Thursday, August 18, 2011

An addiction OTHER than fiction...


My name is Maeve and I’ve recently developed another addiction.  No. It’s not shoes. I already admitted to  that one long ago. Nope. Not purses either. I’ve had that addiction since I was a child.

It’s sparklies. Yep. You guessed it. I must’ve been a crow in a previous life because I’m now channeling that feathered thief’s insatiable need to line my nest with precious pretties.

This uncontrollable need for the lovely temptations first stirred while I attended RT in Los Angeles. I happened to stroll past Kay Sturm from Oh So Fine, Inc.’s table and what should I spy? Dragon jewelry.

I must admit that I’ve become a bit besotted with the exotic creatures and have come to the conclusion that the awesome beasts bring me the very best of luck. You see, the Draecna of my upcoming Brava release, Eternity’s Mark, are close cousins to the mythical beings and resemble dragons in many ways.

The gorgeous dragon and sapphire blue crystal necklace and earrings called out to me as I walked by the table. “Maeve. Touch us. Feel the weight of us in your hands. Know that we long to lie cool against your warm skin.” Now tell me the truth. Who could hold out against such a seductive whisper?

While wearing my lovelies to work, my uber-talented friend, Shelia Moore admired them. I call Shelia uber-talented because she’s quite an artist when she’s not squirreled away in the midst of the gray cubicles of the accounting department. She actually MAKES jewelry! Imagine my inner crow’s delight when Shelia examined my necklace and said, “I think I can make a bracelet that will match.”  And she did! Look – isn’t this GORGEOUS?

When she presented it to me, I asked her how much she wanted for it. I know her supplies can’t come cheap and she’s always “creating” something. Shelia makes all sorts of necklaces, bracelets, and lovely bits of jewelry. If she can dream it, she creates it.  

She shrugged and smiled as she straightened it around my wrist. “Nothing. I just made it for you.”

I asked her again...after all, I didn’t want to take advantage of a friend.

“No. Really. It's yours." 

Well, I couldn't just take her gift and not give her something to show my gratitude. So, I asked her if it would be okay to post her work of art on my blog. 

She smiled again and agreed. She also added, "I’ve got a Celtic necklace that might look good on there too.”

Here’s the necklace she fashioned. Aren’t the garnets lovely? Needless to say, I bought the necklace from her. I couldn't let a bit of Celtic jewelry escape!
I think my wonderfully talented friend is going to be an awesome resource for giveaways to readers. I know she could make some to-die-for book thongs, necklaces, bracelets, etc. Like I said, if she can dream it, she makes it. I’ve just got to figure out what I need and give her plenty of lead time.

By the way, if you’d like to get in touch with Shelia to get a lovely creation of your own, here’s her email addy: sjmoct@hotmail.com  She’s one of the most talented jewelry artists I’ve ever met and if you’ve got an idea for a unique creation, I bet Shelia could make it a reality.  And even if you don’t have any ideas – Shelia can help you. She's got loads of her own!

So, come. Revel with me in our harmless addiction. After all, don’t you think there’s a little bit of crow in all of us?

40 comments:

  1. Oh how lovely! I can see how this has become your new addiction! I love the celtic jewelry!!! Thanks for sharing, Maeve.

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  2. Shelia is very talented, Renee and her cube is only a few rows down from mine! ;-)

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  3. Oooh gorgeous!!! Yes, she is talented and I love neat jewelry too, especially earrings.

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  4. She finds the best looking beads and baubles to fashion into sparklies. She's got an entire room filled with all the tools of her craft.

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  5. Ooh...Cool, Maeve! I love the Celtic necklace! But a crow??? Maybe you were a fashionista instead. (I like that better--it goes with the jewelry, shoes and handbag additctions. I confess: do you remember Imelda Marcos? She recreated herself in me. My husband keeps asking me if I think I have enough shoes yet. Well - how silly! Does anyone ever have enough shoes???

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  6. Dragon jewelry? How cool is that? I have amber dragons and glass dragons and dragon necklaces and dragon earrings and dragon prints and dragon tapestries. Glad to know I'm not addicted the way you are!

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  7. LOL! You're a woman after my own heart, Donna! My motto sounds like it would work for you: If the shoe fits, get a pair in every color. ;-)

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  8. OMG! I bow to you and your WONDERMOUS collection, Mona. It sounds gorgeous. What's that old saying about great minds think alike? ;-)

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  9. Oh and I have a collection of dragon statues. Bought the set from Wicks and Sticks years ago. Very cool!

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  10. I know, Mary - isn't that necklace beautiful? We used to have a Wicks & Sticks here in our Mall but it closed down. I hated to see it go. They had such neat stuff. I bet your dragon statues are gorgeous.

    :-)

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  11. I love the dragon touches. It suits you. Her celtic designs are gorgeous. It's great to find collectibles like that. I'm up to 11 Kathy Van Zeeland bags now. Shh... don't tell the dh! I have to admit, celtic bling is even better. ;-)

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  12. Gorgeous! I'd like one of everything.

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  13. The jewelry is beautiful, Maeve. I've never been much for wearing a lot of it, but was raised by a mother who couldn't even weed the garden without her earrings on. My daughter makes jewelry and gifts me every so often. How lucky you are to have such a nice friend to spoil you with the sparklies. The Celtic design is especially lovely.

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  14. Absolutely gorgeous jewellery, a worthy addiction I feel. :) I once had a pair of dangly dragon earrings, but I lost one :( However, seeing as I have six ear piercings and am not bothered about matching I still wear my lone dragon in combo with other earrings. :)

    Libby

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  15. Hi Victoria - I LOVE Kathy Van Zeeland bags too! Men just don't seem to understand. One purse is just never enough.

    LOL! I know how you feel, Shelley. It's so hard to choose.

    Oh Paisley! A daughter who makes jewelry? How lucky are YOU? And you are so right. I'm very grateful that I have Shelia for a friend.

    I think a lone dragon earring would be quite chic, Libby! I've got my eye on a lovely pewter dragon ear wrap but I'm trying to hold off since I'm a bit *ahem* over budget this month. *grin*

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  16. Enjoyed your post, Maeve. How unique your pretties are. Dragon jewelry is very kewl. I just rewatched the Lord of the Rings, so as long as you aren't purring 'my own, my preciousssss' over these trinkets I won't be too alarmed. You may line your nest. Magpies also love shiny things as well as crows.

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  17. LOL! oh no, Beth! I'm afraid I DID hear Golum's voice in my head when I was looking at m'pretties. ;-)

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  18. I'm a sucker for sparklies, too, Maeve. I'm addicted to turquoise, tho. I wear a big turquoise ring on the middle finger of my right hand. I love the Celtic one above, but I like the dragons, too. I'm trying to get some writing obligations out of the way so I can get my art supplies out and work on some dragon stuff.

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  19. I love turquoise too, Faith!

    Thanks, Patsy! :-)

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  20. Gorgeous jewelry. I love it, especially the unique pieces.

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  21. Thanks so much, Lilly! Shelia is extremely talented.
    :-)

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  22. Me likey, me likey! Oh Maeve, thank you for posting this! I confess, I have a thing for the sparklies too. I also have a perfume addiction...a bath and body works addiction...books, music and video addictions...Oh hell. Well now that I revealed all that, it makes it okay to buy more jewelry right?

    LOL!

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  23. ROFLMAO!!! More jewelry is ALWAYS a good thing, Lizzie

    ;-)

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  24. You have excellent taste, Maeve! My sister also makes jewelry, I'm going to send her a link to your blog so she can see how pretty your dragons are!

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  25. A jewelry-making sister would be VERY handy, Valerie! I count my lucky stars that Shelia is my friend. ;-)

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  26. I love dragons, and jewelry, and have quite a few pieces with dragons myself. I also collect jewelry from all ages. I was a rock hound as a child, and as an adult, that has translated to a love of gemstones--natural progression right?

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  27. It sounds like a perfectly natural progression to me, Melissa! :-)

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  28. I thought it was magpies that were collectors of sparklies?

    Love the garnet Celtic necklace. The dragons are great too. I have some dragons in my collection, and my daughter wore one of my dragon necklaces when her graduated from HS.

    Janice~!

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  29. Magpies, crows and ravens ALL collect "sparklies". Oh! And so do I. :-)

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  30. A jewellery is very nice for this women thanks for sharing us.

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  31. Thank you so much for stopping by, Celtic Jewellery. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and liked Shelia's work.

    :-)

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  32. Gorgeous! How wonderful she can create such amazing pieces. I tried beading and jewelry making for awhile, but it does become too much of an addiction!

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  33. I'm afraid I don't have the patience needed for such detailed work, Cate. But I'm certainly glad that Shelia does! ;-)

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  34. Gorgeous jewelry. i like it. design is so lovely Thanks for sharing us.

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  35. Thanks for stopping by, Celtic Cross!

    :-)

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  36. I love the dragon! Owning a piece of celtic jewelry is elegant, unique, and classic. Each piece has its own meaning and symbolism that originates from Ireland, which is why it is a great to have in anyone's jewelry collection.

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  37. Your jewelry is so cute and very amazing. Thanks for sharing us.

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