Using the Treasure Trove, Pt. 1

As promised, I want to share the process of using some of the fabulous trims I got at the Zero Landfill event. 

One of the biggest challenges with the trim samples is that they are small, short, and often single. In other words, the braid may not be long enough for a full bracelet, there may only be one tassel in a single color, etc, etc, etc... I wanted to use some flat braids for bracelets. As you can see, unless I'm making a bracelet for a toddler, I had to find a workaround. 

Also, as you can see above, the ends had been stiffened with glue to prevent a (pretty spectacular) unraveling. So the first challenge was how to attach the trim to a backing, while disguising the necessary fray check at each end. 

On bracelet #1, I stitched the beads and trim directly to the backing (faux leather, also from the Zero Landfill haul), using triangles to cover the end. Then, I stitched another row of triangles to cover the butt end of the trim. 

The thickness of the trim and the glue made it difficult to keep lines of beads straight. Also, while the first end was easy enough to attach, because I didn't want to glue the trim down, the second end was tricky to keep straight while stitching beads and trim at the same time. Lesson learned.

On bracelet #2, I decided to weave the bead ends together before stitching them to the trim and the leather. The final result was nicer to my fussy, fussy (dare I say obsessive?) eye.

Then on the final bracelet, because of the wavy sides of the trim, I needed a different approach - solved with a band of peyote stitch on each end. 

I wove each band to the end of the trim and then stitched it to the backing. It's very secure.

It looks a little like a pocket that the trim has slipped into. (Side note - I LOVE the teal color and ostrich print of the faux leather on this one!)

I'm really pleased with the way these have turned out, and with the fun of solving the design challenges. I'm especially pleased that I didn't have to resort to using glue to attach the trim to the leather. I love the colors, which inspire some fun combinations. For all of the goodies in the giveaway haul, there is very little of this type of flat trim. I think I may have to hoard it and use it sparingly!

Upcycling a Treasure Trove, Saving the Environment

Every now and then, it's an exciting challenge to work with new material, something unfamiliar or unusual that kicks up your creative spark and leads you down some new paths. Over the next few posts, I'm going to share my adventures in using upcycled materials in my jewelry.

Last fall, I went to a local event held twice a year, created with the mission to keep material out of the landfill. It's a treasure trove of designer samples, construction materials, and miscellaneous stuff, all free for the taking. Artists, creators, teachers, and anyone who's curious enough to walk in can walk out with as much as their arms (or bags and carts) can carry.

It. is. AWESOME.

This was the second time I had gone. This time, my target was fabrics and trims that could be repurposed into jewelry. Holy crap, y'all, I found the mother lode. Books and books and books of designer trim samples. Tassels and gimp and ribbon trim. Faux leather in every finish and color you could imagine. I was absolutely giddy.

I got five big tote bags crammed full of sample books.
If I could have carried a bag with my teeth, I'd have gotten more.

Each trim sample book had at least three panels full of goodies like this:

I spent a full afternoon carefully removing each sample from the books - they were securely glued to the pages, intended to stand up to lots of wear and tear as a designer used them in consultations with clients. Those babies were SECURE. I sacrificed several fingernails to the process. 

Totally worth it. This is a little bit of the final result, sorted and bagged by type in a futile attempt to organize it...

Right?!? And that's not all - there were two books full of fabulous faux leather samples, perfect for backing bead embroidery projects and other uses.

I'm not gonna lie, these materials have posed some challenges as I've started to use them. But over the next few posts, I'll talk about what I've learned and share some of the things I've made so far. 

Creative Spark Summer 2016

For the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to be a designer for ZNetShows, a great supplier of cultured sea glass and other beads for retail and wholesale.  A few times a year, designer/artists are invited to choose from their new products and create jewelry and non-wearable art to be included in Creative Spark, an online magazine.

The summer issue has just come out, and it's chock full of eye candy featuring cultured sea glass in fun new shapes, sea glass beads, beautiful Chinese crystal beads, and glass pearls.

Two of my designs are included - a fun and lightweight cultured sea glass nugget necklace (page 31) that can be worn several different ways (including as a bracelet!) and earrings spotlighting Chinese crystals in a flat spiral weave (page 54)  that would look great with either a casual summer dress or a fancy outfit for dining under the summer stars.

This shows the bracelet option for this design - wrapped several times, with fun fringe.

Go check out the wonderful designs created by all of the jewelry artists, and if you're inspired, be sure to check out the offerings from ZNetShows!

I'm Only A Few Weeks Behind

For no apparent reason, I have recently lost all concept of time.

Two weeks ago, the newest issue of Creative Spark, featuring designs using beads from ZNet Shows, went live.  Several of my designs, along with the work of many talented designers, are included, and I should have shared the publication immediately!

So without further ado, here's the link -- please go check out the lovely things everyone made!

Going To Tuscon

No, not me.  But five of the pieces I made as part of the ZNet Shows design team were selected to be featured in their booth in the Tuscon shows this month.

I'm thrilled!  While I'd love to go to the Tuscon shows and enjoy a little bit of the sunny Southwest, to send these little pieces of myself is pretty cool.

If you're in Tuscon, go by the ZNet Shows booth and wave to my babies!

ZNetShows Design Team

Holy cow, y'all -- I got invited by Bill at ZnetShows to design some pieces using their sea glass beads.  If I  cross my fingers and make something spectacular (not at the same time - it's hard to make jewelry with your fingers crossed....), one or more of my creations may be used in ZnetShows' booth display in Tuscon next month.

Yeah, I can't believe it either!  As the former scrawny pipsqueak who was always picked last for any team in gym class, getting invited to be part of a team is a rush!

Anyway, I was thrilled to receive these beautiful beads:

Look at that variety!

What lovely soft shades of green - from mint to sea to peridot.  Aren't they delicious??\

A closer look at some of the seashell shapes included in the mix

As soon as I opened the shipping box, I was inspired to sit and create. And create. And create.

I can't wait to share the final pieces with you here as soon as they've gone to Bill to (hopefully) accompany him to Tuscon.

The sparkle never dims

A lovely customer of mine has been cleaning out her mom's basement, discovering some beautiful vintage jewelry and clothing that belonged to her aunt and other family members. She passed along a number of the pieces to me, saying, "Have fun and see what you can make out of these for me."

Seriously. Can you believe the luck?

It's like the Bead Fairy opened up her sack and said, "would you like some free goodies to play with?"

Um, yes, please.

Among the goodies was a set of star-shaped buttons from an old cardigan, and a rhinestone necklace that was beautifully retro but not her taste. Here's what I had to work with:

and

She requested a bracelet from the buttons, and gave me free reign to make anything I could figure out from the necklace. The buttons turned out to be a real challenge, since they were slightly domed with a concave back, and were quite heavy for their size. The trick became finding other beads that would snug up to the shank of the button, while allowing for the curvature of the button's body and supporting the weight enough to prevent the buttons from flopping around.

After a few (okay, five or six) false starts with other designs, I finally settled on some black faceted Czech glass beads in a multi-strand weave. I left the construction of the clasp ends of the bracelet flexible enough to allow me to adjust the finished piece to the customer's wrist. Here's the final product:


The necklace had so many fun components to use. I used the bow as an asymmetrical bit of sparkle in a necklace of faceted, rutilated quartz beads. And forgot to take a picture of it (FAIL). But here is a pair of clip-on earrings from other part of the necklace:

They have the same faceted Czech glass as the button bracelet, so she can wear them with the bracelet or the necklace if she wants.

Big, big, sparkly fun! Next time I'll have some jewelry with more than just silver and black, I promise.

And I've encouraged my customer to go treasure hunting in that basement again soon!