A little blog love...

I had a really nice little blog feature this morning in the Seattle PI featuring my holiday collection! The blog is written by a gal who runs the Urban Fashion Network here in Seattle.

Very nice!

Now off to get my hair done. Nothing like a fresh cut and color...it's going to be a good day!

Launching my Holiday Collection '09

It's here! I am so excited to release and announce my Erin Jane Designs Holiday '09 Collection! It's only about 20 new pieces, but they are all FANTASTIC and so perfect for dressing up for the holidays, gift giving plus lots of basics for day or evening. Something for everyone! It's such a great feeling to have been able to include items that have soldered elements. For so long I've had design ideas that I've thought I can't do because I don't solder...well, not anymore! Yippee! I've been working so hard learning these new techniques and having even more fun. I'd love to hear from you on what you think of the new designs. Leave comments or email me at erin at erinjanedesigns.com.

Here's a little peek at what you'll see...

Metalsmithing and other new endeavors...

Wow, I've been so busy! A couple months or so ago, I decided to give metalsmithing a try. I've taken a couple classes before, but never really applied the things I learned in my own studio - thinking I couldn't have all that fancy equipment in my house, plus I wasn't ready or willing to spend the money. But, in fact, you can do a whole lot with some pretty basic tools...and a whole lot of patience. To refresh my memory, I bought a few books for reference and gave it a go. Oh! And YouTube! Good god there is a ton of cool stuff on there. Tutorials galore. I started with just some basics - soldering posts on to earrings, soldering circles and hoops closed, etc...I loved it! It was so satisfying. Since then I've set a few stones and even made a few rings! I can't even tell you how much fun I've been having. The items I've been making have been taking forever though. I'm used to pumping out tons of pieces of jewelry a day, but with some of these new techniques that I'm still a novice at, I can only get a few done a day - at the most :).

I'm also getting ready to release a small holiday collection for Erin Jane Designs. I'm hoping to get my photos finished, pricing done and launched on the website in the next couple weeks. I haven't released a new line since last spring, so I'm pretty excited. You'll see a lot of examples of my soldering...I couldn't really get enough. I'll keep you updated and also post some teaser photos :). Some seriously cool stuff.

One of my favorite (and most time consuming!) items I did recently, is this ring. I'll be putting it in my Etsy shop SOON! Here is a photo after I made the band, bezel and backplate and pulled it out of the pickle - plus the crystal quartz stone I would soon set. Then, the after...bling!!

I'm also working on a necklace setting - it's still a work in progress. Ugh, and it might be for a while. I'm having such a hard time polishing these little guys. I'm learning that there are still so many tools that I still need to make the job easier.

More to come soon...!

A song for you...

I love music. I listen to it while I work out, while I work, while I drive, while I cook...well, you get the idea. Just about every week I have a new favorite song, so I thought I would share some with you occasionally. Here's my FAVORITE right now - Take a listen. It's called "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

I just read on their MySpace page that they performed on Letterman - guess I'm not as hip as I thought... :)

Sale, Sale, Sale!

Well, I'm ready to make some room for some more fall and holiday jewelry, so I've reduced prices by 25% on 15 items in my Etsy shop. There are items for $15 in there...what?!! Just click on the SALE link.

I've been working on a holiday collection that I'm really excited about. I'll post some photos soon.

In the meantime, check out the sale for early holiday shopping! Here are a few of the items included. Just click the photo to get to the sale!

Farewell Summer!

I'm not quite ready for summer to end, but I can feel it in the air. Fall is here. I love everything about summer - EVERYTHING. Long days, warm nights, flip flops, summer fruit...all the FOOD! Yum. Needless to say, we've been eating well in the Staples household. Heirloom tomatoes have been wonderful this season...as usual. Here's an easy recipe for you for a wonderful Heirloom Tomato salad. The recipe is for 2 :)

2 Heirloom tomatoes - big ones :)

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 TBSP red wine vinegar

4 TBSP garlic flavored olive oil (I'm obsessed with this lately)

1 handful of croutons

salt and pepper

Cut the top 1/4-inch off the tomatoes and set aside. Cut the inside of the tomato away from the outside skin without cutting through completely; scoop the good stuff and seeds out with a spoon and stick in a strainer set over a bowl to drain. Season the hollowed tomatoes with salt and pepper.

Put the onions in a small bowl and add them 1 tablespoons vinegar and a pinch of salt. Whisk together 1 tablespoon vinegar, the garlic oil and the drained tomato water. Season well with salt and pepper.

Coarsely chop the drained tomato and put in a mixing bowl. Add the onions and croutons. Drizzle the dressing over the bowl and toss very well; season again and add more oil, tomato water and vinegar, to taste. Stuff each tomato with 1/2 of the stuffing and garnish with the tomato tops. EAT.

Ahhh, Minnesota!

Every summer my husband, Tom and I head to Minnesota for a week or so. I grew up in Duluth and have friends and family that we visit. We just got back from our annual trip on Monday night.

Every year we head up the Gunflint Trail to East Bearskin Lake where our family has had a cabin for the last 3o years. There's really nothing quite like time up at the cabin. It's so peaceful. No cell phones, no computers, no TV...just quiet. There wasn't enough time for fishing this year :(. We were only there for 2 days - which is WAY too short - and then headed to a little town just a ways from Duluth for a wedding. It was gorgeous and so wonderful to watch two of my very favorite people get married.

Cabin photos...

Wedding photos...

Now, back to jewelry...