Message On An Earring

I'm humming the song "Message in a bottle, yea"...

I got a request to make "message earrings". It's not really my thing. I make what the muse tells me to make. Most of the time. Sometimes, though, I set out to create something I have in mind. So, trying to create message earrings, the first pair I made was "Oui and Non". I love these charms, and have made earring with just the charms (I don't even need the muse's help to make those!). But I thought it might be cool to also incorporate red (for stop) and green (for go). So, I put some small vintage German glass beads in between some Vintaj bead caps at the top of the charms. Just a little of the bead colors peek out from under the bead caps.

The other pair of earrings are not even message earrings! That was a fail, as far as the mission goes, but I like the way they turned out anyway. I thought about of somehow adding words to the robin's egg colored wooden beads, but decided to stop. I like them as is.  The beads hanging from the birds are opalescent blue Czech glass. So, no message, but I've actually named them "Wing It!".

After not succeeding with making earrings with an actual message, I looked through my brass blanks, and decided to stamp something in these Arte Metal round discs (from Vintaj). One pair say "SOAR", the other pair says "FLY AWAY". I stamped the letters a bit crooked and imperfect on purpose.
Then, of course, I needed to use some Vintaj patina so the message could actually be seen. The patinas dry very quickly, and it left a mess all around the letters. So, I decided to smear the color all over, in a thin layer. Then I used a sanding block to remove a little, until I like how it looked.
I dangled little bees in front of "FLY AWAY", and little birds in front of "SOAR". The birds and bees are either Vintaj, or Trinity Brass (which has morphed into Creative Soul Supply).

Either of these could make a nice graduation gift - encouraging the grad to spread her wings and soar!

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great weekend!

Spring inspired necklaces

I was sorting through some focals recently, and a few of them made their way to the desk. This pendant is from beadfreaky on etsy. I hate to admit how long I've had these (a very long time). The Red Creek Jasper beads are perfect for this pendant. Vintaj bead caps and chain, of course.

 

 I bought a couple of these vintage glass hearts at The Mr Venus Oddity Shop on etsy. I sold the first necklace I made, so I thought it was time to make another one. The blue beads in the necklace are vintage German beads from Fire Mountain. More Vintaj bead caps, jump rings and chain. The piece of filigree attached to the heart is from Ornamentea.

 

Another cute pendant from beadfreaky. Etched agate beads (from Beadfest, years ago) and Vintaj bead caps and chain, and the little connector too. I have no idea where the off-white (stone/rock of some sort) beads are from, maybe some old Bead Soup ingredients?

 

Yet another beadfreaky pendant! Such a cute little bird, in a pretty shade of pale lavender. The purple beads are jade (maybe?) Honestly, most of my bead stash is so old, I can't remember much about them. Maybe I knew what they were when I bought them, but now I'm just not sure. Vintaj bead caps and chain, as usual.

 

This fabulous pendant is from Humblebeads. I love the way the color is varied, from peach to pinkish peach. I wanted to hang a charm in front, but didn't want to cover it up, so the little bee seemed like the right thing. The ceramic square beads are from Joann's (Blue Moon) and matched pretty well. The round bead is a beaded bead from Walmart! Vintaj butterfly, chain, bead caps, etc.

 

Last but not least, another beadfreaky pendant. Yummy blues and aquas on this butterfly. I looked through my stash of tiny Chinese crystals (from Beadfest, various vendors) and located these. Since they are all very small (3-4mm), I decided to make color blocked connectors. This necklace is ready for summer!

 

That's it for now. Thank you for stopping by to see my blog!

How lucky can one girl be.....

O.M.G. I am over the moon about this....

My neighbor casually mentioned he had printer's trays (dozens of them) and did I want any? I said probably not, but I have always wanted a printer's cabinet. To my surprise, he said he has TWO!! And did I want them?? I said *YES* but I only had room for one of them. I was sure I knew someone who'd take the other one (actually, I know 4 people that would like it!). I am so excited to get this over to my house, so I can clean it up and start using it. My beads will be soooo happy to have such a nice home!

This is currently in my neighbor's basement, but will be coming to my house this weekend!!!!!!! Pinch me!

Earrings, all with vintage appeal

Some recent earrings for your viewing pleasure!

I l.o.v.e. the faux opal connectors on the first pair! The green leaves are vintage supply and Czech flowers and Vintaj bead caps. The purple pair are Czech table cut flowers and vintage rhinestone dangles. I did not notice when I snapped the photo that they are laying on their sides. They have purple rhinestone navettes.

 

 More vintage yumminess! More vintage leaves in black. More rhinestone connectors. Some rhinestone rondelles with brass beads. And green druk beads with Vintaj beads caps.

 

 These 2 pair have the same Czech table cut flowers. The shorter pair also have vintage German glass beads from Fire Mountain. The longer pair have a vintage green rhinestone connector and some crystal beads.

 

I actually forced myself to put all these in the shop. Several have sold already, so, there's that. I know I'm supposed to be happy when I sell things, but I really liked all of these. I hope their new owners will love them too.

Thanks for stopping by!!

This N That

I started this post a while ago, but never published it!

These earrings are made with Humblebeads bee charms, some teensy Vintaj Arte Metal leaves, and some fall-inspired Swarovski bicones. The charms have a bee/ honeycomb design on 1 side, and a flower on the other, so, no matter how these hang, they look good (comin' and goin').

 

Lots of cool vintage finds in this pair of earrings. The leaves are vintage glass from The Mr Venus Oddity Shop on etsy. The rhinestone connectors are also vintage stock from StDymphnaSupplies on etsy. Little Czech flowers with Vintaj bead caps to finish them off.

 

This is a second making of this necklace. My first one was a success (in black and white and grey), and I have worn it many times. My idea/concept is a necklace made from the "treasures" you might find in child's pocket - rocks, sticks, feathers, etc.
The "treasures" used are: My enameled bead, key charms, a feather charm, a dagger from Scorched Earth, a strawberry "quartz" bead, a beaded bead, and pink dyed Howlite(?). Vintaj chain and spacer beads.

 

A closer look. The feather with the rhinestone cup chain was actually from a disassembled pair of earrings.

 

Jumping back to earrings...these are all Czech glass, Swarovski bicones and Vintaj (BTW, ear wires are not Vintaj). The leaf beads are opalescent and glow when light hits them.

 

Thanks for reading my blog!!

 

Reusing African beads, for a good cause.

My friend Sheryl came into these African beads. Knowing her love for beads, they were given to her by a friend, and were from the collection of that friend's sister.
Sheryl had the idea to create a necklace for her friend with the beads, as a remembrance of her sister. There were 2 large strands of beads, so Sheryl wanted me to come up with several designs. The remainder of the necklaces would be used for fund raising for "Dining For Women".

So I started to put together some necklaces. She wanted fairly simple necklaces. The necklace second from the left is my favorite, and I was asked to keep it for myself - I gladly accepted.

 

 This necklace is convertible - it can be worn as a necklace, or, with the chain removed, a bracelet.

 

 After I showed the above group to Sheryl, she had the idea about turning these beads into the fund raising, by making as many necklaces as possible (for Dining For Women, as mentioned above). So I explored more designs, keeping the bead usage per necklace low, to stretch our beads!

 

 I gave those necklaces to Sheryl, and she was going to let her friend chose one to keep. The unknown detail to me is that her friend is not able to use a clasp well, and could not manage to get any of these on! OK, no problem! These last two necklace are easy to wear. The necklace on the left is on a long chain that will slip over her head. The other necklace has a magnetic clasp. The smaller brass "bead" is the clasp! Simply pull apart, put the chain around your neck, and then put the 2 sides of the clasps near each other and they'll snap together!

Since our last meeting, Sheryl's friend has given her MORE African beads to make up necklaces for Dining For Women. She also had received some feedback from others about possibly using cord or leather instead of brass chain. I will look into that.
I'll be making these necklaces, in various beads, colors, designs for some time to come!
So many beads, so little time!!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog.