californiablue

Enjoy the serene tranquility of Melissa's gorgeous jewelry. She creates fresh , casual designs which could be worn everyday, and some for special occasions. Enjoy a visit to her Etsy shop
http://californiablue.etsy.com/ .

My name is Melissa, and I live in beautiful Northern California with my husband and 2 kitties, Pinky & Newbie. I only started making jewelry this year, as a result of a huge urge to make something, and because I had more time on my hands having been recently laid off. My new obsession also led to a clean up project in our small unfinished basement which now serves as my studio for making jewelry. My urge to make something was followed by a desire to make jewelry that I would wear and was affordable. I wanted to create fresh, casual designs which could be worn everyday, and some for special occasions. My creative process involves a lot of trial and error, but ultimately it is the shape and color of the beads I work with that determine the final design. I am most attracted to a softer palette of colors, and never can get enough of blues and greens. I definitely feel inspired by my beautiful surroundings. We are fortunate to live in an area of the country where the weather is typically beautiful, and as a result you can spend a lot of time outside. The flowers, plants and trees that grow in our climate are just amazing. I find myself observing my surroundings more closely since I started to make jewelry. I also maintain a blog which chronicles many of the things that inspire me (http://californiablue.tumblr.com/).


The handmade community has been such a supportive one, and it has been a great pleasure to be part of this dynamic group. I look forward to many more years of creating, sharing and supporting one another!My suggestion for anyone interested in making something is to go for it! The Etsy community is an amazing resource which will make things much easier, and it's a lot of fun!
My info:shop: http://californiabluejewelry.com/, http://californiablue.etsy.com/

Blog: http://californiablue.tumblr.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/californiablue
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cabluejewelry

Time Sure Flies!

Well...what a week. I am soooo zonked! I think that everything has just kind of caught up with me this week. I started a new job, which I love! It is very time consuming and I find that I am doing a lot of extra work and professional reading at home to stay afloat...just while I'm starting out. I've been trying to keep up with my Etsy shop but that takes time as well. I love being on Etsy. I also have two little ones that now have homework and are involved in activities in the evening so needless to say there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging.

I will try my best to keep up with Etsy Studios. I'm waiting for some other studios to send me their information to feature them. Oh! I also had a show this weekend- lots of fun and great sales. Slowly but surely things are starting to move along! Ask me a year from now how things are going and I hope to say "couldn't be better, all the hard work has paid off"!

Come and visit for new fall and Halloween items www.thereddoor.etsy.com

and www.folkartbykerry.etsy.com

Hope to be back sooner than later .

Best wishes~ Kerry.

Calling All Studios!

I need you! Etsy Studios!

Hello everyone! I have had an amazing response to Etsy Studios. Guess what? I am all caught up with featuring everyone who sent in their information. Over 100 people responded to be included, so now I'm just waiting for them to send in their paragraphs and pics!

If you want to be featured it's easy as pie! All you have to do is write up a couple of paragraphs about what you do, where you create, your organization, any tips or inspiration. With this send a couple of pics. I like the pictures that have you working in your space and so do others.

When you send your information...I feature you! The blog links back to your shop~which means a free promo and traffic for you!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Here is a photo of a window display featuring my art from my other etsy shop http://www.folkartbykerry.etsy.com/.

My work is featured here for the month of September in our downtown core.