Thursday, March 27, 2008

Amazing Faux



I found my new favorite Etsy shop, Amethyst Soap, today while browsing the Time Machine feature. I spied the “turquoise” pieces above and my mind started to craft ideas of beautiful pieces of jewelry created with the nuggets.
It wasn’t until I clicked into the shop that I realized the turquoise pieces were not beads, but soap! Yes, soap. Now, I’ve been a bit obsessed lately with all things faux bois lately, but these soaps take “faux” to the next level. The detail, depth, color, everything about these soaps tricks the eye, in an amazing way.
Along with the tumbled turquoise soap, Margaret of Amethyst Soap creates, you guessed it, beautiful amethyst crystal soap.
I encourage you to check out her shop and be amazed!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

New Necklaces


I spent part of this past weekend creating these fun, new pendant necklaces. They created from vintage inspired images decoupaged onto one inch wooden disks and finished with a coat of clear acrylic sealant.
They are fun to make and easy to wear, and for only $10 each (with free shipping if purchased with any other item from the shop!) they are the perfect spring / summer accessory.
Check out the shop for more to come.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Glass




When I was a child, I remember watching a Discovery Channel documentary on Dale Chihuly and becoming enamored with glass and glass blowing.
Many years later, I am still obsessed. My newest glass obsession is Boro, or Borosilicate. Most of us use boro glass in our everyday lives as Pyrex but many glass artists use this glass to create stunning works of art.
One such artist is LLuvia Brito who’s Etsy shop, uvanamos, I recently discovered and feel head over heals for.
From her shop: “My philosophy on bead making is that handmade beads should be unique but still manageable. What I mean by this is that I want my beads to be easy to design jewelry with, and more importantly they should be comfortable to wear!”
I could not agree with her more. Check out her shop to view more of her beautiful work.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Just Jewelry

I recently discovered a wonderful blog, Just Jewelry, where you can find "Daily Reports on Modern Adornment". With daily posts about a variety of jewelry finds, it's sure to become your new favorite blog. Also check out a recent post about The Lola Collection!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Post Earrings


I created a few pairs of these nifty post earrings yesterday. Right now I'm loving the combination of gold and black. To me it seems part Tory Burch, part Gucci chic, part vintage Versace and part eighties cheese, but all of those parts together is very right now and sophisticated. At least I think so.
Because of the size of these earrings (approximately 1/2 inch or 14mm in diameter) they look sort of like faux plugs. Be edgy without the pain!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Magnets


Here are some better pictures of the previously mentioned magnets (I'm loving them!).

Magnets



In an effort to mix things up and hopefully generate some sales in the shop, I've introduced these lovely accessories for your fridge: The Lola Collection magnets! Created from bits of vintage ephemera and decorative papers left over from my jewelry, they are the perfect solution to spruce up you tired old ice box. Packaged in their very own glass top, tin containers, these shabby chic magnets also make fantastic house warming or hostess gifts!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

New Displays



I've decided to re-vamp my show display this year (now I just have to work on booking some shows!) and started with these above. They are essentially cheap picture frames that I've painted. I removed the glass and "upholstered" the back of the frame using batting, pretty fabric and my trusty hot glue gun. I'm really happy with the way they came out, soft and pretty, yet functional. I took them with me recently as I made the rounds to some local boutiques and they held up surprisingly well being yanked in and out of my tote bag.

I think all in all, they cost me less than $20 to make three.