First baby of Nova of Love

Fabric hair band
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

Taadaaa! A head band!

Oh I am so loving this. Gorgeous fabrics turning into luscious petals. Only the sky is the limit! I've been cutting fabrics, burning edges and watching them change shapes into little flowers. Going through boxes and drawers of beads and beautiful embellishments that I have collected throughout the years.. It's like they've all been waiting for this moment. Finally they will have a purpose too.

I'm making headbands, hair clips and a bunch of other beautiful things to brighten your summer days! Right now I am also getting ready for my vacation. Which starts in exactly 3 days. I can't wait. We'll be starting it off by going to a wedding in Maine.. It better be some Maine lobster involved! And then on Tuesday we are packing out bags and heading for the homeland. SWEDEN here I come! YAY!

We'll be away until July 18th. Oh wonderful days to look forward too. I will miss all of you of course. But I will take picture and show you. I promise!

And when I come back (with tons of inspiration) and a rejuvenated body I will announce the grand opening date for my new adventure Nova of Love! So exciting :o)


Have a wonderful day my friends!
~tess

engagement ring FINALLY!

engagement ring FINALLY!
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

I got it!!!

We picked it up on Saturday. It's amazing how much time I spend staring at it LOL. If you click on the image it will take you to my Flickr site where there are a couple of more images of it.

Ahhh It's soooo pretty!

Hope you are all having a fantastic Monday!
love~tess

finger candy

Seven magical flowers from the nova garden! I like how they look together. Like different flowers in a bouquet. And thank you for the inquiries and lovely feedback on these rings.

I will be adding them to my shop tomorrow (read today as it's past midnight when I am typing this). So Thursday update starting round 8 am. It might be closer to 9 but I'll do my best to start on time.

Godnatt!
~tess

sneak peak for shop update...

sneak peak...
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

7 lovely ladies will be added to my shop tomorrow :o)

Yummy. I kind of want to keep all of them. And wear them all. At once.

*Note to self. Must make more "small" rings. They are a lot of fun. Both to make and to wear...


I think I'll start listing around 8 am (my time) tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

love ~tess

nova of love

new hair pins
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

so as I was working on my bridesmaid purses I found a new love. Making fabric flowers! I really enjoy working with a different softer material.

And if you know me I get obsessed with new ideas.. I've bought tons of organza, satin, silk and chiffon. I've been making petals and flowers.. The dining table can no longer be seen.. I know it's there, somewhere under all my new supplies. At least that's what I tell David.

I've bought bobby pins, shoe clips and hair bands... I feel a new adventure coming on. It's good to branch out and push yourself. So that is what I am doing. I will still work with metal too! Don't worry about that :o)
I'll just be spending some time on this new adventure as well. So stay tuned and I will let you know where this will take me.

have a wonderful day!
love ~tess

so she ate the whole thing

Last week I was traveling with work....

I'll admit there used to be a time where that was the fun part.. But everything changes when you get fur babies a fiancee and a studio with metal and fire.. Then you just want to be at home.

So little fur babies had to be left to their own devices for 2 days cause David as away working as well.. Poor little ones... I had left them plenty of fresh water and probably a month worth of dry food...

What I also had out was a brand new bad of turkey jerky from traders joe.. (yes it is a part of the P90x diet!).. So poor little fur babies decided to ignore the dry food and instead break into the bag. Which they did with success. And ate ALL the turkey jerky... Little rascals..

But I was still happy to see them :o)


I bet you're wondering when this darn shop update is going to come... well I can say that my little rings are making great progress. I am aiming to do a shop update this Friday... But I'll post pics of the rings here on my blog as soon as they are finished..

but now it's time for bed!
It is sooo good to be back ;o)
~tess

one down 6 to go

but look at this little beauty!




Oh I can't wait to finish the other ones... but I am super busy next week so it won't be until the week after.. But then I will have a BIG shop update.. With a bunch of little rings :o)


And finally my last custom order for a LONG time. I don't have time for them. Even though I am so flattered that so many want something made just for them, I find that with everything else going on I simple don't have time for them. Not right now anyways.. Plus I need to make sure that I have time to play in the studio and come up with new ideas. Or I will surely go crazy! And we don't want that do we?!! LOL

Night!
~tess

intensely sore but happy

yep I bought it.. Got tired of complaining about the doughnut around my waist and decided I needed to do something extreme!

So I got the p90x and I am dedicated to follow through. It's a 90 days intense work out plus diet.
I am on day 3 now and I feel great. Super sore but great. The hardest part is actually finding time to cook all this food. I have been know as the person who skips breakfast (for 20 more minutes of snooze) and not always eating lunch.. and then eating WAY too much WAY too late in the evening.. Bad routines...

So now I have been cooking! eggwhite omelet for breakfast or protein shake... salads and soups for lunch.... and here's my 3 last dinners!Day 1 dinner
roasted red bell pepper soup
salmon with lemon dill sauce
wild rice and asparagus....


Day 2 dinner
chicken ( I was supposed to eat turkey but I forgot to buy it..) and I used the same lemon dill sauce tonight cause they diet thingie said gravy but I don't like gravy...

Green beans and butternut squash soup..


Tonight's dinner was Halibut with some pesto sauce, zucchini and wild-rice.. ha ha and I didn't see the little kitty lurking around on the table in the background.. Sneaky kitty trying to steal mom's halibut!



and look at these finger candies :o) I still have to solder bands to them and then I get to pick stones for them :o) I have a couple of options which is nice.. I was hoping to have them finished soon but it might not be until after next week. I will be traveling all next week and David will be back this weekend and I want to spend time with my sweetie before he goes back for another week :o( .. But maybe if he falls asleep I can sneak back in the studio.....


But right now it is past my bed time... I know I will be tired tomorrow.. and I have to get up early to make a steak/arugula salad for lunch...

night!
~tess

finally I was able to sneak back

in the studio!! Doing the diet and all the exercise for p90x is stealing a lot of time from me. But Today I was able to work a bit... I have a lot of goodies in the works for you.


I really like the prong settings I have been using and how they add height to designs as well as showing of the gemstones more than when they are flushset in a little silver ball.



Yummy yummy :o) I am so excited about these ladies. The stones will range between 6 and 8 mm so we are talking WAY smaller than what I usually make. But I like that. You need big rings for big days and small rings for small days...


Haven't decided what's gonna be rings and what will become necklaces yet. I will just have to wait and see what happens. More photos on my Flickr.


Look at this mystery moss agate. It's gorgeous. It has a greyish/blueish color with transparent background. I must do something fun with this one.


I still have to solder back plates to all of these (except the big one) and figure out what designs I want to make.. I have a few new ideas in my head. No I am not telling! you just have to be patient! More photos on my Flickr.


and now I will go and rest my head on my pillow.. Trying to sleep without David. I know it's silly cause we are hardly ever apart but I really miss snuggling up and feel his arms around me..
Only 2 more days!

Godnatt my friends!
~tess

cause nobody does it better...

hide and seek that is..

Did I tell you lately how special my little furball Lisa is? Sometimes I think my heart will explode with love. She is determined to cheer me up while David is away working..

I think it's working... *smiles from ear to ear*



If a box is open. She is in it. Or will be in it... shortly. That just how it works.. I don't think she ever met a box that she didn't like.



yep her head didn't fit through. She was NOT happy. At all.

I swear she sat in that box for another good 15 minutes before getting out. Now she is sleeping on the armchair next to me. Completely passed out. Must be exhausting sitting in boxes.


:o)
godnatt!
~tess

almost an engagement ring

almost an engagement ring
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

so we went to the jeweler on Saturday to get my diamond set and I would finally get my engagement ring!

I was sooo excited.... But the ring had the wrong setting on it. Poop!
I had asked for a 6 prong setting and they sent a 4 prong setting.. So back in the box and back to artcarved to get it fixed.

so now I have to wait another week.. it sucks..

...and David is away working, this and next week.. So I am feeling a little lonely today. I don't like waking up to an empty pillow.


On a positive note. Since the empty pillow was staring back at me I decided to get up early and I went to the gym ;o)
This week I am starting my p90x intense work out.. I am a little terrified. I have heard it's gruesome.. 90 days of intense training and a strict nutrition plan.. I only have 4 weeks before my home trip to Sweden and I want to fit into that bikini again!

Wish me luck!
~tess

new goodies

new goodies
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

After working in to the wee hours of the morning, I finally finished my Chatty metalsmith challenge for may.. slightly delayed...

One shiny sea creature necklace and a pair of matching shiny sea creature earrings..

I also finished a necklace matching a ring I made earlier called My inner thoughts. It has a double chain and a 2 mm flush set garnet. It's so beautiful!

And after much thinking I decided to part with my new wild roses earrings. I love them so much that it wouldn't be fair to keep them from you! I will however most definitely be making a pair for myself!

I'll be adding these later to my Etsy shop ;o)

Thank you for stopping by!
love ~tess

wedding business

bridesmaid purses
Originally uploaded by novadesigns by tess

So the seller from Etsy that I wanted to use for the bridesmaid purses flaked out on me... :o(

But I think that was a good thing.. I am such a creative person and also a control freak.. Ha ha that is no surprise for you who know me personally...

So I decided to take this project on :o)

I bought fabric and went nuts! I had so much fun.. If you click on the picture it will take you to my Flickr account where there are more pics of my flower making..

I've just laid them out on the purses so they're not done.. I asked David what he thought and he wanted the flowers to be fuller, which I agreed with so I've added some more petals and they look so nice (if I may say so myself)...

I realized that I really really enjoyed working with fabric and I've missed that. Growing up we always had fabric around (since my mother makes textile art) so I was always cutting and sewing stuff. Ha ha much to my mothers distress! So it was nice to revisit this. So nice I think I can feel another business adventure coming on.... For now it's just an idea.. you'll have to wait and see what I'll come up with!

Have a wonderful week my friends!
love ~tess