While in Self-Isolation

I haven't talked about the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has affected not only my life, but the lives of others. I keep abreast of the latest scientific news, my husband (who works at an "essential" business) and I know what the risks are, and take precautions accordingly. And since both of us are in the "high risk" age group, we are cautious about talk of things opening up in our area. That being said, and with me being retired and pretty much an introvert, my lifestyle hasn't changed all that much. I try to concentrate on doing positive things, be it working in the garden, riding my horse, or raiding my stash of beads, jewelry findings, Goodwill T-shirts, stencils, art supplies, or writing. 

So between dragging a hose around to water the yard/garden, doing construction and painting of some Working Equitation obstacles for an upcoming WE clinic me and my partner are putting on June 6-7, and with outside temps rising into the 90s during the middle of the day, I have been retreating indoors and listening to Dr. Martin Shaw podcasts or his YouTube videos, and playing with jewelry making again. Last month I made a couple of necklaces at birthday gifts (see previous post), but  I wanted to do something a little more elaborate, again, using things I already had on hand. 

The first was this necklace, which I think has a very Renaissance flavor to it. I liked this necklace so much I intend to keep it, and that eventually when the artificial pearls start to lose their luster, I may remake it with real pearls. 

The one I just finished today is in a similar style, but made in a difference color scheme. The blue accent drops are from a vintage necklace picked up somewhere, that was broken, or missing pieces. I have had it for ages, so I don't really remember. 

They were not intended to be worn together, but they do make quite the statement when they are!

For both of these necklaces I made simple matching earrings. 

I had a lot of fun getting back into making jewelry, so I am looking forward making more pieces using only what I already have handy. 

Something else on my radar as a possible future project is a sweater coat made with some of my stash of Goodwill T-shirts. My inspiration for this comes from an amazing lady named Katwise, who makes stunning, one-of-a-kind sweaters and coats out of the sweaters she collects from all over the country. Most of her things, as much as I love them, are too flamboyant for me. However, I starting wondering if I could do something similar, a bit less flamboyant, more conservative in color, with the material I get from cutting up men's XXL T-shirts. This afternoon I made a quick sketch, thinking about a simple, simple knee-length coat, just to test and play around with to see if it would even work. For starters I found an old McCalls pattern I had (number 4243) that would give me a boxy bodice easily split up the middle, to which I could add sleeves and a pieced full skirt.  I also considered that if it worked, I could stencil and bead parts of it, to tart it up a bit. 

This is the rough sketch, with a few notes. Once the Working Equitation clinic is over and I can clear off my big worktable out in the garage (now covered with paints, and misc. building supplies) I can start playing with fabric again. With the summer temperatures rising into the high 80s and 90s, this will be a fun project to do when working outside is not really an option.

This is how an introvert stays sane in these chaotic times. Hope you  all stay safe and find your own ways to keep positive. 

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.

Belle Epoch Necklace

Two things happened recently that inspired this necklace. The first was two friends sending me boxes of beads and findings, because they were things they couldn't use. Between the two, I scored a huge stash of agate, jade and quartz beads, faceted glass beads, painted wood beads, and a large collection of silver coins with bales already attached, from several foreign countries. Also my mother gave me a inexpensive (from a Big Box Store) heart bracelet that she didn't want. So, a ton of new stuff to play with, which is always fun.

The second, was finding a site on Pinterest that showed dozens and dozens of period clothing, hats  and jewelry from the Edwardian and the Belle Epoch eras...approximately late 1800s to the outbreak of WWI. These are my favorite eras for ideas in unique color combinations, designs to tweak and adapt for stencils, appliques, and beading on clothing of my own. Also for wire jewelry ideas. Obviously, there is NO way I can copy the amazing work by jewelers of that time. Those pieces are works of art, and most reside in museums. But I can simplify...a lot...the swirls and leaf/vine shapes of those Art Nouveau and Edwardian pieces.

Which brings me to this latest necklace, made from agate beads, faceted glass beads, glass leaves and flowers, turquoise chips, dusky-blue ceramic beads, drop pearls, two slides with rhinestones, "silver" worked wire, purchased chain, one of the dozen lanyard clips included in one of the gift box stashes, and faux-silver marcasite hearts from that bracelet of my mom's. As you can tell, I am all into recycling, upcycling...or whatever they call it these days.

Work table...necklace in progress.

The lovely green pearls did not end up in the finished work.  The three connected hearts to the left of the photo are what is left of the little bracelet my mom gave me to play with.

And here is the finished piece.

And here is an FYI: My Etsy site is temporarily closed. I am in the process of updating all of my jewelry pieces and revamping the site. This piece is the first one in that process. I got to the point where the site looked dated, and a lot of the jewelry were things that had been on and off the site since I opened it, about three years ago, and hadn't sold. Also, I am trying VERY hard to improve the quality and workmanship. Which is another reason why most of the old pieces will be taken apart and made into something else. I was new to a lot of the techniques needed, and have improved, I hope, since then. Still improving and learning, which is a lot of fun. And I'm still collecting bits and bobs, haunting junk/antique stores for that special find...like the mason jar full of broken bits I just scored the other day for $9, which ended up being 75% usable for upcycling. I don't usually get that lucky, and end up tossing or giving to the Goodwill almost half to 75%, with only that last 25% being anything I would want in a piece.

So, thanks to my mom, friends, and a lucky junk store find, I have lots of new things to play with, and an eye-candy web site to inspire me to keep pushing that design envelope.

Ice Princess Necklace

Newest item up on the Etsy site. This necklace is made up almost completely of recycled bits and pieces from vintage or near vintage costume jewelry. The pendant was an old brooch, I'm guessing from the late 1950s or 1960s. Not sure. The two light blue dangles were a pair of earrings. The dark blue dangles from an old necklace, and the powder blue beads on the links I made, were from a huge, multi-strand necklace my mom gave me...I think. It's been a while since I acquired it, so I'm not sure on that either. People give me stuff all the time, and it can be years before I finally getting around to using it. By that time I can't remember who gave it to me.

Aqua Pearl Necklace

This is the latest necklace. The center medallion is vintage brooch. The clasp was broken, so I took it off. The necklace is made of aqua potato pearls, dark iridescent blue pearls,  AB clear crystals, small vintage gold-tone metal beads, brass heart spacers, and small blue glass beads.

As winter has set in, it is becoming increasingly obvious that I need to get a better method of lighting the pieces for photos. In summer, I can take them outside and photo them in natural light. A Facebook friend sent me a link to a site that shows how to make a light box. Pretty sure that's what I need. The photos I take, even with the best lighting I can come up with, still don't show the pieces to their best advantage. Especially the old brooch in this necklace, which has such a lovely patina.

Finished Blue Necklace

Here is the finished necklace, made from the components I showed in the previous post. This one turned out really nice, very elegant, and it's a hard one for me to let go of because I really like it. However, I need another piece of jewelry like I need a hole in the head.  Also,  I think it's already sold. I put pictures up on Facebook, and a friend loved it and wants to buy it. If that falls through, I'll put it up on my Etsy site.

Center component is a vintage bracelet. The rest is "gold" chain, blue drop crystals, and dark blue glass beads.

Back to Projects

Now that the ARC mounted archery event is over, I can go back to my normal (?) life of working on different projects. Here are the latest. These are being done simultaneously with the Riding Costume, but I like variety and hopping from one project to another. It's the same reason I read two and three books at the same time.

Here is number one. I apologize of the lousy quality of the photos, but trying to take pictures in my house in winter is like trying to take photos in a cave without a flash. Usually I take things outside to photo, but it's pouring rain today, so that option was out.

My latest Goodwill score. A Christopher & Banks cropped linen jacket, bought for only $4.99. New they run over $40. I think this is the natural, un-dyed color of the linen, but not sure. It's a soft, sorta greenish beige. It has same-color machine embroidery in a leaf pattern up the front, on the collar, and a detail on the back. There is also what looks like narrow, pulled thread work up the front along the buttons and buttonholes. Rice, over at the Voodoo Cafe, would dye this some bright, zingy color, but I'm not really into the whole dyeing thing. I will, however, add more thread detail and beading. I might also swap out the buttons, if I can find some others I like better, which shouldn't be hard, as these are pretty bland. I really liked the gold thread work I did on my red bolero, and I think that would also look good on this jacket. Maybe small gold beads, or shiny rust colored ones. Not sure. I will have to play around with stuff to see what works best.

Anyway, I love the feel of the linen, it's pretty heavy, but very comfortable to wear. I did laugh when I bought it though, as the cashier lady made the comment, "Oh, this will be really nice when you iron it." Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!

 

Here it is hanging in my bedroom. The machine embroidery actually shows up better than I thought it would.

Here is the detail along the front, and on the collar. Now that I really look at it, I think the pulled thread work is just more machine embroidery. Oh well. Still looks nice.

Back detail.

So, that's one project.

Project number two is a necklace.

The main section is an old vintage bracelet, with lovely sky-blue crystals. The end link is missing the main stone, and I will remove it, maybe find a stone later and use that piece in something else. I have three blue teardrop crystals, some darker blue glass beads and will probably hunt up some other small metal detail beads or spacers. To extend the length, I'll make links with gold wire, add a dark blue bead to every link, and if I have enough, make the extensions a double strand of links. The links will be hooked into these really wonderful peacock-blue jump rings I found. The teardrop crystals will hang from the vintage bracelet.

Overview of the components.

Closeup of the vintage bracelet.

And that is project number two. Can't wait to do this one. It will be an experiment in mixing vintage with the modern, more flashy jump rings. I've had that section of vintage bracelet for ages, just waiting for the right other pieces to fall into place. It was finding those peacock blue jump rings that sparked inspiration. Funny old world, isn't it.

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!

The Process

I noticed that on a lot of blogs by artists, they post pictures of the process they go through in order to create a piece, whether painting, drawing, collage, sewing, or...jewelry. So, I thought maybe I should do the same, and talk a little about how I work. Not riveting stuff, but since I like to see how people go through the creative process, I thought others might like to see mine.

I try to do a lot of recycling in my pieces. I haunt junk shops, antique stores, and garage sales—why let all that great old stuff go to waste? When I do this, I have a price ceiling...I won’t pay more than $20 for anything...whether it’s a bag of parts, or a complete piece that I can take apart and turn into many pieces. Usually I end up spending anywhere from $1 to $10 average. Many of my friends pick up things for me, or if they are thinking of sending old stuff to the Goodwill, they let me look it over first. That’s always fun.

When I start a piece, I have a vague idea of what I want, and then I start pulling out beads, bits, charms, old pendants, buttons, etc. and play around with them. It’s usually the color that grabs me, and I go from there. An arrangement will finally satisfy me, and then I put the whole thing together. Next, I take it for a test run. I wear it, making sure everything stays where it’s supposed to, and that it drapes/hangs nicely, and is comfortable—nothing poking anywhere. If that all checks out, then it’s done, and I put it up on my Etsy shop. If no one seems interested after a certain length of time, I may take the piece apart and make something else.

So, that’s it. Here are the elements I used in the necklace pictured.

Red sections from an old necklace (ca. 1960s, I think) that I took apart. It has purple, light purple, and red sections. I used only the red, so have lots of other sections left over to use on something else. That old necklace was long, and I have made other pieces from it already. Since it was given to me by a friend, it didn’t cost me a dime.

Gold metal leaves that I inherited from my husband’s mother after she passed away. She had a ton of craft stuff, and Robert’s sisters were kind enough to share it with me. I’ve used these leaves on lots of things, and will be sad when they are finally gone.

“Gold” covered copper wire. I am still learning how to work with wire, which has a mind of its own. The links for this necklace were made with 1” pieces of wire, a black bead added, then twisted in an S-curve. I like making my own links, because I can add any type of bead/chip I want, to match the rest of the elements.

Misc. beads and small metal leaves. These are all over-the-counter bits, purchased at either Michael’s, JoAnn’s or Craft Warehouse. So are the jump rings, clasp, and head-pins.

The pictures are of the work in progress, and then the finished piece. I wear a lot of black, so I’m thinking this little gem I will keep for myself. But since I am getting rather addicted to making chain and bead links, another one will be in the works soon. Who knows, I may like the next one better and give this one up.

Commissioned Necklace

This is a commissioned necklace I just completed. It is very similar to a bracelet I did, and then enlarged into a necklace at the request of a customer. She wore it, and a friend of hers admired it and wanted one "just like that one." Well, I can't do exact replicas of a piece, because I use found elements. However, I did have enough of the frosted flower beads in another color, and pretty much the last of my glass leaf dangles, to do one more necklace. And so, here it is. It will go to its new home tomorrow.

After two such pieces, I'm really getting the hang of making wire link chain. Next time, I want to make something using gold wire instead of silver.