Hand Forged Hoop Earrings

Always a bestseller, handmade hoop earrings can come in a variety of sizes and shapes! And since every pair is made by hand by me, each pair is unique. Delicate and hammered for a bit of sparkle and texture, the Delicate Round Hoop Earrings are by far the bestsellers. I love the Mixed Metal Hoop earrings (for their great texture) and the Bean Shape Hoop Earrings (for their original shape). Use these hoop earrings gently, open them just enough to slide them in and then back closed. Please don't sleep in them! If they get bent out of shape, coax them back to their original shape with your fingers.

These hoop earrings are available in a variety of metals; sterling silver, 14k gold filled and 14k rose gold filled. You can also request a design using 14k gold, if you so desire!

These handmade hoop earrings can be hard to make (and my poor neighbors hate the hammering noise!), but they are a definite jewelry staple. What shape is your favorite? Any new hoop earring shapes that you would like to see? Maybe a heart or a star?

Best,
peggy

Bird Jewelry



Still experimenting with the wonders of Polyvore... what better collection to pull together than one of the Bird themed items I have at Peggyli.com?

I love birds! Their diversity, beauty and pure physical wonders have always fascinated me. I grew up with Zebra finches and a cockatiel as pets. I treasured my Audubon Field Guide to Birds and climbed trees and camped out in bushes to view the birds nesting around our home (for the record, there were some orioles, doves and swallows that made nests around our house. Awesome!).

So it's no wonder I have a diverse selection of handmade jewelry featuring many different bird charms! From swallows (ancient symbols for home and hope) to wings (angel or otherwise), delicate feathers, peaceful doves and wise owls, there will be bird necklaces or bird earrings here for you.


Feel free to explore my website for even more bird jewelry plus other whimsical and wonderful charm necklaces! Are there any charms in particular you'd like to see? Make your jewelry charm request for me in the comments of this blog!

best,
peggy

Tucson Day 4: AGTA and Holidome

I already knew what was on my agenda for Day 4 -- a return to Holidome! I had mulled over and sorted through my buys and notes from Day 3: This is Holidome and knew I would be returning to do some "clean up" shopping!

We set off early once again and luckily it wasn't quite as cold as the day before. I did my "surgical strike" of the Holidome show and then it was off to the most elite of the shows in Tucson, AGTA.


AGTA, like GJX, had a pretty thorough registration proceedure, requiring credentials, stickers, and being scanned as you went from room to room. And no wonder -- there were exhibits of some of the most amazing jewels! There were examples of the most high-end, artisan ready to wear jewelry, one of my favorites being Todd Reed's use of diamonds and oxidized metals. After being dazzled by the gemstones at AGTA, I was ready to put the beads to bed and enjoy the rest of my time in Tucson. That meant more golf and the excellent truffle fries at Zin Burger!


Thanks, Tucson!

Tucson Day 3: This is Holidome

I was very excited for my third day in Tucson, because that meant going to one of the biggest bead shows in Tucson -- Holidome! I had prepped the night before by marking down on an exhibit floor map the location of the vendors I knew I wanted to visit and reviewing my shopping list that I had prepped for Tucson in advance.

It was very cold again in the morning, so we bundled up. Still, we weren't prepared for the below-freezing winds and the long walk from the parking lot to the Holiday Inn where the Holidome tents are located. See, the hotel has a pretty small parking lot, so we had to park at the Gem Mall location, which was luckily only two or 3 blocks away.

Once in the tents, I was immediately hit by the sheer enormity of it all! Still, I managed to stay on target.


My first booth was a very popular one, and there were masses of people grabbing at anything and everything, it seemed. I always like to talk to the vendors, ask what's new, and what's been good sellers. I try to avoid the "mob shopping" mentality, but it's tough to not try and check out what other people are oohing and ahhing over!

Thinking about my Fall collection, I started pulling trays featuring deep blues, blacks and greys. A good place to start, don't you think?


Eventually I finished my "hit list" and moved on to start systematically walking the floor. I passed by every booth, and anything that looked interesting I took a card and wrote on the back what had caught my eye.


It was so cold that day, the port-a-potties set up outside the tents were non-functional. The poor hotel lobby bathrooms were not enough for the big crowds, so that sort of put a damper on the day! Still, I did the majority of my shopping at Holidome, and with my head swimming, called it a day after about 4.5 hours at the show!

Next, I had one more day left to cover the shows. Stay tuned for Day 4!

Peggy

Tucson Day 2: Dove Mountain Golf

After a busy first day in Tucson, my BF and I took the chance to do some real sightseeing in Tucson! We had a 10 AM morning tee time at Dove Mountain Golf Course, a golf course north of town near the Ritz Carlton resort and spa. We had a day planned complete with golf, massage and dinner! It would be hard to top the previous day, where we had finished with a a great dinner at Jax Kitchen (contemporary American food).


We woke up, however, to a record cold snap! Temperatures were hovering around 32C when we woke up and while we hoped for things to warm up by the time we drove to the course, we got the bad news when we arrived -- there would be a frost delay and we couldn't tee off as planned. This turned out to be a good break, however, since it meant we could zip down to the local Walmart and pick up some extra clothing layers (thank goodness for thermals -- I'd need them later).


Finally, we got to play, and needless to say, the course was gorgeous! Cacti, birds and desert dunes, plus an immaculate course challenged us, especially with the still-chilly temperatures. I kept handwarmers in my pockets and two hats on my head!

I won't bore you with the details, for that you can visit my BF's blog, Bay Area Golf Guy.


When we finally had a chance to come in from the cold, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for a wonderful dinner at Cafe Poca Cosa. I wanted to have an early night, because the next day would involve the biggest show of all -- HOLIDOME.

Peggy

Tucson Day 1 With Peggy Li Creations

I've made it to the promised land, the mecca, the superbowl of gem shows -- the Tucson Gem Show that runs annually every Jan-Feb and draws hundreds of vendors (and shoppers) from around the world.

I rolled right off the airplane and since it was too early to check in to the hotel room, decided to (duh!) hit some shows! Gotta get those great new gemstones for Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li Creations.

I started with the J.O.G.S show, which is at the Tucson Expo Center. Large, sprawling, and smelling of BBQ from the food tents set up outside, I breezed through the registration (remember to register in advance!) and got to walking down the aisles. This show was a bit of a mish-mash of items, from finished jewelry to gemstones to mineral displays and smaller booths of handcrafted items. The most interesting booths to me was a booth with vintage ivory components and another featuring diamond-encrusted pendants and jewelry. Now, I realized quickly that one of the hardest things to do during the show will be to recognize "quality" from not-so-quality. But I don't want to stick with the vendors I normally shop with, so I remembered to pick up a lot of business cards and catalogs.


Next, we hit the GJX(after stopping for lunch at the In-n-Out). Here the registration booth was quite alert, asking for ID and making sure we displayed the proper passes before allowing us inside. GJX definitely had a higher level of products than the JOGS show, and (yay!) a lot more beads. Some familiar faces were here so it was nice to see if they had anything new. Hot sellers? Premade gemstone chains and more of the oxidized, diamond encrusted beads. Hmm.

After picking up a few goodies at GJX (my first purchases of the day!) the next stop was gonna be the GLW show at the Gem Mall, but we somehow hit a wrong turn and ended up at what I later realized was the Tucson Electric Park show. Now, it is exactly what it sounds like -- sort of a big flea market show for gems. The highlight here was definitely a big tent filled with amethyst and citrine geodes (some up to 5 feet tall) and fossilized tree trunks -- amazing!

We did make it, with an hour to go before shows closed, at the GLW. Now, this show was two huge tents and tons and tons of vendors! Lots of tables of beads and chinese turquoise, Bali beads (watch out for those silver plated styles). We barely had time to walk through both floors quickly, so I think I'll have to go back.

Whew! The feet were just about to start hurting, but we checked in to our hotel and just had time to get out to our dinner to Jax Kitchen (get the hanger steak -- amazing!).

Tomorrow? GOLF! Thursday -- the Holidome, the show that promises to have the biggest finds.

G'nite,
peggy