Dog Days of Summer

Living in the northeast, we long for warm weather somewhere around January. This year, the warmth arrived sometime in May, then it disappeared until July. Summer just can't come quick enough for us, but when it gets here, it flies by. There are so many things to do and we (I) start making lists because I don't want to miss out on any of it. As soon as I cross out one item on my list, there are two more to take its place. If you're a list-maker, you truly understand what I'm saying!

Needless to say, I've been really, really busy with my "To-Do list." (It's the first summer that I haven't worked at a job in 21 years, so this has been a treat for me.) I'm trying to juggle family and my jewelry business...both of which are things I love!  So far, July has had a wedding theme. I began the month by making a wedding cake...which is both fun and stressful all at the same time. I love creating and designing, and seeing the final product work its way from my head to reality. It amazes me every time. Here is a picture of the cake:

After finishing that project, I moved on to making wedding jewelry. Six of the eight attendants...got necklaces and earrings or bracelets and the two flower girls got bracelets. The necklaces and bracelets were created with 4mm plum Swarovski pearls and plum crystals...delicate and dainty. The Matron of Honor's jewelry was done in white rather than plum, just to make her a little bit different from the other attendants.

I probably got the biggest thrill from creating the bride's bracelet. As I began putting it together, I became more and more excited about the outcome. It has sparkle and shine like nobody's business! Anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE bling! This piece has more "bling" than you can imagine, and unfortunately, it doesn't show up in pictures. So the next item on my "list" is to figure out how to capture "bling" in a photo...which may involve a new camera or some photography lessons, or both. Of course it didn't help that I dropped my camera in the lake...but that's another story for another day.  Here's a picture of the bracelet:

I wish I had room to post all of the wedding jewelry pictures. If you want to see more, you can become a fan of C J Collection on Facebook and peruse the photos that I posted there.

Now that I've crossed that project off my list, I am trying decide which item I want to tackle next. I'm somewhat sad that I don't have another wedding project...since I crave "bling"...guess I'll have to see what I can do to create some sparkle and shine during these Dog Days of Summer!

Enjoy every moment...summers are too short, and so is life!
Carole