Earrings Silver Treble Clef With Pink Swarovski Crystal Hearts

All of my talents are in the arts, which can be a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I love what I do and I love being creative. However, let's face it -- it's really hard to make a living as a musician, writer or jewelry designer, and when you're dealing with subjective opinions, you face a lot of criticism.

I'm fortunate in that I have a steady job as a writer for a magazine, but I got a rude awakening when I attempted to have a novel published a few years ago. I had to deal with agents and editors -- and though many were helpful, there were also many who hated my work. I faced a lot of rejection, but ultimately think that the suggestions did improve my book. I took a break from it because the writing process stopped being fun, but I'm proud of the work I did and am glad that I put myself out there.

Anyway, the point of this long post is that another one of my loves is music. I've played flute for almost 30 years at this point (yikes, that's a long time) and while I used to participate in music competitions, now do it strictly for fun. I put out an album a few years ago for which I had 100 percent creative freedom. I've never become a famous musician, but that's fine with me -- I play when I want to and what I want to.

That said, I designed these very classic and simple treble clef earrings in honor of my love for music. I call them the "I Heart Music" earrings (real original, huh?). I think it's cool that I'm writing about my jewelry making that involves a piece dedicated to another one of my passions. Somehow I managed to combine all three! Now if I could find a way to include cats, I'd be all set...

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs on Etsy.

Abstract silver necklace with Swarovski crystals

Sometimes I feel as if I have a secret identity. While I haven't hidden the fact that I make jewelry from anyone at work, I don't really go around talking about it either. A few people know about my outside interest -- I did make my boss some earrings for her birthday -- but I don't bring it up that often. That said, a bunch of my colleagues were surprised today when I clued them into my Facebook page for Naomi's Designs.

I hadn't planned on mentioning it, but the woman next to me wanted me to "Like" her FB page. I replied that I would if she liked mine (which she did). She and the woman across were surprised to hear of my new venture and had a lot of questions about it.

It's kind of cool having a bunch of different "personalities." There's Work Naomi, who writes for a TV magazine, and Writer Naomi, who keeps several blogs. Then there's Musician Naomi and now Jewelry Maker Naomi. Sometimes they cross over -- as in this blog -- but mainly, I keep them pretty separate. Though when I play flute at my friend's wedding this summer I'll probably wear my own jewelry, so I guess those two aspects of myself will meet up.

I think that everyone needs some different personalities. If you do the same thing all the time or are only known for one thing, life can get pretty boring. So I encourage anyone reading this to try a new skill, whether it be a sport or gardening or making jewelry. You just never know if you'll like something until you try.

Now that you've met my mulitple personalities, here's a fitting necklace for the day: my abstract silver necklace with Swarovski crystals. To make this, I basically played around with wire, bending it into all different kinds of shapes. I then added multi-colored crystals. I was trying to make a Picasso-looking item, but well, it's hard to mimic Picasso. Still, I like it and have decided to call my art, "Naomism." Not sure what that says about my personalities, but I'm confident that it's positive!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.

Silver Triangle Necklace With Pink Swarovski Crystals

How do I know that I've gotten way too immersed in making jewelry? I've been dreaming about designs. I'm not kidding. I'll often fall asleep thinking of new ideas for necklaces or bracelets, or of different types of beads and crystals. I think that if doctors were to examine my brain, it would be covered with bling.

I'll also see everyday objects and wonder how they could work as jewelry. For instance, I recently found myself staring at power lines and wondering what gauge wire they were, and if I could make a spiral out of them. Pathetic, huh?

Don't worry, though, I'm not about to make necklaces out of any telephone cords. Today's featured piece was made from regular 14 gauge sterling silver wire.

This is what I've nicknamed my Hershey's Kiss necklace. I'd attempted to bend the wire into a triangle, but the corners came out slightly rounded. I then had this idea to string a band of Swarovski crystals across is, but the only way they'd stay is if I did it at an angle. Because of the not-quite-a-triangle shape and the way the beads were strung, it turned out looking like a Hershey's Kiss with a wrapper.

I still think it's pretty cute, though. It would make a sweet gift for a girlfriend, for example; you could give her this along with real Hershey's Kisses (Mmmm..... chocolate). Or it could be a nice piece of jewelry for a fan of the color pink.

Well, it's almost time for bed over here .... let's see what designs I dream of tonight!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.