♥ JUST LISTED ♥ "Cecil" turtle charmed I'm sure bracelet

The symbol of the turtle reminds us to appreciate life’s simple, true necessities: shelter, food, drink, and most importantly, faith.

A sumptuous bracelet combining natural stone like green labradorite and pearls with recycled beach glass beads, Swarovski® crystal, and Czech glass. The main attraction is this lovely (honu) turtle created by Elwood Glass. He was placed in the center of the bracelet to be a show stopper and attention getter, and he plays his part well!

Length: 6-9½” charm bracelet

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page1907.htm

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ "Kiss at Midnight" charmed I'm sure bracelet

We kiss those dearest to us at midnight not only to share a moment of celebration with our favorite people, but also to ensure those affections and ties will continue throughout the next twelve months. To fail to smooch our significant others at the stroke of twelve would be to set the stage for a year of coldness.

This beautiful Dichroic glass heart was created by Earthworks Studios. It is a wonderful shade of deep midnight blue with flecks of gold that look like gold dust sprinkled within it's depths. Beaded charms in blue tiger's eye, pearls, Jablonex Czech beads, Swarovski crystal, and puffy gold hearts were all added to give texture, richness and sparkle to an already enchanting bracelet!

7-9” charm bracelet

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page1998.htm

First Place!!!

Wow! It isn't even spring yet and things are already crazy! I've been trying to post jewelry in my stores, but mostly I've been busy with choreography and costumes for the June recital.

However that isn't what I wanted to share with you. One of the classes I'm teaching, my jazz three, is competing their dance number from last springs recital. This past weekend they went to their first competition, and for most of them it was their very first competition, even for me! I was so proud of them! They received silver and the placed 1st in their category at the Celebrity Competition! They have somethings to work on but all in all it was a great experience for them and me!

The picture is of them performing their dance with the song from the "LOST BOYS" sound track, "People are Strange"

The bustles were created by Tiara Tutus, you can visit her at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tiarastutus

As some of you may or may not know I'm also a Dance instructor, besides being a jewelry designer. So for the next few weeks I will be sharing with you my thoughts and ideas for each of the classes that I teach. That means, hopefully you will get an idea of the music they will dance to, the general age of these little dancers, the style of dance, the costumes and the people who created them. Last year I went with home based businesses to create all of my costumes. Mothers and Grandmothers who make tutus with their own loving hands, and what a success that was! My costumes were voted the best costumes at our 2009 spring recital, and I hope for the same success for my little dancers this year, and I hope you all enjoy seeing a backstage peek of a recital before it ever makes it to the stage!

Sick...and Philosophical

I've been fighting a sinus and chest infection for about a month now...and I've decided I've been miserable long enough, so I've finally made an appointment to go see a doctor tomorrow. The one thing I miss most about being a child was having Mom to take care of me....now I'm Mom, and while I whine and complain, for the most part, I get it done, rather I'm sick or not.

And then at night when all is quiet and it is just me and my thoughts in the dark, I think....I think about two incredible women I would have never met if not for the web, etsy, and blogging. I have never truly met them however I call them friends and look forward to their posts and all of their new products. However lately it has been quiet for them both, one has gone through several back surgeries and just when things were looking up she suffers an emergency appendectomy. My other friend is fighting cancer. I miss them both and while I'm whimpering about my sinuses and shortness of breath I pray for both of them to get better. I didn't mean for this to be a sad post, just a reminder of all the beautiful women that maybe your best friend, neighbor, or loved one, who may be sick, or sad, or just need a caring word and hug :)

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ Heart of Olea necklace

Olive oil was used for anointing and for lamps, and therefore all the good of love and of charity; for the oil is the very essence of the tree, and is as it were its soul, just as the celestial, or the good of love and of charity, is the very essence or the very soul of faith; and hence oil has this representation.

This olive colored, sparkling, iridescent heart pendant created by Earthworks Studio, is the center piece of the necklace pictured here. It is suspended by two strands of vintage faceted seed beads, hooked to two boro beads created by Quinlan Glass, and highlighted with Swarovski crystal. All are brought together with a silver chain and a simple heart toggle clasp for a truly unique necklace.

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page344.htm

Spring?

Here in the Pacific Northwest we are usually smack dab in the middle of 9 months of rain! (A little known fact: the Pacific Northwest has the only rain forest in the United states.) With all of that being said, when we have some sunshine we all hurry and buy new sunglasses (because we've lost the ones from summer) and we get out in the yard to enjoy a little Vitamin D. When a sunny day happens to fall on a weekend and is close to 60 degrees in February, well, we then feel truly blessed. However it is the Northwest, so the legs in shorts are probably more blinding than the sun itself!

Off to enjoy another day of beauty :)

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ Hope's Kiss necklace

Pink is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink. A pink carnation means "I will never forget you". Pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance.This striking necklace showcases a heart pendant created by Earthworks Studios. It is a lovely pink with a iridescent blue sparkle deep within it's center. This opulent heart hangs from three strands of seed beads, some of the seed beads are a pearly pink the others are vintage faceted seed beads. All three strand are connected at each end to a luscious pink nugget pearl nestled between two sparkly Swarovski® crystals and then connected to an antiqued golden chain and simple toggle clasp.

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page4506.htm

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ Amber Waterlily charm bracelet

A charm bracelet blending the rich colors of the Southwest and the glass artistry of the Northwest.

The boro heart was created by Earthworks Studios. The colors swirling within it's depths reminded me of the Grand Canyon, of water and desert, of sea and sand. To continue with this idea, turquoise hearts were added along with lots of specialty cut Swarovski crystal in a sea opal and iridescent copper color. A few bronze nugget pearls and some silver hearts were also added to give depth and texture to this one of a kind bracelet to grace the arm of any western girl at heart.http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page1773.htm

Drum Roll...For winners of "One World One Heart" giveaway

I'm sad to see this end. I couldn't get to all the blogs I had originally wanted too, and enjoyed meeting everyone I did get a chance to visit. However all good things must come to an end and I'm so excited to announce the winners! Over 300 comments were left so lucky me I get to give away 4 bracelets! Thank you all for visiting and don't be shy come back to see me anytime I have enjoyed the company, and the many things you all have taught me!







First winner is #117 Sussie from Sweden

Second winner is #71 barb cabot from United States

Third winner is #39 Bleubeard and Elizabeth from United States

Fourth winner is #250 Connie from United States

Congratulations to all of you! Thank you, ~Xanna

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ "Cognac" turtle necklace

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page1806.htm

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ "Heart of the City" necklace

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page437.htm

To follow or not to follow......

One thing I have learned....Is just because someone else has a jewelry business, doesn't mean they won't become a fan and a customer of your jewelry, or any other item you create for that matter!

I often thought "I better not fan people, they may think I'm some jewelry spy coming to take their jewelry secrets!" Boy was I a little out there in my thoughts. As it... so happens I ended up buying beaded rings for Christmas gifts and I've had a couple of sales myself from other jewelry artists. Moral of the story you never know who your next customer may be ♥

Below is the link to the ring artist and the style of rings I bought as my gifts:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30181378

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ Poseidon’s Gift charm bracelet

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page2055.htm

♥ JUST LISTED ♥ Heart of Innocence necklace

http://www.xannasjewelrybox.com/index_files/Page1934.htm

2 more prizes for the "One World One Heart" blog promo

Can I just say WOW! I didn't expect to have the responses I have recieved when I decided to participate in the "One World One Heart" blog promo. I also didn't plan to catch a cold, which has really put a damper on the whole traveling the "Magic Carpet". Hopefully I can get back on and ride blog land in a couple of days. In the mean time I've added two more bracelets to my drawing, and if I recieve over 300 comments before February 14th I'll add another! Have fun all! ~Xanna

PS: If you don't know about the contest check out my link http://xannasjewelrybox.blogspot.com/2010/01/xannas-jewelry-box-is-participating-in.html

One World One Heart Blog Promotion

First you all have until February 8 to add your blog. Just follow the link to find out the details: http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart.html

Second I'm having a blast! I thought I'd just quickly scan a few blogs maybe enter in a few of the drawings however I was wrong! People are amazing, the blogs are soooo interesting, and the give aways are incredible!

This all started on January 25th, it is now January 27th. I started on the 1st blog and I'm now in the 70 something blog! My plan is to read each and everyone of them! Soooo if you've looked at mine I will get to yours I'm just stopping to smell the roses in each blog I visit!

Just to put things in perspective I'm only at the 70 something blog, my blog is #426 and so far there is 721 blogs, with more being added until February 8th! I've seen and learned alot, and I've seen some things I want to add to my blog to make it more appealing! I'm still at a loss of what to share on my blog, and/or what people find interesting. However this is helping to visit others and see what they share. I think the first hurdle I had to overcome was to visit blogs and not feel like a voyeur :)

One World One Heart Blog Promotion and Give Away

Xanna's Jewelry Box is participating in a phenomenal blog event called "One World, One Heart". This is a wonderful opportunity to meet others just like yourself, make new friends, and get a glimpse of the world around us and see what others are doing. Thousand of blogs are participating in this event, and I'm so excited to be a part of it all, and I encourage you to click on the link below and find out more about all the other bloggers participating.


http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart.html

Who am I? My name is Xanna. I'm fairly new to blogging as my blog will attest to every once in awhile :) I created Xanna's Jewelry Box as an outlet for some of my creative ideas and I'm a dancer instructor. I teach mostly ballet and jazz to 3-12 year olds, where creativity is worn like a fancy dress and honesty is like a summer breeze, sweet and refreshing.

OK enough about me for the moment, now it's time to get to know all of you and have a little fun doing it, so on to the bracelet you could win by just leaving a comment!

"Spring Overture" bracelet
Length: 7 1/4-9"

Spring: the transition period between winter and summer.
Overture: an instrumental prelude to an opera, oratorio or ballet.
To me it is the beginning to something beautiful for more the one sense! This bracelet has the warm colors of a spring sunrise, with these beautiful boro beads and spacers by BC Lampworks. The three strands of dancing pearls between each set of boro beads, are the reminder that winter is not quite ready to go quietly, and the sparkle of the 2XAB Swarovski helps to unit the two striking colors! All of this will sit strikingly on your wrist!

This could be yours...Simply leave a comment on this post. Make sure you leave some way for me to contact you should you win... a link back to your blog or website or your email. That's it!

Have fun and check out The Whimsical Bohemian for a list of all the blogs playing this year! You will have until 12:00 am Pacific Standard time February 15th to leave your comments, Winner will be announced later in the afternoon on February 15th.

~Xanna :)

UP DATE (1/27/10)!!!!! For each 100 comments I receive for the drawing I will add another item to the drawing. This is my first year an I didn't realize how phenomenal it really was! Now your odds are better :) ~Xanna

Drum Roll.....Here are the two new prizes! If I get over 300 entries I'll then add another, have fun!!

"It's a Wonderful Life"

To cool not to share!!!! I went to an antique show today and was doing the usual perusing of the booths when I came across a booth that had a lot of memorabilia from the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" (one of my favorites, hence the reason I had to stop). I was looking at a picture of George, Mary, and ZuZu Bailey and... this lady said "That's me!" I gave her the look my daughter's give me when they think I'm crazy, I lovingly call it the "are you stupid look". Undaunted she says "In the picture that's me, ZuZu!" After a lot of "Are you serious" and "No Way" I ended up purchasing a cookbook and of course she had to sign it!

Why I have New Post overload today :)

I'm sorry for the overload of newly posted items. I decided that I was going to get a photo tent and lights, so I could fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions (take better photos of my jewelry). Because that is the biggest comment I receive, how much better my jewelry is in "real life" verses on the web. Which I suppose is a positive comment, however it makes me wonder how many sales I have lost because my pictures could be better!

Anyway I received my tent last week and was sooooo excited to start taking pictures, because I live in the North West of the United States and it has been raining non stop, and it has been impossible to go out and take pics of the new items I have created! As I start opening up my box of goodies, I notice the tent is HUGE, like able to fit a small child huge! Ok.... well I can work with that. Then I pull out my background piece, ummm it's blue/gray, nope can't work with that I wanted blk/wht! So now this is going from bad to worse, and I'm beginning to think maybe I should have gone with the DIY model on the web! Now I move on to the lights; bulbs (check), tripods (check), lights fixtures (check), swivel piece to hook light fixtures to tripod......Nope! Well this has been a complete and utter waist of time and money and then I read their return policy...and it just keeps getting better and better! I'm thinking maybe I'll call them direct.

Luckily we have since had a sunny day, so I ran outside took pics like a mad woman and posted them just as quickly. I hope you enjoy the posts and my little bit of ranting ~Xanna :)