The Reveals are coming!

Thrift Store Blog Hop

It will be here soon! I have to get going. because I'm only this far along....





















And started out like this:












I obviously have some work to do! One interesting thing, see those chains in between the enameled pieces? They aren't really chains, they are solid faux chains!

14th Annual Port Jervis Arts Walk is History!

This is the way it should always be, well, maybe not the pickup truck!

Necklaces and badge lanyards

The Ports Jervis Arts Walk has long been one of my favorite local street fairs. Last year and again this year, I set up my little Stringing Fool Jewelry tent and offered necklaces, earrings bracelets and this year for the first time, ankle bracelets for sale. I did pretty well, and as always, learned a little bit for next time.

Earrings and bracelets, a few necklaces too!

The view from the booth

It was a perfect day to be outside, not too hot, and lovely. When we got there at about 8:15, there was a pickup truck blocking one of the spaces (the one next to mine, which happened to belong to my daughter and her friend.) At first it looked as if they were going to have to tow it, but finally the owner showed up around 9:30 to move it. Whew! if he hadn't driven away, we would have had to move to make room for a tow truck. 

Set-up was a little rushed, but I got to try out my new way of displaying earrings

It's a couple of plastic shutters I picked up at a yard sale earlier this year. Jim bolted them together, and used upside down, they become the perfect earring rack. The home made folded earring cards did not turn out as well, and I ran the printer out of ink before I could adjust anything, but this is a good technique for showing earrings. 

All in all, it was a grand day!

I used to say I never won anything

Copper Tube Earrings from MaryAnn Carroll

I entered a give-away on Love My Art Jewelry - and I won the most wonderful copper tube earrings made by MaryAnn Carroll. These earrings really rock. I could not at first remember what they looked like, but I thought "They could not possibly be the simple ones I remember from a week or so ago." But they were. I'm in love! 

You can see more of MaryAnn's earrings here Artisan Beads Plus but I think mine are the best. 

Another cool give away!

Yippie! Krist Bowman's having a give away. But you have to get over there RIGHT NOW.

Catching up - part 2!

Trashy Treasures

Saturdays around my house are often reserved for yard sales and Farmer's Market runs. Since the fridge was a bit full of last week's fruits and veggies, we skipped the Farmer's Market and headed straight for our list of yard sales. Jim usually writes up a list of the most likely looking ones from the local paper, maybe a few from Craig's List (not too fruitful in our area) and off we go. Didn't find much at first and then, Jackpot!! Here's the bag I found at an estate sale among collectible knives and dental kilns.

This is one fine find, and at $5.00, the sale manager may not have been kidding when he said the tag should have said $50.00. The clasp is Catalin, more commonly identified as Bakelite (chemically they are the same plastic.) It has a warm, amber-like quality to it, and I am very pleased. The brown leather has seen better days, but hey, it's older than I am. I think I am going store some of my vintage jewelry in it.

A while later, this popped up.

The color spoke to me. I am more of a green freak these days than I have ever been. And then, there's the lining!

Made up for not going to the farmer's market. I've got my watermelon right here! I'm not much for brand names, but this is an Anne Klein leather bag. Now the question is will I actually use it?


Hope everyone had a "fruitful" weekend!

Catching up!

Things Bloggy

Ooops! Did I forget something? I am participating in the Blog Hop For Art Jewelry Elements July Component of the Month. I already own another Jennifer Cameron piece, but I really wanted to get up close and personal with one of the Insomnia Nightmare series, And here it is. I won this gorgeous bead! 

I am already working on the necklace that this bead will star in. Stay tuned!

What else? Well, the Bead Soup first reveal is right around the corner, on July 28. I am seeing blue beads in my sleep. Here's a picture of Carolyn's lovely selection.


I hope I have done it justice!

What else? 

On August 4, the reveal for the Thrift Store Blog Hop  should be lots of fun. Some of us are finding out, however, that the $1.50 price limit is a bigger challenge then we thought! In the U.S. at least, thrift shop owners want to wring every penny out of old stuff!

Here's what I chose to work with:

It's a pair of funky '80s (?) earrings from the designer Edgar Berebi. I try to avoid messing with vintage jewelry that may have some intrinsic value in its present state but look:

If you look closely, you can see that the original posts are smushed down and probably would not last long if straightened and used as earrings. And I thought they would look good as a necklace. More later!

Cool Give-away

Oh my, another cool give-away, by Fusion Muse!

And to make sure we keep our skills up, we need to blog about what we do with our winnings. So it's a challenge, too!

I have been alternating between productivity (I made some new jewelry) and lethargy (I did not take any pictures.) So I hope my next posts will feature photos!