Going Green!

One of my designs is going green with Green Craft magazine!

Dressed Up Pearls from my "A Girl and Her Shoes Series"

is featured in the Autumn 2012 issue of Green Craft Magazine.

This necklace is so easy to make. I just cut the leather flowers from a pair of sandals, embellished them and then wired them onto vintage pearl strands. You can find out more about this necklace here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jewelry Affaire x 2

I'm so excited to have - not just one - but two articles

published in the summer issue of Jewelry Affaire!

Notice the "from SHOES to JEWELS" caption on the cover?

That's one of my features... not exactly a cover photo

but it's as close as I've ever been!

The "Shoes to Jewels" article features designs from my

"A Girl and Her Shoes" series which include,

Biker Chic, Geometry, Butterfly and Spider.  

Remember my salt & pepper shaker necklace?

It also has a feature in the article "Shake It Up".

This is the first time I've had my work featured in Jewelry Affaire

and I have to say I'm pleased with both articles. It's such

a beautiful magazine! I had the good fortune of meeting

Beth Livesay, the managing editor of Jewelry Affaire,

earlier this year at an art camp retreat and she is just the

nicest person! Thanks, Beth, for adding my designs alongside

the beautiful work of so many talented jewelry designers!

Thanks for stopping by!


 

Fun To Wear Hardware

What do you get when you pair a
rusty piece of hardware with a vintage bottle cap?

Jewelry, of course!

 I found some cool old hardware at the thrift stores and from a fellow blogger who just happens to have a store only three miles from my house. Barbara Jean at Treasures From the Heart has some of the best rusty, chippy pieces of anything and everything.

I found some bottle caps from another blogger friend.
Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces had a fabulous collection of them
and I was lucky enough to snag a few.

The first step was to hammer the bottle cap. I used a regular carpenter's hammer to lightly tap around the edges of the cap.

I continued working my way around the cap

until the edges had curled up.

Then I hammered the center area with the ball end of a ball-peen hammer to create a concave area or a "well".

The cap looked like this once I finished hammering it.

I filled the "well" with ICE Resin®. I rubbed the hinge with wax and buffed it. And then once the resin was cured I used

an epoxy glue to adhere the cap to the hinge.

I glued a piece of brown suede to the back of the pendant to cover the glue that showed through the holes on the back.

And then the fun began!

I embellished the hinge with wire and gemstones.

I added a black suede cord and finished it off

with a handcrafted hook and eye clasp.

I've designed several more of these Fun To Wear Hardware pieces but I have plans for them and I will have to keep them a secret for now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing With: I Gotta Create!: Wildly Original Roundup, Lil Pink Pocket: Show & Share, One Artsy Mama: Shine on Fridays, Too Much Time On My Hands: Get Schooled Saturday, Funky Junk Interiors: SNS, Knick of Time: Knick of Time Tuesday, Here Comes the Sun: Fabulous Friday, DIY Home Sweet Home: More the Merrier

Spider - part five of "a Girl and her SHOES" series

Welcome to part five of  "a Girl and her SHOES" series. If you missed the original post, you may want to check it out here to see what inspired this series.

The working title for this redo was Spider. My reasoning for the working title will become clear a little later in the post. I realize that Spider is not a very attractive name for a necklace but since it is so close to Halloween, I decided to stick with it!

The Shoes. A very unique pair of sandals that I just couldn't pass up.

The first thing I did was cut the leather straps away from the sole. I played around with the shape for awhile until I got the idea to create a copper wire frame that the straps could attach to. I cut the straps down to a reasonable size and this is what I ended up with.

 

Okay, my working title is making sense now!

I attached the straps around the frame and wired on some metallic stick pearls for that needed bit of bling. Finally, a couple of the tiny buckles (also from these sandals)

became interesting additions to the copper chain and handmade hook clasp.

 

Normally I wouldn't think of allowing a spider to crawl around - or even come close - to my neck, but I'll happily make the exception for this Spider!

Tomorrow will be the final shoe transformation in "a Girl and her SHOES" series. (At least until I find time to visit the thrift stores!) I hope you will return!

 

Sharing with: Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, I Gotta Create: The Mother Lode

Biker Chic - part four of a Girl and her SHOES series!

Welcome to part four of  "a Girl and her SHOES" series. If you missed the original post, you may want to check it out here to see what inspired this series.

Perhaps it is from growing up with three older brothers, but I have to admit...I do have a little bit of bad girl in me! A pair of leather studded boots adorned with buckles are my go-to winter shoes, so of course I would want the same in my jewelry!

Today my shoe makeovers are going Biker Chic!

 The shoes. A thrifted pair of clogs with cool studded straps and rings.

Not my size but those straps were definitely Biker Chic material!

Crystal Biker Chic

 I used the strap from one of the shoes to make Crystal Biker Chic. I cut one of the strips away from the strap so that I would have three strips. I attached a ring to the end of one of the strips and hung a couple of crystal nuggets from it. The last step was to attach a small ring to each remaining strap and add a copper chain and handmade hook clasp.

 Pearl Biker Chic

 I used the strap from the second shoe to make Pearl Biker Chic.  I cut two

of the strips away from the strap. I wired on green freshwater pearls and

finished it with a copper chain and a handmade hook clasp.

Crystals and pearls...a little bit good. Studded leather...a little bit bad. A perfect combination for any biker chick!

Confession: The closest thing I have to a bike is... well, a bicycle but I still love leather!

I have two more shoe-to-jewelry reveals to go. I hope you will return to see them.

 

Dressed Up Pearls - part three of a Girl and her SHOES series!

Welcome to part three of "a Girl and her SHOES" series. If you missed the original post, you may want to check it out here to see what inspired this series.

Wow! It's almost the end of October and the holiday season is soon to arrive. One of my favorite bonuses of the holidays has to be the parties!! I look forward to slipping on my favorite black cocktail dress and fancying up my hair. Yep, dressing up is just plain fun!

So what about the plain-jane strand of faux pearls I inherited from my Grandma?

I decided it could benefit from a little dressing up too!

The shoes. Just a fairly average pair of sandals that I picked up for next to nothing at the thrift store but I was attracted to the leather flowers and knew they had potential.

I already had the vintage faux pearl necklace. It was not perfect;
it was missing a strand but I used it anyway! I love the vintage clasp.

 

This make over could not have been any easier. I just cut the flowers off the shoes,

glued them together in a row, glued earrings (from my stash that I never wear)

at each flower center and then wired the entire piece to the pearl strands.

They can be removed at any time...nothing permanent.

Grandma wouldn't recognize her pearls - they're all dressed up and ready for the party!

I hope you will return and check out the next shoe redoux in my "a Girl and her SHOES" series!