We entered a contest at Startup Nation for2009 Leading Moms in Business Competition and now we need your votes! Please visit our profile over at Startup Nation by clicking here and pressing the VOTE button. You can vote for us once a day and we would really appreciated it! The contest goes on until March 31st so please do not forget to visit our profile and vote!

I have been dreaming about designs of pendants and earrings for quite sometime now, but they always entailed some kind of soldering. I am self taught for everything technique that I do, which is just the way I learn and I love learning something new all the time. I have tried my hand at soldering and sometimes it works and other times it goes up in flames (literally!)! Well, I decided to change my technique a bit and my materials by using fine silver bezel wire and I am shocked at the results. I was able to easily create one of my designs and I am quite proud of the results. I have been hoarding beautiful cabachons, druzies and gemstones for the longest time and they just seem to be keeping each other happy inside the boxes instead of being made into sparkling jewelry. Here is a picture of my first creation:

Amethyst Cabochon Briolette Necklace

Right after I finished the first class towards my GIA certification, I enrolled in the next class, Diamond Essentials. It just so happened that the end of the class coinsided with my husband coming home from Iraq after being gone for 13 months – so needless to say I was a bit distracted in December! Somehow through all the excitement and craziness of him coming home on top of the holidays, I found time to take the exam and passed with flying colors. So now I am two classes down towards my GIA certification. I am taking a break since then so I get time to reconnect with our family now that my husband is home. Its never an easy transition, but as things are getting back to normal, I am finding that I now have more time to sit down and create!