Tag Archives: jewelry

Albany Middle School Craft Fair

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This week, in moments here and moments there, I am trying to get ready for the Albany Middle School Craft Fair. This is the third year this local middle school has held the event, and it is the first year I am participating. I hope it turns out to be fun, first, and worth the time and energy, second. because if we can’t have fun with what we make, what the hell is the point?

School craft shows can be hit or miss for the artist. Once, when visiting my mother-in-law in rural Wisconsin, I went with her to one where she was showing her fabulous domino jewelry, which she sells for between $5 and $20. It was in a school gym and it was fairly well-attended – but people would walk up to the table, pick up Naomi’s painstakingly-made work, and say – I MEAN OUT LOUD – “Huh, I could do that.” Or, worse, “Oh, this is just a domino.” Yeah, corn-fed hick, you could make it, but would you actually put down your cheese curd long enough to get up off your ginormous butt and actually do it? My mother-in-law did and she’s standing right here so would you shut your pie hole?

(Sorry, tirade over. My apologies to Wisconsin.)

Okay, so I think I have enough jewelry for the show, so I’ve been concentrating this week on cards. I’ll also be taking Naomi’s domino jewelry – perfect for kids to buy for moms and sisters, etc. I’ll also have my husband’s fabulous origami ornaments. Each star ball takes more than 30 piece of  3″ x 3″ paper and then I add a needed hanger. Here’s some of what I have made, both this week and in the past and will have at the show. If you’re in or near Albany, Calif. this Sunday from noon to 3, please stop by and support your local artisans, even if it isn’t me. And the go to my friend Janie Rose’s open studio held at her house a mile or so away in El Cerrito.

Some cards I made

 

Naomi's Dominos

 

Terry's origami ornaments

 

Memory Wire Bracelets

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Seafoam Bracelet

Sometimes it is hard to say what inspires us. I have had bracelet-sized memory wire in my bead chest for maybe 10 years. At least 10 years. I know I tried to make a few bracelets when I first started beading about that long ago, but I don’t remember what happened – what I made or if I liked it. I must not have, because I haven’t touched memory wire since.

Until this past weekend. I do not know what got me – the bug to clean out, to use up what I have, some subconscious recollection of something I saw and liked made with memory wire. Who knows? But on Sunday, I sat down with memory wire, some memory wire cutters (also 10 years old) and some raku seed beads, size 8, and some 6 and 4 mm Czech crystals.

The results? Four bracelets, each made with five wraps of memory wire. I love ‘em and wanna make more. So what did I do yesterday? I bought more memory wire!!!! So much for cleaning out!I am selling them in my Etsy store.

Green Iris bracelet

To make one of these bracelets, you will need:

memory wire

memory wire cutters

flat-nosed pliers

size 8 seed beads

24 4mm faceted Czech crystals

24 daisy spacers

12 6 mm Czech crystals

Bronze Iris Raku bracelet

With memory wire cutters, cut about six wraps of memory wire. Use flat-nosed pliers to fold back about 1/8 inch of memory wire to inside of circle formed by memory wire (this will stop beads from sliding off). String beads in following pattern: *20 seed beads, 1 4mm crystal, 1 daisy spacer, 1 6 mm crystal, 1 daist spacer, 1 4mm crystal.* Repeat between * and * until all crystals are on wire, finish with 20 seed beads. With memory wire cutters, cut memory wire about 1/4 of inch from last bead. Use flat-nosed pliers to fold under 1/8 inch of memory wire towards center of circle formed by bracelet.

Hex Cut Beads bracelet

Decoupage Jewelry

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A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by my favorite local bead shop, Baubles and Beads, in Berkeley, Calif. for some little thing when I saw their display of a line of jewelry findings, printed vintage images and gel medium you can use to make decoupage jewelry. I have to admit I flipped!

The jewelry findings are made by Nunn Designs of Port Townsend, Wash. I have never been there, but for those of you who loved the series of Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer, this is the city where Edward saved Bella from three drunk assailants and then took her out for a fine Italian meal. Gotta love a guy like that, vampire or no.

ANYWAY – check out the findings on their website. Major cool. It appears that another company, Alpha Stamps, created these fine sheets of copyright-free vintage prints that are sized perfectly to go just inside the Nunn jewelry findings. Add a few more doodads and some crystals and you are a jewelry-makin’ fool. Here’s what I’ve done, so far:

p4220140I made this sweet little necklace for myself, but I think I may give it to my mother-in-law for her birthday next month (you’re not reading this, are you, Naomi?) I used a medium-sized print of a swallow, three 4-mm and two 6-mm bicone crystals in coordinating colors, an Alpha Stamps leaf finding and some Diamond Glaze as a sealant. LOVE IT.

Next, I made myself some earrings. The first two pair are from the “Bathing Beauties” sheet of paper and the third is from the Birds sheet and is intended to go with the swallow necklace.

Venus and Shell earrings

Venus and Shell earrings

I also made a necklace for my friend Daniela from the “Bathing Beauties” sheet. It featured a 1920′s flapper in full beach wear – red, of course, as we are talking about Daniela – but was set in a larger oval finding. I used the same leaf finding and chain as I did on the swallow necklace. But of course, this being for Daniela, all the crystals are RED.

Mermaid and Seahorse earrings

Mermaid and Seahorse earrings

Aren’t these fun? And of course, if you were so inclined, you could put photos of people you know inside the findings. You’d really have to like those people! And they’d have to be mighty purty people, too.

I had a bit of trouble getting the Diamond Glaze to set with out bubbles the first couple of times around. Keep a pin and a small paintbrush handy for about the first 20 minutes after you pour in the glaze. Those bubbles seemed to come from nowhere! It also helps if you first adhere the print to the back of the finding and let it dry before you pour in the top layer of glaze.

Bird and Nest earrings

Bird and Nest earrings

Sheri’s Necklace

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My friend Sheri asked me, like, a million years ago if I would please make her a necklace like the wire-wrapped ones in my Etsy store, but more tailored to her. She went out and bought her own gorgeous sterling silver charm – a tree of life set in a circular frame, with the word “life” engraved around the sides. It is about the size of a quarter. She loves purple, so I said I would use some amethyst, and she really liked some dyed pearls I had. With a little sterling silver 24 guage wire and some size 8 purple seed beads, we were off.

Except I forgot all about doing it. Until she reminded me.

So I started it early this week and it is now done – with the exception of the clasp, which I will wait to attach until I can actually place the necklace around Sheri’s neck, thereby making sure it is a length she likes. I love what we came up with.

Sheri's Necklace

Sheri's Necklace

Detail

Detail

Other than that, I have been doing little knitting and lots of card making.

I bought a pad of K & Company‘s “Small Wonder” paper for a baby boy and a set of matching stamps from Inkadinkado and here’s my first set of cards:

Small Wonder Cards

Small Wonder Cards

They measure 4.5 inches by 6 inches. I’ll give instructions for making the “It’s a Boy” card with the rattle. Here’s a detail:

Detail

Detail

To make this card, you will need:

Blue Bazzill cardstock, cut to 6 inches by 9 inches, folded in half

White panel cut to 4.25 x 5.75

Small white panel

Patterned cardstock cut to 4.25 x 5.75 inches

Square scalloped punch

Oval scalloped punch

Scrap of blue organdy ribbon

Smoky blue ink pad

Rattle and “Its a Boy” stamps

2 small blue buttons

a 2 inch x 2 inch small square template

1. Punch scalloped square from upper half of patterned cardstock.    Adhere white panel to inside of Bazzill cardstock.

2. Open Bazzill cardstock to the inside and center patterned cardstock on inside of front panel.  Place template inside the punched-out scalloped square. Trace around template. Remove patterned cardstock and use scissors to cut out 2 x 2 inch square.

3. Close card. Adhere patterned cardstock to front, centering its scalloped square over the template square you have just cut out.

4. With front of card closed, stamp rattle with smoky blue ink in center of scalloped square onto white cardstock inside the card. Decorate rattle with glitter glue and organdy ribbon bow.

5. Punch scalloped oval from small white panel. Stamp “It’s a Boy” with smoky blue ink on scalloped panel. Adhere to card below scalloped square. Glue on buttons.

Does that all make sense? If not, leave me a comment and I will clarify.

Here’s a detail of the elephant card:

Elephant "baby" card

Elephant "baby" card

I Hate People. I Love Crafts

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So I had quite the weekend. While I was at work at K2Tog, two women came in and while one occupied me (the only sales associate on the floor) the other stole my wallet out of my purse, which was just behind the counter.

That’s bad enough. Two hours later, a man called claiming to be an “Officer McGuiness” from Alameda Police and claimed they had caught a woman passing herself off as my daughter and authorized to use my ATM card. He asked me a couple of questions (“Do you have a daughter? Is anyone authorized to use your card?”) and then connected me to someone claiming to be a Bank of America security officer. She spoke with me for 10 minutes or so – using what I am sure was a script (“Well, Mrs. Ligocki, as a platinum card holder with Bank of America Visa/Mastercard, you have 100% coverage”). And then she asked me for my pin for confirmation. Yes, dear reader, I gave it to her.

Then I asked her to connect me back to the “officer,” which she did. He was all understanding when I said I did not care about anything in the wallet but the picture of my dead dog, Bella. “I’ll make a note of that, if we recover the wallet.” Nice, huh? There is a special place in hell for these people.

So, for me it was aHAPPY EASTER!!!! Actually, my sweet husband, Terry, had a nice Easter surprise for me when I got home. he had gone to the store and bought these funny plastic eggs with goofy faces on them and put my favorite Easter candy, Peeps, inside. Then he hid them. Sort of. A Happy Egg

A Happy Egg

My husband and I cancelled all the cards and by the morning we were aware I had been scammed. A call to the Alameda Police Dept. revealed there is no officer McGuiness there. A call from B of A, checking on usual activity on our account, revealed that the woman – and the PHONY CONFIRMATION NUMBER SHE GAVE ME – were, well, phony. These folks are gooooooood. As far as we can tell, they only got away with $492 and we are, indeed, covered. But I tell you, people suck.

Okay, so what else was I up this weekend craftwise?

Friday morning was my knitting circle, and as usual, Ms. Sarah was the big show-off, over-achiever beyotchie-poo. She is making these swell socks – she probably also spun the yarn, but I was so green with envy I didn’t ask:

Stoopid overachiever socks

Stoopid overachiever socks

Sarah Smarty's Socks

Sarah Smarty's Socks

And she is also making these very cool mittens where you are doing double knitting and Fair Isle knitting at the same time. WHAT DID I TELL YOU? SHE’S A BIG OVER ACHIEVER. Hey, Sarah, when you read this – assuming you can stop knitting for a minute – will you put a comment at the end of this post and tell us where this pattern can be found? Ditto on the socks.

Here are the mittens:p4100115

Jan showed off this adorable sweater she is making for her grandson, Owen. Jan – when you read this, leave a comment saying what book it is from. I can’t remember. SO CUTE.

Owen's sweater - by Jan

Owen's sweater - by Jan

Jean came wearing a knitted vest she had made – she called it a “grandma vest,” but I think most grandmas don’t look as hot as Jean does. Jean – leave a comment saying where the pattern can be found:

Jean and her Fancy Vest

Jean and her Fancy Vest

And Ellen K joined us this Friday – a rarity lately, and we miss her very much. She is busy going to school to become a nurse. Ellen is another hot-shot knitter. She is at work on this gorgeous sweater that comes from the book A Fine Fleece. Ellen does not like to have her picture taken and I didn’t want to get poked with knitting needles, so here’s her sweater:

Ellen's Sweater

Ellen's Sweater

This is a pretty talented group, don’t you think? I’ll put pictures of our creation here every week, and hopefully links to all the places where the patterns can be found.

Today – Monday -  I awoke to find that I sold another necklace through my Etsy store. But one catch – I had already sold this necklace to a friend and FORGOT TO REMOVE IT FROM MY ONLINE STORE.  ARRRRRRG! So. After I went to the DMV to get my license renewed (don’t you love the DMV? I tell you, a trip there will ruin your faith in humanity, if it isn’t already gone. Which mine is.) I dashed off to Baubles and Beads to see if – HOPE if, PRAY if – they still had the pendant for the necklace that I bought there more than 6 months ago. Dear reader, I found it. SOMETHING is going my way.

So here’s the necklace, under construction:

Flying Cranes under construction

Flying Cranes under construction

You can see the finished necklace on my Etsy store here.

I bought another few goodies at B&B – my favorite bead store in the entire world – and will post here about them later this week. Perhaps by then my faith in people will be restored.