There’s something about having children that makes you more sentimental — after all, they’re always on your mind, no matter how old they are.  Our Connection necklaces are the perfect gift for your mother, or the mother of your children since each stainless steel ring and Swarovski crystal represents a family member’s birth month.  You can gift the daughters of the family with their own Solo connection necklace to represent a family connection without being too ‘matchy’.

They’re also a sweet gift for friends, since the rings and accents can represent the connection between you and other people you love — the family you choose, if not the one with which you’re born.

Take advantage of this gift idea and use the promo code GiftIdea6 to get 30% off* any Connection necklace purchase. This promo code is good for TODAY ONLY and expires at midnight (EST) tonight.

*As with all promo codes, you can only use one per order, and it cannot be combined with other offers.

We’ve just added a “Secret Santa Surprise” to our store — what’s inside the pretty box? Well, no one will know until they unwrap it!

But here’s a hint: it’s a small stainless steel pendant featuring one of our paper inlays. It could be what’s shown on the right or another washi, Nepalese, or Brazilian paper inlay that’s not even available for sale in store!

You can pick the color you’d like, or be completely surprised! This little gift is only $49 (a value of $88) and comes gift-wrapped and ready to give to a special someone (or keep for yourself!)

I’ve been wanting to do a little shopping, but it seems whenever we have the free time to go shopping, it’s usually past closing time at the mall.  Instead, it’s virtual shopping for me and the added benefit is that there’s an overwhelming selection, and I can always pretend that everything would fit me perfectly. :)

I created a little inspiration board with the outfit I found for a fictitious dress-up lunch with the girls:

In case you’re interested in the details, clockwise from the top-left corner:

• hobo international katrina clutch from Piperlime, $100 (but currently on sale for $74.99!)
• floral pleated strapdress from Rampage, $44
• “flowerish” engraved orange-red wood stainless steel pendant from (duh) Blend Creations, $112
• “flowerish” engraed orange-red wood stainless steel earrings from Blend Creations, $133
• high cherry wedge platform sandals from mohop, $298 (with olive green ribbons)

Now, I created this little inspiration piece in Illustrator, but if you’re ever in the mood to pull together your own inspiration boards, you can whittle away some time playing with Polyvore, where I was able to pull together the same outfit, complete with clickable links, in a fraction of the time.

If you’re curious, we were told that the bridal party would be wearing strapless dresses in taupe silk very similar to the dress below by Aria dress (style 160), only with the double-hem in taupe/brown and turquoise sashes. The bride wanted to add a splash of colour to the necklines that would co-ordinate with the hits of turquoise used in her wedding.

We suggested the turquoise plum blossoms necklace for the bridesmaids with the matching earrings (from Blend Creations of course!). They were a great choice for the bride who said she loved contemporary, modern and funky sort of styling. :) Even better — her bridesmaids are pretty happy with the choices, which is good since the jewelry was both bridal party accessories and bridesmaid gifts all rolled into one.

For the bride’s niece, the “junior” bridesmaid who didn’t want to be left out of the bridesmaid jewelry shopping, we went with the small pendant version of the same plum blossom pattern, (but on a silver chain):

The wedding will be at the end of the month, and I know the focus is on the bride and all, but I do love it when brides choose to have their bridal party wear our contemporary jewelry. I can’t wait to see the wedding photos!