Let's just start out with my disclosure of material connection and then on to the good stuff.
I was so excited with the Rings n Things goodie bag I just got, I literally ran to my work bench and made this necklace. I combined the shell pearls, fresh water pearls, and crystals with my lampwork beads to make more of a good thing....borrowing a line from an Emily Dickinson poem, I'm entitling this "A Slash of Blue."
Thank you for the awesome lampwork hearts, red and black crystals and black filigree you sent me! I mean they were so cool! I made a sweet necklace with them after I read this totally inspiring poem by Destiny Avaritia:
I heart the way you look at me I heart the way you smile I heart the way you walk by me Every once in a while
So I was thinkin' it'd be a totally cool necklace if I added in gunmetal chain, a lobster clasp and jumprings I bought from you last year. Oh I can't forget to add in my disclosure of material connection too so the government doesn't get mad and junk. I had a hard time taking a good photo with my phone so I used my regular camera. I can't wait to show it to my friends, don't you think it's sweet?
Russ is in my studio this morning encouraging me to make some beads but I want to talk about something else first. There's a discussion going on with bloggers - I don't really get the details but essentially it's about truth in blogging. Meaning, if a jewelry supplies company offers me products that I can blog about, then I should be telling you.
I do.
I prominently display the Rings n Things Blog partners badge. I tell you when I've gotten a goody bag from R&T. That's considered payment by the way.
No secrets.
I buy from Rings n Things too. So, not everything R&T is part of the blog partners, some is bought and paid for from little ol' me. You'll know the difference because I'll tell you.
No secrets.
I'm not here talking up any product from R&T that I don't like. If I get something from them in a goody bag I can't use, I don't use it. If I like something and use it, then I tell you.
Honest.
Open.
No secrets.
I like Rings n Things, it's why I'm a blog partner.
I got a little package from Dave of Rings n Things showing off some Swarovski cubes. Ooooo! What kind of quick earrings could I make? Since I'm stuck on gunmetal lately, I used R&T gunmetal findings and leverbacks, paired them with bali silver beadcaps and had a quick pair of pretty summer earrings.
Easy enough but if you'd like to make them yourself, here's the materials list:
Two 8mm Swarovski crystal cubes in any color you love
Two, 1.5 inch gunmetal headpins
Two 3mm or 4mm crystals in accenting color to the cube crystal
Two bali or bali style sterling beadcaps (here are some very similar to mine from ArtBeads.com)
Optional - two 3mm or 4mm crystals in accenting color to the cube and other crystals listed above.
Tools Needed:
round nose pliers
chainnose pliers
flush cutters
Directions:
String onto the headpin in this order, small crystal, beadcap, crystal cube and if you want, another small crystal.
Make loop at top using the round nose pliers (trim length if necessary with flush cutters).
Use chainnose pliers to open the loop you just made and attach to the leverback earring finding.
Done!
I like these quick projects. It uses up my stash and it can add to a summer outfit. Have you made a quick fashion project lately? Something to accent your wardrobe or update your jewelry?
You make it into a necklace! Remember I showed you the ceramic components I got from awesome Nancy of The Rabbit Muse? I used the gunmental chain I got from the R&T Bead Tour to make this quick necklace. I use a grass jump ring to pull out the green in the blue-green oval. I've hung a pewter charm with my favorite mantra "be" in the middle. It reminds me to to let go and just "be."
Do you have jewelry that reminds you of something or someone?
Lesson Learned: Never shop and find the perfect pair of jeans on your lunch hour.
So here's what happened: Last Saturday, as I was pulling a 10 hour shift at work, I decided I would go out during my lunch hour and look for a pair of jeans.
Why I don't know. I just felt I'd had enough of The Teen making fun of my "Mom Pants." I want to explain the "Mom Pants." Moms wear "Mom pants" because as women we all know that whether you're a size 0 or a size 28, trying to find a pair of jeans that fit well is a journey to frustration. Once you find that perfect pair of jeans, you buy as many pairs as you can afford because you're likely never to find them again. So "Mom pants" are the perfect pair of jeans that have gone out of style.
Problem is, they've gone out of style. So it doesn't matter they fit, it's time to update. Otherwise, I look "old."
But, how am I going to know what kind of jeans to buy? I need good advice. Where do I get it?
I'm a huge fan of TLC's What Not to Wear. I've watched my fair share of episodes giving advice on how to dress.
I love WNTW because they dress real women who aren't models and can be hard to fit like me. Besides, I love the snarky, sarcastic comments all made in good fun - in the end, they always make the person look good.
So on Saturday, I felt armed with the proper advice and ready to face the jeans rack!
I started my search at Macy's. I looked around and finally settled on trying on a pair of DKNY jeans in my size. I didn't read the tag hanging from the side of the jeans describing exactly what they were - I was looking for particular features and by looking at the jeans, they had all of them.
Tried them on and they fit like a dream!
I read the tag: "slim fit."
LOL! Slim fit? You got to be kidding me! That couldn't be right, I'm not slim!
I had to be wrong so I went out and picked up a few other jeans based on the tag description.
None of them fit right.
I tried on the DKNY slim fit again. I wasn't dreaming, they did fit perfectly.
Hmmmm....I guess I don't know what "slim fit" means. If I had read that tag, I would never have picked up those jeans to try on.
Anyways, I picked up two pair of the jeans and decided to look at my cell phone to find out how much time I had left.
It was 5 minutes.
I had no other choice but to drop the jeans and run back to work.
I knew once I did that, the elusive perfect jeans would never be found in a store again.
I went back, I was right - they were gone! Some other woman had found my perfect jeans and snatched them up!
Sigh.
Do you feel my pain?
Lesson learned. Never shop for the perfect pair of jeans on your lunch hour - unless you're paying attention to the time! :-)
On a bead related note, let me give you a good look at the lovely chain I picked up last week at the Rings n Things Bead Tour.
I love those hammered links and rollo chain in the antiqued finish. What I'm really stuck on now is the gold and gunmetal chain. I love the gold links - I'm grooving on the narrow ovals and the happy sunshine-y quality of the gold. The gunmetal chain has a sparkle to it you can't see in this picture but it's there!
I've realized though I don't have any clasps in plated gold for the gold chain. ARghhh - I always overlook something when I go shopping!
So share a jean story with me or how you'd use the chain and it will enter you into the drawing for Glyph Inspired beads.
List in hand, I arrived Thursday to the Rings n Things Bead Tour. Tried to get a good shot of myself outside but seems it's not that easy to take a picture of yourself in front of a sign. I took picture after picture trying to get the sign in but either I was out of the picture or the sign was. So, since it's my blog, I chose the picture with me in it rather than a great picture of the sign.
A nice "my space" shot isn't it? You're right, I DO need a brush! But who cares about hair when there are beads to be had?!?
I grabbed a tray and made a beeline for the findings, chain and wire tables. I'm a tactile person so I like to touch and see items if I can. If I can't it won't stop me from buying based on good pictures and descriptions but this was a chance to use my sense of touch.
I had chain and navy blue on my list. I loaded up on chain, antique copper, antique brass, rollo, hammered links, plated gold and gunmetal. All just what I'd been looking for.
Next, I sought out navy blue. What's great about The Bead Tour is if you've been to one, you know the floor. The stones are organized by color so I just walked around until I found navy blue. Picked up a few strands of beads trying hard not to look at anything else.
But I had wandering eyes and looked around and before I knew it a pear green colored set of beads caught my eye. I love the combination of pear and chocolate brown. The beads had both colors in one strand of beads. I had to have them.
See - pear and chocolate brown right there! Aren't those beads gorgeous? Ok, so now I decided I had to apply tough love to myself and put my blinders on. I determinedly went straight to the check out line.
But drat!! As I'm moving up in the line, suddenly I'm mesmerized by a sea of....
....RED! Red coral in chunky sizes. I picked up a strand and started to roll the beads around in my hand. I turned first one set then another set in my hand, mesmerized by the organic quality and the color. Red is a mesmerizing color, it will grab your attention and not let it go.
I bought the strand of chunky red coral. The red contrasts nicely with the pear/chocolate stone beads.
When I got home from The Bead Tour, the news reported the death of Michael Jackson. I've written alot about punk, new wave but my musical taste is very eclectic. I love pop music too.
Music highlights your life. A song or video may play in the background and years later you'll hear it and those memories flood back.
I remember vividly one Sunday night when I was in elementary school. I was watching the Ed Sullivan Show with my family and we watched a new group of kids perform. I was mesmerized by all of them and especially the kid who was out front - Michael Jackson.
The Jackson 5 was cool, the music amazing and Michael was a kid like me!
I watched in rapt attention anytime they did a commerical. I watched the cartoon and bought the 45's.
Yep, I wore out "I'll Be There" on the stereo playing it over and over.
I grew up.
Michael grew up.
Then he recorded,"Off the Wall." A perfect album.
Disco, yes.
Perfect, yes.
If you listen now and watch the video to "Don't Stop," yes, it's disco but it's full of energy! Michael's handsome - pre-plastic surgery and you can see the resemblance between he and Janet. Michael was crazy cool.
The news played the video of the first time he moonwalked - I was watching the actual night he performed, it was electrifying. If you watch the video, the crowd screams because it was so new, so different. There's no other way to express it - ELECTRIFYING.
When things started to go badly for him, I rooted for everything to work out well for all. I rooted for Michael to be better. Afterall, I felt like he was a classmate in a way - the same generation.
When we all move on from this life, I believe each of us prefer to be remembered for the positive energy we put out into the world. "Man in the Mirror" isn't Michael Jackson's highest grossing song yet it's full of hope and heart that we can do good works in the world if we put our mind to it. Like so many of his performances, Michael Jackson is mesmerizing.
Hand formed French earwires coupled with my torchwork Ivory Bling Links and Rings & Things Lava round beads make an organic set of earrings. The ivory, brown and silver will go with any outfit - and in fact, that's what I've been wearing these with - any outfit!
So now, you've seen two sets of lovely earrings done with the ivory bling links, Lava and Ivory Bling Links and Loopy Tuesday...hmmm maybe I have something with the alliteration of "L" in earring design? Or maybe I should keep going and see just how many different designs for them I can come up with. What do you think?
I mentioned my bag of goodies from Rings and Things a couple of weeks ago. You might wonder why I got a bag of goodies from them. I was invited to join in with Rings & Things as a blog partner. I get a package of goodies from them to use and share my opinion of the materials
What did you get you ask?
Steel cable chokers in a range of sizes and colors with magnetic and screw clasps. Since glass is substantial, I preferred the screw clasps so the necklace and beads remain securely on the cable.
My designs and free jewelry projects are often modern and clean in design to enhance the beauty of my handmade glass beads. The steel cable chokers have a contemporary style befitting my design sensibilities.
I looked through the different cable chokers and the blue choker caught my eye because it was the same shade of aqua blue as the glass bead headpins I made a few years ago.
(photo of cable choker courtesy of the R&T website.)
Several years ago, I prototyped transparent glass headpins on sterling silver wire. Confident in the design and the durability of the glass/metal combination, I was excited to finally use them in a design.
I'm calling this necklace, Ellipsis, an oblong shape remininscent of the form of the glass headpins.
