What I did on my Memorial Day weekend...

Besides attacking my jungle of a yard, this is the only constructive thing that I got done this holiday weekend, unless napping is considered constructive...

more "Key to My Heart" necklaces

fun with salvaged chandelier prisms

detail of a prism/shell necklaces

prisms, flowers and knots

tiny key faux-sary

dainty with a bit of a military vibe

another faux-sary, this one actually religious-themed

vintage necklace salvage/upcycle

It's a beer! It's an earring! No, it's BEER-rings!

Just a little something new I've been working on.  These beer cans (which also come in Budweiser, Coors and Schlitz) were novelty gumball machine prizes in the 70s.  Yes, these were for children.  I have removed them from the ultra-classy plastic strings they came on and joined them with a little antiqued brass chain and some faceted, amber briolettes to mimic drops of that golden nectar of the gods, beer.

I'll be at the next Artsy Chicks event June 25th!

I'll be at this stellar event at the Station Inn (in the Gulch), in fantastic company with all new jewelry and decor for you to love.

newest neckwear

Made from antique Japanese Netsuke.  One male, one female

Detail of male Netsuke necklace

Detail of female Netsuke necklace

Made from a vintage, handmade, felt brooch and an antique tassel.  The face-brooch is also a pouch.

Made from a vintage, straw brooch.

Made from a vintage, sterling brooch

Made from a vintage, beaded ornament

This into That contest

Urban Outfitters is holding a contest promoting up-cycling and recycling.  I'm hoping that this little necklace will be considered good enough to place.

REtune Nashville starts THIS SATURDAY!

The charity auction and concert that kicks off the official start of the REtune Nashville project is this Saturday Oct. 23rd.
Below are some not-so-flattering pictures that I took of my piece before I turned it in.

Fall 2010 Jewelry items

Flowers & Iron  $125

Yet again I have shirked my larger artistic responsibilities to play in my boxes of shinies.  I have reworked a couple of pre-existing pieces much more to my liking and made a few from scratch.  Please look them over and let me know what you think in the comments.  I'm pretty new to jewelry making over all, so I'm trying to learn as I go. 

I love Scotch! Scotchy-scotch-scotch! $60

I <3 Motorheads  $65

Guns Don't kill People, I Do $50

detail of the Junior NRA medal used in Guns Don't Kill People, I Do

Light as a Feather $60

Detail: This utilizes a vintage Coro brooch that is still intact so that it can be secured to your clothing if needed.

South of the Border Down Mexico Way  $65

Art Nouveau Waterfall $75

If you have any questions about the items used I will answer them as best I can.  Thanks for looking1

New jewelry pieces

So I've been venturing back into jewelry-making waters.  More to the point I've finally decided to start using all of the spiffy odds & ends that I collect and rework them into necklaces.  Below are the first 3 pieces created.  Only one of the 3 is finished, the other 2 need clasps.

Made with an old liquor medallion, salvaged rosary chain, copper Art Nouveau reproduction connectors and thick copper chain.

The centerpiece of this necklace is actually a part of an old Art Nouveau gas powered chandelier from the late 1800's.  The rest are vintage looking modern items.

Detail shot of the same piece.

Made using a salvaged, decorative lamp pendant and modern vintage-look findings.

Detail shot.

Tea Lights Part 2

In my previous posts about the lanterns that I make out of vintage tins, I mentioned a free standing version. (as opposed to the hanging swag/pendant/chandelier lights I had made previously)  Here are some pics of the ones that I have completed so far, I am pretty pleased with them.

swanky swag lamps

So I have this illness where I buy any vintage tin I can get my hands on. I don't need them, sure a few have been put to good use storing pasta, grits & beans, but there is an entire shelf of them in my house just mocking me. After years of admiring them and adding more to their ranks, it finally came to me, I can make lamps out of them! Little tiny 40 watt lamps, more for ambient light than anything, but super cute nonetheless. The original plan was to make table lamps where the lid would become the base of the lamp and the body of the tin would work as a shade. The mouth of the tin would face up so as to shine the light upward. I've also drilled a pattern of holes in the bottom for more light to show...
So those are still in progress, because they are more work than I had anticipated. As I often do when a project isn't a cinch I get annoyed and discouraged, especially when I think I have gotten exactly what I need and it turns out I can't use it. I bought a pre-assembled light kit thinking that one could remove & reattach the actual socket so as to thread the thing. Nope! No can do, it is fused in every way imaginable so my only option would be to smash it apart and that hardly does me any good now does it? So here I am stuck with extra stuff I don't need and another trip to Lowe's ahead of me...
Then I had a flash of brilliance! (that may be overstating it, but it felt good) I had several very attractive tins that would never work for the table lamp project because either they handles on the lids that I could not easily remove or they had lids so small that they would not make a stable base. Two words: SWAG LAMPS! This is what the cords I bought were originally intended for anyway, so it was perfect. It also happens that on my trip to Lowe's for the correct items to wire my table lamps I found a rack of decorative prisms on MEGA-sale. Score! So apparently the craft goddess approved of my new direction and was sprinkling sparklies to light my path to brilliance. (there's that word again, man am I full of myself or what?) I have only wired one, the copper with the amber drops, (the big drops are from Lowe's, the little ones were a vintage find), but the other 3 will be a cinch to complete, but of course Lowe's is now sold out of that kind of cord, so ironically I will be using the seperate lamp pieces that I bought for the table lamps to make swag cords just like the pre-assembled ones that started this whole mess. Do you think I should make some of those scrunchy cord cozies? Let me know what you think. (about the lamps AND the cord cozies)