Contest Winner Announced!

I'm pleased to announce that Elaine Rosser has won the jewelry contest at Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry website.  She's the winner of a $25 gift certificate.  I can't wait to see which jewelry item she'll use her gift certificate on.

Congratulations to Elaine!

Raising Butterflies

I think one of the most rewarding things I've ever done (besides raising my daughter, of course!) was the two times I raised butterflies.  The first time was when my daughter was little.  We raised those right from the eggs that we found on milkweed plants.  How fascinating to watch those tiny little eggs break up and the tiniest caterpillars appear.   Then we watched as those tiny caterpillars grew each day - you could almost watch them getting bigger.  Once in awhile we'd find a little pile of dead skin lying where one of the caterpillars had shed it to make room for his growing body.  

We had quite a walk to get the milkweed which grew in the nearby woods and each day we would set out to get fresh milkweed for the little guys.  And as they grew bigger, we had to come home with more and more leaves - boy, could those little guys EAT!  I remember it being a really hot summer that year too and wondering just why I had started this as we trudged the hot streets to get the milkweed.

When the caterpillars reached their full growth, you could actually hear them crunching on the milkweed plants.  Those big beautiful caterpillars crunched their way through the milkweed leaves every day.  Until the day came when they crawled up on the branches we had put in their container, attached themselves, hung down and turned into lovely green chrysalises.

I don't remember how many days we waited and watched those chrysalises until finally, late one night, the first chrysalis started to move.  It trembled and it shook and you could see the outline of the orange and black wings of the Monarch butterfly inside.  And finally the first Monarch emerged.  We had six Monarchs that year.  We let their wings dry for a day and then released them in the back yard.  What friendly little guys!  One landed in my hair and stayed for quite awhile.  They stayed in our garden for days and were a beauty to behold.  I wish I could put up some pictures but I didn't have a digital camera back then.

But I can put up some photos of the Swallowtail butterflies that I raised last summer.  Those I found on my parsley plant in my garden when they were quite big caterpillars.  They had almost completely finished with the parsley plant so I brought them in so I could buy more parsley and feed them and protect them from predators outside.   I only had them a few days when they went into their chrysalises.  While the Monarch chrysalises were shiny and green, the Swallowtail chrysalises were brown and looked just like the wood they were attached to.  When they went into chrysalises, they spun a very tight lasso around their bodies and then hung back on this cord.  They weren't as friendly as the Monarchs when released and only spent a few minutes in my garden before taking off.  But I was able to get a photo of one of them.  Here's one just coming out of the chrysalis.

And here's the photo of the one who stayed in my garden for a short time.

Raising butterflies is a very rewarding and fascinating experience.  You should give it a try!  If you have any questions about what to do, let me know.

Absolute Necessities

I have a few of my broken china jewelry pieces on consignment at Absolute Necessities in West End, New Jersey.  I stopped off there to show my new sea glass pieces to Sharon (who is a real sweetheart and really knows the fashion business).  She took 15 of them to feature in her store so now I really have to get busy and design some more!

If you're ever in the area, stop in and say hi to Sharon.  She has a huge selection of fabulous accessories.  Or if you see something on my website that's in her store, let us know and we'll arrange to get it to you.

Absolute Necessities
84 Brighton Avenue
West End, Long Branch, NJ  07764
732-222-0772

New Sea Glass Jewelry!!

I'm very pleased to say that I've just finished putting up a few pieces of my new sea glass jewelry on my website.  There's an ankle bracelet (anklet), a ring and two pendants.  Here's a photo of the anklet.

And the ring.

I wasn't sure at first if the sea glass would fit in with my "cracked" theme, but a lady who has taken some of my jewelry into her store on consignment mentioned that sea glass is formed from "cracked" bottles or glass so it fits in just fine!

The sea glass used in my jewelry is authentic sea glass.  Unfortunately, sea glass is getting harder and harder to find since we use much more plastic than glass these days.  When my daughter was little, we always collected sea glass whenever we went to the beach, which was often.  Luckily, I still have some of that sea glass to make some jewelry pieces with.  I wish I had kept more of it!  Not all of the pieces that I have are the right shape and size to make jewelry with.  

Please visit my online store and take a look at the new line of sea glass wire wrapped jewelry.  And then come back to this blog and let me know what you think!

Don't cry over broken china - recycle it!

Do you have a favorite piece of china that has been broken? Is there a certain tea cup, perhaps one that your grandmother loved, that is now cracked? Or that first baby plate of your child's that you'd like to do something special with?

There is a way that your precious china can be transformed into something that will be treasured always. Lovely pieces of jewelry can be made from your broken china. Together we can create a beautiful pendant from a plate that was used for your wedding cake -- or a wire crochet necklace featuring a saucer that belonged to your mother. That favorite mug of your father's whose handle has broken off can be transformed into a brooche. Or earrings can be made from the beautiful bowl that sat in the middle of your table for years.

Contact me to start the process of creating just the jewelry piece or set that you want. I know you'll be pleased with the result. Take a look at my website for some ideas of what can be done with your broken china.

http://www.marjoriescracked.com

One more thing - Jewelry Contest!

Yes, Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry Store is having a jewelry contest!  Win a free $25 gift certificate towards any of the unique broken china jewelry items available.  Here's how to win:

Http://www.marjoriescracked.com/contest.html

Good luck!

Marjorie

New jewelry added!

Lots of new jewelry pieces added to my broken china jewelry store.  The spring weather has brought with it flowers and butterflies and my new jewelry reflects it!  Pansies, daisies, roses, strawberries, lady bugs and butterflies all adorn the new pendants, necklaces, earrings and more.  A lovely Mother's Day gift or just something special for yourself - you deserve it!

Check out the new spring items at http://www.marjoriescracked.com.

Enjoy your spring.

Marjorie