Salon de Maria Blog

I went to Michael's yesterday to find inspiration and to soak up some creative energy. I've been so involved in my writing that I actually haven't given much thought to my jewelry business. Being in the craft store surrounded by all those beads helped me get into jewelry-making mode!

Today I spent part of the day working on new jewelry pieces and organizing the jewelry collection.  The newest addition to the earring collection is this pair pictured here. These earrings are made with blue and green Swarovski crystals and Vermeil gold earring components. As I made these earrings I realized how much more I like working with Vermeil versus sterling silver. It's something about gold that gives off an aura of pure elegance and royalty.

Click here to purchase these earrings!

Posted by Maria Palma at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been writing and blogging all day, so I decided to just talk to you via Utterli and let you know what I've been up to lately.

Click here to listen!

If you have an Utterli account and would like to connect there, visit my profile here.

What I forgot to mention in my utter is that I've had some phenomenal interviews this past week with two very inspiring people: Raymond Salas of ZenChill.com and Jennifer Horton of The Lifestyle Enhancement Company. They offer some great advice on how you can achieve your goals and be more productive. Those two have also contributed to this inspiration that I'm feeling! To listen to the interviews, visit the Studio 747 Blogtalk Radio page.

And now, it's time to celebrate with a glass of wine...Cheers!

Posted by Maria Palma at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was at a fashion event the other night and there was a great deal of press there with their fancy cameras and I really, really want one of those cameras!  As much as I love painting, I think I love taking photos more.  I have tons of folders full of photos on my computer and I've been thinking of different ways that I may be able to make money with them. 

I've been hearing about photographers making money through stock photography companies that sell photos.  If you're a blogger or online business owner, these are great places to find royalty-free stock photos for your blog or website.  One company that I know of where you can sell and/or buy images is 123rf.  They also have a collection of free images as well.  Right now the company is having the 123RF Search and Win contest where you can win a Wacom Bamboo tablet and credits for photos.  You may recall that I bought this tablet awhile back and I'm having so much fun with it!

I'm still amazed at all the things you can do with Wacom tablet.  Wacom Bamboo recently had a contest on Facebook where artists were able to showcase their talent.  Check out these works of art that were created with the tablet...

Click here to see the creative process of this ocean picture...

Click here to see the creative process of this art piece...

Posted by Maria Palma at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)