Christmas Sale

if you are considering buying jewelry for someone this Christmas, I'm having a sale at LoraKellyDesigns.com through the 25th. You might want to drop by and see if there's something you like. Be sure to click on the "specials" link so you go straight to the sale items.

i will be adding items through the season, so be sure to check back. If there's a particular item you are interested in, send me an email at lorakellydesigns@aol.com and I'll let you know what date it's slotted to go on sale!

keep in mind ... all items are "handmade in America" and if they are to be gifts, I provide free gift wrapping. If you want your gift shipped directly to the recipient, I'll be happy to do that for you, I will also wrap it and include a persnalized card! Just email me at lorakellydesigns@aol.com and tell me if it's a gift and if you need direct shipping.

all items are shipped USPS Priority Mail ... and I've been told by the post office to allow 6 days during the Holiday season.

on another note ... I have yet to get my house decorated! Although I do have a beautiful evergreen wreath in the living room smelling things up nicely and plans for the Christmas tree hunt are culminating on this Friday! THEN it will feel like Christmas. I do plan to decorate the studio as well ... so I'll be sure to take photographs. Although I can't imagine much making that place seem cozy while temperatures are in the 30's!

I took both parrots to the studio yesterday. Word of caution ... never take parrots to a bead studio. We'll leave it at that.

goodwill and peace to all!

~L

Happy Thanksgiving!

i began this post on Thanksgiving morning, then couldn't seem to finish it, not really having a clear idea of what it actually was I was going for. It is now Sunday evening, the end to a perfectly beautiful four day weekend, filled with sunny skies, lazy mornings, fun with friends (Saturday night at a comedy club) and luxurious walks in nature with my dogs.

my intent was more than just wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, I realize now. Mostly, I think in giving thanks, or being prompted to because of an annual holiday, gave me to understand that I am grateful everyday, not just the day they give us permission to voice it! In fact, I am grateful for so much I thought I might make a point of noting my gratitude in every blog entry, which may or may not be every day, although every day is my intent!

if there are things you too are grateful for, let me know, or post them in your blog for all to see, and we can start a gratitude revolution! Change the world by changing the way we think about it. Instead of all that's wrong with it, what's right, right now, in our personal experience, that brings joy to our lives...

Today, I am grateful for my handsome, creative and inspiring son, in whom I am well pleased. I can only hope I have loved him enough to shield his heart as he prepares to go out into the world on his own. I am grateful for my little house, it isn't an amazing house, but it's warm and friendly, surrounded by a wild garden and a shock of trees and shrubs, it makes me smile and has sheltered my family this many years. I am grateful for work I love, friends who make me laugh, and having been blessed with a creative spirit that motivates me and guides me towards happiness.

i wish you the warmest of holidays... and many reasons to be grateful,

~L

a day's work

Carnelian pendant with Bali Silver and Peridot dangles from Freshwater Pearls.


these three colors contrast with each other perfectly!


Turquoise and Bali silver balls wrapped on Sterling Silver chain


Two strands of freshwater pearls


Another view...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVE!
~L

My First Home Party!

it's early morning, 6 am actually, and I'm sitting in bed with my computer doing my entry for the day... outside a storm rages against my house, 40 mile an hour winds and rain lashing against my windows. I pray the power stays on just long enough for me to do what I need to do this morning before all goes black!

yesterday afternoon I did my first home jewelry party and it was a fabulous success! And, despite my initial nerves, it was so much fun! I thank all of the lovely ladies who attended the show and purchased my jewelry, and thanks to Michele who was so lovely to host the party! Michele has two gorgeous dogs, Mocha and Ivan, who are two beefy labby dogs. What sweethearts! Thanks guys for snuffling everything you possibly could and making me feel totally welcome!

so, with the help and encouragement of friends, I've launched a new aspect of my business which is home parties. Unfortunately, at this time, I am only available to do parties in the Puget Sound area in Washington State. But who knows what's to come down the road?

thanks for stopping by, dear readers! I so enjoy your visits to my site. I wish for you that your day weatherwise is better than mine!

luv
~L

pretty things

toyed with simplicity today...



I played with a variety of stones and my favorite, chunky silver chain...



finally found a place for two chunks for Aquamarine that have been calling to me...



and what to do with Blue Agate rounds? They remind me of berries...


I mixed them with tiny Onyx beads that look like little seeds on a vine...

I managed to come up with a few pretty things.

Thanks for stopping by!
~L

falling back

i set my clocks back on Sunday. Today I compared notes with a tree. Trees don't think much about time. But they love moonlight. I never knew.



I worked in my studio and made this... I was thinking about water being formless, yet taking the form of any vessel it fills, perhaps our souls do the same ... Trees also like water very much.



Trees wear their own sort of jewelry and are always in step with the seasons. Of course, they are the trend setters. These simple pendants and pearls speak of fall... berries, bark, leaves, water and stone...



squirrels love trees. Baby squirrels also love decks and sunny afternoons and naps...



trees remind me of change... they are always in a state of change and yet they are always the same... we are like that, too... the golds of fall will become the grays of winter and gardens will glow golden like this citrine wrap necklace...until the first frost



birds love trees most of all...



and they also love shoulders, especially their mom's. Mr. R and Ms. L think of me as some moving tree with a kooky personality that is always changing and always the same... I feed them much like the trees feed the wild creatures, and give them shelter from the storm.

this weekend, I fell back an hour into fall. fall reminds me to slow down, be quiet like the trees, remain constant, grow, and change my colors once in awhile... to have a sheltering heart and arms, to bend, to be both flamboyant and austere, to drink deeply of fresh water, to be grounded... and to breath...

sometimes, we must fall back in order to move forward...

~L