Hi, I'm Caryssa!
The artist behind Creations By Caryssa
I make one-of-a-kind wearable art that I handcraft with so much love and intention. I only make pieces that I would personally wear myself! My style is celestial, nature and boho themed. My love for creating started long before I ever picked up wire. As a kid, I was constantly making things! Creations using rocks and my grandma’s old costume jewelry that I would take apart and repurpose into something new!
I’ve always been deeply drawn to rocks, crystals, textures, and nature. My nana has been my biggest inspiration in my journey as an artist. My love for rocks and crystals truly came from her! Since I was little, she would take me rock hunting in the mesas of New Mexico where we would search for petrified wood together. Large or small, I treasured every piece we found! (And still do!) Eventually, I found some especially beautiful smaller pieces of petrified wood that I wished I could wear, so I started looking up ways to turn these stones into jewelry for myself! I stumbled upon a few tutorials on YouTube, so I went to the craft store, bought some inexpensive tools and wire, and immediately fell completely in love with the art form! What started as a little self made project became a passion that would change my life!
This was in July of 2015 and here is a picture of my first ever piece which is so special to me because it shows me how far I’ve come as an artist.
These days I love making super detailed pieces usually necklaces and earrings! I love adding tiny quartz crystals to most of my pieces, as you might have noticed! I’m kind of obsessed with them because they are just adorable and who doesn’t love a tiny crystal?! No two pieces are ever exactly alike, even when they look like they are they are still handmade and can vary slightly and that’s one of the things I love most about handmade art. All pieces are truly one-of-a-kind in their own special imperfectly perfect way.
In 2018, my husband and I sold nearly everything we owned, bought an old ‘82 Chevy Braugham and traveled across 23 states with our two dogs at the time. (We are so lucky it made the trip because it hadn’t run in 20 years.) I had this idea in my head that I would sell my jewelry along the way (unfortunately I didn’t even sell one piece because I just didn’t know how to do it in person at the time). I had my Etsy store back then but since I only had around 400 followers on Instagram, I wasn’t getting more than 1 or 2 sales every few months.
As I kept believing in myself and my art and had my husband as my biggest cheerleader. I kept getting better and coming up with original designs so I started sharing videos of how I made my pieces online and finally starting gaining traction showing my craft! My little hobby became my full time job that year in 2018 where so many of you found me for the first time and has allowed us to move to North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona before eventually returning to our home state, New Mexico, where we are now raising our two little guys who are under 3 years old.
When I’m not creating, I’m usually spending time with my little family, dreaming up new designs, collecting stones, or sharing my process and journey online with the amazing community that has supported me and my small business over the years.
Honestly being a full time jewelry artist has had its highs but it’s also had its fair share of lows over the years. This past year I thought about giving up making jewelry all together because I just wasn’t being seen much anymore and it really took a toll on my soul and creative spirit. Things weren’t like they were for me in past years where I would almost instantly sell out of most of my creations once my shop updates went live. So I went into a slump and stopped wire wrapping for a bit, just selling what I had previously made that hadn’t sold and working a different job and it hit me how much wire wrapping is apart of my life and who I am now, it felt like a piece of me was broken and missing by not creating. Making beautiful creations is truly my passion and my calling in life. So I continue to create and have kept my head up, I have kept pushing myself to keep going with the wonderful support of my husband, family and community of friends online cheering me on once again.
Lately I’ve found myself head over heels with creating again! Those of you who are finding me now for the first time and those of you have stayed with me all this time, have made it possible for me to keep this little dream of mine (being a stay at home mom and jewelry artist) alive and has really lift my spirits that I can do this. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for loving and supporting handmade art. It truly means the world to me and my family!! I hope you find something special for yourself, someone else or that I can be an inspiration to your creative journey