Happy Beads are fun acrylic beads with Swarovski crystal accents. They’re every bit as cute and colorful as jellybeans, but with zero calories or risk of cavities! They make an excellent gift for the Easter Bunny to hide in fashionistas’ baskets.

That elusive rabbit could combine large and small Happy Beads in alternating colors, create an entire rainbow of beads, or string some beads onto Happy Bead hoops. That stylish hare might also enjoy some Happy Bead goodness herself. (The Easter Bunny is a “she”, isn’t she? I mean, only the female of the species lays eggs, right?)

This Easter, delight her visual senses with a pop of springtime color that will last much longer than sugar on the tongue. Hop over to Silver Linings to shop Happy Beads!

Enjoy this Roy G. Biv link for a fantastic video about rainbows! 

“Will this tarnish?” is a question frequently asked about jewelry before a purchase is considered.  Funny, no one asks, “Will these jeans get dirty?” or “Will these shoes get scuffed?”.  At least, not that we’ve heard of from any of our clothing or shoe store friends. Yes, sterling silver will tarnish given the right conditions.  And yes, it can be easily cleaned.

Not needing to polish every piece of jewelry before you put it on and rush out the door is the goal.  Properly stored, silver jewelry can be ready to go whenever you are.  Own a jewelry box?  You can tuck anti-tarnish paper in it’s nooks and crannies or keep a couple of pieces of chalk in the corners.  This only truly works if you bother to close the lid of the jewelry box to maintain the inside humidity level. Don’t throw out those silica pack thingies that say “Do Not Eat” when you get a new pair of shoes.  Those packs absorb moisture and if you don’t keep them with your shoes, try them in your jewelry box (with lid closed of course).  At Silver Linings, we store jewelry in plastic bags that zip or snap closed.  Some bags have a piece of anti-tarnish paper in it, some do not.  Either way, maintaining the humidity level is key and a sealed environment can help.  We recommend not putting a freshly worn piece in a sealed container unless it gets a swipe with a polishing cloth first, lest you culture an exciting new fuzzy growth on your jewelry.

A polishing cloth is your jewelry’s best friend.  That cloth will wipe away any oils, lotions, perfumes, horse manure, or crab meat that happens to adhere to your jewelry.  Silver Linings sells polishing cloths at both our St. Michaels and Easton locations and we will send you one if you “like” us on Facebook and provide us a mailing address.  Polishing cloths will last a very long time, even after they get quite black from many polishing adventures.  Silver polishing cloths are treated with chemicals, so washing them in the washing machine (as one of our concerned customers did) to remove the accumulated tarnish will actually reduce it’s effectiveness.

Jewelry with an “antiqued” or darkened patina should always be cleaned with a polishing cloth.  Liquid cleansers will strip the blacking and having it reapplied is labor intensive, expensive, and it will usually never be the same.  Stones that lose their luster due to an improper chemical bath are usually toast.  

We love it when our customers ask us what to do with their fabulous new jewelry! Silver Linings is available to answer your jewelry cleaning questions and would love to chat about it right here!

Shop Silver Linings online from Monday, December 12 - Friday, December 16, and receive 20% off plus free ground shipping. We’ll announce our voucher code on Facebook Monday morning. Click here to “like” us, so as not to miss out.

Last night in St. Michaels, Maryland, the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce held their awards ceremony and dinner at the lovely Harbortowne Golf Resort and Conference Center. The Chamber honored several business leaders in our community, including Aida Leisure, owner of Silver Linings.

Aida was accompanied by almost all Silver Linings’ staff members. The faces you see below are the ones that greet our customers in our stores everyday, as well as fill your web orders. (Clockwise from top left: Ellie, Laura, Kee, Julie, Aida, Cathi, Cynthia)

The evening started with drinks and dinner, then moved on to the awards ceremony.

Mary Ann Henker, the 2010 Business Woman of the Year and owner of The Henker Group, introduced Aida. Click here to view a video of Mary Ann’s speech. Next, Aida accepted her award. Click here to view her speech.

To view more photos of our evening, visit Silver Linings on Facebook. And congrats, Aida!

This month’s special is a buy 3, get 1 free offer!

Are you unfamiliar with Kameleon Jewelry? If so, take a look at our last post. We explain the concept of interchangeable jewelry, as well as link to Silver Linings, where you can browse our selection.

This offer is only good through October, so head over to our Kameleon collection and take advantage of this great deal!

If you’ve visited either of our store locations in the past year, you’ve probably been introduced to Kameleon, the interchangeable jewelry system. If not, here’s a quick overview of one of our most successful lines.

Kameleon offers a collection of sterling silver “base jewelry”, which includes rings, bracelets, pendants, and pins. The center stones, or JewelPops, are interchangeable, allowing you to mix and match styles and colors.

JewelPops come in a rainbow of colors, textures, and materials - such as opal, cat’s eye, amber, Swarovski crystal, pearl, amethyst, garnet, lapis, and more!

Kameleon’s base jewelry designs are pretty, modern, and comfortable. Here are a selection of some of our favorites. Which one of these pieces catches your eye?

Visit www.silverliningsmd.com for our full collection of Kameleon jewelry and JewelPops.

Autumn is upon us, so we’ve grouped our fall colored stones together for easy seasonal accessorizing. We’re calling them Harvest Hues, and here’s a sampling. Click the photos for more details on each piece.

The above stones are amber, carnelian, and rutilated quartz. Click Harvest Hues to view the entire collection.

September is half over and we’ve completely forgotten to share our web special with our blog readers!

Remember the amazing glass pieces we posted about a few weeks ago? Among that group is our bestselling Glass Wave Pendant, shown above on a snake chain. A sterling silver curve cradles the deep blue wave, which turns white its frothy tips.

For every Glass Wave Pendant purchased in the month of September, we will include a free 20” snake chain!

So, what are you waiting for? Surf on over to Silver Linings and catch a wave of your very own.

Have you heard? Lockets are hot for fall! We’ve just received a limited batch of gorgeous, engravable, keepsake sterling silver lockets.

Each locket has a tiny freshwater pearl, which dangles just above the jump ring. Another sweet detail is the figaro chain, which is adjustable. Just clip the clasp anywhere on the chain to customize the length.

We think they’re the perfect place to store photos of your most special friends and family members. We used photos of a few of Silver Linings’ furry friends as examples. Above are Yohan and Oscar, below are Florian and Dhani.

Next are Elmer and Clark.

And finally, Carmela and Georgia. (They are girly girls!)

Which animal couple is your favorite?

It’s amazing what can be created with an ordinary, everyday material like glass. 

These incredibly hand-carved pieces of glass make beautiful jewelry. The play of light almost creates the feel of movement beneath the glass. Each piece is backed entirely in sterling silver.

Silver Linings is offering a small selection of these amazing pieces.

Click here to view the collection.