For a couple of years now I have been designing these smaller hoop earrings. I love dragonflies and the Coptic cross reminds me of the 4 directions Native American symbol. dragonfly earrings Coptic cross earrings What I love about these hoop earrings are how light they are. I really love creating earrings that are big yet easy to wear. If you have enjoyed my designs, feel free to drop by my shop Gypsy Moon Designs. When you get there enjoy 10% off with coupon code BLOG10. Thanks!

Bohemian earrings with silk tassels

2014-04-08T18:01:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year when I start to prepare for my Summer craft shows. When I saw these beautiful silk tassels from Rajasthan, India I just knew they had to part of my designs! gypsy earrings I hand painted filigree charms and on some I added little mirrors. Mirrors are said to ward of the evil eye by reflecting back bad spirits. bohemian earrings with mirror I have lots of curl hair and find earrings get lost in my long hair. I made a pair for myself and you could see them through all my hair. I found while wearing them that I often reach up and play with the tassel...they are so silky, how could I resist! boho earrings The tassels come in so many lovely colors...I especially love the hot pink. statement earrings I couldn't resist making a really long pair in green and purple! These would be a blast to wear to an outdoor concert. hippie grunge earrings I love to patina metal. So, on this big pair of earrings that I like to call Hippie Grunge I added some patina grasshopper charms and recycled silk sari fabric. The fabric had some flower sequins on it which add a cool summer look! This pair was so fun to create! colorful bohemian earrings My favorite color combo! I painted the filigree wheel in a two tone of blue and green, then added this neon green silk tassel...love!!! Stop by my shopGypsy Moon Designs and enjoy free shipping! You can use coupon code FREESHIP. Good only within the U.S. Also feel free to follow me on Facebook to catch my newest creations. Gypsy Moon Designs on Facebook

Handmade Valentine's jewelry

2014-01-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Who, being loved, is poor? ~Oscar Wilde

The day of love is fast approaching. I have been busy in my studio creating jewelry with heart charms that are hand patina-ed and pretty carved Mother of Pearl roses.

I really had fun creating this long key necklace. I'm a huge fan of Tom Waits and love his song Blue Valentine, so I just had to make a blue heart!

For the rest of January I will be busy creating Valentine jewelry so please drop by and checkout my Valentine section in my shop: Valentine jewelry. Happy day of love~ “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ― Laozi

Turquoise jewelry Southwest and Bohemian designs

2011-10-27T19:23:00.001-06:00

Getting ready for the holiday season here at Gypsy Moon Designs. I love the colors turquoise blue and royal blue together: very watery. So, I have been in my studio working on designs in my favorite colors.

Loved making this beauty! It's a multi strand necklace with a real bohemian vibe. I've become addicted to antiquing metal. I hand patinaed the dragonfly charm and the copper chains. You can see close up photos in my shop. Multi strand turquoise necklace. Soon I will be working on more layered necklace.

Chunky and yummy is this southwest turquoise necklace. I really like disk shaped Turquoise stones. Large oval stones of Lapis Lazuli look great with the rich sky blue color of this natural quality Turquoise. chunky turquoise necklace I also created a limited run of turquoise earrings with some of these stones.

Every autumn I like to create earthy jewelry with Ammonite fossils. Ammonite fossil necklaces are very popular in my shop. This week I am busy creating more. This one is my current one with stunning green Turquoise. Red Tiger Eye stones are my favorite to combine with green Turquoise.Ammonite necklace

So that is what I have been designing the last few days. I have some new patina earring designs being patina-ed at the moment. (On my windowsill!) They should be in my shop in a few days.

Julie : )

Patina Jewelry

2011-10-04T18:34:00.000-06:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

I discovered this fun site Animoto where you can create short videos for free. : )

Magazine Feature ~ Bohemian jewelry

2011-08-02T17:16:00.001-06:00

Exciting news for Gypsy Moon Designs! I am going to have my jewelry featured in a magazine called Meets Obsession.

They are a online magazine that is having their inaugural print issue come out this fall. Check out their online mag here.

I sent a dozen pieces of jewelry and am eager to see if they all will be featured. When I get my copy I will share with you all.

What is so cool is the editor contacted me via my online shop Gypsy Moon Designs. If you love art and fashion magazines you may want to order their first issue like I did. You can order their magazine here.

Locks of Love

2011-06-27T09:09:00.002-06:00

Two years ago my then 7 year old niece Loni decided to start growing out her hair for the organization Locks of Love. If you're not familiar with Locks of Love they are a non profit that provide hairpieces to disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

Now at 9 years old, Loni was ready to donate her silky long hair. When they cut her hair it was 12 1/2 inches that she donated.

Of course it doesn't stop there. My sweet and very special niece announced she is going to grow it long again so she can come back in a few years and donate again to Locks of love.

I am so proud of Loni and amazed at her giving spirit at such a young age. (She is as cute as can be with her new hair style too!)

Greenough Park, Missoula

2011-06-14T21:12:00.002-06:00

A magical place right in the heart of Missoula.

Greenough Park on a rainy spring day.

Rattlesnake Creek runs thru the park making it a perfect place to cool off on a hot summer evening. Today it threatens to flood.

Watch your step!

The Park is 42 acres of pristine beauty.

Earthy Ammonite necklaces and Ravens

2011-06-09T10:35:00.001-06:00

Ammonite necklace

I love the organic, earthiness of fossil jewelry. Last night I photographed a few necklaces and got them online this morning.

Ammonite necklace

This bold chunky necklace is one of best sellers at all the craft shows I do. The bone pendant dangles from black leather cord.

Spiral leather cord necklace

It had poured down rain all day yesterday. As soon as the rain broke I went outside to shoot photos. All these ravens swooped in and were hanging out!

The whole driveway was full of them. But, I guess they are camera shy! When I started photographing them they flew up to the top pf this old Cottonwood tree.

With a few hanging around watching me as I worked!

Hope everyone is having a great week. : )

Summer shows

2011-05-16T16:41:00.003-06:00

If you are in Missoula this summer you can find Gypsy Moon Designs at the Missoula Saturday Market every Saturday, May through mid October.

I will also be at the best show in town, the Missoula Made fair on Sunday, June 26th.

To see a list of vendors for the Missoula Made fair, check out their website.

Hope to see you this summer!

Bohemian Copper and paper earrings

2011-05-12T13:41:00.000-06:00

feather and copper earrings

In the summertime I make these fun earrings. I make them in the summer because I use my torch on the front porch. Just to cold in the winter to torch!

Tribal Copper earrings African mudcloth

I hand shape copper wire to make funky frames for interesting paper. I love the pattern of these African inspired earrings.

paisley apple blossom earrings

What I like about these earrings is that they very unique, funky and super light to wear. They take around 4 to 5 days to create. I really enjoy mixing paper and copper together.

I have more styles in my shop:
Gypsy Moon Designs

Bohemian wedding jewelry

2011-05-01T18:46:00.003-06:00

First, let me say Happy May! I love the month of May with all it's newness.

You are a casual, earthy kind of woman and you are getting married. Congrats! Now, what jewelry will your bridesmaids and you wear? Diamonds and pearls just don't express your bohemian personality.

Over the years I am seeing more brides turning to unconventional jewelry designs. Why not, it is your day after all!

bohemian shoulder duster chandelier earrings

round summer white earrings

white bellflower wedding earrings

These are some of the earrings I have sold recently to brides. There is just something special knowing that my designs will be worn by a bride. Makes me feel good! : ) Thank you lovely brides for expressing yourself with bohemian jewelry!

Songbird's Branch: Get Real: Montana Woman Moves Confidently away from Etsy.com in Business Website Launch

2011-04-20T12:28:00.000-06:00

I was interviewed on a wonderful blog. Go check it out. It is full of wonderful info and I am tickled to have been interviewed!

Songbird's Branch: Get Real: Montana Woman Moves Confidently away from Etsy.com in Business Website Launch

I am hooked on patina jewelry

2011-04-20T12:13:00.000-06:00

large patina hoop earrings

Last year I started experimenting with patina and I have become addicted to the process. So far I am using the cold process with Verdigris (turquoise blue) and Ocean Blue.

arabesque patina earrings

I find myself constantly looking for copper and raw brass charms to patina. It takes a good five or more days of applying the patina to metal to get the results I want.

orange bohemian chandelier earrings

When I was young I was a painter and I find patina a fun way to add color and texture to my jewelry. It fulfills the painter in me!

verdigris patina necklace

If you are like me and just love the rustic look of patina jewelry then please keep an eye on my shop Gypsy Moon Designs

Featured Etsy Artist: The Green Groovy

2011-04-13T10:05:00.001-06:00

Love the bright colors and patterns that The Green Groovy paints with! I keep going back to this Etsy shop and admiring her work, so I thought I would share her bohemian style with my readers.

Henna design jute clutch

Los Angeles artist Sowmya is the designer of these wonderful hand painted jute purses, wine bags and lots of other cool items. Her style is exotic, colorful and dreamy just like the Pisces she is.

jute burlap wine bag

You can follow The Green Groovy on FaceBook as she follows her bliss.

Indian Design Clutch

Big Cartel and ArtFire experiment

2011-03-30T19:40:00.007-06:00

Three weeks ago I set up a shop on ArtFire and Big Cartel. When I set up these two stores I told myself I would watch and see which preformed best by April 1st.

ArtFire is a community based handcraft site and BigCartel is a shopping cart for indie artist. So, one would think you would have more traffic on ArtFire. I have 31 items listed on ArtFire and have had 900 views in three weeks. BigCartel has 25 items listed and has had 1400 views.

Chunky yellow necklace

Also, tonight I made my first sale on Big Cartel. I believe the customer found me via my Facebook page. I don't promote my ArtFire shop on Facebook, just my Etsy and BigCartel shop.

So, my experiment is over. Tomorrow I will deactive my ArtFire shop and add more to BigCartel. The ArtFire owner is very friendly and the forums are helpful. It's easy to set up shop there too. I find that BigCartel visually looks better if you buy a theme to install or know how to code.

Thought I would share for those considering one of the platforms.

Big Cartel theme

2011-03-25T10:49:00.014-06:00

I feel like a little kid today!

Artwork courtesy of Ireland Brady, Happy Little Girl Hooray.

I have my Big Cartel website theme completed. Me so happy! At first I did some CSS coding to enlarge the tiny 10 px font that for some reason Big Cartel uses. After searching around I found this clean theme called "Sunday Drive" by Tonka Park.

So far the whole experience with Big cartel and Tonka Park has been great. Customer support answers emails within hours. With a bit of easy coding you can track where views are coming from with Google Analytics.

If you are using Big Cartel as your shopping cart check out my shop theme to see if you too want to upgrade your theme.! Gypsy Moon Designs

Big Cartel and ArtFire

2011-03-18T13:21:00.006-06:00

Last week I signed up with the handcraft website ArtFire and listed 30 items for sales. I also joined Big Cartel with 25 items listed so far.

Well, after a week I can say that Big Cartel has had many more views than ArtFire.
That actually surprised me a bit. Big Cartel is a shopping cart and not a shopping mall like Etsy or Art Fire. I expected more views from ArtFire.

Chunky ammonite and turquoise necklace

I will watch both sites traffic for a few weeks. But, I think I will be focusing on Big Cartel.

I can't say enough good things about Big Cartel! They have excellent customer service. I have emailed them twice with a question. They respond back in a very timely manner and always have the answer you are looking for.

Gypsy Moon Designs is now on BigCartel

2011-03-16T12:45:00.010-06:00

I'm expanding my online venues this month. After researching venues and playing with site-builders on sites such as Homestead.com and Big Commerce I found Big Cartel to be the easiest to launch.

So many sites claimed they were easy to set up. I think if I was a 12 year old in this day and age I could have done it! But, after days of playing with these so called easy site builders I still find BigCartel the easiest to work with.

BigCartel even gives you links on there site for easy CSS codes and uploading background images.

My first site design was going to have a earthy look to it. I liked it but it lacked a polished finished look. I used the banner and background you see above.

Last night I woke up and thought I really should keep the same branding as my Etsy shop. So, I redesigned it in minutes. Once you learn a little code it isn't to difficult.

I would love for you to come check out my new shop; even shoot me a email thru the "contact" form if you like!
Gypsy Moon Designs

Happy Spring!

Artist Kevin Gadomski and his Manitou totems

2011-01-19T08:26:00.010-07:00

Last week on Etsy I found myself in a shop that amazed me with such unique talent. Having been raised in Michigan and being proud of my Potawatomi heritage I was thrilled to discover the Manitou carved sculptures by artist Kevin Gadomski.

The Algonquian people, Ojibwe/Chippewa,Ottawa,Potawatomi,Cree, believe that everything has its own spirit or manitou that is inseparable from the Great Spirit or Kitche Manitou.

"What is a sacred place, I wondered, except one that makes you feel humble and insignificant in the face of nature? And what is a manitou but the power of a place to move you to those thoughts?" — Greg Breining; The Power of Rock

Inspired by the Ojibway heritage of his children, Kevin began creating the Manitou pieces many years ago. His interest in all things esoteric has led him to explore shamanism, totemism, mysticism, Taoism, Zen, Sufism, Animism, nature, reality, dreaming, metaphysics, Kevinism as a life path which are all more or less reflected in his work.

You can explore more of Kevin's amazing work on his website freedom gallery

Kevin can also be found on FaceBook Kevin Gadomski

Off the beaten path...Artist Bill Ohrmann

2011-01-15T17:23:00.014-07:00

Today the temperatures rose above freezing so we jumped in the car, popped in a Grateful Dead tape and drove to a small town called Drummond in western Montana. We headed to Bill Ohrmann's gallery just south of Drummond in the Flint Creek Valley.

Bill is 91 years old and still a working artist. When he retired from ranching at the age of 71 yrs. old he took up painting and sculpting.

Bill is a self taught artists and considers his work as Outsider art. When looking at his work you know how he feels about nature and mankind's affect on nature.

I enjoyed how he has quotes from Buddha, Kipling, Thoreau...above his paintings. Some of his work even has the quotes painted right on the canvas.

Bill said "What is in my heart when I paint a picture, is as simple as hoping we can save part of the natural world."

Bill is such an inspiration! It shows you are never to old to be creative.

If you are ever in western Montana make a point to find your way to Drummond and Bill Ohrmann's gallery.

Taking a holiday break

2010-12-17T18:06:00.009-07:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

Back in 1998 I spent the summer in northern Michigan with my family. I was making jewelry on my aunties dining room table at the time when my young cousins started calling my cousin jewelry. I taught them that a female cousin is "prima" in the Spanish language. That year for Christmas they made me this precious ornament. I hung it off the mirror this year at my holiday craft show.

The photos aren't the best but I thought I would share my displays from the holiday show "Missoula Made Fair". My studio mate Molly painted this room divider with a western theme of horses. When she moved away she gave it to me. It made a wonderful earring display. Thanks Molly!

The Missoula Made Fair was such a huge success. Between doing so well there and online with my Etsy shop Gypsy Moon Designs I am going to allow myself a 5 day break. I can't believe I am saying this, but I am looking forward to cleaning my house and work studio! It will be good to recharge my creative batteries.

On the winter solstice me and Mitchell are going to go check out an artist gallery about an hour from here. The artist is a man in his 90's who started painting in his 70's. His art is surreal and I am excited to meet him. I will share more about him on a later date.

My shop will be closed between 12/20 and 12/25. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday and Happy Winter! : )

Gypsy Moon Designs on Big Cartel

2010-10-29T10:02:00.008-06:00

I'm giving my stand alone website another try. Big Cartel is a shopping cart and easy to use. It's kind of addicting changing the background colors!

Hot Pink Chandelier earrings

This summer I gave out 1000 business cards with my .com address. Right now my .com is directed towards my Etsy shop. Local customers tell me all the time that they go to my Etsy shop. So glad to hear that! I love my Missoulian customers.

My dilemma is that most of my necklaces are one of a kind. With mostly earrings in my Big Cartel shop it doesn't seem well rounded. But, I am not a big risk taker when it comes to my business reputation. I would be so embarrassed to double sell an item.

Stunning silver filigree earrings

The smart thing to do is redirect my .com to my stand alone site. Smart for many reasons... but, if my cards are bringing shoppers they will not see my one of a kind pieces.

My Big Cartel shop is not so busy that the risk of double listing is big though. What to do?

So, readers, I am interested in hearing if you double list your one of a kind pieces? Should I take the risk and do it in order to re direct my .com? While I am asking, do you like the shops color background verses my blog color background?

Merci