New Bling, Craft Fair Wrap Up & To-Do List Additions

I'm lying in bed w/ my laptop listening to the snoring princess beside me. Sleeping beauty is beside her. I'm a night owl by nature but my little ones won't settle down to sleep unless I'm lying in bed with them. Do you know how much I could be getting done right about now?? I've already closed up shop so there's no point in going downstairs now though. So here I am, wide awake and finding the need to be productive in one form or another which led me to updating my website w/ new bling pics. I'll save you the trip to the website by publishing the latest HJD creations here:

Last weekend I was set up at the local craft fair. Saturday was a nice day so there was a larger crowd than Sunday, what with the damp rainy chilly weather. I really wasn't expecting any crowd at all on Sunday but much to my surprise the die hard craft connoisseurs were out and about, purses slung across the chest, donning rain gear and pulling carts along to wheel around all their bargains. I really do enjoy working that craft fair, partially because I'm indoors now(thank you Woody!!), and partially because my local loyal customers know where to find me and come to visit and shop. As many of you know, I long for the day when I can afford to open my own little piece of retail heaven so for me this craft show is a tiny sliver of what's to come. Sales were pretty decent considering the current economic situation. I did better than the Christmas show but we had awful weather that weekend. And I made some new friends, both in fellow vendors and new customers as well.

This evening I spent some time with a bride to be and her daughter, my tastefully simple rep/friend. Let me just tell you, her dress is amazing! I have never seen a wedding gown like this one. She didn't want a traditional gown as this is her 2nd marriage. It's off white with a sweetheart neckline, sleeveless, and a fairly straight, maybe A line drop to the floor. There's beautiful floral embroidery on the bodice, along the hem and train, in ecru, rose, lavender and sage. I can't wait to get the pics on here for you to see but we'll have to wait until June for that. Anyway, I'm making custom earrings and matching bracelet for the bride. I'll keep you posted.


My to-do list for this week is never ending as items from last week's to-do list spilled over to this week. I still have yet to make 2 swirly rings and a hand forged sterling link bracelet. Adding a matching anklet to that order, as well as another swirly ring but this one will be silver and gold--should be a gorgeous combination. I finished the custom mother's bracelet from last week. I did get some earrings made last week but marked down several earrings that I've been looking at too long during the craft show so I need to make oodles more. I'm still working on the other bridesmaids necklaces. I had to reconfigure the connections as I wasn't happy with how the crystals were hanging. It was a logistics issue but I think I have a solution. I need to find the supplies for the new bride-to-be's jewelry and price it. I'll need to order bags soon and I think I'm going to go w/ a "greener" option this time. Last but not least, more angle pins.

As usual we have the normal multitude of kids' activities. Volleyball practices and games, soccer, soccer and more soccer, gymnastics and an eye appointment. Somewhere in there my kitchen floor needs a hose down. Any volunteers?

Have a great night if you're up late like me, if not, happy morning! ~Heather

New Bling Update

As usual, I felt I didn't have enough made for the craft fair this weekend. I really do have an abundance but I just had to make a few more things. Plus, I received new supplies yesterday that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Here's the result:

The pictures don't really do them justice. All the more reason to see them in person! Hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll have lots and lots of shoppers. Let's help stimulate the economy people!!!

Well I'm tuckered out and I have an early morning so I'm off to bed. Have a great weekend! ~Heather

Just a Reminder...Craft Fair This Weekend

This weekend, March 28th & 29th from 9am to 4pm I, loaded up with all my bling, will be at Leesport Farmer's Market Easter Craft Fair in Leesport, PA. To celebrate spring as well as the anniversary of my 2nd official year in business, I will be offering a sale on all regularly priced items: buy 2, get the 3rd at 1/2 off. Please visit me in the meeting room (the smaller building) across from the restaurant. I hope to see you there!

Just wanted to share....

I am very happy to be one of the artists included on www.phillyartgalleries.com.



Have a great day!

March Madness Champs!!

This weekend was spent, for once, entirely away from my office/studio/former formal dining room. Caitlyn had a soccer tournament in Maryland with her new BSA Rage U13 premier soccer team. We made a family mini-vacation out of it. The hotel stay was a bit challenging for Aeryn, the 2 year old, a.k.a 004, as she doesn't like to be cooped up. Even though we spent a few hours in Baltimore following Cait's game, by 8:30pm Sat. night Aeryn had enough of the hotel room and was literally hanging off the door handle, pleading with me to go "out". So with that, Zoe and Aeryn, donning jammies and freshly washed hair, ran up and down the hallway outside our room. Fortunately there was another soccer team of U14 girls who were making way more noise playing leap frog at the other end of the hall so the lighting fast pitter-patter of my little ones wasn't so bad. You'd think they would have worn themselves out but apparently they share the same genetic code as the energizer bunny and had no intentions of slowing down.

Although we didn't spend as much time as I would have liked sight seeing, we did walk around Baltimore's Inner Harbour where my sheltered children got to see homeless people for the first time. Maybe they'll appreciate their blessings a little more now? They also saw a street performer for the first time and a group of young adults happily giving away free hugs. We stopped at Phillip's for dinner. I was determined to eat crab cakes before returning to PA. YUMMMMM!!! Aeryn, on the other hand, preferred butter and tarter sauce over her hot dog and fries. She does love her condiments.

Cait's team won their division!! There were 4 games, 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. She had a shut out in 3 of the games, and only allowed 2 balls in net in 1 game. Oh, by the way, she's a goal keeper. At 13 years old, the child already towers over me at 5'8ish".

Although we missed miss Zoe's soccer game this afternoon, Zach was able to make 1 of his soccer games after we arrived home and he scored a goal! Of course I missed it :-( Maybe next time I'll get to see him score again.

Looking at the week ahead, more angel pins, 2 lunch dates, 1 doctor visit, a volleyball game, ballet, gymnastics, after school practices for 001 & 002, a few custom orders and the Leesport Market Easter Craft Show Sat. & Sun. from 9am-4pm. Come visit me in the meeting room. I have lots of new pieces for Spring and I'll be having a SALE!!! Buy 2 regularly priced pieces, get the 3rd regularly priced piece (of equal or lesser value) 1/2 off!! I hope to see you there!

Have a great night! ~Heather

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

There's been so much going on this past week. The angel pins continue to be quite popular. I've been receiving batch orders on a weekly basis and am happy to say that $410 have been raised thus far for the Leukemia fundraiser. We're so close to my $500 goal--just 9 more pins!

Here's some new pieces that I mentioned in a previous post. The bracelet below is made with coconut shell, sterling silver and chinese turquoise. The colorful bracelet under that is made with capiz shells and sterling silver chain. Did I mention I'm looking forward to warmer weather??

Last week was busy with hubby and my daughter suffering from a stomach bug and let me just say, it wasn't pretty. Fortunately I dodged that bullet. Last week we also had the usual run of taxiing kids to and from volleyball, soccer, ballet and gymnastics as well as a doctor's appointment. In between all of that I was preparing for an in home jewelry party on Saturday, in Newtown, PA. Being so close to my high school brought back lots of memories. I had a great time with old friends and also had the opportunity to meet up with family for dinner before heading back to Berks County. The week concluded with more soccer--4 games for 3 kids. Unfortunately I only made 1 of them as I was at home dealing with a cranky toddler. Looks like there may be another goal keeper in the family.

It's now Tuesday, St. Patty's Day, and I've finished off all the Irish Potatoes--YUMMMM. I totally forgot to dress my child in green for school this morning and I hope she's not too upset over that one but she did have on teal which is pretty close right? Anywho...looking at the rest of this week, there is another doctor's appointment, more soccer, volleyball and gymnastics, 2 birthdays on Friday (Happy Birthday Mom & Stacey!!), angel pins to finish and deliver, invitations to print and mail for an April jewelry party, a bracelet to adjust and mail, more paperwork to enter from last weekend's show, and Bridal jewelry to price and order supplies for. I also have 3 swirly ring orders and a hand forged link bracelet order to fill and earrings to make for my next show.

Speaking of bridal jewelry, I can't wait to show you the design I came up with. The bride has an idea of the look and colors to be used for her bridesmaid's jewelry but she pretty much gave me artistic freedom with this project. I came up with a design in sterling silver, staying true (I hope) to the Bride's wishes while injecting my own artistic impression on the pieces. I will be using crystals in vibrant colors and bending and curling sterling wire. Once I get the Bride's approval I'll share photos with you.

I will also be working on more Bridal jewelry at the end of the month. This project is for the Bride herself. After gathering information from the Bride, I already have an idea of the design I will be proposing and can't wait to meet with her to discuss the particulars.

The end of this month holds another show for HJD. I will be at the Leesport Farmer's Market for their annual Easter Craft Show Saturday and Sunday, March 28th & 29th, from 9am to 4pm. I will be set up inside the meeting room. I hope to see you there!

Aeryn is asleep on the couch so I am going to use this opportunity to work on angel pins. Have a great St. Patty's Day! ~Heather

What a beautiful Day!!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, there's a warm breeze and I couldn't be happier playing outside with my girls. I'm sure however, that mother nature is teasing me with this beautiful day. So for now, I'm soaking it all up in anticipation of 38 degree weather on Monday.

It's funny how much my perspective on my home changes when Spring rolls around. During the winter months I focus on the indoors because basically I hibernate all winter. I could take it or leave it though with regard to my house. It's a nice house but the kids are hard on it and I have days when I'd just like to pack it all in and head south to a milder climate. But then the temperature rises and things outside turn green again and all the flowers bloom and then I'm hooked. By the way, these pictures were taken last year.

We moved here in 2001 and have done a lot of landscaping on our own. Okay, mostly hubby but I had lots of creative input: "that should go there, move this here..." etc. Hubby and I have designed flower beds throughout the 1 1/2ish acres and put in a pond with trickling stream running into it from the hillside above. So when I stand on the crest of the hill in our back yard, on the soccer field, I can't help but appreciate all the hard work and creativity that went into our beautiful surroundings. Even though everything is still different shades of brown, I've noticed buds appearing on some of the trees and I can't wait to see all the beautiful colors that will sprout around me in the next couple of months. I find it inspiring.

As I said in my previous post, I have been dreaming (literally) of warmer weather and beautiful jewelry to go with it. With warmer weather comes shorter sleeves and more skin surface area to show off bling! So after receiveing a very tempting coupon I found myself on-line, shopping with my favorite jewelry supply website , clicking on coconut shell links, capiz shell drops, and assorted wood beads, amongst other things. When I see individual components I have visions of bracelets, earrings and matching necklaces and I can't wait to create. You'll have to check out my website at www.hillcrestjewelrydesign.com to see the finished creations. I'm picturing lots of shells.

I've also been obsessing over Swarovski crystals and combining them in different ways with lampwork beads, semi-precious gemstones and hand forged sterling silver. Pictures will be coming soon. I'm currently oxidizing silver pieces to give added depth and character to the piece. The process takes several hours as I've made a conscious effort to use a non-toxic eco-friendly oxidation method.

More hand forged sterling silver pieces were created in the studio last week. My sterling silver swirly ring has been very popular since I introduced it last month. I've received many requests for this ring and although I pride myself in making one of a kind pieces, I feel that I should give the people what they want! I will be offering seasonal "staple HJD items". These pieces will still be hand made, hand forged pieces but several of the same piece will be available and complementary to other pieces in the staple line. This line will consist primarily of hand forged sterling silver.

Last week I received another batch order for the silver angel pins. If you recall from my last post I was asked to design an angel pin as a fundraiser to help support a local family dealing with Leukemia. So far $180 have been raised. That's a good start but I'd like to get that number closer to $500 so feel free to e-mail me at hillcrestjewelrydesign@comcast.net with your order!

Well, I should get back to playing with the girls and enjoying the warm, sunny weather. Enjoy your day! ~Heather