Cherysh's Charms Contributes to Cirque de Couture

Cherysh's Charms has been busily at work this week creating pieces for the much anticipated fashion designer contest, Cirque de Couture benefiting the non-profit SARPA.  We thought we would share Cherysh's favorite pieces with our readers.  Let us know what you think!  Although Cherysh will not be in attendance, she is sending her best wishes through her creations.

This Week's Feature: Cherysh's Charms...You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Meredith Corning (left) with Cherysh Corning (right)
Photo by: Bobby Haws Photography  

My eight-year old daughter, Cherysh, started her own jewelry line ,Cherysh's Charms, back in January 2011.  In the beginning, she created jewelry to be given to children living in domestic violence shelters with their mothers.  We previously donated some coats to the Hope Cottage in Searcy, Arkansas with the gracious help of the 10/20 Project and Cherysh had seen the smaller coats.  At that moment, Cherysh wanted to be involved.

Karis Rankin (left) with Cherysh Corning (right) at Divas Dressing Darlings,
Photo by: Bobby Haws Photography  

She said, "Mommy, I want to do something for the little girls to make them feel pretty, too."

Cherysh with Project Runway's Korto Momolu.
Photo by: Bobby Haws Photography  

From that point on, we nurtured her passion for service through her jewelry designs.  Of course, our family has helped her with bead kits and materials, but some of our supporters have been amazing, also.  Michelle Fitz Coclasure made a donation right from the beginning of "Cherysh's Charms" and we were able to supply her with more professional gear for her designs.  Many of our supporters inquire about Cherysh's Charms and have been curious to see what my little darling has developed.

Mother and daughter at event.
Photo by: Bobby Haws  

I am more than happy to show some of her jewelry line, Cherysh's Charms, directly in association with The Compassion Fashion Project.  Before our event, Divas Dressing Darlings, Cherysh produced forty-five pieces of jewelry and we felt like this would be a great incentive for guests at our event to donate cash in exchange for one of her designs.  We were collecting pillowcases at our event that we are sewing into dresses for little girls in Africa.  It was essential that we raised some monetary donations, so that we would have enough to ship the dresses once they were complete to the organization that would forward them onto the girls in Africa.  This worked out well and we were able to secure enough funds for our purpose.  


Cherysh likes to work with a montage of different beads: glass, plastic, stone and seed beads.  She started out using stretchy string, but these would all seem to break after some wear, so she switched to regular jewelry making string.  Even this did not seem sturdy enough, so she finally settled on jewelry wire in both silver and gold.  Sometimes she will use fasteners and other times she closes them by twisting the wire (this is the part I have to help her with).


After much experimentation, Cherysh now says, "I like to find a bead pattern while creating my jewelry and just go with it."

Cherysh seen here giving Project Runway's Korto Momolu a special piece of jewelry.

She even had the opportunity to meet Project Runway's Korto Momolu at Divas Dressing Darlings and gave her and her daughter a piece of Cherysh's Charms.  Cherysh thinks she is famous now, but really she is just a special little girl with a big heart.  I thought this would be a good time to share a fun interview with my daughter, Cherysh Bliss Corning:

"Sugar Blossom" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

What is your favorite color?

Blue.

"Twilight" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

What are some of your hobbies?

Painting, drawing and making jewelry.

"Sugar Blossom" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Stylist.

"Twilight" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

How many boyfriends do you have?

Three!

"Twilight" collection by Cherysh's Charms

What is your favorite subject in school?

Reading.

"Sugar Blossom" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

How do you come up with ideas for your jewelry line?

I see lots of fashion on T.V. and I look at my mommy's drawings.

"Twilight" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

What are your future goals for Cherysh's Charms?

To help more people.

"Sugar Blossom" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

Does your little sister help you make jewelry?

Are you kidding me?  No way!

"Twilight" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

What was it like meeting Korto Momolu?

Well...Project Runway is like precious to me, so it was like precious for me to meet her.

"Sugar Blossom" collection by Cherysh's Charms.

Are you going to continue to help The Compassion Fashion Project?

Of course!

Each one of Cherysh's Charms is packaged in a jewelry pouch with  her very own tag that she created.

If you are interested in donating $10 or $20 to The Compassion Fashion Project, you will receive a piece of Cherysh's Charms (US only).  Just click our paypal button and then email me the address your jewelry needs to be sent.

thecompassionfashionproject@gmail.com

   

Project Runway's Korto Momolu with Cherysh's Charms designer, Cherysh Corning.
Photo by: Bobby Haws  

Click here for Cherysh's Charms on the news!  

This Week's Challenge: Cherysh's Charms will Charm You

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My daughter, "the charmer", Cherysh.

My daughter, whom is an absolute genius by the way, is always very interested in what I am doing. Since I started The Compassion Fashion Project she has been asking me tough questions about why I am doing this and who I am doing this for and so on, you know how children are with their questions.  After we delivered the coats last week to Hope Cottage (read about that here), she started asking me about the smaller coats.

"Mommy, are there little girls like me at the shelter?"

"Yes, honey, there are," I replied.

She sat there for a minute in deep contemplation of this revelation she had discovered and finally said, "Mommy, I want to do something for the little girls to make them feel pretty, too."

Sparkly green and hot pink beaded bracelet.

After some discussion, she came up with the idea to make jewelry for the little girls at the shelter with her new bead kit she had just received from her Godmother, Amber.  I thought this was a terrific idea and told her we could even take it one step further and she could also sell her jewelry, giving 50% of the proceeds to the shelter.  That way she was helping the little girls and their mothers, too.  So, once we had our plan in place, Cherysh began making jewelry first for the little girls.  These are a couple pieces she came up with and I must say they are pretty good!  We made it a family affair and I helped her with the fasteners, but these are her designs.  I told her for her next birthday maybe I would get her a "professional" kit with the glass beads, sturdy wire, and all the fixings, that way she could make some new designs.


Anklet featuring a rose as the center piece.


Anyway, it got me thinking and I want this week's challenge to inspire you from "out the mouths of babes."  There are little girls and little boys who live in these shelters and I don't want to forget about them.  Kids love little trinkets of all sorts, maybe you have an idea that would make someone's day a bit brighter.  That's what I love about The Compassion Fashion Project is giving doesn't have to be in big doses, sometimes it's the "smaller" acts of kindness that mean the most.

We even made Cherysh some business cards!