ArtFire Crazy Train Rider Moonlight Eternal

There are more than a few jewelry artisans out there, but not all of them craft jewelry for the men, but Moonlight Eternal does.  And some of them are unisex.

I could see this smart looking Shell & Wood Disc Necklace on a man or a woman

This Men's Organic Wood, Bone, Shell & Gemstone Stretch Bracelet would look great on a man, but I'm kind of thinking it would look pretty great on women too, at the beach,  a pool party, even at the office, for either men or woman.

Yeah, ya know, we have our boyfriends, jeans, shirts, how about their jewelry too! hehe Gotta love this coconut Shell & Wood Mens Necklace.











 So follow the moonlight over to Moonlight Eternal's shop for some unique & different creations such as tiaras, crowns, circlets, chokers, anklets, toe rings, etc, and there's even a couple of darling pumpkin candle holders.
One of the awesome things about shopping online, you not only get unique handcrafted items, you can do it in the moonlight if you want!
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

ArtFire Crazy Train Rider TrueColors Pearl & Gemstone Jewellry

Today's artFire CrazyTrain rider is TrueColors, who lives in Ireland and creates some very elegant jewelry.
There are some gems, that are always in style, such as pearls.  I very fortunately inherited a very simple but beautiful single strand of pearls necklace from my grandmother who was born in the late 1800's.  Pearls are classic elegance. 

TrueColors seems to know just what to do with pearls, such as this simple, but classy single strand Freshwater Pearl Bracelet

or this luxurious Cool Pink Freshwater Multistrand Bracelet

Of course she has Cool Pink Freshwater Pearl Earrings to match!











Necklaces, oh yes she does have some very pretty necklaces, such a the Madagascar rose quartz one or the amethyst with a sterling silver butterfly , and she also gladly does custom orders. If you're looking for some simply classic elegance, pay TrueColors a visit

Maybe I will get that pearl necklace out and wear it sometime!

Thanks for visiting and have an elegant day!

HAF Featured Artist Jewelry Geek

This weeks featured HAF artist is Kristin, creator of Jewelry Geek.   This is one busy lady, she is going to school for her master's degree in library sciences, has an 11 yr old son,  is married to a Navy man, and creates some very cool jewelry.  Kristen enjoys listening to Chinese flute music as well Celtic music & bagpipes, as well as mid eastern music.   ooh I love bagpipes!
Not only does Kristin have some very pretty jewelry, she also has some very creative photos of it in her Etsy shop. 

Of course I'm going to start out with these fabulous BlueBerry Earrings with copper.  Pretty aren't they? and I love the photo too!

oooh talk about sparkle - these awesome Swarovski Crystal Chandelier Earrings have 23  crystals per earring, and are 5 3/4" long!  Wouldn't those be fun to wear with that special little black dress!!! Elegant!

This beautiful Green Pearl & Crystal Bracelet is stunning!  Pearls in any color are so versatile - play them up - or go casual - either way, they work.

Most of Kristin's creations can be worn with casual attire or dressed up ( in my kind of dressed up anyway)- I absolutely adore this Large Shell Pendant Choker with clear to dark purple glass bicone beads.   In fact, I have the perfect blue and purplish dress that this would look fabulous with.
But, those great crystal chandelier earrings are calling my name!!
And all of her creations are very reasonably priced.  One of the fun things about hand crafted jewelry - you can get some unique pieces at some great prices - and no malls!  Shop in your pj's on a lazy Sunday morning!  I love the idea of having a piece of jewelry that thousands of other people don't have! 

I highly recommend visiting JewelryGeek on etsy or her great blog.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!
P.S. I wrote a blog on my other blog titled Thank You & My apologies.   But, be sure you go visit Jewelry Geek, OK!

HAF Featured Artist Gemlover

It is my pleasure to introduce you to John, creator of Gemlover. on ArtFire.
Johns states that he has a passion for rocks and rockhounding since was a small child.  After majoring in geology in college, he has been a Graduate Geologist for the past 40 years.

John's wife bought some gemstones and brought to him one day and asked what they were.  That started his journey into gemology, as well jewelry design & manufacture.  He became an Accredited Jewelry Professional in 2009, and is also a Jewelry Design and Repair Certificate.  John is also a retired paramedic and  resides in Easley, South Carolina.

It is easy to see that he not only loves what he does, he's very good at it.  I enjoy wearing matching stones, but not necessarily matching settings - and these are right up my alley - especially because these wonderful earrings are made with Lapis Lazuli - their blue!

I can see pairing those sweet earrings with this stunning Lapis Lazuli Pendant, I love the wrap design and that is one gorgeous stone he cut.

John certainly seems to know how to bring out the beauty of a rock,  or a gem.   This Snowfield Druzy Quartz Necklace is simply gorgeous.

I have loved quartz since I was a child, even dragging home a large quartz rock with me after my family went out Christmas tree hunting one year.   However, it was quite different than this lovely Honey Quartz Necklace, with it's unique sterling silver wire wrapping.  I love the emerald cut of this beautiful stone.

I highly recommend you pay a visit to John's shop, Gemlover on Artfire, or his blog Rasmussen Gems & Jewelry LLC where you can learn a little more about his work with these beautiful stones.   John also has a shop on the Handmade Artists Shop, as Rasmussen Gems and Jewelry LLC

Thank you for visiting and have a great day.

ArtFire Crazy Train Rider AmyCrawley

I think I missed a day or two in the CrazyTrain - I've been battling some intense headaches - but on this wonderful wedding day I'd like to present AmyCrawley who does some pretty cool things with polymer clay.

It's BLUE so of course I'm going to go for the Blue Nature Lightswitch Cover!

and not blue, but very pretty and unique earrings are these sweet Purple, White, & Black Heart Earrings
















I love the ArtFire CrazyTrain thing - get to see so many different artisans and some wonderful handcrafted items, check out AmyCrawley on this wonderful day.

ArtFire CrazyTrain Rider Lovely Things

I'm happy to announce that I finally managed to get a computer last weekend - although it's not "new", it's new enough!  I still occasionally get almost teary eyed thinking about some of the pictures I lost when my "old" computer crashed - pics of my grandson, some awesome pictures I've taken, you get the picture, right.  It's still in Colorado so I haven't been able to see if I can still get some of the things off it - hopefully!

So, back to the ArtFire Crazy Train...today's rider is LovelyThings, who does make some very lovely things, and some fun things too!

Even though this is Miss Monthly Hott Frog it's so cute I was thinking of maybe getting for my daughter and her 2 kids!  I love the expression on this frogs face.

Yeah, maybe because I now have 2 adorable granddaughters I get drawn to cute little things like this Baby's Jumpsuit - seriously folks, this sweet jumpsuit is a sz 2 and only $16.00!!!!

Besides some beautiful quilts, this busy lady also makes some gorgeous afghans such as this Deep Royal Blue Afghan made with my fav yarn Homespun - has the most wonderful soft texture

If you're looking for some fantastic and unique gifts for say, Mother's Day, a birthday, graduation, or you just got  your tax refund in the mail and want to treat yourself to something special, visit Lovely Things and see for yourself what lovely things this woman makes.

Serendipity

The moving process continues - after it was off for a bit.  Hours away from loading up the truck the end of July, everything fell apart - no truck, people couldn't come due to the new time caused by the truck being returned to the dealer late..........................So, I'm settling back into my apt,  bought a screen door, a ceiling fan, and went into the apt office several times to request the door and fan be installed, and inquired about my new lease................2 weeks later the fan was still sitting on my living room floor, I had installed the screen door, and the lease had not been signed because, well I don't know, the young woman who was in charge of doing the leases never called me to let me know it was done.  Meanwhile I found out I will probably need to have surgery on my right shoulder due to a tendon tear where it attaches, and my daughter, asked me once again to move to Colorado Springs..........................................and only because the lease had not been signed, I'm able to do so.  Items that have been packed, unpacked, packed, unpacked, are now being packed again.  Fortunately, not everything went through the packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking - but I had quite a bit unpacked from the July fall out.  Every time things got packed, or unpacked I seemed to get  more organized, more things went other places, and so the packing process has been easier this time around.   Then, my daughter called me last week and asked me to come up to Colorado for about a week to help her out, and then we would go back to Alb. pack me up and return to Co.   She just moved a few months ago and is still trying to get her place together - but all my stuff including me will have to be here until Oct 1 when I can get a place of my own.
After my early morning arrival on Sat, I took a short nap and later in the day we journeyed over to Manitou Springs where a music festival was occurring - a number of  artisans had booths and so we wandered around these for a bit before heading off to the brick and mortar stores.

  We came to a booth with some repurposed vintage pieces,  a delightful mix of vintage/steampunk,  some wirewrapping and  their creator, Valerie.  ONe piece in particular really caught my daughters eye, and although it was a reasonable $36. it was still more than either of us felt like we could spend - since my move will have to be paid for soon - the more we talked to Valerie, and she commented on the pendant I was wearing I then asked her if she didn't sell the necklace is she would be willing to tuck it away and perhaps we could do a trade later.  She picked up the necklace and handed it to me with the agreement that I create a piece similar to the one I was wearing in different colors.  Oh yeah, Valerie already knew I am in the process of moving, so getting this piece created may not happen for a month (or more), but was fine with that.  I am honored that she trusts me to keep my end of the bargain so that my daughter could have something special in her sort of crazy world right now! Thank you Valerie!! 

All pieces shown are by Valerie from her etsy shop Roses Creativity

One of my my favorites is this "The Key to Reds" necklace - believe me the picture does not do this cool necklace justice!  I'm  actually kind of surprised to see it's still available.
I'm still in a bit of shock that this woman just handed me the necklace with compassion for my daughter, I mean seriously, I could be someone who won't make good on the swap, but I will, in fact, I can hardly wait to create her pendant...............but everything is 400 miles & days away  - and once we get to Alb, it's going to be all about packing - with moments of creativity.

Serendipity - indeed!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by. Please go visit Roses Creativity too!! :)

HAF BLOG RING FEATURED ARTIST T.RUSK4U

Although Teresa's first crafting love was sewing, she has become obsessed with making jewelry and enjoys the whole process, from choosing the materials and designing one of her very pretty pieces of jewelry.   Looking to expand her skills by learning new techniques, Teresa enjoys designing and creating quality handmade jewelry for the budget conscious woman in styles from classic to contemporary.  She currently lives in Hillsborough NC with her husband and 2 rescue dogs, while her 2 grown children live elsewhere.

You can find Teresa's wonderful jewelry creations at these places
T.Rusk4U Etsy
T.Rusk4U HAFshop
and her blog

Gray Scales Pendant Necklace is a sweet and unique pendant. 

I just had to include this Santa Fe Surprise Necklace.  I'd have those cool curly wire pieces all over the place, but these are so nicely done.

Whimsical Wire Wrapped Moss Green Stone, and who said fun can't be pretty too!

So, I gotta say it again - I love checking out at all the unique handmade jewelry on these venues, created by such nice and talented people - and you can go shopping in your pj's - or nothing at all in this heat! lo

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

HAF TEAM SPREAD THE LOVE

I'm so far behind on many things, so I'm going to play catch up a little anyway. I got back home from Colorado Jan17th,  by the end of the week I had a backed up bathtub.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it turned into a major thing!  Briefly, I ended up with 2 maintenance guys coming over one day, the next day I had 2 plumbers here for about 6 hours resulting in a hole in the wall, along with a major mess in the bathroom from one of the maintenance guys plunging the drain with the overflow cover off.   Not a pretty fountain at all!  I also have a large former headboard in the hall where the hole got cut, so that was sitting in my living room for over a week by the time the maintenance guy came over and patched & painted the wall.  Then I had a rather mismatched wall, so I painted all the hallway walls & 2 doors, cleaned my carpet, cleaned out the headboard/cabinet & put it back.   Did I mention that I had dirty water sprayed all over the bathroom?  yeah, ick.  Big big mess. 
I've been trying to get things made for my dear little granddaughter that needed to go up with a friend yesterday.  More on that later.
I really like being a member of the HAF Etsy Team - it's  a pretty active & supportive team.   Here's a few of our members:

TollyKit makes some pretty cool creations with chainmaille and even has a new little felted creature.   This is Emerald Fire who is a forest dragon and protects the forest and all the creatures there! 

This is Helm, a chainmaille and wirework dragon.  Pretty cool dragons aren't they?

Another chainmaille artisan is Tora Jewelry who created this fantastic Spiral Crystal Drop Chainmaille Necklace - what an amazing necklace!

Check out this awesome Dragonscale bracelet - chainmaille just amazes me - and both of these artisans do some excellent chainmaille.

On the softer side of chains we have Trendy Craft Creations who makes some pretty cool creations with essentially chains of yarn!  These Oreo Style Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are just too cute! 

This yarn artist makes some really neat play food along with some other little goodies, but speaking of goodies, check out these yummy looking Amigurumi Crocheted Strawberries!  She makes cupcakes too!

Back to the jewelry dept, we have T.Rusk4u who not only makes some really pretty beaded jewelry, she does some pretty wire wrapped pieces too, such as this Wire Wrapped Marble love that color! Pretty aqua marble and wire!

OOOO this pretty Sea Mist Glass & Pearls Bracelet is on sale!











One of our local stations was showing some items people might want to get for their sweethearts for Valentines Day, and I thought, you know it's really too bad that more people don't know more about Etsy or other venues that sell handmade items.   I know I would much rather have something that is probably very unique  made by an individual artisan than something that was mass produced and a thousand or a million other people will be getting also.  Wouldn't you?
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Etsy HAF TEAM

There are some people that are on line so much I often wonder how they get any creating done - but then I forget, I'm sort of slow - I work slowly, I type slowly, and just process things slowly - I've always been kind of that way - but ever since the fibro hit me so hard about 10 years ago, I'm even slower - so, it's 9pm friday night and I have to wonder just how many people will read this, but here goes:

I reopened my etsy shop a few weeks ago and also joined the Etsy HAF team - that's Handmade Artist's Forum - and there are a number of them that do a great job of promoting the rest of us.  So, along with my ArtFire Crazy Train promotions, I'll also be doing Etsy HAF team member promotions. 

Beadlady 5 Designs comes up with some pretty combinations such as this Vintage Ruby Cabachon and Antique Brass Pin


And lots of other awesome jewelry combinations/

Stanislava has an eclectic collection of boxes, hearts, and these adorable little fairy angel ornaments that she creates.

Zur Designs has some very pretty anklets, bracelets, rings - one of the coold things about handmade - you get such a nice variety of creations.   This Black Webbed Jasper Wire Wrapped Ring is so pretty.

Red Fox Jewelry also creates some unique jewelry - but I keep being drawn to this sweet Christmas Tree Wire Sculpture zipper pull or purse charm

And that brings us to HaffinaAgain who has some pretty awesome earrings like these Flourite Dangle earrings







Now, aren't you wishing you had gone shopping online instead of at that big box store down the street? and you could have been shopping in your pj's!! 
Well, it's not too late yet - and there are birthdays, anniversaries and other events coming up right, so bookmark some of these talented artisans and when you need a nice gift for someone special,or yourself,  relax, hang out in your pj's and go shopping at Etsy or Artfire.   I know you won't be disappointed.

Handmade Artists Forum is a great place for artisans to hang out, share their creations, get feedback, give feedback and share the joys in life.

Merry Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

ArtFire Crazy Train Rider Frugal Kitty

You just gotta love a name like that - Frugal Kitty!  And I have to say, this studio has some pretty cool necklaces and bracelets.  This Oceans Delight Necklace is one of my favs.

This Pink Ice Necklace would look lovely with that little black dress for the holidays don't you think?

I really like this little Elephant Bracelet - that's just cool!

And Frugal Kitty does have some great prices for her handmade jewelry, so if  you are looking for a nice but not expensive piece of jewelry, this is a great shop to go visit. 
Give the gift of handmade this year - help support these wonderful creative people - much better than buying mass produced items that 1000's of other people are going to have the same of!
I just love that little elephant! 


What!! You're still here?? go check out Frugal Kitty!!!

ArtFire Crazy Train Rider Dichroic Dazzle

It's a busy time of year - and I was just thinking this morning that another great reason to buy handmade - most people sell online and you don't have to wade through 1000's of people at the mall and stores!  And many artisans are having sales this time of year such as Dichroic Dazzle of ArtFire.   And, talk about variety, this lady has variety!  Such as this awesome Viteous Enamel Sgraffito Leaf Pendant and earrings,

cufflinks,

hair accessories, and much more.   AND, she's having a sale - you need a coupon code so be sure to get that its on the bottom right of her front page of her shop. 

So, if you really want to wade through 1000's of people go for it - it you want to buy the same thing 1000's of other people are - go for it - BUT, if  you want something unique, something that 1000's of other's aren't going to have, and you can get it mailed right to you, then visit this artisan's studio and if you don't find something there, go visit the rest of ArtFire - lots of Artisans are having sales, and even if they aren't, many have such great deals anyway it's well worth the "trip"!

Have a wondeful Thanksgiving and a great day today!