Jackie is a medical technologist in Upstate New York. Her full-time day job is working in a hospital lab, but that’s not where her heart is — she’s hiking in the Adirondacks.

And she’s turning the inspirations of nature into jewellery, twisting wire around beautiful stones and pearls and beads to create striking bracelets, necklaces, earrings.

You can find them for sale on Etsy and get a peek at projects in progress at Jackie’s blog, A Keeper’s Jackpot.

Like most beaders — like most craftspeople, in fact — once Jackie started creating her own jewellery and found that others love the pieces too, she starting exploring new ideas and new materials. From basic beads, she went to wire and stone, then branched out into working with polymer clay, and now she exploring decoupage techniques on some of her pendants…

But you know what? It’s the stone necklaces that really get me.

And I’m not even going to try to explain the emotion effect, the thought process, the “how come” of why I was so immediately taken with Jackie’s work, when her mother-in-law told me about her — I’ll just let the jewellery speak for itself:

When you’re looking for a craft tutorial, nothing’s better than a good clear how-to video. This one, from Rochelle Dahl, shows a simple way to make polymer beads. The project is easy enough for beginners and kids, but the results — as the video shows — can be stunning and quite sophisticated.

Tutorial Summary:
Polymer clay is formed into a ball, pierced with a needle, and pressed between a pair of matching stamps to texturize it on all sides. (One key tip is to use talcum powder or cornstarch to prevent the clay from sticking to your tools.) Bake the beads in a toaster oven and then, as Rochelle says, the fun part begins! Using craft paints, colour and decorate your polymer beads in any way that your imagination suggests.

Jo Brooks (of Lampwork Art, where I discovered this bead-making video) reports that she tried this with her kid a few days ago, and the family bead-making project was a great success.

Could a piece of jewelry get any less attractive?

Seriously.
That’s a real question. And it’s also the whole point of the Ugly Necklace Contest put on by Land of Odds, now in its 6th year.

I’m thinking, just off the top of my head, of a Cleopatra-inspired collar necklace of old stogie butts, balls of duct tape, and radium-orange plastic friendship beads, all strung on fishing line and ornamented with wisps of dog hair.

We’ve all had, er, disappointments in craft projects or artwork… right?

So why not turn failure to triumph (and a chance at a $992.93 shopping spree) by deliberately setting out to make the butt-ugliest necklace you can possibly imagine to create?

Write a short poem about your ugly necklace, and send it with three good colour photos (or scans) of the finished piece to Land of Odds. Full contest rules are here, and you’ve got until 15 March 2008to enter.

Entries will be judged by a panel from The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts, based on a really clever and complicated point system for “the hideousness of the necklace, its shape, color and use of materials, its functionality and wearability, how well the artist has shown an understanding of good design principles (and how to violate them) to achieve this Ugly end, and the quality of the accompanying poem.”

[via Lampwork Art]

Heads up, all you lucky guys with serious tech-trending girls in your lives — Valentine’s Day is coming, and you know what that means!

You really need to start planning for a gift that will leave her breathless and affectionate enough to forgive you a year’s worth of leaving your socks on the floor and standing her up at Starbucks because your World of Warcraft game was just getting good…

Fortunately, my pal Pookie has exactly what you need — nothing less than the most romantic geek gift ever, a USB memory key in the form of a sparkling heart necklace. Lovely!

Oh, sure, it’s a snidgen on the pricey side (especially if you plan to throw in a fancy restaurant dinner and vintage vino to round out the evening), but… could you come up with anything more perfect? Practical… and oh, so very pretty!

For today’s guest post, how about a bit of bling to usher in the Holiday Season? Please welcome Pelf Nyok — and she’ll introduce us to Malaysian jewellery designer April Yim whose opulent designs are inspired by the culture and folklore of the East… ~ Jen

April and her Hand-made Jewellery

Malaysian lass, April Yim, started making some really adorable polymer clay earrings about 2 years ago, and a year and many pairs of polymer clay earrings later, she ventured into jewellery-making where she experimented with real beads and pieces.

And what started as drawings on paper turned into jewellery-designing and making a natural process for April, who now owns a website — Vanity Vault — where she showcases and sells her products.

“Vanity Vault is not a real profit-making business. It started off as a way to fuel a girl’s obsessive hobby and I really intend it to stay that way. It also keeps me from staying in a healthy activity and de-stresses me…”

The expensive hobby

To date, April must have spent thousands of ringgits* on the raw materials for her jewellery. She was still a student when she picked up the hobby two years ago, and it was undeniably difficult on her pockets. In fact, a huge portion of her first pay cheque went to purchasing the raw materials (beads and stones) for her jewellery, which were imported from a variety of places.

“Each region of the world specializes in different parts and pieces. Cultured pearls are imported from Japan, China and the islands in the South Pacific, Swarovski crystals direct from Swarovski, Austria, and of course semi-precious stones are from all continents of the world.”

Each piece of jewellery can take as short as 5 minutes and as long as 5 days to complete. In fact, according to April, jewellery-making is definitely NOT a solitary craft because it requires a collective set of skills (such as beading, wire-work, moulding, painting, needle-work, metal-works, glass-works and of course, design). Moreover, the time needed to complete a piece really depends on the set of disciplines involved and how complicated the design is.

April’s favourites

Despite holding a day job, April manages to make an average of 8-10 pieces of jewellery per month. And 3 of her favourites are:

• Favourite necklace –
  Ultima

  There are more than 36 ways in which you can wear this convertible necklace. It is completely changeable into a necklace of different lengths, 3 different bracelets, a belt and a bag charm.







• Favourite earrings –
  Aethelwyne

  It features a very intricate design on a gold leaf shaped filligree, nylon coated gold wire, mirror beads with gold rim coating in green, black pearls and Aurora Borealis Czech glass beads. Note how the colours blend so well with the feature of the design.




• Favourite bracelet –
  Cleopatra
  The colours are in sync with one of April’s favourite ancient dynasties.

If you haven’t noticed it, besides designing and making jewellery, April is also a huge fan of names (did you see how she named the bracelet Cleopatra?!). She feels that each name should give each individual piece its own character and individuality. In fact, a lot of the names for her jewellery have been derived from stories she’s heard of or read about. Besides, she was sometimes inspired by the local and foreign languages, characters from ancient folklore and catchy quotes or phrases.

The other side of April Yim

In the past, April had donated some of her jewellery to raise funds for another Malaysian blogger, Yvonne Foong, who has Neurofibromatosis Type II (an incurable genetic disease). April also sponsored some of her items to raise funds for other charities and to help the less fortunate.

She would definitely love to work with more people in the future, so if you are organizing a charity event or fund-raising activity, do remember to contact April!

Note: The current foreign exchange rate is 3.3 Malaysian Ringgit to 1 US Dollar.

Pelf Nyok, the author of The Giving Hands, is a grad-student who is trying to save the turtles, the environment and humankind. Charity, conservation and volunteerism are things that are very close to her heart.
pelf-ism is contagious!

You know grosgrain ribbon, right? That sturdy multi-purpose ribbon with strong ribs going across it?

Striped, solid, or even printed with polka dots though it may be — yeah, you know grosgrain when you see it.

Grosgrain ribbon makes a regular appearance in our old family photo albums — mostly in striped ribbon belts with D-ring buckles, worn low on wide-belled hip-huggers or tight at the waist to cinch in a polyester shirtwaist dress.

My mother had an apron trimmed with apple-green grosgrain at the hem and pocket, too, as I recall…

That’s no doubt why grosgrain ribbon says “1970s” to me, more than any other material — except perhaps Mylar wallpaper… and Formica surfaces with tiny metallic flakes… and guitar-driven rock, played very loud…

In short, it’s a shortcut to retro decor style, with a bright new twist.

All this comes to mind because I’ve been looking through John Loecke’s new book, Grosgrain Style: Quick and Creative Projects for Accessorizing and Decorating with Grosgrain Ribbon, dropped into my dainty white hands this week by Random House, the publisher.

Designer John Loecke shows how to use grosgrain ribbons to trim almost any item of domestic decor… from glassware to picture frames… from chandeliers to slipcovers…

He divides the projects up into chapters by room, esssentially, but makes the point that a lot of cross-over is likely to happen, once your imagination gets playing with ribbons.

I think my favourite project of those showcased in the book must be the small-scale ribbon belts… used as casual napkin rings!

This comes from a designer whose own closet boasts a rainbow of ribbon belts, grosgrain ribbon watch bands, key fobs, you name it… So of course there’s even a chapter here on using grosgrain to funky-up your own personal accessories — necklaces, bangles, canvas sneakers, totes, and of course those classic D-ring grosgrain ribbon belts.

At the very end of Grosgrain Style is a section of Ribbon Notes and Resources — easy to find when you need to look something up, because the edges of the pages are printed as if bound with a bright green grosgrain ribbon.

And in here, in the Glossary of Basic Tools part, I found a piece of pure gold:

Sold on rolls and in a variety of widths, this double-sided, pressure-sensitive adhesive holds like glue without the mess… And, unlike glue, Sealah tape is washable, and because it’s both acid- and lignin-free, it will not yellow over time, changing the color of your ribbon.

Am I the only person on the planet who didn’t know of this magical Sealah tape?

But I digress…

This is intended to be more of an inspiration book rather than a step-by-step instruction manual, but I think the designer-author achieves both of those purposes to some degree.

In Grosgrain Style, John Loecke inspires with a bright host of project ideas (beautifully photographed by Wendell Webber, by the way) and gives the basic techniques and materials information that you need to take those ideas as a starting point — to run away with the grosgrain concept, and make each project your own.

Technorati Tags: home decor, books, reviews

What could be more appropriate for a piece of art work created from found objects or recycled materials, than the figure of an caretaking angel?

Some of these angels will help to feed a hungry family in a developing country.

Some will help to care for helpless animals.

Some will bring a smile, or inspire an afternoon of laughter and family crafts.

And all of these angels make good and beautiful use of materials that would otherwise be wasted.

 
 
With each lovely blue Recycled Glass Angel purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 14 bowls of food for animals living in shelters. Each angel is unique, created by a recycled glass cooperative and fair-trade imported from Guatemala.

Arncraft projects from Creative Kids at Home give ideas and instructions to challenge you to create new items from recycled materials, like this CD angel, created from an unwanted compact disc.

Disabled artisans at theBombolulu Workshop near Mombasa, Kenya, are employed, housed, and educated for their work in making jewelry, like this cheerful angel pin, from recycled materials.

“Each year we dedicate a week in December to Christmas crafts and baking, says Cheri, the TNfarmgirl. “This is a time for the boys to express themselves in a variety of ways, create handcrafted presents for family and friends and learn new cooking skills.”

Through the year, the family will collects items with crafty recycling potential, then pull them out for a big family craft bash. One year, they made lightbulb angels like this little cutie. You can leave her without the self-standing feet and hook her halo onto the Christmas tree, if you prefer a hanging ornament.

Recycled metal and wood pieces, together with found objects, take a turn as the hippest of folk art in these mixed-media angels. On the left, Angel Red Lace is by Tricia Courtney of Lemon Oak Studio. On the right is Tattoo, one of Elzabeth Frank’s Tin Can Angels series in carved wood, recycled tin, acrylic, and wax.

In my travels, I’ve seen some remarkable garden-art angels made from rusty angle-iron pieces that you’d never think could look so lovely… and a mosiac stepping stone with an angel motif, made from broken bits of patterned china… and years ago, the nursery school did something with toilet paper rolls and the coloured comic pages from the newspaper…

What recycled angels have you seen and admired — or made yourself?
Tell us about it in the comments, and do feel free to leave a link if you want to share a picture!

The Swedish design team of Lisa Widén and Anna Irinarchos — Wis Design — may possibly have come up with the perfect blend of home organization and home decor.

Instead of letting jewelleries get tangled on hooks, or hiding them in boxes, we literally want to bring them into the light.

When the jewelleries are not decorating you, they are decorating your own personally styled lamp.

Practical and playful, the Jewellery Lamp changes from day to day, and is totally unique for every one of us who can sling a string of beads or hang an earring collection!

Original designs from Goth to Rockabilly, the Femme Metale look is fresh and a little bit edgy… Leslie Homan, a former model, Hollywood makeup artist and wardrobe stylist, is the creative force behind the sterling silver jewelry that’s flaunted by some of the biggest stars of the rock pop world and Hollywood. I’m totally charmed by her retro-glam vintage swizzle stick bracelets, like this silver Vegas showgirl.

Femme Metale jewelry has “graced the manicured hands” of Christina Aguilera, Kate Moss, Sheryl Crow, Kat Von D, Brittany Murphy, Avril Lavigne, Angelina Jolie, and the Divas of the WWE, just to name a few of the silver afficianadas, and has made a number of television appearances inlcuding a shine on America’s Next Top Model.

VLING jewelry by Alarm Industries is made from recycled vinyl records. Each piece of is one of a kind due to the random nature of the grooves found in each record.

Pins, earrings, or necklaces — choose from a variety of designs including heart shapes, horses, cats, butterflies, birds, cherries and other sweet stuff.

Or go retro rock style with guitar shapes, lightning bolts, stars, guitars…

It’s affordable go-anywhere make-a-major-statement bling — this striking skull necklace is $14.99. (Matching skull belt buckle is coming soon.)

Here’s a question for the creative jewelry artists in the crowd: have you ever used model railroad supplies to make a $1400 necklace?

Some of the most astonishingly original pieces I’ve seen in ages (thanks to Di Overton for spotting the dangerously pretty rings) have turned up in Sarah Hood’s landscape jewellery collection — inspired and inspiring!

My personal favourite in Hood’s new line is the aforementioned one-of-a-kind Bush/ Branch Necklace, made of tiny sterling silver branches interpersed with those little fake “bushes” and “underbrush” you’d get to make a model railroad landscape.

It comes with a cherry wood and glass shadow box, so you can show it off on the sideboard or wall when it’s not sparking up your little black dress.

Dig out a pair of those earrings you never wear anymore — the ones that were a total mistake X years ago — and give them a funky new life as fool-the-eye faux stones. The secret is papier mâché, and the method is quick and easy.

You might even get a bored pre-teen girl to put down her phone for this craft project!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• one pair of hook-type earrings you won’t want to wear again (or jewelry hardware from a craft store, if you want to make new earrings from scratch)



• old newspaper, paper towel or tissue paper
• plastic wrap
• a small paint brush
• old rags or a sponge
• 2 Tbsp white household glue, mixed with 2 Tbsp water to make a thin paste
• craft paints (in the rock-like natural colors of your choice)
• water-based clear sealer (preferably with a low-gloss or satin finish)

Step One: Papier Mâché

Cover your work table with newspaper or plastic, for easy clean-up, and wind a piece of plastic wrap around the earring hooks to protect them from paste and paint.

Rip a sheet of newspaper into small strips, as narrow as you can get them and no more than 4 inches long. Tear the paper rather than cutting it so the edges will be soft and uneven. Wet a strip of newspaper in the paste, then run it between your fingers to remove the excess paste. It should be thoroughly moistened but not dripping or soggy.

Wrap the pasted newspaper strip around the dangling pendant of one of those old earrings. Repeat with the other earring. Continue to work back and forth from one earring to the other as you add more strips of pasted paper, building up a form that looks like it could be a small rock. The two earrings don’t need to be absolutely identical in shape and size — no two rocks are exactly alike in nature — but you’ll want them to be fairly similar.

If the phone rings in the middle of your work, no worries! Just cover your saucer of paste with a piece of plastic wrap until you’re ready to get back to it. (If it starts to dry out, add a few drops of warm water.) And it won’t hurt if you let your project dry out a little between layers — that just means a quicker drying time at the end.

When you’ve got a couple of rock shapes you’re happy with, tear off small pieces of tissue paper or paper towel, just barely moisten them with paste, and smooth them on to your earring rocks as the final layer. This is just to soften any glaring lines left by the newspaper strips and add a bit of a finer texture, which helps to make the faux rocks look more realistic.

Gently remove the plastic wrap from the metal hooks, so it doesn’t get permanently glued on, and set the earrings aside to dry. I like to dry my papier mâché projects on an old wire cookie-cooling rack to let the air circulate freely around them. Don’t rush the drying time! A couple of days in a warm place is the minimum it’ll take to dry them all the way through to the center.

Step Two: Faux Finish

Here’s where we get really creative! A faux rock paint finish may look a bit challenging at first, but it’s hard to do it “wrong” — have you ever noticed what a wonderful variety of rocks and stones there are in nature? Gather up a few that attract you, perhaps, and bring them in to your work space for inspiration.

Acrylic craft paints are great because they’re inexpensive, they dry very quickly, and you can wash up with soap and water. Still, it’ll make life easier if you protect your work surface and wrap the earring hooks in plastic wrap again before you start painting.

Plan to use three different colors of paint, if possible. For some reason I can’t begin to explain, three is the magic number! Two colors just doesn’t look real, and four or more colors can look fussy. (To replicate my local dark-red stones, for example, I chose Americana paints in Lamp Black, Dark Chocolate, and Rookwood Red.)

I find it helpful to start with a base coat of your darkest color to quickly hide the newspaper print. Once the papier mâché rocks are all one solid color, somehow it’s much easier to imagine how they might best be finished.

Next, put a dot of your lightest, brightest color of paint onto the corner of a sponge or rag. Add it here and there over the dark base coat, wiping off or dabbing on just as the spirit moves you. Again, work back and forth between the two earrings so they’ll end up looking like the same kind of rocks.

Wiped with a rag, some paint will naturally collect in small hollows and rough areas on your faux rocks. This gives a far more natural effect than a smooth application would, so it works to your advantage!

Finally, add a tiny touch of the third (mid-range) color here and there, using the smallest paintbrush you have. Sometimes I use the tip of a toothpick or bamboo skewer for very fine lines, like the speckles or fine veins that you’ll often see in real rocks. When you’re happy with how your faux rock earrings turned out, apply a light coat of clear sealer to protect the paint finish.

Take the plastic wrap off the hooks, now, and try your earrings on. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results — and if not, you can always paint over!