Little Joys

"In the course of my research I found that although, of course, some rare stones have amazing and frightening dynastic tales, every jewel, however small or flawed, has its own story..." ~ Victoria Finlay


Are you in need of a last minute holiday gift? Do you have a beader-reader in your bunch? Then I have two ideas for you...


I just picked up a copy of Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Finlay. It was recommended reading by the wonderful Beth at Hint. She has been sharing some of the history behind the jewels she was reading about and I was fascinated. I am only in the Preface but already this is reading like a juicy novel.


This book was inspired by the unique ring that Finlay received for her engagement which features glass mosaic tiles from a famous church turned mosque now a museum...something so unique and "a reminder," writes Finlay, "of how the most precious thing about stones in a jewel box is not always their rarity, their size, or their imperfection. It is their stories."

Finlay goes on to write about not just diamonds and rubies but jet, amber, opals and pearls among other more and precious gems. She says that the word "jewel" is from the Old English for "little joys." I like thinking of the stones and gems and components that I use as "little joys." I think it will only enhance my designs to know the history and intrigue and fascination about the jewels that I am using and maybe inspire me to seek out new stones. I like books that transport me to a place and time, and I think that this will do just that, while enlightening me to the real stories contained in each pretty stone.

I will check back in and let you know what I find out as I go...

And if you have a book, you need a bookmark!


In November, I was sent a delightful little package from Rings & Things.* I used some of the chain in the bracelet that I posted on Monday. One of the other things in the package were these cute little lampworked figural beads...snowman heads, teddy bear, stocking, tree, and my personal favorite, penquin. My daughter thought that these were really nifty and wanted to craft something right away. So we made some bookmarks we like to call "Book Tales" to give to her teachers for the holiday and thought we could give you a little tutorial to inspire you.

Quick & Easy Book Tales

Supplies:


Waxed cotton cord
Crimp beads (optional)
Assorted beads, bead caps
Assorted figural lampworked beads (snowmen, teddy bears, stocking, trees, penquins, etc) from Rings & Things*

1. Cut a 15" length of the waxed cotton cord.
   
2. About three inches in, tie a double knot. (Note: in order to be sure the beads don't slip off, knot the cord twice to make the end larger.)



3. String a pattern of larger beads, like a red and black striped seed bead, the onyx "hat" and the snowman head. Add a silver spacer and a crimp bead. Then string 1 1/2" of white seed beads for a body. Slip the end of the cord through the crimp and secure (alternately you could tie a tight knot).
   
4. TIP: use a needle or a piece of scrap wire to snug the knot to the end bead. Slip the needle through the loop when you are tying and keep it close to the bead. This will keep the knot as close to the bead as possible.




5. On the other end you will make a smaller coordinating pattern.
   
6. Tie a knot in the opposite end an inch or two from the end.
   
7. Thread a small seed bead on the end to start. (Note: this will prevent larger holed beads from sliding off.)


8. Continue with a pattern of beads for about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. (Note: this is a great way to use up leftover or mismatched beads from your stash.) Knot twice at the last bead to keep it snug in the pattern.

(Note: you can alter the pattern and the beads for endless possibilities!)


Now all you need to do is tuck it into a special book and you have an instant gift!

*FTC compliance disclosure: the '*' items mentioned in this post credited to Rings & Things were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blog Partner Program. These items are for review or design purposes. Find out more about the Rings & Things Blog Partner Program

What is your favorite jewel? (Can you guess what mine is?)
Is it something precious?
Have you ever had it in a piece of jewelry?
Or is it something that you would just love to have?
Is it the color that draws you or the mystery behind its being?
Do tell!

Check It Out::The Secret Life of Gems

Enjoy the day!

P.S. Don't forget that you have until Sunday, December 20th at 11:59 pm CST to enter the Inspired by...Sewing Kit challenge. I have some great prizes to give away, but as of yet, we have no entries! If we do not get any entries, then I will save the prizes for another challenge...don't delay!

Inspired by...Sewing Kit

{Photo credit: Skeggy}

Back in day, when it was far more common to darn socks and replace zippers {rather than just buying something new}, every house had a sewing box. Much more than the small tin I have containing a few spools of white and black and navy thread and a neglected and dust-fuzzy pincushion with a few needles to sew on an errant button, these sewing boxes were treasures in themselves.

I remember the one my mother had was quilted and very pretty to look at. And the goodies within used to fascinate me…the cloth measuring tape, silver thimbles and rows upon rows of colored thread. {For the record, I cannot sew. I prefer duct tape.}

And don’t get me started on buttons. I remember counting buttons and sorting buttons and playing with them as a child. I have bought my fair share of mason jars filled to the brim with these tiny treasures just for one button I saw in the bottom. I swear they reproduce in my studio because each time I look in there I see ones I never saw before. {That could explain why I compulsively save each and every button that comes with new clothes…I have zillions of those little baggies containing thread, beads and buttons or snaps from new clothing…I might use it one day!}

For Round Three of the Found Object challenge, ask if you can rummage around in your mother’s sewing kit and create a piece of jewelry that is inspired by what you find there. Touch the buttons. Hold the lace. Play with the zippers. Seek new materials to experiment with. Use them in unexpected ways. I guarantee that you will never look at sewing notions the same way again {and you might start a button collection of your own}.

I have been very fortunate to have been connected to Bead Trends magazine almost from it's inception in 2007. My very first pieces ever published were selected by Tatia Meyer and her crew for the January 2008 issue. I had the good fortune to win the cover challenge for January 2009 with my vintage and found object inspired bracelet "Stroke of Midnight" and I was humbled to be chosen as the March 2009 centerfold...er...I mean, Designer of the Month.

I made it my goal in 2009 to be published once per month in some way shape or form. I am proud to say that I accomplished that goal. And Bead Trends is a big part of that success. I was in every issue this year except for February {I found another way to be "published" that month!}. If you have ever wanted to try your hand at being published in a magazine, this is a phenomenal place to start. Tatia and her entire staff are top-notch, the photography is absolutely incredible {I now have the more amazing portfolio of my best work}, and it is such a thrill when that little white box arrives on your doorstep. I encourage you to give it a try...they are always having calls for designers to submit their best designs. What are you waiting for...go for it!

Round Three Found Object Challenge prizes:

The random winner of this challenge will receive a copy of the January 2010 issue {as soon as I get a copy...haven't even seen it yet!} that features a necklace I created called "Going Places" {see teaser above} which has buttons and vintage subway tokens and all sorts of miscellany inspired by my trip this summer to Galena, IL {by way of a wrong turn in Dubuque, IA} to visit with Jess and Rose and all the lovely people at Vintaj. And the random winner will also receive a piece of jewelry inspired by sewing kits and featuring something special from Lynn Davis at ExpeditionD. Stay tuned for that little lovely and the really funky vintage find from Etsy that is inspiring this challenge!

How it works:

• Create a piece of jewelry (earrings, necklace or bracelet) using the inspiration.
  


• Post your picture to the Flickr account here.
  


• If you are so inspired {and I hope you will be!}, feel free to create as many pieces as you like for each weekly challenge and post to the Flickr account, but your name will only be entered once. (For extra BONUS ENTRY opportunities, see below). You have until 11:59 pm on Sunday, December 20th to post to the Flickr account.
  


• Check back on Dec 21 when I will announce the RANDOM winner of the previous week’s challenge.

In the description of your picture be sure to add the following:

• Title of the piece
  


• Found objects incorporated into the piece
  


• Short description of your inspiration (optional)
  


• Your Name
  


• Your email address
  


• Your blog or website

BONUS ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES:

• If you use an art bead in your piece {art bead is defined as a bead or component created by yourself or another artisan}, be sure to point that out in your description {with a link to the appropriate artisan’s website, shop or blog} and you will have an extra entry.
  


• If you blog, Facebook, Twitter, sky write or take out a billboard to publicize each week’s challenge, be sure to let me know {leave a comment on that week's challenge} and your name will be in for an extra entry.
  

Go and get inspired today!

Enjoy the day!

And the Winner is......

Mallory Hoffman!!

You are the random winner of Week Two Inspired by...Grandma's Jewelry Box challenge. Congratulations! You will receive a copy of BeadStar magazine {let me know if you want me to autograph it for you *wink* ;-)}and the bracelet {read all about it below}. Please email me (enjoytheday{at}tesoritrovati{dot}com) your address information so that I might send this off to you asap!

But wait!!! There's more!

I am not satisfied with just one random winner....I think there should be two! And the second random winner is.................................

Sissy Sparrows!!

G'day! How cool is it that we picked up some new players this round?! Welcome to the Aussie girls Julie and Donna, the Sissy Sparrows! I love that we can instantly connect across the globe. {And even more cool that it is gorgeous summer there at the same time it is the dead of winter here...glad that someone is warm!}. Sissy Sparrows is the winner of a copy of BeadStar magazine as well! Email me (enjoytheday{at}tesoritrovati{dot}com) your mailing address and I will get this out to you to continue to be inspired!

I was a complete slacker this week...I should have posted the winning bracelet that I promised at the beginning, not the end. Maybe the suspense was too much {or the Ghosts of Christmas-Shopping-Not-Finished scared other entries away} and that is why there were less baubles this round. Oh well. I have to say that I love what was submitted...a small but mighty bunch of creatives you are! But I have been receiving all sorts of feedback that is telling me that you like these creative challenges and you would like to see them continue. And I will happily oblige!

As I mentioned the Humblebeads I ordered for this challenge never found me...so I dove into my stash and came up with not one Humblebead...but four! And I finally found a sliver of daylight in which to photograph this piece.

I call it "Revamp'd" because that is what I did to it!

I started with a gold-tone circle pin, you know the kind...everyone has a grandmother or kindly aunt who wore one of these on their lapel. I checked the back and found that it wasn't a precious piece, so I knew it would be okay to break off the pin {and file it down so as not to poke Miss Mallory!}.

Next, I wired the Humblebeads wafer bead with gorgeous olive, cream, brown and a dash of purple on it to the circle. The hole is in the middle, but I like to be able to see the gorgeous patterns that Heather uses, so I came up with this way to wire it on to show off the bead more.

I had another repurposed piece of jewelry with a shimmering beaded-bead. Thought that would give it a little bling.

I used a doubled length of chain from Rings & Things {NOTE: I am a Rings & Things blog partner. This chain was part of my November package in exchange for blogging about the products with my honest opinions.} This chain is described as "Hammered oval cable bulk footage chain"... I liked the soft brass color and the cool hammered texture, and thought it complemented the tones in the other beads well, without being overpowering. The only thing that I dislike about chain like this is that it is soldered. I hate wasting links in a piece, and because I was having logistical problems when I created this, I actually wasted three links. Drats. Please tell me that I am not the only one that this happens to {and what do you do with those wasted links...is there some way to salvage them??}...

From the chain I dangled all sorts of beads...repurposed vintage corrugated beads, teardrop amber colored something from an old earring, three little Humblebeads and an amber glass bubble from Cindy Gimbrone {amazingly, she uses a router of some sort to cut a little groove on the side and then wire wraps them. She sells these babies, and it is so much better to buy them than to attempt to route them myself...especially when I am tool challenged!!}

Nothing goes better with vintage than Vintaj {and for the record...I am NOT compensated for loving their products...I just want the world to know!}. The Vintaj hook clasp was embellished with three little vintage copper spacer beads and a little wire wrapping with Vintaj 24 gauge bronze wire.

When I got done, it just wasn't right. So I let it sit overnight. I decided there wasn't enough of that green color, so I wire wrapped some tiny Miyuki cubes in my favorite khaki green color to the gold {former} pin. And then I decided to add a few of those dangling from the chain. {Oh, Mr. Miyuki...you complete me!}

So.....there you have it...."Revamp'd" especially created for Miss Mallory! {Can I get a woot! woot!} I was Inspired by... my Grandma's jewelry box. And you have all inspired me in so many ways. Let's keep this party rolling!

Stay tuned for the third week of this first Inspired by.... challenge! I will post the details later today.

Enjoy the day!

Everything Old is New Again

"Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When ev'ry thing old is new again"

~lyrics from The Boy from Oz sung by Hugh Jackman

Need a little inspiration to transform your upcycled jewelry into new, fresh treasures? There is no place I would rather go than to my resources shelf.

I would never use any of my magazines or books as a step by step, but rather as a point of departure. I think that I like to see how different I can make it. Besides the fact that it would be nearly impossible to duplicate every component used, I believe it is a true testament to the innate creativity in us all to come up with our own spin on our inspirations. That is why these challenges are so cool...so supportive...so encouraging. I hope you will find the time to make yourself a little retro bling for the holiday repurposing those forgotten treasures.

Hurry! You only have until 11:59 pm CST on Sunday, December 13th to enter your photo at the Flickr group to be entered to win some great prizes.

Speaking of said prizes, the Humblebeads that I ordered to create with this week have not found their way to me. I am at so many different addresses these days, that I fear the post office may be more confused than usual. So I will have to concoct something other than planned...stay tuned!

In case you need a little inspiration, I picked up two of my favorites as inspiration for Week 2 Inspired by...Grandma's Jewelry Box. I love to see the fresh uses of materials in these two books and the great photography that really piques my interest and gets me excited about seeing everyday things in a new light. {Have I told you I have no filters when it comes to buying new books? Even if it is a technique that I would never be able to try on my own, or really don't even see myself doing, I cannot help but buy the book. I have all sorts of them. In 2010 I plan to try to limit myself to just one book a month. That will be tough.} Actually, I would actually encourage you to buy books that are outside of your normal creative comfort zone.....sometimes those books are the ones that have the best inspiration because I don't have that particular skill so I have to be inventive.

The first is Amy Hanna's Rejuvenated Jewels.

I fell in love with this book from the moment I saw the cover. Not only does Amy have the most amazing treasure trove, and has traveled all over to find it, but she has this amazing sense of style when it comes to combining them. There is a timelessness to her designs....vintage yet modern. The book is very well laid out, the directions are clear, the pictures are beautiful and I love hearing the story of where she found the precious bits that she uses. Amy Hanna also has a blog called Living the Artful Life where she tells the stories behind her creations, her passions, her life. She is a beautiful lady with a whole lot of style. Check her out if you have some time.

The second resource is Vintage Redux by Brenda Schweder.

I had the good fortune to meet Brenda at the Bead & Button show in Milwaukee last summer. She is a bold and bright and beautiful lady with a lot of fresh ideas. Her book Vintage Redux shows a much kitschier and playful style than Amy Hanna's. Both styles have their place in the whole repurposing jewels trick. What I liked best about this book is that it helped me to see the diamonds in the rough of the outdated 80s jewelry that I just couldn't part with. And breathing fresh life into those old oddities is a great way to kickstart your creativity.

If you don't already have these resources, they are great additions to your wish list.

When you get new resources (books, magazines, etc) do you sit down and read them cover to cover? Do you buy only resources for one particular style of jewelry making or do you try to branch out and pick out resources that run the gamut?
Do you ever follow the instructions exactly, or do you use it as a jumping off point for your own designs?
Do tell!

Enjoy the day!

RAW Friday::True Costs

{Photo credit: David Seah}

Random Acts of Wisdom

Sometimes it costs more to do nothing than to do something.

{in an email from Customer Service Guru Jeff Mowatt.
Read more at his website www.jeffmowatt.com}

Wednesday was the first snow day of the season. The way it was coming down on Tuesday, I knew it would be a snow day so I made sure to bring over as much of my studio as I could possibly use in one day {that is the one room in the old house that hasn't been cleaned out yet...I don't trust anyone but myself to screw that up}. You would think that a day locked inside a cozy house with hot coffee and cocoa, festive Christmas music and warm slippers would be ideal to create in. But I fretted the day away because I could not find one little padded mailer containing two tiny sterling silver charms destined for a custom piece that I have to start creating like now, dammit. Did I do any creating? No. Not one bit. I was so wrapped up in the fact that I couldn't find this bitty baggie that I couldn't move on to anything else. And I couldn't get to sleep that night either {that or the wind howling outside at 3am might have something to do with it.} The only thing I did manage to do was to find the box and unpack the junk drawer contents from my old house to my new.

What did this big bunch of nothing cost me? Precious time in my quest to get it all done.

Today I have a new focus...I have re0rdered said charms {I consider it a slight cost to losing my sanity searching for said charms...oh, they will show up, when I least expect it...and by then I will have no real need for a sterling silver pair of socks and tennis ball charms. Go figure.}...I have let myself move on to other projects {like the 16 charm necklaces that were due by lunch today}... and I have pledged to use up what I have in stock {let me tell you...it is a LOT!}.

And I have realized that doing nothing did indeed cost me more than doing something. Anything at all.

Have you ever been in a situation when you just had to "do something"? Maybe you procrastinated, or forgot what it was you had to do, or you were so restless that you couldn't wait to jump out of your chair and start the doing?
Or...Have you ever been in a situation when doing nothing was a bad choice?
Do tell!

Enjoy the day!

30 Words::Winter's Gift

{Photo Credit: Fractal Artist}

Frosty shadows lengthen
Creating cool blue snow-dune landscapes
River waves frozen in mid-peak
Stark branches reach for what little sun
Winter’s gift comes wrapped in
hot cocoa and snow angels

Enjoy the day!

{REMINDER: Inspired by...Grandma's Jewelry Box challenge going on now. Last time to upload your photos to the Inspiration is Everywhere Flickr account is Sunday, December 13th at 11:59 pm CST. Winner will receive a copy of Bead Star magazine and a custom piece of jewelry from me. And who knows? Maybe there will be a bonus winner too! Looking forward to more of your inspiration!}

A Pinch of Creativity

"Enthusiasn is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity." ~Bo Bennett

Today is the first snow day of the season. The kids were home. Snowballs were thrown. New friends in the neigborhood were forged over snow forts and snow angels. Hot cocoa was prepared (actually Ovaltine, but they don't know the difference!). I even made a trek to the old house (still not completely empty) to load up some of my studio that I knew I would need today to make those found object inspirations....well, here it is 4:30 and I have yet to touch a bead. But I did get some fab-u-lous surprises in my mailbox from Kerry Bogert at KAB's Creative Concepts and from my Charmsters swap.... I will tease you and save those for another day. :-)

Looking for some found object inspiration? I want to introduce you to a resource to spur your creativity.

First, my friend Jennifer Heynen at Jangles is having an Open House starting in...YIKES!...like RIGHT NOW! Get over to her blog to join in the fun, including door prizes on the hour, sales and tons of fun. If you recall my last post when I mentioned the necklace that won me the 2nd place in the Heart Category? Those were Jangles beads and I see that she is offering some of her hearts at her Etsy site. Check it out!

And if you want more incentive, see these great sets of Jangles beads and hand selected found objects she calls "Eclectic Sets." (I plan to get me one of those!

I also wanted to mention that we have some entries into this weeks Found Object Challenge...Inspired by...Grandma's Jewelry Box. Click on the Flickr account link on the top right to get there. Here are a few of the gems you will find there...

Check It Out::Jangles

Enjoy the day!