holy makrel what a big batch of jewels..

I did it!!! I finished them.. A whole handful of goodies just for you ladies :o)


Stop by my shop tomorrow (Tuesday) to get your hands on your piece of nova.
I am going to bed for a few hours of well deserved sleep.

I hope I'll see you tomorrow!
love ~tess

midnight rants and a whole lot of jewelry

David and I was working on finalizing guest lists and chewing over budget for caterers and tents and stuff. Phew.. It's a lot to think about and it's also a lot of money. David and I will be paying for the whole thing ourselves so it's important that we try to save as much money as possible. So from now on any purchases made in my shops will go directly to "david & tess's special day" little piggy bank! So I wanted to take this opportunity and thank all you lovely ladies who have been supporting me so far. It really does mean the world to me. And without you my special day probably wouldn't be all that special...


So I almost spent the whole weekend in my studio but I've got a lot of nice things to show for it!

I still need to tumble, oxidize and set stones but I promised you a sneak peak so here we go!





are you ready?






Ok it's a lot!




and here's some closer pics on some of them. If you wanna see closer pics of all them go to my flickr page!

A Spring window ring.
Look at that stone! It looks so good I want to eat it. Just nibble a little bit on one of the corners maybe...




Victorian Ladies :o) I know there are some waiting patiently for a Victorian lady of their own... and here are two bold ladies who will make an appearance in my shop on Tuesday.


Rays of sunshine necklace..
I am excited about this one. David said it looked like a bug and he's kind of right... But I think when the stones are set together with some small gemstone and draping chains it not gonna look like a bug anymore :o)

I hope..




Taadaaa!!! My very first shawl pin. Just picture it oxidized with the stone set.. It's gonna look so snazzy (is that even a word?). I must make more of these guys. Maybe a whole series!


Ok so there is your sneak peak. I hope you like what you see! I will finish them and have a shop update this tuesday. I'll try and take new photos of them and post here for you to see tomorrow read Monday... Yikes it's late!!

I have to go to bed pronto!

Good night my friends!
love ~tess

shop update!

ohhh goodies :o) hi hi

I still have some more pieces that are soo close to being finished but I will include them in the next update. Don't miss out on the fluttering or the Lingering vine necklace if you've been waiting for one of those.. These will be in my shop later today!


This little lady was supposes to be included in this update too but I am not 100 % happy with the solder job so I am keeping it for myself.. It looks pretty good on my finger actually. Don't worry though, I have more Victorian Ladies up my sleeve.

Thank you for stopping by and now I am off to work (yes I am running a bit late...)
YAY happy Friday!
love~tess

reclaiming my space

Since we have decided to use our backyard as a backdrop for our wedding we decided it's about time we start to clean up the mess. We're only renting so we haven't been wanting to invest to much time or money in it but this weekend we decided it was time to fight back the weeds and reclaim the space! And I have to tell you this morning I woke up and my entire body was hurting. But in that awesome good way :o)


So this is the mess we started with... Yikes it's amazing how fast growing plants and vines can take over!
We dug everything out to plant new grass. The lawn looks a gaziljon times bigger now. The plywood is courtesy of your landlord... Attractive I know... I guess it was easier than just fixing the broken lock and window. It's too bad cause it's the cutest little shed.. I think I might remove them on my wedding day.. unless I can cover them with plants or something.

As we were digging out the weeds we discovered that there was brick laid out like a little patio right outside the shed. So we cleaned it out and brought my favorite little mosaic table out. And I started dreaming of that little herb and vegetable garden I've never had. So I said, What the heck!! I can do it! I think my mother Eva would be proud. Even though I am sure I planted all my seeds too close and probably in the wrong depth etc.. ha ha you got to start somewhere!


So I made my little mini garden. Besides a good number of herbs I planted, lettuce, carrots, strawberries and tomatoes. Well I didn't actually plant tomatoes cause I can't find the darn seeds I bought.. I must have forgotten them at the store.. so I have to go back. I had selected some juicy looking roma tomatoes and some super cute little cocktail tomatoes.

I am feeling so proud of myself! Now I just have to remember to keep an eye on my little green babies. Oh I almost forgot to tell you! I also bought a lot of flower seeds that I have started inside. Lupines, forget-me-nots, sweet peas, sunflowers and lavender. Oh I hope they'll sprout and grow strong so I can plant them all over the yard!

What were you up to this weekend? I'd love to hear!
And now I am off to my studio. I have some good stuff cooking for my Wednesday update...
love ~tess

Growing vines, victorian ladies and garden nymphs...

Sounds like a fun trio doesn't it?
2 small rings (I know I finally made some small things!) and a necklace. Yummy stones as Bloodstone, mexican crazy lace and a faceted sea foam chalcedony. They'll be in the shop tomorrow morning (ish)! :o)

Plus one custom order listing! First come first served basis.

Sneak peak...

Garden Nymph Ring
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

I finished this Garden Nymph Ring (size 8) and another beautiful Victorian ring (between a size 5 3/4 and a 6) yesterday. I'm hoping to have some more to add to tomorrows update. You can click on the image which will take you to my Flickr page where you can see more images.

Now I am off to work!

Have a great day everyone!
love ~tess

sunday brunches are the best!

I don't know about you, but my favorite thing about the weekends is when you get to sleep in and then have a wonderful lazy Sunday brunch... I could sit for hours and just munch on crisp bread with cheese, ham and cucumber. Sipping coffee and chatting with David. This weekend my friend Harsha was visiting so it was extra nice :o)

I was a bit antisocial and got some studio time so I'm hoping to have a little shop update on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have some pics for you tomorrow so please stop by again.

I hope you all had a great weekend too and that you're rested and prepared for any adventures that might fall on your laps this week!
love ~tess

sleepy

Lisa napping
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

I'm so happy it's friday!
I went to bed late last night so I am really tired today.. I am so looking forward to this weekend. I hope the weather stays nice and I can get some sun time in!

Oh I found my center pieces.. well the start of them anyways.. I will have to take pictures later and show you all. They are going to be great! They are round.. with a hole.. That's all I am gonna tell you for now :o)


Have a wonderful weekend!
love ~tess

dreaming of wedding colors...

I know it's over a year away.. but I like to plan.. make lists... and be prepared... Did I mention that I am extremely organized? well I am.. You wouldn't think so if you saw all my clothes scattered across the bedroom.. completely covering my ab lounge I bought in a weak moment years ago (hey it works great for collecting your clothes...)

I found a seller named mollusa on Etsy that mades amazing cluthes. Her feedback score isn't the best but buyers only complaints was about slow shipping times and I figured I'd give her a chance since my wedding is so far away.. Plus she was the only seller on Etsy that made clutches that didn't feel like grandma or with big bows on them...

So tonight I put together this little color collection for her. I am going to mail it out tomorrow!
We're going for a romantic forest fairytale wedding. And we definitely want to have it outside! Yay! bugs and grass here I come :o)

I really like that silver green color (not sure what to call it... I know there are succulent plants with that color...) and blush pinks. I think they will work great for flowers and everything else. I couldn't commit to just one color so I am going for more of a "feeling" that I hope to convey with them. I;m trying to see if the colors are showing right on the photo but it's hard to tell from here... plus it's late.. past midnight..



Time to wake David up from the sleeping on the sofa and drag him to bed...

Goodnight! Thank you for stopping by
love ~tess

currently on the bench

Thank all of you who made my weekend deals in novadesigns so successful! I had a great weekend and have been working hard to ship out all my orders! But I also made time for David and my friend Harsha who was visiting. We had an awesome dinner at a local Italian restaurant on Saturday. On Sunday we went for dim sum in down town Philly. It was great! I've never been to a dim sum place like that. They rolled around carts with all sorts of fun stuff. I had deep fried shrimp with the shell still on them. Crunchy! But I passed on the cow gut (yuck)... After our brunch we strolled around Philly and looked at all the beautiful old houses in Old City. It was such a gorgeous day and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I decided not to take on any new custom orders a while back. Even though I really enjoy making them they require quite a lot of time and there is always a deadline attached to them. I just don't feel it's the right time for me to focus on that. I have a lot going on in my life and I really want to be able to focus more on exploring my ideas at my own paste. Right now I am currently working on my last custom order for a while. A stunning pink peony ring!


Other things on my bench right now!


A strange little growing vine. It's an experimental design that I've had in my mind for awhile but never got around to actually make. I'm not sure I am quite happy with how it's turning out but it's hard to tell halfway through... Hey no guts no glory, right?

But as you can see I have a lot of other fun stuff in the works! Well the fun stuff still needs to be soldered on :o) But aren't those stones beautiful! Hopefully there will be a shop update soon. I'll blog about the pieces as I finish them, so keep checking back for a heads up.

I had a productive meeting at work a while back :o) I usually don't sketch a lot. I tend to come up with ideas in my head and then just play with metal in my studio. I find that sketches doesn't always play out the way you imagined it when you drew them. Sometimes you have to adjust and change as you work on a piece. However I really liked making all these sketches and I think I am getting better at it. There is something very nice about sketching an idea severeal times with small changes. It slowly evolves and changes as you move on to the next one. So you'll probably see more of them even though I am sure that I am the only one who can see past the rough drawings and all the way to the finish design LOL


This little piece, featuring a yummy sea foam colored faceted chalcedony (0nly 10x10mm) is gonna be the first one I make using a designs from my sketches. I might fuse a couple of them together.. We'll see where we end up but I am excited about it.

Now David is calling. It's time for dinner. Did I tell you I have the best fiancee (I love saying that. It gives me butterflies every time..) in the world? He cooks, cleans, does laundry, rubs my feet when they are sore and tells me that everything I make looks beautiful (even when I manage to melt a design to an ugly blob). He does all of that cause he loves me and supports me. He does it so that I will have time to work in my studio and make the images inside my head tangible items for you to see. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Have a wonderful evening and thank you for stopping by!
love ~tess

The return of the Weekend deal

Mini and Little beansprouts
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

Happy Friday everyone!
I decided that it's been too long since I did a Weekend deal. So I decided to offer a free pair of mini bean sprouts with any 2 jewelry purchases in my novadesigns shop on Etsy.

This weekend I get to hang out with my friend Harsha who is moving to Draper soon (sniffles). So I am excited about that. Hopefully I'll be able to get some studio time in there as well.

Hope you're all having a fantastic Friday!
love ~tess