Tucson Day 2

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

Tucson, shopping day 1

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...

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

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 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!!!

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

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?