Final Jewelry By Jessica Giveaway of the Year!

This is it folks: As far as I know, your last chance to win one of my necklaces earrings this year. That's free, zip, zilch, nada. And you get to pick your favorite.

See, there's this little blog called Giveaway Today. Wait, did I say little? Well, it's not really little, it's kind of big. Yesterday's giveaway was a pair of See Kai Run shoes. I totally entered and have my fingers and toes crossed. I love those little shoes.

Anyhoo, tomorrow, Wednesday, September 2, for one day only, you can enter to win any item from my shop. Did I mention this is a 24-hour only giveaway? When they say Giveaway Today, they mean it. All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment. No funny stuff, no shenanigans, no kidding. So, starting at 12:02 a.m on Wednesday., scoot on over there! I'll be rooting for you!

New Designs and Colors for Fall 09!

Well, I managed to actually get some new designs designed, made and photographed! If you have two small kids as I do, you know that completing something like this ends up feeling pretty much miraculous. So here they are, a few of the new pieces, which are currently only available in my Etsy shop. There will be more to come. {And yes, that's both a promise and a threat : ) }

(Above) Flowering Stem necklace in (left to right) Iron, Eggplant, Sapphire, Leaf and Fawn

Punch Flower necklace in new colors: (Top) Iron + Lilac and (Worn) Sapphire + Lemongrass

Three Hole Punch Necklace (ha, ha!) pictured in (Top, left to right) Iron + Leaf; French Blue + Lemongrass; Leaf + Lemongrass and Iron + French Blue. 

Not all of these are listed in my Etsy shop individually yet, but if you'd like any (or, hey, you know, all!) of the colorways pictured here, just specify at checkout and I'll hook you up with your choice. 

Now, if Fall will just get here already. I am so, so ready. 

Art Jewelry Gallery In Seattle

I had no idea there was an art jewelry gallery as close to me as Seattle. (I really wanted to go to Velvet da Vinci when I was in San Francisco, but it just didn't work out on that trip.)  Facéré looks amazing. I will definitely be stopping in on my next trip north - or perhaps this necessitates its own trip! Be sure to browse through the work of their artists - there's some amazing work in there!

My Other Etsy Store...Modern Beads

Did I forget to mention my other Etsy store here? Uh, guess so. I launched Modern Beads at Etsy a while back as a place for my "minimalist modern" bead and sterling silver earrings and necklaces. 

I developed a real love for beads. However I maintain my dislike for fussy bunches of beads. Just one or two at a time, please. Three tops. What developed was a minimalist modern look. I started with earrings, and all my friends seemed to love them. And I wear them all the time too. So I decided I needed to have a venue to give me the excuse to keep making them - and to keep my jewelry box from overflowing. I uploaded a few new pieces the other day - hope to get this store stocked up again for Spring soon!

By the way, I use mostly repurposed or thrifted beads for the pieces at Modern Beads, so each necklace or pair of earrings is extremely limited edition -- some are one-of-a-kind. If you want first dibs on new Modern Beads pieces, you can RSS the shop feed. Isn't that cool?

My New DIY Shrink Plastic Necklace Kit!

Available now at my Etsy shop! http://www.jessicapoundstone.etsy.com

I'm pretty excited to have finally pulled this kit together - I'd been wanting to make one for quite a long time. Now you can make your own necklace, or help a small friend make one for themselves, or for their mom, or grandmother or teacher. Or use them as party favors, or as a party activity!

I've done shrink plastic projects with a number of our smaller friends (in the 3-5 year old range) and they love it. It's so quick and satisfying to color on the plastic and shrink it and have something to wear or give right away. Older kids and adults have a whole lot of fun with it too - they can draw their own picture or trace a picture or use rubber stamps: the possibilities really are endless. (For tons of ideas, enter "shrink plastic tutorial" into any search engine.)

The kit contains:
• Detailed instructions
• Two pre-cut circles of shrink plastic, which will shrink to make a 1.25" circle pendant (two pieces of shrink plastic are included so you have two chances to make one you love - or you'll just have two if you love them both!)
• Magnetic necklace clasp
• Waxed cotton necklace cord (specify green or blue - see pictures for colors)
• Three colored pencils to get you started

I'm hoping to make more project kits available in the future - if there's one you'd like to see, get in touch!

Jewelry By Jessica at Tilde!

Whew, that was a long hiatus between posts! Lots going on: a move, currently 6+ months pregnant, got cable (very time consuming), etc. But I wanted to pop in to let you know that you can now find Jewelry By Jessica at the incredibly lovely store Tilde in Sellwood (just a few minutes' drive from downtown Portland). Debbe Hamada curates an amazing selection of wonderful things, and has made the store itself just beautiful. (And don't you love her logo?) I'm really honored to be one of the artisans represented.

New For Spring 2008 :: Intersections Pattern

Available now at Jewelry By Jessica!

New For Spring 2008 :: Transverse Waves Pattern

Available now at Jewelry By Jessica!

New For Spring 2008 :: Scallops Pattern

Available now at Jewelry By Jessica!

Art Jewelry Exhibit at Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon

{Pictured left to right: Maru Almeida, Seattle, WA, "String of Pearls," 2007, merino wool, hand-felted; Jennifer Hall, Port Townsend, WA, "Ring" 2007, copper, paper, epoxy resin, paint; Brigit Daamen, Haarlem, The Netherlands, "Feeler Three" 2003, felted merino wool.}

If you live here in Portland and you have any interest in art jewelry, you should most definitely get yourself over to the Museum of Contemporary Craft sometime before March 23. Downstairs they've got an exhibit of art jewelry, and there are some very cool pieces down there. But upstairs is where the real fun begins. Jewelry artists have developed pieces that visitors can try on. All three of the pieces pictured above are try-on-able. This is the stuff you'd usually find behind glass, folks.

By the way, if anyone wants to make me a replica of Maru Almeida's "Pearl Necklace" (left, above) I am 100% receptive to that. I love it!!!