Give Away- Our First Ever!

Check out the newest cover of People Magazine!!

Sandra's new baby Louis is wearing some fun trade beads just like we have been selling for ever.

Mali Wedding beads are of the African Trade Bead variety. Made in Czechoslovakia in the early 1900s and traded to Africa for exotic treasures, these beauties are old and well worn (check out the white one if you don't believe me). Young men would bring one bead to a girl when he would come a courtin' and she would save them. When she married, she would string these into a lovely necklace!!

Isn't that the sweetest thing? I think they would make the best bridesmaid gift. And go ahead and feel good about them because they truly are recycled!!

SO we are doing our first giveaway ever! Leave a comments and one oh so lucky winner chosen at random- Friday, May 7 at noon- will get this a Mali Wedding Bead Bracelet.

Good Luck Fancy Stakers!

Jewelry Storage- Industrial Strength

If you have a fabulous modern vibe you are in luck! Check this great do it yourselfer out at Apartment Therapy. So Awesome!!!

Heather who designed this great organizer uses a dress makers form. We found a pretty blue one at Overstock.com for $113 including shipping- fab deal.

No excuses for great jewelry storage and great design!

Jewelry Storage- In your Hands

Cute Caitlin at CC Interiors found this great jewelry display.  I love all of the fun hands in the back.  A great clear bowl is so perfect for bracelets.

She is in love with the faux bamboo dresser.   Truly with all of that fabulous jewelry I didn't even know how she saw the dresser!  That's why she is paid the big bucks.

To get this look yourself start with the hands at fisheseddy.com and then perhaps a salad bowl from Crate and Barrel buy some of the small ones too and then you can sort them out into pretty color schemes or you can just highlight those bracelets you love the most.  

Oh yah,  I totally play favorites!

Displaying Your Jewelry- Grab A Hammer!

My number 1 rule:

If you cant see your jewelry you wont wear your jewelry.

Grab a hammer girls and lets find a little corner of the world to display your jewels.

Look at this very cool way to display your jewels and decorate your walls-  Nothing fancy just a hammer some nails or even a few really cool push pins and you have these next couple looks in the bag.

Or you can find an old hard branch and screw it into a small space on your wall for this really different effect

Too messy for you?  Well okay OCD try this option...

Does that help you feel a little more in control?

Or you can wrap fabric or paper around a piece of cork board and use push pins to hang everything.  If you are like me you are going to have to go with the extra large sized board.  Pick one and go for it!

Kate Hudson's Jewelry- She Stacks It Well!

So I don't want to dwell on any permanent changes that Kate Hudson may or may not have made,  but I will say it is a blow to the Natural Is Best Club.

HOWEVER,  I would like to focus on Kate's mad stacking skills.  Both arms.  No restraint.  No pattern.  No theme.   And while I am at it, a hearty well done to her friend Kristen Stewart, who pulls off a lovely mix of small sized colorful bracelets.

Try this at home:  

Take a stack of your favorite little bracelets and bangles and put on 5 or so.  Be brave!  Let me know how it goes.

InStyle loves Stacks

I love it!  I love it! I love it!

Mexican Jewelry

Okay, So I thought I could blog from vacation but it turns out that vacationing is much more work than work, SO, nothing for nearly 3 weeks! However, I am back at it and have lots to say and so much to share.

First off, I want to talk about memories versus reality.  I had such fond memories of my jewelry shopping in Mexico in the late 1980's that I blogged about it.  I had great expectations of digging my hands deep in to boxes of charms and earrings and pulling out little gems,  I was actually worried about my budget.  Shouldn't have worried,  what my 17 year old self thought was amazing, my 40 year old self thought was JUNK.  Funny how tastes change.

That did not stop me from searching and searching however- some of our friends could have possibly found it a little buggy.

In a little folk art shop in Playa Del Carmen I struck Mexican silver!!   Hand cast in sterling by an 80+ year old woman.  I am telling you- they screamed through the glass, "Allison we are here, we are here, we are here!"  Yes just like in Horton Hears a Who, and  I was the only one who could hear.  I am wearing them right now.

Another lucky find was this necklace of antique (probably german) buttons, and plastic beads.  I love the Mexican folk heart symbol, I have many of these around my house, but this tin heart on the necklace was just too good to leave behind.  Each of the girls snapped up one until they were all gone.  It goes perfectly with a tan.

This little lovely was only $11 so I wasnt even bothered that  it was strung on actual sewing thread.  I know a gal who can fix it!