Vintage Brooch Re-purposed

This vintage brooch with its unusual color combination of brown, green and pink, was in a stash of a customer's mother's jewelry, entrusted to me to make into something wearable...

 It just didn't fit with the other brooches, which mostly went into one large, "statement" piece...

So this week I took beads from another piece from the same customer - a set of various glass beads knotted onto gold-toned cording - and use the best ones to make the square brooch into a wearable necklace.

Not all the beads here were created equal - some were made of colored glass, others were clear with a color coating, which was coming off. But there were plenty in the brown and green shades needed.

In my own stash, I found a near perfect matching earring - just had to replace one bright green rhinestone with a deep pink and I had a perfect match.

The strung beads on the necklace were augmented with a large Swarovski crystal and a few other vintage beads.

The clasp was custom made from shiny brass wire to fit the scale of the piece. Sure hope Marjorie enjoys wearing her mother's unusual brooch.

More Groovy Garlands

Actually, these are more romantic than groovy....

What can you do with stained glass scraps, a few beads, leftover wired satin ribbon and scraps from a failed sewing project? Ta da!! This yummy combination of olive greens and caramel browns. And yes, you must remove (tediously) the wire from the satin ribbons or it won't hang right!

This would look great hanging in a gloomy office cubical! Measures 42" from hanging points.

Do they permit that sort of thing??? Then there's this dramatic silver silk and burgundy swag with the coolest mirror glass . . .

I finally found a place to use some faceted garnets along with some burgundy beads actually taken from real, vintage Mardi Gras beads, from back when they really threw out glass beads instead of the pressed plastic they use now.

This one is 37", not counting the end fringe.

Adding to the Family Tree

I decided our Fisk Family Tree (see previous post) needed a visual for the entire Fisk Family. So I added one of my little beaded fishies....

Since FISK usually means FISH [English (East Anglia): metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller, or a nickname for someone supposedly resembling a fish in some way, from Old Norse fiskr ‘fish’ (cognate with Old English fisc)] that seemed the most obvious choice. Of course, there is also a French derivation [(Origin French) From Fisc, revenue, public funds] but how boring is that?? Hmmm, of course, that could mean it would be a money-tree but that's not too accurate.

With Dale's love of fish 'n chips, my love for sushi and everyone loves salmon....fish it is!

Etsy - again. Seriously, check it out

Wow, twice in a week an item from my Etsy shop has been selected for a Treasury  (read, co-promotional selection of cool items on a theme, selected by another Etsy seller).

This time an artist from Turkey included my Apple Core Beads in a grouping about Autumn Colors. Thanks, Sema! Had a great time exploring the various items in this group. Love the birds...

 
The thing is, none of her items are in this grouping. So I had to go check out ZuZu's World. She lives in Turkey and does Turkish lace - with traditional scarves and shawls, but also making jewelry with individual flowers she crochets and connects into long wearable strands. Very cool. Reminds of "long ago days" when I wore daisies on my prom dress. Yep, I'm that ancient.

So while I'm exploring Etsy, I stumbled upon something completely different....a guy who makes clocks using recycled items....like old computer hard drives,

tape deck reels, record players, dead Apple iBooks (yep, it happens).Shop is called PixelThis. So if you need a gift for a geek, or a lover of electronic gear this is a good place to shop.

Favorite Colors - Desert Sky

One of my favorite color combos of the many bracelets I've made from my original pattern "Ahead of the Curve" which was published in Step by Step Beads Magazine in 2009 is this combination I call Desert Sky. I am always partial to turquoisey-aqua-blue beads and this combination used a matte bronze 8/0 hex and a bronze 8/0 metallic bronze hex from Beadin' Path.

It's amazing how bead sizes differ, even with beads marked 8/0s. But the graduating sizes is what really makes my pattern work - the changing bead sizes and thread tension make the curves curve....

I also used this bronze hex bead in another color combo I called Amber Sky. It's in there between the 11/0 amber round and the bronze twist hex. Someone purchased this one so it's gone, but I'm trying to be fanatical about taking photos of every piece finished.

Bead Sources

Recently, a peyote-stitched beaded bracelet pattern of mine was published in Step by Step Beads. If you are looking for the EXACT beads I used, check here. I have listed my sources, to the best of my ability. My bead stash goes back a while and some exact beads are not currently available from the same sources.

Published!!

The March/April issue of Step by Step Beads (published by Interweave Press) has arrived, along with my first published beadwork pattern. I usually don't get too excited, but I have to admit, this feels really cool, especially since they used my bracelet project on the cover.

This gives a serious boost to the confidence and makes me want to do more. NOTE: If you can't find this in stores, you can purchase it online.

Are you also a beader, jewelry artist or other creative type? Look for opportunities to show your stuff. Seriously, you might have come up with something other people would love to see or try. Step by Step Beads has two things going right now - the 2009 Bead Arts Award has a categories for clay, glass and mixed media beads, plus jewelry and beaded objects. Deadline is May 1. They also have a Colorworks challenge - to make jewelry using the orange-purple-green tertiary triad.

Look for calls for submissions on the websites of your favorite art and craft publications.

Check the links, read the rules, take some pictures, and send your creation to someone! The worst that can happen? They say "no thanks"....but they might want you! Go for it!