A to Z, 2012-- J is for...

ME!

No, wait... that's not quite right... well, I mean, it is, but it's not the word I want to talk about.

Today's word is Junk.

As much as I love to use fancy rocks and beautiful gems and whimsical glass, there is something to be said for creating something beautiful out of practically nothing. I believe that the term now is called "upcycling"-- using things that would have otherwise been discarded, for an entirely new purpose.

My mom picked up a pair of earrings down in Florida, made from soda can tabs and shells:

Thanks for sending me the photo, Mom! Love you lots <3

On Pinterest, you can find many more things like this-- a ring made out of an old fork,  a bracelet made out of old credit cards or gift cards, a bracelet made out of knitting needles, beads made out of old rulers, a bracelet made out of tape measures, a necklace out of old book pages...

Oh... I almost forgot... they have beads made out of paper, too! This example used Archie comics... I wonder who made it? They must be an AMAZING artist, and a wonderful handmade jeweler~ hee hee hee!

(By the way, those links are NOT from *my* Pinterest page... just someone who has very similar interests to mine!)



I love getting deals at thrift stores and bargains at yard sales. It's the thrill of the hunt-- the idea of finding something special that I can use for a project, something that has been discarded by someone else.

On my most recent thrift store expedition, I found two very interesting objects at an absolute steal-- less than $5 for both--

I'm going to have to do a close-up of each of these at some point. They're all really interesting beads-- carved from stone-- some of them look like chess pieces, others look like Transformers, others look like Aztec relics. Oh, and there's one bird thrown into the mix, too~

Or at least, I think it's a bird... either that or a fish...

And "found object" number two-- a brass bracelet, with black and white resin centers!

I've already taken apart the black and white and brass bracelet-- I'm using one of the "links" as a focal point on a necklace-- but I have NO IDEA what the stone beads are going to be yet.

My family always said that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I couldn't agree more. Before you throw something away, think not what it is today, but what it *could* be.

See you all tomorrow. Happy creating!

A to Z, 2012-- C is for...

COOKIE!

(Okay, so this post is not *actually* all about cookies~ but I couldn't help it~ what can I say, the tiny child trapped inside my adult body just can't associate the letter C with anything else! Talk about word associations that just won't die...)

So since C does not stand for cookie, in this instance, it must stand for something else. Now what could that be?

For the longest time, I had the whole thing planned out and set up. C was SUPPOSED to be for Cables. But then today happened.

I had two doctors appointments today, two very important appointments, and I ended up being out of the house all day. It was a great day-- I was able to go to the bead shop AND the metal shop AND my favorite food chain of all time.

I absolutely *love* eating at Pret, and they're all over the city. The food is good and fresh, and it has my latest culinary addiction-- Brie cheese. Specifically in the form of a sandwich, with tomato and fresh basil. YUMM-O!

Anyway, back to the letter C.

As I mentioned above, I ended up at the metal shop... my first time there. And OH MY GOODNESS! I found metal components that really bring me back to my childhood, things that spoke to me as an artist, things that inspired me to create.

Among other things, I bought my first CABOCHON. And some filigree to wrap it up.

As long as I'm recovered from the day's activities, I'll be putting this together tomorrow. It's my first one, so I'm hoping it turns out as pretty as I imagine it to be in my head~!

 And that, my dear friends, is the story of how the letter C became associated with something completely different and unexpected and new.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more alphabet-ty goodness~ and don't forget to sign up for my giveaway from a few posts back!

Day One of "March Madness" Earring Challenge, and NaBloPoMo~ COMPLETE!

So not only am I doing the whole "earring a day" personal challenge, I've decided to take part in March's NaBloPoMo, also known as National Blog Posting Month. I remember taking part in the original incarnation of this, which only happens only once a year-- "NaNoWriMo" (National Novel Writing Month). I kind of miss the "specialness" that this event used to have as a yearly event, but on the other hand I'm glad that there are opportunities to do this EVERY month now, since this means I can combine both my own personal challenge and the NaBloPoMo challenge. Hooray for me~!

My first pair of the month are simple, but classy, and the first pair made from my new ear wires. Take a look!

I'm also trying out some new photo techniques~

I made them to match a necklace that I made earlier in the week. Here, you can see the combined set:

As an added bonus, you can also see my knitting needles and my stash of leftover bits of yarn!

Not my best photo, but you get the idea. Day One of my personal challenge, as well as Day One of NaBloPoMo complete~ only 30 more to go!

A Strange Discovery

As awesome as my art space is, up until yesterday most of my supplies were in storage and inaccessible.

Now? I'm still missing a few boxes, but I have most of it. I will eventually be posting photos in a "before and after" fashion, when the studio actually reaches the elusive "after" state. But that is not why I am here, writing to you today.

See, I was minding my own business, organizing the studio's layout and finding homes for all my little beads. Poor little hobos that they are, they don't even have a proper home...

But I digress. I was sorting and sifting through the special vintage beads from my grandmother (the ones mentioned in my previous post). They had been living in a plastic baggie since she gave them to me, and I decided that they deserved a better home:

Now, some back story~ my grandmother is notorious for holding onto things, and forgetting about them. *I* have the unique knack (and ill-fated luck) of finding said items. Before today, the craziest item I had found was a shaker of celery salt that HAD NO EXPIRATION DATE. After some online research, we realized that it had been purchased before 1971.

But this recent discovery takes ALL the cakes.

See, like I said, I was sorting... and I found some items that were most definitely not beads. Torn edges of newspapers, wire bits, pennies... you know, things within the range of normal. And then I found this.

Yes, that's my workbench. And yes, that's my "pedestal" from yesterday. But no, it's not a bead.

It's PART of a human tooth. Because yes, my life is just *that* weird.

It's a good thing I love you, grandma... <3

Bead Table Wednesday: My First One!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all... MY BEAD TABLE: