Spooning

Here is what I've been working on lately.

Spoon pendants, made from vintage spoons, and stamped with cool quotes. A little added bling, and voila.....a unique one of a kind necklace!

                       
  These are available for sale in my Etsy shop.

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Spring Update

I know..there is no excuse! My blog has taken a back seat in my busy life lately. So, what better way to kick off Spring, than to show you some of the new things going on with my creations for Spring 2014!

Yes..there will always be the keys..I adore keys, and these are the latest. Wrapped in vintage ecru lace, and accented with Swarovski crystals and pearls and semi precious stones.

I have been having a lot of fun with my newest love...vintage silverware!

I have a few great shows lined up over the next few months, so if you are local, you can see the event dates on the right hand side of my blog.

Happy Spring!!

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Spreading the Love!

I just finished these pieces from my Valentines Collection. Not just for Valentines Day, but any day of the year when you want to feel a little loved! All of the  beautiful vintage keys on these necklaces were obtained during my recent trip to England.

     This necklace can be worn short or long!

Vintage brass heart, antique key and some sparkle!

  Peruvian opal,  a fabulous antique key, and a vintage "I Love You" charm.

Another amazing antique key from England, Swarovski crystal, vintage religious charm, and chandelier glass dangle.

Swarovski pearls in rose, and an assortment of vintage charms.

     Beautiful vintage copper charms, Swarovski                crystals and pearls.

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Memories and Fresh Starts

          Happy belated New year to all my readers! 
     Yes, I know its been way too long since I blogged.

In December we traveled to England to visit my family for the holidays. It was a bittersweet visit, as although it was amazing to see my Dad, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, it was a very sad time as my step mother was dying. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimers about 3 years ago, and when my Dad could no longer care for her, she was moved to a nursing home. At about that same time she was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

My step mom, Ann, married my father at the tender age of 28 years old after my mother passed away in a car accident. She took on 4 children under the age of 16. Quite a feat, considering that most 28 year olds today are still single and out enjoying the party life on weekends. Within the year , I also had a new baby sister, so now there were 5 of us! 

She was an amazing lady, very gentle, loving and reserved. She was active, intelligent and vibrant. 

                                 She passed away last week, she was only 67.

On the bright side we were able to see her several times in December, and  say our good byes.

On another note, I am busy planning my Spring line of jewellery. This seasons designs will be softer, more romantic and slightly spiritual. I hope to have some pictures available in the next few weeks.



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Aaaah...relaxing...almost

Yay....all my public Christmas markets are now complete, and I must say this was the best season ever for sales! Success all around. So now I can almost relax. I have an open house with two artist friends in less than two weeks, and I am currently sending new inventory to the boutiques that sell my jewellery.

It wont be long until we  are off to England, to spend Christmas with my side of the family. Winter has set in here early this year, and we have already seen several big snowfalls, and cold temperatures, so I will welcome the break to a somewhat warmer, albeit, rainier climate.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! We Canadians had our turkey and pumpkin pie last month and are already  well into the Christmas season. With all this snow, its easy to get into the Christmas spirit! Pin It

Cheap and Cheerful Earring Display

The car is packed and I am ready for Christmas show number 2 of the season,  this Saturday! 

I needed another earring display, to show a small group of earrings created with my custom ordered paper beads, and needed to come up with something quickly! So I put this together in just a few minutes with materials that I had on hand.

I had some 1/4 inch thick cork board, which I covered with pages from an old useless book. First, I tore some of the edges, and then I just used a glue stick to glue the pages to the cork board. An old wooden plate/picture stand was used to hold it up. 

Then I used tiny pins to pin the earring cards to the display. It works in great with my very vintagy display that I use for all of my shows. This is also great because the display comes apart, and the stand folds flat for easy packing!

Did I mention I was extremely busy??? I hope to catch up on some of my favorite blog reading very soon. 

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The crazy month begins!

As I write this, I am two days away from the first Christmas show of the season. For the next four weekends, I have  back to back Christmas shows. To say I am busy is an understatement...however, I am organized and ready to go!

Earrings are a big seller at these shows, and so I  have just finished making 97 pairs of earrings, which I hope will see me through the first couple of shows. I think I will make 3 more pairs just so it's an even 100!

How to display them, you ask? Well that's what I was asking myself over the last week, when at 4:00 am this morning, I awoke with a brilliant idea!  And here she is.....The Earring Goddess!

This weekend, I will be in Okotoks, Ab., at the Okotoks Market Square Christmas Festival. Pin It

Winter"s Coming

As the temperature dips lower, and the mornings get frostier, we know that soon enough, the landscape will be a white winter wonderland  of ice and snow. Not that I am a great lover of winter, however, I was inspired by this long, cold season, to create this collection called Holiday Ice.

This collection features chunky statement necklaces, created with vintage chandelier crystals, and accented with Swarovski crystals, and pearls, as well as beautiful vintage  glass beads. 

 Dramatic, glam, diva earrings, not for the faint of heart and certainly enough of a statement on their own. These will be the only accessory you will need for your little black dress!

Glamorous enough for wearing to all those upcoming holiday cocktail parties, yet cool enough to wear casually with a pretty sweater and jeans for a more intimate occasion.


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Facinating Film Actresses

 As a reader of my blog, you know that I love all things vintage! 
I love collecting old pictures of people from another era, especially  photos of women and children. I can spend hours online looking at beautiful portraits of forgotten actresses and celebrities from the days of silent films, and early Hollywood. 

Here are some of my favorites:

Maude Fealy -(1883-1971)
American Actress from 1900-1958

The Fairbanks Twins, Marion (1900-1973) and Madeline(1900-1989).
Born in New York, these ladies were stage and motion picture actresses in the silent film era.

Louise Brooks, 1906-1985. An American dancer and film star, that made the bobbed haircut popular in the 1920's.

Olive Thomas, (1894-1920), was an American actress and model, and popular Ziegfield girl. She married Mary Pickfords younger brother. She died tragically at the age of 25, in Paris, after accidentally ingesting bi-chloride of mercury, from a French labelled bottle in a darkened bathroom, believing it to be another medication.

 Lily Elsie- (1886-1962)
A beautiful English Edwardian actress and singer, that was a child star as well as a famous adult celebrity. Sadly, she suffered many mental health issues later in life.

 Mary Pickford, (1892-1979), Well known Canadian actress that was known as Americas Sweetheart.

 Lillian Gish-(1883-1993), An American Screen and television actress. Her career spanned 75 years, appearing  in silent movies,  films, and later in TV. She was 99 when she passed away in her sleep of heart failure.

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Turkey, turkey

I am looking forward to our family Thanksgiving dinner  this weekend. Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October, unlike our American cousins, who celebrate in late November.  However,  both countries celebrate with turkey dinners and pumpkin pies...and thats a good thing! 

I find that our weather usually turns from Fall- like, to Winter after Thanksgiving, however Old Man Winter arrived ahead of schedule this year, as I awoke to a light dusting of snow this morning.  I am sure it will melt by this afternoon, and hopefully we can enjoy a few last warmish days this weekend.

 Wishing all my Canadian readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Pin It