I'm Having a Sale!

Shop at MsBelle now through Sunday, May 31st, and receive 10% off your entire purchase! Discount will be applied after purchase and refunded via PayPal. If you choose to pay with a money order, simply contact me prior to sending your payment and I will let you know the discounted amount. I hope to see you there!

There are some new pieces in the shop and more still to come. The discount will apply to all items so if you've had your eye on something, even if it has sold, now is the time to ask about it and get it reserved! Just contact me via convo on Etsy and I may be able to recreate it. Custom orders are eligible for the discount as long as your purchase is made by midnight Sunday night.

Here are a few new things in my shop.

Flashy smooth polished labradorite necklace

Faceted citrine coin and domed textured disc necklace






Apatite briolette and domed textured disc necklace






Prasiolite (green quartz) briolette post earrings in 24K vermeil and 14K goldfill






Citrine 'dolphin' cut briolette necklace in goldfill





with more to come....

Hope you can stop by! See you there!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Hi all! I'm finally back after a long absence! Sorry for that (again). Spring has sprung and now summer's almost here. It's already been soooo hot in Charlotte as well as stormy. It's almost as if we missed spring totally! Kevin's doing really well in school and Barney's back seems to be all better, so things are definitely looking up!

I've been quite busy since my last post. Kevin and I went to the mountains over his spring break in April which included Easter weekend. He had a great time playing in the snow (yes, snow) and even got to make snowballs. Then two days later it was sunny again and he was riding his bike. Go figure! We had lots of fun getting back to the mountains. It's always nice. :)

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This morning I had a very pleasant surprise. A pair of my new chalcedony earrings was on the front page of Etsy! I was so tickled! It was very, very unexpected.

Thank you Etsy gods!

I've been creating lots of new pieces for my shop. As always, I'm struggling with the pics. It takes me forever since I'm so very picky and hate it when the sun keeps going in and out of the clouds. Can't get the white balance correct to save my life and it's so frustrating! Here is the necklace that matches the earrings that were on the front page. (I such a sucker for chalcedony.)

And these use natural colored chalcedony (not dyed).

I love the cut of these briolettes.
They aren't being sold as a set, but would make a beautiful one!

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Also, I'm about to hit a milestone in my shop. I'm almost to 700 total sales! I'm so very excited about that! And with today's front page appearance, I made it to 4000 hearts! :D

So as a result, this is how I'm feeling today.

This is Kevin's "Happy Shirt." He picked it out all by himself. It's his favorite shirt now. Mine too! You just can't help but feel happy when you look at it. He's such a sweetie!

Well, I have to run. I just wanted to pop in and catch up with everyone. Since I will be adding these new pieces to my shop (and more), I thought I'd give you all the first sneak peek.

And I can't forget this. Solid 14K and AAA blue topaz.

Multi-color sapphire rondelle and blue topaz necklace in goldfill.

Look for these and more coming soon!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and great rest of the week! Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time....

Howdy!!

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I wrote. (I know, I know. I did it again. I'm a slacker!) No one ever said I was a very good blogger and I'm more than living proof of that, aren't I? But I'm here to update you about what's been going on since December.

Since Christmas, it seems like it's been one thing after another. Starting the week before Christmas, Barney developed a disabling back problem and had to be strictly crated for a while (as well as take meds). No more jumping or climbing stairs for him. I had to carry him in and out to potty which put a strain on my back and I was then laid up with a bad back myself for a while. I am happy to say that he's recovering but is not completely well yet. It's so hard seeing him not be able to do things the way he once did. Hopefully with time the healing process will continue to work its magic.

Not only has Barney been ailing, but so have the rest of us. We've all had bouts with one cold right after another. Kevin had ear infections twice. Seems like he'd just get better and then get hit again within a week after the antibiotic was finished. (Reminiscent of his kindergarten year.) I was sick for 3 weeks in January and just couldn't seem to kick it. It's been a rough start to the year but things are finally looking up (thankfully).

Sunday night we FINALLY got snow!! Yes, snow in Charlotte! I couldn't believe it! It's been about 5 years since we had any real accumulation.

Kevin even got to go outside and make a snowman as there was no school yesterday! I'm so glad he finally got to play in the snow. He enjoyed it. Now it's practically all gone. He named his snowman "Indy" after Indiana Jones!

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And now for some good news!! I was given the honor of being chosen one of Etsy's Featured Sellers! It hit the front page of Etsy yesterday around noon and is turning out to be an incredible experience!

From Blogger Pictures

I'm pretty exhausted right now after answering tons of emails! I'm beginning to run out of new things to put in my shop. I had a hard time coming up with new pieces having the year start off the way it did. But I feverishly made what I could and will do all that I can. I regret I could not prepare more thoroughly but given the circumstances there was not a lot more I could do. I'm hanging in there though!

I can't thank everyone enough for all their support and kind words. And welcome to all my new customers!! I have to relay that I'm running a little behind in shipping, but I promise I'll get all caught up this weekend. Here is a little collage of some of my new pieces. Some may have already sold and to those customers "thank you!" But there is still a lot remaining in my shop.

From Blogger Pictures

Thank you to everyone who is hanging in there with me! I truly appreciate your support!

And thank you Etsy! It's been a wild ride so far!!! Whew!!

Merry Christmas!!

I thought I had better pop in and wish everyone a Merry Christmas now since this week is going to be so busy! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a terrific new year ahead!

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Today I received an early Christmas present of sorts by hitting 500 sales in my Etsy shop!! Thank you so much to each and every one of you who shopped with me this past year. I appreciate you all and hope to see you again next year!

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I will leave you with a new set that will be coming to my shop soon. I don't know when I will get it listed, but I wanted to show it to you. It consists of earrings and a necklace using stunning AAA quality green amethyst fancy briolettes (prasiolite), all in solid 18K gold. Each briolette is wrapped in 18K gold wire which I thought was fitting for these gorgeous stones. I also made the earwires for the earrings, hammering them lightly. The necklace has a larger focal briolette as the pendant and is on an 18K gold chain.

These are truly beautiful stones with perfect clarity, gorgeous faceting, and such a unique cut and shape. I've had them for a while and am finally doing them justice (I hope). This is a one-of-a-kind set that I won't break up unless absolutely forced to. I've not seen another set in this shape and quality and I'd hate for them to go to different homes. If at all possible I'd like them to stay together. They just need to stay together, don't you think?

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Well, happy holidays everyone!! See you soon!

Merry Christmas!

Get Out and Vote!!

Tonight I received an email on Etsy informing me that my green onyx earrings were chosen by Etsy's blog editors for their Holiday voting on the best sparkly special jewelry. How cool is that?!! I made the cut!

Here's an excerpt from the Storque article:

"This week's voting challenge is an homage to all the shiny, sparkly jewelry out there on Etsy. Etsy's blog editors picked 60 items, and we want you to vote for your favorite.
Click here to VOTE!
Voting ends on Friday, December 19th at 5PM, Eastern Time. May the prettiest jewelry win! As an added bonus, we'll feature your favorites here on Etsy's blog and in the Gift Guides.

Thank you Etsy! I'm so very honored! :D

I hope everyone reading this gets out and votes!
And spread the word!!

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This past Thursday was Kevin's Christmas concert at school. Before we went, I had to get a picture of him all dressed up since we don't get to see him that way very often.

He was so proud of his tie. Didn't he look sharp?!

And here are a couple of pretty bad pictures I took inside at the concert.

He's just a cutie even if they are bad shots!

You can tell by the look on his face that he's really enjoying himself. He had so much fun and was so proud to be performing. And we are so proud of you Kevin!!

Well, I've got to run. I hope everyone has a great day! And don't forget to VOTE!! :D

Until next time....

Let's Do the Time Warp Again!!

I could not believe it....

Etsy Front Page 12.08.08

Thank you Etsy gods!
I feel like I'm in a time warp here!

And today I listed these AAA blue topaz "Twirly Slide" earrings which are already gone!!

But I intend to make more!

Thank you to everyone who has shopped with me so far during this holiday season. I truly appreciate each and every one of you for your patronage and hope that I can fulfill your jewelry needs with ease. I'm thrilled to have gotten this far and could not have done it without loyal customers. And to all my new customers, thank you very much as well!

Have a great week everyone!

Until next time...

"It's astounding.

Time is fleeting.

Madness takes control...."

(anyone remember Rocky Horror???)

:D