Pour les Fêtes...

Cette année, Miel Designs vous offre tous ses bijoux en devise canadienne!

Comme Etsy fonctionne uniquement avec la devise américaine pour l'instant,
les prix chez Miel Designs sont habituellement de même.

Mais pour un temps limité, et ce jusqu'au 31 janvier 2009,
$CAN = $US!

C'est donc dire qu'un item marqué 25,00$ US chez Miel Designs vous sera offert à 25,00$ CAN.

Vous n'avez qu'à effectuer vos achats comme d'habitude, mais attendre une fois arrivé à l'écran de paiement. (Là où il faut cliquer "Paypal".)
Je vous enverrai par la suite une facture révisée en dollars canadiens.


-:¦:-•:*¨¨*:•.-:¦:-
De plus, mentionnez ce blog ou Facebook
dans la section commentaires de l'écran de paiement
et je paie pour vous les frais d'envoi!
-:¦:-•:*¨¨*:•.-:¦:-

Crochet Zen

Well, it certainly has been a long time since my last update, hasn't it!

A few new things since then: I've added new items to my shop and I've taken up crochet!

Yes! My grandmother would be proud! She had originally taught me to knit, when I was little, but I never really stuck to it. More recently, I found out that to knit properly, I'd at least have to learn how to purl. That didn't work out so well. I just couldn't get the hang of it. So, still wanting to play with yarn, I decided to try something else. Crochet! If I couldn't make knots into fabric with two sticks, I might be able to do it with one! And I was right! Or rather, I took the time to learn properly. With a kid's kit. The best way to learn! Klutz's Learn to Crochet in Six Great Projects really did the trick for me. The instructions and illustrations are very, very clear. With a bit of practice, I just couldn't go wrong. Yay!


I'm now making everyone crocheted gifts for Christmas! Finding affordable, quality, natural fiber yarns has also been an education in itself. Luckily, I have the good people at Ravelry to thank. Their user yarn ratings, among other features, are very useful.



So far, I'm pretty happy with my work. Really, I think I may have a knack for this. And I'm finding the whole thing immensely enjoyable and zen.

On the jewellery front, I've slowly been adding new pieces to the shop:

Moreover, and this is the main reason for this post I admit, I've decided to offer Canadian currency at par to all Canadian buyers. As many of you know, Etsy operates exclusively on an $US basis. A few months ago, that was fabulous for us Canadians! But now, not so much. So until January 31, 2009, $CND = $US at Miel Designs. Good, eh?

I still have a few more items to add and am always happy to take up a custom project. Send me a note and we'll talk!

Parure de mariage ~*~ Wedding Set

Voici quelques images d'une nouvelle parure de mariage créée pour une amie. L'ensemble comprend un collier, un bracelet et des boucles d'oreilles, tous trois fabriqués avec des perles de cristal Swarovski marron, rose pâle et claires (Mocca, Silk et Crystal Moonlight), d'apprêts en argent 925 et de pétales d'hortensia en soie.

~*~*~*~

Here are a few photos of a wedding ensemble I made for a friend. The set includes a necklace, bracelet and earrings, all made with Swarovski crystals in Mocca, Silk and Crystal Moonlight, sterling silver findings and accents and silk hydrangea petals.

Now available at Miel Designs! ~*~ Maintenant chez Miel Designs!

For more informations, please see Miel Designs' Etsy Shop.

Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous à la boutique Etsy de Miel Designs.

Now available at the Tea Biscuit Café and Studio!

A selection of my wire-wrapped rings is now available for purchase at the Tea Biscuit Café and Studio in Metcalf (Ottawa South), Ontario.

Tea Biscuit also offer a delicious selection of teas and tasty treats, as well as lovely items by other local artisans. Be sure to make time to stop and say hello when in their neck of the woods.

The very latest! - Tout nouveau!

Soon available at Miel Designs. ~*~ Bientôt disponibles chez Miel Designs.

Bracelet fait sur commande pour Stéphanie ~*~ Custom bracelet for Stéphanie

Voici un autre projet fait sur commande. Un bracelet à trois rangs en perles de verre noires, avec des accents en argent 925.

~*~

This is a new custom piece : A 3-strand bracelet, made with jet black glass tabs and sterling silver accents.



Bien entendu, George le chat ne demandais pas mieux que d'aider au stylisme de la photo... :-)

~*~

Of course, George was all about helping out with taking the pictures... 'Cause you know cat hair works with everything! :-)

Newness for Fall ~*~ Nouveautés pour cet automne

Finally! I've gotten around to taking new pictures of my most recent pieces and am in the process of adding them to my Etsy shop. So if you're starting your holiday shopping early or are just looking for something new to adorn your beautiful self with, have a look here.

~*~

J'ai enfin photographié mes nouvelles créations et je suis à les ajouter à ma boutique chez Etsy. Si vous pensez commencer votre magasinage des Fêtes ou voulez simplement vous parer de quelque chose de nouveau, allez vite faire un tour ici.

Update on the Basalt Bracelet

She likes it! Hurray!

I'm really glad, because I wasn't sure we were envisioning the same thing. It's always difficult to design new jewellery for someone else without basing yourself on an actual existing piece. You're never sure what you are imagining is even close to what your client wants. So, we sent pictures back and forth and kept the conversation going. And finally, we both were satisfied with the result.

It's funny. In my listing on Etsy, I described it as being "a delicious steampunk-style bracelet". It turns out that my client, an author, is writing a steampunk-themed novel at the moment! Coincidence? Probably. Then again, you know what they say about great minds and all that...

By the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't highly recommend checking out her works. Her name is Nathalie Gray and she's a fellow Canadian. Word to the wise, Nathalie writes romantic erotica (Hi Mom!) and hers is definitely not for the faint of heart. Her maxim is "Explosions and... romance?" If this sounds good to you, and it should, visit her website here. Her stories are totally kick-ass! And make sure you tell her Mel sent ya!

A Touch of Colour...

Basalt Bracelet!

Here are a few pics of a custom cuff bracelet I'm making for a client.


I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, considering its size. It is 2" wide. I had to make the separator bars myself, as I couldn't, for the life of me, find any long enough to accomodate the 16mm lava beads. So I got out some sturdy 20g sterling silver wire and curlicued away on my wig-jig.

I've sent off a few pics of the bracelet to said client and am now waiting to read her reaction. Hopefully, she'll like it. But if not, I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve...

Newness...

Here are a couple new pairs of earrings, on this Sunday afternoon...

Both are available at my Etsy shop.


June Earrings - $20



Pop Earrings - $20


Many thanks for looking!

Featured Items ~*~ En vedette

Currently featured at my Etsy shop, are these hand-wrapped wire rings. They can be made in your size and your preference of copper, sterling silver or gold-filled wires. $20 each.

Lava Ring

Lapis Lazuli Ring


Swirl Ring

New! ~*~ Du Neuf!

Many of these pieces will soon be available at my Etsy shop.

Thanks for having a look!

****************************************

Plusieurs de ces créations seront bientôt disponible chez Etsy.

Merci de jeter un coup d'oeil!