Weekend Eye Candy - Button Edition

1. Vintage Button Earrings, 2. vintage button boutonnieres, 3. Gold Graffiti Earrings, 4. Button Necklace, 5. felt bracelet, 6. Button Bonanza, 7. Hot/Cold Cufflinks, 1, 8. button necklace, 9. This is/was my first antique button piece, 10. rings with vintage buttons, 11. Buttoned Necklace - 12, 12. blooms in white, 13. Moonlight Snowflake Pearl Button and Sterling Silver Necklace, 14. Gridded Circles, 15. Shannon's Room All Dressed Up Silver Button Bracelet, 16. Copper Design Ring   Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

I had so much fun with my button ring that I thought I'd see how other's are using them in jewelry designs. Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Make sure to stop by Michelle's, Paige's and Christine's blogs to see what they collected this weekend.

Newz

• The next OAW challenge is based on season 4, episode 8's "En Garde!" The PR designers were teamed up and asked to design an avant garde creation based on their model's wacky hairstyles. Then in the middle of their prep, they're told they also have to design a ready to wear version of their confection. For our jewelry challenge we won't team up, and we don't *have* to do both looks, but we can if we want/have time/ are inspired. Can't wait to see what develops. Mwah ha ha.

• Alisa is really busy at the moment and it looks like I'll be hosting the challenges until the end of September at which time I think we'll break for winter (and the holiday show/sale season). I'm really excited about this. The host job will be the biggest challenge for me considering I don't have cable and have never seen the show on TV, only on You Tube! So if you have any favorite episodes, please send me the season, episode # and title and I'll add them to the list. Thanks Alisa, for bringing the challenge back this season and doing such a great job of finding fun shows to emulate!

Alisa's Three Leaves Necklace

The other regular players are: Mike and Mary (really Mike and Rachele), Victoria and Nina (oh, and of course myself). I think we may occasionally have some guest players too and you're invited to challenge yourselves along with us. 

• I still have 3 spaces in my Level One Certification class on July 25, 26. The class will take place in Venice and what could be better than the beach and metal clay play! Won't you come and join us?

• My chapter of the PMC Guild has a new page up on www.PMCGuild.com which, aherm, I wrote. Check it out!

Reinvented...

And it looks so good! Here's the radical makeover of a ring that's been gathering dust on top of my bench for months and months.

It never did work exactly. The uneven angle of the top isn't dramatic enough to make a statement, the arch thingie was a piece of a broken toggle that fit perfectly, but looks horrible in silver. I was thinking of threading some felt through it, or adding beads and baubles, but nothing ever felt right. So I cut it off! I had a few ideas on how to re make the ring and you can see them here if you're so inclined. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Shall I put it on Etsy or hold onto it until the November Contemporary Crafts Market? And speaking of the CCM, I just found out that my Woodland Altar will be used for the promotional postcard for the June 2010 show!!! Sooo cool.

I'll be adding links to the other contestants makeovers throughout the day, so keep checking back to see what other lovliness ensued from this challenge.

OAW - Radical Makeover

This week's OAW challenge is based on Season 2, Episode 9.  The Project Runway designers were asked to make over a fellow contestant to give them a new look. Us jewelry contestants were asked to go through our own jewelry boxes, unfinished projects, piles of scrap etc and breathe new life into them.

So yesterday morning I went into the bathroom cabinet where I've kept boxes and boxes of my Mother's and my old jewelry for too many years to think about. My Mom died in 1978 and I've never been able to donate any of her old gems. I still have some of her clothes hanging in my closet too. "Out of the Closet" (my favorite thrift store) is definitely in their future this year.

Just look at it all!

Disco Days. The brooch and the expandable cuff bracelet are my Moms', but the four glittery bracelets on the left were my own purchase. Yeesh.

More disco loveliness. These are clip on earrings that I even wore to work.

Hippie wannabe. Except it was 1983.

Remember this logo from "Love Story"? I saw it for sale on Etsy a while ago. Wish I remembered what she asked for it.

When I was in 11th grade, I was trying to think of a stage name for my illustrious singing career. Michael Learned from "The Waltons" intrigued me and I was trying to come up with another man's name that would work for a woman. I ran into a secret crush at a department store and told him what I was thinking of and he said "You look more like a Lora Lust to me". Oh be still my beating heart. I actually wore this pin all the time. I also had a "gold and diamond" LUST bracelet. Ah youth.

I'm very pleased to have re-discovered these. My baby bracelet, the earrings my Mother wore when she and Daddy got married (in Las Vegas) and my Dad's dog tag.

But I've decided to work with silver. So here are some pieces that I never finished, odds and ends of scrap and stones and buttons that are catching my eye this morning. The project is due tomorrow, so I'd better get my butt in gear!

Weekend Eye Candy - Independence Edition

1. Kyanite Faceted Rondelles, 2. Patriotic Color, 3. Prana Limited Edition Necklace, 4. fluted flush champagne diamonds 016, 5. 14K "Lucky 13" Diamond Ring / 1, 6. Uncut Rubies, 7. 14K Patriotic Fly on fur, 8. Gemella Jewelry: Sky Blue Topaz & Prasiolite 18K Earrings, 9. E474, 10. Sea Anemone Pin/Pendant, 11. flowerthingring, 12. Moana 5.0, the necklace - Stacked kyanite and sterling silver, 13. Blue Garden Necklace, 14. Herkimer Diamond - New York, 15. patriotic cupcakes, 16. ruby towers   Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Hope everyone has a safe, sane and full filled Fourth of July! No matter where in the world you are. ;- )

Be sure to celebrate with Michelle, Paige and Christine too!

Newz

So much to tell! You may remember that I injured my foot last year, had surgery and couldn't walk on it for three months. Well, just try getting onto your couch after crawling about on the floor. I managed to devise a way to sort of catapult myself up, and broke the frame of said 14 year old couch into the bargain. I've been sitting on that broken, decrepit thing for the past year and finally took the plunge to... buy a new couch!!!

And on sale too. ;-) It'll be delivered tomorrow morning. So excited! The thing I like best is that I'll be able to change the look any time I want. In a Shabby Chic mood? Sew some slip covers. Want to create a Moroccan boudoir? New slip covers! Celebrating the 4th of July? Slip a flag around those white pillows. I'm a woman of many moods and this was the perfect find.

In more news, Saint Paige is having the most wonderful giveaway on her blog! Have you ever visited a professional blog that displays magical ever changing ads? They remind me of the portraits at Hogwarts. Well, they're relatively complicated to make if you don't know html and expensive to buy if you hire someone else to do it for you. But now you can have one for your own little shop to upload to any site you want to advertise on! The rules are really simple, so hurry on over and try for your chance at an animated ad of your very own!

Here's an example. There will be 6 different designs to choose from!

I also want to remind you that Holly Gage is looking for images for the 2010 edition of her Metal Clay calendar. The deadline is August 15. Seems like a long time off, but it will be here before you know it. And you want to give yourself enough time to take some really beautiful shots of your work. Or hire a pro to do it for you.

The Saul Bell Award committee has sent out a call for entries too. So there are lots of things to do to get your work noticed. I'll submit if you do. Whaddya say? 

Time Warp

2000 BC meets the Roaring Twenties! At least in my version of the One A Week challenge.

I arranged BronzeClay disks with my fingers to imitate the draped fabric that ancient Greeks used in their togas. Some are textured, some are not. I like the un textured ones best and am thinking about designing a line called LinenFold using the design.

Then I wired coral beads to symbolize the wheels of a gladiator's chariot.The reference to Flapper is in the style of necklace itself. I wanted to do a really long one, but frankly my fingers got tired of wrapping the 16g steel wire. next time I'll use silver.

I could swear that there was something else I wanted to tell you, but I can't remember what it was. If I think of it, I'll re post later this afternoon. I'll also do the links to the other challenge particiapants later. I have to run to the vet now. 

(edit.) If you go to Alisa's blog, she has photos and links.