Tuesday, August 3, 2010

A Charming Giveaway


As sad as it is to confess, my sense of style - where jewelry is concerned - sort of got stuck in the 80s. I like big pieces. Big earrings (back in the day, if they weren't at least 2" long, they weren't really earrings), big pendants, big statement jewelry. Big. Not small.

So, when I decided to make a Man in the Moon pendant (the Short One is very into the Man in the Moon these days), I planned on making a relief version similar in shape and size to the hippo one. Pretty straightforward.

In the meantime, however, I had a request from a customer to make a simple set of "Java Jive" letter charms. The night I made them, on a whim, I cut a simple moon face charm (above). And, well, I liked it. Simple, slightly rough looking. It worked for me. And it was small, probably the smallest piece I've ever made. See?



Well, I thought, why stop there? I made a few mini skully pendants:




This design was one of the earliest I created. I made the first one about a month after I started working with metal clay. Except the original version is about twice as big as this one. These are small and light enough to work perfectly well as earring components. Cool! So I decided to shrink yet another favorite, older design:


Here's a tiny version of my dragon heart pendant, just about 11mm square. Anyway, these all turned out quite well (in my humble opinion). As a test, I hung one of the little skullys on a ball chain, wore it around over the weekend and liked the result. So, I sat down with the clay and made a small school of fish:


You can probably tell where I'm headed, here. Not only do I have these four charm designs, I have two more on the table with prototypes for an additional two and sketches for at least one more. Yes, I'm completely charmed! Charms are charming!

Would you like to share my current joy in smallness? If so, please leave a comment here, below this post. On Friday, August 13th (an auspicious day if there ever was one), the SO will pick a winner. The winner, in turn, may pick one favorite charm, among not only the charms in this post but any I show off on the blog before the 13th, to be mailed to her or him. The usual rules apply - no "Anonymous" posters, please.

Oh, and if you can't wait until the 13th, I've put a few of the finished charms in the shop.

Thanks for visiting - I hope to hear from you!

UPDATE: You can view more charms here, here, here and here.

66 comments:

Karyn said...

These are all adorable but I love the heart one the most.

Thanks for such a great giveway... fingers crossed I am a winner!

Karyn

Unknown said...

Love them all! Even if I don't win, I think Liz will want to pick some up to make into earrings. Come to think of it, I think I really neeeeeed "Dragon heart" earrings. Oh, Liiiiiiiz!

Mary-Ann

Amy F said...

I'd love to win an adorable charm!

Regina said...

They are cute, love the man in the moon, I hope SO picks my name.

A life of Assorted Nuts said...

I love them! especially the skulls :)

beth said...

I just love your little charms..great work!

Michelle Mach said...

I love tiny charms. In my last PMC class I made two cute ones with my leftover clay--liked them more than my "real" project! :)

Michelle Fudge said...

They are tooooo cute!!! I love the little skulls and the dragon heart. I might have to put in an order if I don't win.....come on SO, pick me!!!!

Erin S said...

I actually love small pieces. especially if there are several clustered together. You charms are awesome! Skullies and dragon heart are my faves. Hope I win!
Erin S

Valerie said...

I'd love one of your charms - you decide . love the thought of your son loving the man in the moon who my father now decezsed tuaght me to look for.

TesoriTrovati said...

These are charming! August 13th will be a GREAT day! That is the day that I will be debuting my gallery exhibit. I love the crescent moon. Did you see it last night? It was dynamic and alive, I tell you (and it lit my path as I drove home from Milwaukee at 12:30 am!)
Enjoy the day!
Pick me, Short One! Pick me!
Erin ;-)

mairedodd said...

oh, i love these! bold is beautiful but these are so wonderful! thanks for the chance to win one!

Hannah said...

Those charms are beautiful! Thanks for giving us a chance to win one. :)

Hannah

sandi m said...

All tres cute Melissa.
I like the skull and on Friday, the 13th couldn't think of a better one to win!

Diana P. said...

They are all super cute. Ironically, my 30th birthday is on the 13th so that would be extra cool if I get picked,lol!

Nancy Markosky said...

I love tiny charms clustered together too. Please add my name to your generous giveaway and I'll keep my fingers crossed for a SO lucky draw.

steufel said...

Ahh, totally cute! Love the smaller versions though I'm fond of bold and chunky pieces, too!

Francine Michaud said...

How cute! Please enter my name for your giveaway, THANKS!

Niky Sayers said...

Love the dragons heart very cute!

Mel said...

Oooooh, I am CRAZY in love with the ladybug!! I love what you are doing with your charms, so cute and fun!

Pretty Things said...

Very generous! I love them all, so you'd have to choose one for me!

Spirited Earth said...

how to choose..these are all lovely.
great giveaway

Daer0n said...

They are too cute! I love small things especially when it comes to jewelry :)

Nury77 at live dot ca

slkunze said...

Tiny is very eyecatching, and I would love a tiny skull for an 18" black neckwire. Or the moon smiling about a secret! These charms are fantastic.

rnjenny1 said...

Oh I would love a skully!

Louise said...

I just love your minis. I am a mini lover. Big overwhelm me. Just discovered yout minis.
The skulls are my favorite.

Jeannie said...

I love them all, but the dragon heart is my favorite.
Good Luck to everyone.

Andrew Thornton said...

The new charms are awesome! Keep up the good work! Anyone who wins these will be extremely lucky!

Janice said...

What a fabulous giveaway, I love the 'small' charms.

Nicki said...

I am totally a small pieces person. Love those, and would certainly love to win one of them. Thank you Melissa for sharing.

Jenny Steinbeck said...

Love these charms. My own little one also likes ladybugs, so that resonated with me. Also love the buttons-- reminded me of my own childhood when I collected them. But I think my favorite is the spiderweb. So cool. Thanks for offering this.

Best--

Jenny Steinbeck

Eve Smith said...

They are all lovely but the one that stands out for me has to be the little dragon heart pendant.x

horimarika said...

Your charms are so cute!!! I like skulls very much...

Patti said...

Such sweet charms!

Susanm said...

They are all cute but I have a thing for fish...definetely my favourite.

Unknown said...

I am such an 80's chick too! I cant believe you made them so small! Awesome work!

peggy aplSEEDS said...

i would love to win the fish charm to add to my fish charm bracelet!

Kristy Lynn said...

These charms are SUPER cute!

I love the fish and dragon heart...very unique

Kristy

Yeli said...

They are all beautiful. I love moons and fish, so it is difficult to pick a favorite.
I wish you the best of luck with this new venture.

Alpha-Mom said...

They are all adorable. I love the skulls!

Susan Marling said...

Those are wonderful!! I love them. Thank you for the give away.

Maneki said...

Such pretty little charms! Normally I'm not a big fan of skulls, but these are just adorable. (And as a dragonlover I can't resist the dragon heart charm.)

Alice said...

I love seeing your venture into smallness. Your mini charms are so sweet, and I'd love to win--though choosing might be difficult.

MoonRae said...

I love these teeny charms!! Most especially the MOON, of course. I collect anything "moon"! Thanks for the opportunity to win one of your pieces!!
~Sharon~
lunrei@yahoo.com

midge said...

I found your blog through a link on Katie Hacker's blog.

Your work is wonderful.

I have now bookmarked your blog!

I love the whimsy feel of the small charm designs and the strong artwork of your pendants. VERY nice!

I'll be back!

Gail

Beryl Phillips said...

I just discovered your blog- love your charms. Very cool jewelry!

Kiki said...

I love the dragon heart--I hope this inspiration never runs dry! Have a wonderful time making more charms!

cw whitedogjewelry said...

I love the little charms. They work so well to personalize a bracelet or necklace. They also give movement and "charm" to your designed piece.
What a great prize!
Chris

Shannon Chomanczuk said...

I love the dragon heart! I love all things tiny so I am drooling over all of them. My birthday is this week so it would be so cool to win!!!
Shannon
For My Sweet Daughter

Coop said...

Could these be any cuter! I love, love, love them and have a place right here on my jewelry for them. Thank you for a chance to win your adorable charms!

Francy said...

cute, cute!

belgd said...

ooh cool. thanks.

Ann said...

I love the tiny scale of these! Excellent.

The Skulls are cool and the dragonheart.

Ann
http://www.mycriticaleye.com

Skye said...

I came across your blog on a random search and absolutely love it :)

Out of the mini charms you've shown so far, your Skully & Bite Me charms take the cake! Adorable beyond belief... and trust me, I've very picky about skull emblems and charms ;)

Lisa Briles said...

Love the Skull heads and vampire teeth!!!!

Tara P. said...

So cute! I have such a soft spot for hearts, so the dragon heart would have to be my favorite!

EVA SB said...

I love the lunar phases pendant and the cobweb & button charms.

swopemelmel said...

Cute, cute, cute !!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed. swopemelmel@aol.com

R said...

Love miniatures.
Skulls perfect for Halloween !

Stephanie Grant said...

Oh I just love those skulls, my husband is getting a Tatoo just like it :0)
thecartoonlovinmama(at)gmail(dot)com

ape said...

how can i choose? i've been sitting here trying to figure out which is my favorite & i can't decide. if i get lucky enough to win, will you pick one for me? pleeeeeeeeaase? thank you!!! :)

april

SueBeads said...

I think I love the skullies best! Thanks for having a giveaway!

Sue said...

Thanks for thinking of all these ideas 7 offering a give away.

stregata said...

Such a generous giveaway! Love your exercise in smallness!

Lucid Moon Studio said...

These charms are so cute! I can't decide which one I like best, but I am leaning towards the moon because of the name of my business! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!

Lisa

Pam said...

Less is more, isn't it? When you wear tiny, people have to get closer to see it and we all need more closeness. Love your tiny charms!

Pam