Tips to Care for Your Sterling Silver Jewelry

Tips to Care for Your Sterling Silver Jewelry

I have been asked many times by my customers as to how they should care for their sterling silver jewelry. So, I have provided some tips and helpful hints for answering some of these questions.

Silver has been mined and used since ancient times and has been used more and more in making jewelry since the 18th century. Silver by itself is considered to be a soft metal ,making it too soft to be used for jewelry making and other such products. It is therefore mixed with other metal substances (copper) known as alloy to create the product of sterling silver, thus making it harder and more suitable for jewelry making. In order for silver to be considered sterling silver it must contain a minimum of 92.5 % pure silver in content. Even though the copper contained in the silver helps the silver become more durable it also has a tendency to cause the sterling silver to tarnish or darken when the silver is exposed to substances used by us everyday.

To care for the silver and to prevent tarnishing ,below are a few tips that I pass on to my customers:

1. Avoid exposing sterling silver to chemicals such as perfume, hair spray and chlorine.
2. Use a cleaner designed for cleaning sterling silver. I suggest not using toothpaste because it is too abrasive and may scratch the silver. A mild soap detergent would work well.
3. Store your sterling silver in tarnish prevention bags and occasionally polish the sterling silver using a tarnish prevention cloth. Never store or wrap your sterling silver jewelry in newspaper, aluminum foil or wood surfaces which can contain acid
.4. It is known that body oils help to prevent tarnishing, so by wearing your sterling silver jewelry often this will help eliminate regular cleaning.


For more information about caring for sterling silver jewelry you may contact me at sarah@sarahdipiti.com. You may also purchase my sterling silver handmade jewelry at www.sarahdipiti.com

My Best, Sarah

Add A Little Charm To Your Life

Add A Little Charm To Your Life


Hello Wednesday!

I have been collecting steering silver chars for my charm bracelet for as long as I can remember .I received my first charm and charm bracelet for my 9th birthday. My Aunt who is also my Godmother started me off on this tradition. She explained to me that this is a wonderful way to collect and capture all of my favorite memories in my life and even something that I may wish to pass on within my own family someday.

To this day, I still am collecting charms, either as gifts that have been given to me for various celebrations or ones that I have been collecting on my own. Each time I look at them a smile comes to my face and it brings me back to a favorite time, place, event, pet, or person that has special meaning in my life. Each one still brings me back to my 9th birthday party when I opened up the little, carefully wrapped box with the big pink ribbon and saw my very own cocker spaniel charm. Dolly, was our families’ cocker spaniel and my very first pet. As s a child I was very attached to her, so as you can expect this charm meant a great deal to me.

So, that charm in the small gift wrapped box with the pink ribbon made me very happy and it still does. That was just the beginning. Over time I have collected charms representing, baseball, Barbie, sanddollars, snowflakes, sleigh bells, butterflies, loons, fish and fishing rods (I love to fish) my favorite soap operas (yes soap operas) graduation, favorite aunt.) And, the list goes on.

So, put a little charm in your life and let me help you create your memories with a custom design charm bracelet... You may contact me at sarah@sarahdipiti.com or view my website www.sarahdipiti.com for more details.
Cheers
Sarah

A Gemstone That Makes Me Smile

One of my favorite stones for handmade beaded jewelry is the semi precious mineral stone of Turquoise. It is a stone possessing a natural richness that brings out a southwestern flair and feminine sophistication. A true classic in its own right, its shades of blue / green seem to provide a tranquil and calming effect from the many stresses in our everyday lives. In addition, turquoise is said to be a stone first used by U.S. Native American and Indian Tribes located in New Mexico for jewelry. If you have the time to research turquoise you will find that it has quite a fascinating history.

It is one of these types of gemstones that can create personal reflection by bringing you back to a favorite memory or a special place once visited. To me, turquoise reminds me of the oceans of warm tropics and the beautiful landscapes of Arizona and the old southwest.

So, put a smile on your face and let me help you design a sterling silver turquoise necklace, bracelet or earrings or choose one from our Southwestern Trends collection at www.sarahdipiti.com . Please email at sarah@sarahdipiti.com and tell me why turquoise is one of your favorite beads.
Sarah

Tips For Determrning Proper Bracelet Sizing

Happy MondaY! Many of my customers email me asking questions about determening proper bracelet sizing. Below, I have listed the steps necessary to measure a wrist to obtain the proper sizing for custom order bracelets. T he lobster clasp adds 1 inch to all bracelets. This amount is figured into Step 3 below. To determine bracelet size and watch size: 1.Measure wrist with a flexible tape, just above the wrist bone where you would place a wrist watch. (If you do not have a flexible measuring tape, use a ribbon or some string and measure the resulting length after you remove the ribbon or string from your wrist.) 2.Pull snug, but not too tight. Note the measurement. 3.Now add 1". This is your approximate size. 4.Select the nearest size: 6.0", 6.5", 7.0", 7.5", 8.0". If your measurement is in between these sizes, select the next larger size. For example, if your wrist plus 1 inch measures 7.25", choose the size 7.5". A little extra wiggle room is typically more comfortable than too little wiggle room. All of my custom order bracelets measure: 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.0. All lengths are in inches. Young Ladies' bracelets measure: 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5. Average size is approximately 7.0-7.5" for adults. All bracelets come standard with a sterling silver lobster clasp. I love special orders, so if you are interested in your very own custom designed sterling silver bracelet or would like to give one as a gift for Mother’s Day , Graduation , or Birthday, please feel free to contact me at sarah@sarahdipiti.com or visit my website at www.sarahdipiti.com Cheers! Sarah

A Violet For Remembrance- Helping The Cause

My mother passed away from Alzheimer’s disease 3 years ago and her death had a profound affect on my life. There is not one day that goes by that I do not think of her. I miss her terribly. After her passing I became very determined and devoted to help find a cure for this horrific disease. I wanted to do my part to help those individuals, families, friends, relatives and caregivers by raising awareness and funds to help the Alzheimer’s Association care and support programs with finding a cure. I was just not sure how. After much thought and careful consideration about the type of project I wanted to do I decided to design a bracelet in memory and in honor of my mother called Violets for Spring. For the past 2 years, I have been working closely with my local Alzheimer’s Chapter (MA/NH) donating a portion of sales from these bracelets and other jewelry items from the Violets line to Alzheimer’s Research and support programs. These handmade bracelets have sold all over the country and I have received so many positive letters and emails from people offering their own stories and telling me what a difference I am making to their lives. In addition, my town paper did a story on my project and Alzheimer’s Centers have invited me to there facilities. Because of the success from this project and the money I have raised I am trying to expand my efforts to inform the public about these bracelets and bring this project to a national level. Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is very important to me. This effort is truly coming from the bottom of my heart. I sincerely want to help give back to those that have helped me while at the same time help find a cure for this debilitating disease one bracelet at a time. For more information about these bracelets you may go to my website at www.sarahdipiti.com. You may also email me at sarah@sarahdipiti.com Best wishes, Sarah

My #1 Priority - Building Relationships With My Jewelry Customers

Happy Monday!

One of the very things I love best about my jewelry design business is building relationships with my customers. Especially through customer orders. I love to hear how thrilled they are with the necklace or bracelet they helped to create. There is defiantly a sense of happiness that they feel when they know that a piece of jewelry that they are wearing has been designed just for them. . This tells me as a designer that I have met their expectations.

I love having my customers share their likes,dislikes, favorite colors, hobbies, favorite sport (etc) with me to help me with the design of their piece. Most importantly, they put their trust in me to design and capture the sprit of the jewelry piece that they want me to create .When my customers receive their custom order each and every jewelry piece is made only using the finest quality materials from all over the worldto their exact specification..

Customers have often requested jewelry pieces that are a reflection of their own personal lives ,from favorite pets that have been lost, to children who are in love with butterflies and kitties and love the color purple.

Each and every request is unique and I absolutely love taking on the challenge and bringing out the artist in me. My most recent request was from a young lady who loved Eagles. She contacted me looking for a replacement pendant for a shell eagle that was unrepairable. She told me a little about herself and what she was looking for and within a reasonable period of time I was able to locate and obtain a close similarity of an eagle shell pendant and make up a new necklace for her which she helped to design. She was absolutely thrilled with her replacement.

So, close your eyes and envision the exact piece of jewelry that you would like to wear, and if you would like your very own custom order ,contact http://www.sarahdipiti.comand/ We will do our best to build a relationship with you and make your dream come true.

If there is a topic that you would like me to write about please email me at sarah@sarahdipiti.com Sarah Sarahdipiti