Free Spirit

Beautiful art from the Brave Girls Club

The First Bounty of the Supplies Swap

Last post I shared about swapping and friendship…much joy! After the supplies swap with  Central Coast Charms I just simply couldn’t wait to get started creating. The goodies were calling to me…especially that long vintage chandelier crystal shown toward the top of the photo below

I knew I wanted to use a photo on the backside so the crystal worked as a kind of frame. I searched through my many precious vintage photographs to find just the right one…a child in a garden with an armful of flowers. Of course the photo was black and white, but I wanted a bit of color so I got out a couple of really nice watercolors in bottles that I kind of stole from my daughter and went to work. It turned out just as I had hoped it would:

Isn’t she sweet with her unique little hat and that smile? So, given the colors of the watercolors I then got out all the purple and teal I could find, plus some metal charms, etc

And I started playing, creating, making links and putting everything together. Some things worked and some things didn’t. I decided not to use the link I made at the right top corner of the pendant that had the purple filigree bead, a rhinestone rondelle and a lavender triangular bead. I was going to use it to hang the pendant from but decided to use a collection of Czech glass flower beads instead…good decision in my opinion! So, here is the finished piece:

So, in looking for some really special vintage pieces to include I looked through my vintage keys and found a lovely brass clock key. It’s hard to find actual brass keys and I love the simple details in this one. I wanted to use it in a different way than I usually design with keys (which is to hang them straight down with some beads or charms hanging off them). I decided to incorporate it into the chain and wire wrap the barrel with tiny glass seed beads. What do think? I always appreciate any feedback you have to offer, so please feel free to leave a comment.

The other really special vintage piece I added was a lovely 12K gold heart charm with the  name “Claudia” engraved on the front and a date in the ’50s on the reverse. So, our little girl with the flowers has a name…Claudia (which happens to be a version of my grandfather’s name, Claude; he was an honorable and loving man who I miss still)

The reverse side of the long crystal even got some attention by being covered with a lovely patterned paper from the inside covers of a vintage book. The colors coordinate with the garden theme…

If you would like to read about all the components used please visit my etsy shop listing for this necklace…gemstones, vintage crystal, glass beads, rhinestone, etc. I used many items from the swap with Laura from Central Coast Charms…the lovely turbine shaped beads in light teal and purple, rhinestone beads and rondelles and more.

Thanks to all of you who are following along on my creative journey…I appreciate you all. Peace to your hearts…Sara

Swapping with New Friends…and so much more

I have found that being a part of the Etsy community is about so much more than selling and/or buying. I am making some friends that share similar interests and goals. We communicate back and forth, we share and we help each other out. This is so refreshing in a world where many are focused on their own “stuff”.

One new friend I have made is Laura, who owns Central Coast Charms. She sells some wonderful jewelry supplies including lovely glass beads with beautiful finishes, rhinestone components with metals to which she has added patina and digital college sheets. The beads below come in many colors and are my favorite:

My first contact with her was when I purchased some of her wonderful brass patina rhinestone rondelles…the prettiest I could find on Etsy. This started our conversations and our friendship. We visited and liked each other’s facebook biz pages and learned that we both like to use vintage supplies in our jewelry making. I thought..hey, why don’t we help each other out and exchange some supplies? I approached her about it and she said it was a go! She offered to send some items to me first, then I could send her what I thought was an equal trade from my supplies. Well, when I opened the package she sent me I was so thrilled!

She sent some lovely vintage and new items my way…it was like my birthday or Christmas opening each part of her offerings. Beautiful brass stampings, vintage chandelier crystals, some of her wonderful rhinestone rondelles and beads, lovely glass beads from her shop, vintage lace, recycled sari silk…the list goes on.

She even sent me her first try at hand enameling a large filigree bead…it’s great in shades of blue and white! Can you find it in the photos?

I love the vintage brass buttons, the old skeleton key (I repeatedly use keys in my jewelry because they add a bit of mystery and hope in my opinion) and the mother of pearl coin beads below the key. She even sent me some of those wonderful beads that are my favorite…you can see one of them by the cream colored buttons above. I immediately got on Etsy and sent her an excited thank you note…what a great trading partner!

Over the next few days I combed through my many, many supplies I have gathered over the years looking for just the right things. I wanted her to feel the same excitement I had when her package arrived. I found many vintage beads and other goodies, some different colored recycled sari silk, a sterling prayer or wish box charm, etc. I didn’t take photos because I am leaving that for her to share on her pages. When she does I will share a link with you. I was happy to hear from her that she was thrilled with the things I had sent. We accomplished a swap that we both felt great about!

I really appreciate my Etsy friends. Some provide positive feedback, we encourage each other, and I even made a new friend that gifted me with an item of hers that I had added to my favorites. Ady is a woman with a huge heart…she read in my profile about my having chronic health issues, including fibromyalgia, and wanted to give me some darling, comfortable lounge pants she repurposed and embellished.

The cute little patches with various donkey images are difficult to see in this photo, but they are darling! You have to remember…she and I had never had contact before I added the pants to my favorites! She sent me a message asking to be able to give these to me…this just doesn’t happen, but it did because of a woman who rescues donkeys and has one of the biggest hearts I have ever encountered. Thank you again, Ady! We have started emailing back and forth to each other, though I haven’t been the greatest communicator lately. I was able to thank her by sending her a special little repurposed vintage bottle I made just for her…with a little donkey on the front, of course. Too bad I forgot to photograph it! Ady’s etsy store is closed right now so that she can care for her many donkeys. But you can visit it and sign up to be notified when she re-opens…and peruse her sold items to see the fun and colorful creations she makes and sells to help out just a bit with the cost of her donkey, but mostly to share joy with others. Her shop can be found here:https://www.etsy.com/shop/pomegranite80

One more new friend to add to the story…Jana from Happy Fish Shop . Jana makes wonderful polymer clay jewelry with soul. She lives in Belgium and is one of my new international friends! I complimented her on her creations…I really like that she makes her colors soft and aged-looking because that is more my style that the bright colors so many polymer clay artists use. Jana puts soulful words on many of her pieces and they touched my soul. I fell in love with a couple of her pairs of earrings. When I heard back from her that she really liked my creations as well, I thought again “How about a swap?” It goes back to the little cards called ACEO (Art Card Edition Originals) or ATC (Artist Trading Cards) that artists created and swapped with other artists to share and support each other’s work. Why not with jewelry as well? I am so happy that Jana wanted to swap, too! Look at the great earrings she sent me:

Love them so much! They are so fun to wear and definitely unique. Thanks again, Jana! Here is the necklace she chose from my shop…

It’s called “Always Find Your Way Home”…created with a vintage compass that was on a strap like a watch, some green turquoise twist beads, Czech glass flower beads and little charms of a house, a tree and a cloud that I made by hand out of chip board, decorative paper, acrylic paint and dimensional glaze.

So, swapping is certainly fun and beneficial for both people involved. But, the real message here is friendship. Friendship across the miles, across cultures, across creative styles. The connecting of creative souls…that’s what it’s really all about and I am blessed to be a part of it. And thanks to all of you who are also becoming my friends, sharing lives and creativity of all kinds through this thing called blogging. I appreciate all of you so much!

In the feeling of appreciation I am offering you what I can….if you would like to have one of my creations I’d like to offer you each 30% off the purchase of one item from my etsy shop. I have never had a sale with such a deep discount, but I know in my soul that this is the time. I have received so much and it is time to give. Please use the code FRIENDS30 at checkout to receive your discount. Please use before April 30th. And Happy Spring everyone!

Jewelry Elf? Absolutely!

Not long ago I read about a project that another WordPress blogger has created. Ziggy decided to help revive the art of letter writing by writing a letter a day for a year and asked her readers to help out by requesting a letter. You can read what she has to say about it here. The best part about Ziggy’s letters, which she shares on her blog, is that she draws amazing elf portraits, and other things. Each letter is also a piece a mail art.

I decided this sounded too fun and wanted to be a part of it. I contacted Ziggy and she wanted to know a little bit about me, so I shared and also gave her links to this blog and my etsy shop. Then I waited….but not too long! Soon I had some amazing mail in my box from Ziggy.

What a great thing to find in my mailbox

And then, how surprised I was to find another elf on the letter itself. They are so beautifully drawn with subtle colors and ink pen details. Then I really looked at my elves…they are jewelry elves! And what earrings should they be wearing but my very own “Passion” earrings! This personal touch really spoke to my heart. Ziggy, you are amazing!

More creations…second installment of the “goodies”

Shame on me for being so neglectful of blogging. I’ve got many things to share but will start with photos of jewelry I have made with components I shared in the “Goodies” post.

For starters, here are some earrings:

Are you able to pick out the goodies used in the earrings? And here is a necklace that uses the persimmon colored glass beads…I have used a compass cut from a vintage book page and mounted on a brass bezel with a dimensional glaze as the focal point. Simple, but I like it.

Most of these items are listed on my etsy shop if you would like to take a closer look or read more about the components.

Peace to your hearts,

Sara

As Promised…new jewelry created with components from a recent post

I’m having a great time with my new supplies featured in A Bit of a Shopping Spree. Without further ado, here are some of my creations…

I call this pair of earrings “Passion” because they are full of feeling and I often relate purple with passion ( or peacefulness, but that didn’t really fit). The vintage brass three-to-one connectors were featured in the Spree post, but the wonderful vintage baroque pearls and the faceted glass beads are also something new I purchased. There are some little fluted purple glass beads on either end of the pearls. The little filigree drops are actually part of a group of goodies I won on the Vintaj blog for a post I made there about the ways I grew by business last year. I was so grateful to win the supplies from Vintaj and Bead Inspirations! I am not going to be putting these earrings on etsy to sell just yet. One of my major business goals this year is to be published in at least one jewelry or creative magazine. It’s not something I’ve tried to do before but I so enjoy browsing through magazines such as Belle Armoire Jewelry and Jewelry Affaire from Stampington or Jewelry Stringing from Beading Daily. I think this pair is one of the best pair of earrings I’ve made yet so they are one of things I’m going to send off with the hopes of being published. It’s a long process, sometimes more than six months or more before you get your pieces returned, but I’ll let you know if I reach my goal. Fingers crossed!

Speaking of earrings….

This lovely little pair use the sweet little garnet beads shown in the Spree post. They also include some of my favorite vintage rhinestone and brass beads, vintage faux pearls with simple fluted bead caps, gorgeous light teal faceted glass bead with antiqued brass filigree bead caps and hand wire wrapped links. They are named On the Balance and can be found in my etsy shop.

Also using one little garnet bead along with one of the magnificent West German vitrail glass beads from the Spree post is this vintage thimble necklace:

I always like to give you more than one view since you can’t hold it in your hand and turn it and hold it to the light, etc. You can read all the details about the Hattie necklace in my etsy shop. I must tell you that I had seen a necklace that used a thimble on Pinterest, but the design is all my own.

While this necklace only uses one small item from the goodies I showed you I really love the way it turned out, am proud of it and want to share it with you.

A little sneak peek…This item has been sitting in one of my printers drawers for maybe a couple of years now. I found it at an antique store and fell in love with it but couldn’t quite figure out how to use it. I’d never seen any jewelry quite like it and don’t know really what it was used for because it has a large compartment in it. Maybe for snuff? Or could this be a piece from a chatelaine? Here’s the full view of this component:

Isn’t it gorgeous? This view of the other side with the door that opens shows you a little bit of what I did with it…I’ve had a piece of vintage sheet music that had just the last word of each of four verses…sing, joy, found, love. I adore that together these words gave you a feeling and a story. So, they gave me the concept for this necklace.

Now, for the inside, which I think is the best creative part of the necklace. The sweet little mother of pearl lily with stamen is the piece from my new goodies.

I put the flower with a Czech glass leaf bead, some vintage laces and the hand cut pieces from an antique carte de vista photograph of a young couple. I carefully inked the sides of the heads and gave them a dimesional sealant (unfortunately I didn’t see the bubble on the man’s face before it dried, and I always check for them). The ink color matches the blue in the antique Victorian scrap on the inner side of the hinged lid.

And the finished necklace….

It can be worn with the little lace bit above the pendant or not as it is easily removed. Other items used include heishi pearls, semi precious green stone beads, little brass beads, a lovely faceted chunk of Amazonite that I wrapped in wire, recycled sari silk and tiny seed beads. It’s like wearing a love story around your neck! I really can’t decide whether to list this for sale on etsy or save it to send off for possible publishing. If it didn’t have the little bubble I would probably try to have it published. If you have a thought about this I’d appreciate what you have to say.

Another long post…I think I’ll leave it there for today. I’ve created another couple of necklaces that I’m excited to share with you but for now I need to get off the computer. I’ve just recovered from a week in bed due to my chronic pain problems, one of which is Fibromyalgia. I kinda feel like a lost a week of my life because I slept most of it due to muscle relaxants I had to take. If you aren’t familiar with Fibromyalgia please Google it. I’ll try to post more about it at a later time. Many women and men must deal with this chronic pain problem and we try to be very supportive of each other.

Peace to your hearts always,

Sara

Iris Apfel…an amazing woman and style icon

Maybe you have heard of Iris Apfel? Unbelievably, I had not until today. She is a renowned interior designer and textile manufacturer, is a long standing fashion icon with an eclectic style, and in my own opinion the queen of accessorizing with grand jewelry…some of which is by her own hand. Oh, and she also wears these enormous glasses that seem only right on her.

All Iris Apfel…check out those boots!

 In her younger years Iris didn’t wear such bold jewelry but she has always been a fashion maven with her own style. She has warehouses where she keeps her clothing from years past and has been the subject of more than one museum collection with mannequins displaying her eclectic outfits.  It’s really her attitude towards life and her perspective that leads to her great style, in my opinion. I’d love to have the opportunity to meet her, not to see or discuss her clothing and jewelry, but to get to know her. Here is a photo of her from the late 1960′s in Tunisia:

Always looking great

Iris credits her mother with the idea of styling with accessories:

“My mother worshiped at the alter of accessories and I got the bug. She always said, if you have a good, little, simple black dress and you have different accessories, you can have 27 different outfits”

And isn’t her mother right, after all? Let’s say five of us are wearing the same outfit…it’s the things we choose to add to that outfit that truly express who we are and what our style is. Most of us cannot afford to have a one of a kind outfit created for us. Yet, most of us can afford to accessorize with a one of a kind piece of jewelry. It may not be diamonds or precious gems but it can certainly tell the world something about us. And more importantly, make us feel like our own person, special unto ourselves and full of value. Which each of us undoubtedly is!

Here Iris is wearing a lovely, simple dress and made herself a standout with a magnificent necklace

As for myself, I’m going to take a page from Iris’ style book and thoughtfully wear more than one necklace or bracelet at a time. I’m not quite as bold as she is, but I am more bold and creative than what I usually put forth with my style.

If you would like to browse some affordable one of a kind pieces of jewelry please visit etsy.com where some amazing artisans create all kinds of unique jewelry. My own shop can be found here the Creative Soul and some of my favorite artisans are:

Fanciful Devices

Mamas Little Babies

The French Circus

Robin Wade

OOAK Jewelz

Paula Montgomery

Rosaritaville

French Sentiments

Sparrow Salvage

Vintage Arts

Tuscan Rose

Temi

Tribalis

Altered Alchemy

Ferd and Bird

My Starrrs

Christine Wallace

Kay Adams

Riverpath Studio

Designs by June Bug (a new favorite)

Shipwreck Dandy

Retreaux Girl (another new fav)

Mollie Carey (another new fav)

Okay, I’ve given you tons of goodies to look at…but I could have gone on and on. Their are other jewelry artists that I adore, but they they offer the same designs more than once. And there are more that I adore but are of a very similar style to those I’ve mentioned and I didn’t want to do too much of that unless they were one of my top favorites. And, these are only the jewelry artists that are on etsy because there are many more I love that have their own websites…perhaps I’ll post again sometimes with some of these other artists.

More Iris Apfel to enjoy:

Love the red glasses, too

I think Iris looks so much better than her younger friend

Fashion icon Iris Apfel at her home in New York, July 27, 2011. Apfel, who has a wardrobe so large it is kept in a warehouse, will soon be selling her designs on the Home Shopping Network. (Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times)

A Little Bit of a Shopping Spree

I found myself needing a few new (but in some cases old, as in vintage) things to work with. I want to make several new pairs of earrings since my supply is dwindling so I hit the online stores because even though I enjoy shopping here at the Lake it does have its limitations at times (like the middle of the winter for one).

My new goodies

I of course shopped my beloved Etsy and found some lovely little beads…dark garnet, some tourmaline and a unique cut of glass bead that looks like garnet.They are featured in the small bags in the photo…perfect for some earrings. Here I also purchased the wonderful amazonite long bead drops on the left of the photo.  I even shopped eBay, which I haven’t done for years, really. But, I found some very nice pieces such as the bird pendants, which are not going to be made into earrings, just in case you were wondering! Here I also bought the wonderful ladies watch cases…I’m loving the one inscribed “George to Maggie” on the back because it is so endearing. And a small gold crest scatter pin that may be altered into a brooch or become a link in a necklace.

George to Maggie and the lovely antique filigree

Then I ran across a store called Earthly Adornments out of California. I’m so thrilled that they have an online store because I could have bought almost everything in it if I had the funds. Almost everything they carry is antique or vintage and it’s all jewelry or jewelry supplies. I purchased several lovely pieces that will enable me to create some wonderful earrings such as the antique brass three-to-one connectors and the silver and blue chandelier pendants. I also found the fancy molded persimmon glass melon beads and the lovely antique West German crystal vitrial pentagon beads…ooh-la-la! They are a bit rough on the ends, but with some pretty bead caps will be a feature in any piece. They really are prettier in person and feel like holding a piece of history. The same goes for the art Nouveau raw brass filigree piece with the lovely patina. My last find here were the charming little vintage calla lily drops that will make a fine addition to any kind of jewelry. I have already used one in a very special piece I’m making…but more on that at another date.

Little lovelies for earrings and the vitrial West German crystals (a bit blurry in the foreground)

So, I’ve been enjoying playing with my new goodies and am in the midst of making a couple of pieces that I’m very proud of. I will, of course share these when they are completed.

Do you love vintage and antique things? What are some of your favorite finds? I’d love to hear from you on this.

Peace to your heart,

Sara

Inspiration from the Brave Girls Club

 

A Tribute to Nurses

As someone with chronic health and pain problems for well over twenty years I have encountered a lot of health care professionals over time. Especially nurses, those wonderful folks who are the first to see you and usually the ones that spend the most time with you. I had a c-section with each of my three children and as with any birth the nurses really play the biggest role before and after the actual birth. Nurses cared for my oldest child when he was extremely ill in the hospital for a week, for my daughter when she was 31 days old and they thought she had meningitis, and are there to greet me with a smile on every month’s doctor’s appointment I have. They do all kinds of jobs, even the ones that no one else wants to perform.

So, when I found a few photos of nurses in with a group of vintage photos I had purchased I knew I wanted to make a tribute piece of jewelry as a way of saying thank you and bringing attention to the wonderful people called NURSES.

I chose a photo taken in 1940 in Hot Springs, Arkansas (knowing this thanks to the stamp on the reverse side of the photo). I also had to include a bit of the lovely edging around the photo so I created a little collage on a vintage creamy white buckle then added a bit of hand cut and shaped vintage brass lamp band with “nurse” taken from a vintage dictionary, plus a floral piece of antiqued brass stamping.

“The Nurse” pendant

If I had to pick one word that described nurses it would “caring”, so I created a connector piece on antiqued brass by applying a cutting from the vintage dictionary for the word “care”. It has been sealed with resin for longevity and protection. For some odd reason it took on a blue hue in the center. I just see it as a little something extra that adds to the piece! The little open heart charm hangs from the “care” connector.

Care connector on “The Nurse” necklace

The beads are some of my favorite of all time. First, four large faceted semi-precious agate beads with various brass bead caps. I chose four different colors of beads to represent the diversity of skills nurses have to possess to do their jobs well. Then finally, the charming vintage rhinestone beads that I just adore.

A tribute to nurses everywhere…

 

Thank you to nurses everywhere…you are so very appreciated.

Peace to your heart,

Sara