Fall Photo Montage'

As women,

everything in our lives

are like these spokes.

We are the center of our families,

with many spokes radiating outwards,

to meet the needs of all.

Women are passionate people...

about our famiies,

our friends,

our homes,

and our passions.

Inspiration...

comes from within us,

as well as around us,

in what we see and feel,

and in all that we do.

Creativity comes from inspiration,

through things we dream about,

things we see,

beauty in nature,

through our art,

and from

dozens of other places,

daily

happening in our lives.

 Beauty surrounds us,

but

do we see it?

It is..

in the Fall colors,

in our families,

in the art we create,

in our our homes,

and

even us as women

are a thing of beauty.

Direction for me...

comes from within,

from listening to the Lord,

through our families,

 friends,

and event hrough our

inspiration

and

discoveries.

Moving forward...

is something that is good,

it is often hard,

is usually rewarding,

and is called growth.

I have chosen to move forward,

and am loving it,

once I got past the fear,

made some tough decisions,

and

now I'm so glad I chose

to move forward.

I am often working towards peace,

often still over extending myself,

but trying to learn

 to say

"no thank you".

I am a work in progress,

and God is definitely

 not finished

with me yet.

Side note:

All photos in this blog post were taken last week by me, when I went to see my Dad and family in north central Minnesota.  Through a friend I met online from another blog, I recently have started taking the time to take notice of the smaller things in life and thus I thought to take my camera on a gorgeous MN fall sun filled day and capture a few shots of my 200 mile trip up and back.

The church photo is especially important, as it represents so much...it was where Jon and I were married almost 17 years ago.  If you look real close, you'll see the town water tower in the background and it says UPSALA, which is where I was born and raised, and the front tree is a maple, which was ablaze in beauty on this day and represents my new goal to start paying attention to the beauty surrounding me on a daily basis.

Two weeks ago, I would of never thought to stop and take the photos of the windmill, country street sign with gorgeous red vine growing up it, or any of these other photos.  So exciting and fun to be growing and making these changes.

 

Paris Necklace - available at upcoming AA/JMS event Oct. 13-17

I am currently creating jewelry for

an upcoming large show in the Minneapolis area.

The AA/JMS event was so much fun last Spring,

and a very successful show for me personally.

I am working on adding to my stash,

so that I have great things to offer the customers

attending the upcoming event.

To learn more about this fabulous show,

take a peak at the web site here.

PARIS focal is a tourist keepsake that I've paired with a variety of charms to create this asymetrical necklace.  Definitely a one-of-a-kind design.

 Vintage watchface accent wire wrapped onto chain.

Silverplate "Dream" charm and vintage Religious charm add beauty to the overall design of this piece.

Vintage watchface charm along with a modern 57 charm token.



Guest Post - Dreaming Big and Open Doors

Good evening my blogging friends...

I've something to share with you all.

Exciting things have been happening

and I'm bursting at the seams.

As is often said,

when one door closes,

or in my case when we

 choose to close a door...

another one opens.

I am so thrilled...
to share this with you today.

Today, I am a guest writer
on an Inspiration Blog.
Thank you Kim,
for this wonderful opportunity
to be a part of such a great
community.

Please pop on over to:
http://www.theinspiration-studio.com/
to read my first post,
which went up this afternoon.

Turns out I will be sharing
bi-monthly on this site.

I love how Kim, a talented gal,
so freely shares her
extensive knowlege of
photoshop
 and
the many other things
shared through this wonderful
blog.

These ladies are truly talented,
and my hope is that I can
somehow inspire others,
as these ladies have been
inspiring me.

I will have the opportunity
to share my hopes, dreams,
and inner workings
as a jewelry
designer.

What a gift!

Living Life - Loving Life

What a Gift

to a be

an

Artist!

To work at your own pace,

on a daily basis.

Flitting from project to project,

trying different

techniques.

No one to tell you what to do,

how to do,

or when to do it.

Just you

and your creativity

unleashed.

This is my life,

and I'm loving it.

Current Jewlery Designs for Sale

Below are a few pieces of jewelry that are currently available for purchase off of my blog.  If interested, contact me at gretchen.schaumann@comcast.net.  There is a $3.00 per item shipping/hangling/postage charge per item, and multiple purchases are usually lowered to actual costs of processing.  Enjoy!

#8 Necklace

SOLD

This necklace is filled with wonderful details from start to finish.  The found vintage copper #8 has gorgeous patina, and has been combined with an eclectic array of fabulous vintage treasures.

Here the entire necklace is shown in all of its glory.  Proportionally, the #8 isn't as huge as it looks in these photos.

 A variety of types and colors of vintage faux glass pearls, vintage glass beads, a shell carved heart charm, a mustard seed charm, vintage rhinestone rondelles, vintage porcelain underwear button and hand wire wrapped wire completes this section of details on the necklace.

Details of above charms.

 A gorgeous vintage crucifix hangs from the ones side of this necklace.  Love the patina on this piece.  To me, it represents the ultimate sacrafice made for each one of us.

A gorgeous vintage cameo element added to the side of this necklace offsets the cross on the other side.  It is two sided, so that if it turns while wearing the back side has a vintage mother of pearl button and tiny gold key that is on the alternate side.

 Vintage closure is paired with a mother of pearl round piece.  All items are hand wire wrapped on this piece to be of heirloom quality.

 One of a kind piece will never be seen on another person, other than you the purchaser.

Green/Gold Two Strand Necklace

$59.00

Available

A lovely two stranded gold necklace with a gorgeous vintage set rhinestone brooch as its focal.  Gorgeous vintage gold filigree beads add interest to this piece.  Dress up or down.

Gold/Black Wire-Wrapped Necklace

$119.00

Available

A gorgeous vintage rhinestone set buckle is the focal of this piece, along with a pavee' set vintage shoe clip.

Gorgeous all vintage elements used.  A gorgeous vintage glass prism with image, mother of pearl buttons, and unique vintage glass beads, are each wire-wrapped by hand to create this heirloom quality piece.

One of the unique details is this lovely vintage Bakelite bird button that has been wire wrapped up one side of this piece.

Just a necklace absolutely filled with treasures.  A conversation starter for sure.

Blue/Gold Two Strand Necklace

$59.00

SOLD

Another gorgeous gold two strand necklace here this time with a hand wire-wrapped blue/clear set in rhinestone vintage brooch onto a vintage filigree piece. 

 I so love working with gorgeous elements such as these vintage rhinestone pieces, as they have such incredible detailing to them.

Lovely indeed.

Two Sided Watch with Pearls Necklace

$54.00

SOLD

A gorgeous vintage white enamel watch face with flying sparrow.

Front

Finished off back side has vintage rhinestone button to give it a completed look in case in turns over.

The length is long, but could be altered to whatever length you'd like.

Ivory Pearls/Sage Focal

$36

SOLD

This is really a beautiful piece, and could easily be layered with other necklaces.  It is a long strand of knotted faux glass vintage pearls that has been paired with vintage focal elements.  Quite neutral.

Long strand.  Inquire on length if interested.



Rhinestone Attention Grabbing Necklace

$69.00

Available

Lots of gold on this piece.  Layers of chain in different sizes with the addition of an asymetrical side of four gorgeous vintage prong set rhinestone brooches.

 This photo is of a display at the Junk Bonanza event I was just vendoring at, and shows thre of the necklaces listed her, worn together.

A shot showcasing these four fabulous brooches.  They are quite lovely and seem to accent one another.

 Gorgeous black diamond crystal colored brooch.

 Gorgeous light sapphire leaf brooch.

 Clear stoned brooch than followed by a light aqua brooch.

Hand Carved Button Bling Necklace

$42.00
SOLD

 I've not seen another of this type of button before, and love how it has a graduated change in coloring.  So natural looking and it is a vintag Mother of Pearl hand carved shell button.  It has been layered with another Mother of Pearl button as well as a gorgeous vintage rhinestone button to create this fabulous one of a kind focal.

Close-up of focal, as well as a shot of the gorgeous vintage silvertoned chunky chain I've paired with it.



Gold Cameo Necklace

$42.00

Available

 Cool elements are paired with this cameo.  A vintage AB crystal jewelry piece and a petite gold cross with pearls and red stones, as well as the hand wire wrapping to the gold and faux pearls in its chain, lend a classy touch.

 Close-up of focal.

Cameo Button Choker necklace

$44.00
Available

 Vintage gold necklace base with mother of pearl buttons and vintage cameo style buttons provides a feminine and classy look.

Close-up detailing of these vintage elements.