Moonlight Shimmer Beaded Jewelry

Julie is a self proclaimed "bead addict". As a self taught artist, Julie shares how she came about designing and creating such stunning jewelry..."I fell in love with handmade jewelry in 2010 while on a vacation trip. I visited a bead store and bought a pair of wire wrapped beaded earrings. A few months later I bought a beginner's jewelry making kit and started teaching myself via instructional websites and YouTube videos. After some trial and error, I improved my techniques, figured out my personal style of jewelry, and started crafting up a storm."

Moonlight Shimmer specializes in earrings and necklaces. Featured items include wire crochet necklaces, beaded necklaces, sparkly earrings, and charm earrings. Be sure to visit her etsy shop, just click on the link below!


Moonlight Shimmer
Artist  Julie Wylie

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightShimmer

I started making jewelry about two years ago. I'm mostly self taught, but I now take an occasional class when I can learn a new technique. My products are all centered around beads.

 I picked Moonlight Shimmer for my Etsy shop name because at the time I was mostly making really sparkly jewelry. Over time I've branched out more and found that some of my best selling items now are chunky stone necklaces and beaded wire crochet bracelets.

My workspace is mobile, and I end up beading wherever feels right that night. My photo is of me at the dining room table.

Sometimes I bead in front of my computer, or the TV, or at craft night at my local bead supply store. I store all of my supplies in tackle boxes. That makes them easy to pick up and move to a different room. I've also found that tackle boxes are usually cheaper than specialized crafting containers.

Follow Julie and her designs at her twitter account: twitter.com/Julie_Wylie

Personal Designz

Visit our feature artist and jewelry designer Marge Mills at Personal Designz. Marge creates stunning one of a kind specially designed pieces and creates exclusive items just for you... !

Jewelry Designer ~ Marge Mills   

Personal Designz        
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PersonalDesignz

I started jewelry design about 7 years ago. Although I do all forms of Jewelry Design, my main focus is on Wire Wrapping. I love the technique and have even come up with my own style of "Free Form Wire Wrapping" . This gives me the opportunity to show off more of the gemstone that I am working with than the traditional form of wire wrapping as you do not have to cover as much of the stone to hold it in place.This lets the true beauty of the gemstone come out in the piece.

 I have also tried beading, polymer clay, silver metal clay and seed beadwork. But I always come back to my wire wrapping. Sometimes I will just see a gemstone that calls out to me to make a setting for it. But a lot of the time it is a client who is responsible for my return to bending wires.I love to design settings for gemstones and actually spend a lot of my time designing pieces with stones my clients have that they love but are just not happy with in their present setting. I take out the stones and redesign a new piece for them that they will enjoy with stones that have sentimental meaning to them...This brings me as much joy as it does them to see that stone in the new design.

All of my designs are one of a kind...I like that I can offer that to my clients.



That is what sets us apart from the jewelry found in department stores... handcrafted jewelry should have an individuality about it that the client can not find in just any store. I love being able to give that option to them.

My inspiration in the arts comes from my Mother... she was a gifted artist... and a career seamstress. I never grew to love sewing although I was taught from an early age and can do what I need to when the need arises to sew, but the love for art became evident when I started to paint.I owe that to a client of mine.. I am a retired colorist/stylist. I had a very dear client who was a gifted oil painter. I always envied her ability and one day as we were discussing her latest art piece, I told her how much I envied her being able to put the ideas in her head down on canvas. She quickly told me that she would mentor me in my attempt to paint and that if she felt that I did not have the potential, as a former teacher she would tell me and I would know if I had any ability or not. That was 12 years ago and I still love to paint. The love for the arts spilled over into jewelry design some 5 years later and I have never turned back since. I love what I do and if it gives others pleasure, then it is that much better.

 I urge every person who has that inner desire to create to go for it, do whatever it is that you have that desire to do. You will get such enjoyment out of creating and what you create may
just bring joy to another.We all have abilities that we are not aware of and sometimes it just takes another person to bring out the best in us...

I am fortunate enough to have a 2 story house with a loft upstairs which is my little corner of the world. My office is there as well as my art studio. My first love is oil painting  and I still try to devote time to it whenever I get the chance. The room is large enough that I have a corner dedicated to jewelry design. I love to go to my private space for some real quiet and relaxation time.

One of my favorite quotes:
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
                                                           ~  George Bernard Shaw