Scorpion's Ear Hoops and Besteam favorites - week of Oct. 30th

I am a Scorpion. Anyway - that's my sign, as I was born on November 2nd many years ago.

I do not know whether all Scorpios have an obsession with ear hoops. But it definitely is the case with me when it comes to hoop earrings. I was not so aware of it until I entered my Etsy shop of handmade jewelry designs and counted them. I have spontaneously designed so many of them. It is true -  I love earrings in all shapes and sizes, but what happens is I always go back to - hoops. I love to think of an Ethnic design and present it in my own version:

                                                     

http://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita?section_id=10283301

But before I let my hoops take up all of the space in this post, let me tell you about a few Etsy shops I love:

KCDagonfly http://www.etsy.com/shop/KCDragonfly?ref=pr_shop_more

is a shop run by Kristine Cherry. Kristine has taken a close look at dragonflies and feels that something inside her identifies with them - their neverending search for something. Kristine's studio has in it a whole lot of books beads and fabrics. If you find, in her shop, something which you cannot resist, and feel you must buy it - it is the sign for her that you have found the perfect design! But truthfully, Kristine simply enjoys to create things which would make people say : "Ooooo, that's pretty!"

Another favorite shop on Etsy  is Creativitybugs. It is run by Sandy and Sue, who are two sisters with a passion for crafting. They began by creating gifts for family and friends but now it is turning into a business venture.

Sandy and Sue create  paper crafts  and gifts, handmade cards, paper craft kits and supplies, holiday gifts, doll clothing and accessories, and a whole lot more.
The materials they use are of the highest quality!

When I read the names of Etsy shops, many times they 

capture my imagination. Such is the shop name Ourhometoyours. What immediately comes to my mind is a warm cozy place which is someone's home, and it offers some of its warmth to us - visitors to their shop. What a nice inviting name this is!

It is run by Debbi and Amanda who are mother and daughter. Debbi is a mom is to 3 children who still live at home, and has a grandson who is almost 3 years old, about a year older than my own grandson. This sounds like a lot of fun! Debbi is one of these people who enjoys her job! On one hand - she lovingly creates things which other people enjoy, and still has time to spend with her family.

Daughter Amanda is a photo specialist at Wal-mart but I has a Masters Degree in Graphic Design and would like to pursue that as her career. Her background is Fine Art  and she is offering her drawings for sale along with her crafts. Amanda designs all the banners and avatars for their shop, and hopes to have agraphic design business of her own some day.

And we have a lovely jewelry designer's shp here too- jaynemarie's shop

Janynemarie Crawford started making jewelry when her daughters were small. I had made them clothes and,  accessories. She discovered about herself that she enjoys designing and handcrafting jewelry.She began by creating it for herself and when people started to compliment her for her designs, she decided to begin selling it. Jaynemarie enjoys the lustre and shapes of gemstones and fine pearls and various silver and gold chains.

For her work she uses only the highest quality gemstones and pearls.

More handcrafted artisan jewelry:

http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Thats all  for today folks. Hope to see you here again in my next post.

My personal tips on How to store your collected handmade, or other, jewelry

I have been a jewelry collector, ever since I received my first heirloom from my mother. It was a gold heart locket and gold chain, with a photograph of my parents in it, and a tiny unpolished diamond on the front. I rweceived it when I was about 10 years old, and  many years later, these days, I still   like to wear it every once in a while

Some of the jewelry  we own has great sentimental  value to  us. They maybe  keepsakes from  a beloved person  or something you found in a jewelry shop which you love .Some of it may be valuable also for its worth in money , whether it is made of gold, silver and very prescious, or simply for the artistic value, when it was created by an a unique jewelry artist.

No matter, what the source of jewelry you own is worth, be it a gold pair of earrings, or a lovely cheaper pair made with beads, one should be aware that they should be protected from breakage, dust, humidity in the air, and tarnish. Handcrafted or industrial jewelry, can break easily, as it is fragile.

The reasons for this is that humidity causes your jewelry to look rusty which might lead to breakage. Imagine you wanting to wear a favorite pai of earrings you own and your dismay at discovering that it has become rusty. Not very pleasant. right? dust can contribute to this too. 

It is true the sterling silver  and gold jewelry can be easily cleaned, but why waste your precious  time on cleaning it, if you can avoid this?

The drastic changes of temperature between cold and warm weather, has an impact on your jewelry too., as metals have the quality of contracting. And expanding. This may "contribute" to cracks in your  favorite pieces. Therefore, it is well advised to keep your jewelry in a box where the changes of weather have no effect on it.

 The solution to this is very simple - just  keep your jewelry in a special box. Never leave it on a hanger near your mirror in the bedroom, even if this could seem very decorative. Keep a separate box for earrings. And one for your necklaces rings and bracelets.

There are many lovely jewelry boxes you can buy for very reasonable prices. They will serve you very well – keep your jewelry in a weather  protected place and do not forget that a cute jewelry box is a wonderful way to decorate your room,.

Here's a lovely jewelry box I have foun on Etsy:

You will find this handcrafted box in the  Etsy shopThedecorativebox. It is created from acrylic painted wood and decorated with rhinestones,silkflowers and more. I just love it. Looks perfect for storing jewelry in it.

My Etsy shop:

http://riorita.etsy.com/
http://riorita.etsy.com
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