25 Years of Love Displayed for All to See…

Create amazing things through email, including a custom designed ring for someone special such as a spouse or significant other.  For all my custom rings, the design process starts by answering a few questions. Click here to view the questions. The next step is a sketch to ensure I capture your vision of the ring.

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After answering the questions, we decided what materials to use for the ring. Silver was a must since this gorgeous ring is a 25th Anniversary gift for my client’s wife, Ultimately, we decided the ring should be custom created using silver and 14 karat gold. For the stones we decided to use my client’s birthstones: peridot (August) and tourmaline (October).

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Using silver and their birthstones was the perfect way to express a strong, harmonic bond and growing love for one another. Silver is a precious metal revered as sacred and holy just like marriage. Some believe peridot has the power to protect your heart, allowing you to fall in love with whimsical abandonment. While tourmaline can repel stress and help you achieve serenity in your life. Sharing a life of love and serenity sounds great to me.

“To love is one thing….to be loved is something…to love and be loved is everything.” - Unknown

Suppose This Happened to Your Engagement Ring!

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For ten years, you patiently wait to get an engagement ring. Suddenly, your excitement turns to disbelief and disappointment when your brand new engagement ring is too small, and the jeweler you purchased from is unwilling to help. Unfortunately, this exact scenario happened to my client.

When my client and her husband married 20 years ago, they could only afford simple wedding bands. After ten years of marriage, they decided to upgrade and finally get a diamond engagement ring. Unfortunately, the jeweler sold her a ring that was too small and refused to admit his mistake. Her precious diamond ring sat in a drawer for another 10 years before I redesigned it.

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Finally, after 20 years she is wearing the engagement ring of her dreams. Everywhere she goes, people keep complimenting her amazing ring. To keep this tragedy from happening to anyone else, I’ve included a link for you to download my tips for getting an accurate ring size.

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Author Unknown

Energy Flows Where Attention Goes

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Traditionally, the month of May celebrates the new season (Spring). Temperatures begin to warm up, flowers and trees are blossoming, and everyone feels energized. In ancient times, people were dancing and singing in the streets, spreading love, cheer, and positive energy.

Many believed for centuries that wearing an emerald brought positive luck and hope, making the emerald the perfect birthstone for May and perfect gemstone for all of us. Over the years, the emerald has become notorious for having flaws, making the “perfect” specimens more rare and valuable. Carat for carat, an emerald is more valuable than a diamond.

Sometimes we are like emeralds: strong but brittle and constantly trying to cover-up or wipe away our flaws. Instead, let’s embrace our rarity and imperfections. Spreading positivity and encouraging others to achieve their goals and heart’s desires.

“You attract the energy that you give off. Spread good vibes. Think positively. Enjoy life.” - Unknown

Keep it Simple

We’ve all heard and muttered the famous words by Lucille Ball – “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” The problem is many times, we are the “busy person” who keeps getting asked to do things. Every day, our schedules keep begging us to just say “No!” instead of saying “yes.” We just keep taking on more projects, tasks, and responsibilities. Then we wonder why we feel overwhelmed.

Here are a few tips to keep our schedules and lives from becoming overwhelming:

1. Trim the fat. Take a moment to look at all the personal, family, and work commitments on the calendar. How many are priorities and “must do’s,” the world will stop if we don’t do these things? If we are honest, we could remove several commitments from the schedule for now.

2. Down Time. Every day, everyone needs 15 minutes of downtime. Read a magazine or a book, listen to music, throw a personal dance party, or watch paint dry. Unplugging gives our bodies and minds a chance to reset.

3. No more guilt. We’re afraid to say “no” because we don’t want to let anyone down, we’re afraid we won’t get asked to help anymore, no one else is willing to help, or it wasn’t supposed be a big commitment. We need to realize our happiness and mental stability are not worth sacrificing to please other people.

4. Delegate. We can’t be everywhere all the time making sure everything gets done. Delegating is a great way to share the workload and responsibility with others. Whether the commitment, task, or project is personal or work related.

Each day brings the opportunity to make memories, enjoy precious moments, and be a difference-maker. Oh, what wonderful things we miss out on or take for granted when worrying about our schedules.

Feel the Love….

For many years, men have given their prospective brides diamond engagement rings as symbols of their love and devotion. This wonderful tradition dates to 1477 when Archduke Maximillian commissioned and gave a diamond engagement ring to his betrothed, Mary of Burgundy.
Over the years, engagement rings have evolved to include diamonds and other stones such as rubies, emeralds, and sapphires.

As the demand for engagement rings grew, so did the tradition of passing jewelry to future generations. For example, a grandmother gives her wedding ring or engagement ring to her daughter, and then the daughter then gives it to her daughter or son.

One of my clients is using his grandmother’s diamond to carry on his family’s tradition. He fell in love with his soulmate, and his search began for the perfect engagement ring. While visiting my shop, he chose the “Buttercup” ring as the ring he wanted to give to his future wife. The original design calls for a round stone, but I was able to modify the setting for his grandmother’s cushion-cut stone.

As you can see, the ring looks amazing. The client was super pleased and presented the ring to his future bride after she said “yes” to his proposal of marriage. Reach out today and tell me about your dream engagement ring.

Uncover Your Happiness!

There are many things I love about spring, including warmer weather and beautiful flowers. Watching as the trees and flowers begin to wake up, blossom, and grow is rather amazing. During the winter, we can get stuck in a rut or run our lives on autopilot, but spring gives us the opportunity to hit the “reset” button. Just like the flowers and trees, we can shed the old and begin something new.

Spring is the perfect time for a fresh perspective and to renew an old passion or discover something new. My definition of passion is anything that brings you satisfaction and deep joy. For instance, have you ever wanted to start a new hobby or pick a hobby back up? Stop waiting and just go for it! I’ve found if we keep waiting for the right moment, that moment never comes.

After taking the time to look at what brings me satisfaction, I’ve discovered my passion is working with my hands. I’m an artisan who loves to design and create jewelry. The ability to transform gold and silver into one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces is my passion. What is your passion?

Jacqueline Cooper is an author and photographer who has captured her love of nature’s beauty with her passion for writing. Here is just one of her quotes about spring – “Spring is a time for deep reflection of what has laid dormant inside, giving birth to a fresh start to life!”

You’re Not Alone

When you are a child, dealing with the loss of a loved one can be devastating… but when the loss is that of a parent, the loss can be even more painful and acute. Giving a child a customized keepsake is just one of the many great ways to help him or her feel like the loved one is still around in spirit. The keepsake can also help children remember the fun times and know they are never alone.

A few months ago, a woman reached out and asked me to make a piece for her children. They had lost their father to cancer in October of 2017. The original idea was to have the father’s handwritten words, “I love you,” engraved on one side and his thumb print engraved on the other side. After discussing the options and what would work best with her budget, she opted to replace the handwritten words with custom stamping.

The pendant pieces pictured above were created featuring dad’s thumb print on one side and his date of birth/date of death on the other side. The children now have a simple, clean, and extremely sentimental piece that will last for generations.
It’s never too late to remember our lost loved ones. Reach out today, and I’ll start designing your customized, remembrance piece.

Here is an amazing quote that is a great reminder that we are never alone. I hope it gives you peace and comfort in your times of loss.

“Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, Still loved, still missed and very dear.” – Unknown

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Positive, Wise, Loving

Stress is bad for our health, but did you know it can be toxic for our families too! Having a meltdown or losing our cool occasionally (stress attitude) can be very harmful both to you and your family. If you are a mother, losing your temper can be detrimental to your relationship with your children. Kids mirror what they see. The old saying “Monkey see, Monkey do” comes into play. How we react to stress, a bad day at work, or overwhelming day at home teaches children how to react as well. No pressure moms and dads!!!!

Here is a list of ways having a stress attitude affects our family:

1. Causes distress – anyone in our path including spouses, boyfriends, and children become the target. We take our frustration out on them instead of just talking about what’s causing us to stress.
2. Anxiety and Depression – if someone suffers from anxiety or depression, being yelled at or witnessing the yelling can cause that condition to flair up again.
3. Climate Change – children can sense when mom or dad is in a bad mood. Taking our aggravation out on them can cause our kids to shut down and not deal with their emotions properly.
4. Impatience – we get upset when things or people aren’t moving fast enough for our liking. Children see this and forget that kindness and patience are the appropriate way to respond.

None of us are perfect. We all have our moments of regret wishing we could take back the way we reacted to a situation.

Here are a few tips to help you lose the stress attitude:

1. Stay positive with laughter – laughter truly is the best medicine. It’s great for your mind, body, and attitude.
2. Exercise – any type of exercising even if it’s just taking a walk around your house or doing jumping jacks. Get your endorphins pumping to relieve your stress and help you maintain happiness.
3. Unplug – everyday take at least 5 min without your phone, tv, emails, etc. Read a few pages from a book or magazine, have your own dance party while listening to music, take a quick nap, relax in the tub, or drink a glass of wine.
4. Meditate – deep breathing, yoga, and prayer are also great ways to center and relax your mind and body.

I’ll leave you with a quote that captures the essence of home for me: “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do…but how much love we put in that action…” – Mother Teresa

Transforming Your Jewelry from “Meh” to “Oh Yeah”

People often wonder what to do with pieces of jewelry that are broken, outdated, or unpleasant. Some choose to sell the pieces, give them to family, or just keep them tucked away. Instead of just storing your unused jewelry, transform it into something new. Keep reading to see how!

The jewelry transformation process begins when someone shows me the broken or undesired jewelry. Together, we discuss the options for a new piece or pieces of jewelry, including what type of jewelry my client wants (ring, necklace, brooch, bracelet or earrings, etc.), what type of setting works best to hold the stones, and what the new piece may look like. After the meeting, I create and send a drawing to my client for approval.

Once the client approves the design, I begin to work my magic and transform the tired jewelry into a must-wear, one-of-a kind jewelry piece. The pendant/necklace shown below is my latest creation. It is a stunner made using reclaimed stones from my client’s bracelet and earning.

Comment below with your thoughts on this one-of-a kind necklace/pendant.

Winter Effects Your Jewelry Too

Winter is notorious for keeping the thermometer below freezing. Remembering to keep our skin protected is easy, but how about our jewelry? Freezing temperatures can wreak havoc on our jewelry by causing it to fracture and pop.

Colored gemstones can suffer from thermal shock when exposed to rapid temperature changes. Other gems are just structurally unstable or fragile. I’m not saying every gem on this list is unstable or overly sensitive. I’m asking you to please exercise caution when wearing these varieties of gemstones in cold weather.

Here’s a list of gems that favor warmer weather:
1. Opal
2. Emerald
3. Tanzanite
4. Moonstone
5. Aquamarine
6. Topaz
7. Quarts
8. All types of Garnets
9. Tourmaline
10. Low grade Rubies
11. Low grade Sapphires

To keep your jewelry protected either don’t wear it in freezing temperatures or make sure it is covered by your clothing. The rapid change in temperature is what causes the fractures and pop’s. Remember to keep your necklaces inside your jacket, earrings covered by your hat or earmuffs and rings covered by your gloves.

You can add these tips to your already growing list of responsible jewelry ownership. The list probably includes removing jewelry before sleeping, going swimming and gardening.

Thanks for reading our jewelry tips today!