A Favorite Necklace

{reversible sterling silver Theresa necklace with miniature original photograph of Crimson Rose and freshwater pearl}

This Loretta Fontaine Jewelry design is a favorite of mine! The upcoming holidays have me in a "red" mood today!

High Heeled Feet Out The Door

I'm updating my blog roll today...

Camila Pavone (vacation shot in Valle de Layve}

Because this talented lady...

{she's a DIY queen - look what she did to her stairs!}

who does this...

{the chic black bathroom}

and this... 

{her turquoise and yellow guest room - image hgtv.com}

...is running in her high heels and moving her blog to a NEW site: www.blog.effortless-style.com

All to celebrate the launch of her fabulous full-service interior design firm Effortless Style Interiors!

Congrats Camila!

Two Birds In The Hand - My Liz Vigoda pick

So, what did I choose for myself from Liz Vigoda's pottery at our Holiday Delmar Open Studios?

{Fabulous Liz Vigoda pot with image of John James Audubon's mourning doves}

Isn't this so beautiful? This amazing pot and saucer was fired in her kiln three times - once bisque, once with glaze and a third time for the delicate transfer.

{transfer detail}

I LOVE it! A new house plant will find a fine feathered nest here!
To see some more photographs I took of Liz's work at the Holiday Delmar Open Studios click here.

Open Studio - Open Couches

Liz and me holding one of her ceramic plates at the start of our sale

Our Holiday Delmar Open Studios this past weekend exceeded expectations! What a wonderful time! Liz Vigoda's gracious art-filled home was the perfect place to mingle, nibble and browse. Sales were fantastic, and Liz and I are able to make some very nice donations to The Nature Conservancy (from my jewelry sales) and The Schenectady Free Clinic (from Liz's pottery sales).

The timing of our sale seemed perfect - the weekend before all the zaniness of that Black-Friday-Shopping-Craziness-Stuff. When I set up my display is her home I asked Liz:

Let's move it all back four feet.

Why's that?

So everyone can sit on the couches


It was that kind of show.

find me at Delmar Open Studios this weekend!

Getting ready for this show with neighbor and potter Liz Vigoda THIS WEEKEND!

Holiday Delmar Open Studios
November 20 & 21, 2010
10a.m. - 5 p.m.
at Liz's home/studio at 9 Keith Road, Delmar, NY 12054
518- 439-4457
web site: www.delmaropenstudios.blogspot.com
Share this event on FACEBOOK

This is the second year we are doing this, and it's a lot of fun. Good (free!) food, beautiful work, special sales and 10% of my sales will benefit The Nature Conservancy.

Liz is a wonderful friend and super-talented artist. See more of her beautiful ceramics on her website www.lizvigoda.com

The weather forecast this weekend looks great! Come out to Delmar and join us!

Heal a Heart - earrings for Visual Vamp

reversible sterling silver Lucy earrings with plum multi

Dear friends, 

Would you like to help heal a heart? These earrings (reversible - two sides are shown!) are part of Online Auction For Our *Visual*Vamp* organized by Laura Ingalls Gunn of Decor To Adore to raise much-needed funds for medical expenses for Valorie Hart's (aka *visual*vamp*) partner Alberto Paz. 

Our lady in red and in need - Valorie Hart.     photo:Theresa Cassagre

Alberto is Valorie Hart's beloved partner in love and in tango. Their story here. I have long followed Valorie's musings on her stylish blog *Visual*Vamp*. As well as dancing Le Tango, Valorie is a talented stylist, writer, blogger and decorator.

What they do best.  photo from *Visual*Vamp*

Alberto was felled by a heart attach in a Canadian airport while the couple was traveling to teach a tango workshop in Calgary. He is back in New Orleans after a Flying Nurses flight, and recovering from surgery, and the bills will start coming soon...

Want to help? You can bid on my earrings in the comments below. They are valued at $56.00 and bidding will start at $20.00 and I will happily ship them for free in the United States. Bidding will end on Monday, November 15 at 10a.m. 

Go to Decor To Adore to see more auction items, and head to *Visual Vamp* to send Alberto and Valorie well wishes. Our hearts go out to both of them as Alberto's heart heals.

pve - earring giveaway WINNER!

We have a winner for my earrings! Thank you to everyone who entered, and the team at Crafty Life & Style for featuring me as their Artist In The Spotlight. Find my interview here.

A big congrats to our WINNER Patricia van Essche! She is a supremely talented artist and writes the insightful blog pve design. (You will need to check it out!)

My son picking from an MC3 bowl

The winner was picked by an unbiased (and totally uninterested) third party!

Jewelry Giveaway!

sterling silver reversible Amy earrings with Stuyvesant Fern and custom gray freshwater pearls

Would you like to win a pair of Loretta Fontaine Jewelry earrings? (They're reversible - hence the two sides!) It's a favorite design that features my own miniature original b&w photography of a fern.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed about my job as a jewelry designer by the team at Crafty Life & Style blog.  To celebrate, were having a jewelry giveaway! The interview should be posted today! (You'll find out how I started - which involves beer, and I was sober!)Here's the link: Crafty Life & Style

Become a follower of my blog, APPLESandRUBIES and leave a comment below for a chance to win. If you put this giveaway on your blog or Facebook just let me know and that will give you 10 additional chances to win.

and...

head over to my  Crafty Life and Style interview and add a comment there for another chance

and...

Give this giveaway a "like" on the Loretta Fontaine Jewelry Facebook page for even another chance!

Winner will be chosen at noon, Wednesday, November 10

This is too much fun! Good luck!
xoxo Loretta

winner shipped free in US

why I'm crazy this week - Albany Holiday Crafts on Madison

poster I designed!

If I'm distracted, not returning phone calls and emails, letting the house go to crap and not even cooking (thank you wonderful spouse for making a tray of lasagna to feed the kids) this week it's because...

I volunteer to organize a fundraiser and it's this Friday and Saturday.

I have to say, half the time I wonder why I ever do this. I should be doing other things! But then after all the press releases, booth layouts, graphics for postcards and posters, emails and phone calls and goading people to bake cookies for the cafe... it's all worth it.

It's a local event with top-notch talent, in a GORGEOUS mansion and raises some much needed funds for the programs of The Woman's Club and Double H Ranch.

Volunteering has pushed me in new ways I never knew I could be pushed. The first year I did this (yes, this show is now in the 5th year) I wasn't confident that I was one of "those people" who could get things done. Now, a bit more public confidence. I started blogging a year ago by making a blog for the show because it was an inexpensive way to get the word out about it. I learned the ropes on that blog before I started APPLESandRUBIES, my own blog.

Now, in another move to try and get the word out cheaply (because, sadly, I have no budget for advertising Albany Holiday Crafts on Madison other than money to print postcards) I joined Facebook. Wow, Facebook is powerful. Just on it a few days and most of the traffic going to the Albany Crafts on Madison blog is coming from... Facebook! Would I have joined Facebook if I weren't working on this show? Probably not. Another way volunteering has pushed me.

Enough of my chattering, if you are in the Albany, New York area please come out to the show! Here's the blog I write to promote it: http://www.holidaycraftsonmadison.blogspot.com  and Facebook event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108069285924963

and here's the event info:


5th Annual ALBANY HOLIDAY CRAFTS ON MADISON
Fri Nov 5, 2010 (5pm-9pm) Sat Nov 6, 2010 (10am-5pm)
725 Madison Ave, Albany NY (near corner of Madison and Lake)


A Splendid Show and Sale of Art & Craft held in a gracious 1895 mansion near Washington Park, The 5th Annual Albany Holiday Crafts on Madison benefits the programs of The Woman's Club of Albany, New York and Double H Ranch, a camp for children with life threatening illnesses. The sale will feature local work by Loretta Fontaine, Cherry Schacher, McGillycuddy’s Naturals, Nancy Noble Gardner, Ben Rauch, Pat Bohrer, Elsa Fletcher, Mary LaFleur and Kathryn Benson, Lisa Phegn, Karen Greendale, Cinderloop and Katie Nare.