A few of my latest creations...

Shiny raw silk mixed with the luster of pearls and the brilliance of Swarovski crystals

African turquioise combined with brilliant colorful( blue, purple, green) Swarovski crystals!Playful glass pendant hand made in Java, Indonesia and surrounded with lampwork glass, coral, bone all on an adjustable waxed fiber!

Ornate cast brass leaf medallion, batik bone, sleeping beauty turquoise, purple spiny oyster shell join together with a pewter toggle clasp.


Contact me for more information. cindylesher@aol.com

Girl Friends Night Out - Laugh, Dine and Shop!!

The EVENT is CANCELLED---sorry for any inconvenience!!!

Through the mighty power of the grapevine, I was cordially invited to be a vendor at this event called "girl friends night out". Realize all of these events that have been listed to date are a "first" for me. It's exciting discovering what really works for the DUCHESSE collection. Hope to see you. Here are the details:


"BUBBLES & BAUBLES"
GIRLFRIENDS’ NIGHT OUT!!

When: December 4th 7:00 pm

Where: Prudhomme’s On Fourth-50 N. 4th St., Columbia, Pa.

Why: Laugh, Dine, and Shop with the girls!

Who: Ladies only! Get the gals together-check it out!

What: 8 fantastic ladies with "notions, lotions, potions, jewelry, housewares, health products & more!

Cost: $15.00 includes a lite fare buffet, bloody mary’s, mimosas & spritzers

FOR RESERVATIONS & INFO rsvp 684-1706 Prudhommes On Fourth

Holiday Craft Show of Lebanon

The DUCHESSE collection is coming to Lebanon! Find the details for the show below the pictures. Here's a hint of what you will discover at the show.

Here are the details:

What: Holiday Craft Show of Lebanon

Where: Lebanon Valley Exposition Center, 80 Rockerty Road in Lebanon

When: 2 day show!!

Saturday November 22 from 9am - 5pm and

Sunday November 23 from 10am - 4pm

Admission: $4

I've been to the show years ago and it was HUGE and very well ORGANIZED. You don't want to miss this one!

If you need directions or have any questions, just post me a message below! Click on comments.

I'm busy working on lots of COOL earrings in VARIOUS lengths, colors, and designs. They will make great "STOCKING STUFFERS"!! Every purchase comes with a wonderful gift bag! I made them myself. I need to take some pictures and post them soon. If you're in to different style "bags", I know you'll love them!

Visit the John Wright Warehouse Restaurant and Gift Shop to see the DUCHESSE collection

Some of the DUCHESSE collection is now for sale at the John Wright Warehouse down by the river in Wrightsville. Find a sampling of necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Easy to find:

North Front Street, Wrightsville, PA 17368.

John Wright Warehouse is nestled in the town of Wrightsville right across the river off of route 30 in York, PA. It's a wonderful restaurant with fine food and a fabulous gift shop. One of the best views of the Susquehanna while you dine outdoors in summertime or in side during the winter months. Check out their website for more information: John Wright Warehouse

Winter Art and Craft Show at the Hershey High School

Adjustable waxed fiber necklaces are made with roundish seeds from South America died vibrant colors, millifore flower glass, and tiny hand crafted glass beads from Java, Indonesia. I've made many in several different color schemes with NO two exactly alike that are all adjustable in length.

Shimmering strands of raw SILK from Argentina combined with a denim lapis lazuli from Chili. Looks classy with blue jeans! Several to choose from and no two are exactly alike.

What: Winter Art and Craft Show

When: November 1, 2008 Saturday

Time: 9am - 3pm

Where: Hershey High School - Indoors!!

Address: Hershey High School,(click on Hershey for a map) 550 Homestead Rd, Hershey, PA


Come visit the DUCHESSE collection of handmade jewelry with tons of new and exciting designs with vibrant colors!

Rained OUT...

The Chamber's Hill Elementary Craft Show day unfortunately was a RAIN OUT. The RAIN DATE however, has changed. The Rain Date for the Chamber's Hill Elementary School is now OCTOBER 11. However, I will be unable to attend. I am working on the possibility of other local events in NOVEMBER. I'll keep them posted right here. Check back soon.

Chambers Hill Elementary School's 1st Annual Craft Fair

The DUCHESSE collection will be on display at this fund raising event:

• 1st Annual Craft Fair
  


• Chambers Hill Elementary school
  


• Student Activity Fund Raiser
  


• September 27th 8:00am - 1:00pm
  


• Rain Date - Saturday, October 4th, 2008
  


• PHONE: (717)561-1655
  


• LOCATION: 6450 Chambers Hill Road Harrisburg, PA 17111 Click on the address. This will take you to mapquest which will show you a map of the area and the star is the school's location.
  

Discover my latest NEW creations!

The new fall 2008 colors are out everywhere! OH, I absolutely LOVE them. I've been busy designing and creating all kinds of NEW necklaces, earrings and bracelets with a variety of beads made of glass, seed, bone and natural stone. Above you can see just one conglomeration of NEW beads I've added to the DUCHESSE collection. Discover some of my latest creations made from these beads and others. Come to the Hummelstown Arts Festival this Saturday September 13 from 9:30 am to 5pm (One Day Only!). You don't want to miss it! I hear there will be a couple of new vendors appearing in addition to myself.

Hummelstown Art and Craft Festival September 13th 2008

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Florida to see my sister and her family and found good news in the mail! I have been accepted as a vendor in the Hummelstown Arts Festival schedule for Saturday, September 13th. The show will be on West Main Street in Hummelstown, PA and some side streets too. Unfortunately, I will not know my exact location until the day of the event. But, I do know I'll be there somewhere. I'm sooooo excited I can't wait! My first official "craft show"!

While aboard Duchesse in the Caribbean I loved to participate in what we called "swap meets"(kind of like a yard sale done at one of the local marina's). It was a way for us cruisers to buy and sell used boat parts, books, movies, clothes, etc. Displaying what is now known as "the DUCHESSE collection" was a favorite of mine on the first Sunday of every month while we were in Venezuela in the Maremares Marina Resort.

From now until September 13th, I will busy increasing my inventory, designing my "booth", designing a new packaging idea, and hoping to post some pictures here for a preview of what is to come for the fall.

Stay tuned. And check back for future Art and Craft Show dates for the fall.

The Duchesse collection is on display NOW for the entire month of JUNE at the HERSHEY PUBLIC LIBRARY. Please feel free to stop in and see the collection. Grab a card at the library and email me with any questions.

Earthtones

Starting with a hammered Hill Tribe sterling silver ball pendant I surrounded it with some of my favorite old coconut heishi. The amber color beads you see are hand carved Suchow JADE with each piece having a unique look. African turquoise rondelles add some contrast. Finished with dark brown pen shell heishi with a splash of turquoise pebbles. Toggle clasp makes this easy to get on and off in a snap. Choker length is 16 inches.

Name: Copernicus (my son named this one after a crater on the moon)
Beads: Hill Tribe Sterling Silver hammered ball pendant, old coconut heishi, hand carved Suchow Jade, pen shell heishi, African turquoise, sterling silver toggle clasp.
Length: 16 inches
Price: $76

Wonderful Raw Silk Fibers!

Shades of browns, purples and greens combine with a dash of black making this piece earthy and versatile with many opportunities. The 12 strands of silk fibers add unique sophistication.

Name: Earth and Wind
Length: 16 inches plus 4 inches of pendant with dangles
Beads: Natural stone pendant, raw silk, black coral, luminous coin pearl, African turquoise rondelles , sea shell, sterling silver toggle clasp
Price: $60

Luscious Silk

Wow, did I have FUN creating this one. I've been playing around with this luscious brown silk and I am quite happy with the possibilities!! I will be creating many more in the above design with several other themes and color combinations. It feels light, comfortable and very versatile! Looking for something elegant? This one is for you!


Name: Dangling Copper
Beads: Brown raw silk strands, Tibetan Copper Coin Pendant, copper pearls, copper cone, copper toggle clasp
Length: 22 inches , dangle pendant from cone to coin pendant 3"
Price: $60

Glimmering Raw Silk

Shopping in Palermo Soho, I stumbled upon a street that had tons of yarn shops. The colors and textures just drew me right in to see the possibilities. This glimmering silk caught my eye.
I've been exploring the possibility's with endless ideas. Below you can see some strands with shades of blue and green turquoise, antique white bone, and betel nut tube beads. I hope to get some additional pictures taken soon and post several other creations. Stay tuned.

Land and Sea in different colors...

Yesterday's necklace featured a brown coconut combined with a red sponge coral. Here is a similar style in shades of green with some coconut.

The center bead is also a coral but dyed green. The green coral is surrounded by the old coconut disc shaped beads from Ghana Africa along with greenish blue shades of chalk turquoise, brown bone beads, and some small green glass beads. Easy to wear and adjustable

Name: Variegated
Length: Adjustable from 16 inches to 28 inches
Beads: Green coral, old coconut, chalk turquoise, brown bone beads, green glass beads
Price: $55

Land and Sea

Made with tons of old COCONUT disc-shaped beads from Ghana Africa. The dark coconut sets off the perfectly shaped sponge CORAL beads purchased on the island of Margarita off the coast of Venezuela during our cruising adventures. A dash of some African Turquoise adds some contrast. This piece is made on an adjustable wax fiber. You just pull and it closes or opens.

Name: Land and Sea
Size: completely adjustable from 16" to 25"
Beads: coconut, coral, turquoise
Price: $50

Purple Kick

I'm on a purple kick I guess. This necklace will be a cinch to put on with no clasp! Fits easily over your head with a dangle down your back.









Name: Purple Pentagons
Length: 28 inches
Beads: mother of pearls with a deep purple luster, olive green pearls, violet oyster heishi, olive green fiber with a foil glass bead.
Price: $45















As I was surfing the web, I discovered another color site that predicts the color trends of the upcoming seasons. If you're into colors, take a peak here at the Fashion Color Trends. According to Pantone, there are shades of purple, olive greens, silver...

Color Trends

In Argentina there is no guessing what the fashionable color might be. At this moment for Fall it is PURPLE plain and simple. You see all shades of purple showcased in the window of most boutiques. Plus, everyone is wearing it somewhere from head to toe.

One of my favorite colors just happens to be purple. Needless to say, yesterday while I was rambling through my beads, I just grabbed everything purple and some green to contrast. This necklace is similar to a design I've made before with slight variations and a completely different color combination. It's a rare occasion that I make 2 necklaces exactly the same.

Name: Mint green with purple passion
Size: 16 inch choker with 3 inches of chain to lengthen
Beads: Mint green foil glass, mint green turquoise, violet oyster heishi, peridot irregular heishi, purple glass heishi, sterling silver large lobster clasp and sterling silver chain
Price: $55

For those of you who are inspired by colors or may be interested in what the color fashion of the season is, I recently discovered these two blogs, "Color lovers blog" and Color Trends blog

Color Motivation

I usually tend to gravitate toward certain colors that I personally love. However, last summer when I was replenishing my wardrobe with some new tops and dresses, I decided to BREAK AWAY from my traditional color attire. This motivated me to create a new necklace to color coordinate. I truly enjoy this kind of work and thrive on this kind of challenge! So if there is something in your wardrobe that needs a complimentary necklace, send me a picture or bring it on over to the house in May.

Just getting started with my JEWELRY blog

Weccome to the DUCHESSE collection of handmade beaded jewelry!

Well, I did it. I finally figured out enough about Picasa Web Albums to get a sample of some of my latest creations on this blog in a slide show form. Picasa is a great source to know. You can store all of your personal pictures on the internet and keep them private if you like. As you create albums with some of the pictures, you can make them public. This allows you to share them on a blog or website. If you click on a picture in the slide show to the right, it will enlarge the pictures for a better view.

Anyway, I am still trying to decide how I may want to proceed with this blog in terms of information and sales. For now I believe this will be where I will share my thoughts, new designs, pictures, and new jewelry creations. And soon, I think before we leave Argentina, I will add a WEBSITE to make purchases EASY. With our return to the states on May 19th and with the children finishing school in early June, I anticipate more SPARE time to dedicate to my hobby.

So, as I have time to create jewelry, learn more about some blogging features to add here, and figure out a website for sales; I hope you will visit me here again soon. Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts. To do this click on the word "comment" below. Also, if you'd like to share this blog with a friend, just click on the envelope below. For you to find this BLOG easily next time, just click on the "subscribe post(atom)" below this message. Doing that will add this blog site to the "bookmark" feature on your tool bar above.