Winter reminder....

I love the snow...but our two months of ground covered snow had almost completely melted away.

And then we got another fresh blanket in the middle of the night...

I have to admit, I am ready for spring. After the holidays I usually feel this way....but, snow is still a sweet novelty for this 'desert child'. ;) Might as well make myself a cup of coffee and enjoy it while its here.....

New listings will be up on Monday!

Have a fabulous weekend :)

Workshop and then some....

Here's my new puppy :)

I've already been playing with it....so excited! I ran outside and gathered all kinds of dried plant life and I've been looking all around the house for other impressions I can make. I am definitely more drawn to making impressions of things I find in nature....plants, twigs, etc. But I'm thinking of using some other designs too.

I haven't included any shop pictures in awhile....

I'm working with those three stones at the moment. When I took this picture I was getting ready to measure the bezel (fine silver strip) around the stones.

I took those pictures yesterday while working.....today I did this:

I made tortillas with my little monkey's help. Both of my boys love getting the stool and standing at my cutting board when I am cooking. Of course, the real reason they love it is because they get to sample and snack on whatever I'm making!

I grew up eating tortillas, chile (red and green!), sopa, beans and papitas, so I make an effort to make this for my sons as well. Norbert and I always talk very fondly about the food we grew up eating.....one day we had the epiphany that we wanted our boys to have those same experiences. I didn't want them to experience that only when their grandmas were around!!

We get a lot of joy out of being able to create these same memories for them (have I mentioned how much I love food???!).



I'll be back with pictures of new work ;)

Wrapping up...

I'm almost done! I've been working the past week on redesigning my business cards, banners, avatars, etc. So I'll very soon be revamping everything, including my website.

Tomorrow I am back in my workshop, which is exciting because I have a new piece of equipment I can start working with. We bought a rolling mill a few weeks ago and it just came in a few days ago. It is a really heavy piece of equipment and Norbert needs to reinforce the end of one of my worktables for it to sit on. So a rolling mill will allow me to do a number of really exciting things. I can make my own sizes and types of wire, but more importantly I can make impressions on metal using any number of objects. I'll take a picture of my new rolling mill this week along with pieces of work that I make using it. I am very excited :)

One other quick note because I am on my way to the gym and I'm late! is that I just found out I was nominated for an award over at Poppytalk. It is in the handmade jewelry category and can be located here.

I am thrilled that someone nominated me.....Poppytalk is well known in the handmade world. I don't care if only my mom and sister vote for me (okay, okay I'd love for you to vote for me too ;) just the fact that people are taking notice of my work is an absolute honor!!

I'll be back with new work this week....bye! ;)

Miscellaneous

Good morning :)
I am busy working on the computer this morning: convos, flickr, facebook, designing and the blog this morning. I thought I would share a couple of custom orders I completed recently.

I cannot tell you how much I love Botswana Agate. Perhaps its the gray...the markings? Whatever the allure is for me, this stone is just flat-out gorgeous.

I read recently that some 'expert designers' declared this year to be the year of the color turquoise. We shall see.....I love this color in accent pieces for sure ;)

Well, I wanted to share one exciting piece of information with you all....last month, right before the holidays, this necklace:

...found its way into an Etsy treasury that made it to the front page of Etsy. I've mentioned in the past that the exposure from being on the front page of Etsy is tremendous, right? Well, a costumer for the show, Grey's Anatomy, saw the necklace on Etsy and ordered it to be worn on the show 36 hours later (I had to overnight the necklace). I can't tell you how thrilled I was with all the views I received from that treasury, but to top it off with that high-profile sale was a big fat cherry on top to say the least!!! I won't even pretend I didn't celebrate a little after sending it out ;)

So I'm going to continue plugging away here and then I'm going to get out in the warm Colorado sun for a run. My hip is annoying the hell out of me....lots of running and stretching is a great cure for it.

Have a fabulous day! ;)

Changes...

Hello, hello :)

Here is some new work for the week:

this puppy has already been snatched up! :)

So, there is soooo much to talk about......where to start ;)

I just got back from attending my first meeting with the Louisville Art Society. I joined in November, but I was too busy those couple of months to make any of their events until now. I think I'll like it....it was pretty packed tonight, but the great thing about belonging to these kind of associations is the networking and support you receive from the group. They seem very involved so it should be fun :)

Well, I've made quite a lot of changes to my Etsy shop's profile and policies pages. I've mentioned a bit on here about how my husband has become an integral part of this business and we finally made the changes to include him. Norbert is handling most of the business/marketing end, which is allowing me to concentrate more on design and production. It never ceases to amaze me how much this business has evolved.....even in my own mind. I really had NO idea how much time running a business takes....outside of actually making my jewelry. Blue Hour Designs is now fully a team effort :)

Thank you to all who have been following my progress and watching our little business grow :)

I'll be back soon with more news!

- Alysia + Norbert :)

New Beginnings....

I am coming out of my snow covered cave today :)
How are you all?? I realized on NYE that it was not just a new year, but also a new decade. A little slow on the realization, but I do think that is pretty monumental. I'm into that kind of thing. I'm the girl who likes new beginnings and New Year's resolutions. It just feels fresh and exciting.

Oh yeah, and speaking of fresh, here are a few pictures of some of my new pieces that entered the shop yesterday:

I also put up a new banner, which I am sure you have already noticed. I've been trying out some ideas and I think this one will stick for a little while. I am also working on a new shop banner and new packaging....probably a new picture for my facebook page as well. I guess you can tell I like change ;) The problem is finding the time to do it all!

So I've resolved to accept that I will not be a daily blogger. I will try to get on here as much as possible and there may be times when I am here everyday, but I am buckling down and prioritizing my time so that my work days are more effective. I just need more time in my workshop (the fact that I am getting busier is a good thing!). I'm actually posting this on my 'day off', which basically means my day to watch the boys who happen to be napping. My husband is laboring away downstairs catching up on the accounting. Boy do I love that I don't have to do any of that!!

Tomorrow I am back in my shop and I'll be working almost exclusively with metal. I have so, so many designs that I want to dip into.....I may do one ring with a big stone, but otherwise just a lot of metal. More earrings too.

Talk to you all soon.....

It's good to be back :)