Memorial Day Sale: Next Five Days!

Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

There is a Memorial Day  5-day sale beginning today, May 28 2012, and ending on Friday, June 1, 2012 at 11:59 PM ET. For this limited time, take 15% off your pre-shipping total at Graceful Leigh's Etsy shop using the code: GLMEMORIAL. This code is not valid for gift certificates.

Make sure you pass this information along to friends and family!

Until Next Week . . .

We will have some visitors here over the next few days. Most likely, this means I will be taking a bit of a hiatus from blog posting until next week.

Public Domain Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Creature Feature

My eight-year-old son, Liam, adores doing arts and crafts. He has his own shelves and supplies in my studio. He goes through different phases in terms of what materials he likes to use. Currently, he is in a huge clay stage. He especially loves polymer clay and creating many creatures.

Polymer clay (wonder if I can use those hand made beads?) and a resin bottle cap with clay inside

The clay I can understand, but Liam also loves to sew. This definitely does not come from me- I have always been terrible at sewing and do not like it at all. In his art class in school, he discovered how to make Frakenpets by attaching various parts of different stuffed animals. So, he made a lot of these here at home as well. You can see one below.

A frightening Frakenpet!

Maybe one day he can have his own Etsy shop!

Keys to Heaven and Hidden Heart

I just stocked my Etsy store with two new designs! 


The first is a wonderful statement charm bracelet called Keys to Heaven. This design was inspired by both the Saint Medal keys, which I love, and the stunning, (and rare) vintage Swarovski Cobalt Rhinestone flower chain. I used this on its own to create a double strand. 

The medal key images are of an Angel, Our Lady of Fatima, Madonna and Child, Our Lady of Fatima, and Our Lady of Lourdes. I also added seven vintage crosses of varying styles and vintage heart charms. These all hang from a repurposed heavy link chain. 


You can purchase this bracelet (and see more photos) in my Etsy Shop!


I also finished a new necklace called, "Hidden Heart." It begins with a great vintage cross pendant that has rhinestones and pearls. Playing on the wonderful pearlescent elements of the vintage cross pendant, I added crackle glass beads to a repurposed gold tone chain. The palette of this design makes me think of summer!

The second, shorter strand features a vintage locket. I added a Swarovski rhinestone to the front of the locket to coordinate with the rhinestones on the vintage cross pendant. 


So why is it called, "Hidden Heart?" Inside the locket, I added an copy of an antique sacred heart image and filled the locket with resin and gold craft glitter. 

You can purchase this from my Etsy store as well. 

I am Redrawing for my Giveaway!!!

I have tried unsuccessfully to contact Sarah, the original winner of my giveaway over the past five day. I am now going to redraw the winner!

So- the new winner of my store gift credit is:

Ashley Morrissey!!!!!


Congratulations!! I am going to email you instructions with how to redeem the gift card, Ashley!

Lampwork Beads

I have discovered a lampwork bead artist that I have fallen in love with. Her name is Elizabeth Schertz Bunn Braunsdorfand she is the artist and owner of Elizabeth's Beads on Etsy. She has such a great eye for color! Check out some of her bead sets to see what I mean. For example, her Hickory Wind set combines pinks, amber-topaz-gold colors, raspberry, and teals.

Her bead styles range from the more romantic to the more modern. After agonizing over my decision for a long time, I purchased two sets that I love. The first has beautiful, bold purples and pinks. The second set is a more romantic pairing of dove grays, pinks, and other pastels.

Elizabeth's Beads Catch Your Eye collection

Elizabeth Bead's Flood of Memories collection

I am looking forward to creating some more Etsy items with these! So keep a lookout for my soon-to-come items using these wonderful beads.

Sassy's - My Stone Mountain Find

Sassy's in Stone Mountain Village

I discovered the most amazing store over the weekend. Sassy's, in Stone Mountain Village. The boutique, owned by Joan Sharpe, is filled with vintage jewelry items as well as other vintage and antique art and decor. Walking in there is like heaven on earth! 

Some vintage religious finds I purchased

She also displays the jewelry in some interesting ways, making use of antique drawers, porcelain bowls, and other decor items as jewelry displays. You can see more of this if you click on the article linked to in the first paragraph and look through the accompanying pictures. 

Look at these incredible vintage earrings!

I was there for almost an hour and there were still items I had not seen. The owner, Joan, was there, and I told her that I wished her store were in Atlanta. She said that she is close enough for me to make many return visits. And, I fear for my finances, she is probably right!

Winner Announced!

The winner of my grand opening $25 gift card has been announced in my original giveaway post!!!

Ten Years

Our wedding in Sarasota, Florida

Ten years ago today, I married the love of my life and my best friend. To celebrate our milestone, we are going away in a few weeks to The Grove Park Inn in North Carolina. We used to frequent it before we had Liam, and it has been many years since we have been there. I am excited about this rare getaway!

With the grand opening of Graceful Leigh, my Etsy store, I have been extremely busy this week to say the least! I must confess that seeing the items I have created for sale in my shop has been thrilling.

Purchase this necklace from my Graceful Leigh Etsy Shop!

I completed two new pieces yesterday to list in my store. One is a more romantic with an image of a  praying angel. I set the image into a vintage brass drawer pull to use as a center pendant. I then added chain dangles to the bottom. From there, I added a vintage flower charm.

I chose Carnelian and peach glass beads to pick up on the tones and colors in the angel image. The back is finished with a vintage box clasp that matches the peach beads in the rest of the necklace. To finish, I added a cross and a Carnelian drop charm to the back.

My Mary's Graces Etsy team is having a Mary Devotions for May challenge, and I created a pair of earrings for that. I was inspired by the Magnificat, or Song of Mary. This is one of the oldest Christian hymns and one my favorites.

You can purchase these from my Graceful Leigh Etsy store!

I modified a pair of vintage pearl and rhinestone earrings by adding chain dangles and a Miraculous Medal to each.


Don't forget to enter my special grand opening give away! It ends on Saturday, May 5th.