Turquoise Ceci Necklace

I have always had a weakness for turquoise and gold together. Necklaces featuring both can go with anything! This necklace is simply one of my staple everyday wears because I can easily dress it up or dress it down. On anything from white to purple it really brings a dash of simplistic fabulousness to daily outfits! Plata Designs

Plata Designs Giveaway through Restyle Restore Rejoice

Hello Everyone! I am very excited to announce that we have paired up with Restyle.Restore.Rejoice to giveaway one of our signature turquoise dream catchers. Francesca Penko wears this necklace beautifully in a simple yet elegant black top.

To enter visit: Restyle Restore Rejoice Blogspot

You can also purchase this necklace from our website:

"Everybody Dreams" Inspiration Behind the Dream Catcher

So many reasons why I love Dream Catchers. I wanted to talk a little bit about the history and meaning of one of our most popular designs.

Originally Native American Ojibway Dream Catchers were made as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. The legend is that the Dream Catcher will catch ones bad dreams in the webbing at night and disappear in the morning sun. Meanwhile the good dreams will find their way to the center of the Dream Catcher and thus creating a filter allowing only good, pleasant dreams to get through blessing the wearer with good luck and harmony.

With so many different Dream Catchers out there, I really wanted to create my own unique version, so I decided to design my own. Gemstones also are widely known for their positive properties, with this knowledge and understanding it seemed only practical to combine the two. The necklaces and earrings are made to form an asymmetrical balance. The colors and gemstones chosen are specifically for their color, texture and clarity.

Color of the Year for 2013 is Emerald Green

"Green is the most abundant hue in nature- the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum" -Leatrice Eiseman (Director of the Pantone Color Institute)

I am excited to announce that emerald green has been chosen as the color of the year for 2013. This vivid hue has been known in many cultures to represent healing, unity and renewal. It is an organic color that brings new worlds of inspiration to us this coming year. Green brings energy into many colors paired with it, which is why I have always loved designing with it. The tone is enhanced especially with any gold-colored metal.

Emerald Green is sophisticated and luxurious, it brings to life a breathe of fresh air to any given day. No one ever gets tired of seeing the grass turn emerald green in the spring, or seeing a luscious emerald green landscape.

Be prepared to see this color pop up everywhere, in fashion, art and especially jewelry. We will see this color all around next year and we are going to want it in our homes, closets and lives!

Featured is our bezel Emerald Green Dark Chalcedony set in vermeil and 18k gold filled chain. This little necklace looks absolutely stunning paired with a black dress or if you want to go a bit more contemporary try pairing it with a bolder color such as celestial blue or even last years color of the year tangerine tango. For more fabulous colors in jewelry visit www.platadesigns.com

How to Clean your handmade designer jewelry

To maintain your handmade designer jewelry is a relatively easy process. It is normal over time, for your sterling silver jewelry to tarnish due to the copper content and also from the interaction of silver and sulfides in the air. Sterling Silver 925 is made up of 7.5% of a different metal, which is usually copper. First the tarnish will take on a golden hue and eventually turn black. This is a completely natural process and is very easy to clean. (remember humid climate speeds up the process of tarnishing) To clean tarnished Sterling Silver jewelry there are several commercial products you can purchase at your local drug store or hardware store that will restore your silver to its original shine. The most useful is a chemically treated polishing cloth that can be used on gold and silver jewelry. For pure Sterling Silver chains that are a bit more difficult all you need is baking soda. Place the tarnished chain in an aluminum pan and cover thoroughly with baking soda. Then slowly pour boiling water into the pan, which will create a chemical reaction removing the tarnish. Before you do this make sure to be in a well ventilated area. For Sterling Silver pieces with gemstones it is important to avoid harsh chemicals, with too many cleanings most gemstones will lose their color. When cleaning gemstones immerse them in warm soapy water and scrub gently with a soft brush. Then rinse them and dry them off immediately with a soft towel or cloth.

What is the Difference Between Designer Handmade Jewelry and Manufactured Jewelry?

To begin with, mass-produced jewelry is obviously going to be cheaper, lack uniqueness, and is usually of much lower quality. When you purchase a piece of handmade jewelry chances are that you have a unique piece that is one of a limited edition collection. You'll never have to think twice about running into someone and seeing the same piece of jewelry on their wrist or around their neck at a party or even stepping out of the house for any daily routine. Handmade Jewelry is also part of a much more intricate process. It is much more labor intensive in the sense that countless hours go into creating, designing and handcrafting a single piece of jewelry, which explains why the cost for designer handmade jewelry is usually higher than mass produced pieces. Another explanation of the higher price is usually the materials used are usually handpicked and made of only the best possible stones and metals.

Spring Inspirations

Looking forward to spring, I wanted to bring you a gorgeous treasury from etsy. A special thanks to Jess McCabe for putting together this lovely collection. For more information about each item, simply click on the picture. Enjoy!

'wintertime daydreaming' by jemStudios

Light and dreamy ... chilly and romantic with a wish for spring. :)

TrishaBrinkDes... $14.00	ArtmaVintage $69.00	goshandgolly $43.00	vesselsandware... $74.00
EuroVintage $158.00	platadesign $110.00	Hideminy $98.00	NestPrettyThin... $36.00
upintheairsome... $68.00	SlippinSouther... $31.00	AnnaLouVintage $32.99	bayanhippo $35.00
roughfusion $25.00	LenaSeptemvri $99.00	MKRetro $68.00	shoprarebird $24.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.