Two Quick (Sorta) Rainy Day Projects

Yes, it was another day of rain. For a change of pace from stitching I decided to work on jewelry instead. This is all part of an ongoing endeavor to upgrade my jewelry pieces before reopening my Etsy shop. Although this new necklace may be a keeper, as it matches my green Italian Renaissance dress beautifully.

The main focus of the necklace is a vintage brooch I have had for a few years, but couldn't seem to find the correct color of green stones to match. It is a beautiful, deep, emerald green. It wasn't until recently that I stumbled on a string of glass beads at JoAnn's that matched the old stone perfectly. I kept the necklace pretty simple, since I wanted the old brooch to be the focal point, and also because it is so over-the-top ornate, adding anything else would have been severe overkill. I also worked it so that the brooch can be removed from the necklace and worn as originally intended. The pin back is intact. I think I am going to get some of those small rubber ends for wire earrings and put one over the point of the pin back, to keep it from snagging on material or poking the wearer. I have several other old brooches to use for pendants that I will make detachable as well, so those little rubber dudes will come in handy.

The earrings were originally part of the necklace, but I didn't like the way they looked next to the brooch, so I took them off and used them for earrings. I personally would never wear the earrings and necklace at the same time, since I don't do "matchy-matchy" but I have had some customers not buy a necklace because it didn't have matching earrings.

The next little piece was made from a skull that dangled from an old key chain. I have no idea where I got it, but I suspect it was in a stash of broken or mismatched bits either given to me, or that I bought by the bag somewhere. Same thing for the brass medallion. Don't remember where or when I got that piece either. Mr. Skull has been hanging around for a while, waiting for me to decide what to do with him. After I finished the necklace I started playing around with some other bits and bobs and eventually came up with this single earring. It's meant to be worn as a single since it's kinda...unique. It may sound weird, but to me it looks like a skull you might find in an old cemetery that had worked it's way back to the surface and was just lying within a shrubbery hung with bright berries. But you know, that's just me.

I noticed, after I posted this same photo to FB, that you can see the reflection of my arm in the goblet. I was holding a piece of white paper behind the goblet so my messy work table wouldn't show up in the picture.  How nice that my red sweatshirt matched the red of beads on the earring. Almost like I planned it that way.....yeah, right.

Keys

Over the years I have collected a small stash of old keys. Some are pretty beat up, some are pristine and quite lovely, with beautiful decorations. I have used some of the smaller keys on charm bracelets, but for the most part, they have been stuffed in one of the small drawers in one of my multi-drawered plastic storage units...you know, the ones sold in hardware departments for screws, washers, nuts, etc.

Since the Steampunk trend went mainstream, keys are now everywhere, which made me reluctant to dig mine out and use them. The jewelry market is buried under a glut of items made with keys, so what more could I possibly add? However, I was, well, bored the other day, and decided what the hell, I'll play with my keys and see what I come up with. And that was, earrings. I left the keys "as is" and just added beads and wire. I had fun, and the earrings came out funky, which is not usually something I do.

So, here they are: Old keys, beads (some vintage), crystals, colored jump rings, and surgical steel ear wires.

Next Project — Earrings

I have a whole collection of old keys, which I use periodically in my jewelry. I haven't done anything with them lately, since it seems that everywhere I look there are folks doing stuff with old keys, especially since Steampunk went mainstream. Keys and clock gears turned up EVERYWHERE.

But I was in the mood for something different than the more elegant jewelry pieces I had been making lately, so pulled out my keys, and some of the things I thought might go well with them, including two fancy wire paperclips. I'll see how things go as I play around with these. One thing I do like is that the earrings will be asymmetric, since each key is slightly different from the other in each set. Just some fun, funky stuff to experiment with and see what turns up.

In the background is the keyboard to my old computer, which still has stuff on it that I use. Also, and I am embarrassed to admit it, is my tea-stained tea cup, which needs a good scrub with baking soda. So, sorry if it grosses anyone out. :=D

Necklace and Earring Set

This necklace had been sitting around my studio for a few months. It was finished...sort of. I decided after completing it, that it needed teardrop pearls. I only had one. So it sat until I could find some, but apparently teardrop pearls are not big sellers, and I couldn't find any at either Michael's or Joann's. That's when I remembered I had a bracelet I had made a year ago, with quite a few vintage teardrop pearls. The bracelet had been up on my Etsy site several times, and never sold. So, I pulled it out, took it apart, and added the pearls to the necklace and earrings. Perfect.

Here is the result.

It's made with black wire, black wire-wrapped beads and hearts, small black beads, silver hearts, small crystals, large drop crystals, and vintage teardrop pearls. Voila!

Earrings

I love making earrings. They are quick, fun, and a great way to use up bits and bobs left over from other projects. You can play around with ideas, color combinations, and wrapping techniques, and if the idea doesn't work out, you haven't put loads of time and effort in, so taking it all apart doesn't give you heart palpitations. Also, you can keep the prices down, so they tend to sell quicker than larger pieces with higher price tags.  They are also easy when it comes to doing seasonal/holiday specific designs. So, if I am stumped for an idea, I make earrings. It's always fun, and inspiring.