Christmas Wreaths - A Festive Accent Piece

 Do you like a Christmas Wreath or a Christmas Tree?

This is the time of year when I seem to sell out of Christmas tree pins.  I just can't seem to keep them in stock. But there is another type of Christmas jewelry that also attracts buyers as well - Christmas Wreath Pins.

We all use them to decorate our doors during the holiday season.Why not decorate our jacket lapels with them too?  Christmas wreath pins come in an array of colors and sizes.   You can get enamel designs for a daytime look or add a little bit of glitz with rhinestones in a more dazzling style.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas wreath pins:

Dazzling red and green rhinestone design in silver tone metal.  One of my best sellers!

This pretty style has a small candle in the inside.  I love the navette shaped rhinestones.

 

This pretty style from Coro features a circle of pale blue rhinestones inside the outer wrapping.  Just delightful!

Here is another pretty candle style but this time in enamel.  Perfect for a daytime look.

This interesting Christmas wreath design can't seem to figure out whether it wants to be green, red or orange...and  a lop side bow to boot.  For someone who likes to think outside the box.

For my full range of Christmas wreath pins, please see Vintage Jewelry Lane.

What is your favorite style of Christmas pin?  Do you prefer trees or Christmas wreaths?

Runway Jewelry is Perfect for the Festive Season

Runway jewelry, that worn by models on many of the fashion runways, is usually quite ornate and dazzling.  It's also the perfect choice for all the festive occasions that seem to turn up the time of the year.

I had a look through my various stores to see what would make great accent pieces for some of your nicest fashion designs and here they are.

Just click on any of the pictures for more details about the pieces.

NEW multi color rhinestone FESTOON Bib choker necklace earring set

 Dazzling mauve and green flower bib necklace with ornate festoon design.

 A stunner in pink rhinestones.  Lovely formed and fitted neckline.

 Perfect color for Christmas - red and clear rhinestones with a bib design.

These are just a few of the choices.  See more festoon necklace and earrings sets in my Bonanza Shop Jewelry Lane.

Polyvore Collages are Fun to do.

I've talked about Polyvore in my blog in the past.  I love making collages there.    Here is my latest one so showcase the holiday season with the color red.

If you haven't tried Polyvore, you should give it a go. It's fun and easy and a neat way to spend a bit of time creating something pretty to share.

Have you Been to My Facebook Fan Page Yet?

My jewelry business has changed a lot since the early days when I only had vintage jewelry for sale.  For the last few years, I have been adding contemporary jewelry, lots of rhinestone runway jewelry and I also have a big love of turquoise jewelry, all in new trendy styles.

Life seems to have a way of taking away much of my free time, especially lately, since I have been so involved in social media marketing and the new website that my friend Linda and I have been involved in.  (The website is called Networking Tips 4U and deals in all aspects of social media marketing.)

Even though my jewelry styles have gotten somewhat updated with the influx of contemporary jewelry, my Facebook business page got somewhat neglected until recently.

I have just updated my Facebook Business page with a brand new header and lots of neat new graphics to show off my new avatar. 

The new design is much sleeker and sexier than my old look and has lots of interesting jewelry designs, features that girls and women love to look at and talk about and plenty of fun stuff as well.

If you haven't been to my page in a while, be sure to drop by. The look of the page is totally different now!  You can find my Facebook page here.

Cyber Weekend Sale at Vintage Jewelry Lane

Today through Monday 11/26/12 Vintage Jewelry Lane is having a cyber weekend sale.  All jewelry is marked down 20%.  Just use the coupon code xmassale20 during checkout to receive your discount. 

The discount is good on your whole order. But hurry in. The sale ends Monday November 26,2012 at midnight.

My Laurel Burch Pin is Featured in an Etsy Treasury

I am honored that my Laurel Burch Pin is currently featured in an Etsy treasury called "Colorful! Magic" by Etsy sellers - EthnoBird.

The treasury features a lovely combination  of interesting items in vivid colors of red, yellow and green.

Here is my Pin. Laurel Burch is famous for her creative designs with abstract shapes. They are very much collector's items. 

You can view the whole Colorful! Magic treasury here.  Many thanks to Halyna and Dana for including my pin!.

Great Jewelry Ideas for Stocking Stuffers

Every time I realize that Christmas is almost here, I can't believe how fast the year has gone.  Each year, I seem to say something similar, but this one seems almost a blur in many ways.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  I actually did manage to have a day last week where I took advantage of an early sale.  I am by no means done, but I did put a dent in the upcoming chore.

Here are some photos of some of Christmas inspired jewelry items.  You can click on any of the images to go to the store for more details.

For more great Christmas idea, please visit my main store at Vintage Jewelry Lane.

Jewelry Trends for Fall 2012 - Gold Tones, Earth Tones, Natural Materials and Statement Pieces.

The leaves are falling, the days are cooler and thoughts go to fashion choices for heavier clothing.  I thought it would be fun to see what seems to be the trend for this autumn season.

Four key things seem to stand out to me after studying my recent trends in purchases from my customers:

• Gold Tone Colored Jewelry
• Warm rich browns, tans and other earth tones
• Natural material, glass, turquoise
• Big Bold Statement pieces.

Silver tone has always been the color of choice in past seasons, but I am seeing more and more sales of gold tone jewelry, especially in combination with bright colors.  This Bohemian inspired necklace is a good example,  with rich Autumn colors, gold tone edging and a statement design:

 Autumn always offers us darker colors in jewelry and this year is no exception. Animal prints are still all the rage and feathers are continuing to be a great seller as well.  This spotted pheasant feather set is a great example:

 One can't go wrong with turquoise.  It has sold well all year and continues to be one of my best selling materials.  Combined with glass and other stones, it's a real trend setter. This pretty set is a lovely example of glass and turquoise with some ceramic style beads as well.

All of the above pieces are statement designs.  This trend continues and the pieces seem to be getting larger and larger.  These long owl earrings are 9 inches from top to bottom.  In the popular gold color, they will indeed make a statement when worn. 

What do you think of the looks for fall?  Do you like big statement jewelry, or do your prefer something smaller and more delicate?

Blog Appreciation Thank You to Hide A Heart Blog

A special thanks goes out to McCatherine Lunsford for nominating Collecting Vintage and Contemporary Jewelry, as well as my networking friends blogs for this neat award.

Her support for great blogs and social networking is greatly appreciated.

You can view McCatherine's blog here.

With the nomination comes some obligations.  One must thank the person who nominated my blog, link back to their blog.

I would love to nominate the following great blogs and websites too:

Amazing Photos for You

Pink Hill Vintage

Inspired Creations

Secret Garden's Gems

Native by Designz

Antique Basket Lady

Avocado Lane

Dean Designs

If you love social networking, please have a look at our Facebook page - Share my Link and I will Share Yours

Thrifty Thursday - Gift Ideas for less than $10

The holiday season is coming upon us quickly and we'll all be in shopping mode soon, if we aren't already.  I thought I would share some images of several of my jewelry items available for $10 or less.  These would make great Christmas stocking stuffers.

Just click on any of the images to go to the item page for more details, or to purchase.

Teal Rhinestone earrings only $7.99

Gerry's Holly Pin - only $8.99

Lovely cameo earrings - only $8.99

Christmas present dangle earrings - $10.99

Gerry's book piece Christmas wreath pin - $9.99

This is just a small sampling.  Please visit Jewelry Lane at Bonanza for many more gift ideas under $10.

Sunday's Sterling Silver - Both New and Vintage

To me, there is nothing like the earthiness and patina that sterling silver acquires as it ages and is exposed to the elements.

Some like their sterling silver like new with a great shine, but I love the aged look more.

My stores have a great selection of all types of sterling silver jewelry, so whichever you prefer, there will be something for every one.  Here is a look at some of lovelies.  For more information, just click on any of the pictures to go to the store.

Lovely marcasite, glass and sterling silver brooch/pendant.  Very Art Deco looking!

Mid Century Anton Michelsen Scandinavian Sterling Silver Brooch and earrings.

Very collectible Stuart Nye Vintage Dogwood Flower brooch and clip earrings.

Millefiori Murano Glass Sterling Silver Earrings By designer Alan K

Fabulous Sterling Silver and Freshwater Pearl Bracelet with a pretty toggle clasp.

I have dozens more sterling silver designs at Vintage Jewelry Lane.  Hope to see you there soon.

Wordless Wednesday - Some of my Favorite Vintage Jewelry Items

Gift Cards Now Available at Etsy

The holidays will soon be upon us. Each year, I seem to be more amazed than the last that the year has flown by so quickly.

Buying vintage jewelry as a gift can be hard unless you know exactly what style the recipient would like to wear.  Gift cards are a nice alternative in a case like this.

My shop at Etsy, Vintage Jewelry Lane now accepts gift cards purchased on Etsy.    Purchasing one could not be easier.   You can even customize the card with a few different logos.

To purchase a gift card, click Gift Cards at the top left of any page in my Etsy store.
Then choose “Email to a friend” to send an e-gift card or select “Print at Home” so you have a physical gift.   You then add it to the shopping cart, select the amount and pay.  That is all there is to it.

The recipient will then choose to use the card at checkout and their purchase will be paid for by the card.   At the moment, only shops who accept credit cards, and only US customers can use the Etsy gift cards.

Remembering 9/11 in Poetry

No one can forget the feelings we all had that morning when the twin towers in NY came down.  Each of us experienced it in a different way, depending on many factors, but there was a common spirit with all of us that day, even if it was for only a short period of time.

Life goes on, and remembering tragic experiences such as 911 seem to feel less and less emotional as we all get on with our life in the best way we can. It is a necessary thing to do, and time eases much of the pain these sorts of things cause us. 

We don't discuss the day as often as we did, but we do remember.  As I sat to write this blog posting, I put my thoughts into a poem.  It expresses much of what I felt then and still feel now.

Many things have been said over the last 11 years but these words still seem to say what I feel best.

"If we learn nothing else fro this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no tie for hate."  said Sandy Dahl, the wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl. 

  Photo credit My Voice on the Wings of Change 

Remembering 9/11

11 years ago, my day seemed oddly to stand still.
A vision haunts me now, and surely always will.
I woke to find that Towers which had stretched into the sky
were falling to the ground, and not a person knew just why. 

Much time has passed since then, and life has moved ahead.
The routine part of life takes precedence over those dead.
But, once a year, the country joins to ponder on that day,
and those, once joined in unity, again think in dismay:

How could this thing have happened?  What brought this as our fate?
Why does another person become filled with intense hate?
The answers to these questions see illusive to us all.
We still keep on inquiring why those towers took that fall.

We'll never know the answers. We will always wonder why.
And we'll always have reactions as we gaze into the sky.
But we can make a promise, one we never will regret -
to make it be a certainty that we do not forget.

Poem © Carol Speake 2012

My Items are a Hit on Hand Picked Listed at Bonanza

I love Bonanza's hand picked lists.  It is a really nice way for sellers to showcase other seller's items.  Each of the hand picked list has a theme and the person who puts it together looks around on Bonanza to see who has items that will fit into the list.

I am honored that three of my items were selected for three different hand picked lists.  Here are the items.  Below each one is a link to the list itself, so that you can see the other sellers items too!

From the list Bel-Air Garage Sale #22 by seller Rustyreds

From the list Peaches and Cream by seller NewLeafChic

From the List Blue Crush by seller dollpassion_paris

Would love it if my readers would visit the lists and make comments below the pictures.  Doing this gives the list a chance of making it to the main Bonanza page!  Thanks...

Hottest Selling Colors of the Season - Teal & Turquoise

If you have been reading my blog lately, you will know that I mention the colors teal and turquoise a lot.  The colors are very hot this year and I can't keep them in stock.  And from the looks of sales, it appears that the popularity of the colors isn't going to go away any time soon.

I joined a networking group on Facebook that has a bunch of the neatest ladies.   The group is called Networking Together and everyone promotes each others shops and blogs.

I thought it would be fun to promote some of their teal and turquoise colored items.  Just click any of the items to go to their sites.  Have fun window shopping, or shopping for real!

If you love the colors as much as we do, be sure to see what else these ladies have to offer!  Just click on any picture and you can go to that item and then follow through to their stores.

Happy window shopping!