Busy April

Well, April is almost over, and it was a wonderful month! I participated in my first show, Fashion in Detritus, and I feel it was a rousing success. I took my jewelry along with me to camp for the Earth Day celebration, and sold enough pieces to pay for the whole trip. =)  This is all really assuring me that this is something that will work. I may not be able to make a living doing this, but I can at least pay for a vacation this way!
My next show will be in Council Bluffs, at the Savor the Flavor event. I am hoping to have a display in one of the bars, but at worst I will have a table displaying, specifically, my bottle cap jewelry. I figure, this is a drinking gathering, the patrons would probably like my beer themed work. =) 
I have noticed something, though, that I want to discuss. I've worked with places that charge a vending fee, and places that let people vend for free. Though I have earned more from the 'free' shows, I have paid for them in other ways, such as the stress from lack of organization and communication. There are other shows that charge a booth fee that I've been tempted to try, but I'm scared to put forward that level of commitment. I'm still afraid of failing; still in my learning curve, ya know? So I'm trying to look at the free shows as learning experiences. Hopefully soon I will be confident enough to put my $ where my craft is.

Detritus Photo

I was browsing Fashion in Detritus's website, and found a photo of my jewelry displayed at the show! Check it out here.

Challenge of the day: The movie of your life

I think, in our culture, we all look at ourselves, at one point or another, as the main character in our own story. I know people who are crippled mentally because they aren't some big, important thing. They forget the training montage, they don't want to put the effort into becoming something big, they just expect it to happen, and when it doesn't they're devastated. I'm all about change; I'm always improving myself in one way or another. I didn't like my career anymore, so now I'm going for my Master’s degree and still working full time. I wasn't feeling fulfilled creatively, so I started doing jewelry design, and this weekend my work is being displayed in an art & fashion show.

Life isn't going to give you anything. If you want something, you have to fight for it. If you don’t like what’s happening, change it. If you want a loving relationship, it doesn’t just happen, you have to work at it, but once you have that relationship, it flows like water. If you want something bad enough, if it is something worth doing, it won’t be easy. It CAN’T be easy, or it wouldn’t be worth it. My movie’s plot may look like soap opera fodder in spots, it’s an action and a comedy and a drama and a romance piece, but it’s my life and I’m filling it with as much living as I possibly can!

To end on some favorite lyrics, a personal motto if you will:

“But if you want to see the Northern Lights

You gotta lift up your head and

If you wanna have some kind of life

Decide you're not better off dead and

If you want to read the mystic story written in your future

You better start to write it now...”

~Gaia Consort, Secret of the Crossroads Devil

Fashion In Detritus Weekend

Tonight is the opening of the Fashion in Detritus show, at 5 pm. I will be at the opening reception with artist meet and greet at 7 pm. I'll admit, I'm nervous, but mostly I'm really excited. I even have a piece in the silent auction.

The dragonfly necklace is up for the charity auction. I know a lot of people had said they loved the piece, so hopefully it will sell well. I will have displays in both the main floor, and the downstairs lounge. I was there last night, there is a TON of beautiful artwork being displayed, and I am honored to be participating. Hope to see you there!

Fashion in Detritus blurbs

Here's a sneek peak for next weekend for ya!

'Scrap Pearl Earrings' $25   Drop earrings made from industrial leftovers, stainless steel ear hooks, and coin pearls. Once they're gone there will be no others made, as these are made from industrial leftovers, copper ring washers and steel disks. The steel disks have a worn patina to them that I love, it makes each earring unique. =)

'Bottle cap bracelets' $20  Bracelets made from flattened bottle caps from Leinenkugel, New Belgium, Boulevard and Blue Moon I had seen other jewelry made from bottle caps, and thought that would be a great reuse for otherwise refuse, but I could never get my caps to look the same. Then I found out there are "craft caps" - bottle caps that have never been crimped on a bottle, so they have a smooth, finished edge. That's not repurposing! If it has never been used for anything else can it technically even be called a bottle cap? It has not capped bottles! It's would just be using them instead of REusing! Also, I found used bottle caps have so much more color and character than the craft caps, even if they do require a lot more work on my part.
My husband slaved over several six packs to provide the raw material for these bracelets. He makes such sacrifices for me.

"Bottle cap Charms" $6   Bottle caps and photos preserved in resin. These charms can be put on charm bracelets, necklace chains, whatever you wish. The bottle cap makes the frame around a host of different charms, from a photo of Pablo Picasso to Amelia Earhart, to cartoon frogs. I had a lot of fun finding different pictures for these charms, cutting up magazines and everything else I could find.

'Pop tab Cuffs" $15   Pop can pop tabs, beads and cord
I love working with aluminum, it's such a lightweight metal, yet shiny and easily shaped, perfect for jewelry. The number of cans of soda that is drank, compared to the number of cans that are recycled, is just depressing. Aluminum is so easily recycled, and most of the time you get PAID to do it! I guarantee every can of soda that every pop tab I work with came from has been recycled.

"Clockwork" $45   repurposed chain, aluminum gears of various sizes
I love anything the look and ideas of steampunk, anything hard lines and multipurpose. This necklace does that for me. The vintage chain's patina contrasts with the stark shine of the new gears, any of which could be removed from the necklace to repair your hydrofoil or zeppelin. You never know when you're going to need another gear...

Burning a Birthday Candle at both ends

So, I was at a helacious day at work today, and a random thought wandered through my mind about how, honestly, was I trying to burn out as quickly as possible? As the thought passed, I tried to catch it, to understand it. The thought pointed out my Birthday present from my friend Sarah.
My day job is, for lack of a better word, frustrating. The thought had found an omen that sums it up fairly well today. I got a statue of a very serene looking meditating kitty for my desk at work. I love the kitty, it looks so... calm. So zen.
But then I put it on my desk.
Somehow or other, something cast a shadow on my kitty statue, and, I swear, it looked EXACTLY like worry lines. Seriously, a shadow on my desk made a statue have a worried, furrowed brow, the moment I set it on my desk.

Muted Color & Sparkle challenge

Ok, so I consider all commission pieces more like a challenge. Someone liked my retro gold bracelet on Etsy, and asked if I could make something similar, but with the beads all the same size, and silver instead of gold. Here are the 2 I came up with:

The dime is to give an idea of perspective. The smaller of the two is using 2mm seed beads, in lavender, tan, and white, with silver seed beads and faceted silver beads for that all important sparkle.
The larger of the two is still only 4mm beads. The muted colors are mostly in the AB finish on all the beads, along with the soft green beads. It also has lightly colored crystals (Sparkle) and different faceted silver beads with a teeny tiny flower.

Busy weekend

Honestly, I did have a busy weekend. I finally finished 2 pieces. One is my Leinenkugel bracelet. I've been debating if I should add crystal dangles in matching colors, but it's big - it's loose on my husband's wrist, so it would probably go to a guy. Plus it's Leinenkugel, so it would still probably go to a guy. =)

So, I found out that the bottle caps that are used to make necklaces I've been trying to copy are made from unused bottle caps. That's why they flatten out all nice and clean - they've never been crimped. So if I want to make necklaces and charms and stuff, they won't be on the nice flattened disks - it's not exactly recycled jewelry if the item didn't have a life before.

Here is the other piece - it's a necklace made from lock washers and chain from a goodwill grab-bag. I also thought about adding crystals for color, but decided adding color would limit it too much.

That's the center flair/dangling part - the chain length is just longer than my laptop, so about 16 inches? It looks great in a v neck. =) I know, I've tried it on to make sure it hangs right.

Pop tab Earrings

As a reward to myself for finishing my homework actually on time for once, I spent the evening working on more jewelry for the Fashion in Detritus show. Here is a bit of a teaser.

I apologize for the lighting in the picture - I took this fairly late, and it isn't the best, but I hope you get an idea.

These will eventually be post earrings, once I finish modifying the posts to my liking. My mate says he likes the red ones the best, though I like the aquamarine drops - the crystals are faceted in a spiral, causing fun with the light.

I also want to comment about how wonderful a medium the pop tabs have been to work with. No matter how much I abuse them, scratch them, bend them, they still keep their finish - matte, yet shiny. They're very tough and handled my playing with them much better than some of the wires I was using.

Cousin Impression

I was wandering around my cousin Tracy's Flickr page, and I was taken by her tallent. The woman has a truly wonderful eye, turning things like her husband's forgotten stationary bike and making it into something that looks like it came from an expensive gym membership flyer. She is such a beautiful and tallented woman, and I love her to death. And then I realized I don't think she knows that. Either of 'that', actually. So this is to tell the universe:
My cousin Tracy has a tallent for photography that surpasses professionals I have worked with. She rocks like No one's business. Her awesomeness is mighty impressive, and I am honored and blessed to be know her.

Creative juices

So, I promised a sneak peek at what I'm working on for the show. Here's the first bit. Earrings.

They are shown hanging off of my Scentsy warmer, but I think you get the idea. The small copper disks are button pearls, but the rest is industrial leftovers. Copper ring washers and steel disks. I made 4 pair, that's all I had the supplies for, so once they're gone there will be no others made. The steel disks have a worn patina to them that I love, but doesn't show up well in the picture. It makes each earring unique. =)

I'm also torturing bottle caps.

I'm bending the rough edges inside. I'm thinking of either using them as frames for something else, or drilling the tops and just using them as is. Haven't decided yet, though. The possibilities with bottlecaps are endless!

Show

So I will be participating in my first show, “Fashion in Detritus.” It’s being hosted by several of my good friends, and I am quite excited about it. I’m taking the theme personally as a trash into treasure type of concept. I’m making jewelry out of discard items, like pop can tabs and Coke bottle lids. I’m also thinking about decorating a glass Coke bottle with a sheath of beads, but I haven’t decided if I have the time / supplies for such an adventure. As I finish pieces for the show I will display them in a special sneak peek for the blog!