Posts tagged ‘jewelry’

Colleen and I joined forces to make this bib necklace. The pairing is perfect, as it uses my skills with fabric and sewing and Colleen’s excellent jewelry making skills. And check out the final result! Just the right amount of over-the-top to dress up a simple shirt and cardigan combo.

This was something we’d been talking about doing for a long time, but just needed the motivation to get it started. So, what was that motivation? We’ve entered our project in the ReadyMade magazine MacGyver Challenge. The challenge was to repurpose a necktie. Keep your fingers crossed that we win!

I’ve been craving this navy and white combo ever since I read this post on Darling Dexter, so I used some scraps from men’s dress shirt overhauls to make some flower hair accessories. They are so quick and adorable, I’d love to share the tutorial with you. Now we can all wear some springy and sporty nautical bliss.

If you don’t want to wear this as a hair pin, swap out a pin back and make a broach, or attach a jump ring through the fabric, and make a necklace pendant.  But I will showing how to attach this clip to a bobby pin, my favorite way to attach pretties to my hair.

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Vintage is in and has been for a long time now and my guess is that it is here to stay. Whether it’s clothing, jewelry, dishes or furniture, there is something truly lovely about beautiful vintage goods. The whiff of memory and nostalgia, the authenticity and uniqueness, the refreshing quality of something old made new again through use in a different age. Sustainability is also a factor – there are so many talented artists and designers recycling vintage into gorgeous new things and rescuing heaps of fabric, metal, woods and plastics from overflowing landfills in the process.

My personal style is quite simple and minimalist but within that I have a collection of elegant vintage jewelry, china and silverware, much of it gifts from my dear grandmothers. Jewelry is a popular topic here on Clever Nesting so I thought I would share a couple of ideas about how to wear vintage brooches.

The easiest way, of course, is to just pin them on. I love the look of a sparkly brooch on a coat or jacket and they are lovely on sweaters, especially as a substitute for buttons or clasps. Lately I’ve also been wearing several of my brooches as necklaces. This is such an easy thing to do: string a chain or ribbon through the closed clasp of the brooch, swing it over your neck and voila, a unique and creative accessory that will leave you smiling all day long.

If you already have a few prized hand-me-down brooches try looping them around your neck the next time you’re thinking of it. And if there’s nothing sitting in your jewelry box yet, ask around at the next family gathering to see what the generations before you may have stuffed away in their dresser drawers or start scouting antique shops, garage sales, consignment stores and other treasure troves. I highly recommend the latter as a fun, indulgent and inexpensive way to spend a day and spark your creativity and the former is a great way to share in stories from the past.

Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.

This week my sister-in-law gave me a box of clothes destined for the thrift store.  I found many tanks with beautiful lace trim & decided to make lace flowers.  Here’s my first attempt after watching this YouTube tutorial.

What other ideas do you have for crafting with lace?

Here are pictures of the wire-wrapped sea glass jewelry I taught for a private class at Craft Akron this week.  The women were so much fun!  They go to Lake Erie together to collect sea glass & wanted to learn how to make it into jewelry.

My next investment is to buy diamond-tipped drill bits so I can drill holes in sea glass and teach classes on it.  As long as baby doesn’t come early, I’ll be at Monday’s Jewelry Guild meeting where the demonstration is “Drilling Beach Glass”.  And, If you want to learn wire-wrapping, I did a tutorial on how to make the earrings you see in the upper left picture.

Today while getting dressed, I decided none of my necklaces were quite right for my outfit.  So I looked through my beads and came up with this quickie.  It was just what I needed to de-formalize my dressy shirt.

Here’s how I made it:  I put the coral bead & flower bead cap on a head pin and made a wrapped wire loop at the top.  I strung it on the string, then attached the clasp with crimp beads.

In this class, I’ll help you fix your broken jewelry & get it wearable again.  I’m teaching Thursday at Craft Akron.  Here are the details:

Fix your Broken Jewelry Class

$15 plus supplies fee of $5

Bring your broken jewelry stash to class & learn how to restring or resize beaded necklaces and bracelets, reattach missing clasps, or even reconfigure earrings that have lost pieces. Basic supplies included (such as beading wire, thread, ear wires, eye & head pins), but if you have a special clasp you want to use or must have sterling silver ear wires, bring them with you.

Also, if you have a jewelry project you’re stumped on, you’re welcome to bring it to class as well.

Please preregister by at least 24 hours before class at 330-865-1100 or info@craftakron.com.

My good friend Lauren stopped by last week for a beading lesson, and here’s the necklace she made.  It was her first time using beading wire & attaching clasps.  We had so much fun working together, and I think she’s discovered a new hobby!

If you need a beginner’s lesson on necklace making, you can read my tutorial on how to restring a necklace.  It teaches what tools/supplies you need, how to layout your design on a bead board, and how to attach the clasp & use crimp beads.  Or if you live in the Akron area, I teach classes & give private lessons and would be happy to work with you on your project.

tool demo @ jewelry & metal arts guild meeting

Saturday I crammed in an Ohio Jewelry & Metal Arts Guild meeting & a quick stop to Zero Landfill. The Guild meeting was their first anniversary celebration.  They had displays of members’ work, a destash where members could bring tools/beads they don’t need anymore & trade for other items, and the demonstration was about the different types of tools for wireworking.  I’ve done some wireworking, so I was familiar with most of the tools.  But the most valuable part for me was holding all the tools to see how they handle.  I’m trying to learn the differences between, for example, a $10 pair of pliers & $60 pair.  I’m very comfortable & content with my $10 pair and have been wondering what the benefits are for upgrading.

zero landfill finds

At Zero Landfill, I got lots of fabric samples, a few wall covering samples, and a huge roll of textured wall covering, all for free!  The event is every Saturday in February, so there are still some dates to stop by.

I’m getting signs, name tags, & refreshment plans ready for our Art Supplies Swap next Saturday (Feb 20).  And today I made this pair of fringe earrings for the handmade gift exchange which is after the Swap.

The gift exchange part of the event is completely optional, but if you plan on exchanging, you’re welcome to post a sneak peek in our Clever Nesting Flickr pool.  It’d be fun to see who’s coming too.