Spotlight: Trophy Life Necklace ($98), Trophy Life Bracelet ($28), Scatter Shine Earrings ($22), Discothèque Necklace ($18)

I have been BUSY and can't wait to share my newest creations with you! I have 4 things today so here we go....

Over Christmas my husband and I visited his family in California and I had to stop at this crazy antique store in town before we left. The place is huuuuuge, and had a ton of stuff that I would have loved to buy, but I restrained myself (with his help, haha) and ended up going with this amazing Art Deco necklace made of enamel reindeer. It was from the 30's and I just loved how unique and fun it was. Armed with my new find, I set out to discover several items in my collection that would complement it. I found a bracelet I had from the 50's and took apart the links to use it as an accent, the beautiful green fluorite gems that I used in the Beverly Hills necklace, some glass pearls, and gold seed beaded beads. Below is the result. I really feel like I turned a corner with this one! It's different than anything I've done. There are only 4 available, so grab one while you can!

Trophy Life Necklace ($98)

Materials: glass pearls, gold plated chain and findings, green fluorite gems, antique reindeer charm, seed beaded acrylic beads, gold plated w/glass rhinestones vintage bracelet link

Next, we have the Trophy Life bracelet ($28) made up of the same chain from the necklace, tripled and finished with a toggle clasp.

Materials: gold plated chain, findings, and clasp.

You wanted earrings, so you got earrings! May I present, the Scatter Shine earrings ($22), sure to brighten your day through winter and beyond! Perfect for dressing up any outfit, these dangly beauties will bring a smile to your face on even the snowiest of days. (Can you tell I'm over winter?)

Materials: gold plated hoops, gold filled chain, glass crystal beads in "gold"

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, the Discothèque necklace ($18).

Do the Hustle! This necklace is so versatile! It's big and fun

and ready to party!

Materials: faceted acrylic beads, silver plated findings and clasp.

That's it! Hope you enjoyed todays spotlight pieces. They will all be up on Etsy today so be sure to stop by and check them out in detail!

Lost & Found: Ruth Parker Poppies Nouveau ($52)

It's Wednesday! Today's spotlight is on a new Lost and Found piece that is especially dear to my heart because it is a poppy! (For those of you who don't know, the poppy is California's state flower, which is why my logo has poppies incorporated into it.) So here's your history lesson for the day:

Art Nouveau was a reaction to the "academic art" (Neoclassicism and Romanticism) of the 19th century and the segway into the early modernism of the 20th century. It bridged the gap between its predecessors: the extremely ornate styles and ethereal paintings of years past, and the future: simplistic, clean lines and the attention to detail as in the Arts and Crafts, Art Deco and mid-century modern movements that were to come. There was an emphasis on organic forms; trees, flowers, and other plants, as well as other flowing, curvilinear motifs. I recently found this awesome bracelet from the Art Nouveau era (1890-1905) and decided to make 4 limited edition necklaces out of the charms. They are sterling silver over brass which makes them very lightweight. Because they are so old, the color is beautifully tarnished and on a couple of places, the brass is actually showing through. I love the freeform look of the poppies and thought they were the perfect pieces for a signature Ruth Parker necklace. Who knows, maybe someday we'll make reproductions and this will be the "it" necklace of my brand! For now, there are only 4 available, so grab one while you can!

Materials: Sterling silver plated brass antique poppy charms, Sterling Silver chain, silver plated fancy rings, jumprings, lobster clasp and tab

Giveaway: Crystal Candy Dish ($42)

Good afternoon! How is it afternoon already? Sorry for the delay in posting...I was finalizing this necklace and working between baby nap times/feedings...it's been a crazy day. I hope everyone likes the finished product. Let me know what you think! Remember, you can enter the drawing 3 times from now until Thursday at midnight. Tell all of your friends! This is number 2/20 of the second design from the crystal lamp necklaces. These are awesome vintage crystals and there are only going to be 20 of each necklace so grab one while you can! Good luck!

Side View

Top View

Materials: silver finished chain, silver plated clasp, rings, pins and caps; glass, chalk turquoise, mother of pearl, dyed jade, and fossil beads; vintage crystal pendant

Giveaway: Icy Blossoms Necklace ($42)

Welcome back! Is anyone else completely freaked out by the fact that it's October already? Off topic, I know, but definitely what's on my mind at the moment. Anyway, this weeks Giveaway is a brand new necklace that I designed over the weekend and am absolutely in love with. I'm calling it "Icy Blossoms" because I used a vintage crystal from my collection salvaged off of an old lamp, (click here for a link to that post) and a few random flower beads that ended up going together perfectly. I love the simplicity, the daintiness, and the colors! The crystals are stunning and definitely take center stage in this piece. Someone is going to get very lucky with this one! Remember, all you have to do is comment on this post throughout the week (until Thursday at midnight) to be entered to win. The odds are in your favor! Just do it!

Materials: distressed silver finished chain, silver plated clasp, vintage crystal pendant, hand distressed silver plated rose charm, glass and acrylic beads.

This silver plated rose charm was bright silver, but I wanted it to look more antiqued so I hand distressed it to give it this awesome finish. LOVE the finished product!

Lost & Found: Cheery Cherry Bracelet ($48)

So today would have been the day I announced the winner of the weekly giveaway, but since I haven't posted any new jewelry this week, I thought I'd add my new favorite Lost & Found piece, the "Cheery Cherry Bracelet" ($48). The flower is a vintage brooch (obviously with some wear, which is one of the reasons why I love it!) with red glass beads and a gold plated clasp to finish it off. I used beading thread instead of wire to wrap the brooch around the beads for comfort and to avoid scratching the piece any more than it already is. It is going to be very hard for me to part with this one, because I absolutely love the way it turned out. If you are interested, let me know, because this is truly one of a kind and probably won't last long!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be back Monday to start off the week with our first FREE giveaway! Make sure to tell your friends!

Lost & Found: Palm Springs (Sold, new designs coming soon!)

So, remember the vintage crystal lamp? Well, I finally made my first necklace using the crystals off of it (you can find the finished product below) and I'm excited about the result. I've decided to name this one "Palm Springs" in honor of the palm lamp they were hanging on, and because Palm Springs is definitely a diamond-in-the-rough kind of place. If you haven't picked up on it by now, my jewelry is all named after cities in California-the land that I love! The "Lost & Found" section of my website is going to be dedicated to the vintage, one of a kind pieces that I love to make, like this and the purple necklace. This version of Palm Springs is for sale ($48) and is constructed with steel chain, glass pearls, vintage glass crystals and an 'S' hook clasp. There will be more designs to come in this line, but let me know what you think of this one. Seriously...no one posts comments on here and I want some!

Lost & Found: Purple Passion

So I mentioned that I love recreating vintage jewelry? Here's my latest...I'm in love with it so I thought I'd share. This is a brooch of my mother-in-laws (I believe she bought it in the 60's) that she so graciously donated to my cause. I don't want to start family drama or anything, but I am seriously keeping this. No, really. You might have to fight me for it if you think otherwise. Ok, settled? Awesome. If you love this as much as I do, I have a couple of other brooches that would work in this same design; just let me know!

And, I can't take all of the credit. Thanks to my sister for helping me work out the kinks and for modeling!

Crystal Lamp

So, one of my very favorite things to do is find old, unique pieces of jewelry and recreate them into something amazingly current. However, sometimes I surprise myself by finding old, unique things that you might not normally think could become jewelry and then they do! Perfect example...I recently found this awesome lamp dripping with dusty, dingy vintage crystals and decided I had to have it! After some thorough cleaning, the crystals, although still showing signs of wear (scratches on the back, a few have chips in places) look bright and clear, with amazing colors! I cannot wait to turn these into something fantastically unique and beautiful. I have decided to name my vintage recreations the "Lost and Found Collection" because everything I'm working with is finding new life...I'm thinking of it as my way of chic recycling.