News!

Hi everyone!

As per usual, I've gone WAY too long without writing a blog post!

I wanted to give several updates--

There's a new website in town, and guess who it represents?! ZENITHJADE CREATIONS. You can see it here at http://zenithjade.com/ ! I've finally made the photography side of the business OFFICIAL & I'm slowly moving away from Etsy, (even though I LOVE them), because their fees have gotten too high. I've been on Etsy since 2006 and will still maintain and put listings up in my shop for clients BY REQUEST but clients will pay a 10% surcharge on all items listed on Etsy to cover the additional fees. I am at the same time ELATED and SAD, if that makes any sense! The new website ALSO has a STORE and I take credit cards and paypal via the website! I am working on setting up klarna, and I really thank you for your patience while I figure that side of the business out!

I've still been participating in SWAPS here and there! The latest one, The Bracelet Beads Swap, was put on by Lori Anderson of Pretty Little Things. Some photos are embedded in this post, but you can see them all by searching through the linked facebook group, or by visiting MY facebook group ZenithJade Makes! on facebook.

There are shows and photography EVENTS on the horizon! And I've been doing a LOT of charity work, as well, which I absolutely MUST tell you all about!

My next show to vend at is Mayfair in West Salem, WI at the Lion's Club Shelter, (see more info here), on Saturday, May 13th, 2023. My husband and I will be selling jewelry, leather goods, postcard prints and small 5"x7" metallic prints.

I am helping to organize the Bizarre Bazaar- a geeky show in La Crosse, WI at The Bronze Dragon. It is a show and fundraiser to help keep our favorite alcohol free gaming venue in downtown LaX in business. If you're interested in joining in on the fun and being a vendor, you can sign up here. If you can't join in but would like to help, I'm taking donations for giveaway baskets (items, gift cards or services) and/or you can donate here via GoFundMe. If you'd like more information, feel free to email me at andrea@zenithjade.com or via gmail at zenithjade@gmail.com. 

There's also a fantastic Juneteenth Event which I'm participating in and DONATING to, so if you'd like to stay in the know about that, please please please join my group- I'll be posting all about it there! :)

I'm also organizing an Extra Life Gaming Event through The Coulee Region Gaming Guild which benefits Gundersen's Children's Miracle Network. It raises money for a really great cause which is helping kids thrive! This event is happening in November, and I will have more information on this soon!

As per usual, if you need to get in touch, please feel free to contact me via the form on my website, email or phone via text (I don't answer calls if I don't recognize the number). 

Thank you so much for sticking with me over the years! I've had this blog A LONG TIME and it's going to be wonderful to reconnect with you all again!

Active again on DeviantART. :)

Hey everyone. :) I've been starting to become more active again on DeviantART. I've been slowly uploading some of my favorite photos from my excursion to Japan last year.

Here's a sampling:

I've also been uploading jewelry photos, (slowly but surely). :)

Here's a link to my DeviantART and here's a link to my new website on Indiemade.

I've got a lot of catching up to do with uploading years worth of pictures- have my work cut out!

Here's a couple of my new jewelry pictures:

 

Here's a link to my DeviantART and here's a link to my new website on Indiemade. 

On my new Indiemade website, there's a calendar with information on my upcoming events. I have one on the 26th of this month and one on the 5th of May. :) I'm making more of an effort to "get out there!"

Shoptoberfest in Coon Valley, WI, USA 2017

Making all sorts of neat, new things for the Coon Valley Show!

You can view them in my facebook event by clicking HERE. :)

The show is Sunday, October 15th, 2017. The address is in the event details.

And here's a little preview:

This one uses amethyst, opalite, freshwater pearls in two different shades and shapes, and silver plated spacers and other findings. Ear hooks are silver plated over surgical steel. Very good for sensitive ears!

I have other shows upcoming. They are viewable on my facebook page here:

http://facebook.com/zenithjadecreations/ .

There are also new items up in my Etsy shop! 

 http://zenithjade.etsy.com/

Honestly contemplating building a website! I've done it before, and it's a wicked amount of work, but also a lot of fun. :) Watch this blog for updates and information if I decide to do that! (It will be sometime in November if I decide to do it! *hints*)

I re-designed my Etsy shop banner, and have made it into a newer, sleeker logo:

 

I've been keeping wickedly busy! Hope to see you at one of my shows this fall!

Facebook Jewelry & Art Sale!

Hello faithful followers of the blog!

I'm having a jewelry & art show ON THE INTERNET.

It's happening RIGHT NOW.

And it's been amazing!

CLICK HERE to see all the goodies for sale!

Heavily discounted! Also taking custom orders at discounted rates. :)

Here are a few pictures of items that are STILL AVAILABLE! (As of 5am Central Time)

I'm on Patreon! ^_^

ZenithJade (that's me!) is on Patreon! You can read a little bit about it below and click here for my page!

This is a little what Patreon is about:

* Get consistent funding for your creations, from fans who support you through Patreon.

* Give your patrons rewards like exclusive content or behind the scenes peeks.

* Spend more time creating!

It's like an ongoing kickstarter campaign, where you can pledge to give me an amount each month to help me finance new, fun things - in this case, I'm trying to raise funds for an actual gallery show of my art & photography, but I need your help getting those pieces of art printed and framed!

In exchange, you can get neat things for your pledge- like a handmade plushie made by me, or a piece of art, or even custom jewelry.

I'll still be releasing content on my patreon page for free, (like pictures you see here of old artwork and craft projects, etc), that you can view anytime. :) Let me know what you think!

Pine Ridge Treasures: Favorite Things, A Blog Hop!

Pine Ridge Treasure: Favorite Things, A Blog Hop!!!

Here's a link to the other participants (CLICK) and the group (CLICK). :)

This is a bracelet I made for my brother using some of the blue crystals in my kit.

 I used the matte clear sea glass, the blue crystals and a glass sand dollar from my kit!

The only thing here I used from my kit were the mother of pearl beads. The lampwork glass focal is by Valerie O'Neal, (she makes some really stellar beads!) I accented the lampwork focal with a coated quartz crystal point in a matching shade of blue. I also used light yellow popcorn pearls with some lovely faceted cubes. I don't know if you can tell, but all these colors are in the lampwork focal I used.

 This uses the blue crystals again! (I received a whole stand of those!) I blended them with some light blue seaglass (from the kit), light blue freshwater pearls and some crystal-encrusted rondelles. Very pretty!!!

 This one uses elements from my kit again- I used the orange sea glass and the yellow-orange mother of pearl beads, blended with chain and I made a simple pair of matching earrings to go with the necklace.

 These are probably my favorite! :) Acrylic rainbow beads are blended with light blue seaglass (from the kit) and those silly light blue faceted rondelles again. LOL! I adore how they turned out!

Epic Inspirations Blog Hop hosted by Melissa Trudinger

I *just* started watching Game of Thrones... the scene where the baby wolflets are found really touched me, so I made this set. I hope you like it!

I got all of the beads, minus the wolf focal, ages ago. ^_^ The wolf came from a destash event.

Freshwater pearls, nice China crystal, some tiaria crystal (I think!), and white freshwater pearls. (I LOVE freshwater pearls- I use them in just about everything!)

Please forgive my tardiness in posting. I've been having internet connectivity issues and blogger hasn't been playing nice either. *wry look* It's up now though!!!

The participants:

Melissa Trudinger             http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com (Hostess)

Karen Mitchell                   http://www.overthemoon-design.com

Andrea Glick                      http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/

Karen Martinez                 http://fairiesmarket.blogspot.com/

Lennis Carrier                    http://windbent.wordpress.com

Lindsay Starr                      http://phantasmcreation.blogspot.com/

Mona Arnott                      http://bijouxgemsjoy.blogspot.com

Lee Koopman                    http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com

Shaiha Williams                 http://ShaihasRamblings.com

Veralynne Malone            http://veradesigns.blogspot.com

Elisabeth Auld                    http://www.beadsforbusygals.com

Kelly Schermerhorn          http://meanderingwithkelly.blogspot.com

Dini Bruinsma                    http://www.angazabychanges.blogspot.nl

Jami Shipp                          http://www.celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com.au/

Art of Awareness Blog Hop 2015 hosted by Lori Anderson

A blog hop presented by:

Lori Anderson

of 

Pretty Things

and

Heather Millican

of

Swoondimples

^_^

So! The purpose of this blog hop is to raise awareness for your favorite CAUSE. Since I believe so strongly in so many, I couldn't choose just one. The bead I chose for the hop says simply, "Love Bravely..." I think this falls true for those people attached to a cause and those who love said persons. It can be a hard journey!

I would like to dedicate this blog entry of mine to my friends and family who are fighting and perhaps struggling. I'm here for you! *mad love*

So, on to my design...

Here's an up-close view of the pendant/charm made by Heather Millican of Swoondimples! Isn't it lovely? A lot of the beads that Heather made by hand (!!!) have a saying on the front and an awareness ribbon on the back, with the color of the bead representing the color of a cause. You can see some of those lovely awareness-specific beads by visiting other blogs in the hop! For me, it was very important not to be limited to one specific cause. It's very hard for me to just pick one, because everyone and their battles are IMPORTANT.

Here are the matching earrings! The earwires were hand-crafted by Shelley Grahm Turner of Tori Sophia Designs. She galaxy wrapped the amazonite cubes! :) The other beads are faceted AB crystal and enameled headpins (store bought) in dark teal blue.

 The necklace is made from lovely white AB ribbon (which didn't photograph well); the ribbon ends were bought from The Beehive group on facebook- as were the little bars- the beads are lovely light teal glass pearl and more of that faceted AB crystal. ^_^ The clasp is brass with inlaid Swarovski crystals. Mostly copper findings!

Pretty and delicate!

You can view the participant list by CLICKING HERE. :)

Thank you for stopping by!

~Andrea of ZenithJade Creations

Swap 'n Hop Reveal 2015 - Partner: Rachel M

Swap 'n Hop Reveal!!! ^_^

(WARNING: PHOTO HEAVY!) 

 But first, a raffle! A winner will be chosen RANDOMLY using rafflecopter. Winner will be contacted via email. If you are an international participant you'll be responsible for the shipping costs. Please be aware of that before entering! If I don't hear back from the winner within a week of the raffle end date, a NEW winner will be chosen. Awesome prize: Choose Your Color(s) Waterfall Pendant.

Raffle runs from May 2nd, 2015 midnight to May 16th, 2015 midnight.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My lovely, talented partner- Rachel Mallis- sent me some AWESOME beads to play with... these are the sum of my labors...

 Now I think I mentioned in my blog post that the pendant was on the small side for me??? IT IS PERFECT on this three strand necklace!!! It has just the right amount of "oomph" without being overpowering. ^_^ Thank you for the challenge Rachel!!! It was a lot of fun to work outside of my comfort zone.

So, this necklace uses quite a few of the beads that Rachel sent me- most of them are on the green strand of the necklace. I used some Czech crystal in two shades of green and green aventurine from the horde of beads that Rachel sent. I also used green kyanite on the purple strand of the necklace.

Green strand (shortest): Czech glass, green aventurine in two shapes, green freshwater pearls, copper rondelles.

White Strand (medium length): White freshwater rice pearls and copper rondelles.

Purple and Green Strand (longest): Purple AB (aurora borealis) Swarovski crystal bicones, purple AB Swarovski cubes, faceted amethyst rondelles, purple freshwater rice pearls, green kyanite, and the awesome pendant that Rachel made.

^^^ for the curious as to what went into the necklace

 See how lovely and dainty it is? ^_^ Rachel wrapped it in copper, which is one of her new favorite metals to work with now. It's also one of my favorites, too!

Unfortunately for me, I didn't have any of those cool freshwater pearl discs/heishe... so I made do with some other styles of freshwater pearls. Rachel sent me lovely purple focals and green beads! So this three strand necklace is a combination of those colors.

 I really love these earrings! They bring out the best elements of the necklace, I think.

I also managed to use the awesome copper clasp that Rachel sent me. It has a wonderful "moon and stars" motif.

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I couldn't leave that rockin' focal by kumceramics by the wayside!

Matching that precise shade of purple proved to be tricky, but I think I did OK! I used some vintage faceted Japanese crystal I got from a friend's destash, MORE freshwater pearls, this time in a button shape, AND some gorgeous purple-y leaves/hearts which I got from The Beehive.

Here are the earrings... they used some more of those vintage Japanese crystals, some tiny little crystals I had about, and more of those hearts/leaves.

 Just for a change of pace, I used silver tone, nickle-free findings. ^_^

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Here are those incredible enameled sticks from Numinosity Beads... I used them in earrings! With three shades of complimentary rainbow fluorite, (which was picked up in a different friend's destash!)

Those little copper dangles were also picked up from The Beehive group on facebook.

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This one is one of my favorites that I've made so far! It's very unique!!! Rachel sent me some leathers- so I used both kinds in making of the big star and the little stars (which are adhered to the big one).

Here's an up-close view of the star... as you can see, I even punched out little holes for rivets! I also added a swanky dragon.

Here's a view of "the beast!" ;)

 Here's the complete view of the set. I used a TON of the beads Rachel sent me for this one, plus some of the leather. I was torn about adding some of the silk ribbon to this one. We'll see what I ultimately decide.

Rachel sent the antiqued silver links, the kyanite, the Czech crystals, the leathers, the ceramic beads, and the mosaic turquoise. I provided findings, rivets, the dragon, and the glue. ^_^

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Another fun pair of earrings:

 These use green aventurine drops wrapped in gold wire plus green and white faceted jade beads. The antiqued chandelier findings were given to me by my Swap 'n Hop partner, Rachel, as were the jade beads. (These won't be going up for sale, they went to a friend as a present!)

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This bracelet uses some of the Sari silk Rachel gave me, as well as the HUGE brass butterfly. :) The lampwork glass is by Valerie O'Neal, the little copper butterflies are from Bead Box Bargains, and the silver tone chain is something I had in my stash!

 

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 This piece uses the wonderful Trade Beads that Rachel sent me, plus red faux coral, freshwater pearls and red faceted crystals. I matched to the red in the Trade Beads. I thought it turned out OK- not my favorite out of the bunch- but neat, nonetheless. The wonderful tassel was a gift from a friend of mine. :)

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Here is the chronicle of events:

1) Infomercial

2) Get and Give

3) Introduction to Rachel

4) The Reveal!

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All of these cool pieces will be in my Etsy shop for sale when this post goes live, (at least, that's the plan!). If you want something specifically, please shoot me an email at zenithjade@yahoo.com . ^_^

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Bead Peeps Swap N Hop 2015  Partner List    Our Hostess: Linda Anderson from http//:fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com Linda Anderson http://fromTheBeadBoard.blogspot.com Marica Zammit http://www.beadlovelies.com Jessica Hocutt https://faithfamilyandadventure.wordpress.com Kristina Hahn Eleniak http://www.peacockandlime.wordpress.com Debbie Jeffries http://wordpress/debrasdivinedesigns/blog.com Rosantia Petkova http://bairozan.blogspot.com/ Shalini Austin http://jewellerybyshalini.co.uk/my-blog/ Catherine La Vite http://drygulchbeadsandjewelry.blogspot.com Annica Larsson http://zestyfrog.wordpress.com/ Lori Schneider http://beadaddicted.blogspot.com/ Divya N http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com Mowse Doyle http://mowsemadethis.blogspot.com Fay Wolfenden http://torchfairy.blogspot.com Kathy Lindemer http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/ Claire Fabian http://saraccino.blogspot.de/ Janice Warden Bergeron http://thejewelryroom.blogspot.ca Natalie Davidson http://www.northshoredays.com Deb Fortin http://www.studiok24.blogspot.ca Inge von Roos http://ingetraud.wordpress.com Karen Mitchell http://overthemoon-design.com Robin Reed http://willowdragon.blogspot.com Marie Covert http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com/ Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca Nan Smith http://www.wirednan.blogspot.ca Johana Nunez http://artincendi.com Kelly Hosford Patterson http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/ Lori Blanchard http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com Sue  Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.com Niky Sayers http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk Melissa Trudinger http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com Candida Castleberry http://www.spunsugarbeadworks.blogspot.com Erin Guest http://www.renlish.com Nicole Rennell http://nicolerennell.com/blog Ien Temaluru http://ienmaginationsjewelry.wordpress.com Robin Showstack http://heartsdesiresjewelryforyou.blogspot.com/ Sam Waghorn http://palemooncreation.blogspot.co.uk Marianne Baxter http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com Elsie Deliz-Fonseca http://ladelizchica.blogspot.com Shai Williams http://shaihasramblings.com Lee Koopman http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com Jayne Capps http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com Marti Conrad http://artisancomponentmarketplace.com/martisbuttonsandbeads/2015/03/20/bead-peeps-blog-hop/ Tina Bosh http://bookbug-somanybookssolittletime.blogspot.com/ Eleanor Thomas http://woolywireetc.blogspot.com Jeanne Steck http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com Gloria Allen http://www.wingsandbeads.blogspot.com Rachel Mallis http://www.mintmonarch.com/#!blog/c1jlz Andrea Glick http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ Stephanie Stamper http://skwds.blogspot.com Chris Haussler http://pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com Betony Maiden http://www.beadwenches.blogspot.com/ Kari Asbury http://hippiechickjewelrydesign.com/blog/ Jenny Kyrlach http://anafiassa.blogspot.com/ Colleen Foley http://colleenfoleycreations.blogspot.com Marybeth Rich http://forestofjewels.blogspot.com/ Marcy Lamberson http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com Dyanne Everett-Cantrell http://www.deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com Ginny Lones http://www.Skippingintotheunknown.blogspot.com Maria Rosa Sharrow http://willowstreetshops.blogspot.com Loretta Carstensen http://designsbyloretta.blogspot.com Dolores Raml http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com Michelle McCarthy http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com Louise McCormick-Glazier http://jewelrytreasuresbylouise.blogspot.com/ Heather Richter http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com Tammy Adams http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog/ Shirley Moore http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com Seed Beaders Susanne Stelljes http://pearlify.blogspot.de Sheila Prosterman http://catswithbeads.blogspot.com Pallavi Asher http://kalaabhushan.blogspot.in/ Jami Shipp http://celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com Peggy Kosier http://www.kosydesigns.blogspot.ca/ Andra Weber http://andrasjoyfuljourney.blogspot.com Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com Krafty Max http://kraftymax.com Sierra Barrett http://giraffecanhas.wordpress.com Lois Sherwood http://thiznthat5454blog.wordpress.com Katy Heider http://onthepondcreations.blogspot.com Rebecca Robertson   (White) http://morganafeycreations.121hub.com/ Heather Richter http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com Brandy Collier http://bhjewelry.wordpress.com Stephanie Haussler http://www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com Lori Blanchard http://alainnjewelry.WordPress.com Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com Becky Pancake http://beckypancakebeaddesigns.blogspot.com Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/ Tami Norris https://jewelrybytami.wordpress.com/ Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/ Peggy Johnson http://charmbarn.blogspot.com