Fabric and Lace and Ribbon, OH MY!

Working with fabric, lace and ribbon, let alone using a sewing machine, has never really been on my radar.....but recently, I have become fascinated with fabric and journals.  I've also been incorporating more fibers into my jewelry.

This fascination started with Deryn Mentock's online course, Artisan's Day Journal. Sewing fabric on paper, I found, was really fun.  It didn't have to be perfect!

I now have a sewing machine and have been slowly accumulating fabrics, laces, ribbons, and trims.  I never knew it could be so much fun looking at fabric.....as a kid, my mom dragged me through fabric departments all the time and I was always happy when we moved on to the toy department!!!

An on-line workshop, Fabric and Lace Composition Journal, instructed by Gail Schmidt from Creative Workshops has now sparked further fabric and lace fascination!

Learning to print on fabric with your printer and.....techniques for giving fabrics and lace a vintage look were just a few of the techniques from this workshop. Gail's videos are very clear and informative! It's been great fun creating this journal and I've started a second one.  If you have the chance, check out this workshop. You won't be disappointed. 

Altering clipboards has also become an interest of mine.....and given me an outlet to use not only my acquired fabrics, laces, ribbons, and trims but also paper, stencils, rubber stamps, paints, inks, and bits and pieces of old jewelry that I've been using in my jewelry creations.

Talking about acquiring laces....I purchased a fabulous array of French vintage laces from La Clariére on Etsy.  



Everything was beautifully presented when I opened my package. I'm looking forward to using these and hopefully visit her shop on our next trip to Paris.

Given the opportunities to learn new techniques and acquire new interests has truly been a blessing that I am ever grateful for.

Until then.....continue to pursue new interests!

Artisan's Daybook

Deryn Boyd Mentock has once again provided a wonderful online class called Artisan's Daybook!  Having passed this class by the first time Deryn offered it, I decided that I just needed to take this class when she offered it again.




Full of techniques like collage, creating resin flowers and leaves, sewing on paper, embellishing covers from books, altering cabinet cards, image transfers, photo transfers and much much more.  I learned about the different mediums to use for watercolors, transfers, and acrylics. Embellishing our journals with fabrics, laces, and trims was my undoing.....

I'm TOTALLY hooked!!!

My first journal became my reference of the techniques and ideas that Deryn shared in her online class....successes and failures alike.  I've already started my second journal and hope to create many more.

Until then............start your own art journal!

Blooming Bangles, Deryn Mentock's online class was full of techniques and wonderful ideas for creating bangles.  Here's my spin on the class....I took three bangles and did some wire weaving to bring them all together in one bracelet.  One has the bloom on it and the other I embellished with bone and pearl beads. I highly recommend her online classes if you aren't able to take a class in person with Deryn. 

Until then.....be creative!

I'm once again taking another one of Deryn Mentock's online classes.  This one is Bloom Bangles.  Deryn's videos are excellent and her method of teaching makes each technique fun and easy to understand.  




Plus you can wear your jammies while learning!!!! How fun is that?

Check out info on Bloom Bangles by clicking the link in the right column.  It's not too late to register.


Until then.....enjoy relaxing in your jammies!!!

Resin-ating!

I've been busy this past week preparing bezels and crystals for resin.  It was great fun selecting items to be used.  While searching for embellishments to use, I found things I had forgotten I had so it was fun re-discovering them again.  

Two of the chandelier crystals are vintage, the other two I purchased at a hardware store.  Deryn Mentock provided wonderful instruction in her online class, Alchemy of Objects, on putting images on crystals and setting them with resin.  I was happy with the results.

The final step is the resin and then it's just waiting for the resin to set. 

At this point, I'm not sure how they will be incorporated in my jewelry designs......but I look forward to the time when my creativity kicks in and they become part of my design. 

Until then......keep on creating!

Boho Bliss

Once again, Deryn Mentock has provided a fun online class.....instructional and full of great tips that you can use in your other jewelry projects.  You can still register for Boho Bliss until May 11, 2015. Check out Something Sublime to find about this class and others that she offers online and in person.  You can also click on the icon on the right that will take you to your bliss!!!


Until then......what's your bliss?

These Took me Awhile......

but......I finally finished four bezels with resin.

 I enjoyed the creative process of just deciding what elements I wanted to use in the bezels.....part of a rhinestone bracelet.....an old earring....vintage key. 

Now I need to decide how I want to incorporate them in a jewelry design.....so I may just let them stare at me for awhile till an idea comes to me.

In the meantime.....happy creating!

Is THANK YOU enough?

There's no doubt that Veterans Day brings to the forefront that those that are serving and have served, have sacrificed much to give all of us all the freedoms we enjoy today as Americans.  Families and friends of those that are serving and have served, I also salute you and thank you for all that you've done!

Please don't forget our Veterans.  Reach out and let them know how much they've done for us and others around the world!

To all branches of service.....THANK YOU!

Reveal Day---8th Bead Soup Blog Party

First of all.....thanks to Lori Anderson of Pretty Things for hosting another Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP).  She's been under the weather, to put in mildly and trying to keep us all organized and bead-happy.

Second of all....thanks to Kay Mallery, my BSBP partner, for sending me a lot of awesomeness.
  

That's only part of the awesomeness that Kay sent to me.  

Third of all.....this has gotten me back to my jewelry.  I had left it for quite awhile, totally unmotivated to create anything.  

And lastly.....here's what came from me being motivated again...Enjoy!

The Rhinestone Bow with Rhinestone Dangles
was the perfedt centerpiece

I fell in love with the opaque crystals

The Vintaj etched metal piece was the perfect
backdrop for my cross

The Sardonyx and Rutilated Quartz
said ooh la la to me

Two earring components were added.....
one for interest and one as a connector

Rutilated Quartz looks great
with the Sardonyx

Look at those white pearls and black
onyx together....and they arrived
already on headpins ready to be dangles

If you haven't already been there.....hop on over to Kay's blog at kaymreflections!


Until then.......Happy Bead Soup Blog Hopping!!!

Sandy's Treasures

Recently I sat down with a friend of mine who wanted to share with me some of her mother's treasures.  It was a wonderful couple of hours going through pins, watches and bracelets and listening to her stories.  

These are some of the items that I will have the pleasure of re-creating into other pieces of jewelry.

Thank you, Sandy.

Until then.......think creatively!

Mesh Chatelaine Purses

From the last two trips I made to Paris, I have been fortunate enough to find small mesh chatelaine purses at the Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves. 

A very nice vendor indicated three boar's heads on the frame of one of the mesh purses I wanted to purchase.....I knew little about them but loved the look and feel of them.  The boar's heads indicated the fineness of 800 or more on on the purse.  I did a little research and came up with the following.

Taken from www.modernsilver.com  

On French silver jewelry, the most often-seen mark is the boar’s head, the mark of the Paris Assay Office, indicating a fineness of 800 or higher on small articles (such as jewelry). This mark was in use from 1838 to 1961. Outside of Paris, the crab mark was used from 1838 to 1961, and since 1962, has also been used by the Paris Assay Office.

After 1838, a maker’s mark in a lozenge (diamond shape with four equal sides) was also required on French gold, silver and platinum. According to Tardy, the lozenge shape itself was introduced in 1797, but it is not clear if there were any regulations about its use at that time.

I also have a purse with the lozenge and three boar's heads. The frame's on these mesh purses can have beautiful and interesting designs. Some have a "kiss clasp" inside.

I was finally inspired to make a necklace from one of my purses when I saw Christine Wallace's beautiful piece in the Autumn 2011 Jewelry Affaire magazine. 



I would love to know the women who used these small purses....what stories they could probably tell us.

Until then.....stay inspired!

Isn't She Lovely???

A new member recently joined my jewelry team.  She is fast becoming friends with the other members of the team....Margot and Babbette.  She's become a valuable asset in such a short time.  Plus she's just a lot of fun!  Her name is Mireille which means to admire.  And I do.  Mireille loves to display my jewelry and is very photogenic.  She also adds a bit of ooh la la to my bead studio!
 

I want to thank a fellow student of Deryn Mentock's online class...An Alchemy of Found Objects for providing the source of Miereille.  She's wonderful when testing your necklaces and how they will look on someone...is there balance?....does something turn the wrong way?....that kinda stuff.  

Until then.....keep creating!!! 

This Brooch does Double Duty!!!

 They're both pretty awesome brooches (well at least I think so), but the brooch on the right was more awesome than I thought it was when I purchased it at a local antique shop. When you turn it over you can see that the pin part of the brooch is also a frame for what becomes two shoe clips. Pretty kewl, huh? I've not seen anything like this before but maybe it's more common than I'm aware of.  Not sure what I will do with it but it was an interesting find.

Until then.....keep shopping for the unusual!!