dreaming of a white Christmas...

Designing this mini collection for our client has been so fulfilling!  We usually create an item individually and when it's complete, we move on to something entirely different. 

For this collection, we imagined a cohesive grouping of bright sterling silver and ice crystals... the mood is so appropriate for this time of year... we're dreaming of a white Christmas :)

What a neat idea... offer up the gifts and allow them to pick their favorite... each similar in presentation but unique in composition... no ear wire or crystal is the same!  Enjoy!

First SALE at mendlbarr... "celebrating the best month ever"... my birthday month!


************BUY 1 GET 1 HALF OFF**************

(difference will be immediately refunded thru PayPal or I can make a special listing for you)

Now is the time to buy yourself that special present :)

inspiration is everywhere...

God surrounds us with so much to inspire creativity! Our family member, Sabu, was the driving force for our "sabu" collection...

Now it seems a song and this miraculous dancer inspire us to create something with them in mind... stay tuned and we'll post when completed :)   If you watch "So You Think You Can Dance", here's a repeat... if not, you're in for a treat :)

our earrings "in action"...

A friend purchased our "i do" earrings for his sister to wear on her wedding day!  We were excited to see the gorgeous pictures and to know that our creations were part of her special day!  Our hometown beaches (Corpus Christi, Texas) were also part of this blessed event. 



Thanks, Stephen, for sharing such a memorable day with us!

Wow! Time is flying by so fast! We have been very busy creating new items for our Etsy shop. So many excursions to the wonderful bead shops (in the garment district of Manhattan) to inspire us. We have discovered so many one-of-a-kind stones we had to design with. Colored cubic zirconia stones have also attracted our attention! Take a peek at the new additions to our shop! Our goal was to get to 100 items before November. Looks like we'll get there by next week... better late than never! :)

Pardon the missing details on many of the pieces... thought I'd post at least one photo and then slowly fill in with details and other photo shoots! Stay tuned!

Happy Holidays from our home to yours... Belinda & David (and our furred and feathered children!)

Happy Halloween!

Wow! It's been quite a bit since I've written. Still getting used to the full-time job, outside of home. Seems every spare moment goes into mendlbarr.

Our goal is to have 100 pieces of jewelry on the Etsy site by November 1st... we have so many just waiting for their photography session! Ah... the days that I used to spend just designing, creating and photographing! Okay, wake up!

The leaves have turned beautiful colors and my favorite time of year is here! Just in case I don't get to write before October 31st... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :)

a new "day" job...

I started a new job in beautiful Tribeca! After my years of retail management... I am finally able to experience a normal Monday thru Friday work week! Praise God! After fighting the idea of outside sales for way too long, I am finally where I am supposed to be! It's only been four days but I am so excited!

And... it doesn't hurt that I get to work with my husband again! We work for an architectural glass company and use our creative gifts to help design glass projects. Brainstorming with architects to bring their vision to fruition, our "day jobs" inspire our jewelry designs. It's also nice to be able to enjoy eachother's company as we commute to and from work!

We plan to shop many of the NYC wholesale jewelry supply stores this weekend... ahhh... the fun we'll have! Can't wait to see what catches our eyes... the hunt for stones is as much fun as designing with them! Check out our Etsy shop early next week for a peek! :)

powerful prayer

Do you ever feel like the "negative forces" are taking over your life? Well, you don't have to take it anymore. Many years ago... God gave me this prayer to fight the evil forces of the devil... and it works! I am still not sure why I stop saying it from time to time, especially when I can testify to it's power over Satan?

It's 1:37am and I was just getting ready to go do my workout when I felt the urging to write on this blog... and God wants me to post this prayer! And what God wants... we really are trying to do... so here goes. This will be a task since it's only by memory that I say it. Know that the enemy will try to block my memory as I write, but I will forge on until it's complete so that you, too, can say this prayer to protect yourself and set yourself free! God bless all of you!

I testify to Satan personally as to what the word says the
blood does for me.

Through the blood of Jesus, I am redeemed out of the
hand of the devil.

Through the blood of Jesus, all my sins are forgiven.

The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, continually cleanses me from all sin.

Through the blood of Jesus, I am justified, made righteous, just as if I'd never sinned.

Through the blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, made holy, set apart to God.

My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Satan has no place in me, no power over me, through the blood of Jesus Christ! Amen!

christian the lion...

Just came across the story of Christian, the lion, and wanted to share it with you!

My husband and I love God's furred and feathered creatures. We have a home filled with them and hope to one day have a piece of land to share with many more!

If you click on the picture, you will be taken to a great article on Christian. Remember Born Free? Well, Christian was introduced to the wild by George Adamson and the video I've posted shows Christian reunited with his loved ones a year after living in the wild! Emotional! If you're an animal lover... get the tissue! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

To find out more and see what you can do to help... WildLifeNOW.com

"Believe"... designed for Camp Casey

Here's some pictures of the bracelet and earrings we designed for Camp Casey- A Non Profit Horse Camp for Kids Conquering Cancer! Their benefit, 2008 Second Annual Giddy Up Gala, will be held on September 20th!

We used aquamarine, chalcedony, jade, turquoise, rock crystal, lamp glass and swarovski crystal! All of the decorative beads, earring findings and the toggle clasp are sterling silver!

We called them "believe" because if one remembers to have faith... all things are possible! :) We hope these pieces bring in a high number at the silent auction! May the lucky winner enjoy wearing them and always remember the great cause they supported at the same time!

Joyce Meyer's Enjoying Everyday Life

Just finished the bracelet for Camp Casey! I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them here for you to see! Still need to create the earrings... several ideas to decide from. The creative juices were flowing (always happens late nite.) Poor David needs to get up early and here he was putting it all together for me. I love our partnership! His strengths are different than mine and vice versa... together our common ground rocks! Praise God!

We are trying very hard to walk the path God has put down for us... not always an easy thing. Joyce Meyer once said that God always comes to help us just at the right moment and not usually any earlier... we sometimes wish He would sweep in much sooner... save us alot of worries, right? We TIVO Joyce Meyer's "Enjoying Everyday Life" each morning and really enjoy her messages. She is so down to earth. If you get a chance, take a peek at her show... maybe you'll fall in love with her messages, too!

Do you remember when...

Bobby Sherman and the Partridge Family together! Thanks to YouTube, I finally saw part of an episode I missed! LOVE IT! A blast from the past! Do any of you even know who Bobby Sherman is? :)

Camp Casey

We are in the process of designing a jewelry piece that will be auctioned at a benefit for Camp Casey. It feels so good to be able to help out! Camp Casey is a "Non Profit Horse Camp For Kids Conquering Cancer". As soon as it's done we will post a picture so you can get a glimpse of the finished product. Check out the website for more info. It's right up our alley since we are such huge animal fans... we know, first hand, how much an animal can touch your heart... what a wonderful thing for these children to look forward to!

traveling abroad...

Hello Argentina and Indonesia! I'm still excited about the foreign visitors to our blog. One day we will travel abroad... get stamps on the passports we have yet to own. I wonder if many of you travel for fun or is it business? Do many of you want to visit the United States as much as we want to visit other countries?

Our aspirations in business include designing items that would be handmade for us in other countries... thus allowing us to help families that might otherwise not have an adequate income to live. At the Union Square Holiday Festival, in New York City, we met a woman who did just that... all of the items in her booth were made abroad and she seemed so fulfilled to be able to create and also help others. I hope to seek her out this year and get more details about her endeavors. Who knows... we might just be traveling abroad, for business, as well?

ClustrMaps

Have you noticed the small world map at the bottom of our website or this blog? Well, I want to tell you a little bit about it, in case you don't know... it tracks where my visitors are located. It's so much fun to see where all of you come from. I think today was worth noting because we got our first visitor from outside the United States! Now, to most of you it's probably no big deal but to me... one who still doesn't own a passport... it's a very exciting thing! The closest I've been to traveling the world has been watching "The Amazing Race" each and every season!

To our visitor from Morocco (if the map is accurate)... welcome! Hopefully you liked what you saw and will return! Thanks for visiting our sites!

Here's the link to ClustrMaps... just in case you want to have fun, too!

front page of Etsy...

One of our designs made it to the front page of Etsy!!! We are so excited and honoured! Just found out and wanted to share it with the world! A very bright spot added to our day... praise God! :)

like riding the river rapids...

Well... it's up and running... mendlbarr.com! We needed a central address to make it easier for everyone to find us. Now, by just remembering mendlbarr.com, you will have access to our blog and our Etsy shop without having to remember both addresses. David and I are now benefiting from the convenience of current technology.

The past two months have been fast and furious... our home has been transformed into a mini factory... shipping department, IT department, photography studio and, of course, the crazy design studio. Days are blending together as the creative juices flow... like riding an innertube on the river rapids... hang on and enjoy the ride!

making your life count...

How fast time flies by? I planned on writing something every day but didn't quite succeed, did !? My grandmother used to tell me, when I was a little girl, that as we grow older, time seems to go by much faster. She was so right... years fly by and, before we know it, we're older than Elvis Presley was when he unfortunately passed away. I remember thinking he was much older when he died... and just last night, realized that I've outlived him by three years... scary.

This reaffirmed what I've already been contemplating... we must do in life all that we truly feel we are called to do. We don't want to be lying on our deathbed, in the hospital... and hearing the beeping sound of that machine next to us... and wonder "what if?" My dad once told me that... the image and sound has left a lasting impression.

David and I still have so much we feel we are called to do... we will have to make bigger strides than most because we are playing catch-up, in a way. In our hearts... he is a fashion designer and I am an actress. Only God knows for sure if we will achieve what is in our hearts... if we don't... it's because He has an even better plan and hopefully we are already on His path.

Okay, I'm sentimental and cheesy... so I will leave you with one of my favorite songs... drum roll please... Donny Osmond sings Mary Did You Know!

In memory of Hobson...

Hobson was our beloved cockatiel that graced us with her presence for 18 great years! She made the move with us, to New York, riding on David's shoulder as he drove the U-Haul! We will always have fond memories of her... tough shoes to fill, Sabu (our new baby- an indian ringneck parrot)!

Today, thanks to my dad in Texas, she will be laid to rest in her native Texas soil... next to other special furred and feathered friends! It's hard to let her go! Thanks again, Dad, for doing this for us... it means more than you'll ever know!

her comments made our day...

Sent two pairs of earrings to California today! New customer who just happened upon our Etsy shop! It feels so good when the customer writes us a note describing her excitement! The validation received, knowing we made someone happy, is truly fulfilling!

And we don't stop there... the whole package is prepared with care so that when she opens it... she's excited all over again! Our presentation will continue to be a work in progress because we will always find another "thank you" card, ribbon, gift box or business card we can't live without! Just like the two of us... our business is evolving! Love it! Thank you... Jesus!