Although a new website design is on the way, in the meantime I finally have a selection of pendants up on the website for immediate purchase. No waiting for me to create, fire, glaze, fire again!! More to come soon I promise :)

Finally my glaze color chart is complete! I just need to re-vamp the website to accomodate it which may be a bit in the future still. However, if there is a specific color you might be interested in for a piece, I can email the selections upon request.

Don't you love these new glazes? They are part of my fall palette and look gorgeous with all types of earthy fall colors! I'll be posting finished jewelry with some of these components right away as well so stay tuned!

The Happily Handmade Giveaway has finally wrapped up! Thanks to all who entered and hope to see many of you back again soon.

*****CONGRATULATIONS to Angi N. of Florida who was selected from all of those who made a purchase at Chinook Jewelry Designs during the HHG contest period! Angi is the lucky recipient of goodie bag of Chinook Jewelry Designs items!*****

Keep your eyes peeled for another opportunity to win a goodie bag as we head into the holiday shopping season!

Another great chance to win prizes....



If you head over to rare bird finds you can enter your favorite independant designers in various categories and in return have a chance to win all sorts of fun prizes! Be sure to choose www.chinookjewelry.com as the best funky jewelry site!

Don't forget the HHG is still in full swing and all entrants at Chinook Jewelry are eligible for 10% off purchases from the online shop through the contest period!

Entries are now being accepted for the Happily Handmade Giveaway! You have the opportunity to enter once at each official sponsor's website. Be sure to stop by to get your entry in! As a special bonus, all those who enter at Chinook Jewelry Designs are eligible to win an additional special goodie package (necklace and earrings set). I'll have a picture up in a few days on the blog so you can see the prize. Finally, each entrant qualifies for a 10% discount on website purchases for the contest period (offer details are emailed following your entry).

Last but not least, there are a few new items up on the site: a necklace, some bracelets, and a pair of earrings. I've been so busy working on new techniques that I've certainly lagged behind posting new items, which has resulted in more items in the sold gallery than available! Many more items are on their way in the coming weeks, including a beautiful necklace featuring ceramic Kazuri beads from Keyna with one of my ceramic dragonfly pendants.

I just realized that I haven't posted pictures of the latest "6 hour" bracelets that I've made. Although they aren't up on the website yet, they are available. The first is a divine combination of amazonite, aquamarine, blue quatrtz and gorgeous silver beads from Bali all wrapped with feet and feet of hair-thin sterling silver wire.

The next is an incredibly feminine combination of rose quartz and fine silver stamped Thai Karen Hilltribe beads.













I just love how these have turned out, they conform beautifully to the wrist and have a little more flexibility than a typical bangle. Such a luxurious bracelet!

Some exciting developments in the past few months (that I've been so negligent in blogging about!). I'm very pleased to have made a connection with Funky Utopia, an online boutique that features artisan-made accessories, handbags and clothing. Nicole, the clever owner of the boutique, also hosts the Happily Handmade Giveaway, which gives you a chance to win an amazing selection of goodies from independent artisans. This year there will be 50 gift boxes awarded and from the look of the photos on the blog...wow, what a score for the winners! So far there have been jewelry items, handbags, bath and body products, and stationary items just to name a few.

Chinook Jewelry Designs has contributed eight pairs of earrings and two necklaces featuring my handcrafted ceramic charms and pendants paired with different combinations of sterling silver, gemstones, freshwater pearls, and leather. Be sure to check back on the website after September 30th for details on how to enter!

I managed to package up 9 lbs of my ceramic beads and pendants to send off to the Bead and Button Show, who knew I had that much made?! Here's hoping that there's nothing left to come back to me after the show (and hoping that the reason isn't that they were crushed to mosaic tile pieces in shipping). In preparation, you'll notice that the home page on my website now has a seperate category for all things beady, I'm hoping to pull together some kits in the next couple of weeks. I also have a new pendant design up for auction on Just Beads, a pretty little sea turtle in a yummy celedon green shade. I think it will make a stunning design with some Thai or Bali silver beads and aquamarine or peacock freshwater coin pearls. Or maybe Peruvian opal nuggets...oooh, so many options!
Here's a taste of some of the other shades the turtle has turned up in!

I'm also working on a glaze chart to make color selection easier but that will take a little more time! Pictured above are Glazed Apricot, Pistachio Cream, and Strawberry Shortcake (everything seems to remind me of food...).

Keep checking back, I've had a little creative burst this week and have several new designs brewing away. If they turn out the way they look in my head, they will be truly unique wearable art pieces!

Haven't had a chance to update the blog/site lately since I'm hard at work preparing for the Bead and Button Show (the biggest bead show in the country) http://www.beadandbuttonshow.com/bnbshow/)

I'll be sending beads, pendants and buttons (many which do double duty as great bracelet or necklace clasps) to the show with my friend Tia of RAMA Raku. If you're off to the show be sure to stop by her table #935 "Emerald's Raku Beads" and check out my tray of goodies!

This has meant that I've had to go into full production mode and have been running my kiln and glazing like crazy! I'm still not sure if I have enough stock for the show as this will be my first time. No matter what, hopefully there will be nothing left to return to me after the show. Wish me luck!

A new bracelet has been posted this week in the gallery. This one took feet and feet of fine silver wire and the better part of 6 hours to make but I think it was worth it!
The photo wasn't able to catch the rainbow flash in the oval labradorite stones on the side but they are just beautiful. Also in this piece is serpentine, peridot and those elaborate silver beads from Bali.

Finally I have the pictures ready of some of my new jewelry pieces using my ceramic components! They will be up on the gallery page shortly. I have a whole bunch more ceramic pendants, flowers and beads ready to go as well. I really love how the flower accents work with anything from gemstones to a simple silver chain or leather strand. I have a few up on Etsy and JustBeads right now too. Enjoy!

Just a taste of some new ceramic flower beads I have been working on! I'll have several colors and varieties coming soon. The two flowers pictured are currently available and are $17 each. The hole is large enough to accomodate fairly high gauge wire or thicker cord. Flowers pictured are approximately 1/2"-3/4". I would suggest that these pieces be incorporated into designs where they are protected from bumps or stress as they are a bit delicate but they would be an amazing focal point for a necklace! Visit the main site and email if you're interested in purchasing!

The second new category to my site is ceramic work.
I've begun making beads and pendants in a variety of patterns and colors that I will be making available in jewelry designs and also for purchase as individual components for your own designs.

More items will be coming soon but for now, the pictured pendants are currently available at $10 each. Measurements are approximately 1 1/2 inches across. The coordinating beads measure 5/8 inch for the circle and square and 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch for the oval. The beads are about 3/8 inch thick and are $2 a piece. To order just stop by the main site and email with a description of the item you would like!

I've been hard at work on a few new things for the website but until the site can be revamped I'm going to preview them here!

First, I'm now creating custom photo pendants, $25 for the pendant alone, $35 strung on black leather or brown suede of your choice of length and finished with a sterling silver clasp, or $40 strung on sterling silver chain with a sterling silver clasp. Of course we can also do a necklace with a particular stone or color as well. The pendant measures 1 x 1 1/2 inches and can be oriented lengthwise or widthwise. Here's an example with my beautiful girl!

Stop by the main site and email if you're interested in one of these unique keepsake pendants. I require the photos sent as jpg email attachments with at least a 300 dpi resolution and photos that are more of a closeup tend to work the best. I will resize and crop the photo as necessary and email a copy of the adjusted image back to you for approval. Please note that images used must be your original photos, I will not be able to use images from other sources due to copyright laws.