Crafter's Series

Please wave and welcome the new Crafters Series charm beads. Some of you might know I have a background in Costume Design and I also love to create in textiles. I sew almost every day.

As they are my favorite bead designs so far, let's have a little celebration. The first person to guess, and you must guess before the beads sell and arrive at someone's house, WHAT I've had inscribed in wee letters on the bottom of the Sewing Machine, gets a mystery prize. Hint: it's only one word, but it makes most of us creative types very happy.

The Pin Cushion Tomato. Isn't it so cute?? I'm selling them as a set because, it's like, like, um, a pool without its water! Trying hard to come up with a summer themed analogy.


The Sewing Machine bead charm. It's my favorite bead to wear. I love how the bracelet is seen through the machine and the bit of fabric being sewn.

Custom Jewelry Boxes

For the glass makers: I'm going to be carrying gorgeous bead display racks - available within the next few weeks.

For the jewelry wearers: I'm currently designing a special jewelry box just for your European beads bracelets and charm bead collections. Hope they are available by the holidays.

Keep your eye out for the Crafter's series coming out this weekend.

Let them eat CAKE!

Yey! I'm happy to announce the release of happy cupcake charms! Cherry on Top and Crown topped.

Let us also celebrate that the photos are now watermarked. The European beads market happens to be a little competitive. Knock-off companies will not only take my designs and copy them directly, they will also snag my photos for use in sales. Talk about lack of creativity. As serious as that sounds, I don't worry about it, or spend time looking to see who's got what. I'm full of new design ideas, and always moving forward. Creative, positive minded people rock, right? LOL!

I'm posting them in the store now. Enjoy!

To Glass or Not To Glass?

I am having some very special glass commissioned from a lampworking friend- details to be revealed soon- hush hush and all that!

I'm interested in carrying glass for my Charmish customers. I am a big fan of lampwork and have bought beautiful pieces from etsy artists around the world, for my bracelet.

I'd like your feedback on the subject. Would you like to take my poll? Left bar and scroll down... see it? If you have further comments, go ahead and leave them in the comments box. Love ya!

Celebrations and Symbols

New toys in the shop: Maneki Neko- wealth and luck symbol kitty......


This cute three tiered Wedding Cake to celebrate all the summer weddings.....



Lady Liberty! Our national symbol is liberty and justice. She's cute as a button here....

And Celebration Elephant. What in your life are you ready to celebrate? She's got her party hat and banner ready to go!

Summer Care for your European Beads

Summer is officially ON! Time for the pool, hot tub, and the great outdoors. Please follow these tips to keep your precious, silver, European bead charm bracelets safe and shiny.

Pool? Don't wear your jewelry in the pool. Chlorine is rough on the silver and removes the lovely oxidation.

Hot tub? Don't do it. Chlorine issues, plus the hot water, damages any CZ crystals you may have.

Cleaning house. Be sure your charm bracelet doesn't come in contact with chemical cleaning products as it will ruin the finish. Natural cleaners are better for your health as well.

Sun block lotion? Good for you for remembering to use your sunblock. Your beads will look great sparkling in the sunlight! And will appreciate a quick rinse and towel dry at the end of the day.

Summer cleaning: some European bead experts suggest wiping your beads down each evening. That may be more upkeep than most of us care to do. I suggest giving your beads a quick weekly polish in the summer months. Use a soft silver polish cloth, available in jewelry stores and through Charmish. It's fun to buff the little beads and your bracelet, bringing them back to a gleaming shine. It only takes moments. Don't use liquid silver polish on your beads as it will remove the oxidation (the lovely darkened areas in the designs).

With a little care and occasional cleaning, your charm bracelet will gleam for a lifetime, and be handed down for generations to come.

Welcome to Charmish's new blog

Hello! Welcome to Charmish's brand new blog. Please subscribe to get in on new releases, specials, jewelry articles and designers.

I transferred all the Charmish articles from my regular blog, Bliss Monkey Studio, so they can all be in once place. You are welcome to read both blogs, but I decided a Charmish - only blog would be easier for charm bracelet friends to look through.

yey!

Australia Series - pandora style european beads charm bracelet

I'm pleased to share the Australia charm bead series. I have been eagerly awaiting the first production of these beads to arrive. Eventually there will be more animals in the set, but these beauties are a great place to start collecting.

This is the Australian flag super-imposed on a map of Australia, and wrapped around the bead. I have designed one for the US, and UK as well! (soon soon). Unique pieces for your European Charm Bead collection.




This shows the scale of the tiny tiny work and the craftsmanship. See Tasmania down there? So cute.



Koala mum and baby. Many of the Australian souvenir jewelry and other company's charm beads show a single animal. I wanted to celebrate the special animals of Australia and motherhood! Coming soon: Mother kangaroo and joey, Echidnea and Platypus.


Sydney Opera House. I wear one of these on my own charm bracelet along with the Eucalyptus Leaf bead. I feel like I have a little pieces of Australia with me. I was inspired to design this series for my children who have dual citizenship, but haven't visited yet, my beloved Australian clients, and of course my natural love for Australia.

If there are any opera fans out there, you might like to know that many SOH productions are available to view on Netflicks! Huh.

Koala, Kangaroo, Clown Fish, Eucalyptus, and Sydney Opera House are still available. The sample set with the Map/Flag of OZ sold out, but I'll be getting more in. If you are interested in these, please ask to be on my waiting list. :-)

Fairytale Series

Inspired by fairy tales, I designed this series of Fairytale charm beads. Everyone has a bit of magic in them, they may simply need reminding........






The Frog Prince has been arrested? What's the rap? Can he still wear his crown in jail? I think the King will bail him out shortly. He is a real prince after all..... he just needs one simple kiss. Is that so hard to come by?

Don't worry, it's only the size chart photo.



The Wishing Well. Did you know that tourists throw just under 3 million pounds per year into wishing wells? (In November 2006 the "Fountain Money Mountain" reported). Clearly wishing well beliefs are still getting high marks in our modern day world.

I had a wonderful time researching the history and symbolism of wishing wells for this design project. Would you care to learn more? Read on.

***********************************
From the Wiki
A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and often a scarce commodity.

The Germanic and Celtic peoples considered springs and wells sacred places. Sometimes the places were marked with wooden statues possibly of the god associated with the pool. Germanic peoples were known to throw the armour and weapons of defeated enemies into bogs and other pools of water as offerings to their gods.

Water was seen to have healing powers and therefore wells became popular with many people drinking, bathing or just simply wishing over it. People believe that the guardians or dwellers of the well would grant them their wish if they paid a price. After uttering the wish, one would generally drop coins in the well. That wish would then be granted by the guardian or dweller, based upon how the coin would land at the bottom of the well. Traditionally coins were made of copper or silver and had biocidal properties which kept the water from going sour (bacteria produces various acidic compounds which affect the taste, notably Hydrogen sulfide). It was thus lucky to throw coins in the well.

The tradition of dropping pennies in ponds and fountains stems from this. Coins would be placed there as gifts for the deity to show appreciation.

This may be a left over from ancient mythology such as Mímir's Well from Nordic myths, also known as the ¨Well of Wisdom¨, a Well that could grant you infinite wisdom provided you sacrificed something you held dear. Odin was asked to sacrifice his right eye which he threw into the well to receive not only the wisdom of seeing the future but the understanding of why things must be. Mímir is the Nordic god of wisdom, and his well sits at the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree which draws its water from the well.
********




The Good Wizard. What is the castle or the king and queen without a loyal Wizard at their side? He wields his magic only for the good of the kingdom, of course.

Symbolism: knowledge, magic, education, and goodness.

Visit my etsy store Charmish to see the whole fantasy series: Castle Keep, Wishing Well, Wizard, King (Queen coming soon), Frog Prince, Mushroom, Book. Shop while supplies last.

New Birthstone Bead Series

New birthstone charm beads available at Charmish! I love the two styles I have in my shop, and wear both on my own bracelet, marking my children's birthday. This is the Pebbles Birthstone style, which comes in all birthstones of course. :-)




Special of the week: $10 off a bracelet with purchase of one bracelet and one bead. It's a great time to start your very first bracelet, or enjoy a second one. They look great in two's and three's on the wrist. Be sure to send me your wrist size in the message to seller's box. We add one inch or 3cm to allow room for the beads.


This gives a good sense of the actual size and detail in each bead. Centimeters on top and inches on the bottom.

Birthstones!

Charmish beads update:



Birthstones are in at Charmish! I love this design and wear it on my bracelet (with my April birthstone). I don't have them all listed just yet, but have all the birthstones in stock. A nice bit of bling!

I also have a Love Yo Motha, sale going on, with selected heart designs. Easy to spot in the "featured" section of Charmish.




A view of my bracelet. I don't have it filled with charms yet. I'm holding out for some designs still in the works. I have been collecting handmade glass by different artists. Hand made, lampwork glass looks gorgeous next to all the silver charms.

New Designs in Pandora Style European Beads

Greetings! Have a look at some of the new charm bead designs in my Charmish etsy store. I'm so in love with European Bead charm bracelets, and the beads are so much fun for me to design. I'm proud to offer fresh, modern, FUN designs in solid sterling, heirloom quality, handcrafted sterling.

This one is Circus Tent. Wouldn't that be fun for a circus fan, urban circus performer, or Burning Man Festi?


I give the size in MM, but here's a clearer idea of how much detail is involved with such a tiny bead.


Rocket!


This is the cutest Scooter! I almost have to have one for my bracelet even though I don't RIDE a scooter!!

Sterling bracelets coming to my shop next week.


Lazer Blaster! This cracks me up. Goes with the Rocket and Robot series.

Charmish- Big big news!

I am very pleased to announce: I'm now respresenting my own jewelry line, Charmish on etsy. It is a great and unusual opportunity to represent the jewelry that I design for another company. Along with the things I create in my Bliss Monkey Studio, and share with you here, I also spend two days a week working with EuropeanBling and desiging their super fun charm braclets.



European beads are the new wave in charm bracelets and modular jewelry. You start with a gorgeous, thick silver braclet, and collect beautiful, sterling charm beads to go on it. The charm beads come in many styles and themes, so you can tell your life story (with birthstone beads, anniverary momentos, first house, zodiac, etc), collect them to represent special accomplishments (first race, gallery art show, spiritual quest), or collect your hobbies and favorite animals and colors. Our beads are fully compatible with other major brands of European charm beads, such as Pandora, Biagi, Troll beads, and Chamilia.

European style charm bracelets are normally rather expensive. We use the same quality, craftsmanship and materials, but create them with more affordable prices and super fresh designs. I hope you love them as much as I do!