Winner of Who's The Boss Mother's Day Giveaway

Cathy Doheny won Who's The Boss Mother's Day giveaway. She sent us this beautiful letter this weekend. We're so happy you love your Tree of Life necklace Cathy - and that one day it will be Jade's!

Please see Cathy's links below. She is involved in a lot of great things.













Dear Carla and Mark,

I cannot thank you enough for the Tree of Life pendant! When I opened the box, I was simply stunned at the beauty of the piece. The detail is phenomenal, and I am amazed that all of the smaller stones fit perfectly in the branches of the tree. It is almost as if they are celebratory lights strung on the tree, each jewel representing a milestone in my life. My four year-old daughter loves to look at it and hear over and over what the stones stand for: the month her daddy and I met, the month we were married, the month we found out we were going to adopt her, the month we adopted her, and the month of her daddy's life-saving stem cell transplant. And, of course, she knows that the amethyst at the center is the birthstone for her, as well as her mama and daddy. I know that my daughter will be happy to receive this heirloom piece one day, and always be reminded of the events that shone brightest in the tree of my life.


Thanks again for the meaningful piece and for the wonderful work you do to help others tell their stories.
All the best,
Cathy--

Cathy Crenshaw Doheny
Charlotte International Adoption Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-7928-Charlotte-International-Adoption-Examiner
National Organ and Tissue Donor Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-11095-Organ-and-Tissue-Donor-Examiner
Freelance Writer
http://cathydoheny.blogspot.com/
Private Piano Instructor
http://charlottepianolessons.blogspot.com/
Director of Communications - Families with Children from China - Charlotte, NC chapter
http://fcc-charlotte.blogspot.com/

Who's The Boss Mother's Day Giveaway

Black Mountain Jewelry Co. sent the winner of Who's The Boss Mother's Day Giveaway her custom Tree of Life Necklace today. Please see original contest link http://tinyurl.com/d8v4q5 Cathy Doheny of Charlotte, NC selected a piece with a stone on the bottom and five additional stones in the branches to commemorate milestones in her life. Hope she really loves this personal talisman.

In order to enter the contest readers had to comment on what the Tree of Life Jewelry would mean to them.

Cathy said "The tree symbolizes my family, who stands strong and proud despite the storms of cancer and hardship. Because our foundation (the trunk of the tree) was strong, our branches remained intact, as we weathered the storm. The tree ultimately symbolizes survival!"

When Cathy selected her stones she also said:

"Carla, Thank you so much! I have been wanting one of your Tree of Life pieces for a while! I feel so very lucky and fortunate to have won and can't wait to tell everyone about it!I pick one large stone and up to 5 smaller accent stones? Is that correct?

If so, then the large stone would be an amethyst (to symbolize all three of our birthdays - We were all born in February).
The smaller stones would be:
Aquamarine for March (the month my husband and I met)
Sapphire for September (our wedding anniversary)
Emerald for May (the month we found out we were going to adopt our daughter)
Citrine for November (the month we adopted our daughter)
Peridot for August (the month of my husband's stem cell transplant and the start of his new immune system)

Is an inscription also included? If so, I would like it to say:Love & Life

Thanks again!
What a wonderful Mother's Day gift for me!
Cathy "

There were so many touching comments from contestants in the Mother's Day Giveaways we were part of ...we wish we could afford to send each and everyone of them a custom Tree of Life Pendant.

Mom Knows It All Mother's Day Giveaway

Black Mountain Jewelry Co. sent the winner of Mom Knows It All's Mother's Day Giveaway her custom Tree of Life Necklace today. Please see original contest link http://tinyurl.com/cehlkj
Peggy Gorman of Preston, CT selected a piece with her birthstone on the bottom and her four children in the branches. We really hope she loves this meaningful pendant.

In order to enter the contest readers had to comment on what the Tree of Life Jewelry would mean to them.

Peggy said "I love this piece and it would remind me of a time when all my children were here with me. I lost two sons and have a son and daughter alive,I also love the heart that is in the tree because on hearing of my 2nd sons death I had a heart attack. I would have all their birthstones and mine. On the back I would put “for my broken heart” "

Tech Savvy Mama Tree of Life Charm Giveaway

Black Mountain Jewelry Co. sent the winner of Tech Savvy Mama's Mother's Day Giveaway her custom Tree of Life Necklace today. Please see original contest link http://tinyurl.com/dyujtv

Dina Nay of Kennesaw, GA selected a piece with her birthstone on the bottom and her two children in the branches. Normally we can't stamp wording AND add extra stones but Mark was able to squeeze her children's names in between the stones. :) Really hope she loves it!!

In order to enter the contest readers had to comment on what the Tree of Life Jewelry would mean to them.

Dina said "I love their jewelry and the symbolism of the tree of life! To me, this is family, continuity, where you come from and where you are going."

Molly Ringwald Gift Basket With Style Cafe Moms

Black Mountain Jewelry Co.'s latest Celebrity Gift Basket through Style Cafe Moms - sent to Molly Ringwald. We hope she loves her custom Tree of Life Pendant!

We use recycled packaging, our gemstones are fair trade and our metal is 100% recycled - please see link about harmony metals on our website http://tinyurl.com/quv5yb

Oviedo, FL (April 2009) - Style Cafe Moms, an online leader in celebrity gifting, announces the presentation of a personalized Style Café Moms Celebrity Baby Basket to Molly Ringwald.

Craft Show In Sedona Arizona

We had a really great show in Sedona, AZ last weekend. It was incredibly hot and dry (98!) but we were so lucky to see the sun rise and set everyday on those red rocks. Here are a couple pictures - unfortunately from the car - no time to hike. :( Sunset on Cathedral Rock, an eery sunrise on I don't know WHAT formation and some pretty snapdragons by the show location.

Two 18k Gold Morenci Turquoise rings found homes that weekend. One went home to Kentucky and the other to San Diego. Hope they are really enjoyed!

Once again we met incredible people and had a great time! I should have got the name of one Mom and her Daughter. I feel so bad when I forget to do that. Her daughter is a two time Leukemia survivor - once when she was 5 and then later. Her Mom bought her a Tree of Life Ring to celebrate her 20 years in remission on Mother's Day. I hope she enjoys it in continued good health.

Visitor On His Way Back East

After our last show - before this current one, our good friend John spent the night on his way back to upstate NY from PHX. We creates beautiful wooden vessels and has a big following back East. We went rockhounding then had a great dinner. His dog Snorky became friends with Sam - they were very polite to each other in Sam's house. :)

A couple days later Sam got sprayed at 4:30am by a skunk!!

Casting Before the Show

Mark was really busy casting last week before we left for our show. These are bails for Tree of Life Charms and Pendants. There are a total of 80 lg and sm shown in blue wax. The big sigh of relief is when that many cast perfectly! Here they are in the silver as well before he cuts them off the wax "Tree".

People Magazine's Celebrity Baby Blog

We are so excited to be featured on page 7 of People Magazine's Celebrity Baby Blog with our Tree of Life Jewelry. Heading "Personalized Mom's Jewelry Favorites!" by Danielle Friedland

http://tinyurl.com/d9akjg

So grateful for this amazing exposure!

Mompreneur Friend, Alicia Hunter-Wilkinson

I received this beautiful letter today from an old friend I reconnected with. She's an amazing Mompreneur and person that I'm grateful to have in my life again. If you get chance please check out Alicia's website.
http://www.permanent-results.com/
Alicia - thank you for sending this gorgeous picture of you wearing the Tree of Life Charm we sent


"I am an old high-school friend of the artist Carla Vaughn-Mead. When we recently reconnected and I saw her gorgeous jewelry, I was moved enough to share some things with her and she responded by making me the most exquisite and heart-felt piece I could imagine.

We lost our first-born son Hunter in 2003; subsequently, we were able to adopt a son, Hayden, and then were blessed to give birth to our daughter Ashley in 2005. When I shared this with Carla, her empathy for my situation was so sincere and I just knew that when I received my Tree of Life pendant I would never want to take it off!

I had always wanted a "mother's ring" or some other typical trinket featuring my children, but it didn't seem to be fitting considering the tragedy yet gratefulness I felt about my personal situation. When I received my Tree of Life pendant, Carla had also hand-written a note explaining what each birthstone was and why it was placed where she'd placed it. She chose Hunter's stone for the "heart" shape which is subtly placed in the tree's middle, because even though he's no longer here on earth, he's so deeply embedded in our hearts and she wanted the piece to signify that importance.

I wear my Tree of Life pendant every day, usually on the black cord; it's become my signature piece. I love that I can wear it to a fancy dinner and also with a tank-top and jeans, it's that versatile. It's always in style.

Every day someone compliments me on it; they see the beauty of the piece, and I know that it's so much more than just a piece of jewelry - it's the most special piece I own!

Carla and Mark are amazing craftspeople but more than that, they are the kind of artists that truly found their calling - creating special pieces with significance for the wearer that is deeply personal and meaningful. That's so much more than jewelry!!"

All the Best,

Alicia Hunter-Wilkinson

Mother's Day Jewelry Giveaways

We have some good things happening right now! We are part of three more Mom Blog giveaways for Mother's day with our Tree of Life Jewelry -

- Mom Knows It All http://tinyurl.com/cehlkj
- Who's The Boss http://tinyurl.com/d8v4q5
- Chefdruck Reviews http://tinyurl.com/c8tvfo

Please check out their great Blogs! Contests run until 5/6. (Chefdruck Reviews until 5/15.)