EVERYONE who knows me is aware that I am in love with ETSY --- YOUR PLACE TO BUY AND SELL ALL THINGS HANDMADE. It is bad enough that I have two stores there, I am also a customer. For some reason I am buying lots of jewelry. But being a professional designer I am way picky. The jewelry HAS to be different from traditional and ordinary. I would like to share with you what I loved so much I HAD TO HAVE IT! And also introduce absolutely lovely artisans who created them. 

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/StelmaDesigns

On e of my favorite things to wear is a very long necklace made out of abalone shells buttons. I bought at STELMA DESIGNS.  I love it because I can wear it long, in 2 layers or in 3 layers wrapping it around my neck. This design is double sided and flat—great to wear under winter coats and heavy jackets, because round beads would hurt your skin under such garments.  I just love this necklace. And the colors of this sumptuous necklace are full of rainbow shine, that only dark mother of pearl shell might have. 

A woman has to have a matching set of earrings.  Not too matchy-matchy.

I have found a unique pair I HAD have at Quenchmetalworks.

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/quenchmetalworks

These earrings are totally different from any I have ever seen before. They are made out of the same color abalone shell as my new necklace, plus sterling silver .However, this time they are made out of the boot buttons with a single hole. I love my new earrings.

A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was still quite warm in
The Garden State, my family and I spent a lovely day at the Van
Saun Park Zoo. The day was too perfect to be true, and as I
always say something ought to happen (remember in my earlier
entry, our perfect vacation at Wildwood, and the very first 5 minutes
back at home my 2.5 year old smashed our 52” TV?). Yes, just like
 that. So we are at the park enjoying a perfection of a day; we walk
 through the grassy patch; I wear my cute sandals; I get stung by
 a bee into my big toe. Stung FIRST TIME IN MY 36 years!
As they say, there is always time to try new things for the first time,
but I do not recommend that one. I used an “F” word real loud several
 times, and now both my kids know it well…Well, at least they
learned it from their mom, not on the street…Actually technically
 from their mom on the street...  Then I realized how lucky I am
because the bee bit me into an especially tough callus skin and its
stinger did not penetrate deep at all, so I removed it out of my poor
toe right away. The bee was not as lucky. As you know after a bee
stings it dies. And my bee had the end of its career announced
first by me stepping on it.  Poor bee, it did not even really hurt me. 
So it inspired me to make something in memory of My Bee,
therefore its end was not in vain.

I made cutie earrings out of black and orange glass beads.
I call them My Bee. They are #2 here.

Here you can see that other artists were inspired by bees,
I wonder why?...

1.  By WonkyRocket  "A WonkyBee named Murphy" - Tote Bag 

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30878260

2. By Maria Farber "My Bee" - Earrings

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33597174