New year, new jewelry elements

My dear husband gifted me with a neat gadget for Christmas - a Sizzix BigKick for embossing metal. I'm going to have a blast creating new jewelry elements, like the patina-ed disc below. Check it out in our etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/174298452/aviary-1

New toys!

New stamps mean new creations! Love the chandelier. What do you think?

Adding rivets to the repertoire

Stamped washer pendant with rivet connections, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

Dave is loving riveting! Made a couple of pieces today (here's one of them) and put them up in the etsy shop right away. Have been away for work since Monday, so it was so fun to get back in the jewelry groove with my dear husband - togetherness in our basement studio!

check out tracy owens chasteen's collection

Three like Dixie, a photo by polishedtwo on Flickr.

aren't these necklaces beautiful? i own a couple of tracy's pottery shard necklaces and i can vouch for their heft, their careful composition, and their "look-at-me" attitude. Check out the necklace section of tracy's etsy shop - you will be dazzled. And then look at the rest of what she has to offer - hairpins, earrings - and only in the brightest hues. love it!

nuisance or thing of beauty?

Portrait of a dandelion., a photo by sushipot on Flickr.

Busy evening, so just have time for a quick share today of this precious photo by Suzanna Scott. (Of course, I vote "thing of beauty.")

In addition to taking truly collectible photos, Suzanna's also a fabulously accomplished mixed media artist. Check out her work at her etsy shop, sushipot.

sweet stitching

stitchedgirlwallhanging, a photo by timssally on Flickr.

sharing this precious piece today! Mindy Lacefield thoughtfully combines original art with tattered, feminine textiles. check out her etsy shop full of prints, original art and more.

typewriter love ... clickety clack clack

I am a Writer, a photo by michele_maule on Flickr.

Remember the typewriter? What a sound it made! It might have even qualified as exercise, with the strength and agility required to navigate the keys and return the carriage at the end of the row - ding, whoop!

Ah, so long ago ...

Love Michele Maule's collage tribute to that weighty appliance. Check out her etsy shop!

A batch completed, now off to mix marketplace in ypsilanti

A batch completed, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

what a blast i'm having with these necklaces! i have plenty more vintage photos and illustrations that need homes. now to make some bezels ourselves ... that will be even more gratifying (though i think i may order a few more of these from objects and elements. By the way, the glassy finish is accomplished with with ICE Resin from Susan Lenart Kazmer.

now, for some inspiration. It's been a few years since we've been there, but dave and i are off to MIX and MIX Marketplace's tuesday market. the tuesdays and saturday pop-up markets feature different produce vendors, home goods and artisans at each market. dave and I can't wait to shop!

i declare this a creativity day! and photo tips

resin pendant necklace with vintage photo and sari silk, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

took today and tomorrow off this week to work on new jewelry. unless i have blocks of time, progress seems slow. those of you with full-time jobs and family know what i'm talking about! it's worth burning a couple of vacation days to get down with new materials and techniques. just finished taking some new photos so i can to get these new lovelies into our etsy shop soon.

TIPS: i am far from a pro photog, and we have a modest digital camera (fuji finepix s2000hd), and i live in michigan, so natural light can be unpredictable. solution: light box! mine is small (I graduated from a homemade one made with a corrugated box and tissue paper - here's a great tutorial), but it's perfect for jewelry and other small objects. i picked it up from this amazon shop.

*and* do you like the jewelry stand? i used multiple 40% off coupons for joann's and got them for just a few bucks apiece. covered them with vintage papers, using diluted modpodge. they dried overnight. here they are online.

watch our shop for these listings. probably later tonight. now to get back to creating!

so excited to share first pendant on sari silk

Resin charm w vintage illustration, on sari silk, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

after some trial and error, i am excited to share my first necklace using sari silk. i love the tattered look with the vintage illustration. more pics to come as i string up my other charms. took the next couple of days as vacation days to get back into my jewelry. can't wait to just work, work, work ... but not at capital-W Work. and dave's making some new copper links. wahoo!

Sari silks came in today!

Sari silks came in today!, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

I can't wait to finish off my instant ancestors pendants with these alternatives to chains. ::mind is working:: Thanks to designtalentedone for making them available.

Collage love - lu summers

001, a photo by lusummers on Flickr.

Another of my favorite collage artists, lusummers. I have some very simple gocco prints of hers - floral graphics printed on vintage book pages. They hang above our salvaged piano (which needs a new paint job, btw ... must add to to-do list ::scrickety scratchety with pencil adding to list::). Anyway, if you love collage, too, explore her flickr photostream. Oh, and here's lu's etsy shop!

I guess my favorite color is "sunset" ...

Sunset Delights , a photo by SusanNajarianArt on Flickr.

I am attracted to Susan Najarian's piece because of its liberal use of grades of orange - rust, tangerine, almost red ... It's said that Frank Sinatra opined that "Orange is the happiest color." OK, I'll buy that!

And this must really be my year because Tangerine Tango was chosen the Pantone color of the year for 2012. Read more here.

Now to find a place for a color like Tangerine Tango in our home ... hm ... Maybe a Behr color like Fiery Red will do ...

Oh, and see more Susan Najarian art in her etsy shop, Red Truck Designs.

May your day be full of orange!

More Instant Ancestors you can wear!

resin bezel, vintage photos or illustrations, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

I almost can't wait the 72 hours required for these resin beauties to cure entirely. These pendants feature vintage photos, illustrations and text from books protected by jeweler's resin. Should I use ribbons to make the necklaces? (that would be new for me) Or a combination of ribbons and chain? Stay tuned. 72 hours from now (give or take) I'll have the answer for you - and more pics. Check out my flickr photostream for more pics. Silvertone bezels from objectsandelements. Brass bezels from studioonthehill's etsy shop.

"She Saw It On Pinterest"

She Saw It On Pinterest, a photo by Amy Rice on Flickr.

You know why I am drawn to this - because I'm drawn to Pinterest! I imagine that the woman in the print saw a sweet DIY project and was consumed with urgency about creating jars embellished with hearts. Well, who can't relate to that?

The artist, Amy Rice, uses a Gocco printer to make her pretty prints. Learn about Gocco here. Amy uses antique journal pages for printing. More about that at her etsy shop.

I haven't used my Gocco printer in months - maybe more than a year ... hmmm ...
Amy's inspiring me to dust off that Gocco.

fun flickr tools at bighugelabs

jewelry mosaic, a photo by KimWJenkins on Flickr.

have a flickr account? you can create mosaics with your own or others' pics (if they allow sharing) with mosaic maker from bighugelabs.com. i was just foolin' around and this isn't the best composition, but it's a rockin' tool. try it! you can adjust background color, space between squares (pics should look good in square format), adjust number of rows and columns, etc. like i said, rockin' - and free!

Captivated by hens teeth's handbag

handbag, a photo by hens teeth on Flickr.

I love how hens teeth composes her birds. What a fantastic little bag!

Love Danita Art's paintings!

20100831-the-mushrooms-collector, a photo by Danita Art on Flickr.

I have admired Dainta Art's work for some time. Love the sweet, moody figures, like The Mushrooms Collector here. Check out her etsy shop for original paintings and giclee prints on wood, among other items.

Ladder stitch bracelet fun!

After seeing so many versions of these ladder stitch bracelets, I just had to give them a try. Here are my takes. 16" long, will wrap twice on my wrist. Chunky, fun, colorful. Both available in our etsy shop.

Mardi Gras

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Seafoam

Couponing is in Fashion

With some of my Christmas money (thanks, mom and dad) I purchased a very chic coupon wallet. Yeah, I said a chic coupon wallet. Miles more beautiful than my old ratty plastic one with the limp elastic band to keep it closed. And it velcroes to the cart, and stays open while I shop! I'm still couponing after a phase during which I was a bit too intense about it (paid subscription to a matching service, etc.). Sometimes I let the coupons dictate what we ate, not the other way around. So, with a goal of continuing to eat healthy in 2012, I continue to clip coupons for things I know we'll need, and what I know is pretty healthy. And I use these free sites like these to discover serendipitous matches:

• Frugal Coupon Living
• Money Saving Mom
• Happy Homemaker Cindy
• Bargains to Bounty

Oh, and here are some great etsy sellers who make cool coupon wallets.

Share your faves!