tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19518769448785414222009-12-21T09:35:02.757ZMary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-46962759905002065742009-12-14T23:27:00.006Z2009-12-14T23:51:55.333Z

I saw a tip posted on Rena Klingenberg's great tips newsletter and website - http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com - and sent in by Beth Millner. I felt sure I could adapt it to hang and display my various semi-precious stone rosary beads. Beth had made hers from a combination of wooden dowelling and curved and t-connectors for copper piping and was using it to hang cards for her

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-24762559500554589372009-12-14T23:08:00.005Z2009-12-15T00:19:57.237Z

It was a big step for me, and I had such a lovely time! Set-up on Tuesday followed by five days (the first three from 10 in the morning to ten at night) on the balcony with wonderful friends on either side of me. The event organisers had created a great atmosphere with musicians and a terrific food emporium as well as a huge Christmas tree and great pennants hanging down.I was delighted to be

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-17331696913175701302009-11-17T15:08:00.012Z2009-11-22T13:14:42.825Z

Dalkey was interesting. The torrential rain on the invite-only opening night kept the crowds small, and I stepped in a puddle in the dark which got me wet over my ankle, shoe, sock and all.My wirewrapped pendant necklaces were much admired, and people were delighted to get lovely freshwater pearl earrings, both drop and stud, at good prices. Especially popular were my birds nest gemstone rings, a

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-41837356856053316892009-11-11T17:11:00.006Z2009-11-12T14:59:59.717Z

This weekend, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th November from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the DLR County Enterprise Board Winter Fair is taking place in the Heritage Centre, Dalkey Castle, opposite the church in the main street. I will be there along with several other members of the DLR Jewellery Designers network, and there will be other artisans showing a variety of crafts and other products. The poster

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-64690145314247380392009-10-29T14:48:00.005Z2009-10-29T14:56:20.865Z

If you like the look of this collection of goodies, come on over to our European Artfire guild blog and find out how to win them! The little white pearl bracelet (handknotted with a sterling silver extension chain and clasp) is by Yours Truly, and lots of other talented artisans have made lovely things too...

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-16672236684125593432009-07-09T12:24:00.005+01:002009-07-09T12:34:23.255+01:00

This lovely rosary beads was gone almost as soon as it was made. I love the combination of this soft aqua colour and the bronze. I also like that the cross does not have a corpus hanging from it, something that upsets my children!

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-15228438461105510592009-07-09T11:14:00.008+01:002009-07-09T12:08:55.295+01:00

I wrote some time ago about a request for yellow rosary beads. I'm very happy with the results. My lovely online friend Francesca from Canada chose the 8mm yellow opal with brass and bronze, definitely the most dramatic-looking of the items I had made, and it will soon be winging its way to Italy to the lucky recipient.Here are the other options I had made:Lovely butterly yellow aragonite in 8mm

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-34383000947674955622009-07-09T11:09:00.003+01:002009-07-09T11:12:28.677+01:00

My good friend Stephen has just completed a 100-day run of posting a caricature a day, and has combined them all in this shot. For more detail follow the link in the title.

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-37544145329562136852009-06-28T00:16:00.007+01:002009-06-28T00:28:04.279+01:00

Well, the Summer Fair a week ago was a really enjoyable affair, lovely people showing their wares and lovely people coming to praise or buy. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and once again a lot of interest was shown in my rainbow of rosaries. I use lovely handpainted rainbow ribbon to attach my swing tags. I've had five long days of conferences in the meantime so I am only getting to post something

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-29364122995841927582009-06-11T23:14:00.003+01:002009-06-11T23:24:52.474+01:00

I have been busy on many fronts for the past while. Recently I have been adding to my summer collection of lighter jewellery - gorgeous pearls or stones on chain and Satincord - as well as to my range of designer rosary beads, in preparation for the fair on the solstice weekend. I hope to get some of them photographed over the weekend and posted here.

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-59800264277524221232009-04-27T18:08:00.003+01:002009-04-27T18:11:27.066+01:00

I am a little bit excited! Over on the Europe Artfire Guild blog, my profile has been published today. Take a quick scoot over there if you want to read a bit more about me, my creative history and my inspirations...!

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-10922464306806523002009-04-17T00:23:00.004+01:002009-04-17T00:32:10.586+01:00

I've just added this elegant necklace in all-natural tones of freshwater pearl to my Artfire shop.The pearls are handknotted on silk with a sturdy vermeil clasp. The blend of natural peach, mauve, pink and cream means that this necklace complements all skin tones. I have put the matching earrings on classic vermeil leverback findings but these can be changed for stud or french wire fittings.

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-25999362056990152872009-04-15T18:51:00.005+01:002009-04-15T19:22:46.611+01:00

As I have been sharing here in recent weeks, my newest jewellery-making passion is making designer rosary beads.What has delighted me just as much is what happens when I google "Designer Rosary Beads". My blog entries, and the rosaries on offer in my Artfire shop, are top of the ranking on page One of Google! It really does prove the power of blogging, the simplest and often the most effective

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-71582798611555316362009-04-08T13:43:00.013+01:002009-04-09T01:43:39.177+01:00

I wrote recently that I had opened an ArtFire shop to make my designer rosary beads and my other jewellery available for purchase. You can find me at True Colours on Artfire.Artfire is based in the USA but it has many craft workers from all over the world. Within it people set up guilds which sellers can join, on the principle of rope-making: a single thread is weak but a bundle of threads

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-22625696352906951042009-04-04T14:58:00.005+01:002009-04-04T15:32:29.067+01:00

I have now posted one version of my penal rosary to my Artfire shop - which you can find at http://TrueColours.artfire.comI loved the look of this penal cross, which comes both in sterling silver and in bronze, it has an almost Egyptian feel with the symbols of crucifixion reminding a little of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is a copy of a wooden Irish penal cross dating back to 1722, the original to

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-91014304878958760942009-03-18T12:12:00.004Z2009-03-18T12:25:57.030Z

I take part from time to time in the About.com jewelry making forum. Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day so a good few of the transatlantic members had posted something in honour of the day, something green of course. Having spent that day and half the previous one in bed, green about the gills, it was only today I got to post something green of my own.This is a necklace that drew a lot of attention

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-49514106839230699032009-02-22T14:18:00.005Z2009-02-22T14:29:39.362Z

Over the weekend, encouraged by good feedback on my designer rosary beads, I set up and opened an Artfire store online to make some of them available for purchase.I used the banner my wonderful son Stephen had made me for a planned Etsy shop, but I get the impression that Artfire is much more user-friendly for non-geeks like me. They have a number of features I really like, among them there is

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-60272716442247424172009-02-18T00:06:00.014Z2009-02-22T14:17:00.470Z

Enhancers are a fun way to ring the changes with a necklace. In late 07 I posted an "opulent orange" necklace; the person who received it as a gift returned it to be shortened and asked could the fire agate drop be removed and hung on a simple cord, in effect creating two necklaces for her. I thought of using vermeil enhancer clips that allowed the drop to be on or off the carnelian strand. It

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-49072067604380717792009-02-17T15:44:00.016Z2009-02-22T13:00:03.754Z

Some Showcase buyers were very drawn to my designer rosary beads. I have to say, I LOVE planning and making them. It is fun to source and select stunning, beautifully crafted crucifixes, then match up colours, materials and shapes in a pleasing arrangement. And the hand-chaining is a restful, meditative activity. The range of crucifixes I use can be ordered in bronze or in silver, giving great

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-66369127270165745552009-02-12T12:04:00.010Z2009-02-18T09:21:57.975Z

Goodness, I've been away from this blog for a full year, almost to the day. And what a year!I've been 'crazy busy' working to establish my infant jewellery (or should I say jewelry?) business, True Colours Pearl and Gemstone Jewellery.Heartfelt thanks for great support to: my 'in-house' designers, Aoife and Stephen; Claire and Gerry; my county enterprise board, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown (DLRCEB);

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-21006756560948331272008-02-13T01:24:00.000Z2008-12-11T10:29:04.670Z

A friend asked me for a remake of a necklace in my 'made' album, it varies slightly from the original. The main stones are lepidolite and black onyx, with sterling silver accents. She was delighted with the result.

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-90369414884078762742008-02-12T19:48:00.000Z2008-12-11T10:29:05.218Z

In this pearl necklace somewhere between burgundy and plum with copper tints, the vermeil spacers are concentrated more to the front of the piece.I had just two pearls left to make the matching earrings, so I had fun finding a way of giving them some bulk and movement and my friend for whom I made this set loved the lightness and the drape of both.

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-67475891369071934192008-02-12T19:04:00.000Z2008-12-11T10:29:07.107Z

At last the long-promised pictures of some of my pearl necklaces where I have combined stranding on silk with sterling silver and/or vermeil (=goldplated silver) spacer beads.The pearls still drape beautifully and the precious metals add a touch of class without over doing it!The olivy-bronzy pearls have been interspersed with lovely vermeil spacers which add extra light and sheen.This is a

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-6905058942479695682008-01-31T00:41:00.000Z2008-12-11T10:29:07.277Z

Karen Harper, a lady of taste, energy and conviction, opened a new gallery in Dun Laoghaire, "Expose Yourself", shortly before Christmas. It is located on the third floor of the old Dun Laoghaire shopping centre (across the road from the church on Georges Street).You can read more about the gallery and about Karen's amazing and energetic support for craft workers at the following address:http://

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1951876944878541422.post-91073804536202246962007-12-19T22:29:00.000Z2008-12-11T10:29:07.628Z

A little something I put together last night for a discerning client. Gorgeous fire agate pendant, with small faceted and larger plain round carnelian beads, with gold filled and vermeil accents. The lady for whom it was a present loves orange and was quite delighted with it!

Mary Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05245766909426554647noreply@blogger.com1