Monday, December 24, 2012

Aussie Jingle Bells - Colin Buchanan

fell in love with this pic and i knew it wasn't Padre Island i've longed for...
 
then i saw this one and i loved it, too...
 
okay, now i know it was Australia that was calling me :)

It's snowing outside but I've been thinking of Australia alot this year and thought I'd share my vision of Christmas down under... ya never know what the future brings :)

click on picture to hear this cute Australian classic...
 
Now off to enjoy some movie watching time with the hubby and wait for the snow to pile up outside
and...
 
 to remember "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season"... Amen!

GERDA LYNGGAARD and NIKOLAI MONIES... Danish jewelery designers


The 1980s were full of gorgeous jewelry designs!
I've learned so much lately about our unpacked treasures from that time!  Today we uncovered Danish beauties by Gerda Lynggaard and Nikolai Monies... stunning runway pieces that seem as relevant today as they were back then!

Gerda Lynggaard/ Nikolai Monies studio in Copenhagen


bright yellow, turquoise and fuschia... nothing better!
 
 
Gorgeous, creative and natural... designs that are timeless!  We are inspired to do the same with our mendlbarr creations...
 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

inspiration from creative blogs... love the internet :)



It's no surprise that I can spend hours on the internet... :)

Now my recent discovery has my mind fluttering with even more creative ideas!  And of course, I had to share them with you, too!


clever seating arangement idea...


There are so many wonderful bloggers out there... Pink Postcard and Creative Home Expressions gave me these two ideas!  Now off to hunt for the treasures to try them myself... enjoy!
 
 
heading home with the perfect tree...
 



Tuesday, December 11, 2012

An ornament to remember your furry baby...


Each year we pick an ornament to add to our collection... part of the mendlbarr Christmas tradition!

Last year Dave found a wonderful bisque porcelain set of wings to have in memory of our "Max"! He loved Christmas... many times we would find him asleep under the Christmas tree :)

Max loved the magic of the Christmas tree...


Monte and I playing in the snow...


Dave and Max soon after we moved to NYC...


This year we lost my "Monte"...
we decided to find another set of wings as our Christmas ornament for 2012.
We found a wonderful set at Target and for only $4!

We added Monte's tag to it... perfect!




We've started a new tradition... when our furry/feathered babies cross the Rainbow Bridge we will remember them with a set of wings... our cup runneth over :)



 

Merry Christmas to you! 
May you remember the reason for the season!

 

Monday, December 3, 2012

1991... our first necklace inspired by a movie...

 
Found a picture of the necklace Patricia Wettig wore in "City Slickers"!  I'm shocked... who would have thought it would be so easy... I was ready to rent the movie and take stills off the television.  The internet is awesome! 

 
Back in 1991, I had to rely on my memory to design a necklace like hers.   Now that I see what it originally looked like, I am amazed at how similar it turned out... I didn't remember the length quite right as mine is not long enough... LOL!

Funny how things come back to us in time... I now know how our jewelry business began!  Inspired by a necklace in a movie... it's the little things...

inspiration from pieces you already own...

Remembered the other day how this all started... I had something in mind and I couldn't find it anywhere!  So I thought of making it myself :)

It's 1991, we're in a movie theatre watching "City Slickers" and I fell in love with this blue beaded necklace that Patricia Wettig was wearing... I ended up making one for myself... Oh boy!  The power that I realized I had... I was able to make myself anything I wanted!   So liberating! :)

I will try to locate a picture of that necklace and post it for y'all...

So with that in mind, I wanted to show you these earrings we designed to match two rings I purchased at ABC Carpet and Home in NYC many years ago.  I kept looking for the perfect earrings to compliment them but even in this large city, I never came across the right match! 

Take a peek at what I had in mind... they have now come to fruition!



picking the stones...














hand selected and ready to create...







the perfect match...
 
the ring is happy now...

 
If you have a piece that needs a mate-  we can create the perfect match just for you.
Handmade... because you're worth it!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

charisma by mendlbarr...

We've started creating in "collections" and have enjoyed the process. There is a feel, an inspiration that will flow throughout the series but each piece will have a design all it's own... some exotic, others a bit more conservative and still more variations that will allow each of you to find your perfect match!


light box vs. natural light...


Spent a few days working on a light box... searched the web for ideas and finally built one in my office... this was to save me from becoming a slave to the daylight hours! 

Well, I have sad news... I will remain faithful to my natural sunlight!  Even going to all of the trouble of adjusting the white balance on my camera and playing with different kinds of light bulbs, in my humble opinion, there is no comparison.

So with all of the "light box" stress behind me, I have found a new zeal in my photo sessions... today I fell in love with zinc and pewter for backdrops to my oxidized sterling silver collection!



 
 
Here is another creation... love how the organic colours of turquoise and tourmaline contrasted with the greys... enjoy!