My religious medallions collection...
Some friends stopped by and gave me the nudge I needed to follow through with a project I had in mind. We gathered up all my religious medallions and I set to putting them into two necklaces, one with mostly depicting Madonna along with the other larger medallions. The second necklace includes the smaller colorful religious charms. I attached them with different colors of jumprings. A few of the charms have relics under a tiny bubble of glass on the back. One was chunky and didn't quite fit in with the others, so I treated like a little watch and have it hanging as though from a fob. Now, I am contemplating my celluloid toy collection and the ridiculous number of brass stampings I have. More later!
Happy 30th anniversary dish garden...
I happened to have 2 of these owl beads, so I added them to a dish garden made from a vintage casserole dish. My dear friend is celebrating 30 years of marriage, hence the pearl enhanced veil. Her husband is a golfer. I gave him a dapper look by topping a vintage shell bead with a pearl. Voila: a beret. I stopped myself when I started imagining candelabrum and little forest guests... or a tiny golf club and bag, and a suitcase for the bride!
Serving up some happy!
Etoile boutique celebrates spring!
I had so much fun today bringing some of my latest jewelry and wall decor pieces to Falon at Etoile boutique. She loved a panel of recycled plastic I brought along to show her and it ended up fitting perfectly above her shop window. Go visit. It's a really fun vintage shop on Robinson behind TG Lee, and Etoile is also at the new Adjectives in Winter Park Village. You'll see some of my work there too, like this hexagonal Herkimer diamond pendant and some of my alcohol ink paintings. 
Knife blade dangle earrings...
I bought an ebay lot of pocket knives to make necklaces. The collection included loose blades and many unusable knives. They looked like they had spent years submerged in a tackle box full of water. After a bit of percolating, here's the happy solution, just in time for Halloween. I dulled the blade, not a small task, but they are to be worn at your own risk!
My dad's uniform...
My god-brother from Baltimore is coming to visit today. His wife was very fond of my dad, calling him 'Pops.' I saved several pins from his Navy uniform to make jewelry for relatives. This one is for Nicole.
Today would have been my dad's 89th birthday, my first July 18th without him. I messed around in my studio with some of his uniform pins and an old piece of knife casing to create this bib style necklace.
New necklaces new photos...
Trying out some new ideas for photographs. The necklace to the right is photographed on a life sized statue my dad made of a ballerina based on our daugther Danielle.(below) Trying to get some good images for my etsy site!
Unhinged... the bracelet.
I carved out an organized corner of my studio so I took a break from sorting, pitching, and storing, to make a few things. Maybe finding solutions in my work space awakens creativity or problem solving skills, because I came up with some new angles on incorporating knives, crystals, and hardware. Ever since I plundered my dad's workshop months ago, I've wanted to create jewelry using the vintage hinges I found there. The piece in the photograph started out as a pendant, then showed promise as a choker. I landed happily on "bracelet" since it was time to go fix dinner. Choker, pendant, and earrings to follow.
My new flatware collection... the joy of the hunt!
You can pick up silver plated flatware odd pieces for a song, so I decided I wanted to change out my stainless steel for something a little more boho-chic. Here's the beginning of my collection. I fell short of my goal of no duplicates, but I'm pretty pleased with how the 'set' is coming together.
The pieces polished up nicely when I soaked them in water/soda/ salt solution. The tarnish lifted much more readily than the black Sharpie '$2' price marked in the bowl of several of the spoons. (2 T salt, 2T baking soda dumped onto a glass dish lined with foil. Add hot water and BAM you've got yourself some homemade dip-it. It is not safe on soft stone or pearls.)
My favorite piece is a fork with a figure on it, so I am narrowing my search for future purchases to: 'flatware with figures.' I'm looking forward to shopping for something I can pick up for just a few dollars. I like to imagine that everyone who comes to my house will have favorites, 'their' fork, knife, and/or spoon. I know which one is mine!
More toys!
I'm working up some fun little necklaces for Etoile boutique! These charms still have their silk ribbons on them, making them more valuable. They date from between 1920s to the 1940s and were used as gumball prizes, Crackerjack prizes, and as ties on liquor bottles or on loaves of the newly invented sliced bread. It took some doing, but I figured out how to incorporate the original ties. My favorite celluloid toys are the 'pearl' variety, like the giraffe below. Gotta love the bumps!
Playing with toys...
I am obsessed with old celluloid Cracker Jack toys, gum ball prizes, and celluloid toys from the 1930s that used to hang as tags on loaves of bread. I especially love it when they are still in bracelet form, retaining a touch of design influence from a collector way back when. 
A prize in every box...
I just sold this beauty on Etsy so I packaged it in a candy box, and yes, there is a prize but no peanuts. I stamped a little brass bird charm with the letters 'p-r-i-z-e.' I'm loving keeping it fun! 
Good morning whimsy!
I meant to post these birds on Dr. Seuss's birthday. I gave my dad a gift of colored porcelain clays and he was trying out all of the colors. My mother was a bit worried he had 'lost it.' We fell in love with his flock and fought over who got what.
My latest obsession is vintage Crackerjack toys. Now THAT's a party around your neck! They have a similar silliness, though with a little bit of feistiness. They remind me of my dad's Halloween pumpkin. His versions always looked mischievous.
Sometimes I wonder about these Crackerjack charms. Isn't this bird hysterical? It's kind of creepy and has a a whole lot of attitude.
Monopoly on fun...
Every year I work to come up with a new idea as my birthday gift to my friend Susan Meyer. I was late to the party. I got lost 'passing go' a few too many times. Though I arrived frazzled, the 3 necklaces that layer to make a wearable 'get out of jail free card' was a big hit. If I make enough of them maybe I can buy cute yellow Marvin Gardens.
Repurposing with a purpose...form and function.
It's that time of year again, when the consequences of the holidays bring on the compulsion to purge and organize. After searching for a rack of some sort to tidy up my collection of wire and chain, I remembered a corner shelf I had stored in a back closet. Turned on its side, it offers shelves, graduated in size and slots from which I can hang unspooled lengths. For wire off of the roll, I used inexpensive shower curtain hooks which were also handy for tiny clasps to hold short scraps of chain. I'm pretty pleased with the look, the function, and the price: free!
Navy uniform emblem and buttons...
Buttons and emblems from my father's Naval uniform turned into a nice Christmas gift for my mom.
Brownie knife, the long and short of it...
Pretty fun necklace. It includes a vintage brownie knife which reads "Be wise, beware, use me with care" and a girlscout pin, not to mention a dinosaur, chunks of pyrite, a quartz crystal (Herkimer diamond) and slices of agate on copper chain. The knife hangs from a vintage swivel clasp that dangles from a glass tablet in red orange and silver glass. A brass bird flies below a second smaller tablet and next to it is a glass shell in swirls of green streaked in cream.
A second layer of brass chain creates a nice layer when worn short, or serves as an extension to wear it long. $275
Buy one get one half off Holiday Open House...
Tuesday, Dec 17th, 2-9pm
Mimosas and/or Martinis?
Hope you can come to see my latest
creations and enjoy a cocktail in
good company!
867 Cynthianna Circle
Altamonte Springs
407 620 4246
As a thank you for your patronage, all of my jewelry will be buy one item, and I'll use this pocket knife to cut the price of your second item in half! of maybe I'll just use a calculator...
