Upcoming Vintage Inspired Christmas Brooches and Other Delights

Showing off the first of my vintage & kitsch inspired Christmas brooches.

When I was a little girl, I always new Christmas was close when our old Woodwards store put out their big table of floral corsages. It was such a sight to behold through a child's eyes, the explosion of colour and glitter. The big glittered plastic flowers with big bits of plastic greenery, maybe some fake snow too. And each one of them would have it's own little plastic Santa, snowman or maybe a metallic wrapped fake gift or two.  They were attached with either a long straight pin or a simple open c-clasp one.

It's funny, I never really loved any of them individually, but all together was magical. Nowadays I often think back to those early Christmas corsages, which in turn make me think of all the other magical Christmas stuff:  when window displays were all about fun and fantasy and children would drag their parents to stop, look and dream ( unlike today where the ones here in Victoria British Columbia are so boring, lifeless, showcasing clothing/material objects  and all about getting more sales ).  I know I'm not the only one who misses those fun displays, so maybe one day soon someone somewhere will say "enough is enough" to the unmagical commercialism of today and make the effort to bring back some of the past, to lighten the eyes of todays children and re-lighten the joy of the adults too.

This pin was inspired by those memories of kitschy plastic flowered Christmas brooches and vintage Christmas cards. It's already in my Etsy shop --just click the shop on your right. Look for more in the upcoming weeks.

This floral necklaces was made 2 years ago. I will be relisting it again in the next day or two. Created with a real porcelain rose taken from a damaged Adderly rose table decoration. The necklace consists of czech glass beads, a few aurora  borealis glass beads, swarovski crystals on the dangle and a section of curb chain from another vintage necklace. A modern goldtone lobster claw is the clasp if you should need it --necklace slips on/off quite easily. True 'trashion', the bone china floral decoration almost get sent to the trash ! Thank goodness I saved it. I made a pink one for my mom, but she is now passed and so I will be keeping it.

I listed this piece yesterday and was going to blog about it when I went back to check on it and couldn't find it in my Etsy shop ! It sold ! What a lovely surprise that was :)

It's called Beautiful Dreamer because the image of the lady & all the other lovely bits are assembled on top of a vintage Sankyo music box which plays the tune 'Beautiful Dreamer'. Originally a keycahin and found amongst a pile of plastic necklaces and earrings in a thrift shop. I think I paid under $2 for it ( !! ) and didn't immediately notice the Sankyo mark, nor even knew they were collectible. A year went by until I finally dug it out from under my own pile of vintage jewelry, it was then I took a good look at it and did a bit of research online. Many other Sankyo music boxes were selling for quite a bit more than $2, let's say $40 to $60, sometimes more ! But they all had a design on the front whereas the one I found was a plain goldtone box with a simple cheap goldtone keychain attachment. The plain face of it called to me big time and I could almost instantly see what it was I was going to do. Well voila, there you go, a lovely assemblage to go with the Beautiful Dreamer music.

It took me several days to decide if I wanted to list it or not ! I did wear it once to a friends, just to say I did ;) But now it is on its way to another music box lover, in Toronto Canada. She too makes gorgeous creations with small music boxes and music works, the website is Tuned Teeth . Check it out !

I hope to one day find another wee music box and make another lovely necklace like this. The lady getting this is definately getting a ONE of a kind creation :)

Free Images & feeling the Christmas spirit....

I like Halloween but I LOVE Christmas ! Though I'm not yet ready to haul out the Christmas decorations, I am feeling in the mood to create some goodies for my shop.

So I'm going to make a few 'cute' Christmas brooches, using cardstock & various bits & bobs found around my art room --things like vintage Christmas cards, broken jewelry bits, flowers and more. Of course you mustn't forget the glitter !

My first brooch is almost done, but below the cardinal is the beginnings of it (vintage card bits,stars cut from a vintage candle tin wraparound). It now has flowers,glitter, a heart earring and a shiny coating of gloss ( fake resin ). I may add a small piece of ribbon to transform the brooches into ornaments for the tree.

The cardinal and flower will be part of another brooch. Fun !!

These next 6 images are scanned 1950's-early 60's Christmas card covers. They were purchased super cheap from my parents next door neighbor, who was a packrat ! She loved her thrift shops,garage sales and even bought a ton of stuff from the old shopping channel. She was so much of a packrat that about 20 yrs. ago her house suffered a fire, because of items piled up near the furnace :( Thankfully there was more smoke damage than fire but a LOT of her stuff had to be discarded in a large dumpster outside her garage. So my mom walked over one day and took a peek in the dumpster ! She brought home a couple of items, a porcelain bowl, some ugly brass planter with lions and doves carved into the brass, etc...

As much as it might have been fun for my mom to go dumpster diving ( and believe me I felt the temptation too, she had a lot of wonderful treasures ), I couldn't do it. It was after all, still the neighbors stuff ! If I had found an item and was able to clean it up, I would have given it back to her. But that's the way I work.

ANYWAY. About 5 years ago she got to the point where she had to have constant help, so it was time to find a care home. One of her sons had a huge garage sale. There were so many wonderful treasures, from Mr.Bean bears ( she usually would get more than one if she could ) to full bottles of unopened makeup to old bottles and more. I still kick myself for some of the things I passed on ( like more vintage cards and a Mr.Bean bear ), but am very happy with what I did find. One of these days I'll post images of 6 unique wine bottles from France. Each of them is dressed up in clothes and the bottle stops are handcarved wood faces. The best thing about them ? Each face has one large winking eye ! I've perused the internet trying to find anything about them, so far no luck.

The only sad thing about the garage sale....her son had no idea the value of some of her things, so it all went soooo cheaply. He didn't really care anyway and I wondered if his mom ever found out. Lots of very happy buyers that's for sure !

So these cards are on very thin paper and I think some of them may have had removable inserts. I saved the images at 300 dpi ( dots per inch ), which I've read is supposedly the best size to print out. You can also access them on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytracy/4078270380/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytracy/4078270620/

If you do end up using these in art, etc...I would love to know and see a pic. or two :)

Enjoy ♥

What my little studio has been enjoying lately....

My art desk has been getting a good workout lately. I've found yet another form of art that i plan to stick with for awhile ( unlike my felt creations ! ).
 I've dubbed this art 'Vintage Reinvented' and it is simply taking my big stash of mostly vintage broken jewelry parts and recreating them into fresh new jewelry.

For the longest time I would use only small pieces of my stash, hesitant to go all out because most of the bits I had only one of and would probably never find another of it's kind again. I also have some pieces that look too pretty to give away, but they're just sitting in one of my drawers. So if I don't make something for myself then why am I keeping such pretty things hidden away ? So what I've been doing is taking out one or two pretty pieces, putting them somewhere visible, leaving them for a day or two to enjoy & decide if I'm going to use them for myself or share. Well I already have quite a few pretty pieces my family & friends have given me and I really don't need anymore in my personal jewelry boxes, so I usually end up choosing to share the other bits. And it's a good feeling transforming these pieces into wonderful, perhaps even magical, wearable 'works of art' with the hopes someone out there will also find them just as magical. I also love to run my hands over the piece before reconstructing it, wondering quietly who the person was that wore it, are they still around, was it a special gift from a friend, a lover, a family member or simply a fun purchase for themselves ? Sometimes my heart will ache from not knowing exactly where it came from --but maybe it's a good idea I don't know, otherwise I'd never use the bits & bobs, they'd become even more vintage without ever seeing light again !

So here is a picture I took tonight ( Nov.3) of what my desk now looks like. I was doing so well putting everything away each night...when I was working on my felt pendants. But now ? Ha, forget it ! Just too many little things to constantly put away. And I find I tend to work better when surrounded by these tiny delights, they help to keep my mind churning out ideas for future goodies. Fortunately the rest of my wee studio is fairly organised, if it wasn't then I'd be feeling stress instead of joy.
You can just make out some of the 'stuff' I've been using for my 'vintage reinvented' jewelry....rhinestones, faux pearls, attachments, etc...

The piece below is what I am working on right now. It's a real music box, but miniature ! It had a keychain attachment but I felt it should be seen instead of getting banged up by a bunch of keys ! So now it's on it's way to becoming a necklace. The tune it plays is 'Beautiful Dreamer', and as you can see I've tried to create a 'beautiful dreamer' scene. Two of the 'pretty pieces' I was hesitant to use were the aurora borealis chain and the ivory coloured flower with rhinestone. I've since seen other vintage ab chain for sale on Etsy so am not too concerned about never finding more again ( I used some on my Candied Sugar necklace already listed in my Etsy shop ). But the ivory flower piece was one of about 10 others I took from a broken brooch. Even tho it was broken, it took me awhile to decide if I wanted to cut off the flower. Well as you can see, I did it and survived lol ! :) Really liking how this piece is turning out so far.

The next piece is called A Drop or Two and consists of vintage chandelier crystals (drops), vint. ab glass beads ( from earrings), 7 vint. diamond-like rhinestones ( from a rhinestone encrusted collar ), a vint. red flatback rhinestone and a vint. bright red celluloid flower ( from damaged brooch which has 2 other flowers ). The filigree backing and chain are part of a 1970's necklace. It's a rather romantic modish looking piece with a bit of a flapper influence ( I can see this worn with one of those flapper dresses from the 1920's ). Already listed if you want to see more pictures HERE

I have to say, the pieces I've made lately have been a bit difficult to list. I want to keep them ! Sure I could do that but then what would I do for my Etsy shop ? This is my lifestyle right now, being creative comes naturally and it's in my blood, and it's great having a place like Etsy to show off and sell my wares.

Well that's it for tonight. I'll be back again soon xo ♥

Been doing the Bling !

Posting a quick shot of what I've been working on lately. Taking my time as usual ! These are deconstructed pieces of jewelry, stuff I've had for many many years, some over 20 yrs. and much of it found at thrift shops, garage sales and from friends.

So many times I'd look in my drawers of jewelry stash and just not use it to it's full effect. A tiny bead here, a small piece there, but nothing with any real "oomp!" --guess I was concerned that if I got in there and started using it, then I'd end up with nothing left. But of course that's not true these days, just look around the online shops, especially Etsy, you can find and purchase so many wonderful vintage bits and bobs. Our local thrift shops don't sell close to the delights one can find online.

So here are 3 creations I plan to list this week. Not yet finished but almost there. I need to go online and find out what the red flower material is, the name of it has left me. It came from a brooch, you can see the leftover bit to the right. That one has chandelier crystals ooh lala :) The purple pendant was a plain crystal cameo intaglio ( carved into the backside of the glass ) on which I 'wove' a bunch of sequins and beads. My most fav. though is the really 'blinged out' piece in the centre ! A Vintage necklace 'frame' houses an old rhinestone brooch. That was then framed with pink rhinestone chain and brilliant aurora borealis chain. Love it !! I'm still working on the necklace chain, not sure if I should leave it plain or add just a touch more bling.

Now back to work.......♥

Fall, Turkey Bounty, Pirate's Booty & Possibly a Tarsier too !

Fall rituals: changing of the tree colors, leaves dancing & flying, a day or two or three of heavy rain, the flights of birds big & small, fresh bird seed & some peanut butter too, peanuts for the squirrels, pots of hot chocolate, rib sticking stews & chowders, candy corn & ghastly masks, cozy cuddly sweaters, flannel bedsheets, a favored pair of pink fuzzy slippers.....

(the neighbors breathtaking trees)

(a big pot of thick & rich Thanksgiving turkey chowder,with curly pasta, carrots,

peas,sweet potato,green onion,garlic,dill,seasoning salt

& lots of turkey broth --with bits of leftover

stuffing & plenty of pulled turkey. YuM !)

My Steamed Pirate's Booty earrings, just listed in my Etsy shop.

Vintage treasure,a boys discarded plastic coins & a touch of Steampunk.

This little fella will soon be in my Etsy shop too.
Meet Mr.Tarsier Charmbly. Can you tell he's REALLY happy to SEE you ?
His legs 'n arms are covered with funky napkin paper, & his middle sports a
whimsical image cut from a vintage Dutch image ( at least I think it's Dutch, had the paper
for quite sometime & forget where it came from :P).
His wee heart brad tells you he
has a heart of gold :)

This is the unique charm that comes with Mr.Tarsier Charmbly !
I've named it 'Horse Circuitry'.
A vintage playing card ( my parents had these horse cards since the 60's ), handsewn
with thread-beads-faux rhinestones. I don't remember where the circuit piece
came from ( I have lots of 'don't remember where they came from' bits and pieces ) but it's been
glammed up with glitter and gloss and a vintage glass chandelier with tiny swarovski crystal !
Yes, it's an odd charm, one I'm proud of :) You can use it as a necklace pendant, make a
bookmark, heavy earring, scrapbook decor, Christmas ornament and more !

Now off to bed.....g'night all ♥

Birds and Bounty....

I so love looking out our sundeck doors and watching the birds fatten up for Winter. I've got to get myself another feeder to replace the suet holder ( just behind the squiggly branch ). I'll prob. 'tie' the suet holder in between the two arms, so that will mean more birds will be able to enjoy more food.
The plate is temporary, I wanted to see if the birds would actually feed off of it. Right now there's some ripe pear smeared with peanut butter and sprinkled with bird seed. It seems to be quite a hit !

The main birds so far are: red breasted nuthatch's ( love the racing stripes on their heads ! ), chickadees and others I don't know the name or just can't recall right now ( I think the black-headed birds, one on sundeck floor, is called a Towhee ).

They have their ranks & sometimes squabbles, but it's still such a joy watching them with a big mug of hot tea. A great way to wake up !

And this whimsical pic. is showing off our really small bounty of apples this year :P We've only been in our new house for a year, last year the tree was full of apples & I was able to make quite a few pies. BUT, we also have a full pear tree and a couple of days ago we picked quite a few, with the hopes that they will ripen this year ( we picked too early and they stayed rock hard ). Our toes are crossed, hoping to be able to make some tarts or whatever else is tasty in the way of pear treats.

And dontcha love the pumpkin bowl lol !! I found it at Michaels last year & could not resist it's whimsical face and wobbly googly eyes. It's a Dept.56 item ( just noticed the insignia last week ).

The pinecones fell, along with many others, from our neighbors pine tree. The smell is wonderful ! I am so looking forward to collecting fallen pine and cedar branches too, they're so Christmassy to me & make tealights in glittery red glass votives so festive.

Now back too arting, what's new :)

There's a Monkey on Your Chest ( or fridge ) !

For the King Kong fans ! Here's another of my 3-in-1 pendants, soon to be listed in my Etsy shop once the gloss dries.

At first I was going to make a steampunk pendant but then my eyes landed on the King Kong image found from a vintage 'Evergreen' book ( a publication in England ). The vintage photo slide really adds to the piece too.
This is ooak -one-of-a-kind- because I took the image directly from the book and don't plan on making another ( if I ever did then the image would probably be a computer print ).

Great fun !