Jewelry Making Outside The Box

Five and Dime Style: Bringing it Into the 21st Century

What is Five and Dime Style?

In a nutshell:  Five and Dime Style pays homage to the inexpensive jewelry enjoyed by every day people back 30's to 60's.   That's when the Five and Dime STORES were king----you could get some things for the house, a coke and a burger at the lunch counter, 'unnecessary plastic objects'---as Nanci Griffith once mentioned in her monologue for the song Love at the Five and Dime .

They were also a great place to pick up inexpensive little pieces of jewelry that made you smile, gave you a little lift for the week...and always evoked conversation when you wore them.   You could spend as little as a quarter or fifty cents!  I how I know!  I frequented the Woolworth's, Kresge and Grants jewelry counters back in the day when I first got my allowance.  I spent most of it there......

I've done videos, challenges, discussed and have written about Five and Dime Style a good deal over the last couple of years.    In time I realized that it was a concept that a bit difficult  to convey to today's artisans.  We still are riding the crest of the repurposing trend.  Many frequent local fleas and shops looking for pieces to tear apart and redesign, without having much idea of design era, provenance or collectability. 

I've nothing wrong with repurposing parts of old jewelry that can't be repaired in a practical way, to original or near-original condition.   Let's not waste, but of course!

But let me ask you....what do you KNOW about that piece you are deconstructing?  Any idea of how it was made originally, why it was made, the fashion sense of the period?  Do you have any idea when it was made?   Or..... are you simply looking at it with an artisan's eye, viewing it as another crafting component, thinking about what you can do with it NOW?

Five and Dime Style research might be a good way for you to find balance between the two sides of the coin.

Recently the Group Criteria at the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group  expanded.   As before we ask for uploads of your designs made with the brass stampings we carry, sari ribbon, polymer clay, ICE resin, et al...but!  we are also encouraging  upload of photos from personal collections or photos obtained by permission, of vintage  jewelry.   

It's been really refreshing for our members (and you could be one, too, we'd love to have you!) to share pieces they've found, items left to them by dear family members, stuff that makes them smile, all these years later.

Recently Joan Williams of Lil Ruby, at Etsy  shared quite a few pieces with us.  I'm enjoying the commentary of the others as well as able to share my background, having dealt very actively in collectable costume jewelry, back before I began to make my own.

This photo came from Joan and is a PERFECT example of a Five and Dime Style vintage piece.   It's molded celluloid-style plastic and probably is vintage 50's, probably made in Japan in the late occupied period or just after.  Back in my days in the trade, these sort of pieces were easily found at flea markets....and now, have a decent---but still not high--value.   A figural of this type would be coveted. 

Why?

Because of the sentimentality, sweetness, and good feelings that come up into your heart, when you look at it.   It would have a higher collectability, for example, than the piece below, which is a more random design:

This is another celluloid molded-style plastic brooch sent by Joan Williams.

The plastic is molded and tinted.   Again, I'd circa date this as early fifties, probably Japanese during the end of the occupied period or just after.  If you have one that is marked "made in occupied Japan"  it is worth more, as there is double collectability---both to jewelry collectors as well as Occupied Japan goods collectors.

Honestly, I'd be happy to have a large collection of pins just like this.   They are still out there to be found, as well as deeply molded bangles and necklaces made of pendants of the same material.   To be sure, I have had MANY of these old 50's molded components not yet made into jewelry,  at B'sue Boutiques over my years in business and they have not always been great sellers.

Again, I think it's that among today's jewelry artisans there is little knowledge of what the parts are, or how they could be effectively used.  

This is a marvelous example of Five and Dime Nostalgia....Joan had this little set of scatters on the original card....purchased at Woolworth's the better part of a lifetime, ago.

Also worth a good, hard look is this brass brooch:

Back in my days in the trade, it was easy to find the old unlaquered jewelry made of brass stampings.  Some of the stampings that were used in those pieces are STILL made to this day....although, sadly, the ones in this brooch, also offered by Joan, are not.  The bunches of grapes are hollow....a dual stamping bent back on itself and usually riveted through the top hanging hole.  Hollow stampings of this sort were very common 30's-50's. 

Although not shown in the photo, Joan reports that this piece has the old C style catch, without a safety.  That really helps to date the piece.....the safety catches came into vogue on costume jewelry in the later 30's.  This piece is PROBABLY late 20's-30's and my feeling is that it came with the purchase of a dress.   Did you know that's how the Eisenberg jewelry became so well known?   Eisenberg was first a *dress manufacturer*; they purchased stock designs from wholesale jobbers, had them customized a bit, and then pinned the brooches to their dress line, as an add-on value for the buyer of the dress.

The brooches have survived and are amazingly collectable...and valuable.

This brass piece, however...is not an Eisenberg.  ;-)  It's an unmarked piece of unlacquered, unplated brass jewelry made from stampings much like the ones we carry at B'sue Boutiques

Lastly, I have a piece from my own collection, made by Kim Jewelry in the 60's:

The stones are vintage Czech and were probably already vintage when they were put into the bracelet.  The stampings in the piece are still made in brass.   This design is a common 'hippie chick' type piece that came into vogue mid-to-late 60's, up into the early 70's.  I had stuff like this when I went to high school.   The design is showy, and yet easy to understand....and duplicate.

And that's where this post flips over to the 21st century.  How can *you* take the sweet, sentimental Five and Dime feeling and make it current with today's findings, beading and mixed media techniques?

A few ideas that I feel are right on point:

This excellent example is provided in this before/after shot by polymer clay artist, Laurel Steven... of Rue's Daftique at Etsy

Her 'after' photo is amazing.....I love how she was able to show us the inspiration piece, and then her well-done 'take' on the original.

Another piece that evokes Five and Dime Feeling while using current findings and mixed media products is this bezel bracelet from Terry Matusyk of Pink Chapeau Jewelry at Etsy

Lovely vintage style images embedded in resin.  When I posted this photo at FB, there were many oooh's and aaah's.   The sentimentality and style of the genre is completely captured, but today's popular techniques were utilized to the full.

Another piece that Terry made and shared with us a is perfect marriage of old Five and Dime with new:

The central motif is a hand painted 50's vintage molded resin star flower, mounted to a chocolate brass filigree ring shank.   We brought the resin star flowers back from a buying trip last year, I will have to search and see if we have more.  Meantime, there may be something here that will help, if you want to try this Easy-Peasy ring idea in the Five and Dime Style:

vintage and new resin flowers

The ring shank is sold in the Ring Shanks section  at B'sue Boutiques.

Here's a ring made by Ruth Crawford of Ravin Jewelry at Etsy, using all new parts but totally Five and Dime in feeling:

I would have been delighted to have found a ring made like that back when I was a kid, perusing the Five and Dime counter.  To be sure, I did find earrings made like that....I'll have to see if I can still find them.  LOVED those earrings!

Let's play Five and Dime a bit forward, though....here is another ring that Ruth made using brass components made from 50's tooling (from B'sue Boutiques) but employing 21st century mixed media design techniques:

The center stone is old molded Czech topaz glass; the flower, little bead cap (used as a mount) and ring shank are brass made from vintage tooling in several plating shades, to give you the very current mixed-metals look.   The flower is covered with tissue decoupage, which is a very of-the-moment technique to add a new look and texture to a brass stamping.

Here is a video on how to do it:

Decoupage, Stamping Techniques on Brass by B'sue

Here is a necklace I made using these techniques (from the video) with 60's style flower power stampings and a vintage-look  German-made 18mm Mona Lisa cabochon, as well as wire-wrapping techniques:

The parts on this necklace could EASILY have been used in 50's-60's jewelry, the feeling is inexpensive but compelling, and the making of the piece....well!  What can I say?   It was JOY.

In the long run, Five and Dime Style *is* about JOY.  There is SUCH joy  in discovering the old pieces, joy in treasuring the memories that come with them.   You'll find joy in learning about them and preserving their heritage. 

Best of all, I hope you discover, as I have, the joy in the INSPIRATION,  that springs from them.

 

But Where Do I Start? Advice for Beginning Designers

You know what....

Just as the beginning designer wonders where to start their journey, I  sometimes wonder how do I begin to describe the process!

Money is tight, experimentation can be daunting, and there are so many roads to take.  

I get letters...emails.   Many ask.  I feel a responsibility to them, but time is short.   What do I say when they ask me:

Shall I begin with resin, pouring resin into bezels?

What about alcohol ink?

How do I wrap a stone?

I am on a very limited budget....I can't afford to make a lot of mistakes or buy lots of expensive tools.

Okay!  I understand, and  it goes like this:

Just like you, I'm on a limited budget, and it seems I always have been.  Even though I have this whole warehouse of cool stuff at my fingertips, I can't just to raid it every time I get the notion.   And just the same as you may feel overwhelmed by the variety of jewelry crafts products on the market, I have to keep up with them and learn to use them as well.   Which do I bring in for sale at our website?  Which do I keep for myself?   Which new tool will I be able to afford to buy next...or...

Do I need to wait for awhile, wait til more funds are available?  Or if funds are available, is it practical for what I do as an artist, and what I want to do as an artist?

AH......THAT........I just nailed it for you.

**WHAT I WANT TO DO AS AN ARTIST**

THAT!!! is where you start.

What do you want to do as an artist?   What are your style sensibilities?   What sort of jewelry, when you see it, attracts you the most?   What do you feel your design type or vision can bring to THAT sort of jewelry?

Meditate on that, and when you feel you know the answer....do the research, and then you can begin.  Otherwise you'll be confused, all over the place, having used precious resources to buy a myriad of products you will probably never use. 

With out doing the preliminaries....the meditation to decide your path, and the research to decipher how you will accomplish your goals....you will be frustrated, and focus will elude you for years.

You will end up surviving on a dream and your personal drive.  That's not a terrible thing!   But how about coupling some jewelry making smarts---with the dream and the drive?

It just makes sense! And success will ensue.

Here's a learning list for you:

1.   Go buy a nice journal, one that you will enjoy writing in.   You might want to get on that has pockets in it, so that you can clip ideas from magazines and have them at the ready.

2.  Subscribe to the main beading/jewelry making magazines.   One thing I had to do, where those magazines are concerned, was to train myself NOT to be overwhelmed by them.   Calm down, concentrate, don't just look at the picture, read the directions, consider them.

      Many tell me how intimidated they are by what they see online and in magazines.   The magazines can be your COLLEGE EDUCATION if you study them hard.   Many have online submission guidelines.  Read the submission guidelines, even if you are nowhere near ready to ever submit a design.   EVEN IF you have never made a piece of jewelry!

     The reason for reading submission guidelines is that  it will help you get a handle on trend.  It may well help you decision on the most prudent design style for your beginning efforts.     It will also help you to sell your work, which may be quite important as many self-fund the process.   Those sales will help you get more of the supplies and tools you need to take the next step, when it comes along.

3.  Join an online jewelry making group or forum.  Follow good blogs on the process, and center at first on ones that teach easy, beginning design.

Here are some good ones:

Beading Daily

Beads and Books by Michelle Mach

Jewelry Making at About.Com, Moderated by Tammy Powley

Create Mixed Media

B'sue Boutiques Creative Group

Oscar Crow Handmade Jewelry

4.   Find blogs you enjoy and follow them.   If there are blog hops and challenges, don't be afraid to jump in and get your feet wet.     Simple designs are fine.  Sometimes, simple designs turn out to be the most successful!

5.   Assemble a cachet of the correct tools.  I can't live without:

round nose pliers

flat nose pliers

a good flush cutters

jump ring tool

stainless steel bench block

hammer

center punch

rivet setter

a good sturdy awl

a small drill

hole punches of various types

a really good pair of metal shears (I LOVE!!! these )

a nail reliefing block  or fine steel wool

bail making pliers in large and small

a small torch

After that.....I would say it goes to what you want to do, as a jewelry artist.   If you want to solder, read tutorials, take a class, look at You Tube....and buy the equipment.

If you want to fold form and forge metal, then you need to learn how to use a larger torch and possibly how to use the jeweler's saw (you will never see a video from me on that.   I hate the jeweler's saw....but!  I did take classes on it, I know how.   It's just not the path I'm taking---so there you go.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO DO EVERYTHING!)

If you want to work with resin, you need to watch some videos (we do have some at You Tube  on resin work!)   and then you need to buy some Ice Resin and fearlessly begin!

If you want to patina or colorize metal, then you will need to look up info on that, get the right paints, patinas, Gilder's Paste....and start!  We also have a number of very easy to follow videos on Gilder's Paste

And so it goes.....

The upshot of it all is, you have to begin at the beginning....and you have to decide what your style is, what appeals to you most, then do the work to learn what you can.    A class, whether online or in-person, is NEVER a bad idea if you can manage it.  On the other hand, many are self-taught.  I am.  Nothing wrong with that.

SO...DIVE IN!

FEARLESSLY!

It's So Pinteresting! Will It Stay That Way?

A very short while ago I got on the Pinterest bandwagon.   Very glad I did; and!  I still am.

Pinterest really and truly is the up and coming NEW way to get yourself out there into social media. Have you considered it?  Are you a part of the fun?

First, you need  an invite to join. Someone who is on Pinterest already will need to send you a friend request and then you'll have to go in and set up your Pinterest account, via the request.  Pinterest is free, so just some basic stuff is needed.

You will then be able add the Pinterest pin button to your browzer's toolbar, it takes about two seconds.  This makes it really easy to pin photos, rather than upload them from your computer (although you can do that, too.)

You will SO enjoy  all the gorgeous photography,  the clever crafts ideas, storage suggestions, vintage clothing and costume jewelry, recipes, travel pictures.....just wonderfulness.    You can start your own boards, or collections of photos right away.  

The first thing I began pinning was a collection of pathways, as I collect them.  Very inspiring! I uploaded my own pix, and repinned others.  I enjoy going to Pinterest every day to choose some new photos for my boards.

Here is my Pathways board, prepare to sigh...and meditate:

Pathways....Where Does Your Journey Go?

Pinterest is a respite for many, myself included.  It's a place where I can go to see things I may never own, places I may never go, things I may have only once held in my hands and never will again.   It's a place of ideas, a place of remembrance.  The old saying, "A picture says a thousand words" could never be truer-- than at Pinterest.

Will it STAY that way?

Pinterest is  fast becoming an easy way for an artist to show their work, new and old, sold and unsold.    Doubtless the folks at Pinterest realized how powerful their new medium would become for SELLERS....so, there's Pinterest Etiquette

Basically, so that Pinterest doesn't become a morass of commercialism, it's advised that when you make boards, you balance them.    What does that mean?

You don't want to make a board solely of your own photos, no matter how appealing that idea seems.  Be sure to pin photos of others' work in the chosen theme for your board.  Show techniques or ideas.  Pin blogs with appropriate credits to the blogger, if you pin from a blog---it will get the blog hits and new followers, so that's a great thing to do!  Plug the blogs you love!   Then after you remember others first.... pin a few of *your*  things.   You can even pin stuff you have on ETSY....there's a Pin It button now on every listing.  You can pin your stuff...AND, you can pin others.

When you do this, you play nice and you level the playing field so that MANY people can get a shout out for a job well done, a great idea, a fabulous find.   

You may also comment on the pictures at Pinterest.  Commentary should be lightweight and complementary.  If you can't do that, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't disgrace yourself by saying something less than kind at Pinterest. 

Wherever possible, when repinning at Pinterest, trace back to find the original owner of the photograph.  Usually that's just a few clicks, and you've got it.   If you can't find it, and want to repin, please acknowledge that you don't know and would love to know.  Someone may offer the information via comment, and then you'll have it covered.

Same way if you lift a picture from Pinterest and put it on your Facebook:  CREDIT the original pinner, photographer, blogger, artist.

I  pin a lot of pictures from the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group and try to do that, always crediting the artist.   It's been a great tool, I am so glad I joined Pinterest for that reason alone.  I love to plug great work shared at the group, and this makes it effortless.  A number have told me they sold their items quickly because of my initial pins and others' repins.

You can check out the Copyright Infringement Page at Pinterest as well, good to review that and carefully consider the in's and out's.

One last thing:  Don't pin photos that should be kept private.   That's not what Pinterest is about.   BTW:  you cannot directly pin from Facebook.

That's probably a really good thing.  ;-)

I want to thank my wise friend, Wendy, for bringing this subject up yesterday and the roundhouse conversation that resulted.   She raised some questions that  made me look inward and think of my own motives in using Pinterest.  I've thought ever since, long and hard, about my own role in social media and how I could use it to serve my enterprise as well as serve others in better ways.

In the long run, if you use social media to self-promote your business, it's about two big factors:  the people you love and support at home....and the people you serve.    You'd never want to use social media in a way that wasn't fair to all of them.

Use the power of Pinterest like Luke used the Power of the Force....LOL....in the RIGHT way.  Let's keep Pinterest....pinteresting!

 

 

OH! The Joy of Patina

There have been quite a few JOY books over the years, we all know what they were/are....LOL

Though  I don't have a book for you---not yet, anyway!   I do have a design gallery, a bunch of tuts, some YouTubes....and new stuff comin' up, too.  You see, for me, it's not the Joy of Patina....

It's OH!  The Joy of Patina.   As in, OH OH OH! it's just TOO much fun.   So many ways to go, so many paths to take.

You can go with chem dips,  serious patina washes, ammonia, salt, vinegar....torches!  Yep, you can just run your torch over brass and stand back....and be amazed!  (BTW, torch patina must be sealed....I like Renaissance Wax

PAINTS will do amazing things over brass, too.  Yep.  Acrylic paint.   If the other stuff scares you, don't feel left out.  An artful hand and the right colors of paint can work miracles over a brass stamping.

Today I made a new Pinterest album full of some of my old experiments and photos and then....a bunch of pix I found AT Pinterest that led me on a side journey.  Sure, I'll share!

LINKS FOR PATINA FANS:

Patina and Patina Patterns to Peak Your Creativity    watch for this album to grow handily in the months to come, as B'sue Boutiques will soon be introducing more colorization/patina products.

Love My Art Jewelry Blog   A very cool blog you may want to follow for great patina, metalworking and jewelry craft ideas.     I was very tickled  to see that the lastest contributor at this blog was Erin Prais-Hintz, who will soon be contributing projects to the B'sue Boutiques Tutorials Page  

Some ideas/pix  from Love My Art Jewelry Blog are on the Patina Board I just made at Pinterest.

Here is the basic tutorial for my Oven Bake/Vinegar/Salt Patina:  http://www.bsueboutiques.com/pi_cool_ways_to_age_brass.shtml    Remember you always need to start out with CLEAN, DEGREASED brass for this method!

Want to watch me do it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctp5xFW7XJM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hwY6gwL30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hwY6gwL30

There are even more colorization videos at the B'sue Boutiques YouTube Channel

and BUNCHES !! more to come!

 

Going Beyond "Just" a Bead Cap

I always say, a great bead remains simply great...until you frame it with the perfect bead cap...and then.....

It  becomes spectacular!

That's one of the reasons bead caps are a big love of mine and  a fave finding at B'sue Boutiques.    I have  literally drawers full... always jealously stashing and hoarding until the drawers can hold no more.

Did you know we have around 70 types of bead caps at B'sue Boutiques?

Those  little buggers wield the power  to make your design POP!

Michelle Mach of  the Beads and Books Blog  challenged herself recently to take some of the bead caps at B'sue Boutiques to the next level.   Wanna see some pix? 

These are found here at our website:  http://www.bsueboutiques.com/item/Rosy-Copper-Three-Petal-Flower-Cup-9089

Michelle took a hole punch to them and now!  They are polka-dotted:

Ohmigoodness!  I can't wait to try this idea!

Come on over to B'sue Boutiques to the tutorials section to see the full story with all of the directions for this project....and another one as well, which also shows  the  quite unexpected use of our filigree cone cap, SKU cap48:

Beyond Bead Cap Basics: Easy Earrings

Feel free to print out a copy for your ideas  folder in your workshop.

Thanks, Michelle, for a fabulous tutorial!   We'll look forward to your next one!

 

Inspiration......Five and Dime Style, Bakelite, and Polymer Clay

Inspiration comes from so many places.  

As far as polymer clay is concerned, however, I took my initial cues from THE BAKELITE JEWELRY BOOK by Davidov-Dawes......came out early 90's.  There have been MANY since.   This is the OLD Five and Dime Style jewelry AT ITS BEST.

I have always been a big fan of 20th century plastic jewelry; composition, celluloid, bakelite, hard plastic, lucite.    Looking at this book, however, my creative heart lept up and cried!  FIMO!   Let me try stuff like this in FIMO......I think I can, I think I can.....

I think YOU can, too....and should.   First, to inspire:

Here's a photo I found at Pinterest the other day; it's a very valuable and rare red bakelite heart and key brooch:

Here are some of the ways you know a piece like this is bakelite....first the FEEL of it, which of course since we only have a picture, you can't do...but bakelite is thick, chunky, slick.   When you briskly rub it with your thumb, your thumb will smell like formaldehyde.

All findings would be inlaid (as you can see, they are).  Never glued on.   Also, you can see the material is not molded, but carved.  Inside that keyhole you would see marks from carving.   If you see mold lines, I'll lay you odds it's not gonna be bakelite.   Can you see the small dark spot on the key part?  That would be from the inlay of the pinback on the other side (which of course we can't see here.)

You can do this, and better, with polymer clay.  You could try to totally reprise the piece in a bright red, and then get the gloss by  buffing on a muslin wheel---or other methods as described in the polymer clay instruction books.

Better yet....be inspired.  Take the shape, the feel, the vibe....and bring the Five and Dime nature of this brooch forward to 2012.  How would you do it?

Here are some bakelite (bakelite being a phenolic resin that also contained wood filler) and wood composition  pieces that I own:

The yellow flowers brooch is a two part brooch and is a better piece.  It's the only one of the better pieces I had, back when I was dealing in bakelite jewelry, that I ever kept!   Sigh....but anyway:   The back (not shown) is an ebony black ring that is screwed or sort of even riveted to the back.   Not REALLY riveted...you wouldn't want to do that, it would crack.  But looks like that sort of thing.   The bottom piece is an Art Deco dress clip with inlaid brass wire, it is not a highly collectable piece but still very very nice in the translucent swirly root beer color.  

The top piece is not bakelite, but carved wooden cherries on a composition leaf base, strung with the same sort of string that so often, was used to affix the bakelite carved cherries to a 'log' base, on the cherries brooches, which are very desirable.  The wear is to be expected; many of these pieces have wear as they were INDEED *real* Five and Dime Style jewelry from back in the day, not made from high-end materials.

About 12-13 years ago I made my own version of the cherries brooch.  It is far from perfect as a freshman endeavor....but I did love it and wear it often:

I used a form of craft wire called Twisteez for the cherries, in fact I'm working on getting that for the website again.   It's the closest thing to old phone wire that works, unless you want to use coated string which is virtually unavailable, and really, it didn't endure well, then....and it won't now.

Originally the piece had leaves, I kept the last one that fell off ( I wore this ALOT!!)  and the one you're seeing here flipped over when I made the photo, so that's the back.   Doesn't look so good.  See my holes?   We want to ream out our holes nicely whether working in clay, ceramic, whatever.   I am still working on getting that better and better.  I love to see a good, round, clean hole in clay/ceramic.

I do like how the bow part came out!   I think the piece was glazed with Fimo Lak, which I used to use back then.   The Sculpey finishes work as nicely and are less toxic.  You could use a light coat of resin, too, but you'd have to be careful....you might have some dripping off the round bead.

Here is a closer look at the vintage 30's wood cherries pin:

This gives you a real nice idea of how it was made, and how you might try it...in clay...and refine it. The little cherries are actually on old brass headpins!  

Here is another cool idea made of vintage hard plastic buttons---probably 50's, but could be older:

Wait til I show you the back, to see how it is composed:

Just wire strands, looped through the buttons, then bunched, and the bunch wound.   Reminds me a lot of how I made this brooch a little while back:

Anyway.....Five and Dime Style ROCKS, and it's the base inspiration for everything I have ever made as a jewelry designer. 

It comes from my love of old things, my days in the trade as an antiques dealer specializing in vintage jewelry.   The thrill of the hunt and the big score were BIG rushes, I won't lie to you!

But the inspiration of holding a piece of old bakelite in your hand and thinking....now how does this translate to mixed media?  surpasses it all a HUNDREDFOLD.

We were just all made to create.  That's what B'sue Boutiques is all about!

So....take it to the next level....take it to the limit.   Where will YOU go with this?

PS....here's a newspaper post about a big bakelite auction....you might find it interesting:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2009/12/bonhams-butterfields-auctions-vintage-bakelite-jewelry-draft.html

 

What Do You Do When It All Goes Wrong?

We've all heard the cliche expression, "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade".

And.....we might get tired of hearing it, too! 

 Sheesh, these days, some of us are just plain tired.  Who wants to make lemonade?  LOL  More like some really strong coffee might do it....in my case, anyway!

Winter malaise?  Perhaps.  Economic blues?  I hear ya, though they say things are starting an upswing.  Just stuck, stalled, in a rut?  Hmmmm.   Well, getting in a rut is part of life, especially for creative types.

The trick is....how do you get out?

I find this photo extremely inspiring:

This fantastic design was crafted by Ruth Crawford, of At Home With Ruth    Ruth is has been an active participant in many of the B'sue Boutiques challenges as well as at the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group    She is also a very active blogger, loves creative design...is quite good at it...and...

is 70 years....young.

Ruth's project started out one way and ended up another.   Long story short:  the drill slipped when she wanted to make the holes in her heart blank.  The whole thing was mightily screwed up.

What NOW?

Ruth artfully zig-zagged the heart in half, drilled some more holes and laced the whole thing up with wire.  She added color and patina along with the tiny wings stampings from B'sue Boutiques

Wrecked and ruined to completely salvaged....and possibly, a new door opened to more ideas.

I'm sure we all have a story like that!  I won't bore you with mine,  the truth is, I'd rather hear yours anyway.    Feel free to share them,  or links to blog posts about your failures that became successes, right here.  

I've also opened a discussion about Recovering a Piece When It's Gone Wrong at the Creative Group.   If you are a member, you can post your experiences there, as well!  I hope you will.

And if you aren't a member:  consider this your personal invitation to join.  ;-)

 

 

 

 

Are You A Reader....Or An Eyeballer?

When people learn to make jewelry, sew, crochet, embroider, paint...whatever thing!  Maybe even, repair computers!  I find that  they usually learn by one of two methods:

1.   They read.  They can follow directions, understand the step one, two, three process, follow it, make sense of it, achieve success by looking at diagrams and studying print.

2.   They can't stand to read.   They are very tactile, very visual, they must be shown.  

That's why for example, written tutorials with some step out pictures are good for both types.   You get the best of both worlds!  Directions AND photos----you can read, you can be shown.

Videos and classes are better for others, they want to watch....and then they want the teacher to go away and they want to do it themselves without someone hanging over them as they make their attempts.....come what may.

For yet others, a picture in a magazine, on a Pinterest board, in a book may suffice.  Or, perhaps, an attractive display in a store.   Many's the time, back when I used to sew, that I'd see a dress in a catalog and say...I can do that.   I'd go through my patterns drawer, find some patterns that had similar parts, pull them together, make some alterations and make it work.

WELL....SOMETIMES it worked!

I gotta tell ya:  I'm a big time eyeballer.  I love to read, but the pictures and being shown do it for me, personally, every time.   Even though I don't always succeed!

For some time now I have been so intrigued with the idea of making fabric flowers, you know, those little twisted balls  of fabric spun, wound and folded, tacked at the end and voila, you have this sort of cabbage rose thing that you can now sew to another cabbage rose thing until you build yourself a necklace, or maybe if you are truly clever some sort of a scarf or maybe a collar for a necklace.

The idea of those turned and wound balls of fabric or ribbon were the inspiration for my sari ribbon necklace:

Now then, I'll be honest and say, I LIKE this necklace...it's all over the place, stylewise, and the colors are a real riot.  The rolled and twisted thing is working okay.  I'm not embarrassed to wear it and I have, and I enjoyed wearing it.

But, I eyeballed fabric flowers and I can't say I quite "got" it.  Even though I showed how I made it in a video!

Today at Pinterest I found a really cool, very straightforward tutorial from a popular blog, Cherry Street Cottage

Realizing I needed to stop eyeballing and discipline myself to read, I think I got straightened out.  The great photos didn't hurt my eyeballing soul, though:

Fabric Flower Tutorial

You, too can learn to make lovelies like these:

When I see stuff like this, I don't see decor items, I see jewelry.   A little smaller, a little less thick, but jewelry.

This evening my intrigue got the better of me and I started a new Pinterest board:

Mixed Media Ideas: Jewelry with Fabric, Fiber

It's late and I've only just begun my research.   It's not that we will be carrying lots of fabric and fiber at B'sue Boutiques......but I realize more and more how swell the stuff goes with the gorgeous American made brass stampings and findings we carry, as well as polymer clay.

And, to be sure, I'm always thinking of what we could do about carrying a few more flowers, or ribbon....just because I love to play with it and think you would, too!

Anyway, enjoy the tutorial, maybe you could leave a comment on their blog and thank them for it, if you like it.  I think it's really great, I'll be following this blog.   Checking out sites and Etsy shops with fabric, fiber, crochet jewelry  will be a fun bit of research......what can I say.

I DO LOVE THOSE PRETTY PICTURES.   I'm an eyeballer!

This Idea Girl Found a Really Great Idea...But It Wasn't Hers

I'm always saying, I'm the Idea Girl, you take this idea, and run with it....and let me know how it goes.

I say that on my You Tubes  all the time!

Well here is a GREAT marketing idea, and I didn't come up with it...I ran across it today on Lori Anderson's blog, Pretty Things    In case you don't know Lori....she's the genius that came up with one of the beading circuit's best-loved and best-known blog hops, Bead Soup Blog Party

Okay, here's sort of how it goes:  you make arrangements to visit a busy office at lunch break.  Maybe you have a friend or relative that works in an office complex, so maybe you can work it out, that way.

Take a bunch of earrings of all sorts...everything in your creative range....ready for sale, at attractive, impulse prices.   I'd add, keep in mind the popular colors of the season, and if you happen to know what color of metal sells best in your area, keep that in mind, too.  For example, my friend, Kate, sells at a busy Farmer's Market every Saturday, and while she does things in all metal shades, they really love a good silver finish or sterling, there.

BTW: shameless plug here:  we have one of the best 99.9 percent fine silver over brass finishes you will EVER find at B'sue Boutiques   and....lots of stuff to make REALLY cool earrings, fast! 

More ideas:   Here is my Easy Peasy Earrings gallery at Pinterest:

Easy Peasy Earrings!   (I keep adding to it all the time....if you are a member of B'sue Boutiques Creative Group  and post your photos regularly, I always go there to look for stuff to pin!)

BUT .....I digress.....

Lori shows on her blog post how to also make handouts via a postcard, so that you can continue to book more lunchtime appointments....or, even home parties.    You can see her postcard made at Vista Print

If you really enjoy one-on-one selling close to home, this approach is perfect and I can almost guarantee you it would work.    When I visit my doctor at the Cleveland Clinic in Independance, Ohio, I sometimes see where someone has set up with jewelry close to the lunch hour, in the lobby.   Not quite sure how you get into a building like that, but perhaps if you offer to give them a percentage of the cut for charity, etc, it might work out.

Never know if you don't ask....and never try!

Anyway, be sure to check out Lori's blog post, Jewelry Marketing and Earring Strategy

Take that idea and run with it!  I'm sure she'd like to know if you tried it and it worked out for you, too!

Organic Design by Marian Harmon

No matter WHAT you are putting together, designing is a process which can be accomplished a number of ways.

Many sketch before they begin to hammer, sew, paint, saw.   As far as jewelry is concerned,   I've seen intricate sketches that were works of art, in and of themselves!   A sketchbook is never a bad idea.....I  wonder personally how many good ideas came in my head, and then, poof!  right back out again, never remembered, because I didn't take time to jot down a basic sketch.

I like to draw....but sketching....well!  it just doesn't work for me.   And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!

Designer Marian Harmon will be the first to tell you that she, too, is a very organic designer.  Like me, she has trouble sketching out a design and keeping to it....although she does admit doing some loose sketching. 

For the most part, she says, she enjoys taking pieces , moving them about on her workspace as if they were puzzle pieces....until it feels just right.

Then, she may rearrange them again, just for the 'what if?' of it all.  

She may change her mind several times during the execution of the design.   Something that starts out to be a bracelet may well end up becoming a necklace.   A piece of scrap metal left from a previous project comes into play, and now is part of the design, or becomes a separate pendant.  

Here are some examples of things that Marian has done that took turns and twists in the road...until the final destination was met:

You will probably NEVER guess what Marion made this bracelet from....it began with a dented bezel.   Then the bezel was pounded FLAT.    Hmmmm....what if it were scrubbed back, patina'd....and then cold connected?   The result is this amazing cuff.

Marian made this bracelet for our Easy Peasy Bracelets challenge at the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group at Flickr  :

The side sections are actually necklace centerpieces for lavaliers, made from a very old die (tooling).   I must say, however, I have seen this very piece used in vintage pieces, just this way.   It makes an excellent side station for a bracelet design.   Marian has added her own patina recipe to scrubbed back plated pieces, and quite effectively.

Another example of organic design is this simple pendant:

Marian had a little bit of ICE RESIN left from a batch, and needed to use it up.   On her workbench was this nifty bezel and a little filigree part (I think we were throwing these in some of the goody bags that week!)   She placed it in the bezel and poured, just to see the effect.   Very pleasing!   She says it reminds her a bit of an ancient compass under water.

And that's just it:  some of the greatest designs aren't elaborate.....and many are born from simple experimentation.     Another example, is what she did with this embossed copper ox plaque that I was clearing in a package lot at my backroom Etsy store :

She just stood them on end, drilled them and connected!  I NEVER thought to do that with them.   It's a really handsome design!

Marian has just opened her Etsy store:

Marian Harmon Designs

Her goal is to fill it with things she loves to make:  organically designed pieces that feature found items, unexpected objects, and dark scrubbed-back patina brass employing metalwork techniques in a Bohemian aesthetic.

In the past, Marian has specialized in designs for plus sizes, so hopefully she will place some plus sized pieces in her new store as it goes along, as I'm sure she will find a ready, grateful audience for them.