A new piece in progress

So, I haven't done a piece in progress post in a while.  And now I have a piece in progress to share.

A friend of mine from back in MN was looking over one of my recent steampunk pieces and remarked that it was lovely.  She then lamented that she has longed to see a steampunk necklace, pendant or brooch that has a skull and cross bones and wings.  Her Steampunk costume persona is that of an airship pirate.  I decided that day to order some brass embellishments and get after that idea. 
I started with an old vintage rhinestone buckle.  A lot of the rhinestones are missing but it still has a lot of shine to it.  I then wired swarovski crystals around the oustide.  I added the brass charms and am now about halfway through adding cogs and other watch parts to it.  I haven't decided yet if it should be a pendant or a brooch.  I also think it needs some additional wire work and perhaps some more beads....

Recycled Vintage piece

I took care of my sick bf all weekend.  But in between fetching him water and making meals I did manage to create another new piece.  This one is made around a piece of broken vintage costume jewelry.  I simply took the rhinestone encrusted piece and did some wire magic around it adding various crystals and beads.  Then I added some antiqued brass chain and voila!  More vintage bling.

New Steampunk/vintage inspired offering

I sat down last night and created this lovely bit from a great copper filigree setting with a large rootbeer rhinestone and LOTS of wire, cogs and other beads.  Steampunk meets vintage bling! 
This piece has been listed in my Artfire Studio and is also on sale, like everything else, for 25% off!

New pieces!

I have completed a few new pieces! I just got them listed in my Artfire studio but thought I would share pictures of them here anyways.

The first one is a LONG silver toned chain that features handmade lampwork beads made by ME! I made these beads a few years ago but hadn't been able to find the rught jewelry project for them. Finally last night, I felt inspired by a trend. This chain is meant to be worn long and doubled up but it could possibly be tripled up. It's that long. I added some faceted czech glass beads in for color and balance.

The second piece I finished is actually a necklace and earring set that has a very vintage feel. I bought these gorgeous vintage rhinestone spacer beads in Santa Fe NM in November and have been just waiting to find the perfect use for them. I paired them with creme colored swarovski crystallized pearls and POOF! The perfect prom or bridal set for that vintage gal!

New piece from Fools and Jewels Studio

I got a creative twitch last night and created something using vintage rhinestone jewelry bits and pieces. In the design world right now its called "upcycling". I love the idea of taking something that is old and unusable and remaking it into something beautiful and wearable.

I have had these gorgeous pale blue rhinestone fans for a while now and just didn't quite know what to do with them. Last night, I found another stash of swarovski crystallized pearls and some rhinestone spacers that I bought in Santa Fe this past Thanksgiving. They are vintage beads as well. Hmmmmm....

And thus this lovely bracelet, earring and necklace set were born. I used silver toned artist wire instead of sterling sine the old rhinestone bits are not sterling silver. I wanted it to all look like it belonged together. I think this would make a magnificent "something blue" set for a bride.

Piece in progress

OK. So, i donated three pieces to our local art gallery to auction off at their annual wine tasting and art auction. All the profits go to the gallery so they can remain open and continue to show local artist's work. I currently have a few pieces in the gallery so I figure this is a wise donation. I got free tickets in return for my donation to the auction. This is great since I attended last year and had a great time.

I bought these great, huge, blingy earrings while I was on vacation and I plan to wear them to this event. But I decided I wanted to "advertise" my own jewelry as well. So, I began working last night on a necklace to wear with my big rhinestone earrings.

For this piece I decided I wanted to go the upcycled vintage route. I have a lot of miscellaneous vintage jewelry bits and pieces that have been waiting to be used. I decided to use three fancy silver toned links form an old necklace. They have blue rhinestones on them. Then I decided against the vintage faux pearls I had in favor or using some remaining swarovski crystallized pearls instead. Then I took apart an old vintge earring to use the AB crystal beads on it. So far, I am liking the design. I am hoping to finish it up either today or tomorrow. The picture above is of the piece thus far. I used silver toned artist wire instead of sterling. Sterling silver was too bright for the rhinestone links.

A Classic

To me, there's nothing quite like a pearl. A string of pearls completes many of my outfits, whether they are faux, freshwater, or swaovski crystallized. It's a classic look that speaks of elegance and sophistication. I adore pearls... and therefor use LOTS of them in my work.

One of my favorite things to do is to take a string of vintage pearls and either re-string them or re-imagine them into a new piece. I have lots of vintage pieces waiting to be remade into something new. I am terribly behind in this area but I do have one slightly steamy completed piece of this variety (pictured here).

Faux pearls can offer a nice option if you want the look of uniform pearls without the aging that often comes with vintage beads. Swarovski also makes a crystallized faux pearl that has a LOT more of that natural pearl flash at an affordable price. These have become a big trend as of late, especially in bridal jewelry.

I also love working with freshwater pearls. They offer an organic look that I love and can come in all kinds of dyed colors. This widens my pearls pallet a bit. I also can't afford genuine saltwater sea pearls (like so many others I know). Freshwater pearls also combine with gemstone briolettes to create a lot of flash and sophisticated sparkle.

However you choose to use them, pearls really can give a piece or even an outfit a sense of understated class and elegance.