Golem Birthday Set & Fun Old Stuff

I didn't really get much made this week -- my massage therapist banned me from jewelry making for a week, but when I told her I just had to make one thing for a birthday present, she relented on that. Thursday was my hair stylist's birthday, and since she's been so good to sell my jewelry at her shop, I wanted to make her something really special. She loves cats and bright colors, so I was pretty sure she'd be happy with the necklace and earrings I made her, but I was just a little bit nervous that she might not be as wild about it as I'd hoped. Well, turns out she absolutely LOVED it, and couldn't stop saying great things about it. Stupid me, I should have whipped out my phone and snapped a picture of her wearing it! But at least I had the foresight to take pics beforehand. Here it is:

I used MissFickleMedia saffron rings, as well as the adorable Golem Design Studio cat pendant and flower beads! Also included: sari ribbon, faceted Amazonite, Czech glass, shell beads, carnelian, copper, and dyed jade and aqua metal discs.

 

I love that I had just the PERFECT piece of Sari Ribbon for the piece! So serendipitous.

So onto the fun old stuff. My friend Heather sent me another Big Box o' Vintage Jewelry Parts. And WOW! This might be the best box yet. There were more than a few incredible items included. I photographed most of the best, but there's plenty more waiting to be harvested for beads or rhinestone rondelles, etc.

As usual, click to enlarge any photos.

So many wonderful things here!

What would you do with those MOP buckles? The narrow one has sharp prongs. I'm not really interested in making belts. But I'm scared that if I try to remove them, I'll break the buckles. Any ideas?

Love this little charm! The Figurettes? Who were they?

Not sure what this was or what to do with it - it's puffy, and there's a bar in the back, plus some sort of hanger looking thing. It's cool looking though.

Also love this green face.

 These might be my favorites!

I wish there wasn't any missing enamel. It's so pretty, but I don't know what to do with it. 

What would you do with these things? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Bunnies, Flowers, and Resin

I was SO very excited when Artbeads.com  had a 50% off sale last week and saw that some of my favorite Golem Studio pendants were included! I ordered two, and I couldn't wait to put at least one of them to use.

Golem Studio pendant, missficklemedia saffron rings, Czech glass, bone, jasper, antique bronze, sari ribbon & handmade clasp.

The next necklace I made for myself to go with a new top I bought. I had a wedding to attend over the weekend, and it was the perfect excuse to make myself something new. I'm sure I'll keep it, as half my wardrobe is black & gray anyway.

Hematite nuggets, Lucite & rhinestone flower, rhinestone rondelles, vintage black beads, vintage rhinestone, gunmetal wire.

And finally, some fun earrings.

 Bunnies! and cute aqua metal wavy disks.

Resin & coral and my handmade earwires.

No Time to be Chatty

My productive streak has indeed continued. Hooray!

I made a Shannon Levart inspired bracelet.

And several pairs of earrings (including one for myself, not pictured). 

And just because I'm always talking about my dog, I thought I'd include pictures of our cat. I had to buy her this fancy contraption to elevate her food so the dog couldn't reach it. It took a few days to adjust, but now she likes eating up there.

Emergency St. Patty's Day Necklace!

Happy St. Patrick's day to everyone! As I was getting dressed this morning, I threw on a bright green t-shirt I have and then the only earrings I have that are bright green:

(Please excuse the dark photo. It's probably 3 years old and taken with my previous camera.)

But I really needed a green necklace too. I was already running late, but I grabbed a piece of mostly green (but with some red) sari fabric, a copper jump ring, and a hoarded missficklemedia red heart pendant and voilà! Instant necklace in under 3 minutes! I don't know if it will be permanent, but it looks really cute for today :) 

Have a fun & safe holiday and don't drink too much green beer ;)

And now, a bracelet.

I finally used my first missficklemedia piece! I don't have much in the way of art beads or art-components (is that what you'd call it?), so I'm hesitant to use them. But they aren't going to do any good packed away in my stash. It's a saffron toggle clasp - and I also included some of the beads I recently bought from Michael's new selection. I don't make bracelets often, mainly because I don't seem to sell many bracelets. I like them, but at the salon where I sell my jewelry, it's the necklaces and earrings people want. I really need to get an etsy or bigcartel shop started soon. Maybe I'll work on that this weekend...

Anyway, the bracelet.

And if anyone were to want coordinating earrings, it seems I've already made them! 

Another thing I'm particularly excited about is this lovely piece I've ordered from the talented Lynn Davis.

I still haven't used the last piece I got from her, but I just had to get this anyway. I did at least start the necklace for the other piece. I just need to get a couple more findings for it. I'm not entirely certain what I see for this one, but it might involve pearls & chain and maybe a hint of sari ribbon. Actually, some missficklemedia chain might look good with this. Etsy, here I come!

Failures, Minor Success, Major Stress, & Finally a Glimmer of Hope

That was the theme of my weekend - as far as creativity goes anyway. Remember last entry I was unsure about the focal piece I had cobbled together for my stylist's necklace? Upon further examination and opinion gathering, it was determined (by Steve) to be "something a little old lady would wear." That was my initial concern, and I was right. I tried a million different ways to work it out, and ultimately decided I needed to just scrap the whole idea.

So then I moved on to the next thing in the queue - the beautiful lampwork bead pictured in the last post. Turns out, my ideas for that were awful too. And I didn't have the right accent beads. Some, but not all. Finally, I told myself I could just put it aside and get to it later, when the right accent beads presented themselves. That was about the sanest thing I did all weekend. I gave up for the night, about ready to give up entirely. But I was just having a pity party.

The next day, I put together the necklace I had a quick inspiration for when I was looking through my things for the Bead Soup Blog Party. I was fairly happy with it until I put it on. It's choker length on me. But there are a lot of people out there who love things choker length. And I wasn't making this for myself, so I had to calm down and admit it was kind of cute.

Sunday, I made quite a few pairs of earrings - basically just filler. I spend way too much time agonizing over things, wanting them to be the coolest, most original, artsy things ever made - and that usually just leads to frustration and disappointment. I have to have some things to sell! Ack! I really make myself crazy. Then last night, I was about in tears trying to figure out what on earth I was going to do for Jeanne's necklace. I looked at a million sites, magazines, and etsy listings looking for inspiration. I went through most of my beads 100 times. Pulled out the sari ribbon I intend to use, held it up to things. Experimented with a few concepts, all of which stressed me out even more. But I promised it to her for Saturday!!! I went to bed on the verge of a panic attack.

Today, it hit me. Missficklemedia was bound to solve my problem! I searched her etsy listings and found just what I needed. I feel like I can breathe now. I won't have the necklace done for Saturday, but I'm sure she'll understand when I tell her about the beautiful components I had to special-order for it. Wheew.

I just got a massage to help with my ultra-stressed shoulders, and I feel a little better. And I have a mug of tea waiting for me in the kitchen. Now have a look at the choker and some of the earrings.

Pendant by Jessi