I'm working in Frida's presence

 Diane -  Mexisoul.Etsy.com

   Yesterday I stopped by at Cantera in Santa Ana, the store my friend Diane has her art works besides little things she loves and hand selects for re-sale. Luckily she was there herself!! Diane is one of the biggest fans of Frida Kahlo (can you tell?) I love her style, but I love her soul more than anything about her.We like having long deep conversations about life and relationships, though we also crack up by our silly jokes a lot (ok 'my' silly jokes mostly). She calls me 'my gem friend Derya' I really like that, because she says it so genuinely from the heart. 

This small print of Frida Kahlo caught my eye on Diane's display and I couldn't resist . I didn't hang it on my studio wall yet, so for now she is leaning towards my little blue sewing machine and watching me create, also inspiring me.

Frida also watched me making these new cuffs last night..

Is this just gorgeous or not? Purple enamel large flower is re-purposed from a vintage brooch,

I've added the rhinestones around the pearl at the center of the flower. The bigger rhinestone chain is going to drape towards the hand when worn on the wrist. This bracelet is not finished yet though, I will add leather inside of the leaf cuff part.

     This cuff has a different base than the other ones I've designed.This time I curved a large intricately cut brass dragonfly wing, and did a white faux enamel on it. There is beige color recycled leather piece inside, so the cuff is also gentle on the skin. The large butterfly brooch is another vintage find, I've changed the rhinestones and added freshwater pearls on it. This cuff bracelet is almost finished, I will only add chain and clasp to the back side.I'm excited for both of these new cuffs! 

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My friend Diane has a fresh new Etsy shop Mexisoul 

She just started adding some of her jewelry designs, and some vintage finds, I'm hoping she adds some of her amazing embroidered wall art works too, so you can see those as well. Go and take a look at her shop, heart her, add her items in your favorites etc. I'm sure she will enjoy all your interest!!

love,

Derya

I'm working in Frida's presence

Forget the big picture, enjoy some small pictures instead..

       I took these little shots with my cell phone on my way to the 7-Eleven which is just around 

the corner from our apartment. Spontaneous images of things caught my eye and looked pretty (in a way), simple and plain, without sweating to have that perfect shot. I'm thinking about doing more of that, because this made me realize; it is a great way to pay attention and really 'look at' your surroundings (which are usually invisible to us because we always walk pass them with our fast steps and full minds)

also to give a little break to your hard working mind..

Hard working minds.. 

I guess sometimes we just need to stop focusing on the 'big picture' , take it down from the wall of our mind, put it away where we can't see (maybe the garage) and try to find little simple joyful snap shots from daily life to do an arrangement  to refill that empty wall.. No ambitions, no competitions allowed, 

how does it sound?

 Nothing luxurious yet very rich in a good way, kind of shabby.. made me feel like covering all the windows in my apartment with fabric.. ;)

I just love trees and love trees with flowers even more.. 

Poor dress hanger.. They made him carry things more than he can take obviously, he couldn't take it anymore becoming useless and old so he was thrown away to the street. Somebody didn't even believe that the dress hanger deserved at least to be placed in the trash can..

 I guess the reason I love bougainvilleas very much; because they remind me one of my most favorite cities in the world, and the best vacation spot; Bodrum/Turkey

click here to see some photos of Bodrum

Forget the big picture, enjoy some small pictures instead..

Trip to the Golden Hills

Out little getaway this weekend was so beautiful and refreshing!  I've been wanting to see California poppy fields for a long time! Antelope Valley is about 2 hours away from where we live, even though it wasn't going to be a long trip we decided to leave on Friday, spend the night at a hotel on our way to the fields and start our fun Saturday all fresh and as early as possible!

Although extremely noisy elevator right next to our hotel room didn't let me sleep all night, I was too excited about the next day at the poppy fields, so I didn't let that ruin my day! It was all worth it for the poppies at the end of the day, seeing the hills covered with orange poppies as far as my eyes can see; took my soul to a place where I felt all worry free and calm.

I was a little stressed out about the warning we got when we were first entering to the fields 'Watch for the rattle snakes!', so whenever I'd see a whole on the ground while walking through the fields, I'd walk faster and try to keep in mind that snakes would be more scared from us humans then we are from them for sure. So they won't jump on me for no reason. ;) 

The poppies in my country (Turkey) are very different than California poppies. Then ones grow in Turkey are red and have black seeds at the center like these click here, I personally like those more than the golden ones.:) The word for poppy flower in Turkish is 'gelincik', the word is coming from 'bride' in Turkish.

Now my next dream to hopefully come true soon is to have a trip to cotton fields! As someone who dedicated a collection of jewelry designs to cotton plants, I think I deserve that don't you think?

♥

Derya

Trip to the Golden Hills

Lately...

I've been sick.. First I thought it was allergies, then it turned out to be the cold with a terrible cough :/ . I didn't even have the energy to add my new pretties to my shop, I feel bad.. The good thing is that I get to try the kleenex with lotion in it, hopefully at the end of this situation of being a sickie, I won't have deep peeled like red scars around my nose and I'll look hot again sooner than it used to be! :P

Last week passed mostly with creating because I was home alone most of the nights due to my husbands different than usual work schedule.. During the days I've photographed the pieces I made, then edited them on Photoshop.. It is actually Photoshop Elements that I just got and have been trying to learn for the last few weeks. It is not easy to achieve certain things I must say, needs step by step instructions first, and then a lot of practicing. If you like to try your hands on Photoshop but shy about spending that much money on something you are not sure if you are going to love (that's how my initial feelings were), you might want to go with elements. Photoshop Elements is a LOT more affordable, and unless you wanna go super pro on these things, it'll give you more than you need.. If you feel like you need more and want to learn more, then you may upgrade to Photoshop , nothing to loose really..

Then there was thanksgiving, oh it was a FUN day.. You know I'm not an American and neither my husband, so we don't celebrate thanksgiving in our country. BUT, we've been lucky to be invited to our friends' gatherings for the last few years, and I must admit; I love it! Haha.. Who doesn't like the idea of 'whatever you eat at thanksgiving day, it doesn't have calories!' Yayy, dream come true! Anyway, we were invited to my friends' house this year, aaaaaandd she is an Etsian too Elsie (click to see her shop), yes I met her through Etsy! That's why I love Etsy, and I will never stop loving it even though if I happen to close my shop one day! Etsy gave me a friend, I believe a life long friend, do you think I'd exchange that to -let's say- a million bucks I make out of Etsy?? OK, maybe I exaggerated here a little bit, but do you think I'd exchange my friend to -let's say- thousands of dollars I'd make out of Etsy? NO, of course not!.. Isn't great? (OK I'm being serious now) :P

Enough silliness for a night, I think my NyQuil is kicking in, gotta lay down a little..

P.S. Don't forget to comment here (click) to have a chance to win my poppy earrings! Good luck! :)

Derya

Lately...

My lovely customer from Australia..

She is one gorgeous young lady who knows how to work her style and write about it in her blog http://frocksandfroufrou.blogspot.com/ . I was so happy and honored when I found out she had a review in her blog about my poppy earrings she has purchased from my Etsy shop short while ago! She is wearing them in the photo above, and looking all cute and sexy! ;)

I feel lucky to find out about her blog this way, because I always go back and enjoy reading about her shopping experiences and always wonder what kind of a new look she will create next!

You can read the whole post here in her blog!


Love,
Derya

My lovely customer from Australia..

Work in progress..

The last show I did was pretty great! I had so many great responses from people about my jewelry. Especially my wallpaper necklaces got the most attention, everyone wanted to touch them to see what they were made of, then when I popped the news 'I made them with wallpaper!', they seemed pretty amazed! :)

One of the ladies who purchased one those necklaces didn't let me package it because she wanted to wear it right away. She came back 20 minutes later and told me that she already got so many compliments and wanted to share that with me! I was proud of course!

So having said that, I was inspired to make another piece, so I'm working on it right now. You can see the pieces together above in the photos, I'm liking the combo very much! I'll post the finished photos here soon..

love,
Derya

Work in progress..

Poppies and Honeycombs...

I'm so excited about these earrings! I think they are cute, yet sophisticated with a touch of nature and color... They are made with hand painted vintage lucite discs and antiqued sterling silver. Poppies and Honeycombs are up in my shop!


Derya

Poppies and Honeycombs...