Heart Number Five....is just Heart Number Five!

This heart sachet is made from a yummy iridescent hot pink and red dupioni silk fabric which I ALWAYS keep in stock.  I've used it for linings of handbags, trims on dresses and headpieces, and as the decorative outside fabric for clutches....I just love it.  The beaded lace was made from hot pink iridescent beads and other yellow gold and hot pink beads.  Hanging from the bottom of the heart is a handmade heart-shaped charm painted pink with a tiny little cherub lying under a rounded blog of glas to magnify the cherub.  This little charm was the inspiration for the whole design!  I have affixed a vintage earring with iridescent rhinestones to the top center as its focal point. 

The Going Away Gift for Lisa

One of my best friends, LISA, recently moved to Kansas City, and I was so very sad to see her leave.  We have known each other for over 20 years and are such similar creatures in style and design.  Her husband got a fantastic offer that he could not resist, so all of us who love Lisa so dearly could not be disappointed.  Well, selfishly we could be VERY disappointed, but not for her.....

Several of us got together and gave her this necklace as a going away gift......and we hear she is taking Kansas City by storm with it!  (Lisa adores monograms so I could not resist adding a wonderful vintage "G"--for her last name--designed with aurora borealis rhinestones.  It is in the lower left side of the necklace as you are looking at it.)

 

ON A ROLL.....

What is it about the new year that makes us feel an emergence of sorts?  And for those who do not get that feeling, a promise or resolution to ourselves somehow makes up for it.   
Mine has come in the form of creativity, and I am bursting at the seams with new ideas for jewelry, handbags and clothes.  My only hindrance.....what do I begin working on first?  
For inspiration, I sat in my studio opening box after box of fabrics, patterns, jewelry, beads, ribbons, and laces....all of which are vintage....some of which are even antique.  My imagination ran wild with thoughts of their experiences in previous lives, conversations they overheard, and places they had visited.

While perusing these treasures, I came across a vintage straw hat that had the most beautiful silk roses completely encircling it....and they were the most gorgeous color of rose pink.  A few minutes earlier I had been holding a pink pearl necklace and a pink rhinestone necklace in my hands, and the idea came to me....a statement necklace with the pearls, rhinestones and silk flowers!  I hope you like it......more pics are available for viewing at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38123522.

MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

The Thanksgiving and Christmas season were a blur for me.  I remember working long hours and spending lots of time away from my family.  Well, actually I was sitting three feet from them, but my face was buried in my laptop.  I tried to tell myself I was spending time with them, but the lack of conversation and activities revealed the truth....they didn't even know I was in the house...
My New Year's resolution?  Have all my holiday items for Etsy and holiday shows completed by October 31, so when the holidays roll around, I will get to share them with my family.  I'm already working on it, too!

At left is a picture of my latest statement necklace, MISS BALMAIN....second in a series of necklaces that feature a vintage, miniature bottle of perfume among other wonderful and unusual vintage pieces of jewelry.  The first one, called FANTASIA, can be viewed on my Feb. 17, 2010 post about Michelle Roark, entrepreneur and Olympic skier....it is pink and gold and I LOVED! the name of the perfume in that one!  Both were very fun to make!  You may see more pics of MISS BALMAIN here:  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37947622.