Another thrifted find

This was my favorite piece that I discovered– a little pink milkglass cup. I love that there is all that history in such a tiny piece and that it’s made in such a way that just isn’t done anymore. If you were to hold this in your hands, you’d know what I mean. (For anyone who was interested in the mushroom coasters, they’ve been snatched up. Apologies!!)

 

As for the tutorials and podcasts, they will resume by next week, I promise! Still catching up on Prismera things. The exciting news is that by next month, my babies will be showcased in 2 new stores, both on the west coast!

I’m back!

.. from my adventure in the South.  I’ve already started to put some of my thrifted finds in an etsy shop; I’ll be putting the rest up in the next couple of days. Here’s the first!

Vintage Mushroom Coaster Set

This one is by far the most charming out of all the things I found, I think! They would be so sweet on a small piece of wall.

The Winner of The Contest!

I’m currently living it up in the South, visiting the bf and his friends/family. I naively thought I’d be able to do a post on Friday but all the exhaustion of traveling got to me.

That and all the antique shop hopping.

I found all these great vintage pyrex pieces that I may decide to share in an etsy shop. But no more of these traveling tales; it’s time to announce the winner of the earring giveaway!!

The winner is Maranda!  Visit her blog at zevcards.wordpress.com.

Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will all continue to join in the promotions.. I plan to have them once a month.

See you when I get back!

Wood Ring Adoration

Am loving huge chunky rings right now and wood ones are great– so different from the heavier metal rings I’m used to. Here are a couple places I’ve found that carry wood rings:

$88 at Anthropologie

 

$36 at Something’s Hiding In Here

And then there’s this one, set with a diamond! $75 at Rob and Lean

The finished piece

The piece for Greenjeans’ Summer Succulents show is finally finished!  This, as well as a couple of designs from my Flora & Folium collection will be showing starting Thursday, July 19th– the opening is from 6-9pm for those of you who are in the area.

Other designers that will also be exhibiting are Lisa Crowder, Melle Finelli, Janice Ho, Kristina Kada, Chelle Kraus, Alison Mackey, and Valerie Mitchell.

Greenjeans is located at 449 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn.

I apologize for the delay..

Podcasts and tutorials will return when I return from the South.. am preparing for my trip and finishing up Prismera-related business things.  Ran into a hiccup with plating the large piece from the previous post, am trying to resolve.  And what happens when you run out of a metalsmithed bracelet and no access to metal studio?  You run over to your nearest casting co.  So now I’m waiting for Don to cut the mold and hope it’s ok..

To tide you over, here is a piece of lovely eye candy:

Origami, by Yellena 

The complexity of the linework and weights are exquisite.  I think this would make a beautiful repeating fabric print, don’t you?  Maybe something to fill an accent wall.  Anyhow, it’s a very affordable print.  Check it outs.

A Giveaway!

On Monday in the podcast, I mentioned that I’d be posting about a giveaway I’d be doing. I’m giving away a pair of these earrings:

They retail for $120. Read more details about these earrings by clicking on the image.

To participate, you should have a blog with a link to this one. That’s it! Once you’ve put the link up, let me know by emailing me at prismeradesign [at] gmail.com. If you’ve already got a link to this blog, you’re automatically entered. It starts today and I’ll be back to let you know who won next Friday, the 20th.

In other news, here’s a sneak peak of a piece I’m working on for Greenjeans‘ show that’s coming up:

So good luck on the giveaway! Saturday is going to be all about beaching, limoncello, and a reunion.. hope your weekend is just as sweet.

It’s Video Tip time!

A quick and easy way to clean sterling silver jewelry without toxic chemicals. You’ll need:

• an aluminum pan
• baking soda
• a spoon
• boiling water

Enjoy the video!

Wednesday Article: The Jewels of Paris

Original article by Kate Betts found here.

——————————————————

After all this talk about the next trend being underwater creatures and such, I couldn’t help but notice this article on TIME.com. Firstly, that drawing is beautiful. I almost felt satisfied enough not to read the article and just drink in the detail. It really inspires me to do more drawings of my pieces before they come into fruition.

Here’s a portion of the article:

Based on the mythic stories of Neptune and his queen, Cleita, the
Van Cleef creative team explored the deep sea, using smatterings
of pearls to depict ocean spray and rare aqua colored tourmaline’s
to evoke the ocean depths. One stunning pendant is composed of onyx
and set with diamonds and white gold coral-shaped branches. Other
pieces include sea nymph pins encrusted with sapphires and a
Poseiden-like creature made of yellow gold and fashioned into a
pin set with yellow and white diamonds and a 7 carat spinel.

I did a little googling afterwards and found another one of their designs that I love. This is called the Pivoine Ring. My favorite detail is that the flower has a different type of metal used for each layer– from a silver tone, to rose, to yellow. And an elegant solution for a ring for two fingers!!

Lace Earring Tutorial

Welcome to the first edition of Photo Tutorial Tuesday™!

I have all this great lace that is just too big for practically anything except these earrings. If you have any lying around the house, this little project is great for using some.

You’ll need:

• scissors
• craft or fabric glue (I used Sobo)
• a piece of heavy lace trim with a repeating pattern
• little kidney shaped ear wires
• a needle or safety pin

The first thing you’ll need to do is look at the lace and figure out what piece of the pattern you’d like and trim around it. Decide how you want the lace to face when they become earrings.

The second step is to turn the lace over to the back side and cover the back with fabric glue. I blobbed some on and then used my finger to smooth it out. This will help keep the piece flat as well as prevent anything from fraying.

 

After the glue dries, take your needle (or safety pin) and poke a hole where you’d like the ear wire to go. Slip the bottom of the ear wire into the hole and you’re done!

You can find the ear wires at any jewelry supply shop. The ones I’m using in these earrings are sterling silver. If you’d like to purchase a pair [$4, free shipping] to use for your own lace earrings, shoot me an email at prismeradesign [at] gmail.com.