This and That

I have a lot of favorites on Etsy. Many things I could never do myself, but some I can actually, more or less, reproduce. Not saying the final result is as amazing as the "original" but it's highly satisfying.

Here's what I was able to do lately. Liked this, made that... Left, the original. Right, my humble try.

inspired by Branchbound's bracelets

inspired by EcoShag's upcycled accessories

inspired by Divina Locura's bracelet

New-merous Novelties

New stuff for the new year, more styles, more sizes, and the same authentic, hand-picked seaglass from eastern Canada. When was the last time you visited Zamzam Creations shop?

Necklace Display

I've been looking for a way to display my necklaces for a while now. Taking photos of stuff you want to sell is not always easy as you have to give the best idea possible of the item for sale to potential customers... Jewelry displays are quite expensive and I wanted to find a low cost option.

Then I found this blog post showing how to make a dispaly with basically nothing else than cardboard and an elastic band. I made my own template using a cookie box, some material and hard cover Mod Podge.

I took a few shots of it, but I still have to find the best angle and a light to get great photos.

She Sells Sea Shells

Remember the beautiful sea treasures my friend Catherine brought me from Mexico? Well, they make such beautiful jewelry! Colors are amazing and they fit perfectly with white seaglass. That'll be something new in my Etsy shop - sea shells pendants and rings. A little change, a new challenge and as always, a lot of fun.

Adorn Your Ears

I have 4 pairs of earrings made of seaglass that I'm going to list on Etsy. Have a look!

New stuff!

Summer Giveaway!!

Finally, finally!

I've been talking and thinking about it for a while, now here it is, your chance to win a custom seaglass ring or pendant from Zamzam Design!

How to enter

- Leave a comment about your favorite item from my Etsy shop

- Link back to your own blog (+1 entry) - please email me if you link back (zamzamdesign at sympatico dot ca)

- Earn an extra chance to win by talking about this giveaway on Facebook - and let me know if you do so by leaving a comment on Zamzam's Facebook page (+1 entry).

The Rules

- Please only 1 comment entry / person (please enter a valid email address or link to your blog so you can be reached easily if you win).

- The winner will receive a pendant or ring of his/her favorite color (available colors: green, brown, white, cobalt blue, aqua).

Have fun!! You have until July 9 to enter. Winner will be announced July 10.

Another important step for Zamzam

I've been trying to get my jewelry and magnets sold in physical shops around Montreal and had an appointment last week with Jennifer Lonergan at Artistri. She agreed to take my whole Ocean collection and almost all my new magnets in her beautiful shop located at 5319 Park Avenue.

Al hamdolillah! This is an important step for me. People will now be able to see my creations 'live' and to appreciate them, even if they don't personally know me. Artistri is an amazing shop that supports women and sustainable development practices, where you can find treasures made by women from all over the world. I really feel blessed to be part of this communty of talented women!

If you're in Montreal, why not go and have a look - not only for Zamzam but also for the truly beautiful creations you can find there.

Colorful Candies

I've been very productive lately after receiving a package from my special beach-combing glass-picking friend. Some colors are very rare - red, yellow, sky blue, orange, lavender... I also bought silver beads and charms for my pendants - that gives them a really sharp look!

My whole collection of pendants and rings is so colorful and shiny, I feel like eating them all. They almost look like candies. Sweeeeet!

Even for lil' boys

Boys, they like to be cool, too. Sea glass suits them very well. Not only it looks good on them but they love to wear sea glass 'jewelry'. My sons got to choose the color and size and I also gave them the choice between pendant and bracelet. My oldest picked white 'gems' for a bracelet and my youngest wanted a necklace with a big blue 'stone'. Sea glass is like fairy tales precious gems or pirate treasure for them.

And they proudly wear their own treasure, making sure everyone sees it - and knows it's their mom who made it.

How cool's that?!

P.S. Marie, c'est une photo spéciale pour Hanif et Wassil. J'espère qu'ils aimeront!

Sorry, I was busy

I'm in such a creative mood. I cannot stop. I'm doing 1000 things at the same time. I'm having fun. I'm sleeping late.

And I'm so happy to share my latest creations with you. What do you think of my new sea glass jewelry?

And Bracelets

Well, obviously

I'm having some kind of obsession with sea-glass ;) !

What can you make out of Sea Glass?

I came back from there with a huge quantity of sea treasuries.

I didn't really know what to do with sea glass but the inspiration came in the last days and here's what I created.

Some kind of gypsy-looking-wind-chime-window-ornament that looks good in my kitchen window.

A special ring that looks good on my middle finger

A mosaic mirror that'll look good in my bedroom.

Sea glass definitely looks good.

Here comes the sun

Weather in Montreal is grey. If you've been following me for a while, you know that I'm allergic to this color (well, at least when it's the color of the sky) and that somehow, it has a huge effect on my mood. Today I decided sun will shine, at least on my blog. Searching for fun, bright and colorful items helped me pretend it's really summer...  Until the sun shines outside, or even if it shines in your part of the world, enjoy!

Trop Chouette!

Rose Tutu has a shop full of fresh ideas that make you want to smile and be audacious like when you were 5 years old. I mean, how can you resist that delicious fleur orange felt necklace? This is exactly the kind of thing I would buy for my daughter (if only I had one!) and borrow once in a while - or forever :) Everything is so nice and cute and pink and... cheap! 

I was glad and proud to see that Genevieve is also a stay at home mom with two young kids like me - and that she's also from Montreal... Thanks to my friend Douce Amelia who found her Etsy shop!

Don't try this at home!

I created a brand new collection of pendants and earrings for winter and wanted to give my photos a wintery look. Nothing better than snow for that! 

Well, maybe not the best idea, finally. I froze my fingers, lost one earring in 3 feet of snow and had to put my hand inside to find it back... My camera was foggy, the wind was covering my stuff with snow... Very wintery!

For now, I didn't touch up the photos (they are a bit dark) and I feel like taking more (still!) but I was wondering if it is worth it. Should I use them for the shop? What do you think of the whole concept of jewelry in the snow?