All posts tagged: jewelry

make it pretty.

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On my last visit home my Mommy set aside some broken jewelry to be fixed. She usually packs them all in a baggy with a note that says broken or Can you fix these? It’s basically become tradition for me to take a container of broken jewelry home for fixing. I use my the Bead Smith tray to keep all the beads in place as I create pieces. Sometimes I can fix the pieces to look like the original jewelry; sometimes she let’s me get creative and I add some beads from my current stash. Here’s what I’ve been working on. I love creating long necklaces to showcase beads. I’m not super confident in working with stretchy jewelry (I feel like I can’t get the knots right to be secure.), so I prefer working with beading wire. My current favorite is Soft Flex brand which I use in all my necklaces. For all of these necklaces I’ve combined some of my Mommy’s jewelry with my bead stash. She has a broad collection of jewelry so …

favor.

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Favor in Berkeley is filled with colorful jewelry, treats, and gift items for all your fun friends! I visited last month during peak Christmas shopping times so they also had a great assortment of ornaments, too. There’s something to look at everywhere you turn. Take your time because there are some hidden gems – like felted mushroom garlands! And kitten zippered pouches and balloon animal ornaments! And appropriately inappropriate bracelets. And tequila necklaces. What a fun visit! The owner even treated us to bon bons and I went home with a mushroom garland. Have you visited Favor? Share your favorite gift shops below!

felted necklace.

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I had leftover felt pompoms from my Awreatha project so I decided to make pompom necklaces for gifting! This is a fun and easy DIY to add to your holiday make list. You will need: felt pompoms (I used 1″ poms) beading wire (at least double the length of your felt pom pom row) sewing needle chain (at least 20″ per project so it fits over people’s heads without needing a clasp opening) crimp beads (2 per project) wire cutters scissors crimping pliers Line up your felt pompom design. Measure out two pompom design lengths of beading wire. Begin threading your pompoms, leaving even tails on both ends. Cut 20-24 inches of coordinating chain. Thread bead wire through a crimp bead, through the last chain link, then back through the crimp bead. Crimp the crimp bead to secure the wire. Sew the bead wire tail through the first pompom then trim. For the other side, thread bead wire through crimp bead, through other end chain link (make sure the chain isn’t tangled), then back through …

bead thangs.

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As part of backyard birthday celebrations, in addition to tie dye festivities, my friend Angel led a beaded necklace craft. Ooo, there were so many beads to choose from. I ended up chosing matte black, white, cream, pinks, and gold. My go-tos. For this project we used Miyuki Delica size 11/0 beads, beading wire, bead glue, and spring loaded jewelry connectors (the black line in the photos). For mine, I went freestyle, but you could also plan out a pattern. Tahdah! I made a long necklace. It could also be a 5-wrap bracelet. It’s super delicate and fancy! 🙂 I’m always hesitant to use jewelry glue in my jewelry projects. I’m not fond of the smell, how if it gets on your skin it hurts, and I never trust that I will actually make my project sturdy for wear. But thanks to Angel (adult supervision!) I feel good about this project. Bead much? Share what you like to make below!

sip & shop.

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I coordinated a lil private jewelry shopping party at Covet! Something about having a whole store to yourself feels so fancy! Shop owner Adrienne is a long-time jewelry designer and shop keep. And she’s my maker friend! 🙂 Her space boasts a jewelry bar where you can mix and match your favorite charms, her whole collection of jewelry, assorted locally handmade goods, and special finds from all her travels. The shop check-out area doubles as her work space. Brilliant! We looked around the shop at least three times each. It’s a small shop but there’s much to see. I made a gift list so I could shop for specific people and occasions, which was really helpful because – oh, look at this cute sparkly thing. Yea… Thank you to Adrienne for hosting a fun event for me and my crew! If you’re in the SF Bay Area and want to host your own Sip & Shop, contact Adrienne to set it up! Sip & Shop birthdays, graduations, just becauses, Wednesday nights, …. And then we …

jasper and gold. 

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Michaels held a free collar necklace making event, and the first fifteen guests scored a free gift. I’m a sucker for freebies so of course I went. Plus, I was hoping to pick up a jewelry tip or two! I might have arrived early to shop and be one of the first in class to snag a seat and a prize. They gifted us a Glam and Go bag and a create necklace – perfect for all crafty days! It ended up being a small class so they gave each of us a freebie second helping. Double score! I dabble in jewelry making, but I never officially learned, nor have I ever made a bold statement piece like a collar necklace before. This class was a good introduction to larger bead/stone use. I chose the above green stones, which we’re guessing are of the jasper variety. Michaels provided the rest of the materials and tools for our projects. Our instructor for the evening was Cindy, an avid beader and overall fun lady! She’s got an awesome collection of …

the ladies of blue door. 

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Blue Doors Beads features a jewelry artist each month (Remember when I debuted my Elmwood line?). Last month, the Blue Door Beads staff shared their creations with us and everything was gorgeous! These Ladies are so creative and skilled in their craft. Briana I had purchased one of Briana’s pieces before as a gift so I was excited to see what new creations she had for tonight’s event. I fell in major like with this piece. I was sold when I found out she created the metal piece by hand. Dara / D. Lea Studio Dara is an artist extraordinaire. She teaches a number of classes at BDB and she’s got mad photography skills. I’ve been eyeing her electroforming class on the BDB class calendar. I can’t wait to take it! Lydia / The Patina Project Lydia is one of the friendliest faces you’ll ever meet! Her pieces are both light and airy, and bold and show-stopping. Rumor on the street is she’s opening up an online shop soon. Sydney / Tropikali I just met Sydney on the …

elmwood.

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Ah! It’s been a while but I was busy prepping for a jewelry show! Yup, yup, I have my own jewelry line now. Welcome to Elmwood! In 2011 I decided “Hey, I’m going to make jewelry for myself.” I walked into a bead store and simply asked them how to bend and curl wire. I took a liking to the process and the rest is history. I started with earrings and worked my way to bracelets and necklaces as I learned more about jewelry wires, cords, and findings. The name Elmwood comes from the neighborhood in Berkeley where I used to live. My crafty jewelry friend Linda and I would make jewelry together when she came to visit. As you can see, I love earth tones with pops of colors, particularly pinks and golds. I like making asymmetric pieces meant for layering. Blue Door Beads featured me at their Third Thursday event this month. Who knew I would ever be a featured jewelry artist! Though I don’t see myself selling my jewelry full time, I do plan on continuing to create, gifting pieces …

golden dishes.

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I was in the market for a ring dish, but I thought hey, why not make my own? Here’s what ended up happening… Materials & tools: Decoupage glue – Art Minds is my favorite brand (from Michaels) Contact paper – I chose gold. (Remember when I made my treat containers?) Dishes – Surprise! I found these in the kitchen section of Ranch 99. Scissors Foam brush How to: Cut out shapes. Try triangles, squares, lines… Peel the protective coating off the contact paper and stick onto dish. Apply an even coat of decoupage glue. Allow to dry. Repeat. Simple shapes make these jewelry dishes look real fancy. I like the Art Minds decoupage glue brand over other brands because it’s more matte and not sticky feeling when it dries. Tahdah! A place for my rings to live for when I’m not suppose to wear them. Now you try! 🙂  

hey crafty lady!

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Ooo wee! It’s workshop recap time! A few lady friends and I spent an evening at Iris Willow‘s studio to learn the art of enamel jewelry and it. was. fabulous! Iris is a super talented artist and she creates enamel and mixed metal jewelry in all the fun shapes and colors. She is new to the teaching game, but we couldn’t tell. Her workshop was super fun and easy to follow. Iris made the whole process novice friendly. The hardest part was deciding what piece to work on and what color enamel to use – we could pick up to three colors. There were over a dozen shapes and 24 colors to choose from. You do the math – that’s a lot of combinations. We started by reviewing all of the materials and tools. We got to use some really fun stuff, like a 1200 degree kiln. O_O Iris demoed each step, we sketched out our designs, and we were off to create! The process: clean, hairspray, add enamel, bake, pickle, clean, hairspray, enamel, bake. …