Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry

#bloggersnightout #OKC

2012-02-09T07:33:00.001-06:00

I got an invitation to a Bloggers Night Out in the City! Not exactly sure what we'll be doing but I am taking the opportunity to network, network, network! Check out the other exciting bloggers that will be there tonight!

Blog list:
Danielle from www.elleinadspir.com
Susan from www.workingcloset.com
Shana from www.gorillabuns.typepad.com
Melissa from www.pineapplelilyblog.com
Alison from www.shopcrawlr.com
Caroline from www.iamagreedygirl.com
Allison from www.feedingmytemple.com
Kelly from www.designcrushblog.com
Allyson from www.allysoninwonderland.com
Brigette from www.settlingwest.com
Evie from www.evie-s.com
Sally from www.sallyspins.com
Erin from pippinandpearl.com
Rita from www.meandmyshortloffs.blogspot.com
Brandy from www.bellavitajewelry.blogspot.com
Emery from www.emeryjo.blogspot.com
Stephanie from www.stephaniebice.com
Kathleen from www.jeremyandkathleen.blogspot.com
Marek from www.mareksmusings.com
Anna from www.andeverythingniceblog.com
Rachel from www.pencilshavingsblog.com

Host:
The Make Up Bar - www.themakeupbar.com
(sorry no time to link all the blogs)

So exciting! I'll try to have a full report up tomorrow or this weekend. I have orders to fill and am leaving pretty early tomorrow for Northwest Arkansas. I am taking a photography class tomorrow afternoon and a two day precious metal clay class on Saturday and Sunday. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

And here is a pretty picture b/c I can blog without pictures...

I am adding a new section to my online shop! "You Pick" - where you can design your own necklace from the chain to the charms to the stones. Or, you can purchase just the charms and/or stones. Working on hand picking charms and stones for an upcoming photo shoot!

A Girls Best Friend

2012-02-08T08:10:00.001-06:00

Meet Tubby. Tubby is the dog my parents got to help on the farm when I was about 15. They brought him home and I thought I was too cool for a puppy and that I didn't want to have anything to do with him. But, that was not the case. It was love at first sight, best friends immediately!

I snapped this photo of him one day when I was practicing for my photography class when I was in High School. I developed the film and the print myself! This was back before digital cameras were available to anyone and everyone.

The day came for me to move out of my parents house and I had to say goodbye to my loyal, best buddy. Good bye never lasted long because I visited home often, even moved back twice :)

Then, another sad day came (sad for Tubby), the day I brought Arlo home. Tubby never cared for Arlo but I think that is because he had turned grumpy and tired by the time Arlo came around. Tubby was a working cattle dog so he put in many years of work for my Dad.

I have been watching him get older and weaker for a few years now. I got the phone call this morning that he had gone to doggie heaven. The last few times I visited home I took a few moments to spend with him just in case it was the last.

Tubby Dog, you'll be in my heart forever.

Tucson - Day 4

2012-02-07T06:23:00.001-06:00

I started my last and final day in Tucson by having breakfast with Karyn, the lady that I rented a room from. She was so generous and sweet and made me breakfast while I stayed with her :)

After breakfast I headed back out to wrap up my last minute shopping. I knew I wanted to go back to a couple of shows to pick up some last minute items and that I did. I found all these amazing charms and ordered some last minute Czech glass that I am dying to design with. I have to wait two weeks though! That is how new these glass beads are!!!!

Here is a sneak peek...

I got done shopping early so I headed to the house to start packing my loot. My flight was so early on Saturday that I needed to have everything ready to go Friday night so I could just walk out the door on Saturday.
I got everything all packed up and said goodby to Karyn and then made my way to dinner at Oregano's Italian Bistro (one of my fav's in Tucson) where I met Stefanie. We had a great time talking about our finds for the week and showing off our own designs. I am so glad that Stefanie and I were able to meet up during this trip. Cheers to new friendships!

Stefanie and I at Oregano's.

I got up super early on Saturday and made my way to the airport. I arrived back in Oklahoma around 1 p.m. Tucson was fabulous this year! The weather was perfect and even though I was traveling by myself I never felt alone. I made every effort to meet new people and to network as much as possible. Until next year!

Now I am working on taxes, planning our trip to NYC, and unpacking everything, counting, pricing and sorting it into it's new home. I took a few minutes yesterday to make a pair of earrings out of some of my new materials. Let me know what you think!

Tucson - Day 3

2012-02-06T07:56:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I started the day by driving up into the mountains of Tucson. It was a pretty short drive out of town but a pretty amazing view of the mountains and the city. Every year I come to Tucson I wish I could do more outdoor activities but there just isn't time. I hope that Matt will come with me one year and we can go outdoors and play. My short little drive sufficed for this trip. After that I stopped by the Ajo Cafe, a local diner that I discovered a couple of years ago. I stopped in the day before for a soda and got talked into a wonderful piece of Chocolate Pie. The owner insisted that I come back for breakfast or lunch and it just happened to work out yesterday. She even greeted me by name when I walked in! I love seeking out small local joints with loads of flavor and local color!

After I properely fueled up for a day of shopping I joined all the other crazies at the Holidome. This is a crazy show, and people think you are crazy if you go on the first day. I really only go to visit two vendors... one that I won't tell you the name of because it is my little secret and the other is Nina Designs, who I love very much!

I got some aaaammmmaaaaazing stones - calcite cobalto and silica were my huge splurge then I also purchased a handful of other stones, some new to Bella Vita and some oldies.

Calcite Cobalto and Silica

I was also very excited to visit the Nina Designs booth this year. I have been dying to hand pick from their new bronze charms, which are of impeccable quality and design and so affordable!

New Charms

I wrapped up the Holidome pretty quickly, dropped by the Gem Mall for some last minute items then headed back to To Bead True Blue for my 6:00 class. It was a long day and I think I am pretty worn out over all. I've been waking up at 5:00 all on my own which kind of stinks. None of the shows open until 10:00 so I have a lot of time on my hands early in the morning.

Today, Karyn (the lady I am staying with) is going to take me to her friends studio. should be exciting! Then I'll head over to The Whole Bead Show, The Gem Mall, possibly GJX and To Bead True Blue. I have to wrap it all up today. Check my lists, check my purchases and make sure I don't need to buy anything else. I am almost to the end of my budget which makes me sad but happy at the same time. I want to get home and make make make!

Class projects... adding color to metals!

Tucson - Day 2

2012-02-03T10:13:00.005-06:00

Ahhh! Day two of my trip... lets see how did it start out??? I didn't have time to write yesterday so now I have to remember what I did and write two blog posts this morning.

I think I started out at The Gem Mall- ah, yes I did.

I wanted to see all of the vendors that usually exhibited at the "Rodeway" but were moved to the Gem Mall this year. All my "regulars" that I like to buy from. I hand picked seed bead bracelets in an array of amazing color combinations! I can't wait to get home to play with these beauties. Two words - ARM CANDY!

I spent a lot of time at this show... A lot of the African trade bead vendors are at this show and I have a weakness for African trade beads, especially the old, old, old, dirty ones. I got some pretty cool new (to me) glass trade beads for my Summer collection. I want to buy more, but the styles I select are always the oldest, dirtiest, and by far the most expensive... like $400 a strand expensive. I would love to purchase them and expose my clients to these amazing antique beads but I am just scared to make that investment at this point in my career. So, instead I take pictures and drool over them from time to time.

I took a short break to grab some food from one of the food vendors. I sat at a table with some other really nice ladies and did a little networking. I met the owner of Feifish which is a wholesale jewelry company started by a woman that hated her job and started making jewelry 3 or 4 years ago!

After lunch I headed to the Best Bead Show to visit my friends at Lilly Pilly Designs. I got some great new handmade shell pendants in spring/summer colors. I also visited with Andrew from Green Girl Studios... these two vendors are pretty much the only reason I come to this show. It's a nice show and really fun to walk around and look at all the glass artists, etc.

From here I ventured over to Electric Park. I had some time to kill before dinner and was a little overloaded with beads/gems/etc. so I decided to go look at the massive rocks and minerals and what not. This show is really cool, massive amethyst statues and other massive stone boulders, any kind of rock you could imagine... finished and unfinished. I passed one booth that had unopened geodes and couldn't pass up the opportunity to open one... actually I opened two. My Grandfather used to open geodes for people at his shop. I spent many summer days watching him do it for other kids that were on vacation... I got my fair share of geodes too though :)

After my adventures at Electric Park, I headed downtown to Cafe Poca Cosa to meet Stephanie of Stephanie Wolf Designs. Stephanie and I connected on Twitter and had our first "meet up" or "tweet up"... we didn't tweet while we were at dinner so I am not sure what we'd call it! Anyway, this restaurant was crazy! I had called to get reservations because apparently you HAVE to. Well, they didn't have any in the time that we wanted so we opted to just wing it, we got a table after about an hour of waiting. The food was pretty incredible... I can see what the fuss is about. I had a creamy chicken dish with an amazingly fresh salad and beans and rice and homemade tortillas. I think I still have 1/2 a chicken left! I don't remember the name of it and have no way of finding out b/c their menu changes daily! Check out their site, they are award winning and have been published a lot. And GO, if you are in the area.
That sums up day two, I headed home after dinner and c-rashed!

Tucson Gem and Mineral (and Bead) show - Day One

2012-02-01T09:38:00.000-06:00

I left beautiful weather in Oklahoma to enjoy even more beautiful weather in Tucson. It's amazing compared to last year which showed us absurd snow storms and record lows down here! All of which this girl didn't really prepare for and with a lot of the shows being outside in tent cities I froze my buns off! Not the case this year, at least so far. Yesterday was absolutely perfect. Highs int he 70's and full-on-sunshine!

I started my day by meeting my host, her name is Karyn, and I don't know her! This is kind of a big deal for me... I am traveling all by my lonesome and staying with a lady that rents a room out of her house!

On to bead business!

I started my day at To Bead True Blue, which is one of my favorite shows here. I headed to a fav. vendor as soon as I got there but it turned out to not be soon enough. I was in search of some vintage brass charms that I got last year and when I got to her booth the lady that actually registered for the show in front of me had ALL the little brass charms in her basket!!! I asked if the vendor had anymore and she said she did at her store and she could ship them... blah blah blah... then the sweet lady asked how many I wanted and I said, "one would do me until she can ship the others!" And, she was SO KIND to give me one strand. I know this probably doesn't sound like a big deal but it is. Some people here are cut throat, and can ruin your day just by looking at you!

I ended up spending my whole afternoon here. I met Ellie from Argenta Bead and she generously shared her lunch with me, poolside! I love seeing Ellie and catching up with her.

After that I saw a demo on glass clay... yep glass clay. You turn a powder into a "clay" like substance and then fire it in a kiln and it turns into glass. Pretty crazy if you ask me, fun to watch, but I opted out of the kit. I want to master metal clay first!

I spent the afternoon leisurely shopping all the vendors. Found a great new supplier for chains, new fine pewter pendants, some crazy kyanite and quartz stones and stocked up on lucite flowers at the Beadinpath (one of my fav's).

After this long day of shopping I met up with Rae Ann of Rae Ann Creations and we had a nice dinner.
Today I think I am going to hit the Best Bead Show and the Gem Mall...

Vintage brass galore!!

Loving this lucite, and I'm not even an animal print girl.

New colors in the "goddess" or "Venus" beads.

F-U-N

Lovely! Two new pewter charms.

Couldn't pass these happy Buddhas up!

Excited about this quartz.

Dallas - Part II

2012-01-31T09:00:00.001-06:00

Day two of Dallas started with me driving downtown Dallas for the first time, in the dark, and rain! My knuckles were white, but I made it to the hotel at 6:30 a.m. in order to get ready for market with the girls of Threads Boutique. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel and then caught the shuttle for F.I.G. where they had an appointment with their Joe's Jeans rep. I took my time browsing the market floor for jewelry artists like myself. I met two really nice ladies (Three Bishops and m.elizabeth designs) that were interested in talking with me.

My main goal was to visit, take notes, talk to people to see if setting up in a market like this is feasible for Bella Vita. I decided that it would be as soon as I figure out a catalog, line sheets, etc. etc. etc. My goal is to participate in a market like this in the next 8 months.

After a few hours of perusing the Market Center (which isn't a lot of fun unless you have a store you are buying for!!) I called Brooke and she came to pick me up. We went and goofed off for a few hours and then I came back to the hotel.

After a few hours of rest, we headed out to the Dallas Museum of Art for the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit. It was phenomenal! So many incredible designs in one exhibit. I don't know a lot about Jean Paul but I really enjoyed and appreciated his work. For more about the exhibit check out the website and this radio news story I found online.

I didn't get to wear my cute, coral-pink dress after all... I just didn't feel comfortable in it. I opted for leggings and a cute sweater and boots :)

From the museum we headed to dinner at Dragonfly in Hotel ZaZa. The interior was so lovely... I think this was the main reason Leila picked this as our dinner spot. Check out the adorable wallpaper we sat by! Don't look too close, the flash picks up all the stains on the wall...

Friday we got up, found a cute local diner and had a goodbye breakfast. I joked with Leila about how we always try to figure out ways to see each other. She lives in Louisiana now and I am in Oklahoma and we have managed to see each other quite a few times in the last 6 months. Not sure when the next time will be, but I am sure it will be an interesting adventure!

As you read this blog post, I'll be in the sky flying to Tucson for the Gem and Mineral Show. Please do keep up with my posts! I'll be blogging and facebooking daily. If you have any special requests please leave a comment below.

Dallas - Part I

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Wednesday I set off for my trip to Dallas. I drove down and spent the day with my good friend Brooke. We started off with lunch at Bolsa, in The Bishop Arts District. This was very yum! We shared the bruschetta (sp?) platter and then a ham sandwich. From there Brooke took me to Dude, Sweet Chocolate which is a "funky artisan dark chocolate" shop. We sampled a handful of their chocolates and made decisions on which to buy. I purchased the Urrunaga Bros. (Avoca's Peruvian Coffee and Sweetened Condensed Milk Fudge), and the Vincotto (Fig, Moroccan Almond Soft Toffee). Vincotto was by far my favorite and I can't stop eating it! I HIGHLY recommend checking this area out. There are tons of restaurants and boutiques and definitely GO GET SOME DUDE, SWEET Chocolate!!

From here we made our way to Ikea in Frisco. I had never been to an Ikea store. I specified their products a lot on my design projects in college so I always wanted to see them in person. Ikea is a little overwhelming... especially if you aren't really shopping for anything in particular. I had a lot of great ideas while in there but only came out with a hanger for scarves, plastic cutting boards, and a mat for a rug. I have always wanted to visit the store so I did! Yay! I can mark that off my list of things to do ;)

After Ikea we met Brooke's husband Mike (the man who married Matt and I) for dinner.

A fun, fun, fun day! It was so refreshing to hang out with my girlfriend and just be girls and giggle ALL DAY. Or maybe that's just Brooke rubbing off on me. What ever it is, I can't wait to go back for another girls day out!

YUM! this was my favorite chocolate!

Me in front of the pretties, largest yarn bombing I have ever seen!

Brooke and baby Harper (2 months).

Valentines Stampings

2012-01-29T13:58:00.000-06:00

I have been working on a batch of custom stampings for Valentines Day. If you are interested in a customs stamping please, please, please email me as soon as possible! brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com

The stampings can be as long as you want, can be naughty or nice, sweet or scandalous! The sky is the limit and 100% confidential! Here are some examples I've been working on.

Custom stamped charm necklace, $25 each.

3 custom stamped charms, $50.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

2012-01-28T08:13:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday Matt and I took off for the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is about an hour South and West from Norman. I was completely impressed and amazed that this existed in Oklahoma. I am so used to the flat lands that we live in, but this was far from that.

The large rocky hills made made me think I was in New Mexico. I think the tallest one is in the 1,000 foot range.

There are also roaming buffalo and long horn cattle. We didn't get very close to the buffalo but we had a few cows wander pretty close to us.
The day was beautiful and warm. About an hour into our hike we noticed the sky was turning hazy and by the time we got out of the hills the view was very "apocalyptic" like! The wind was insane! I would say the gusts were up to 40 mph. All in all it was a beautiful day trip! I highly recommend checking this out if you are a local or traveling through Oklahoma. There were quite a few shorter trails to hike, we chose the 5 mile loop which was one of the longer ones but made for a perfect hike! After the hike we strolled through Medicine Park which is an old historic resort town that has been restored. I wish we had more time to spend here but we had a dinner date with friends in OKC. I think we will go back for another day trip soon!
We met our friends at their new house, which is amazing and made me totally jealous! I want to own a house. It was built in the 20's and is absolutely perfect!

From there we went to Republic Gastropub at Classen Curve. This was a new restaurant for Matt and I. I am trying to eat a new restaurant every time we visit OKC (which isn't that often, or not as often as you would think b/c it is only 30 minutes away). We all ordered a different beer and a couple of appetizers. Matt and I shared a Reuben with french fries. All in all the food was really good, a step up from pub food. The beer was good too. It was a little over priced for me to return but I am glad I got to check it out once. The design of the interior is pretty fantastic so that was nice to see. Again, if you find yourself in Oklahoma City, check out this gastropub, definitely worth hanging out in the modern space. And, Anthropologie just opened in the same shopping center!!!

Testing posts from my phone...

2012-01-22T09:32:00.001-06:00

I'm debating on whether or not to take my lap top to Tucson this year. Pretty sure I can just blog about my journey from my iPhone. So here's a test.
Happy Sunday!

Coral

2012-01-21T08:23:00.000-06:00

This lovely image popped up on my facebook feed the other day and I have to say I am in love with ALL of it! The image is from Ylang23, a jewelry store based out of Dallas. Coral is by far one of my favorite colors as well as a color that flatters my skin tone and hair color.

And this little beauty is the dress I will be wearing to the Dallas Museum of Art's exhibit, "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk."

I found it yesterday at , Unlabeled, where you can also find Bella Vita Jewelry!

I'll check in next week and tell you all about my trip to Dallas Market.

Have a great weekend!! xoxo

Pantone Spring 2012 Colors

2012-01-18T07:13:00.001-06:00

The folks over at Pantone have selected some stunning colors for Spring.

I am especially excited about "tangerine tango," "cockatoo," and "margarita! And, one of my all time favorite color combinations; "solar power" (gold/yellow) and "sodalite blue" (navy/royal).

What colors are you looking forward to sporting this Spring/Summer? I hope you enjoy some of my favorite color combos and styles from the Fashion Color Report.

Vintage Earring-palooza!

2012-01-17T06:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I spent the day sorting and organizing all of my vintage baubles. I also took the opportunity to make some cute new earrings out of old charm bracelets and broken clip on earrings. I priced these items low! The sale will only last another day or two then the prices will go up to full price. I hope you enjoy some of my first designs of 2012!

Sold

$20

$30

$20

Sold

$20

$25

Earrings - 1st Design of 2012

2012-01-13T06:32:00.001-06:00

I am dying to get back to my normal schedule of making jewelry like crazy. But, I have to do tedious things like sort receipts, end of the year numbers, and inventory before I get to be creative again.

I did get the studio back in working order! It sure feels good. I will post some pics next week when I get it looking good. I had it all cleaned up then got all my end of the year paper work out so now it is a mess again!

But, good news!!! I was able to hire a helper and she starts next week. I am really excited and relieved to know that I have back up. I have been getting really overwhelmed with all the work I have needed to do.

I did sneak in a little earring design this week. I had been thinking about the style in my head for a few days so I just HAD to sit down and make them. They didn't work out with the first bead I used but then I put these Czech glass drops on and they worked like a charm, I even had a facebook giveaway and got some great feed back. I was a little unsure about the design at first but from the looks of the comments on facebook they are a go! They will make their debut on my website as part of my Spring/Summer 2012 collection and will be available in 5 colors.

As far as my "goals" go... I have still been sticking to them. Made it to the gym 3 days this week and hope to go at least one more day and maybe even a yoga class too. We had an overnight guest on Wednesday so I didn't cook, nor did I cook last night and probably wont all weekend (well much). We have another round of company coming today! We are very excited to host our friends from Little Rock this weekend.
I have ridden my bike to work every shift this week... today is gonna be a killer though. I think the temp will only be in the 20's. And, I read a few more chapters in my book. I hope that you all don't mind that I talk about this on here. It really helps me to stick to my goals if I can talk about it. :)
Have an wonderful weekend!!!

Productivity

2012-01-10T07:26:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was awesome! I woke up early and went straight to work on my Studio. It pretty much took me all weekend to get things in a working order and yesterday I worked on sorting and organizing materials that were on my work table. Little, tiny, pieces of jewelry... everywhere! It's insane. You would think that I would just clean up behind myself when I go from project to project but that isn't so much the case.

I had to stop around 9:30 in order to get ready for my "real job." So I rode my bike (one of my New Year's goals-- ride bike more!) to work. Did my waitressing thing then got off early, which couldn't have come on a better day!

I used to like to get up really early, like 5:30 early, to go to the gym but I have found that I prefer to work before the gym. So now I have been going in the afternoons when I need a break from work. Anyway, all that being said, I made it to the gym after work (stuck to another goal-- exercise).

After that I was starving! I ran to the grocery store to grab some fresh veggies for our dinner, which was tacos. Cooked dinner (one more goal-- cook more), had one margarita, probably ate a little too much but we have a hard time passing up tacos. Then, showered and got ready for bed. I even stayed up long enough to get over the first wave of being sleepy and then proceeded to read my book until about 11 (another goal-- read!!).

It felt good to stick to my goals. I haven't been exercising or eating right and I think my body hates me for it. I am tired and sluggish and just unmotivated. I find it hard to run a small business, hold down a part time job and be good to myself, my husband and our dog. Life is all about balance and it is easy to lose sight of that. Here's to finding it and keeping it!

The book I am reading...

Part of my order from Cool Tools arrived last week. I haven't had a chance to play with any of it but hopefully I will asap! My kiln should be here in a week or so ;} eeeekkk!!!

On the books for today...

-Figuring out my trip to Tucson... this girl has a plan ticket but no one to share a room with! Know anyone going that might want to share a hotel room? Please let me know.

-Cleaning up the last remnants of the "Big Rearrange" of 2012.
-Make some earrings! --most excited about this! I haven't made jewelry since before Christmas.

-Probably a little book work.

-Exercise and cook dinner :)

Happy Day to you!

Cleaning, Organizing, Sifting, Rearranging

2012-01-05T07:14:00.001-06:00

January brings new beginnings, resolutions, goals, ideas, fresh starts etc. etc. etc. To me it is always a refreshing time of year, the big reset... A whole new year is ahead of us. Perhaps I look at it like this because I am the owner of a young, small business.
I have many goals and ideas for new jewelry lines that I want to design in the upcoming year. I have two big shopping trips in the next 6 weeks, a research trip to the Dallas Market, and possibly a class or two in metal working techniques. (All before March 1st)

But, before any of this can happen I have to clean out, organize, and rearrange my studio. This might not sound like a big deal but trust me, it is.

As a collector of vintage and antique items (not just jewelry, decor too), I have acquired a lot of "stuff." Which is kind of crazy to me because I often think of myself as a minimalist... probably not so much anymore. So in between my shifts at my day job (waiting tables) I have started the cleaning/organizing process. I just drew up a sketch of I will rearrange the furniture in my studio and now have to get everything ready for the "big move." Hopefully, crossing my fingers, today will be the day that I get enough done to start moving furniture.

As a child I was always rearranging my bedroom. I loved the feeling of a new scheme. I think I'll feel the same way after I complete this project. Hopefully it will be completely inspiring too!

A small fraction of my vintage materials stash!

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

2012-01-03T08:06:00.000-06:00

My contribution to my family's Christmas lunch was this amazing cheesecake from Southern Living Magazine. I found it in the October or November issue and knew I had to make it.

This was my first attempt at making a cheesecake. It wasn't hard at all... just a lot of instructions to follow. The cheesecake was a hit at the party and I had plenty of left overs and polished them off last week. What did you make over the holidays?
Cooking more is one of my resolutions... I almost hate to call it a resolution. I prefer to call them goals. Other goals I set are to stay organized, exercise, be positive, and have fun.

New Year - New Outlook

2011-12-30T07:32:00.003-06:00

Well, I hope everyone survived the Christmas season. I did, it was questionable for a minute, but I came out on top :)

I always get stressed this time of year because I am working so hard to make jewelry for shows and to fulfill custom orders then after all that is done I get to start my Christmas shopping. It works out though, it always does. That is usually my mantra for November and December. "You have enough jewelry, you always do"... and "everything always works out just fine."

Now what? That is what I keep saying to myself. What is the next step for me?

I am trying to get my studio cleaned OUT and re-organized. I just don't really know which corner to start in. A cleanse is always good! I have old beads that I am not using, junk jewelry that is just sitting around collecting dust, etc. etc. etc.

I am also making room for more metal working tools such as a kiln for firing metal clay and all the tools to go with that. Very exciting!!!

I am planning trips to Dallas, Tucson, and New York City. I am going to meet a couple of friends at the Dallas Market in January. I want to check out the jewelry artists to see if this is something that I might be interested in doing in the next year or two.

Tucson, is my annual buying trip! I am not sure who is going with me yet... I booked my flight yesterday and I'll have 3 1/2 days of shopping. This is a little intimidating because it is my first time to travel alone. I'll either meet friends from Eureka when I get there or a friend from Little Rock. Flying solo is what intimidates me :/ I hate flying...

Then, the last week of February Matt and I are driving to New York. He has a Geography conference and I have shopping to do!

In the middle of all that I'll be designing new jewelry for my website and booking a few shows this Spring.

I hope to cut down a little on my traveling this year. We'll see if that works out for me.

I still dream about a storefront... I mentally decorate and design my space everyday. I guess you could say this is good prep for when the time comes that I am in a more permanent place and can open Bella Vita Studios!

Until then, I am going to clean, organize, plan, and design, design, design. I am very excited about what is to come in 2012! I wish you a very very very Happy New Year!

My very best friend has been looking for these keys for quite some time now. She finally found them and I have them. I think this is a good sign for 2012.

They are just beautiful!

Featured Artist Series - Introducing Kendal Drew

2011-12-06T14:59:00.001-06:00

I met my first featured artist about a year ago when I was visiting Little Rock. Kendal is a beadchick at The Argenta Bead Company in North Little Rock and that is where we met. I had seen a few of Kendal's earring designs when I first met her and really loved what I saw. I even encouraged her to teach a class on one of her designs. I wasn't surprised at all when I visited again this past October to find her designs have grown and are even more amazing than when I first met her. I hope you enjoy reading a little bit about Kendal but I hope you love her earrings as much as I do. I have a small collection of 6 of her original designs available in my online shop.

Meet: Kendal Drew

"I began making jewelry when I was about 10. I've always loved little things and working with my fingers so I'm pretty sure my aunts were just using me to finish projects that they're cornea's couldn't comprehend. Either way it was something that I became quickly interested in and was an excellent way for me to spend time with the fam.

I took a few jewelry classes in high school that pertained to materials that weren't readily available to me at home such as pewter, soldering and enamels. Since then, though, I haven't really dabbled in jewels until I got a job at Argenta Bead, where the creative wheels began turning...and quickly at that. Before I knew it I had all these great ideas. I bought a sketch book for the first time in years, which, unfortunately I don't use as often as I like because I'm too busy making stuff. I gain inspiration from all the other interests that I keep in my life. Interests that I thought would hold higher priority over making jewelry. My dream is to have a paid job in agriculture. Really it could be whatever, but if I had my choice I would own 80 acres and have a small farm with a home I built myself, a good size garden and enough live stock to make up a petting zoo. I mean I really wouldn't have a petting zoo, but you know goats, chickens, a cow or two, pigs and if I'm lucky some sheep. My other career of choice would be to rebuild old cars. Antique automobiles are glorious and full of character. Plus, engineering is just plain cool. My jewelry reflects these things. I gain inspiration from both nature and mechanics. I feel my pieces are a juxtaposition of natural colors and materials arranged in mechanical shapes and patterns. It's funny how I have subconsciously found a way to cross those paths without doing either one of them at all.

Well, I've had my rant. Besides jewelry making I work at a pizza joint, hang out with my friends and try to use the little time I have to concentrate on my others hobbies and interests. I hope you guys enjoy what I have to offer. I do"

Meet Kendal's Designs!!

Thrifting with the Queen of Thrift

2011-12-01T06:49:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my Grandmother and I set out on a journey, our main destination was the Simply Scrumptious Tea Room in Eureka Springs. But, along the way we stopped at the many thrift stores and antique stores along the way.

It started off as a very interesting trip to say the least. Our first stop was a flea market on the Berryville Square. I was a little surprised to find the owner chain smoking the whole time we were in there... surprised in this day and age of non-smoking businesses... it was a little gross and unfortunate because they had some really cool furniture and quilts but I am sure it all smelled like cigarette smoke.

Anyway, from there we stumbled into a thrift store and I immediately spotted these two Dooney and Bourke bags hanging on the wall. I picked them up because I thought they might be real but after conversing with the lady that worked at the store I learned that they weren't real. She actually schooled me! She pointed out that if it were a real D&B bag the zipper would be metal, the inner pockets wouldn't be lined in vinyl, and that the bag would be a lot heavier. After she pointed all that out it started making sense. To me they looked like bags from the early 1980's... they could have been. I ended up passing on them. They aren't really my style or taste I was hoping to make a few bucks on this one ;)

After this thrift shop we continued on around the square and stumbled upon an antique store straight out of a nightmare. We stepped inside to find a barking dog and 4 cats staring us in the face and were overwhelmed by a horrid ammonia and cat pee smell and immediately had to leave. It was disgusting! The sad part is we really wanted to look around. Gram's and I just knew there were goodies in there. But, no sane person could spend more than 45 seconds in the place. I honestly don't know how/why the health department hasn't shut them down... perhaps they don't regulate antique stores???

After that we were done with Berryville and headed out of town!

We stopped at a couple more thrift shops but weren't having luck finding treasures so we headed to our lunch spot which was the Tea Room in Eureka.

Simply scrumptious is exactly what it was! We both chose the asparagus, bacon and cheddar quiche, salad and I got mushroom bisque and Gram's got the chilli. Everything was very fresh and delicious!

Lunch special. YUM!

We shared dessert which was a white cake with blackberry spread and butter cream frosting.

A beautiful pansy that came on our cake.

Me and my Grandmother.

After lunch we shopped the antique store that was connected to the tea room. This was a fun stop, they had some beautiful primitive antiques... everything that was out my price range but really fun to look at. The man working the store was really nice too. He pointed out a few other antique shops we might be interested in. So, after that we started the journey back home. We stopped at one last shop, it was one that my Grandparents used to stop at when they were still in the biz. It was in the back yard of a little country home between Eureka and Berryville. The woman that owned it was very interesting and helpful. She pulled out a bunch of junk jewelry for me and even had antique buttons for Grandma.
Yesterday wasn't the most successful day of junking/thrifting but it was the most fun day because of the company I had!

Saturday Fun Day

2011-11-26T07:13:00.001-06:00

Saturday Fun Day by bella-vita-jewelry featuring skinny fit jeans

Oversized top
$70 - modcloth.com

Hollister Co. skinny fit jeans
$50 - hollisterco.com

Oasis flat shoes
$65 - oasis-stores.com

Travel tote bag
$565 - net-a-porter.com

Custom Stamped Necklaces

2011-11-23T06:17:00.001-06:00

The possibilities are really endless with these hand stamped charms! From your favorite saying to your children or pets name. I can embellish the charms with your birthstone or your favorite color. These necklaces can be made with recycled brass charms or sterling silver. Brass necklaces start at $25 dollars and sterling starts at $50. The price goes up depending on the length of the word/saying and the stones/beads you want to embellish with.

I'll be debuting my new line of these necklaces at The Little Craft Show in Fayetteville, Arkansas on December 3rd. You are always welcome to pre-order or custom order your own though ;)

Custom "Namaste" stamping on sterling silver, embellished with clients own sea glass and chrysoprase.

New collection to debut at The Little Craft Show. Find these and more on December 3rd!

Custom order for Christmas... brass charms and semi precious stones.

Custom Mother's Necklace: daughters name, wedding anniversary, birthstones, and yoga inspired charms all on sterling silver.

School spirit! 3 different styles of "Woo Pig" necklaces are available. Can be customized for any school.

Grandmother's Necklace: grandchildren's names and birthstones all on sterling silver.

Mother's Necklace: 4 boys and their birthstones all on sterling silver.

Holiday Gift Guide

2011-11-21T20:00:00.001-06:00

I just wrapped up the Northwest Arkansas Boutique Show in Springdale this past weekend and what an amazing show it was! I did this show last year and just did OK, but this year, something was different and people were really into my jewels!

I had a woman come to the show specifically to find me. She had purchased a couple of rings from me last year and came back this year for more rings and to start a button collection for her daughter. Of course this tugged at my own heart! Anyone that starts a button collection because of me is a winner in my book. I also got to see some old friends, some very good customers and made a lot of new friends! All in all I was very pleased with the whole weekend. Except the part where it was over :/

All of that brings me to the reason I am writing this post... and that is the fact that it is already time to start shopping for Christmas gifts. Last week I made a Bella Vita Holiday Gift Guide. I hope it helps you gain some ideas for everyone on your list. I am still taking custom orders for the holidays. If you have a special piece that you would like turned into a new piece of jewelry then we need to talk. Whether it is vintage or new I would love to help! And a special discount code for 15% off your entire purchase: LUCKY. Discount good until December 20th.

Save the Date

2011-11-09T08:02:00.002-06:00

Just a quick little reminder for all you Northwest Arkansans to mark your calendars for December 16th and 17th. I'll be returning to Good Things Boutique for my annual Holiday Trunk Show.

Jessy and I had so much fun last year we decided to add an extra few hours to the event by starting it on Friday evening.

More details to come. Keep up with the event on facebook. The official invite will be sent out at the begining of December.
You wont want to miss this show. Bella Vita will be celebrating 3 years of business!!! There will be drawings and giveaways :)

A very Girlie weekend.

2011-11-07T07:32:00.001-06:00

This past weekend was The Girlie Show in Oklahoma City. I have applied twice to this show, accepted once as an alternate and nothing on the second go around...

I won't lie, I was very sad this year when I didn't get in... I thought this was the year for Bella Vita at the Girlie Show. It wasn't and now, after attending the show on Friday night I am kind of glad!

This show is soooo popular and wild and awesome. There were so many people there on Friday night, I was amazed. I had only been during the day on Saturday last year which doesn't compare to Friday at all.

I am glad that I got to see the craziness before actually participating as a vendor. It made me think about what items I would focus on for a crazy/busy show as well as my display and booth arrangement. I definitely learned a lot and feel like I will be prepared when I get accepted as a Girlie :)

The view from the top... from the balcony at The Girlie Show.

Friday night I helped my friends, Luxy Cupcakes, hand out their deliciousness. I also had a chance to help my friend Nikki of Gleeful Peacock... her booth was COVERED UP all night long. I helped her restock and collect money for about an hour...

Then on Saturday I came back as a shopper and volunteered to work the door for a 3 hour shift. I got a chance to walk around to all the booths, pick out what I wanted, then make the buying round. I think it is good to do this when you are on a budget. I almost impulsively bought a pair of earrings for $19... probably not a big deal to most people but what am I doing buying earrings?! I need to be wearing my own designs for advertising not spending money on new ones. So, needless to say, I talked myself out of the jewelry and focused on one nice item. That item is a cute clutch made out of up-cycled coffee sacks by Wise Abe of Oklahoma City.

My cute new clutch... because we all know I needed another purse/clutch/handbag!!?!?!!

New Featured Artists Corner

2011-10-26T07:55:00.001-05:00

I have recently acquired some awesome new jewelry from artists that I have met at shows. I wear this jewelry and get a gazillion compliments on it and I almost always fess up and give credit to the artist. There are some situations where it is easier to just say "yes, I made it." Even though I don't feel completely right doing that.

I have decided to feature a new up and coming artist on my blog and in my online store (and possibly at shows if it fits with my aesthetic). I am thinking the features will run for 2 -3 months at a time. I am still working out the details of everything. I will blog about the artist, post on facebook and upload the products to my online store. The artist doesn't have to be limited to jewelry but it does have to fit the "Bella Vita look."

If you are interested in having your work featured on my site and blog please send me an email, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com. And stay tuned for our first featured artist that will be up in December!

Muted but Colorful

2011-10-18T21:55:00.001-05:00

Muted but Colorful by bella-vita-jewelry featuring leather heels

Stripe dress
dressrail.com

Christian Louboutin leather heels
£495 - brownsfashion.com

Bottega Veneta tote hand bag
$3,480 - bottegaveneta.com

ABS Allen Schwartz teardrop jewelry
$40 - bloomingdales.com

Jigsaw bangles jewelry
£39 - jigsaw-online.com

I-Mark crumbles
meetmark.com

Essie Mint Candy Apple Nail Polish
£9.95 - liberty.co.uk

Harvestfest in Hillcrest

2011-10-18T09:05:00.002-05:00

Hillcrest is the neighborhood Matt and I lived in when were in Little Rock. We had a little carriage house on Ridgeway Drive... I think it was about 500 square feet and somehow we managed to live there for over two years with Arlo being an inside dog. It was interesting to say the least, we often reminisce about "Tiny House" as we liked to call it. The rent was cheap and the neighborhood (and the neighbors) were wonderful it was really hard to leave. In fact I think I had a break down and cried when I emptied the house into the moving van the day I left.

So needless to say, I was more than excited to be doing a show in our old stomping grounds this past Saturday. The weather was perfect, the crowd was perfect and I got to see many familiar faces and old friends throughout the day.

As soon as I got my booth set up a young, sweet lady came up to me and expressed how she loves my jewelry and follows me on facebook and aspires to be like Bella Vita someday. She said she had been looking forward to meeting me all week. I can't think of a better way to start a show! It was so sweet of her to compliment me. In return I invited her to one of the classes that I am teaching this week at Argenta Bead Company.

My booth at Harvestfest! I only managed to get one picture :/

I also met the owner of Toad Hall Antiques in Memphis and will soon be shipping an order of my jewelry to her store. Bella Vita is branching out! Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, North Carolina, and now Tennessee!

This means I HAVE TO GET BUSY MAKING, MAKING, MAKING!

I am spending the next 3 days here in Little Rock, teaching classes, working at the bead store and meeting with clients. I even picked up a space planning/design job with a client here. Then, on Thursday mornign I head to Leesville, LA to do a show at Threads Boutique. Looking forward to heading South for a night:)

I'll post about that trip when I return!

Biting My Nails

2011-10-07T08:06:00.001-05:00

About a year ago a learned of a Jewelry Design school in San Fransisco and was immediately impressed and wanted to go. After browsing the site for a while I found a link to some scholarships they were offering. I worked on a portfolio of work, an artist statement and a "why I want to attend the Revere Academy" statement. I completed everything, sent it to my editor (sounds so fancy, I know, but Matt does my editing, he is the KING of grammar and punctuation and would probably die if he saw all these commas...) then I packaged it all up and mailed it off to San Fran.

Well, I didn't get the scholarship. I'll have to admit I was a little sadden by the news. They did send me a $100 gift certificate to any class I wanted to take though. Their classes are completely affordable but the lodging is what would kill me.

Anyway, I have applied for the same scholarship and another one for "beaders." So this time around I have two chances to receive a scholarship. The results will be announced in 8 days. I want it soooo bad. The scholarship is for any 3 day class, lodging and travel! It would be amazing. Please send all your good vibes, prayers and well wishes my way and maybe a few to the judges in San Fransisco. Please and Thank YOU!

I am also considering attending this school for a 2 month intensive Jewelry Technician diploma. I just don't know when I could leave my business, my part time job, and my husband for two months.

I have dabbled in metal work before and absolutely love it. The problem is I've only dabbled... I want to be fully immersed in it for a period of time so that I can come home and set up my studio with torches, polishers and all the other studio items it takes to be a full on metal smith. I want to feel fully competent with my skills so that I can work from my own studio and do my own thing. My ultimate goal is to create my own one of a kind pendants and findings to embellish the designs I have been creating for the last 18 years. I think that is what will take my jewelry to the next level artistically. Sometimes I feel like my designs are all over the place! To me it is hard to focus on one line of jewelry or one style of jewelry. I love all materials... from Czech glass to semi precious and precious stones to all things vintage. I think being able to create my own focal pieces and findings might just be the perfect way to tie it all together.

So, in eight days we'll see if I get one of the two scholarships I have applied for. If I don't I'll be ok ;) It will all happen in time.

And a pretty picture b/c I can't write a blog post with out a picture. This is my new favorite color combo, turquoise and rusty chalcedony! These earrings will be up on my site this weekend.

Blogging from my phone.

2011-10-05T22:24:00.001-05:00

Just testing my new blogger app on my phone. Now I can blog from anywhere... Check out what I made today.

My first Polyvore!

2011-10-03T20:59:00.001-05:00

My first Polyvore! by bella-vita-jewelry featuring skinny jeans

LnA off the shoulder sweater
£63 - oxygenboutique.com

Armani Jeans skinny jeans
£130 - vanmildert.com

Dr. Martens biker boots
$150 - infinityshoes.com

Marc by marc jacobs handbag
$285 - stylebop.com

House of Harlow 1960 dangle earrings
$75 - shopthetrendboutique.com

Nina Designs Giveaway

2011-10-03T09:20:00.001-05:00

As you might know, Nina Designs is one of my favorite vendors in the bead/charm world. I was featurede in their "Jewelry Designer Showcase" about a year ago and I also competed in their "Studio Contest" for the best studio.

I learned of Nina Designs a few years ago while reading one of my Craft Journals and immediately placed an order for their beautiful sterling silver and vermeil charms.

Due to extremely high silver and gold prices and a down economy I have not been able to order from them as much as I wanted to.

Until now... they have just recently started casting their beautiful, one of a kind charms in bronze. Not only are the bronze pieces more affordable but they are just as stunning as the gold and silver charms are.

New bronze charms from Nina Designs. Examples of the charms I'll be giving away in this contest.

I have been given a handful of these beautiful charms to create some new designs with. The best part of it all is that I am doing a giveaway featuring these new pendants each Friday in the month of October!

-Friday, October 7th - The peacock feather pendant for you to make something beautiful with.

-Friday, October 14th - Earrings featuring the bee charms.

-Friday, October 21st - Necklace featuring the tree of life pendant.

-Friday, October 28th - Necklace with a hand stamped charm. (custom letter, name or initial available)

To win this giveaway leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite season is.

To get additional entries you can:

- tweet this giveaway
- blog this giveaway
- facebook this giveaway
- become a new blog follower, facebook fan, or twitter follower

You can get up to five entries but please leave a comment (on this blog post) for each so they will count. I will put all the entries in one pot and draw from the same pot for all four Friday giveaways.

Good luck!!

The materials above were provided as part of the Nina Designs blogging program. The author of this blog has not received any payment from above-mentioned company. The post above represents only personal opinion of the blog author.

The Perfect Start to Fall!

2011-09-27T08:28:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Matt and I took a little road trip. It all started with a conferenec he was presenting at in West Plains, Missouri. We left Norman on Thursday evening, stopped in Fayetteville for dinner with the brother and his lovely girlfriend then headed to the parents to get a few hours of shut eye before continuing on to the conference. As we were driving into West Plains I spotted a flea market and said I'm gonna go there! So I did... and inside (and outside) I found a lot of lovely items.

Full of GOOD STUFF I tell ya!

My finds... Wooden boxes for Bela Vita displays at shows, ribbon, vintage pyrex for me, the window pane will be incorporated into some kind of display just not sure how yet, and some vintage chain is always good and a must buy!


The awesome ribbon/trim and chains.

From here I met Matt for his presentation and then sat in on another presentation on Noodling... if you don't know what that is I highly recommend you google it. It is ridiculous and huge in the state of Oklahoma but banned in many other states such as Missouri. After the conference we headed North and East and made our way to the suburbs of St. Louis.

A few months ago, before we were even engaged, we were offered tickets to a Cardinals game and we just couldn't turn that down. And I am so glad we didnt! It was a fabulous time with a fabulous group of friends.

Matt and I arrived in the city early and got to watch this flag being raised by two fire trucks right outside our hotel. They were preparing for a parade that was about to take place. The UA Pine Bluff band was even playing in it. They are awesome if you don't know that! I was blown a-w-a-y!

Preparing for the parade.

The view from our hotel rooms.

Shortly after the parade our friends started arriving and then it was baseball time! This day was so great, the weather was just perfect and it was so nice to be around old friends and the Cardinals WON!

Representing Arkansas at the game ;)

We packed up and headed home on Sunday. It was a long journey, about 7 hours back to Norman. We started off by stopping in Websters Grove, a favorite suburb of ours, for some breakfast. I don't remember the name of the restaurant but the food was so YUM!


Flowers in Websters Grove.

Matt and I got home Sunday night to this happy fella!

Now we are both working hard to catch up from all the fun we have been having. I have a big show this weekend in Tulsa called Indie Emporium. I highly reccomend you check it out. For all you Northwest Arkansans that arent into Bikes Blues and BBQ, take a road trip to Tulsa for the day.

I'll have a full recap of this weekend when I get home next Sunday. Until then, enjoy this ah-mazin weather!

Things going on...

2011-09-20T07:16:00.004-05:00

I just noticed it has been a month since I wrote a blog. I hate that! I am always thinking of things to blog about it is just being able to devote time to write about them on here. Especially when writing a blog is a hobby and makes no income... whereas jewelry designing does ;)

I have been rather pre-occupied as of late. I started a part time job a couple of months ago. I am working a few lunch shifts at a local reastaurant, Coriander Cafe. It is Vietnamese and so YUM!

I really love the job, it is very fast paced and the customers are very friendly and pleasant (for the most part). It is located on campus corner (which is like Dickson St. in Fayetteville for my Arkansas friends). I am able to ride my bike to work and the owner is very flexible with me and my schedule which really means a lot to me. It is really hard to find a job when you own a small business and travel often. It is also really hard to support yourself when you are trying to grow your small business. So, all that being said, my new job came at just the right time and I am really enjoying it. If you are ever in the area make sure you stop by the Cafe for lunch (or dinner).

Other things keeping me busy...

Matt and celebrated our marriage with our family Saturday, Sept. 10th. You can read up on the details of that on our blog.

I spent about 11 days in Harrison, my home town, working on all of the details. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I am so sad that it is all over... We had such a good time being with our old friends and our lovely families.

I am working hard this week so we can leave town on Thursday. Matt is presenting a paper at a conference in Missouri on Friday. Then we are headed to St. Louis on Saturday to watch the Cardinals and the Cubs game. SO EXCITED! I <3 St. Louis!!

We will drive home on Sunday and then I'll start frantically preparing for Indie Emporium in Tulsa which starts on Sept. 30th. I am double booked for The Plaza Fest and Indie on that Saturday. Matt has offered to run my booth at The Plaza but I am not sure if I'll have him do that or not.
He is actually a great seller of Bella Vita Jewelry!

After Indie, I might head to Fayetteville for 1st Thursday and a little trunk show for Good Things Boutique's 3rd anniversary. I am kind of holding out to see what the weather does that week.
I have made the drive back to Arkansas so much lately and a weekend at home sounds sooo wonderful.

On Oct. 15th I will be in Little Rock for Harvestfest, to teach classes and then the 3rd Friday Art Walk the next week in North Little Rock. I am also planning to shoot down to Louisiana for a trunk show at my good pal Leila's boutique.

WHEW! Now do you understand why I am crazy?!

My goal this week and next is to restock my consignment stores and to hopefully come up with some beautiful new designs! Thanks to all my loyal customers for your patience. I couldn't imagine executing all this wedding stuff if I worked full time for someone. I am lucky to have a very flexible schedule that has allowed me to take all this time off. Again, thanks!

2011-08-15T08:29:00.004-05:00

I just jumped on the Pinterest boat. I've heard about it for a while but hesitated to become a part of another web based social circuit.

My username is bvjewelry. I look forward to following you so share your username in the comments below.

Antiques Roadshow Recap

2011-07-31T10:33:00.005-05:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to report back about the Roadshow experience.

I picked up a part time job waiting tables and a couple of shifts at the Wild Hare Beadery this week so I have been swamped with "other work."

The Roadshow was a lot of fun and it was also a lot of waiting, about 2 1/2 hours.

We arrived at 9:30 and stood in one line then got into the area where you talk to the appraisers and had to stand in two separate lines. One for jewelry and one for "military and militia."

The necklace I took wasn't of much value and the appraiser didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I was hoping they would be able to tell me where it came from or at least what part of the country they thought it came from. He said it might be worth $100 depending on the market I sold it in.

All that being said, I have decided to take the chain off and make it a beaded necklace to add some "oomph" to the piece. That would make it worth more too... but value doesn't matter because this piece is staying with me in and my jewelry collection ; )

The whole experience was fun. There were some very interesting people and items at the show. Seeing the set and meeting the appraisers was really cool too. I keep pointing out which ones I met when Matt and I watch the shows that are airing on PBS right now.

After we returned to our hotel I learned that the highest appraisal for Antiques Roadshow was given at the Tulsa show. You can read more about it in the Tulsa World.

I haven't shared the story of how we got the tickets to the show. Matt, my husband, is supposed to write about it on the blog I started for our wedding. So if you are interested in hearing it you might check our blog later today or this week.
UPDATE: August 10th, Matt finally wrote the story. It is awesome and it is on our personal blog... see links above!

This is me sporting my special piece for a Bella Vita event, you can kind of see it behind my hair. Photo by Abraham Savyong

Guess Where I AM GOING??!!!???!!

2011-07-21T18:14:00.003-05:00

and I'm taking this...

If you (or someone you know) knows anthing about this wonderful necklace feel free to share.

I thought it might be Native American but am not so sure about that anymore. I feel like it is an "artist" piece. I do know that it is from some people from the West and that they also had some turquoise jewelry... that is all.

I think it is a jasper stone and I am sure it is sterling silver.

I'll be sure to tell you what I find out!

Feathers

2011-07-13T06:52:00.002-05:00

While on vacation I ran across some beautiful feathers. I think they are probably from the 70's, judging by the dust on the boxes they were stored in!

All these pieces are designed exclusively for Ultra Studios in Fayetteville, Arkansas and should arrive there next week. If you are interested in a pair contact me or the store. I can also make custom feather jewelry... I have a ton of feathers now!

$100 Bella Vita Gift Certificate Giveaway

2011-07-06T10:15:00.001-05:00

For the month of July I will be hosting a giveaway on my social media sites (facebook, blog, twitter). The giveaway is for a $100 Bella Vita gift certificate.

You can enter the contest several ways:
-become a fan of Bella Vita on Facebook (1 entry)
-after you are a fan, share my page with all your friends. (1 entry)
-follow Bella Vita on Twitter (1 entry)
-once you become a follower, tweet about Bella Vita. (1 entry)
-follow the Bella Vita Blog (1 entry)
-comment on blog posts (1 entry per comment)

Each time you share, tweet or comment make sure you send an email to: brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com. This is very important so I know to enter your name the appropriate amount of times. I will hold the drawing on July 31st.

The Wedding: July 4th, 2011

2011-07-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

After throwing around a hundred ideas of how/where/when we should get married we agreed on eloping on July 4th. This was a very special date for me, it is my Dad's parents wedding anniversary. Deciding this on June 29th meant we had A LOT of planning to do in a short period of time. It also didn't help that we live in a town where we know hardly anyone...

After a few phone calls to ministers and photographers that weren't available we started doubting that we could pull it off on the 4th.

But, things started to turn around and we worked it all out! Matt's good friend Mike, from Texas ended up preforming the ceremony for us. We got married on the campus of the University of Oklahoma under an arbor of wisteria in the gardens outside of the building Matt's department is in. We had two friends present as witnesses and Brooke (Mike's wife) as our photographer. The service was beautiful as were the vows.

After the ceremony we returned to our house for a toast and to sign the papers and then headed to lunch.

We are planning our wedding party/reception for September 10th in Harrison, Arkansas. I am hoping to save all the photos from our special day for the party in September. But, I am terrible at keeping secrets (and fibbing), so we'll see how long it lasts. Until then, here is a sneak peek at a picture I really like. It gives away just enough : )

Mr. and Mrs. McNair

Everyone keeps asking what the rush is? Well, after 4 1/2 years together we decided it was just silly that we weren't official! So now we are and couldn't be more excited to start this new chapter in life. Of all the congratulations and well wishes we have received, I think my favorite has been "welcome to the dance."

Vacation to Asheville, North Carolina... a.k.a. the Proposal!

2011-07-05T22:44:00.000-05:00

Matt and I had been planning our trip to Asheville, NC for quite a while. Our good friends Matt and Maggie live out there and we were due a visit.

We left on a Monday and arrived at our destination on Tuesday afternoon. We spent our first day bumming around the downtown area, shopping, drinking local beers and trying local restaurants.


Matt bought me this sunflower at a farmer's market we stumbled upon. It got a lot of attention, everyone complimented it... and he earned his share of brownie points for the day.

Day two of our vacation was quite possibly the best day ever. The plan was to climb Mt. LeConte in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Mt LeConte is the third highest peak in the Smoky Mountains at 6,583 ft. The day started out rainy, cloudy and pretty gloomy but Matt and Matt assured me of a back up plan in case we got to the trail and it was still raining. Everything worked out beautifully, we hit the trail around 10 a.m. and hiked the 5 miles UP the mountain. I got a little whiny somewhere around 3.5 miles into it... I was ready for my peanut butter and banana sandwich!

But, Matt kept pushing me and encouraging me to keep going so we could get to the special spot the other Matt had scouted out on a previous hike.

Well, we are getting closer and I stumble upon a look out platform, then I am told that we are having a surprise lunch at the Lodge right next door. All of this sounds great to me, I am just in shock that there are cabins and a Lodge at the top of the mountain. We all settle in to the cozy Lodge and eat our soup and sandwiches and sip hot chocolate. I am pretty sure that I kept talking about what a great surprise the hot lunch was! The top of the mountain was pretty chilly, maybe low 50's.

We sit and visit and finish our lunches and then my Matt gets up to go outside in a nervous manner! At this point I am very suspicious of what is about to happen. Honestly, my suspicions grew as we climbed the mountain. Matt returns from the restroom and we all go outside on the deck to admire the view and take some pictures. Then in the midst of changing into dry socks and shuffling wet shoes around I am informed that there is some "extra weight" in our backpack. All of a sudden Matt is on one knee proposing to me! Of course my answer was "YES." We all talked, laughed and celebrated. Of course Matt and Maggie knew all about the surprise. They planned accordingly and had a bottle of wine and cups for us to toast to. All of it was absolutely perfect and such a surprise to me.
It was fun to talk about all the conversations leading up to the top of the mountain. I was kind of rushed to the top and wasn't allowed to talk to the passer-byers in case they wanted to talk about the lodge, wasn't able to read any of the trail signs etc. etc. :)

I did talk to one lady and she told me "there is something special about the top." I couldn't agree more, luckily we ran into each other again at the Lodge and I told her my news. I snapped a lot of pictures but pictures don't capture the beauty of being up in the mountains. I imagine this will be a place we return to visit quite often.

Matt and I in front of the Lodge we had lunch at. I love how they change the date everyday! The Lodge doesn't have electricity and the groceries are brought up by a pack of llamas!!!

6,500 feet up! Breathtaking!

Matt and Maggie Reynolds, Matt and I.

The rest of our vacation was very pleasant. We spent more time bumming around Asheville, I did a show in Pack Square on Saturday and then on Sunday we paddled the French Broad River.
Paddling was very exciting! We opted for duckies (similar to a kayak but you sit on top, kind of hard to explain...) I haven't ever gone down a river in a boat on my own until this trip. It was a great and exciting challenge.

After the river we cleaned up and headed to town for dinner. We had reservations at the new tapas restaurant, Curate. It was wonderful, a must try if you are in the area!

Monday we started our journey home... in a Northern kind of way. We headed to Boone, NC to meet with a shop that was interested in carrying my jewelry. We started out on the Blue Ridge Parkway but opted for the highway that was a bit quicker. I loved this drive, it was absolutely gorgeous! North Carolina and Tennessee remind me a lot of Arkansas but with bigger hills and mountains.

Somewhere outside of Boone, headed to Johnson City, TN.

After that we made our journey home to spend a day with our families and to announce the good news!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Thursday Giveaway...

2011-06-17T06:13:00.000-05:00

Please take a moment to check out my friend Andrew Thorton's giveaway for this week. It's a GOOD one!

I met Andrew a couple of years ago in Tucson. His family has Green Girl Studios and they make these amazing little sculptures for jewelry design. Everything from beads and pendants to innovative clasps. You can see some of my designs using Green Girl's pendants and beads below.

These are some of my bead family. Ellie Roy (Argenta Bead Compay), me, Holly Ertel (Hotzy Totzy Jewelry), Cynthia Dupps (Bead all About it). Andrew actually took this when we are shopping at To Bead True Blue this year.

Check out Andrews Blog, and enter the contest for yourself!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton: Thursday Giveaway...: "For this Thursday Giveaway , I wanted to do something special! I wanted to share a few things from the show with everyone out there in the ..."

48 Earrings

2011-06-16T05:52:00.001-05:00

This is how it all started, a photo of my product.

A few emails later and I had an order for 4 - pair of each color. That is 48 earrings :)!

I thought it would be kind of cool to photo document the assembly line process. This is how the earrings started out. From the bottom up. I started with the lucite filigree, added the brass and the glass beads.

Aren't these cute! I love my job, I love being around all this color!

After getting the bases built I piled them all up together. Then had one more step.

This is a completed earring with the french hook ear wire.


THen finally, ready to pack and ship.

It was a little overwhelming to make 48 earrings that all looked exactly alike. Most of my designs have been one of a kind for so long. I am starting to break away from that in order to get more orders and to get into more boutiques. The big goal is to start having "Look Books" for boutiques to order from. This means designing at least a season ahead. All of which is hard for me to wrap my head around because I have always designed in the moment for shows. I'll get there though. I am currently working on a new line called Czech and Chain. It will be earrings, necklaces and rings made from high quality Czech glass and vintage chains. See the image below for a sneak peak!

Who Reads This

2011-06-08T10:58:00.001-05:00

How about a special blog giveaway just for you blog readers.

Leave a comment and tell me what you are doing this summer.
I will enter all the names into a drawing for 25% off any one item in the Bella Vita Shop.

I will draw for a winner on June 15th.

My summer plans consist of: a huge presentation, a vacation to North Carolina, maintaining our garden, my b-day, and work. Hopefully a hand full of swimming trips and dinner parties with friends will fit in.

The most recent picture of our garden.

Procrastination...

2011-06-04T11:47:00.001-05:00

I am trying to write this presentation... I feel like it's mostly just going to come to me when I give it. But, in true Brandy fashion, I have to plan everything out.

I am through the intro and working on the body. The intro took appx. 5 minutes so, that leaves 55 to fill.

The slide show is coming along nicely, and the perfectionist in me is making it take 5 times longer than it should. My goal today is to write about Trendy Chic and The Delicate Balance... I'll be presenting 3 pieces from each line. The focus of the speech though, is my Vintage Redux line so the bulk of the presentation will be about that. If I meet my goal today I am going to allow myself to take off and go swimming! But, here I am procrastinating... in a good way though.

I got up early and hit the farmer's market and flea market! What a day for it!
I got a new hanging basket, fresh eggs, a bouquet of flowers from a very young entrepreneur, and some onions, OH and a basket cherry tomatoes grown here in Oklahoma! Yay, fresh tomatoes already!

I also scored a bunch of goodies from the "Vintage Fairy" at the flea market. Check out what I dug up today. Happy first Saturday in JUNE! I love JUNE!

A Story from Grandma

2011-06-02T09:01:00.001-05:00

Last night my grandmother called me to visit, which tickled me because that meant that she was feeling better. She wasn't feeling very well when I was home to visit so we didn't get as much good quality time together as usual.

So we caught up with each other, talked about flowers, buttons, and cooking pesto.

Then she starts to tell me her "snake" story.

She spotted a large black snake creeping around her Martin house in the yard. She called for back up but my aunt couldn't help and my grandpa was busy at the antique store.

Grandma told me all about getting the hoe and rake and going at the snake. She said she hit it 7 or 8 times but never could get a good swing at it and that it slowly slithered away.... she thinks she hurt it and scared it enough not to come back! My 80-something year old grandma... the mental images of this crack me up!

A photo given to me by my Grandma, it's her and Gramp's in their early years. I love this photo. It sits on my desk and I look at it all the time. I like to sit and think about how much times have changed since this photo was taken.

I've decided to start documenting the stories from and about my Grandmother. I hope you enjoy.

Just to catch you up.

2011-05-31T07:34:00.000-05:00

I am having a hard time keeping up with my blog. I stay so busy with all the other aspects of running my own business that I forget to post on here.
Just to catch you all up though...

I had 8 shows in 17 days at the beginning of May.
It all started with First Thursday in beautiful downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. I got everything set up and then it rained! But, that worked out in my favor because it gave me time to spend with my brother and a few friends.

From there I headed north and east to Springfield, Missouri for Artsfest on Walnut St. I was extremely honored to get into this show! It's a big deal for people that live in Springfield. I think this was the 30-some odd year for it. The weather was lovely, the crowd was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed my showing here.

A week later I found myself in downtown Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The weather wasn't so great for this show but it was fun nonetheless. I was set up right in front of DeVito's Restaurant which happens to belong to my aunt and uncle! Yummy food, good family time and a chance to see some long lost friends.
This was a busy weekend because I decided to double book myself! That's right a two day show ending at 5:00 on Saturday and then booking it up the street for the Reunion Show at Crescent Moon Beads at 6:00. Thank goodness my Mom volunteered to help me for a couple of shows. Her helping hand came in very handy! The show at CMB was so much fun. For those of you that don't know, this is where my beading obsession got kicked into high gear!

After that I had a few days of rest and a little bit of extra time to prepare for two fashion shows and a street party. Rock the Runway for Education was Thursday evening, Ozark Couture was Friday evening and then the Block St. Party was on Sunday.

The lovely Esque models wearing their earrings.

Tassel earrings designed for exclusively for Esque, used in Rock the Runway for Education.

Block St. Party - huge success!

I spent two and half weeks away from home! Whoa, it was a long time but at least I got to spend it all in Arkansas!

Now, I am preparing for a HUGE presentation that I am giving to a group of women in Heber Springs in a couple of weeks. I am preparing for a one hour presentation followed by Q & A and a small showing of my work for sale. After that Matt and I are taking a week long vacation to North Carolina. I have also booked a show during this trip... it's always nice to test out the waters in other states.

Back to presentation writing! Oh, and I am starting a new "job." I was hired to be a class instructor at Michael's Art and Craft store. I am going to go get some hours in on planning my new class schedule and making samples for the class.

Spring Sale! 40% off select designs!!!

2011-05-26T07:43:00.000-05:00

I am having a Spring SALE! Select designs are 40% off. You can view all the sale items in this facebook album. Please email me, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Making room for new designs and launching a new line in August. Stay tuned~~

Bella Vita Spring/Summer Photo Shoot

2011-05-10T19:38:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I did a photo shoot with Brooke McNeely Photography in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas. Hope you enjoy!

A jewelry designers jewelry collection...

2011-04-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

I've been making my own jewelry since I was about 11. I've been exposed to jewelry since I was a small, small child hanging out with my Grandmothers. From vintage jewelry with one Grandma to the other Grandma designing jewelry for her gift shop. I think I could say I was destined to be running my business designing jewelry.

Just to name a few of the designers; Holly Ertel, Kate Baer Fossils, Florine Thomason, Sophie Hollenberg, Reese Truesdale, Sadie Nuffer, Angel Court Jewels, House of Smash, Kacey Edwards, Erin Wilson and more but unfortunately I have forgotten the names...

After almost a year of living here, I finally got my jewelry out and pinned on my jewelry board. This is mostly vintage costume jewelry that has been handed down to me by family members or gifted to me. There are some necklaces I have made too... I just love the way it all looks out on display. All the "good stuff" is locked away until I am in a more permanent place. I would be devastated if anything ever happened to my sentimental and valuable jewels!

Spring Flowers

2011-04-04T06:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got a chance to go shopping for flowers for my flower pots.

I chose primrose, petunias, African marigolds and slavia.

I haven't ever grown primrose, I couldn't resist these beautiful little flowers!

The wind has been blowing at a constant 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.

It is really insane. Yesterday it made me laugh, but after keeping me up all night I am not so fond of these winds. Apparently it is common for this time of year.

Hopefully my flowers and I will survive it :)

Excited for everything to bloom out and look full. My ferns are left over from last year so hopefully they will liven up.

Primrose, cilantro, African marigolds, salvia.

Oh Blog, it's been a while...

2011-03-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

HI! remember me?!

This is what I have been doing lately:

30th Annual Jungle Boater Canoe Race on the Mulberry River in Arkansas:

These pictures are from the day before the race. Matt and I always take a short float with all our "Creek" buddies. After all the major rapids, Matt put me in a boat by myself! Check it out, my first solo trip. Yeah, it was all of about a quarter of a mile, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

After the weekend outdoors I headed back to my parents house to spend a week at home. I actually didn't spend too much time at home as I had visiting to do with my friends. I got to spend some time in Eureka Springs with my pal Holly and her adorable little family!

Then on the weekend I helped my Grandparent's at the Eureka Springs Antique show. This was a lot of fun for everyone involved.

The only bad thing about a show advertised as an "Antique Show" was the fact that I couldn't really afford anything there. However, I did find a few jewelry treasures and filled out a wish list for my b-day which I promptly handed over to my Mom. One of my jewelry treasures was a strand of old pressed Czech glass beads. They are a basket of flowers embellished with pressed beads and seed bead! I snagged it for $5!!!! I couldn't wait to show them to my Grandma, needless to say she was so proud of me for getting such a good deal! I added them to my collection, don't they look great beside my blue "warriors?" I don't know a lot about these types of glass beads. I am just assuming they are Czech from my experience and love for Czech glass. I would love to learn more about them as I feel they were not as mass produced as other Czech glass. I am sort of obsessed with learning about the history of glass beads. Any info or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Bella Vita has a lot of exciting things coming up. I promise to set aside more time for blogging, in the mean time make sure you are following me on facebook and @bvjewelry on twitter.

An Ecuadorian Feast

2011-03-07T06:58:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Matt and I hosted a party for his department at our house. Fun times were definitely had by all! At some point in the night I convinced our friend David to come back this weekend to cook some Ecuadorian fare for us all to try. I don't think it was hard to talk him into it, I think he was flattered that a few of us were interested in his native food.

We started with plantains.... we sliced them a few different ways and fried them. This batch was sliced about 1" thick, fried, then smashed into a patty and then fried again! I had never eaten plantains until Saturday. They were very yummy!

This is the beginning of the ceviche. David sliced onions and then added water and mushed them all up. Then added the fresh lime juice, cilantro, shrimp, and tomatoes. This was so delicious. I don't get to eat ceviche at restaurants because it is made of fish that I am allergic to. So, this was a treat for me. So light, and fresh!!!

The finished product!

This is David, he was our guest chef. I think in this picture he is preparing the hot sauce. It was hot, made with two habenaro peppers Matt and I grew last year. My friend Kayti and I had to have a glass of milk with this sauce. It was very tasty though.

This was the main dish. I don't remember what he called it but it is made from plantains that we grated really fine. Also in the mix is shrimp, coconut milk and a bunch of garlic. I topped my bowl with the hot relish.

There were 6 of us at dinner and I think we decided we are going to try to do a monthly dinner party. Each person will cook their native foods or foods they specialize in. I am planning an Italian feast, Matt will probably fry some kind of meat. I look forward to the future dinners though, in the mix is our Turkish friend Necati and our neighbors Andrea and Zach who love to cook and try new recipes.

I would love to hear if any of you have any recipes to share!

Things I want but cannot have...

2011-02-27T09:19:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Matt and I took off on an adventure. We started by visiting the Pops 66 store/restaurant in Arcadia (just north and east of the city (OKC) on Historic Route 66). I learned about the building while reading a magazine at a doctors appointment a few months ago. The article was about the nationally known architect Rand Elliott and his designs including the Pops 66 store. I was excited to finally have a day off to go and explore this "ultra modern landmark."

Rendering of the design of the building.

Soda bottles line the glass walls of the building.

The view above us as we ate lunch.

Matt graciously smiling for the camera at our table.

The sodas lining the glass front, also right beside our table.

We got there right at lunch time (somehow, without planning we do this ALL the time) and the wait was long... or so they said. We actually got in quicker than the hostess estimated. The menu is full of burgers and sandwiches and fried side items. I opted for one of the salad options yesterday because I knew the "foodie" in me would steal a bite of Matt's burger. It was 7 layers of lettuce, bacon, chicken, bleu cheese, cucumber, tomato and I guess the dressing made the 7th layer. It was YUM! If you are ever in the area this is a wonderful point of interest for people of any age.

From there we headed east a bit and then worked our way back west, all on back roads... It was pretty interesting to see some of Oklahoma's countryside. We saw crop land that is being prepared to be planted, a huge mansion (I estimated it cost a billion dollars to build and Matt thought I was ridiculous so I re-estimated it at 3 million dollars), lots of horses and cows, a honky tonk in what I thought was "the middle of nowhere," it was hoppin on a Sunday afternoon. We didn't go inside, I am pretty sure if we did the music would have stopped... it was that kind of place. No windows either = sketchy!

We finally made it back out into a more populated land and hit I-35 which took us to Guthrie. Guthrie, Oklahoma was actually the first capitol of Oklahoma.

"Our community was born as a result of the excitement of America's
1889 pioneers as they settled here after the Land Run, and, as she
was then, we are now, a city alive with unique shops, businesses
and professionals making a difference for Guthrie's future in the
21st Century."

-From Guthries official website.

The town is amazing from an architectural standpoint. It is full of old brick buildings and some of the street paved with brick have been preserved as well. There are a bunch of antique stores! From fine antiques with high prices to antique malls with fair prices and a mixture of antiques and junk.

I am lucky that Matt shares an interested in my need to dig and prowl for "stuff." He mainly sticks to digging through books and vinyl records while I search for aesthetically pleasing furniture, pottery, paintings, jewelry etc. Yesterday was full of interesting items. But, I have to put the breaks on sometimes. We have a pretty full house and too much stuff stresses me out! I photographed all the things that I would like to have purchased but talked myself out of. If I am still thinking of them in a few days perhaps it was mean to be and I will find the time to go back and collect the items that I can't live with out. Until them, I have pictures to remind me of what they look like.

A Fox print, I learned to appreciate Fox's artwork from my Mother, she is a collector herself. Wouldn't it be nice to walk through that garden?!

Set of 4 pink bowls... not sure who made them or the age of them... I do know that they are sweet and the perfect addition to a vintage inspired kitchen. But, I have bowls and they serve their purpose just fine and until they all break, I probably don't need new bowls.

I loved this print. It was only $12.

Same here, loved the print but kept thinking... do we have anywhere to hang another painting?

Beaded hand bag... this store was really proud of it's merchandise, as it should be, they had a beautiful collection. I have always wanted a vintage/antique beaded purse collection... maybe someday


I didn't really want this I just thought is was a neat design for a cabinet. The tag said it was a "Slaves Cabinet" dating back to 1850... and it was very expensive, $465.

Shop cat. This store was closed. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this cat. He was not interested in smiling for the camera.

Alas, the one thing I did buy. An Owl planter. He was a bargain for $8. Now I just have to find the perfect place for him in our house.

Studio Contest

2011-02-24T08:50:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I photographed my studio and submitted the photos to a contest on the Nina Designs blog.

Not only does the winner of the contest receive a prize but two people that vote on their favorite studio will be in a drawing for some really cool jewelry from Nina Designs. Check it out for yourself and leave a vote for your favorite studio! Hopefully you'll vote for Brandy's : )

I have also decided to do a giveaway for a Bella Vita original Wire Wrapped Ring made from a vintage button. Leave a comment on this blog and let me know you voted and I will enter your name in the drawing. Share the contest with your friends and I will enter your name twice, just make sure you let me know how you shared it.

The contest is open to Bella Vita's facebook fans too.

The Studio Contest is over February 27th and my contest will end on February 28th.

Thanks for participating and check out more photos of my studio below.

Valentine's Day: a spoiled surprise... by me.

2011-02-15T09:57:00.000-06:00

Matt had the best of intentions of catching me off guard and bringing me my Valentine early on Saturday. He was supposed to be working all weekend at a debate tournament here in town... supposed to be gone ALL day!

I took full advantage of my alone time and worked all weekend at the house. Saturday, around noon, I decided to take Arlo for a walk because the weather was beautiful and he was starting to get antsy. We head out the door and down the street... minding our own business... we make it about 400ft and look up to see my car coming down the street... (Matt took my car that day)... then my car turns... then I raise my hands and mouth "what are you doing?" Then the car turns around... then it pulls up beside me and I realize I am ruining my surprise...

Matt was going to leave my gift on the doorstep and ring the door bell and run around the house. Well, obviously that didn't happen. It was pretty funny nonetheles, both of us had the giggles from it all.

My gifts were a lovely new plant and a delicious chocolate heart cake from my favorite little bakery, La Baguette. La Baguette is the bakery by our house and I frequently go there on Saturday morning to enjoy quiche and coffee and to catch up on reading. I had been there earlier on Saturday morning ooh-ing and awe-ing over all the sweet treats in the bakery cases. It really reminds me a lot of The Little Bread Company in Fayetteville, I swear their ham and cheese croissants look exactly the same as the LBC's.

Regardless, I am pretty notorious for foiling surprises! Guess it's a gift : )

Perfect pink color...

YUM! this didn't last long! It was sooo perfect.

Color

2011-02-15T08:49:00.000-06:00

This weekend I worked really hard to finish unpacking and organizing all my new purchases from my trip. I also had to reorganize my space a bit to make a more cohesive work area around my work table. I guess it is the 'interior designer" in me that has to constantly move the furniture and bead trays in my studio. In my mind there is always a better way for things to work in here...

I snapped a lot of pictures because of all the custom work I did this past week. In doing so, I found some pretty colorful and inspiring photos and thought I'd share them.

If you have ever bought a strand of precious/semi precious stones you know that they come with tassels on each end of the strand of beads. This is my collection of tassels. I am determined to something grand with them someday... until then they sit on my desk and look pretty!

And for a little more color inspiration... a tassel spill....

My new agate slices, I have been searching for a collection of these for about a year now. I finally found them and have them all neatly organized in their own wooden tray. Aren't they fantastic?!

This yarn still makes me happy. I purchased it last Spring from Erin Jepson of Woolyhands. I found her at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market on the opening day and couldn't resist the bag of yarn. I don't knit, although I have tried, I thought I might incorporate it into my jewelry designs but I haven't... it just sits in this beautiful fused glass bowl by another local artist, Babalu.

This was the original picture I took of the yarn last Spring... so inspirational and happy! I used it as my desktop image for about a year.

My new printers tray, almost full of beads. I have been wanting some of these large printers trays to put all of my beads in. I would just die if I ever found a cabinet full of the trays. I am so proud of it.

Ah, my beautiful friend JeanAnne on her wedding day. I have been searching for pictures of my custom work for my new website and couldn't resist throwing this one in. The colors are amazing as is the bride. (I made her necklace).

Finally, I had to part with this necklace on Thursday. This is one of my favorite Vintage Redux pieces. I even blogged about the process of how I made it.

Custom Orders of Interest

2011-02-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

This necklace is for Amber. Amber wanted a personalized necklace that incorporated her family and her love of yoga. I stamped her daughter's name, Jordan, and added her birthstone to her charm. The date is the date of her and her husbands anniversary. Then I embellished with "earthy" colored stones (new tourmaline drops and new turquoise) and yoga charms. Her reaction, "Oh my gosh...I Love it! So pretty and perfect!"

These earrings are for Barb. She actually ordered a pair of gold and sapphire earrings with a lotus charm on them and then decided she needed another pair to match a smashing new dress she will be wearing on an upcoming trip to Peurto Rico! So I used some new amethyst with a mystic finish on it and the double vermeil marquis hoops. Barb also wanted something flashy and a bit larger than she would normally wear. Her reaction, "I LOVE them, Brandy! So excited about getting TWO new

pairs of Brandy earrings!"

This is my new "Man's" necklace. It is for Rex of Glass Eye Studios. He is the wonderful photographer that I work with from time to time to make Bella Vita look amazing! He does awesome work and I can't wait to see what we come up with in the future. Anyway, about the necklace: Rex wanted something with turquoise and then he also sent me images of found object jewelry that he liked. So, I dug through my old keys and he selected this one with the lion, which was good because it is the one I wanted to use. Then I embellished with a vintage turquoise drop and a gold toned religious medal that pulls out the brown tones in the turquoise. His reaction was, "For real, that is perfectly ME. I LOVE it!"

Tucson, heading home...

2011-02-13T08:30:00.000-06:00

It is always a bittersweet ending when I have to leave Tucson... and deal with the fact that it is now 358 days until next years show... and I am thinking of only going every two years or so... so that means there is no next years show for me... ::insert sad, sad, sad face::: I am sure I will blog about that as the time nears, who knows, maybe Bella Vita will have an amazing year and I will HAVE to go! until then, enjoy my post about previous years.

This was my fourth year to attend the Gem and Mineral Show. The whole experience is so completely overwhelming and visually exhausting!
I remember my friend (and former employer and second mom/big sister depending on what we are agreeing on or disagreeing on) Holly telling me about market and all the cool stuff she would bring back for the store and she would always slip a little something in for me. It was so exciting, then one year she invited me to come with her and her mother. So, I did, it was great! I am pretty sure my budget was $300 and I got so many "new" and "cool" beads I was beside myself. I think I actually still have some of those beads.

A college degree and a taste of my "first, big, real job after college" and of course, after loosing that job... Bella Vita was born.

I couldn't think of a better way for my life (or 2-3 years of it) to have worked out.

I took a break from making jewelry between high school and college and didn't pursue jewelry design in secondary school because I really thought it was all a phase I was going through. I think I was also really burnt out on "jewelry design." Maybe it was that summer I lived a tourist town and made jewelry all day everyday that didn't help. Don't get me wrong it was an amazing summer where I learned a lot about life and made some of my very best friends, and had an awesome apartment for an 18 year old!

Fast forward 6 years to 2009, I was planning my own trip to Tucson market. My mother and I loaded up the car and drove 19 hours, just the two of us, to our destination. We met Holly and her Mom there, they chose to fly. It was so exciting to arrive in the bright blue skies and the 70 degree temperatures that are common to Tucson this time of year. I think this year my budget was only $1,000, for materials. I remember buying a lot of "stuff" I never used and new "stuff" that took my jewelry designs in a whole new direction.

The second year (last year) it was just my Mom and I and we decided to fly. I am not a big fan of flying but traveling in February is so if-ey and we decided it would be safer than driving in potentially snowy weather. Flying turned out to be fine, the plane didn't crash, obviously... This time my budget tripled and I bought a lot of new stones and other unique items, quite possibly the most exciting year for "awesome" purchases...

Finally, 2011, my Mom (Kathy), her best friend Kathy, and I drove again. The weather was terrible... we beat the colossal storm of 2011 on our way there but had to be cautious navigating through its wrath on the way home. All in all the drive turned out fine, it was just extremely nerve wracking!

My budget was quite a bit larger than it was last year and I found myself buying larger quantities than normal. Like I have said before, it is hard to know how much to buy because when I am shopping I am not sure exactly what I am going to make with the materials but I know I like them... I have shared a lot of my purchases in previous blog posts.

This week I spent counting, cutting strands, sorting, organizing, and pricing my loot. I think my studio is FINALLY where I want it and I can start making new designs next week. I have been slammed with custom orders this week so I haven't had a chance to play with many of my new stones and beads. I did slip in some new stones to a couple of the custom orders I finished this week. Check out tomorrows post to see them ; )

Tucson, shopping day 3

2011-02-08T10:59:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lag in the blog posts about my recent trip to market.

Here is day threes finds.

My most unusual buy, Aragonite.

Aragonite, whole strand...

Tourmalated and rutilated quartz and other stones! Probably my favorite buy!

Very top quality Kyanite with a high polish.

Tibetan side drilled quartz crystal.

Funky mixed stones.

Vermeil chain and mixed stones! This should be FUN!


New sterling silver designs from Nina Designs.

What was your favorite thing I purchased???

Tucson Day 2

2011-02-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

No time for text... gotta hit the road. Enjoy the pictures!

Tucson, shopping day 1

2011-02-02T10:21:00.000-06:00

Shopping, day one: To Bead True Blue

This is one of my favorite shows. It is full of artsy handmade beads, vintage goodies, fine gemstones and imported Chinese "stuff." I found a few new vendors and made some new connections which is always fun!

These are from a new vendor, they are modern glass molded with vintage Czech glass molds. I <3 the Buddhas, think I will be keeping one of these.

Another new vendor, vintage brass goodies!

My fav! African trade beads: Mali brass, Mali wedding beads (actually made in Czech Republic but used for weddings in Mali).

Amethyst, smokey quartz, quartz crystal, labradorite.

Nom, nom, nom, nom! Geode slices, I have been looking for these for months!!! Can't wait to design with these babies.

New fine pewter pendants, so cute!!!

The best part of yesterday was having lunch with my old pals and my Mom and her friend Kathy.

My friends Holly and Cynthia that used to be the owners of Crescent Moon Beads in Eureka Springs are here as well as Ellie, my boss from Argent Bead in North Little Rock! I couldn't ask for a better group of women to shop with! We all regroup through out the day and have mini show and tells to show off what we have purchased. Then in the evenings before dinner we lay it all out and show off everything... It is sooooo exciting!

Today is a big day... I think we are going to try to hit the Windmill, The Gem Mall and The Kino Veterans Center... better get going!!!

Tucson, getting there...

2011-02-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Due to the weather we left a day early and thank goodness we did that!!!
We didn't run into any weather until we hit southern New Mexico and Arizona on Monday. The clouds were pretty amazing around Deming, NM then we got into some rain and wind then full on sun for a bit and a little more rain upon entering Tucson.
You know I can't resist photo op's so I hope you enjoy viewing them.

The drive into New Mexico.

My favorite little town on the road trip, Hatch, NM. It is the chile pepper capitol of the U.S.

Ah, top shelf margarita!

We made it to Tucson around 5 p.m. on Monday evening. I got to shop for about an hour before the show by our hotel closed. After that we made our way to the Mexican restaurant next door to our hotel for some margaritas and dinner!

Class

2011-01-27T12:19:00.000-06:00

I just realized I have neglected to blog about my new jewelry class!

Well, I signed up for the Advanced Jewelry Techniques but had to down grade to the Intro class. It turns out I am a bit rusty... it has been 2 years since I was in the studio working with metal.

And, starting a new class in a new arts center was a bit intimidating. I need to learn my way around the studio here. It is totally different than the Art Center in Little Rock, but I will save that for a different post.

I dove right in and decided to start a bezel setting. I have all these groovy vintage buttons that are broken. Although broken, they are still beautiful and I am putting them to good use!

Here is my progress so far...

Last night I cut out the bezel and added the bail. Then, I had to clean up my solder and polish the piece. I am missing next weeks class because I will be in Tucson. I will keep you updated as I progress on this project. I really hope to be making more designs like this in the future. It is amazing what you can do with a sheet of metal. I get really overwhelmed by the possibilities and can't focus on all my thoughts. I hope to do a lot of sketching during my upcoming trip. Tucson will be a great place to find inspiration!

Bella Vita Redux

2011-01-25T22:28:00.000-06:00

2011 Spring Designs

I am in the process of re-doing my website... again! Hopefully it will be the last time for a while... hopefully!!

I just wanted to keep you all up to date.

My new site will be very straight forward and easy to navigate. I am hoping that by changing selling platforms I will be able to upload jewelry more often. I am a one woman show and sometimes that proves to be too much work for me. I am still going to sell my jewelry designs on line, I am just going to go about it in a different way. So, bare with me. And, check my blog or my facebook fan page for any news or announcements.

Now, on to exciting stuff!

I leave for Tucson market on Monday and I couldn't be more excited! In celebration of this (and to make room for new materials) I am marking down everything on my website (www.bellavitajewelry.net) 20%. In addition to that there are still some great pieces on facebook that are 40% off.

Shop now, the sale only lasts until Sunday. Please email me if you have any questions at all, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com

Sale excludes all custom orders.

Annual 40% off Sale!!!

2011-01-24T06:31:00.002-06:00

It's that time again!
Check out my facebook page for all the great jewelry that is now 40% off.

If you need more information on any of the pieces please feel free to email me, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com. Directions on ordering the jewelry are inside the album.

Want a sneak peak? Scroll through the images below!

Bella Vita's Interpretation of the Pantone Color Forecast: Spring 2011

2011-01-16T09:37:00.013-06:00

I hope you enjoy this post. It is my blog contribution to my friend Catherine's blog. Be sure you check out "The Fashionable Traveler's" too! I hope to get her as a guest blogger on here soon.

Pantone Color Forecast, Spring 2011

The folks over at Pantone say that “Honeysuckle” is the color for Spring.
They say, “Flirtatious Honeysuckle is a feel-good hue that brings a festive
sense of playfulness to this season’s palette. This vibrant pinkish-red for both apparel and cosmetics makes consumers feel alive, and is a perfect post-winter pick-me-up. the quintessential neutral that consumers can rely on to coordinate with everything in their closet.”  I have to say I agree, I think Honeysuckle is a beautiful, playful hue that will complement and revitalize any skin tone and/or hair color. I am also excited about Peapod, Beeswax, Russet and Silver Cloud. I think those colors will make beautiful combinations in clothing or jewelry. The blue hues, Regatta and Blue Curacao, in my opinion, are beautiful standards in Spring color forecasts. Turquoise was the “color” in the forecast for Spring 2010.
Now that we know the colors for Spring what precious and semi precious stones will we use to compliment the clothing designs of the season?

The Color for Spring: Honeysuckle

This dress design by Peter Som was my favorite in the Honeysuckle collection. Vermeil and Fuschia Chalcedony Earrings by Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry.

Mystic Carnelian and Chrysoprase necklace by Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry

Coral Rose and Beeswax combined together for a warm color combination. I got to do a little shopping this weekend and selected the beads in the picture above. They are jade and resin in beautiful hues of yellows and oranges. I haven’t decide exactly what the design will be. Hopefully I’ll get to share it with you in the future.

The warm set:
Russet will be beautiful with anything from jaspers and agates to chalcedony and jade. This is also a great accent color for the rest of the collection.
Regatta and Blue Curacao can easily be match with any variety of turquoise as well as blue apatite or blue chalcedonies.
Lavender will be great with a lighter amethyst stone.
Silver Cloud another great accent color whether used as a stone or the metal components.
So what stones will you be sporting this Spring?

hope and happenstance

2011-01-12T23:26:00.000-06:00

So, today I...

woke up at 6, hit the gym at 6:30-ish, came home and cleansed myself, ate breakfast and chugged a cup of coffee, met my banker (for the first time, I have a banker!), ran home, threw my jewelry in my car, made a mad dash for the city to meet with a potential client, got my jewelry in said clients shoppe, treated myself to a celebratory diet coke and veggie sandwich at my new favorite spot in the city, relaxed for a moment in the car in the parking lot of my "desk job," put in my 5 hours there, started my new jewelry class, and finally at 10 p.m. came home to a nice dinner prepared by my beau and a glass of wine... now I am blogging about it because I know someone out there cares!

I needed today, I needed today like soup needs a spoon. Christmas sales/events were so busy that I didn't get to enjoy any of it... well I enjoyed it but now when I look back it is all a big blur... even my own Christmas celebrations with my family are blurry. After Christmas sales I took a two week break from Bella Vita. Which was more like torture because all I could think about was all the "stuff" I wasn't getting done because I was on "vacation." What have I become? I guess this is what happens when you come from a family of entrepreneurs and when you have been blessed with hands that are meant to create. I think I was put here on this earth to create beautiful pieces of art that decorate the human body and today that was proven to me.

First, I met with my banker and he made crunching numbers fun and exciting and left me wanting another lesson in basic finance. Then I met with a shoppe owner that was interested in setting up a wholesale account with Bella Vita and we did just that. It was so amazing to me to go to a meeting with two organized women that do what they say they are going to do. I don't think store owners realize the power they have over artists. I have had two disheartening experiences at local shoppes lately and it just left me wondering "why?" My Mom tells me I need to get over it and not take things so personally... if I could only remember that every time I get turned down... or every time a server screws up my order (a whole different story, I'd love to tell you about it sometime)... I'd probably be rich or something like that.

Then, later this evening, I started my Metalsmithing class and remembered how much I love what I do and can't wait to learn new skills.

I was a little worried about how I'd be holding up at class tonight. I am an early bird and am usually in bed by 10 p.m. I preferred the day class but realized I needed a refresher before I jumped in with all the "old school" jewelry makers at this Arts Center. I show up for class to find out my teacher has taken a job in Chicago and will be moving soon... long story short, I get the best of two instructors and instructor 1 that got a new job decided to toast the class with a glass of red wine! How perfect is that? How perfect is that for me? Jewelry and red wine, I'm set.

So, I found myself sitting around a work table with 9 other women sipping a glass of wine sawing sheets of metal.

I know these events probably don't make a lot of sense to you, but to me they are stepping stones to my happiness in this new place where I live. I am not that far from home but I am that far from my circle of "people" in my familiar land. First and foremost I miss my family, my Mom and Dad and my sweet little Grandmother that collects all of those groovy antique buttons. Then I miss my friends, my girls nights with JeanAnne and Bekah, and my morning walks with Maureen and Arlo, and my dinner parties with the Little Rock Girls! Then I miss my bead/jewelry family that I am so familiar with in Little Rock. Especially the bead store that restored my passion for jewelry design and the driving force behind that business, Mrs. Ellie Roy.

Today gave me hope that I will establish some familiar routines in this foreign land called Oklahoma... but will hopefully be back home in Arkansas in a few short years. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoyed. If you can relate or have advice, by all means share it!

Saturday Thrifting, Sunday Rearranging

2011-01-10T08:38:00.000-06:00

I should be doing this...

but, I just can't focus on it... So instead, I went thrifting and had lunch with friends!

This is sweet baby Quinn, we hung out Saturday. Her parents are good friends of Matt and I and they live in Oklahoma City. Quinn is about 2 months old. Very very sweet baby!

I pretty much took Friday and Saturday off as my "weekend." So on Sunday I hit the ground running! I locked myself in my studio at 8a.m. and came out at 5 p.m. I rearranged my work tables to make a more enclosed area for me to work in. I also had to make room for my new rusty shelf and my new magazine rack.

Rusty shelf... Matt didn't understand why I HAD to have this. It is perfect for my bead trays and I talked the guy down to $5!

Magazine rack... $5!!!!


And this sweet little print... I was more drawn to the frame than the print, $6.

I purchased this basket storage device at The Container Store 2 years ago when I started Bella Vita. I used to keep ALL of my beads, tools, findings etc. in here... wow! I think this is also the only "new" piece of furniture I have purchased for my studio/office. On top is an antique thread display, makes a great storage device for all my vintage goodies!

My new "business" area...


Cleaned up, organized shelves full of goodies.


The overall doorway picture... looks a little hectic.

Now that everything is sorted and put where it needs to go, I can start doing inventory. Eek!

It really isn't too bad, just time consuming. I hope to get started in a few minutes and could very well have it done today.

Tomorrow I start my Metalworking class at the Arts Center here in Norman. I am sooooo excited! I will definitely be taking photos and blogging about my progress and projects. In my free time I am working on a very special blog for The Fashionable Traveler's blog. It is going to be all about Pantones color forcast for Spring 2011. You can link to The Fashionable Traveler's blog from my "blogs I read" links. Ciao!

Earring Giveaway!

2011-01-07T07:54:00.000-06:00

How about a giveaway! Tell me your New Years resolutions that you are GOING to stick to. Mine are: to be more positive and less whiny (mostly to Matt), to make everyday count and to procrastinate less... and the usual exercise and eat healthy. I will draw for two winners at the end of today! Good Luck! Spread the word too.

I am sorry!

2011-01-03T09:46:00.000-06:00

I am sorry! I have neglected my blog... I promise I have fun things in store for future posts. The holidays were extremely busy and then I took a week off for vacation. I have a lot of new topics I have been brainstorming and a handful of guest bloggers that I can't wait for you to meet. I will return!

Sunshine and Carousels Giveaway!

2010-12-08T05:33:00.001-06:00

Good morning!

A month or so ago I participated in the Indie Emporium in downtown Tulsa. That is where I met Erin, the owner and creative mind behind Sunshine and Carousels, we were neighbors at the show. I love doing shows like this because you have the opportunity to meet new artists and crafters. Erin and I did a little trading at the show, she got a pair of my earrings and I got a head band and a hair clip from her. Another reason I love these shows!!! Please visit Erin's blog and become a follower, she likes to do giveaways and shares a wealth of information and pictures.

Today she has generously sponsored a giveaway on my blog. See the details below! Look for more giveaways from other fellow artists each month. If you are interested in sponsoring a giveaway or advertising on my blog, send me a message.

About Erin:

Hi there this is Erin from Sunshine and Carousels. I'm mother, wife, crafter and coffee drinker. I absolutely love coloring my world and making pretty things. I spend my days working in my at home studio making handmade hair accessories, shoe clips, belts, clutches and jewelry. I'm on a mission to create pretty wearable items with unique color combinations and lovely details.

Holly Golightly - Feather Hair Clip and Brooch

Miss Penelope - Flower and Feather Headband

To enter this giveaway...

Leave a comment telling me what you have on your Holiday gift wish list.

For additional entries:

1) Be a follower of the Sunshine and Carousels Facebook Page.
2) Be a follower of Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry Blog.
3) Blog, tweet or facebook this giveaway.

Please leave one comment for each additional entry. There will be two drawings, you can enter both up to 5 times if you meet the criteria above. If you tweet it, facebook it or blog about it just make sure to leave that in the coment. Thank you!
(giveaway open until December 12th)

Bella Vita Holiday Gift Guide

2010-12-07T05:39:00.000-06:00

Christmas is 18 days away! I still can't believe how fast this year has passed me by, but I'll save that for another post...

I am offering free shipping (first class) on all custom mail orders or website orders from now until this Saturday, December 11th. All orders placed before December 15th will be charged regular shipping rates and are guaranteed to arrive on time by Christmas.

I have put together a small gift guide of my jewelry designs in case you are in need of some inspiration or direction in this gift giving season. There is still plenty of time for custom orders. I will be traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas on December 18th and will be able to make deliveries if you live in or around Northwest Arkansas. I will also be traveling home through the same area on December 23rd and will be able to make deliveries then as well. Don't wait until the last minute!!! I almost shipped a package yesterday using express mail at the post office and it was going to be $18. Granted it is guaranteed next day, but, that was 1/2 of the value of what I was shipping! I don't mind to ship express, I just hate for you to pay that much for shipping.

Now, on to the fun stuff... Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry 2010 Gift Guide.

Personalized necklaces for Moms, Grandmas, daughters, granddaughters, nieces etc. These necklaces can be personalized with any stamping. You choose the text and the stones you want to embellish with and I put it all together for you. Popular combination are grandchildren and children names with corresponding birthstone, pet names or add a short message.

Custom Mother's Necklaces


Custom Mother's necklace with Birthstone and Birth Date.

Vintage skeleton key necklaces mixed with semi precious stones. These necklaces have been extremely popular since I started making them.

Double Key Necklace with Mixed Stones.

Truly a Bella Vita "one of a kind!" This necklace comes with a matching pair of earrings and would be a very nice gift to someone special. You can find if at www.bellavitajewlery.net, under "The Delicate Balance."

Ammonite fossil, honey agate, freshwater pearl and sterling silver.

Vintage religious medals mixed with semi precious stones. I have a selection of vintage religious medals, saint medals and crosses to choose from. Embellish with your favorite stone or birthstone.

Vintage Sacred Heart, Iolite, Ruby, Rhodocrosite.

"The Delicate Balance" Bella Vita's unique line of handmade jewelry made from precious and semi precious stones, 14k gold fill, vermeil and/or sterling silver findings and components. This line makes wonderful gifts and is the classic addition to any woman's jewelry collection.

Vermel, 14k gold fill, Chrysoprase, can be found at www.bellavitajewelry.net

Vermel, 14k gold fill, Chrysoprase, can be custom ordered.

Ruby, Spinel, Vermeil, 14k gold fill, can be custom ordered.

Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Vermeil, 14k gold fill, can be found at www.bellavitajewelry.net

Cluster Necklace, can be custom ordered.

Amethyst, 14k gold fill, can be custom ordered.


Aquamarine, 14k gold fill, can be custom ordered.

If you are interested in any of the above designs please feel free to contact me, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com or 479.200.1824.