Hello from Hilton Head

I just spent a few lovely days in Hilton Head, South Carolina, tagging along while my husband attended a conference there. We got there a day early so I was able to get him out on the ocean in a kayak (my favorite form of transport on the water). Of course, I took my work with me, but there is a difference in working on the balcony of the ninth floor overlooking the ocean and listening to the waves break and working in an airless office with the droning of air conditioners in the background! The picture above shows the balcony and the sunrise over the ocean. The first day my husband awoke me a few minutes after 7:00 to share the sunrise with me - and it was much more beautiful than the picture suggests. It was so lovely that he woke me every morning just to see it (no easy task getting me awake in the morning). I told him that Sunday morning we ought to get up early and watch the sunrise while walking on the beach. I know he thought I would never get up, but I did! Of course that was the only cloudy morning! However, I jumped in the pool for a 7:30 dip, which was heavenly as was the hot coffee when I got out.

The bracelets you see here are some that I made in Hilton Head - a great place to work! Of course, I was limited by the supplies that I could actually take with me, but that, too, was part of the fun - seeing what I could do with the limited quantities I had. The first bracelet that you see (above) is a unique mixture of aquamarine, chrysoprase, chalcedony, carnelian, lemon quartz, and amethyst combined with sterling silver. Below, a double-stranded amethyst bracelet gets its allure from vermeil components; I especially love the little faceted vermeil nuggets from Bali, a favorite that I haven't been able to obtain for a while.

The rest of the bracelets are combinations of gemstones that you don't always see together. Below, pink chalcedony, dark peacock-blue apatite, aquamarine and carnelian are held together by an unusual lampwork bead by James Derrick Reeves in this unique bracelet with sterling silver. The next tiger-eye bracelet also has citrine, including a citrine pendant/charm, more of the peacock blue apatite, and a lampwork bead with the golden brown tones of the tiger-eye as a base and yellow and blue "speckles" accenting it. Finally, the last blue lace agate jewelry piece is a bracelet with a focal pietersite nugget with blue marbling thoughout although the picture is making the whole nugget look more red than brown.

Working in a vacation spot has its perks, the ocean, the great seafood, a wonderful change in scenery, but coming home has its own rewards. Two of them have been sleeping on me or following me around since I returned. One of the little furry ones keeps shutting the bathroom door deliberately, then meowing until I come and let him out. He waits a moment and then does it again. Why don't I just shut the door so that he can't get it open at all and I won't have to get up again and let him out? Because I really, really missed him!!! I missed the other kitty, too, but he's a little less dramatic.
Some of you have been asking where to buy the jewelry you see here. On my website, of course. The CLUNY GREY JEWELRY website!

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Coral and a Contest!

Summer is here and with summer comes coral! Of course, I wear coral in the winter also (after all, my favorite colors are peach and coral), but coral just sings summer. I prefer my coral with gold although it is beautiful with silver, especially the lighter peach colours. Above is the newest coral bracelet, and it's made with gold and black onyx. Coral just begs to go with certain other elements - such as pearls - and anything black. Here I've added lampwork beads as well from River Oaks Lampwork.
The coral bracelet below is an example of just how beautiful peachy-pink coloured coral can be with silver. The borosilicate lampwork beads have a gorgeous glow and great depth of colour. The filigree orchid is from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes. The last coral bracelet features red coral, again with gold and just one lentil lampwork bead. It's very simple, but like almost all coral, it really looks great against darker skin.
Also, I'd like to spread the word about a contest that the online jewelry store, JR Dunn , is having. Details are below:

JRDunn.com, the largest designer jewelery store on the web, has announced a chance for bloggers to win a Swiss timepiece for Father's Day. Simply by sharing how great their dad is, bloggers will be able to enter to win a unisex Michele Deco Classic watch ( http://store.jrdunn.com/product-p/mw00mw06a00a0025jrd.htm) with a black leather strap.

HOW TO ENTER:
Bloggers should write a post on their blog about why their dad is the most deserving of this great Swiss watch and either direct message @jrdunn on Twitter.com, or email dsnyder@jrdunn.com with the link to the blog entry. Mashups of video, images, and other media are encouraged as creativity always wins points with one of the most creative jewelry retailers in the world, JR Dunn.

Submissions will be accepted from now until June 11^th at 7:00 pm EST. At that point in time, JRDunn.com will pick the top three entries, and post them at http://founder.jrdunnblog.com. The winner will be decided by Internet users as polling will take place on http://founder.jrdunnblog.com, as well as @jrdunn on Twitter.com. The final votes will be tallied on Friday June 13^th at 3:00 pm EST, and the winner will be announce shortly thereafter, so the winner can announce the gift and share their blog with their Dad on Fathers Day. As an added bonus, any bloggers that enter will receive $25 off of a minimum $250 purchase at JRDunn.com.

Hmmm, and if your father doesn't really need a new watch, ladies notice that that is a Michelle unisex watch!! Sing Dad's praises - and do it now!

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