Highland's Square Street Fair...

It's that wonderful time of the year again... this Saturday June 18th.... 32nd & Lowell transforms into one of the liveliest street fairs Denver has to offer. Live Music on 3 stages ... over 150 vendors with art, crafts and more... and great food and beer... all in one place.... all day long...
Come check it out... Shimmer and Fizz will be located right on 32nd between Newton and Meade.
Here is a smattering of some of the new designs I have been creating.
The hours are 10am till dusk... but... last year I had my first sale at 8:30 am while setting up my booth ... a local woman on her morning run....
Hope to see you there.

An App for That....

After much and much procrastination I have finally gotten with the times and purchased a smart phone... yes. Me the girl who put off texting for as long as possible... and now that is pretty much all I do. I am a texting queen. Needless to say I now wonder how I lasted so long without one of these "smart" thingies... I am hooked. Okay, maybe the correct word would be.... ADDICTED.

It all started because of an app called Square. After years of selling jewels by cash or check only... I realized I needed to get with it if I was going to compete in the Handmade community in Denver. With the Square app vendors can accept MasterCard, Visa, AMEX and Discover right from their iPhone, Droid, Blackberry... (you get where I am going with this)

Then I was introduced to Craftsy. An ingenious app that helps you manage your Etsy site from the convenience of your phone.. Hello. lots of lovelies at my fingertips.. yes please.

Watch out for the Hipstamatic App... warning it is addicting... I am loving taking all kinds of pictures with this vintage. retro. funky. camera. with interchangeable film. lenses and flash. So many options.. and so many things that need their picture taken. It really does help you make the ordinary extraordinary.... here is an example...

Then there are the obvious: Facebook.. the social media must have and The Weather Channel.... to see what the day will bring...

What are your favorite apps? you know... the ones you can no longer go a day without checking... I would love to know.

Fun with Photography

I am always trying to improve my photography skills. Taking pictures of my jewelry has definitely proved more challenging than I had originally expected. I tried flash. Obvious fail. Too much sun. Bad shadows. Although sometimes it does give the photo an unique quality.... but that was very rare. Different backgrounds. Black felt jewelry stands... yuck. Did not do my jewelry justice!!! Lots of trial and error. Success and failure.

My newest revelations in jewelry photography....

*Early afternoon and later in the evening prove to be perfect sun times
not too sunny so that light reflects off my jewels
just enough light to showcase the beads and texture

That I have great photo backgrounds just hanging around my house
*scrapbooking paper (not busy) solids and textured paper
*rocks. of all sizes to prop up your jewelry and show the dimension
*my jewelry holder and beauty props on my dresser. I live the feel and life that my jewelry represents. The tray I keep my fragrance and body products on has had cameos in many of my pics.

Here are some examples of my recommendations...

Here I placed multiple bracelets on a rock for a general pic of what my bracelets look like



Using a rock to help prop up a charm that is center stage


Here I used gray textured card stock that is often used for scrapbooking and card making ....

I like the angle as well... it makes the charms of the earrings really pop.

This is the tray that displays my fragrances on my dresser. I use this prop particularly when I feel my earrings look better vertical.

Some other key points that you want to remember:

*When you are taking such up close pictures every and any flaw will be displayed. So make sure your work is of your utmost standards.
*Using a prop like a quarter or dime is a great way to show the size of the item to your customers
*Have fun. In addition to my usual props, I try one or two new angles or backgrounds each photo session. It is a great way to find new favorites.

Live it. Love it.
Danielle

Treasury Time

Thanks to Knme for featuring my Brushed Silver Earrings in this lovely Treasury collection.

Please click on the collection and it will bring you to the Etsy page.

Faceted Opalite Love....

I am loving the way the light catches these faceted Opalite drops. Shimmery. Goodness.

A few facts about Opalite...

It is a stone mined in Utah that comes in varying shades of purple, lavender and creamy white with swirls of yellowish-brown and pink.

By some Opalite is considered an all-around healing stone. It removes energy blocks and helps combat fatigue. It also purifies the blood and kidneys.

Live it. Love it.

Danielle

new hire...

Kona... the head of our very busy Shipping and Receiving department getting a rare moments rest on a beautiful sunny Denver day. She sure knows what it's like to live in the moment. Just hope she remembers to wear sunblock.

Fine & Sterling Silver Earrings

Every April there is a bead show in Denver that I adore.... my favorite supplier of Czech glass beads and of Thai Silver beads never disappoint....

Here are some of my new styles created with some of my wonderful finds.