You can imagine my surprise when the first piece I submitted to Bead-It Today was selected for the April cover! I know this is a short post and I’ve gotten quite sporadic with my blog, but I just wanted to share and encourage all of you to keep pushing towards your goals!
I’m so thrilled to be published again in the latest issue of Jewelry Affaire (on sale today)! My “Love Letters” (originally named “Enveloped”) series as well as my “Miracle of Love” necklace were featured. I hope you enjoy them.
So I was thumbing through the latest issue of Bead Trends magazine and saw an advertisement featuring fashion designer turned scrapbooking queen, Amy Tan of Amy Tangerine. The ad was for a new Signature Series book about scrapbooking projects. Now while I’m no scrapbook queen myself, I know a cute pair of shoes when I see them. In the ad, Amy has on the most adorable aqua mint flats with little black bows.
I searched the web for said shoes with no luck, so I decided to contact Amy herself. I found her blog Amy Tangerine and sent her a note asking “Where’d you get those shoes?” To my delight, she replied right away, but not to my delight she said she got the shoes in Brazil 😦 She did let me know the shoes are from a brand called Melissa. Again, I went to the internet and searched for the coveted Melissa flats. I did find them on a few sites, but they either didn’t have my size, the right color, or they were several times what I was willing to pay.
Being the resourceful artist that I am, I decided to just make my own. During my previous web searches I’d found some cute, affordable Mossimo flats at Target.com that seemed pretty close to the color I wanted. When they arrived today, I went upstairs to my studio and after digging through my box of “fibers” I found a black silk ribbon intended for jewelry making. With a little glue, I was able to make a reasonable facsimile for under $35. I am planning to wear them tomorrow with boyfriend jeans, a blazer over a white tee, and top it off with some fab jewelry.
Melissa flats next to my version:
I say “finally”, but it was only 8 months ago that I set the goal to become a published artist before the end of 2012. I emailed Beth Livesay, then Managing Editor of Jewelry Affaire (my favorite jewelry magazine of all time) and included a few photos of pieces I thought might be worthy of publishing.
To my surprise, Beth replied quickly and asked me to send in the pieces. One day after the deadline I’d set for myself, my unique jewelry creations were included in the Winter 2013 issue of Jewelry Affaire (it hit newsstands on January 1st). I’ve since sent in several other pieces to the new Managing Editor, Christine Stephens, many of which have been selected to appear in future issues of Jewelry Affaire.
So if you’ve ever dreamed of being published, go for it! And be sure to check out my shop on Etsy StrandedInTheCity because I’ll most likely sell a few of the published pieces soon.
Have you ever experienced a moment that changed the way you design? I had a moment like that in the Spring of 2011 when I discovered Jewelry Affaire magazine. I hate to really even call it a magazine since it’s much more like a quarterly book. The photographs overwhelmed me. The techniques I saw were different from anything I’d ever imagined. Because of the talented artists featured as well as the efforts of the magazine staff, my mind was opened to a whole new world of jewelry design.
Before picking up this issue (which I’ve probably read dozens of times since) I didn’t realize I was limiting myself by only using new jewelry components. Once I realized that almost anything could be considered jewelry making media, the possibilities seemed endless. A large portion of my designs now incorporate vintage jewelry or findings or found objects. After discovering Jewelry Affaire, I bought both previous back issues (the magazine was new and only published twice a year at that point, but now it’s quarterly) and also bought up the past few years of its sister publication Belle Armoire Jewelry and I’ve bought every issue of both magazine since.
I’m very proud to announce that I will get to join the artists I admire when some of my designs are featured in the next few issues of Jewelry Affaire. Even if you’ve never made jewelry before, I encourage you to check out the Winter issue on sale January 1st. Not only will you get to see some of my work, you’re sure to be inspired in your own creative journey. To see more of my work in the meantime, visit my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity.
I just wanted to share some of the jewelry I’ve made using swags, ornate plaques, and necklace bases from B’sue’s Boutiques. Visit her shop here, like her on Facebook here, and you can even join her creative group on Facebook here!
Some of these pieces have already sold, some are in my personal collection, and some are still for sale in my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity. Enjoy!
So I didn’t see it in time to join Erin Prais-Hintz’s Toast of the Town variation blog hop, but I made my own version today anyway! You can see all the other versions at Erin’s blog “Treasures Found“. The necklace can be worn SEVERAL different ways: twisted, short, long, clasp on the side, clasp in the back, and more. I’m selling mine in my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity. Enjoy!
In my previous post Tassel Necklace Project, I explained how I created my own gold-tone version of a Stella & Dot necklace that I love, and already own, in silver-tone. I also worked on a different Stella & Dot inspired collaboration recently with my BFF Nikki.
We are both head over heels for Stella & Dot’s Windsor Tassel necklace so we decided to make our own version. We started by taking a gold colord eye pin and snipped it to the length we wanted, then cut several pieces of goldtone chain in various lengths and “strung” them on the eye pin. After creating a loop in the cut end, we attached one end of long gunmetal chain to each loop. For the next step, it helps to place the necklace on a dressmaker form (clip it in the back if you have to). We draped a few additional pieces of gold chain over the eye pin and then wrapped Industrial Chic rhinestone trim around the chain a few times (below the eye pin) to create a tassel shape. If you are not familiar with Industrial Chic by Susan Lenart Kazmer, you can check it out here and purchase it at Michael’s. The trim can be secured with wire or glue in the back. Very easy and chic, and a great DIY version of an amazing design by Stella & Dot.
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:
Stranded In The City 