August 1, 2020, Vintage Jewelry

I can not believe it's the first of August!  This year is flying by. I spent my day with the granddaughters and I'm exhausted.  Plus I sewed them each a new mask.  The 7 year old wanted a celestial one and the 5 year old wanted an Elsa (from Frozen) one.  Children's masks are pretty quick to whip up and I only made them one each.  But it was still exhausted.  We had a late dinner and I decided that today I was not going to post a So I'm going to take a day off.

But I am going to share with you something I had been working on in between all the other projects I have going on.  I got this at an estate sale.  I cleaned it up and removed all the old rhinestones and replaced them with Swarovski crystals.  I'm still trying to figure out what it is. Is it for your hair or for a scarf around your neck?  Once I figure out what it is I think I will be putting it in my web store.  Anyway, this is what I have for you today. Come back tomorrow for a card.  I'm on a short break!

Thank you for understanding and stopping by,
Wanda

Beaded Jellyfish Pendant Necklace

Today I would like to share with you a beaded jellyfish that I made.  What was most amazing was that I actually had the beads here to make it.  I have zillions of beads but when it comes to making a project, I often don't have the right size or color.  I did have to improvise a bit on the very top of the jellyfish because my opening was a bit too big, but I just kept repeating and reducing the pattern until the opening was big enough for the headpin.

This jelly fish was made using glass pearls I had actually gotten at Michael's during one of their big sales.  I liked them because they were a rainbow or maybe AB glazed white pearls.  There were four strands on one hang tag. I bought it because I liked the fact that I got four different size pearls to work with on one purchase, plus they were pretty.  Yup, pretty really sells it for me!!!

The pattern listed pink pearls for the smaller ones but I didn't have any pink. But I did have the correct size in cream, so that is what I used. I made what I had work because what I had was the right size.  I am trying not to order more stuff I don't need before I try using what I have and so far I'm doing pretty good. I will never use up my bead stash but I am sure trying to make what I have work with what I want to make.

You can get the pattern for this jellyfish here.  I will have this necklace set up for sale in my webstore.  I just wanted to make one, I didn't know what I was going to do with it.  So I decided to sell it and move on to another project I have already started.  You can see it in my secure webstore here.

Thank you so much for having a look,

Wanda

Beaded Piano Keys Bracelet

Today I'm going to share with you a bracelet I made last month and just added the clasp today.  I am notorious for making bracelets and not adding the clasps. I'm going to be going through my beading stuff this year and pulling out all of those almost finished projects!!!  I will probably post them in my web store (cheap) to get rid of them. I have too much stuff here!!!

I found the detailed instructions on YouTube.  You can see it by clicking here.  It's very easy to follow along.  It is not in English.  My husband asked me if I could understand what the lady was saying and I told him "of course I can, she's speaking "bead"!"  LOL 

Beading is one of a handful of my passions.  I stamp, bead, knit in my knitting machine, crochet, I work with polymer clay (Sculpey, Fimo, etc), wire, PMC (precious metal clay), and some painting.  That doesn't leave much time for housework!!  LOL  

So here it is.  It's finished and it's actually sold!

Thank you for indulging me!
Wanda

Beaded Bracelet

Today I took the day off from card making and thought I would play with some beads. I had found this fun bracelet on You Tube. It was easy to follow, though I did modify it a bit so it was more solid and not so wobbly.  

I just needed a break from stamping and I had missed beading. 

I plan to make some of these and put them in my web store.  I will be back to card making tomorrow.

I'm off to make some more bracelets!

Have a wonderful day,
Wanda

Sterling Silver Spinner Ring

Wednesday night I was at Sarah's Quench Jewelry Arts Studio with my fellow employees and a few others, making this ring.  It was our Christmas gift from our boss.

It was such a fun glass and a great group of gals to be with.  

I burnished my ring but wished I hadn't afterwards. I can tumble some of the darkness off it.  Though it does look darker in the photo than it is in real life.  

I thought I would share this photo with you.  I ordered some of the patterned silver in the center part of the ring (the piece that spins around the ring) so I could make some rings for gifts and to sell.  Keep an eye out for when I post them.  I will add them to my web store when I finish them.  Tonight I am looking for my metal cutting scissors and my ring mandrel.  Both are lost!!!  UGH!

Thank you SO much for having a look at my fun ring,

Wanda

Craft Fair

I am getting ready for the yearly craft fair and I thought I would show you one of the items I will be selling.  I have a lot of projects going on and I'm trying to finish up at least one each night.  Tonight I was able to finish the "believe" necklaces.  I probably should have had some Christmas type background card for them but I didn't.  I may have to look into that for next year.

These are such fun necklaces.  Behind the Santa hat is stamped a snowflake. I should have slid the hat over so you could see it.  I thought the center of the piece needed something.  If the hat should swing or move off to one side I thought it would be fun to see something there instead of a blank area.  I used Swarovski crystals in red, green, and clear.  And I used a 20" Sterling silver-filled (not plated) neck chain.

I hope these will be a good seller!!  I did have a lot of fun making them and I can always use them as gifts too!

Thank you for visiting today.  The stamping project will follow.
Wanda

Mother's Day Gift

I don't know why I have so much trouble with the orientation of these photos on here!  UGH!  So you have to look at it this way, sorry.

This is the necklace I made for my daughter-in-law.  Our granddaughter Paige was born before Mother's Day last year so this is our daughter-in-law's first Mother's Day.  

I took a copper disk and hammered the edges a bit and then stamped the words:  "your first breath took mine away".  I had gotten the letter "P" for Paige at Hobby Lobby.  Then the fun part and my most favorite part!  I had taken a profile photo of Paige and shrunk it down to about the size of a quarter and I printed it out.  I had to make sure I had a picture of her that had a very light background so I could get a good outline of her head.  Then I cut her little head out of the copier paper.  I had purchased some PMC 3 silver (Precious Metal Clay) and I rolled a bit out thinly onto my work surface.  I set the paper head on top and traced around it with a thin needle.  I poked a hole in the top for the jump ring to go in and I let it dry for a couple of hour.  Then I sanded it very smooth. The more sanding you do at this point, the less you do later!!!  Something very important to always remember!  Once I got it smooth on the flat sides and all edges it was ready to "fire".  

I set the head on a fireproof kiln brick and got my micro torch out and began the firing process.  Once it was done and cool I sanded it quite a bit.  I had some marks on it from the binders being burnt off. And when the sanding was done I used silver polish and I polished it up.  Once the PMC silver clay is fired it is .999 find sterling silver.  How cool is that?  I polished the head to a mirrored shine.  It turned out a lot prettier than it looks in the photo.  It's a beautiful piece of silver and it's got a special meaning to it because it's the profile of my granddaughter!  So this is what I gave to my daughter-in-law for Mother's Day!

And a Happy Mother's Day to you all too!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Bird's Nest Earrings

Today I'm going to share with you some earrings I just finished making.  I was playing with some Swarovski pearls and wire.  I made some birds nest earrings to sell in my web store.  

I'm SO looking forward to spring and I thought that some spring type earrings would be fun to make.  What screams spring more than a nest with robin's eggs in it?  

I worked with my camera  to get a better photo. This is is the best I can do for a photo. I think it catches the detail in the wire.

You can find the earrings here in my web store.  I tried to enlarge the photo in the store.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Sir Windchill Beaded Pin

Today I am going to share with you the beaded snowman I designed.  I had a lot of fun making him and he is not that hard to make.  It does help to know how to do a Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW).  You have to really think 3-D when you are doing it but once you get the hang of it it goes really fast.  

I had made about a dozen of these for the craft sale.  And I've made a few more since.  I have a few finished ones I will be putting in the web store too but today it's just the pattern for sale.  You can purchase it in my web store.  The snowman measures approximately 1-3/4" tall by 7/8" wide (at the bottom body part).

I wanted to share my creation with you.  It's a little break from stamping.  Sometimes we ju

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

If you have any problems getting the pattern in the web store, please email me.  I use PayPal for payment.

Frosted Finishes Embellishments Necklace and Earrings

I saw these somewhere on the internet and decided to make a pair for a sweet friend Terri.  I work at The Garden of Beads in Anoka and I bought a couple of feet of chain before I left work on Wednesday.  When I got home I added a jump ring to the Embellishment and put it on the chain.  Then I added jump rings to the ends of the chain and a clasp.

For the earrings I added jump rings to the Embellishment and and attached it to a pair of pierced stud earrings.  I didn't want to do ear wires because I wasn't sure that Terri wore wires. Either way the earrings would be pretty!  After getting it all put together and on the display bust for a photo I wanted to keep them myself!  I still have some embellishments left (I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to stuff like that - BUT I'm trying hard to use up my stuff now.  So another pair of earrings and necklace would help use up 3 more pieces!!! LOL  I could probably make one more pair and sell them at next year's craft fair!  That would leave me with one embellishment left!  Hmmm, maybe I can come up with a card for it between now and Christmas!  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

It's Pumpkin Time!

Last night was beading night.  Every 3rd Friday of the month there is a great group of gals who meet to bead, chat and have fun!  The group keeps growing growing.  We all have a great time and we get to see and visit with each other.  We also share what we have made since the last time we were together.  Some have quite a few new things to share while others have a few or even none!  Not everyone gets time to play with beads.  I had brought 3 bracelets with me.  One of them was this pumpkin bracelet.  I had made the pumpkins using Sculpey polymer clay.  I rolled them, detailed them and then baked them on a rod.  I put Sculpey glaze on them and let them dry.  The next day I assembled the bracelet.  I had made these last year but I couldn't find the same color of green leaves.  But I am really liking the darker color leaves.  So now if I can't find the one color I can always opt for the other color!  You can see the other pumpkin bracelet here, the one that used the lighter green leaves.

I was informed yesterday that my new beading website and store is almost ready and I will be adding some pumpkin bracelets to the store!  I will keep you posted on that.  I do have a few more pumpkins on hand so if you want a bracelet before the webstore goes online just email me and we can discuss the details! A note to you Spammers and Phishers, my ISP has a great spamming filter so you will just be wasting your time trying to fill my email box with your junk.  What I find so sad about these people is, do they really think we will buy anything they are trying to sell, especially the way they go about it?  I will never buy anything from anyone who got my email address from some other source and constantly emailing me to purchase things.  Fortunately I won't see those emails to see what their junk is that they think I can't live without.  Ok, off my soapbox now!  LOL

Because I was SO into beading last night I did not have time to play with rubber stamps.  I am working on a fun project and I will be sharing that with you when I have it finished.

Thank you ever so much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Beaded Bangle

Today I thought I would get away from stamping and finish up a beading project.  What is really sad about this project is that all I had to do to finish it was to bury or hide the threads.  So sad. I think I didn't finish it because I didn't like the way it turned out.  It's my very first bangle and I used too many beads. And isn't the first time you do something a learning experience?  I know that the next one I make will look a lot better.  All of the beads will be evenly distributed around the bracelet.  Ok, here they are around the bracelet but bunched up because I wasn't really sure what I was doing.  And the end results showed me that I have too many beads at the beginning.  My plan is to make another one. It's not a difficult bracelet to make, just a bit time consuming.  And of course I will share with you how the next one turns out.  I may even put it up for sale in my web store.  I won't be selling this one as it doesn't not meet my quality standards!

The pattern for this is found in the Bead & Button 2nd annual Best of the Best books.  I'm not sure if that is what the book is called.  I'll check on that and add it to this post (in red) so you can find it if you want to make one of these yourself.  Just remember, when the strip is long enough so the ends touch stop and move onto the next step!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Earrings to Match

Tonight (after the garage sale stuff) I found some time to bead with a friend and I finished these earrings to go with that necklace I posted 2 days ago.  I just need to add the earring posts and they are ready to be boxed up with the necklace for a gift to a special friend.  I was glad I got to bead, it keeps me sane!!! LOL

I enjoyed making these and I have one more pair to make, which I plan on selling.  They may make it to my web store. I will post it if I put them up for sale. 

I am keeping this post short tonight.  I need to get a few things done tonight and then it's up early for the final day of the garage sale.  It's a big and busy day.  It will be a constant flow of traffic with very little breaks of people.  It's crazy but fun.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda  

A Little Glitz, A Little Glamour

Today I am going to share with you a necklace I made.  It happened by chance.  I was at work a couple of Friday's ago and the night before my boss had called me at home and told me that she had a job for me to do when I got to work.  It was to bezel around a big Rivoli.  In non-beaders terms that meant she wanted me to bead around this big diamond shaped crystal.  When you bezel around something (these things usually don't have holes in them like beads do) so you can make it into a pendant or add it to some metals.  I had just finished beading around the Rivoli when the gal who wanted the piece done came into the shop.  She had asked about the smaller Rivolis.  I had no idea so I call the boss and she has me bezel around 2 of those too.  When the bossy boss (Jill)!! LOL came in we discussed doing another smaller Rivoli for the bracelet, just in case.  It doesn't take long to do the small ones and when I got it done we were checking around the shop for some metal findings to set the bezel on and then have that go on top of the bracelet.  Oh, I didn't describe the bracelet to you. It was just 5 or 6 strands of 4mm Swarovski coral colored pearls that matched the 6 strand draping necklace.  When she picked up this metal piece and set the Rivoli in the center, my eyes lit up!  Fortunately for me it didn't work for the bracelet and I bought the metal piece along with the Rivoli and some flat back rhinestones. Those are seen in the flower centers and on the leaves.  I bezeled the Rivoli and glued it in place, added the flat backs and set it all aside until the morning.  Then I added the chain, jump rings and a clasp.  I am going to make a pair of earrings to match and when I get the last one done I will share that with you too.

So this is my excuse for not having a card to post for you!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Sir Windchill

Today I am going to share with you one of my creations.  This is Sir Windchill.  He is a beaded snowman.  I had been working on him off and on for a few months.  Sneaking a little time here and a little time there to work on him and now he is finally done.  I was smart enough (this time) to write down the instructions as I made him so I could write it up at a later date and do the diagramming.  The diagrams take me a long time to do. Well, to me it's a long time (it sure feels like it!).  I'm not all that familiar with the program so it does take me a lot longer than someone who had some schooling on it.  But I muddle through and I get the diagrams done and that's what counts!

I will be getting the pattern out for this in a few weeks.  I have a lot of other things I need to catch up on first.  Plus, in my neck of the woods not too many people are liking snow or snowmen right now. We really have had enough!  

I will keep you posted on when the pattern for this guy is available.  And I'll be making some of these to sell as well!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Ho Ho Ho Santa Earrings

Just for a little change of pace today I am going to post some fun Santa earrings.  Aren't they cute?  I am going to wear these when  I work next month!  They are such fun and they were fun to make too!

 The Santa was originally a bookmark but I thought they were earrings so I made a pair.  Be sure to check out her website.  There's a cute pair of brushed silver beads Snowman earrings.  SO adorable too!

I have a few other "Santa Theme" items for you and no, they are not jewelry, they are stamped and paper craft items!  It's time for Santa stuff, isn't it?  

So, how did your Black Friday go?  Did you go shopping?  I posted last night that hubby and I were going to go to Wal-Mart.  Well, we did BUT.   It was crazy there.  I could see the lot was full before we even turned onto the road to the store.  I told hubby we could just forget it but we went in anyway.  We parked about 1/4 mile away.  We were on the far side of the whole shopping center's parking lot!!  Not a big deal, it was a bit chilly and windy but the snow had stopped.  Plus hubby said he wanted to see what this was all about.  Silly man.  Then we got in the store and all the craziness started.  Hubby and I got separated and of course, of all times to forget my phone at home!!! UGH!  Then the crowds in the movies they had on special were unbelievable and the people were a bit rude.  Some paid no regards to you, they just pushed in front so they could see the movies.  I think the store could have done the display on them much better to avoid that kind of mess there.  I found 3 of the 5 movies that were on my list.  We found a couple of toys for the family we buy for and I found hubby so we decided we were done.  We got in line to check out.  It started in the clothing department which formed a people maze.  At one point I became claustrophobic.  There were racks of clothes on my right and stacks of clothing on my left (both higher than I was.  You couldn't move forward and you couldn't go backwards.  When we finally got out of that clothing section and turned the corner we were told to form two lines.  You couldn't even see one line.  We looked across the area and the people maze was 8 rows wide.  We moved 2 feet in 10 minutes and I told hubby that I was done.  We turned around and hopped over their roped off area.  We put the stuff down on one of the clothing stands and headed for the door.  What a nightmare.   So I say NEVER again AND you can quote me on that!  When I got home I went online, found the movies I wanted and got close to the same price on two, less than Wal-Mart had on two of them and one was the same.  And get this, free shipping!  Silly me.  I'm SO for online shopping!  I will probably do some store shopping after this weekend but as for this weekend, the remainder of it... I'm HOME!!!  LOL  

And I didn't think I was going to be able to post tonight, I was having some issues with Chrome and my blog.  I didn't need anymore computer problems.   It's amazing how dependent we have become on computers!  And when I get done here I'm going to stay away from the computer for the rest of the night!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Pumpkin Patch Bracelet

I was playing with clay the other night and I thought I would make some pumpkins.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them until I was at Bead Basics the other day and bought some leaves, bead caps and Rhondells.  For you non-beaders, the Rhondells are those pretty gold colored beads just after the pumpkins.  The bead caps are on top of the pumpkin and hanging over the pumpkin.  They kind of look like gold leaves.  And of course,  the leaves are those green leaf looking things between the pumpkins!  LOL

I am not a bead stringer.  I am a bead weaver.  I like using the needle and FireLine to make my bracelets.  Stringing beads is an art in itself and I rarely do it.  But after I made those pumpkins I knew where I was going with them and this is what I came up with.  These will be available for sale as a kit at the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar on October 20th-21st, 2012 at the Hopkins Eisenhower Community Center.  So tomorrow I will be making and baking pumpkins in between a few loads of laundry!!! I LOVE playing with polymer clay so any excuse I can get to play with it the better!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Here Comes the Bride

For something a little different!  Today I am going to share with you the necklace and earrings I designed for my niece for her wedding.  I was following a different pattern I had found somewhere on the net but was having a lot of problems with it.  The pattern had you pull all the thread you needed and then you worked from the middle to the ends.  Not a big deal but the part I don't like about beading like that is you have the other end with that extra thread hanging or wound up but either way it's in the way.  So after struggling with the pattern and getting a few inches done I could see that the design wasn't as pretty as I thought it was.  SO I decided to design my own necklace and this is what I came up with. 

For those of you who like to bead I will have a pattern up in the web store in week or so. I have to make 3 more sets for the wedding party plus something simple for the flower girl.  I will share them with you as I finish them.

My niece did see this but not in it's completed state.  She loved it and it looked SO pretty on her!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Dahlia Adornments Earrings Weekend Project

Today I thought I would play with the new in-color Dahlia Adornments.  When I started out I was thinking of something in the line of an embellished card but I ran across a pair of earring backs and thought the adornments would fit on them nicely and they sure did!  SO I headed for the drawer I keep my glues in and hoped that my E-6000 was not dried up!  It wasn't so off I went to my worktable.

Then the next issue was what color of earrings should I make?  All the colors in the container were so pretty but I only had one pair of earring backs!  So I opted for the Raspberry Ripple.  I know my sister is going to LOVE these!  I may even make some for the fall craft fair.  I have lots of flowers left from last catalog.  It's a great way to use them up!!  And it's not very expensive at all to do either!

You can click on the photo for a closer view.  I didn't have my big camera battery charged so I had to use the one on my phone so I wasn't able to get as close as I wanted to.  But you know what earring backs look like and you can see the flowers so I guess it worked out well enough!

You can get those earring backs at Bead Basics. Just give Jill a call at 763-717-4200 and she can get them sent out to you so you can get your earrings made for gifts and to sell.  They would also make a great Stamp Camp project, Customer Appreciation Gifts, Hostess Gifts and of course Craft Fairs.

These are fun and very easy to make too!

Thank you SO much for visiting, 
Wanda

Have a Heart

Saturday is a benefit for my co-worker Caron. She needed a pacemaker and was scheduled to have one put in but her doctor backed out.  Caron has no insurance and when the doctor told her he was not going to do the operation we were all not only surprised but worried for Caron.  The battery in her current pacemaker was expired and she was just told that if anything happens to just call 911.  

Some time had passed and a new doctor stepped up and did the operation.  Caron is doing fine and this Saturday is the benefit.  I made two bracelets for the silent auction.  Both have hearts on them. The first one was just like this one except I used gold beads up the spine and some cranberry lined (greenish looking) for the leaves. It was pretty but not as pretty as this one turned out.  I LOVE the white background here.  I had gotten these hearts many years ago and in my sorting project (ongoing project) I have been putting all the heart beads I run across in a container.  I was surprised at how many I had.  The container is full.  I used one of the long Stampin' Up! clear containers to hold the heart beads.  I am having mixed feelings about these red hearts.  I have a few left and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know if the ones at Bead Basics were the same size and color as these are.  Do I want more hearts? Do I want more beads?  Want??  Ok, the correct word here is need!  Well, of course I don't "need" any more beads.  But want!  Yup, I always want more beads!  What beader doesn't?  I will more than likely get some more just to have them on hand.  It kind of defeats the purpose of using up things.  But then again I did have some left but not enough to make another bracelet.  See the battles I have with myself?  LOL  If I get some more I will make another bracelet like this one and put it up for sale in my web store.  I need to start getting more bracelets and other "stuff" in there so I can get some more fund generated to buy nice gifts for the family we shop for at Christmas time.  

I'm hoping that the bracelets go over well at the silent auction.  If you are in the Golden Valley Minnesota area on Saturday, stop in at Schuller's Tavern (7345 Country Club Drive) and check out the auction items!

I will have a very fun project for you to play with tomorrow so be sure to stop back!

Thank you every SO much for visiting today,
Wanda