Heather Trundle has
always been creative, but focusing mainly on threadwork and yarns.  
In 2001, a trip to the Georgia Renaissance Festival ended with a
trip to a craft store for her first set of pliers and a coil of
cheap aluminum wire. Heather soon found out that wire is an
extension of thread and yarn and the ability to create a beautiful
piece of wearable art came naturally. 

During the day, she is the Senior R&D Chemist for Plaid Enterprises,
Inc. During the evening she is a wire jewelry artist.  After
the first year of learning to create jewelry, her husband
informed her that she needed to stop making jewelry or start
selling it because her new hobby was taking over the dining
room so Moonlight Wrapture was born.

Heather designs unique wire sculpted jewelry using Sterling Silver
and 14kt Gold Filled wire.  Her creations incorporate stone
cabochons, faceted semi-precious gemstones, pearls, shells,
and any other items that can be fashioned into unique pieces
of jewelry.  She has the ability to bend, sculpt, and wrap
wire into pendants, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and
more.  Her creations have been featured in the Gwinnett
Business Journal, Gwinnett Daily Post, and Women’s Metro
Directory.

Sparkle! carries a full line of Heather’s work including rings, bracelets, earrings and pendants.

Come check ‘em out!

Sweet Romance

There is something almost magical about putting on a piece of Sweet Romance jewelry…  
…Beyond mere ornament, it connects us to the lineage of women whose fashion artifacts continue to influence our personal sense of style.

You will not believe the beauty and quality of this line – from the same folks that bring us the gorgeous Ollipop rings comes this amazing line of “modern vintage” jewelry which includes beautiful ornate lockets, handmade glass cameos or “Intaglios”, romantic filigree and pearls and so much more.

We have a wonderful selection of pieces available right now – just in time for Mother’s Day – come check them out while they last!

PS…We also just got loads of new Ollipop rings!!!!

Trolley Tours are back!

Sparkle! is once again this year a proud sponsor of the Lawrenceville Trolley Tours!

Starting Sunday April 4 and continuing for 13 weeks throughout the Spring, the Lawrenceville business community is sponsoring FREE Trolley Tours throughout the city of Lawrenceville! This year we have TWO Trolleys touring the city (approx) hourly from 1 – 5 every SUNDAY. Riders on the Trolley will be treated to a discussion of the history of Lawrenceville, stops featuring local businesses and historic structures and open houses in Lawrenceville neighborhoods. There are LOADS of door prizes given away along the tour and a goody bag to each rider at the end of the tour that is PACKED with coupons, samples and other goodies all provided FREE to you by the businesses of Lawrenceville.

This is a fun Sunday afternoon event, free to you and it is helping to support the businesses right here in Lawrenceville – what’s not to like? Come early – seats are limited!!

Check out this article in the Gwinnett Daily Post!

Local Artist Spotlight:

I first met Lori Holcomb in 2008  – a customer of mine who is a friend of hers made the connection and told her Sparkle! needed her. She was SO RIGHT! When we met, I was immediately struck by the artistic nature of the jewelry Lori showed me as well as the vintage funky feel and every day wearability. The warm, antiqued brass in much of her work creates a versatile and distinct style and each piece is a one of a kind, unique work of art! And even better – the prices are really, really reasonable!

In her own words… “My entire life, I have loved creating unique and beautiful things & experimenting with just about anything I could get my hands on to express myself. I still dabble in drawing, painting and sewing as well but I have found a real passion in creating jewelry. It is one of the few pleasures in life that truly makes me satisfied and happy! I am also a perfectionist and strive to make things ‘just right’. I pour my heart and much effort into my designs and take great pride in the quality of my work. Lately, I am both fascinated and obsessed with brass. I strive to create beautiful pieces that have a vintage feel with a modern edge. I hope you enjoy my wonderful adornments and that wearing them will make you feel satisfied, happy & beautiful, too.”

We have some WONDERFUL new original pieces from Cherry Matador here at Sparkle! this week!! Be sure to check them out early for the best selection!

 Alice In Wonderland

@ Sparkle!

Many of you know that the much anticipated
live action Alice in Wonderland movie will be opening this weekend!
To help you get in the spirit, we want to share with you some of the
MANY amazing Alice pieces we carry!

 Soldered, two sided Alice In
Wonderland pendants and
Scrabble tile, resin pendants by Sparkle!
$12-15

The Red Queen and The Mad Hatter Bottlecap resin pendants by
Sparkle! $12

Many other styles available!

Hand painted (limited edition) domino
pendants by 3 Sisters $28.50

Crystal artwork and resin pendants by
Sparkle! $25

One of a kind necklace with resin
Alice in Wonderland artwork pendant, keyhole, pocket watch and “A” charm and sparkly
bead drops designed by Nicole at Sparkle!  $38

Always protect your jewelry from damage by scratching, sharp blows, chemicals, extreme temperatures and prolonged sunlight.

When not being used, store your jewelry in a soft lined box or pouch and do not commingle pieces so they cannot scratch one another.

Avoid wearing your jewelry when performing sports activities, cleaning or gardening.

Always put your jewelry on LAST after you have sprayed the hairspray and perfume.

Don’t let your jewelry come into contact with nail polish removers, perfume or hairspray.

Never go swimming while wearing your jewelry – the chlorine can cause damage!

Cleaning your jewelry

There are many products you can purchase for cleaning jewelry. Be certain before using any product on your jewelry that you carefully read the manufacturers directions.

A jewelry cloth can be used often to wipe the residue off of jewelry before putting it away. You can also use an old cotton t-shirt or flannel shirt. Never use tissues or paper towels as these can scratch.

Do not clean jewelry with toothpaste as this can scratch precious metals and softer gemstones.

Be cautious of liquid silver cleaners – many of these contain harsh chemicals that can hurt your stones and will also remove small layers of your silver, causing your jewelry to re-tarnish more quickly!

New! GREAT method for cleaning sterling silver:

Line a pan with aluminum foil. Place your sterling chains, rings, earrings and anything else you want to clean in the pan. Make sure the sterling is connected and touching the aluminum foil. Put 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda in a microwave safe measurnig cup or in a pot on the stove and fill with enough water to fully cover your jewelry. Boil. Pour the boiling mixture over your jewelry and watch in amazement as the tarnished silver turns a beautiful bright white again! DO NOT use this method on any piece that has INTENTIONAL oxidation (darkening) as it will ruin the look of the piece.

About Silver

Sterling silver is an alloy of fine silver and other metals (usually copper) which are used to make the silver stronger. Sterling will be .925 silver and you will generally see a .925 stamp somewhere on the piece.

Fine silver is .999 silver, will not tarnish as easily and will be softer than sterling.

There are variations in sterling depending upon the alloys that have been used and these can cause varied coloring, strength and tarnish rates. A new form of sterling, called Argentium, has recently become more popular as it is supposed to be much more tarnish resistant.

Silver can be stored with “silver cloth” which has an anti tarnish agent, or in a plastic bag with an anti tarnish strip to slow the tarnishing process. There are also cleaning cloths and solutions that are used for cleaning silver jewelry. Be sure to read the instructions and make certain the solution will not harm any other part of the piece (pearls or opals, for instance, should never be put in silver solution.) Some silver is treated by the maker to make part of the silver darker (for instance in a design piece, the grooves may be darker). This silver should not be placed in a liquid cleaning solution as it will remove the designer “blacking” or oxidation.

About Gold

Generally the higher the karat weight of gold, the softer the metal. Gold is combined (alloyed) with other metals in order to provide strength and resistance to damage. 10kt and 14kt gold will be harder and more resistant to damage than 22kt. Generally you will see rings and pieces that need more strength using lower karat weights. Higher karat weights will often be used for lighter chains and pieces that do not require structural strength.

Gold filled vs. gold plated

Gold filled metal is made by bonding a thin layer of gold to a base metal (generally either sterling silver or brass) using high heat and pressure. The result is a metal that is less expensive than solid gold but more durable than gold plated.

Gold plated metal is made by placing the base metal into a solution that contains gold. The metal is electrically charged and the electrochemical reaction causes a thin layer of gold to plate to the metal. Plating can vary greatly in thickness and durability. Often the plating is very thin.

Gemstones

Gemstone hardness is based upon a standard called the Mohs scale. The higher the Mohs scale number, the harder the stone is. When the Mohs scale was developed, early gemologists tried rubbing one stone against another to see which stone caused scratching on the other. Quartz (the same stone that sand is made of) is rated at 7 on the mohs scale. Typically any stone with a rating of less than this is easily scratched. Some examples of these are coral, lapis lazuli, opals, pearls and turquoise.

Some stones are also very porous such as opals, pearls and turquoise and should not be left immersed in water for very long.

Stones that can be damaged by sunlight include amethyst, aquamarine, rose quartz and smoky quartz (become paler), Ametrine and citrine (may change color) and Aventurine (translucent types may lose color)

If gemstones are set in prongs, check these often to be certain the settings are snug. Prongs can and do wear down and this can be repaired by a jeweler.

A special note on Pearls: The beauty of the pearl is the coating which is called nacre. This is the substance that the oyster or mollusk has used to coat the irritant in his shell! Nacre is easily damaged by chemicals such as perfume, hairspray and even makeup. You should never use an abrasive or harsh chemical cleaner with pearls and never use an ultrasonic cleaner. All of these can cause damage. They should be wiped off gently after each use and stored in a soft pouch away from other items.