Finished Brooches

I finally finished these brooches.  I had wanted to play with transfer paper and have been very pleased with the results.

The images are from vintage cards and things that I own that were edited some via Picmonkey, printed off on transfer paper, ironed onto felt pieces, then stitched onto other felt pieces.  The embellishing is the fun part to me.

 The images turned out crisp and full of color.  Hopefully I'll be able to work on some ornaments soon...but you know how time gets away sometimes.  Hope you like these.

Playing with Decoupage

I have wanted to decoupage some things for awhile now.  The idea of it is interesting, and there are so many items out there that are just beautifully done.  I put some things on the counter--two keys and a perfume bottle--to decoupage "when I got around to it".  Well, needless to say, they sat there for quite awhile (there is always something else to do, right?).  Finally, there was a bit of free time, and, seriously?...there were only three things to experiment with!  Seems like the hardest thing for me to do is to just sit and DO it...whatever "it" might be.  It ended up not taking that terribly long to do after all, and it was such fun.

I have some napkins that are just beautiful and decided to place pieces on a blank perfume bottle.  I ripped them up and with Mod Podge placed the pieces on.  How one side is all one color and the other all another is just how it turned out.

I sealed the bottle with a different decoupage sealer and added some wire and complimentary beads. They almost look like two separate bottles--but that just adds to the interest.
Next, I did the keys.

The paper on these is still from the same napkin used on the perfume bottle.  It's amazing the color differences and looks to all three pieces.  I added some wire and beads to these too.

I really wanted to try some vintage jewelry bits on these, but the bling took away from the beauty of the patterns in the napkin.  These are in my Etsy shop and haven't sold yet, but it was great fun to try something different.  If you're interested in playing with decoupage, I'd highly recommend giving it a try.  No doubt you will enjoy doing it as much as I did.

New Stitching Project

I just love embroidery and needlework...it is so relaxing and I love the look.  It is just fun to create, as many of you will agree.  I tried an experiment and designed this pendant this past week.  It is a little "Shabby Chic" and a little "Modern Victorian". 

It is a mixed media pendant with both new and vintage bits on it--new charm and beads, vintage pearls, lace, and buttons.  It has been listed in my Etsy shop, but I thought I'd share it here to see what you think. 

My First Auction

I had really enjoyed reading Vintage & Victorian's  article on auctions.  The article was very informative and encouraged anyone who had never been to an auction before to at least give it a try.  I had never been to an auction and mentioned to my husband that "someday" we should try one just to see what it was like.  Well, I saw a "tag sale" listed on Craigslist at an auction house.  I thought it was, well, like a garage sale...and should have known that any sale at any auction house is going to be an auction.  We arrived and figured this out very quickly.  Of course, while we were there I just had to look around and noticed three boxes of lots that looked like something I wanted.   I was pretty nervous actually worrying that I'd scratch my nose at the wrong time or wouldn't be able to understand what the guy up front was saying.  A very kind lady knew it was my first auction and gave me the advice not to bid on the first price but wait until the auctioneer went down in price before I started to bid on anything.  There were tons of little things to auction off--a set of plates, knick knacks, you name it.  Because dear patient husband and kids were waiting...and waiting, I nervously went up and asked one of the helpers if they could ask for bidding on two of the boxes I really wanted since that was all I was really interested in.  He kindly said yes.  Of course, I waited to bid once the first price was called out (since that was what the kind lady said to do!) but quickly learned that if I request something I need to bid on the first price.  Note to self!  I was pretty nervous but did bid on the two lots (ran out of money for the third lot which is okay--didn't bring as much as I should have with me thinking it was like a yard sale)....and won them!  How exciting!

One had very old things in it like an antique purse, glass jet buttons, a black mourning jacket/blouse, etc., and the other had fun vintage jewelry.  I'm not sure if I'll go to too many auctions in the future, but I finally went to one, had a great time, and found some fun treasures.

Where Have I Been?

Have you seen this magazine--Vintage & Victorian?  I was in line at the grocery store a few weeks back and saw this.  Okay, I've never seen this magazine before.  Hopefully it isn't a one-time print...and hopefully I haven't missed 20 past issues.  I finally started having the time to read through it last week and am greatly enjoying it (nice with a hot cup of tea).  I love looking through magazines like this for inspiration, ideas, styles, and trends.  It certainly has a nice mix of things that I personally greatly enjoy.  There seems to be little on line about it...just wondering if any of you know much about it or have enjoyed any in the past.  Anyway, I'll keep looking out for others if they appear.  It certainly is a great find.

Finally Finished...

I've been working on this assemblage for a long time. It is full of many of my favorite vintage jewelry pieces and other treasures and has been listed already in my Etsy shop. Enjoy!

Victorian Vintage Montages

These were SUCH fun to make. You know I love little itty bitty bits of things, and I have saved some interesting bits from the vintage jewelry pieces I have accumulated. I just couldn't throw them out...and these are the result! They are one-of-a-kind, Victorian-inspired montages complete with pieces of old teacups (of course!), little bits of Victorian jewelry, and other interesting things--in these two cases an interesting old "Coro" label from an ugly piece of jewelry and a "Made in France" tag. How could I throw them out? Anyway, they are set in resin. I loved making them and am pleased with how they turned out....and I hope you like them too. ; )

More Vintage Jewelry Embellished Perfume Bottles

I've been having great fun lately embellishing perfume bottles. With my stores of broken and orphaned jewelry strewn all over the counter (I am SO thankful for my very understanding and sweet husband), I have been planning and putting together several bottles lately. Believe it or not, it actually takes me quite awhile to plan what goes on which bottle. The jewelry has to fit the personality of the bottle and its curvature. Then--the hard part sometimes--I need to find several pieces of jewelry that may have come from different places to work in harmony with each other. Here are some of the results.

I think purple is a beautiful color--elegant and rich--and this bottle I thought offered plenty of royal sparkle.

I really like the crown one, since I DO love crowns. When I bought this broken crown at an estate sale, I knew immediately that it belonged on a perfume bottle. It was hard to choose what should go with the crown...I mean, how can a person top a crown? With jewels, of course!

The seashore one was interesting. It started with a broken brooch that was gold "coral" with a rhinestone ball in it. I just carried on the theme with other bits (was very excited to find the "pearl" and coral colored starfish jewelry at an estate sale) for a seaside intrigue.

This one reminds me of Italy...must be the cameo. I tried to keep this one simple and elegant with rich browns and golds and subtle sparkle.

I found three other perfume bottles at the flea market last Saturday and thankfully got them for a song. Two are Italian glass and are gorgeous by themselves. I will be working on them over the next few weeks as well as finish up another bottle today.

A New Brooch and a New Perfume Bottle

I have been able to get two things done this past week. I acquired some exquisite (and a little expensive, might I add--but worth it!) rose shell beads this past week and am working on putting them into jewelry. Once I got the beads I just had to sit right down and work on a brooch. I made this light pink, Victorian-looking, Shabby Chic-looking rose brooch with a crystal butterfly. I sort of don't want to part with it because I like it so much!
Secondly, I finished another perfume bottle. The vintage pieces come from jewelry featuring daisies as well as parts of a leaf bracelet and some rhinestones. I'm pretty pleased with how this little bottle turned out as well.

Glass Bottle Stoppers

We were at the flea market last weekend where there was a basket of these sitting there. I pawed through them, and the man offered me instead of $1 each...$5 for the whole basket. I debated and thought and walked around again...then couldn't resist and bought them. I finally got them all cleaned and a picture taken yesterday. There are some chips here and there, but I have some ideas in mind for some of them. Though I'm delighted with them all, I especially like the little crown-shaped one at 6:00 (who can resist a crown?) and that turquoise one full of bubbles at 1:00-2:00. At the flea market I also purchased two lightweight gold picture frames for a song, and have great inspiration to turn them into Victorian one-of-a-kind wonders. You'll see. I have some projects I'm working on now but will get to those in July. Hint: That crown bottle stopper above will be a part of one of those Victorian creations!

Press Kits for Artistic Affaire Les Sirenes

I've been neglecting my posting lately...but have finished and sent off my five-press-kits contribution to the Lollishops pool of press kits for the Artistic Affair Les Sirenes event coming up in California on July 15-17. You may read all about this even on Kim's lovely Weblog--Artistic Bliss. It certainly looks like a grand and enchanting event indeed! The theme has a Victorian beach, romantic ocean look and feel, so I wanted my press kits to carry on with that theme.
I found a beautiful vintage image of Victorian ladies strolling by the sea (loved the palm trees!) to make some pins out of (complete with a little glitter),
and I stitched some zipper clips on turquoise backgrounds with pearly light pink "star fish", an iridescent scallop shell, and, of course, "sand" made by stitching on sparkling golden brown beads.
The netting for these are actually hair nets. I saw a container full of them for sale at an Amish grocery store and was instantly inspired. They looked like old fishing nets to me. I thought the idea of having my things "captured" on the net would be a fun idea. Since I have plenty of sea glass from visits to Maine, I glued some pieces on for extra interest and color.
I glued a simple ivory backing onto the back of the light pink board used for the front to cover up the glue work and neaten up the back then put my business card in the baggie. I kept the bow on the top--a gold organza--simple so that they eye would be drawn to the work below and not onto the top.
I was thinking this would be a good idea for a romantic ocean themed invitation or place card...just something to keep in mind if you needed an idea. You could also put little shells onto the net too.

Some New Brooches

I've been inspired lately to bead...and bead...and have been having great fun in the process. This "work" is just so relaxing. I just finished these two Victorian-inspired brooches and am pretty pleased with how they have turned out. I think light blue and brass looks stunning together and almost want to keep the above brooch for myself.
Then I recently acquired these iridescent yellow flower beads and just HAD to make something with them. They are the sunniest little flowers I've ever seen! I thought the little brass heart charm really completed this brooch.

New Victorian Fan Brooch

As promised, here is a peek at what I just finished. I found this bone fan bead at one of bead shops I visited this past week and just HAD to sit down and work on it. I decided to decorate it with "roses" and green "leaves" for a Victorian look. Also, the burgundy background and all the brass gives it a Victorian feel as well. The bottom needed something, so I put some heavy needlepoint thread in a coordinating green color there to pull it all together and give it yet another genuine fan look. Hope you like it!

Two New Valentine's Day Brooches

I've had fun working on two new brooches for Valentine's Day. One is more cute or fun and the other more Victorian and romantic. I'm working on new backgrounds as well. I figure winter is almost over (oh, don't burst my bubble and tell me we have at least two more months of it!), so it's time to "lighten up" a bit. I'm pleased with how they've turned out and have listed them today. Hope you like them!