Happy Halloween everyone! I just wanted to share this photo of me with a couple of co-workers dressed as characters from Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat In The Hat”. Thanks to tying our theme to work and writing a little poem full of company jargon, we won first place. The only downside? The Cat In The Hat doesn’t wear any jewelry 😦 I hope you all have as much fun with your costumes as we did!
This gallery contains 8 photos.
I started making jewelry about 5 years ago per my mom’s suggestion. I’ve always been drawn to the arts, but jewelry design is where I’ve really found my niche (thanks, Mom!). For the first few years I would just carry my supplies around in a plastic container and bead all around the house. For the […]
I went to my first Bead Fest this weekend with my BFF Nikki and had a blast!  I got to meet Sara Lukkonen of C-Koop Beads.  I’ve loved her enameled metal components since I first saw them on the cover of the November 2010 issue of BeadStyle.  I also scored tons of metal flowers from Donna Rasco of Unique Creations.  They will be perfect for the garden style necklaces I’ve been making lately (see my previous post “Inspiration Strikes!” or check out my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity to see what I’ve been up to).  I got an AMAZING bird bezel and tiny vintage style ornament along with a couple of tins of Gilder’s Paste at an awesome price from Beth Botak of Kabela Design.  Be sure to check out what she created with the same bird bezel in the next issue of Bead Design Studio magazine! I visited with and bought from several other vendors.  Here are a few pics of my loot.  Enjoy!
I recently made a jewelry display board to hang in my studio so I can easily access the jewelry I sell in my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity. I thought the idea came from Pinterest, but I can’t seem to find the pin that gave me the idea. I began with an old 6-pane window I bought close to 15 years ago for $6 at a flea market. First I broke out all the glass (did this very carefully with the window inside a heavy duty garbage bag. Then I used spray adhesive to attach a piece of burlap to a foam board I cut slightly smaller than the window. I sprayed the back of the window with adhesive then attached the burlap covered foam board. I drilled in a few screws to make sure the foam stayed on. Luckly, I already had hooks on the back from when the window was previously displayed on the wall years ago. I use what I call “T pins” (not sure of the real name) to attach jewelry to the board. It’s been hanging in my studio for over a month and seems pretty secure so far. I have a larger window that is long and skinny that I plan to update next. Perhaps I’ll put it in my closet to hold my personal jewelry, which is currently out of control on various stands on my bathroom counter!
So I’m not ashamed to admit that I cannot figure out how to add a photo to a comment I made on Agness Rae’s awesome post Trendy Tassels.  If anyone knows, please share 🙂  Anyway, here’s my comment and the photos of a necklace I made that was inspired by the Stella & Dot Gitane Tassel necklace that I own:
One pic shows my gold-tone version compared to the real thing in silver-tone. The other 2 show me wearing the necklace doubled with the tassel, and then long with the tassel removed (just like the way the Stella necklace works). Basically I just rosary wrapped a TON of 4mm czech beads in various metallic colors on 26g wire (I believe the Stella necklace has mostly 3mm beads but I had to work with what I could get quickly!). About halfway I added a jump ring on each side, then gave up on the rosary wrapping and just added dangles and spaced them out a little bit more (this is where mine really starts to differ from the Stella necklace). For the tassel, I just cut up some old chain, put it on a jump ring, added a larger glass bead and a lobster claw clasp, and voila!  Enjoy 🙂
I was pouring over some back issues of bead magazines earlier this week, as I often do and was captivated by Naomi Fujimoto’s necklace on the cover of the September 2010 issue of BeadStyle. I sat down in my studio and after a lot of trial and error, ended up with my Midnight Garden necklace. It’s amazing how the two necklaces can be so different, yet one inspired the other. I love this feeling – being moved enough by another artist’s work to use it as the launching point for something that’s completely my own. I plan to wear this one to an upcoming gala and can’t wait to tell anyone who compliments me “oh, it’s one of my own designs”! Who knows, maybe it will inspire someone else 🙂
The inspiration:
I have a little, red bead in my possession that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. Â I don’t recall how or when I got it and I don’t remember how old I was. Â If I had to guess I’d say it was a loose bead that fell off some jewelry my mom had, and I must have been around 5 or 6 years old.
How this bead has stayed with me for 30 years and made it through at least 3 or 4 moves is beyond my comprehension. Â Needless to say, although this bead’s monetary worth is probably only a few pennies, because of its persistence to remain with me, its significance to me personally has grown as the years go by.
So what can I do with a bead that means so much more than all the vintage gems and pricey jewels in my studio? Â One idea is to encapsulate the bead in a glass bottle and create a necklace from it. Â Thoughts?
Stranded In The City 