Small assemblage necklace

Time to make a necklace with this poker chip assemblage. One fun thing about this one is that the middle part of the brass rivet is attached to the poker chip. The outer ring can actually spin and move around some - which is why it looks slightly off center.

Combined with a very patinated brass bead and an stone bead, probably agate,

and this adorable dog charm. Unfortunately I had to drill a hole through his head. Poor Fido.

Here's how it looks. I rather like it. 

The travelling dog. That's what I'll call this one.

Necklace with upcycled rulers

Yet another poker chip necklace. This assemblage has a slice of a vintage three-sided ruler. So I paired it with a vintage folding ruler hinge. 

And added some faceted brown beads that I salvaged from a designer dress that a moth had a little meal on.  (Not that I buy designer dresses. That's actually a rather hilarious thought. On several fronts. I basically never wear dresses. And I'm incredibly thrifty and buy probably 95% of my clothes at thrift shops and yard sales.) 

And some pearls and recycled mother of pearl-looking beads. Still a nice length. 

I'm pleased with it, and I got to use my drill press and my bandsaw. I know, I'm weird. 

Part of a necklace with a cool homemade thimble

Here's part of a necklace with one of the poker chip assemblages. I couldn't finish it yet because I didn't have any chain that worked with it. So I am actually going to have to buy some. Egads! 

I also used a turquoise bead, probably faux.

I really liked how my tassel turned out. I used a vintage Monopoly thimble and turned it into a tassel. When I got it on my drill press, I was surprised to discover that it was actually made of metal. Isn't it cute? Can't wait to finish it!

Have you ever made tassels out of an unusual object? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Poker chip assemblage necklace

Time to turn one of my poker chip assemblages into a necklace! I started this one by adding the hinge of the same vintage ruler to the poker chip. I liked it because it coordinated with the ruler piece on the chip. But, at this point, I really wasn't sure whether I liked it; the colors were too different. But I've learned to keep throwing stuff into the mix, and it usually will coalesce at some point in the future.

I added beads I made with vintage atlas pages and some recycled brass beads. Now the colors are complementing each other better.

Finally I added salvaged green beads and I was done.

I have a tendency to make shorter necklaces, so I thought this would be a chance to make a longer necklace. I think I succeeded, right?

What do you think? More assemblage necklaces coming up!

Poker chip assemblages

I bought a box of vintage poker chips a while back. I'm not sure what they are made of; they're definitely not plastic. I got inspired to create something with them this week and decided to make small assemblages.

This assemblage has part of a map from a 1950's atlas - the colors are so much better in old atlases. It's topped by an electric component that I bought at a fabulous estate sale that had a garage filled to the brim with all kinds of stuff. I went nuts. And my daughter bought a 1970's era poster-sized map from Tolkien's trilogy. 

(I have to add that this photo was shot at an angle that makes it appear that it's off-center. Don't worry; it isn't really.)

On this one I used some vintage sheet music and a slice of a vintage three-sided ruler.

More map and a rivet that I salvaged from an old belt. I really am a scavenger, aren't I? 

This one has some paper that I marbled. You should have seen me on the porch marbling paper. I had rows of clothesline hung between the columns with all these marbled papers hung to dry. Wonder what my neighbors thought I was doing?

I topped the paper with an upcycled Lotto game piece. 

More marbled paper here. And a really cool salvaged piece - the green piece is from a theatrical costume made by a NYC firm tat went out of business in the Great Depression. So it's more than eighty years old. I think that's cool.

Still more marbled paper and a piece I cut from a vintage carpenter's folding ruler. Love my bandsaw!

Coming up, I will show you what I made with these little assemblages.

Back at making jewelry

So I have definitely been off doing other things and neglecting this blog and my jewelry. But recently I went to the huge flea market here at the fairgrounds and bought a few goodies that definitely got me back in the creative groove. 

I got these great chandelier crystals. They're about an inch or more in diameter; so they're a great size. And I got them for a great price which I love.

I've had this half of a vintage belt buckle for a while. But I never had anything I wanted to pair it with...until I got the new crystals.

I really liked how they looked together. I added some of my handmade beads created from vintage book pages. I have a thing for typography.

Here's a closer look at one of the upcycled book page beads.

 Finally I threw in recycled chain and beads from a mid-century necklace.

I think I'l call it the sailor and the lady. It reminds me of a ballroom in the first half of the twentieth century. With crystals chandeliers, sailors in uniforms, men in tuxedos, sparkling jewelry, and beautiful women with long gowns swinging. 

Thanks for visiting!

Roasted Cabbage and Kielbasa

I stopped at the pop-up vegetable market off Bickett today and got this organic cabbage for dinner. A friend had just been talking about roasting cabbage, so I decided to make a slightly Germanic dinner.

In a bowl, I mixed olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and Dijon mustard. I love the Trader Joe's Dijon; it's delicious. Whisked this all together and brushed it over the sliced cabbage. 

Doesn't it look great? And this isn't even all of the head of cabbage.  I covered it in foil and put it in the oven to roast. Then I got a beer and sat down to relax while dinner cooked. As soon as I sat down, I remembered the garlic. Or remembered that I forgot the garlic. So I went and pulled the dish out of the oven to add the chopped garlic. I was amazed at how hot the copper gratin pan was already. When cooks talk about how well copper conducts heat, they aren't kidding!

It roasted for 30 minutes, Then I added the sliced turkey kielbasa, covered it back up, and roasted for another 20 minutes. 

Then I uncovered it and let it cook another ten minutes until it was nicely browned.

Looks yummy, doesn't it? Next time I may add whole garlic cloves because I love roasted garlic.

 And what a bargain. This entire dish cost about six dollars and made six servings. Next time I'll make cooked apples to serve with it. That would have been the perfect accompaniment.