Patty Anderson goes BEACHY! Belts, Jewelry & Accessories

Patty Anderson Jewelry, LLC  has taken on a new flair since her move to South Florida 6 years ago. BEACHY!!

Patty Anderson Jewelry was founded in 2000. Patty was introduced to jewelry making by her grandmother, a jewelry and silversmith artist. As a little girl Patty loved to stand by as her grandmother tumbled gems, melted silver, and created her treasures. Using the tools and building on the techniques learned from her grandmother, Patty began experimenting with many different new materials and her own style emerged.  After moving from the Northern suburbs of Chicago to South Florida, Patty's line took on a new flair inspired by the natural surroundings of the beach, ocean and sky. " It's so interesting. I find the Beach Style is not just for customers living by the beach. It is for many people that love the beach no matter where they live."

Dancing Coin Pearls. Elegant Freshwater pearls suitable for day or night.

Patty's jewelry making began as a hobby, combining silver beads, pearls, and semi-precious gemstones to create one-of-a-kind pieces for family and friends, and became a successful creative venture that drew interest from Bloomingdales. Following a successful eight year period of nationwide distribution in Bloomingdales, Patty Anderson Jewelry can now be found in upscale boutiques around the United States, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

Sand dollars. Delicate but beautiful replicas of a treasure from the beach.

In the fall of 2009 Patty introduced a line of women's belt buckles and premium leather belts. The pewter buckles are created from Patty's drawings and designs. The buckles are worn on very high quality premium leather that comes in the most beautiful array of colors. You can pair the buckle of your choice with a leather belt in any of 14 colors. The choices range from the classic subtlety of Chestnut Brown to the bold statement of Sunshine Gator. Currently Patty has four more buckles in the works, a heart, flower, anchor and a whale. Not to mention a men's line of belts that will be available in a variety of materials. " I have had many women ask me to design belts for their husbands, boyfriends and sons, and I have men ask me to create belts for them. I am looking forward to introducing these."

Starfish Buckle.  Pewter starfish buckle with your choice of belt color.

Pair the buckle of your choice with a leather belt in any of 14 colors. The choices range from the classic subtlety of Chestnut Brown to the bold statement of Sunshine Gator.

When Patty is not creating new designs or filling orders, she and her husband enjoy spending time with their three children. They have discovered Stand Up Paddle boarding. The beautiful colors of the turquoise water, the abundant fish and sea life below continue to inspire Patty. "I feel like we have discovered a whole new world. Being able to get out on the water and see everything from a whole new perspective is amazing! The colors and textures are incredible!"

Please visit Patty's website, to view her collection and find a retailer near you. You can also become a fan on Facebook. There you will receive updates of new styles, new stores and other fun information. Patty Anderson is also a new face at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery in Olde Towne Portsmouth, VA.  Visit her page at Patty Anderson

Clck here to visit Coastal Creations & Design's home page.

Live the Life you Love, Love the Life you Live.

Mermaid Creek Lampwork Glass Bead Jewelry- Simply Incredible!

In this beautiful creation, Mermaid Creek used a gorgeous lampwork glass bead created by the very talented Denise Sachs-Mishalanie.

Mermaid Creek is a small family business creating original artisan designed jewelry. They use some special lampwork glass beads that they obtain directly from the wonderful artists! Their jewelry is made with a torch and a mandrel and takes plenty of time and patience. Gemstones and Swarovski crystals are sometimes included in their creations and all of their jewelry are made with sterling silver, pure copper, or 14kgf specializing in earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets. Mermaid Creek has also created several metalwork and stamped pieces and are now attempting soldering.

"I've created and hand stamped the message 'Island Dreams on a beautifully
 high polished sterling silver disc. To this I have added a sterling silver mermaid, starfish, and seahorse."

Mermaid Creek is passionate about the items they produce and so enjoy the creation process of each piece which are mostly one of a kind items. Their inspiration comes from nature living around the Adirondacks and frequent trips to the Atlantic...specifically to the coast of Maine. "That's where 'Mermaid Creek' comes in, stated Paula. It's a combination of both, really. Mermaid comes from the goddess side of the family because that side LOVES to swim and has always been drawn to water. Rivers, Lakes, and the Ocean. As long as she's near water she's content as can be. It's a beautiful section of the country that we are so blessed to experience. A lot of good energy goes into the work we do."

In this fun gathering you will find a lampwork margarita glass that was created by Laurie Whitney, a very talented lampwork glass artist. I have added a lime Czech glass flower alongside as well as a sterling silver tag marked with the word 'margarita'. Added to the margarita glass are genuine Swarovski crystals as well. All of the findings in this necklace are sterling silver. It measures 18" in length but may be worn at 14", 16", 18" or anywhere in between as the lobster claw clasp may be attached at any point along the chain. Enjoy!

In Mermaid Creek listings, you will sometimes find little blurbs at the beginning of the items like in the caption above. These little 'stories' have found themselves woven into their creations.

The lampwork glass beads that we have used in this beautiful bracelet were created by the ultra-talented lampwork artist, Gina M. DeStevens. Her scrollwork is amazing! She also created the softly etched green spacers that separate the scrolled discs. A perfect match. Don't you love the rich Caribbean aqua colors created in these glass beads? Fabulous! 

"Sometimes the story comes first and the creation follows and sometimes the creation comes first and tells the story. Either way it's great fun to be able to have it flow."

Custom orders are welcome and they do produce quite a few of them. You can visit Mermaid Creek and preview a wide variety of their jewelry creations by following this link to their Etsy webstore at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MermaidCreek  I would like to thank the family of artisans from Mermaid Creek for sharing their wonderful creations with us. Joe. Coastal Creations and Design!

Completely Coastal Unplugged: An Interview With Maya Nagel

I recently caught up with my friend Maya,  creator and author extraordinaire of one of my favorite blogs, "Completely Coastal" and requested an interview with this remarkable lady. So here's an unplugged look; sort of a behind the scenes from Maya Nagel- the inspiration behind Completely Coastal.

What was the driving force behind the creation of “Completely Coastal” and when did you publish the first blog?

My love for the sea and the coastal living life style! And I wanted to do something with that. So I started a blog in early 2008, not knowing where I was going to go with it, meaning with no clear direction. It took me about half a year to get a vision of what I wanted to create. So I deleted all posts prior to August 2008 and began to focus on decor, art and crafts, later also including books and movies. I think I changed the layout at least five times until I arrived at what I have now.

Maya's model yacht.

 What are your personal favorite completely coastal products that you own.

Inspired by my post "Display Idea's for Model Yachts",  I finally bought my own model yacht which is on display on top of my TV cabinet. And I love it! Link to model yacht article.

Maya's hand-painted shell tea light holders

 Then, featuring so many great craft projects on a regular basis, weekly actually, I finally did (a little) project myself and painted some local large shells, using them as tea light holders. Link to painted shell tea light holders.

Lighthouse photo pillow

Another favorite of mine is something I won in a giveaway. A custom made photo pillow. I adore it. The artist made it with one of my photographs, the Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, RI. Link to Lighthouse photo article.


Are there others that you are considering adding  to your own home?

I'd love to eventually have a few model lighthouses and fishing glass floats! See these posts:

Collecting Lighthouses:
http://www.completely-coastal.com/2010/04/collecting-decorative-lighthouses-on.html

Fishing Glass Floats for your Home:
http://www.completely-coastal.com/2010/06/japanese-fishing-floats-for-your-home.html

 What are your favorite colors - Favorite music - Favorite Completely Coastal designs?

Blue-gray, blue-green, orange,  beige, white - oldies - I love everything I post, haha! My favorites I'd say, which I'd like to have in my next home would be some cool nautical wallpaper!! Link to subcategory Wallpapers  And I will be having more examples coming up too.

 How has Completely Coastal changed since it’s beginnings?

It's become more focused and I'd like to think more "beautiful". Also, since this year, I have lots of advertisers, all awesome quality sites that I'm very proud of having on Completely Coastal, such as yours!!


What’s beyond the horizon?

Better and bigger, I imagine!

Thank you Maya. Your an inspiration to us all! Coastal Creations & Design.

Surf Art- Paintings by Rick Romano

Rick Romano is a Virginia Beach artist who has made a living drawing and painting in the saltwater environment he's grown up with. An avid windsurfer and surfer for over twenty years, Rick is forever inspired by the timeless beauty and power of the sea. His unique style colorfully reflects his passion for the ocean worldwide. In his earlier years, many of his works were of coastal landmarks such as old beach cottages, lighthouses and popular beach locations.

 Today with the growing demand for tropical and surf-related themes, Rick is devoting his studio time for exactly these themes. Rick quotes, " For most of my early years I drew surfers and waves, with palmtree beaches. Now that it's in demand, I get to return back to a childhood dream and paint surfing for the fun of it."

Surf art by rick Romano

"Way Outer Reef" by Rick Romano

Each individual Limited Edition that gets matted, is then hand-painted with various colors washes, highlights and heavy brush paint applications right on the mat and print it itself. Each print is done this way and no two are exactly alike. this allows the collector to own an original in a very limited edition, at a third of the cost.
Although Rick Romano editions are produced with the highest quality inks and material available, utmost care should be placed upon hanging of artwork. Always avoid hanging art in direct or indirect sunlight.

Art By Rick Romano showroom - now open in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where you can find new originals, new prints, picture framing, works in progress, new ideas, and unlimited creativity. Located at 593 S. Birdneck Road, Suite 101. Call (757) 425-3590.  You can visit his website at http://www.rickromano.com/