Playing with Jewelry

 I've been playing with jewelry a lot lately. There's something really fun about wearing your own creations! The NEST necklace I made needed something else so I made a second piece to go with it.

I'm kinda mad that I didn't notice the chain was messed in the photo, but I'm feeling too lazy to fix it!! LOL!!  I just used stuff I had here in m studio. I wanted to keep the mix of metals so there is shiny silver, brass and tarnished silver for the chain. 

 I also really like to make stretch bracelets I can cluster together. They are so much easier to get on and off than the kind with the clasps and I can mix and match them whenever I want to. :)

I also used a key on this one. I normally tend to prefer the  tarnished silver look , but brass has been growing on me! It took lots of separate elements to make the focal piece. All of it was fused together using E-6000.

More bracelets to match!!

 This one is for when I really want to make a statement! That vintage broach is almost 3 inches of blingy goodness!!

This last bracelet was so easy to put together! I already had a bracelet that I bought several years ago that had broken, but had lots of charms on it. I just took it apart and used jump rings to attach to this vintage rhinestone bracelet! 

While I have been collecting vintage bits and baubles for a couple of years now, all the beads, wire, and findings were found at one the big 3 craft stores here in Phoenix.

I do love to play with solder too, but sometimes you just want to put something together fast!!!

I'll be stylin' now!!!

Springtime at Sweet Salvage

Spring was definitely in the air at Sweet Salvage this month both inside and out!! The weather here in Phoenix has definitely been "spring-like" for about 6 weeks now and we are soaking it up and enjoying it for as long as we can before the temps start moving into the 90's and above!!

Isn't this little wood box sweet?  Maybe I love it because of the pretty green moss and the lovely blue eggs... neither of which we find here in Phoenix naturally!!!

I would love to have a big open hutch like this, full of white ironstone and pretty seasonal vignettes. I love all the seed packets they used for this one. :)

This photo has so many things I love... white painted furniture, rustic baskets, burlap, lace, dress forms, garden accessories... oh be still my heart!!!

 There were many wonderful statuary pieces you could use both inside or out.

 I wish I would have bought him and put him in my garden. He'd be the only bunny in my backyard that my dogs wouldn't chase!!

and speaking of gardens... isn't this just fabulous??? 

 I love this fountain of silver. It's so much fun to go and look at vignettes that we would really never put in our homes, but are such great eye candy!!

I adore tarnished silver pitchers. Throw a sweet dish of Spring in there and it's perfection. :)

If your style runs a little bit French.... this dresser is divine.

Doesn't this just make your heart beat a little faster????

These cuffs were fabulous too. A girl can never have too much bling!!!

Hope spring is in the air where you are too!!!

NEST necklace

I am a huge fan of beautiful handmade jewelry. I would rather wear a handmade piece than a mass produced store bought piece any day. There are so many incredibly talented jewelry designers out there. Diana Frey, Diane Cook, Riki Schumaker, and Deryn Mentock are just a few that I cannot help but be inspired by and they make me want to create some of my own.

Some day I will be able to afford to take one of their classes and really do things right. Until then, I will have to just continue winging it, and hope each piece turns out okay!!

I made the focal piece by covering a mini Altoids tin with copper foil and soldering it. I put music paper on the inside, added the word "nest" and used Golden's  gold mica flake medium around the inside edge. I also made the birdnest with silver wire, 3 jasper beads and some fibers. I think I watched a Youtube video to learn how to make the birds nest. I used diamond glaze to attach the bird. So far it has held very well, but I imagine there is a much better way to attach it. :)

I used an ordinary thimble to make the top for the tassel. Because it wasnt one of the good old ones, it was very easy to put a hole in the top to attach the fibers and chain.

I wire wrapped the chain using silver wire and beads from Joanne and Hobby Lobby. They have really improved their choices for beads and I found some really great ones there. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I wear it all the time!! 

To see some GORGEOUS (and much more professional) jewelry pieces, check out my 

Jewelry That Makes Me Swoon board on Pinterest!!!

Sweet Salvage Find... Before and After

 It took me a little longer to get to this post than I planned!! I've been serving on a jury the past week and it has consumed all my time!! Thankfully I am finished and life can get back to normal!!!!

This is the piece I found at Sweet Salvage last month. It is your basic paper organizer.

I am always looking for ways to store small projects on my desk. I don't always finish them from start to finish so it's nice to have a place to keep them together while I temporarily move on to something else. I thought this would serve that purpose nicely, although it was a little masculine for the look I want in my studio. So, I pulled out a can of spray paint and went to work!!

This is how it turned out. :) I cut 3 pieces of scrapbook paper to fill the inside of the trays and purchased the wooden scrolly pieces at Hobby Lobby for .99 cents a pair. I wanted them to coordinate with the paper so I painted them a soft grey.

I added some brown glaze to the wooden scrolls to give them more depth and bring some more of the brown from the paper into the piece.

I'm very happy with the finished results and think it will fit into the studio very nicely!!

I am going to link up with Becky over at Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday.

I hope you will pop over and see the other great white posts!!!!

Raw and Refined... Sweet Salvage in February

Okay, I seriously just had a heart attack when I saw that it has been a month since my last post. I mean, I knew that it had been a while, but I was shocked to see it had been so long.  I guess I just lost my mojo there for a while!!!

I could blame it on turning 50... but I really can't.  When I was younger I always heard people over 50 referred to as being "over the hill."  Birthdays were celebrated with black balloons and gag gifts made to make the recipient feel even older than they were.  Thank God it was not like that for me! I am celebrating 50 with joy! I have never been as happy as I am now, I have never had as much confidence as I do now, nor as many wonderful friends as I do now. If you ask me... 50 is awesome!!

 Besides, now I am officially "vintage"!!!!!

This month's Sweet Salvage event was called "Raw and Re-fined"

It was chock full of it's usual special little goodies... (I should have bought these. I know someone did!!!)

 ...and it's dramatic vignettes!! (okay, now I need to go find a rusty old bike and set it on top of a table!... okay, maybe just in my garden instead.)

 There is a certain kind of beauty in this basket of string that only people like us get,  don't you think???

Books and Keys... another obsession.

 A special treat for this month was having Paris Montana there with all her over the top and fabulous jewelry!

Her designs epitomize the term "Statement Piece" I'll just let the pics speak for themselves....

We all like a little "bling ' don't you think???

I did bring one thing home with me, that I will be using in my studio. I promise to show you the simple before and afters very soon!!