Housty, Melanie

In May of 2010 the office I was working at closed down, and this being the 3rd move with the company because of closings, they had nowhere else for me to go, so I was forced to retire at an early age.   Ever since seeing Lake Havasu in the late 70’s, I always told my husband this is where I would like to live, so after selling our house in NW Indiana, we packed up our cat (Jazmin) and headed west, and now we’ve been here since September of 2010. 

After retiring to Arizona, I needed a hobby, so I started making jewelry. It started out just bracelets, but now I also do necklaces,  earrings and lately started making buttons from Polymer Clay.   I met Barb Handy at one of the many sales here in Havasu, and  took some (many) of her classes in Polymer Clay.  She then introduced me to Renee Good from whom I learned to do Peyote and Kumihimo, and to Bess who taught me wirewrap. 

It had gotten to the point where I had more jewelry than what I ever could wear, so I dedided I needed to try to sell some.   Barb helped me to open JazminsJewels on Etsy. I'm grateful that she helped me to get started and  I know I'll be thanking her over and over.

I think my favorite jewelry to make is the Peyote.  If you look at the photos  I’ve included, the bracelet with the hummingbird on it has over 4,100 beads in it, each individually strung.  I’m enjoying desiging and making the jewelry out of the Delica beads used in the Peyote.  I do also like making things with stone as my parents were rock hounds.  I hope to eventually take classes in lapidary.

You can see some of my jewelry at www.JazminsJewels.etsy.com.  You can also contact me at JazminsJewels@gmail.com with any questions.