Jayla Jewellery: A passion for Handcrafted jewellery and beautiful things

2014-02-22T22:58:00.001+00:00

Recently discovered Pinterest and I absolutely love it! What a great tool to find things I like and display some of Jayla Jewellery creations.

A very busy Bee

2012-05-07T19:18:00.001+01:00

It has been a very productive Bank Holiday. I have been making new jewellery pieces which will soon be added to Jayla Jewellery online shop. Also decided to add few new bookmarks

Crystal Paradise

2012-04-15T12:05:00.001+01:00

Recently while scrolling the Web I came across a quite interesting picture of a fountain.

I was amazed to find out that this is the location of the Swarosvski factory in Austria. and...as you can imagine... I can't wait for an opportunity to visit this paradise.

special gift

2011-08-29T12:13:00.002+01:00

Few weeks ago a friend asked me If I could make a simple necklace. She would like to give it as a gift to a very dear and special relative who she hadn't seen for a long time.

I was honored with the trust she put in me and the fact that one of my pieces would go all the way to Guadeloupe. The only requirement was the colour, had to be "Salmon and green", for this reason my choice of semi precious stones was Chrysophrase and Carnelian. The result is a colourful and elegant necklace which in this case represents happiness, care and love.

Huauhhhh!

2011-08-24T22:39:00.001+01:00

Jayla jewellery is now 2 years! Time does fly...
Last few weeks have been hectic working on the new website. Check it out to see the new look. http://www.jaylajewellery.com/. I'm also currently running 15% discount in all orders until 31st Aug. check my website for more details.

Today's Quote

2011-06-18T15:34:00.000+01:00

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jewellery recycling

2011-06-11T13:30:00.006+01:00

A friend had a pair of old earrings she no longer liked, colour and bead combination wasn't great and she admitted she never liked them that much. So I decided to revamp the earrings for her and leave only the beautiful brown semi-precious stone that made her buy the earrings in the first place.

This is the beauty of beads and stones, they can be reused and transformed into completely new jewellery pieces.

My photography

2011-05-22T10:28:00.001+01:00

Finally, I managed to put together some of my non jewellery photos and create a Flick r photostream. What seemed to be an easy task ended up being not so easy... which photo do you choose when you have so many? ..... http://www.flickr.com/photos/carla_monteiro/

Bead Paradise

2011-05-16T22:53:00.002+01:00

Few weeks ago I went on a trip to Istanbul, a beautiful city I ended up falling in love with. So many highlights so many photographs to take,so many things to see, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Spice Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Bosphorus cruise and the Gran Bazaar, to mention just a few.

And the element of surprise.....After visiting the enormous Gran Bazaar and just when you think the visit is over, as soon as you come out a complete new adventure starts... one jewellery shop after another where they sell beautiful Silvery pieces followed by one Bead shop after another full of beautiful semi precious beads.... A true delight...a bead paradise.

A star has gone

2011-03-27T13:45:00.003+01:00

Sadly, last week the world said goodbye to one of the true beautiful sirens of the silver screen, Elizabeth Taylor. Her beauty and violet eyes were unmistakeable and her love for jewellery was an obsession. She possessed an amazing jewellery collection which includes some of the most spectacular jewels in history - an antique diamond tiara, the Taj Mahal heart shaped yellow diamond necklace, the Duchess of Windsor diamond brooch, the 33 carat Krupp Diamond ring, the 69 carat Taylor-Burton diamond, the Grand Duchess of Russia emeralds and La Peregrina Pearl.

"I'm fortunate to have some very important pieces of jewelry. I don't believe I own any of the pieces. I believe that I am their custodian, here to enjoy them, to give them the best treatment in the world, to watch after their safety, and to love them." Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry

RIP Ms Taylor

2011-03-11T21:03:00.001+00:00

"Every artist was first an amateur" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wired Pendants

2011-02-20T14:42:00.000+00:00

A true goddess

2011-02-14T20:14:00.006+00:00

Like many people, last night I watched the Baftas on TV. It's always nice to see the beautiful and Glamorous dresses the stars wear and allow our imagination to dream ...

My favourite gown was without any doubt Jessica Alba's electric blue Versace dress and her gorgeous blue beaded vintage necklace. She looked absolutely beautiful. A true goddess.

Another quote

2011-02-11T22:11:00.001+00:00

A nice quote can sometimes be inspiring and help us believe in things. Here is my choice for today.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams "

Eleanor Roosevelt

Wood beads

2011-02-06T21:27:00.003+00:00

For some of my latest creations I used wood beads, really like them and I should try to use them more often. They might not be as appealing as other beads because they do not have the sparkle or shine of glass or metal beads but they are also very beautiful and should not be taken for granted. They come in many shapes and sizes, they are very colourful and versatile and create beautiful jewellery.

Bookmark

2011-01-29T15:15:00.006+00:00

For a while now I wanted to personalise my own bookmark. Finally decided to do it and the result is a pretty silver plated bookmark decorated with gorgeous semi-precious Mookaite beads and a silver plated star.

Photographing jewellery

2011-01-22T11:26:00.011+00:00

One of my New Year resolutions is to improve the photographs of my jewellery so I am currently reading a book by Tom Ang " Digital Photography Masterclass".

Taking pictures has always been one of my secret passions and If you make jewellery like me or intend to do so, then photography will have a very important role in the whole process, unless you can afford to pay a professional photographer to do the job for you. The main aim is to obtain a good photograph because without quality you won't be able to present your work. Your photos have to mirror your pieces, it's not easy but it's not impossible either.

I personally love to photograph my pieces outdoors and use nature as much as possible. When I have to take indoor pictures I look around the house for things
I can use as props and sometimes it works. You need to try and find the best light, control reflections and aim for a quality photo. Most important thing is that you don't need to spend much to do so, you can use a piece of paper, a scanner, make your own jewellery displays and so on.

For now I leave you with some videos from professional photographers I found on You tube that might be helpful.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T18:29:00.000+00:00

Just a quick line to wish everybody out there a Merry Christmas!

Snow day

2010-12-21T12:52:00.001+00:00

It´s almost Christmas and it´s been very cold in the past few days.

What a beautiful surprise to wake up and see all the roofs, the streets

and the gardens covered with snow! I didn´t let the freezing temperatures scare me, instead I decided to go to the park and capture the beauty of a Melancholic snowy day.

Inspirational Poem

2010-11-20T13:27:00.001+00:00

I came across a beautiful poem which is believed to have been written by the poet C W Longenecker but has also been attributed to other authors. I'm not sure who wrote it but it's certainly beautiful and I want to share it with you, because sometimes when things get tough we forget for various reasons that we have to keep fighting. Enjoy ....

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But soon or late the man who wins,

Is the man who thinks he can.

Favourite Gemstone

2010-11-14T22:49:00.003+00:00

Each month I tend to select a stone as my favourite of the month, and this month I have selected one of my all times favourite stones, Tiger eye, reason being that it's amazing golden-brown colour reminds me of the warm shades of Autumn.

Tiger eye is part of the Quartz group and it resemble the eye of the tiger hence its name. This gemstone has beautiful earthy colours - golden, yellow, red and brown - and it has a changeable silk lust.

Tiger eye is usually associated with Strength, Confidence Protection and Harmony and

I am enchanted with Tiger eye because this wonderful gemstone makes beautiful jewellery

Autumn

2010-11-04T22:32:00.001+00:00

If you had to describe Autumn in 4 words what words would you select ? Mine would be Change....Transition.... Melancholy..... Inspiration.

Trees are colourfully and warmly decorated in yellowish, reddish and brownish shades, there's thousands of leaves on the ground and an afternoon stroll in the park turns out to be very inspiring....

Cloisonne Fascination

2010-07-28T19:18:00.007+01:00

Today I want to talk a little bit about cloisonne enamelling beads because I absolutely adore them.

Cloisonne beads are full of detail, usually flowers, stars, butterflies or leaves and each bead is a true piece of art. As you can see in the pictures I took of some cloisonne beads and a cloisonne pendant I purchased.

Cloisonne enamelling is a very ancient and complex technique used in jewellery and also in variety of items like jewellery boxes, plates,vases to mention just a few. Cloisonne is very popular in China and the most well know cloisonne beads are from China or Russia, however, its origin dates back to the Byzantine Empire.

Watch this very interesting video I found on Youtube about the Cloisonne enamelling process

I also found a link with very detailed description, including pictures, of the enamelling process which is worth

http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/jewelry_making_cloisonne.html

Last but not least if you want to learn more about cloisonne I suggest you read the following book

Cloisonne Enamelling and Jewellery making by Felicia Liban and Louise Mitchell

Open air Art

2010-06-13T00:14:00.010+01:00

Something great has been going on in town for a while........ lots of beautiful elephants are scattered all over London ......... It's impossible to ignore them because they are everywhere...in the streets,parks, shops, tourist attactions and so on. They are absolutely pleasant to watch.

This beautiful Exhibition of more than 250 elephants organised by the Elephant Family Charity make London spots more interesting and lively. Each elephant is unique, some are simple, others are very colourful...they are incredible ... and the amazing thing is that they are up for sale. Whenever I see one I can't stop wondering where the next one is and I really wish I had one.

So, I decided to share part of this beautiful event with you. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Beautiful quote

2010-04-04T21:41:00.003+01:00

I came across this quote and want to share it with you all

" Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus" Ralph Waldo Emerson