AND THE WINNERS ARE....

So this afternoon, I put all of the entries in a bowl (sorry no hat) and my partner in biz, Jolene, picked the names of each winner.

We just wanted you to know that we hope you all think you are winners! All of the pieces were beautiful and each necklace had it's own hidden meaning behind it.

We'd like to give those who didn't win one of the three prizes a little treat from Sweet Mojo. I'll be emailing you all soon to get your mailing addys!

so here goes!

The first name we picked was Amy Anderson! She won five free downloadable collage sheets of her choice from Piddix, one of my favorite collage resources.

And the next name was Paige Maxim! She won our Divine Sugar Scrub, Soothing Salt Soak & Hot Oil Hair Therapy from Sweet Mojo.

And last but not least.... we picked Sheila Correia, who won a necklace and signed copy of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine from little old me!
I really had a great time throwing this little party, and I so enjoyed seeing all of the fabulous entries! We'll have to do something like this again in the future ;)

WOW!

So I figured I have time to squeeze in one more entry for the contest...

Amy really went over the top with several different designs... I love them all, so I've got to show off each one! The way she dresses up each crystal is so unique & creative, no two are alike, and each tell a story!

Amy says:

"Since I recently purchased an old chandelier with gorgeous teardrop shaped crystals, I was instantly inspired by Jessica’s article in the most recent Belle Armoire Jewelry. I loved the idea of using dark, descriptive words from a vintage dictionary as the feeling for each piece, then embellishing with filigree, crystal, wire, and even solder! All of the pieces I made seem to have the feeling of dark, mysterious echoing pasts…

Gothic
I had something else in mind when I started this piece. I had a large filigree sandwiching the crystal. But, I ended up trying to force it to work, and the filigree broke in half. I thought that would be the end of that, but using half the filigree actually worked wonderfully! After adhering and sealing the dictionary definition of “Gothic” with gel medium, I detailed the edge with a gold leaf pen. I wire-wrapped the filigree with some lovely gray Czech glass beads and made a bail using 24-gauge twisted gunmetal wire. I think it turned out very organic with a lot of texture.

Gypsy
I wanted to “house” each crystal in something different each time, so this time I chose to wrap the crystal in decorative copper tape and soldered it! I then hand-patinated the solder to make it look very oxidated and antiqued. The butterfly filigree just worked so beautifully for this piece. I wire-wrapped tiny freshwater pearls and Czech glass beads to the wings and as the body. After a horrible attempt to make antennae (cheesy!) I ended up with a little bit of wire left over from making the bail and it ended up as a spiral at the top which balanced out nicely. Beaded gunmetal chain finishes this necklace.
Graven
A little bit different look for this one. The crystal for this pendant is cradled in an ornate brass filigree. Then I attached eye-catching red Swarovski crystals dangles to another brass filigree and used it to create a unique bail . I think it turned out really dark and creepy. And the red and black Czech glass beads I used for the necklace were just perfect."

I just want to give a big thanks to all who played along! I have a busy day away from this computer tomorrow, but will be sure to pick the names tomorrow night!!

GOOD LUCK!

xoxox

look how pretty!

Seriously... can you stand how cute this is??!!

Maine gal Paige who sells her jewelry at her Etsy shop sent this in for the contest. Her use of thrift store chains and vintage flower brooch paired with the pretty blue butterfly make me think of blue skies and summer.

love. love. love.

Paige writes:

"This piece is "Butterfly Wishes". I started by looking through some of my images I'd purchased previously from Vintage Image Madness, and then through Piddix's shop. The blue butterfly and Parisian ladies looking over the bridge seemed to go perfectly together, and my necklace began. I wanted to have a flower component as Jes does, and set out to search my box of vintage plastic, lucite, and metal flowers. The flowers seemed to stack themselves together as I looked through. I loved the way they looked matched with the images! I then set out to look for chain. I found some pieces of chain from various thrift store and clearance bin finds, and thought that I would go with the multi-chain, mixed metals look. "Butterfly Wishes" seemed to be a puzzle, waiting for me to put the pieces together."

THANKS Paige for being part of the contest :)

We are going to be ready to launch Sweet Mojo Apothecary in about two weeks and I'm getting just a tiny bit excited!

I've been working on the labels and just finished a batch of Perfume Oil labels. I used a snippet from an original piece of art that I created for all of the sweet Mojo labels, but the Perfume Oils have a wee-fairy on the back. "Butterfly Girl" is one of my favorite scents, though honestly I love them all, or we wouldn't have created them!

I am no graphic artist, and it's been a challenge, but I really wanted the feel of "art-on-a-jar".

We have bottled up the perfume oils in little .35 oz. roll-on bottles, hoping this alcohol-free perfume would be perfect to tuck into a pocketbook, backpack or pocket so some savvy chic could touch up throughout the day.

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so cute!

Sorry gang, I've gotten a little behind this week!

So how pretty and springy are these precious little gems?

*SWOON*

Jennifer Desjardins sent these in as her entry for the contest. I love the use of vintage costume jewelry parts!

Jennifer says:

"I was quite inspired by Belle Armoire's latest jewelry issue! The first thing that caught my eye, other than the obvious droolable cover, was an article by Jessica Moreau-Berry, depicting how to create necklaces such as the ones you may be gazing at right now............It took a while to gather the supplies, I had to order some of them online. But once I received them, I was on my way. Aren't the birds adorable??

Finding the perfect pieces to go with the pendants was a lot of fun. For two of the necklaces it took me quite a bit of time to choose the findings, but not so for this black one. It just sort came together, without a second thought. On that note, I don't think this often, but the more I go through my stash of broken down, vintage and costume jewelry pieces and parts, the more I realize I need to get more!! More parts, more possibilities, right?"

You can swing by Jennifer's blog to read more and see more photos.



If you get a chance, swing by her Etsy shop and see her other work. I love her photography, and this is one of my faves!

I've got more entries to upload soon! Keep those photos coming gang!

another beauty for the contest!

Now here are some stunning & inspirational jewels sent in for my contest by talented artist Sheila Correia! I am thrilled how she incorporates her soldering techniques to the top of the prisms, adding bits of found jewelry and turning them into a pendant holder all-in-one!

FABULOUS!

She sent me a photo of one of her necklaces, but after swinging over to her blog, I see she made a second piece that I just have to share as well... aren't they lovely?

Sheila writes:

"I'm calling my creation "Pink Passion". I wanted to capture the essence of vintage beauty, both in the overall feel of the piece with the materials used and featured image. She certainly accomplishes this for me! When worn, the pendant is very reminiscent of an old world piece and whispers of a time when beauty was excessive, elegant and elaborate (which I absolutely adore). Most of my custom jewelry is soldered, so I applied the soldering technique to this piece. I soldered the back and around the front of the pendant in order to attach a jump ring for my chain. To give it more of that vintage look, I incorporated some brass filigree and swarovski crystals for some added "bling", which I use in almost every piece of jewelry I create."

and here's a shot of the second necklace I lifted from her blog :)

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There is still lots of time to enter the contest... just go here and check it out!

oh-my!

I just received a newsletter from my dear-old-blogging-pal Hope Wallace Karney showing off her adorable new Spring line, and well, I just had to share. TALK about yummy... her new designs make me smile!

I ADORE these "Love Bug" note cards!!
AND... for all of you journaling enthusiasts, she is offering a journaling E-course called Nostalgic Musings!

What a perfect way to celebrate Spring!

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HAPPY EASTER!

Hope everyone will do something extra special today!

Big Daddy and I are staying home & catching up on outdoor chores as it's going to be a GORGEOUS day today.

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AND NOW I'd like to share our first contest participant!

Lisa from Willow and Me

I have to tell you I feel so honored that the fabulously talented Lisa took the time to participate! I took a PMC class from her this past winter, and learned oodles of new things. Check out her Etsy shop when you get a moment. And if there are any family members out there wondering what to buy me for presents, well, by all means, buy me this GORGEOUS BRACELT from Lisa.... (hint-hint... does my husband still look at this blog I wonder?)

Here's what she wrote:

"I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do for your contest when I read the post. I had three small PMC links I had made that I really wasn't sure what to do with. I also had some slightly smaller Swarovski crystal flatbacks. They had foil backs, which I gently sanded off, and added pictures of flowers, butterflies and dragonflies. I didn't paint the backs afterwards because I liked the translucent look. I did the pendant over a couple of times and finally settled on what you see. I like the way the crystal magnifies the butterfly. Everything is put together with matching Swarovski crystals on sterling silver wire and a sterling silver chain."

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have a happy day gang!

she's having a contest!

This contest is being held for YOU special folks who are attempting my project in the Spring 2010 Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. The article is called, "A Little Goes A Long Way" and it starts on page 6. Here's the skinny....

1. Pick up the Spring 2010 issue, and use the article as your muse. The only requirement is that you incorporate a decoupaged crystal into your design.
2. You can create any type of jewelry... necklace, earrings, bracelet, brooch, etc. Once you have finished your piece, take photos and write a short paragraph about your jewel. You can write a little about your technique, inspiration, or anything you feel like.
3. send 2-3 different photos of your creation, along with your paragraph, your blog or website info., you first, last name & state to berryandco87@hotmail.com If you don't have a blog or website.... that's OK too!
4. All entries must be sent to the above email by Friday, April 30th
5. This contest will be a drawing. All names will go into a hat and three names will be pulled out one by one.
6. By entering this contest you are giving me permission to show your jewelry photos and to publish your paragraph, name & state here on Junque Revival. You are also giving me permission to touch-up your photos as I see fit. I can't guarantee that I will be able to show off all of your entries, but I WILL MAKE BY BEST EFFORTS to get everyone on here!
7. I will draw the names on Monday, May 3rd and I'll post the winners here on this blog, and email the winners as well.

Would you like a chance to have your name entered into the drawing a second time? Just post about this contest on your blog or website, let me know you've done so and your name goes into the hat a second time!

NOW FOR THE PRIZES!

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The first name that will be drawn will win:
5 FREE COLLAGE SHEETS OF YOUR CHOICE FROM PIDDIX

http://www.piddix.etsy.com/ & http://www.instantcollagesheets.com/
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The second name that will be drawn will win:

A FABULOUS COLLECTION OF BATH & BODY PRODUCTS FROM MY NEW COMPANY, "SWEET MOJO APOTHECARY"
You'll get:

(1) 8 oz. jar of Divine Sugar Scrub
(1) 8 oz. jar of Soothing Salt Soak
(1) 1 oz. jar of Hot Oil Hair Therapy

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The third name that will be drawn will win:

A SIGNED COPY OF BELLE ARMOIRE JEWELRY MAGAZINE AND THIS NECKLACE FEATURED IN THE ARTICLE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your lovely designs!

xoxox ~Jes

sharing the new biz.....

For those of you that are swinging by to check on the contest details, I have worked out the prizes and will do an official contest post over the weekend. Because one of the prizes is going to be products from our new company.... I thought I'd finally let you all in on our new adventure!

I have been trying to share my time between our new work-shop and here at home on the computer designing the labels. The label work has been extremely time consuming, but we found that by designing them ourselves, we captured exactly who we are and what we are all about.

So, welcome to Sweet Mojo Apothecary..... We will be launching our products in a couple of weeks! We are going to start off selling on Etsy, and I am also working on our own website. So please swing by and heart us, and we'll be sure to heart you back:) We also plan on selling wholesale to some exclusive Maine shops.

Here are just a few of the products we'll be offering:

For the past 2 1/2 months we have been working on scents and perfecting our products. We will have a plethora of scents that have been blended with each product, so our customers can layer the scents. We will also have massage oils, blended perfume oils and a "Super" Sugar Scrub that contains flax seed. The Salt Soak & Sugar Scrubs will also be sold in 1 & 2 oz. sample jars. We'll add more products down the line.

We are very lucky to know so many women who love this kind of product, as we have a hearty bunch of gals that have been our testers. We carefully took all of their suggestions into consideration and played with the recipes until they felt just right. I think the funnest part for us, and for the testers were the scents (and we are going to have a lot of them!) We love the way the scents smell slightly different on each individual's skin.... and we figure that has got to be each person's individual MOJO!

How does a full-time artsist and her book-keeping friend turn into bath & body product makers? hmmmm.... I think I'll save that story for another post.

So please check back this weekend if you want to participate in the contest. I have a couple of other prizes up my sleeve, and I will fill you in on the contest deadline, etc....

how about a contest?

SO! I have to tell you that you girls who have written my email and here at the blog about my Belle Armoire Jewelry Spring 2010 article, "A Little Goes a Long Way" have inspired me to do something special!

I am thinking about having a contest. I am working out the details now.

So stay tuned.....keep creating....take some pretty photos, and I'll post about it soon!

And please don't hesitate to keep writing me with your questions. I want your lovely pieces to be something that you will cherish for years to come.

ALL WILL BE WELCOME! Just pick up the Spring issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry and go to page 6 and follow along!

officiality.....

It's official!

Our little business that Jolene and I have been working on is officially an incorporation!!

We still have a lot of work ahead... the path is winding and turning, and there have been a few roots and stumps that we've tripped over, but for the most part it's been a smooth trail filled with pine needles and moss.

There are folks in our lives that have blazed the trail, making it an easier jaunt. A BIG hearfelt thanks goes out to Greg, Big Daddy's Stepdad (lawyer extraordinnaire) for believing in us and making the official parts of the proccess a smooth one. Because of him, we were able to leap over that big old log in the way, and keep focusing on the fun part of the trek! Because of him we are OFFICIAL!

THANKYOU GREG! We feel blessed!

xoxox

Belle Armoire Jewelry Spring Issue

The new Belle Armoire Jewelry issue is here and chock full of Springy ideas that will tickle your inspiration bones!

This is a little peak at my article... it's all about our feathered friends, crystals and metal flowers.

I share my secret source for those vintage bird images, but you've got to pick up the magazine to find out where I get them from!

And to those who have written me about this article, thanks so much, and I hope I was able to answer your questions properly!! GOOD LUCK and PLEASE let me know how your little treasures come out!

xoxox

working, working, working..........

The new project is coming along..... it's getting there...

Every day we work on this. Every day is a challenge, but it's a good challenge. Every day our senses have been heightened, simply by the use of our own creations and the materials that we work with. We are very close to getting it all launched!

I am taking a much needed break and heading north to shop with Mom for two days. I need to clear my head (literally) and come back fresh for Monday.

I will get back to some of you gals when I get home.... I am amazed at how the hours in the day fly by, and there hasn't been much time for chitty-chat. I am a bit of a social-butterfly, so when it's all work and no play, I go a little kooky! LOL!

xoxox

dreaming anyone?

Above is just a snippet of art that I recently sent off for a submission.

A few nights back I had the strangest yet loveliest dream.

There was a window basically floating in black space. There was a pale colored milky "glow" coming through the window. But it's not really the glow that I found intriguing, but the warm breeze and the beautiful sheer curtains blowing and billowing and reaching out to touch me. I could feel that warm breeze on my face. I felt myself smiling and reaching out to it, letting my hands lightly touch the curtains.

Then, because I've had this yucky cold for about a month, I woke up coughing! But I immediately started to fall back asleep and I tried to recapture the window, but it was gone. Yet the image and feeling has stayed with me for days.

What could it mean?

I have been on high speed since Christmas. I'm starting a new business with a friend and we have been working very hard every day on this venture. It's a new experience for me. Not necessarily that I am working with someone else... I actually work very well with others (just ask the bartenders and cooks I work with at my part-time job as a bartender) But sharing in a sort of artful experience on a day-to-day with someone is somewhat new to me. I've always worked by myself here at the house, and can be a bit of a loner when it comes to my own thing. Besides this business, I have been working very hard to keep up with my submission dates, etc. Even though I have a lot going on, I feel very inspired every day to make things. I am feeling very positive about everything, and I just have a "good" feeling about where I am going.

I'm guessing the window might signify this. What do you think? Any dream experts out there?

Remember when?

This is a celebration and "remember when" post all rolled into one!

I want to congratulate my friend Mindy Tsonas of The Wishstudio for her fabulous interview in the newest "Artful Blogging" magazine!!! If you pick up this gorgeous magazine, you will not be dissapointed by the visually stunning art, words and photos. Mindy's article was no exception... a four page interview by Christen Olivarez brought out everything beautiful that Mindy is...

ALSO.... you can see a photo of a little corner of my winter studio in the article!! *HUGS* to Mindy for including me!

I had never really picked up the magazine (I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes, SERIOUSLY!) But as I read all of the articles, I was drawn back to when I first started blogging 6 years ago. I instantly made little groups of friends from all over the world. Soon people were hopping in airplanes and cars for hookups and weekend visits.

I want to share some photos from several summers back of an art-retreat weekend I had here at the house in Maine.

This particular weekend the gang included Mindy Tsonas, Susan Tuttle, Heidi Wallingford, Leah Piken Kolidas & Tammy. (I have lost track of Tammy... can anyone help me ?) We spent the first part of the weekend creating in my sunroom. We each took a canvas, began to cut, paste and paint, then passed our canvases over to eachother so that we could add more art to the original pieces. The buffet table was overflowing with ephemera, paints, glitter and embellishments that we had all donated so we could grab at whatever we wanted. Hedi brought THE BEST trimmings and ebellishments EVER!

Leah was soon to be married, so we had a surprise shower for her at a restaurant down the road from me. We had snuck into the restaurant and decorated it first, so needless to say, she was surprised!

The last day here, I took the girls antiquing to the Montsweag Flea Market, then off to the shops in Wiscasset. Mindy picked up the grooviest afghan I've ever seen, and Leah and I bought a HUGE latin dictionary that we cut in half. (I still use the pages from that book for art)

Me, Leah and Mindy SHOPPING Leah, Heidi, Mindy, me and Tammy at the restaurant (I had made those wands for favors & table settings. Tammy brought little potted plants, and we stuck each wand into the plants) Tammy, Leah, Mindy and me before Leah new about her big surprise Mindy working on her piece Leah crowned and painting me, Susan, Tammy and Leah in my summer studio These photos bring back such wonderful memories, and leaves me aching for a time, well, when I had more time! I know that one day, we'll all beable to hook up again, and as long as we keep on blogging, we'll never really be that far from eachother.

xoxox

The Kennebec River

Our tidal river had been the talk of Maine. Usually used for boating, kayaking, fishing, icefishing and more, this past week it has been sought out by tv crews, photographers, and sight seers. Jon and I went to Augusta to buy ourselves a new mattress set, and to get to Augusta you have to follow the river. It blew our minds! I've never seen it look that way before! Jon got lots of photos along the way.

There has been much flooding in certain towns everytime the tide rises.

There are three breakers that have been working for miles and miles along the river. This is the Coast Guard ice-breaker "The Bridle" that we chased in our vehicle until we could get a good shot. She was going at a pretty good clip, amazing since she's breaking huge chunks of ice!

We spied lots of ice shacks that didn't make it out of the water in time. As you can tell some of the chunks are as big as an ice shack.

Just another day in Maine folks!

Upta camp

A small gang of us headed up to camp on Eustis Ridge last night and woke up to a gorgeous and sunny day. A few of us and Abby went snowshoing through the woods and to the lake. This was my friend Brodies first time and she loved it..... We have Wifi here at camp now and there might be a bit of guilt as I type this post. Camp was always a perfect excuse for not having to go near a computer, but it has been nice to check my emails and play on Facebook.

The laptops have come in handy for research as well. Another guest this weekend is Jolene, one of my dearest friends and soon-to-be-partner. A very unexpected Chrsitmas crafting project, has turned into an unexpected business that we plan on launching in the early Spring. More to come on that soon...... OH, and I still plan on playing with my jewelry in between our little project!

New in the shop.....

I've finally been able to get some time in the studio to work on jewelry and other bits of art. I was inspired to create this simple and elegant piece after reading the poem, "The Lady of Shallot" by Tennyson. I wanted to keep the simplicity of the sterling cross and chain that I recovered from an antique rosary, yet added a bit of drama with a handmade ruby glass choker.

THE LADY OF SHALLOT

The pieces from the winter issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry showed up on my door step last week! Though a couple were allready spoken for, there are a few left to be sold!

I hand cut the cuff and dragonfly from the copper scraps, then smoothed, sanded and hammered away at the copper. I added "DREAM" onto one of the wings and then finished the pieces with a gentle patina finish.I twisted up the beaded body with black glass beads and copper wire, then attatched the dragonfly to the cuff.

DREAMING DRAGONFLY

The best part of these pieces is that the wings can be gently bent up and down to give more or less the impression of flight.

Today ended up being a Sunday all to myself.... so guess where I'm headed?

BACK TO THE STUDIO!

*in Austin Powers voice* YEAH BABY!