The Golden Fruit Tree

I was determined to make one more post before the year ended and I have barely made it. So here I am on the very last day of 2011! Gosh, the year got away from me and all my blogs have been silent. Not by choice, though, as I truly enjoy blogging and often feel frustrated that I can't take the time to focus to write posts to share.

Here is a heart-warming story for you to finish the year. 

We have an orange tree in our back yard that we planted when we moved to our house in 1992. We planted it in memory of my parents, who gave us our first orange tree when we originally moved to Florida in 1984. 

We could not take the tree with us when we moved to another house, so we researched the best oranges and best trees that thrive with little care (LOL) and came back home with an Amber Sweet orange tree. It has been a hard little worker bee all these years, bearing luscious fruit every year with no maintenance from us - just God's radiant blessing,  sunshine, and rain. 

The fun thing is that it has one season of bearing fruit - Thanksgiving through Christmas. It is like having little golden presents for the holiday months of sweet orange nectar that graces our holiday tables. They are so very juicy and a treat to those with whom we share. When family comes home for the holidays, they take back 25-30 lbs of oranges from the tree to their home states up north.

And so it was this week. We had the annual "picking of the oranges" to send with them as they left for the north where the winter chill is in full swing.  It is such an exciting treat for them, that it gives me pause. I don't want to get complacent about the abundance of sunshiny fruit that we enjoy each year.

As I ponder this last year, I don't want to get complacent about the abundance of blessings our family has had. Much like the fruit, our blessings are there for us and I want to savor every one of them!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you.

Trend Colors for Jewelry 2011

There are several previous posts on the 2011 jewelry and color trends that you might enjoy:

• Pantone's 2011 Color Trends Interpreted in Beads
• Beaded Jewelry Design Trends for 2011

The fashion colors and jewelry color trends for this year are soft, muted, but clear colors. Lovely rose, blue, green, and warm hues will be found in stores this year in home furnishings, fashion, paint colors, accessories, and jewelry. Pantone is the trend-setter and the designer community follows.

Here is the Pantone Chart for 2011. I have paired GalleriaLinda Contemporary Handmade Beaded Jewelry with each current color. The colors I love to work with fit so well into the trend.

The Pantone Honeysuckle, was selected as Color of the Year by the trend setters!

Visit GalleriaLinda Handmade Contemporary Beaded Jewelry for your spring jewelry and summer selections.

If you are a jewelry designer, you will be interested in my previous post regarding 2011 bead colors and are invited to visit GalleriaLinda Beads bead shop.

Contemporary Pearl Designs Popular with Young Ladies to Mature Women

A gentleman I know was polite enough to go to GalleriaLinda's Contemporary Beaded Jewelry Zibbet.com shop at my teasing request to "check it out," but he then told me he was so impressed with my design style that he wanted to purchase the contemporary pearls for his wife. 

The pearl necklaces I create for GalleriaLinda are made with the fabulous Crystalized(tm) Swarovski Crystal Pearls that have the amazing pearly finish and even more amazing color selections. I am not a fan of "pearl jewelry" in general, but love to work with the Swarovski crystal pearls in contemporary colors and designs!

To my surprise, he also wanted an additional one just like the one pictured above to give to his mother of 80 years old! Unfortunately, I did not have the exact colors but promised to make the exact design of 43 inches that could be worn very long flapper style or doubled, but would incorporate golden crystal pearls instead of the pink. He was very excited about that.

His mother absolutely loved the necklace. His wife apparently is reluctant to take hers off. So, SUCCESS happened with making my GalleriaLinda Gals feel special!

You can view GalleriaLinda's Handmade Contemporary Beaded jewelry on iCraft.ca and GalleriaLinda on Zibbet.com!

Pantone's 2011 Color Trends Intrepreted in Beads!

Pantone is the driving force with color trends for all things, such as home furnishings, fashion, paint colors, and even ink colors for printing! Because fashion follows this trend, it makes sense that jewelry designers might utilize some of the current colors. This allows for market-friendly jewelry that will coordinate specifically with 2011 fashion.

This chart shows the Pantone colors for 2011, along with selections from the GalleriaLinda Beads Shop of vintage and Czech beads. What lovely color combinations this year!

By the way, the first one - the Pantone Honeysuckle, was chosen as the year's hottest color as Color of the Year! Visit GalleriaLinda Beads for your on-trend bead selections now. You are invited too to visit GalleriaLinda's Contemporary Handmade and Silver Wire Jewelry shops!

The Design Process is as Individual as Snowflakes

All designers have their individual processes to create their design vision. Some will draw in order to implement. Others will lay out elements in order to implement.

It does not matter what type of designer you are, you likely will utilize your individual design process in all design efforts.

Early in my career as a commercial interior designer specializing in large hospital projects, I assembled design elements the way that came most naturally to me. Mid-career, as a graphic artist, I found that the same design process was comfortable and effective. Today, as I work on corporate design projects both in print and online, it is the same process.

When working on my GalleriaLinda jewelry designs, I discovered that all these years, my natural way is a very meandering and organic one. That has been my history! Discovery of elements, colors, textures that work well are very visual to me. Sometimes, I will toss a bead aside only to find that it looks gorgeous with a bead next to it once it lands!

The way I like to design earrings is to pull out beads and charms that appeal to me that day. My room becomes a mess, but a colorful mess. As the design engine is fueled, I start to make mock-ups for the earrings I wish to complete. The photo above is an example of how I work.

I use metal head pins just for the mock-ups. The finished earrings will be put onto handmade and hammered sterling silver ear wires and head pins.


To try the organic, meandering way, here is what you will need:

• Cheap plastic empty ice trays - white is best
• Cheap metal head pins - preferably with the loop on the end to accommodate beads with larger holes
• Lots of beads and charms
• Lots of imagination!

Each bead I take out will take me to another colorful or textured spacer or charm, and likewise, they take me on to other beads. It is a road well traveled to get to a fabulous design.
These 28 earrings designs will be completed in the coming months. To finish them, I will need to divide them into categories:

• Shiny sterling silver
• Oxidized black sterling silver
• Handmade kidney wire shapes
• Handmade French wire shapes
• Handmade head pins with hammered ends
• Handmade head pins with hammered loop ends

In the coming weeks, I will make the ear wires and the hammered head pins from sterling silver. I will figure out how many I need in the oxidized black patina for the oxidation process. So, the creating continues but the design part is what I enjoy the best!

Organic Foods Buying Club Coming to Lakeland, FL!

You are Invited to Join a Lakeland Organic Produce Buying Club!

I am trying to organize a Lakeland group for Annie’s Organic Buying Club that delivers organic vegetables and fruits at a reduced price from retail. 

Annie’s covers a lot of Florida and is located in Osprey, FL. I have talked to Annie and have the information to get a group started and we are going to make it happen!

As you will see from the web site, there are opportunities to purchase additional organic milks, nuts, meats, etc… as add-ons. For detailed information, please see the web site: www.anniesbuyingclub.com

Please pass this on to any family or friends that would be interested!

To Start the Lakeland Club, We are Looking for:

·         12 + Lakeland members to commit to purchase either weekly or every other week (options for skipping for vacations, etc…) – this forms a club – SIGN UP ON WEB SITE

·         1 coordinator position to handle the coordination of the produce drop off from Annie’s and pickup from members on one day a week (see details below),

If you want to join as a purchaser, select Lakeland – it will show as not "live" but we have to have people sign up first in order to "go live." Go to the web site and sign up for LAKELAND. You will be put on a list and then notified when we have enough members and a coordinator to start.

On the web site, you can see lists of foods included in the boxes. The types of fruits and vegetables vary according to season.

Here’s how it works:

Buying club membership

• Join as a FREE member to purchase – no fees or paid subscriptions – you just pay for your boxes on schedule – see web site for all options of boxes to purchase.
• You commit to purchase a “full share, “half share,” or "juicing" box,  either every week or every other week (you can skip weeks with prior planning for vacations, etc…please read all about the skipping process on the web site so you are informed as you have to do it at least a week in advance).
• You commit to pick up your purchases one specific day a week during a 2-3 hour window of time. The day is determined by Annie’s routing schedule and the time and flexibility of the pick-up window is determined by the coordinator position. There is a $5 late fee for late pick up IF the coordinator position requires it be within the hours. Some coordinators can be more flexible.

Potential Coordinators:

At this time, we have one potential coordinator. If you are interested also, please let Annie know in case we need one or an alternate.

• For your time, you will receive your “share” (box) for FREE each week (full box is $60 value retail)
•  Current clubs throughout Florida consist of 12 to 17 members.
•  On the specified delivery day, you accept the delivery – day and time of delivery is not flexible and is determined by the routing of Annie’s trucks.
• You will sort the boxes per your way of organizing for members to pick-up, documenting your list of members and pickups.
• You will be available during your publicized pick-up times to receive members – your choice whether to be flexible with late pickups.
• Most payments for the boxes purchased by members are online direct to Annie’s account, however, some may pay by cash or check. If you have cash or checks or late fees, you will make a direct deposit to Annie’s BOA account and then email a confirmation. 
• Coordinator position may be only a 3-4 hour commitment of time (or less) of time on one day a week for a coordinator. The fewer members, the fewer hours. Most clubs are 12-17 members.
• Must have an open area for delivery of produce boxes from Annie’s and for pickup by members – some coordinators use their home garage for that day or an available business area that can be coordinated. The boxes will be out of the way that same day after member pickup.

Let’s make this happen! There is nothing better for your family than organic vegetables and fruits. Go to Annie’s Organic Buying Club and sign up for Lakeland! I would be excited to see your comments if you sign up - just curious to see how close we are to making it go live!

Beaded Jewelry Design Trends for 2011

Fresh from Beading Daily, comes the top four beaded jewelry trends for 2011. It is exciting that GalleriaLinda is actually on track with trends! As a jewelry designer, GalleriaLinda desires to create jewelry that people will appreciate and designs for the vision, not fads. The coming trends fit perfectly into GalleriaLinda's design vision.

Top Four Beaded Jewelry Design Trends (from the Beading Daily Blog):

Metal
Metal work structure in beaded design brings a contemporary and edgy look to beading. GalleriaLinda makes most clasps, ear wires, and head pins by forming and hammering sterling wire, sometimes with flourish and design elements! This gives a handmade, handcrafted, unique look and structure to the jewelry.
       
Floral
Flower and floral motifs are easy to work out in beadwork and floral colors inspire even the most sophisticated designers.GalleriaLinda's floral motifs are often stylized and frequently added by using special vintage charms and beads.

Minimalism
The trend for jewelry shapes is going minimal. Large, bold, and streamlined designs are new looks. GalleriaLinda's unique design perspective has always been largely minimalist and bold from the very beginning.

Vintage
By incorporating vintage styles from the 1950s and 1960s, jewelry designers capture some of these trends described above: metals, florals, and minimalism. GalleriaLinda designs especially with these rare and unique vintage beads and charms that are often limited in supply.

If these jewelry trends are for you, then you will be delighted with GalleriaLinda's jewelry sold on Zibbet and GalleriaLinda's jewelry on iCraft.ca!

If you are a jewelry designer looking for beads, charms and components that work with these trends, be sure to visit GalleriaLinda's bead shop!

Happy New Year!

Guerrilla Crochet in Unexpected Places

Did you see this? I just had to post about this! Guerrilla artists are vying for the element of surprise in unexpected places and this artist accomplished that! This is the New York City Wall Street bull sculpture that has been entirely covered in a hand-crochet pattern.

Original post: http://animalnewyork.com/2010/12/wall-street-bull-crocheted/

From the blog, here is the caption:  "NYC’s Crocheted Olek (a.k.a. Polish-born Agata Olek) hit up the Wall Street Bull and encapsulated it inside crocheted neon. “It lasted 2 hours,” she tells HFA, “but it was there…” She writes that it’s “a tribute to the sculptor of the bull, Arturo di Modica, who in another guerrilla act, placed the bull on Wall Street in Christmas of 1987 as a symbol of the ‘strength and power of the American people’ following the 1987 Stock Market crash.” And there it was. Since the bull is fully visible, and not horn-tip-deep in snow, this happened before the storm. Nice timing, Olek."

Guerrilla art not only brings the element of surprise, but brings delight in the unexpected art form that can lighten your day and put a spring in your step!

For unexpected wonderful jewelry designs, visit http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialindaloft.

Cyber Holiday - Keep the "Sane" in Shopping

The big hype for Black Friday and Cyber Monday has come and gone. Frankly, I don't see the point.

The advertising messages whip us into an urgent frenzy that is just exhausting! Black Friday has typically been the "sale of the decade" for big box retailers, especially for technology and electronics, but I prefer a more sane approach to buying.

Slowly but surely I have increased my Internet shopping over the years. Now, I seldom grace the door of a B&M store and go only if absolutely necessary. Call me a digital babe!

You can take advantage of this pleasant, leisurely shopping technique at GalleriaLinda's handmade earring shop on Zibbet.com.

Many of the earrings are created using vintage beads or charms for unique and one-of-a-kind looks.

Your earrings will arrive on earrings cards ready for gift-giving. These are GREAT for smaller gifts for "secret Santa" gatherings at church, work, groups, and family name drawings!

Don't forget the festive parties and gatherings that you will attend! You are sure to find a unique addition to your outfits.

10% off all handmade earrings

and FREE USA shipping! 

(Reduced international shipping). 

More added weekly!

Cyber Holiday sale at GalleriaLinda lasts until the last day of December 2010. That way, you can come back with your holiday gift dollars to purchase those that you desire for yourself!

Vintage Metal Filigree Components are Not Always Frilly

 I am loving using vintage components, beads, and charms in my jewelry work! Each one is so different and inspiring..

If you know my work, you realize that I do not use a lot of "froo froo" with filigree, bunches of charms, romantic looks, etc...

I do love those looks and there are jewelry artisans that create absolutely gorgeous jewelry with this signature. Although I love to admire these designs, they are not for me personally. I think as creatives, we create designs that we personally love, otherwise, where would be the passion?

When I came upon these great vintage filigree round beads, I was wondering how to work them. I noticed almost an architectural look to the patterns and took it from there by adding metal spacers that look "gear-like." The vintage filigree beads are the star of the show in these designs.

You can see these and many more interesting designs in the

GalleriaLindaLoft handmade earrings shop on Zibbet.com.