Feature Designer and New Guest Author

Diana Norman is a remarkable artisan based in New York, USA. I say that because there is so much more to her than just being the creator of beautiful handmade jewelry using real flowers.

Her pretty purple flower pendant necklace shown here has one of the loveliest colour combinations - purple and green. The genuine purple flower is encased in clear resin, Diana used purple crackle beads with green mother of pearl triangular beads in keeping with the colours of her pendant. She also designs jewelry with real preserved five petaled flowers from Thailand as shown here.

But she doesn't limit to herself to just flowers. Her gallery and jewelry creation process pages demonstrate her wide range of techniques which include chain maille, macrame, knotting, wood burning, wire work, stained glass, knitting and crochet, embroidery and this most unusual one - custom made digital art pendants. Diana is adept at Photoshop and a whiz at HTML - the coding behind websites. So much so she has a website designing biz called HtmlToGo.com - so if you need help with graphics or templates, you know where to go.

I first noticed Diana on a jewelry forum where we both sometimes lurk. She was invariably helpful and knowledgeable. She liked it when I called her an internet sleuth when she helped me locate the origin of mandala puzzle bracelets for this post. Her Photoshop tutorial was also included in my recent post on jewelry photography. We found we both had a lot in common besides jewelry making - a curiosity for all kinds of information and an interest in internet related stuff. So much so, we have become friends despite never having met face to face.

She too has caught the blogging bug - she was the inspiration behind my blog post "Six Questions to Really Ask Before You Start a (Craft) Blog". Her new blog is evolving with several good posts out already like "Pretty or Poison" and my favourite so far, "My Smell-Free Guarantee" where she talks about her "un-scent-sational" jewelry storage which avoids any contact with pets, harsh chemicals and smoke. I was therefore delighted when she agreed to be a Guest Author on my blog. Her article will be posted tomorrow and I look forward to more from Diana in the future.

Diana's Etsy store stocks all her creations and you can check out her blog here. Picture with kind permission from Diana.

(Update : Links no longer valid were removed)
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The Beading Gem's Journal