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!

Vintage photo collage love

4x4 grouping, a photo by ANDstudio on Flickr.

One of my favorite stops at a flea market or thrift shop is the table or basket with old photo albums. Alisa Nordholt-Dean (ANDStudio on flickr) has grouped a precious collection of old snapshots here, adding dimension with chunky canvases, stenciling, and paint. I'm mesmerized!

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.

"Red Dress" | example of daily digital coolness

Mixed Media Collage, a photo by collage a day on Flickr.

Fantastic digital collage by collage a day. Check out the photostream for some inspiring altered vintage photos. Just keep clicking through the stream. Amazing stuff, collage a day ...

Could you/do you produce art every day? A serious challenge, for sure. Check out The Crafter's Devotional, a book of 365 artistic ideas so you're never out of techniques to try or media for experimenting.

Do you practice creativity daily? How do you stick with it?