Alas, My Lord! one of a kind necklace

I just made this Victorian necklace. What a romantic piece!

First I made this pendant. It started with a recycled keychain and a rhinestone earring from a bag of jewelry that I bought at a yard sale last weekend. Then I went through my ephemera and found this lovely image of a woman. She is part of a page of a book published in 1917. The caption reads, "Alas! Of all the ships I see, is there never one that will bring my lord home?"

The lady is staring out to sea at ships in the distance. So I added the ships she so longingly watches to the back of the pendant. And sealed all with artist's acrylic gel medium.

 

I added beads recycled from vintage necklaces and from a vintage designer dress. The semi-precious stone is store-bought. All in all, it makes quite a romantic necklace.

 Then I decided to make earrings to coordinate with the necklace. Therefore, I included a ship on one and a vintage monogrammed heart charm on the other. I like to think that it's the monogram of the lady. The heart symbolizes her aching heart.

And here they are together!

How do you get earrings from antique theatrical vests?

I've told you about my antique theatrical vests. Some of them are beginning to fall apart, and I have salvaged some gorgeous metal components from them. I love that they are from before 1930 - the age gives them a beautiful patina. And that they're from New York. Who knows what shows these may have been worn in. 

So here are some earrings that I made with these very historic parts. 

These brass rings came from one of the antique vests. I added these beads that are probably agate.

Since I use recycled jewelry parts, I can't be sure they are agate, but they certainly look like it.

 These textured copper hoops also were salvaged from one of the antique vests. The faceted beads dangling in the center are much more beautiful than the photos can convey. They are from a 1940's era graduated glass bead necklace. I have seen a number of these necklaces, and the color of these is unique. 

 It doesn't photograph well, but the beads are a subtle grayish lavender. It's quite faint but lovely. And it contrasts well with the shades of copper. 

Copper has been used by man for 10,000 years. A copper pendant has been found in Iraq that dates to 8700 BC. Because copper is so beautiful, it was represented by the goddess of love in Greek and Roman mythology.

Assemblage Earrings with More Paper Beads

Just made this pair of earrings with more of the paper beads. I like the antique brass chain with the black and white beads and the dark pearl.

I love the color of the pearls against my rusted antique fence piece. The earrings are resting on a giant stylized leaf shape in the center of the panel.

 This pair is nice and colorful - perfect for spring and summer. It features beads made from book pages that I marbled. All the beads were recycled from a lightbulb cover. 

 And one last look. 

When electric lighting was new, ceiling lights were bare bulbs and were very bright. To soften the glare, people covered the bulbs with beads woven into a mesh with wire. Since then bulb covers have come in and out of fashion as an accessory rather than a necessity.

More Assemblage Earrings

Just a few more pairs of earrings that I just made. I really have been on an earrings kick recently. I promise that I will mix it up soon and make something else. 

These are made with all recycled materials

This pair has brass heart charms with a great patina. I added blue tone pearls. I like the color combination of the cool blue against the warm brass.

The ovals were recycled from a 1970's era belt. And of course I added vintage chandelier crystals, one of my favorites.

Here's another view...

 The largest crystal chandelier in the world is in Istanbul at the Dolmabahçe Palace. It has 750 lights and weighs 4.5 tons. It was a gift from Queen Victoria. 

My Obsession with Rulers

Mentally, I somewhat divide my work into the Neo-Victorian pieces and my more eclectic pieces. These are more on the eclectic side. 

I am in love with old typography: old books, advertising, letters, and rulers. I have collected a number of vintage carpenter's folding rulers. I like the quirkiness of using them in jewelry. It's the unexpected contrast that appeals to me.

I slice the rulers on my bandsaw (I just love power tools). Then I sand all the edges smooth and wax them with beeswax to protect them and enhance the beauty of the wood.

Here's a pair with one of my domed disks with the lady figure.

 The brass pieces on this pair I salvaged from a worn out belt. I love the worn look of the ruler.

 Here's a contemporary version of pearl earrings. Great for someone like me who would normally never wear pearl earrings. 

And one more with champagne pearls. I wear a pair of these a lot and get lots of comments.

 Ah, tassels again. I do love tassels. 

These are all made of recycled components.

Did you know that some artificial pearls are made of glass which is covered with a concoction containing fish scales (for their luster) called essence d'Orient?. 

Doming my Recycled Charms

So, I salvaged these little round charms from an old scarf. They have a female figure on them, but I can't figure out what she's doing. She has one arm raised.

My daughter has been playing around with doming. She has a Etsy shop selling nerd themed jewelry. It's called Nerdiste if you'd like to visit (however the shop is on vacation while she is studying in Cambridge this July and the first two weeks of August). 

She has been doming copper and brass disks and stamping them with Doctor Who phrases (like Timey Wimey). So it occurred to me to try doming these disks, too. This is her doming set. It's really easy - you just put the disk in one of the holes and place the round end of the tool on the disk, then hammer.

And here is the result. I think they are more interesting when they're domed.

Then I threw together a couple of quick, simple pairs of earrings. I am trying to create an assortment of styles since not everyone wears large earrings.

I think they're kind of cool. They'd be good for work or daytime wear. And they are very lightweight.

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" - Audrey Hepburn

A Few More Pretty Victorian Earrings

Hey there. Yes, I'm a Southerner so I say 'hey'. Anyway, I just made a few more Victorian inspired earrings. So let's take a look.

I started on this piece with a pair of prong set moonstone clip-on earrings. I removed the clip on and added the fishhook ear wire. Then I layered chain with vintage chandelier crystals with long filigree pieces finished with pearls topped with small crystals. All recycled except for the small crystals.

 I used a different filigree piece for this one with blue pearls and faceted glass beads. All recycled.  

Did you know that Greek and Etruscan filigree jewelry dates back to as early as 6th century BC? You can see them at the Louvre and the British Museum. The Louvre has some pieces online. Like this diadem, a kind of small crown. And these earrings. Aren't they gorgeous?

Recycling Dated Earrings

Since I buy box lots of jewelry at auctions and estate sales, I have acquired a number of dated earrings. Sometimes you can take one part of the old earrings and combine them with other elements to create something entirely new.

On this pair, the silver and black enamel piece at the bottom was part of the old pair. I added vintage leverback ear wires, vintage pearl and faceted glass beads. 

I really liked the next part - the blue moonstone prong set on a ridged oval base. I added a blue tone pearl to complement the blue moonstone and a vintage creamy pearl that coordinates beautifully with the gold tones.

You can see the moonstones better in this picture. 

When you spend time creatively, it is so interesting to see how it affects you. I find that my brain starts overflowing with design ideas. And I just want to make more and more things. In fact I haven't even gone to the store for days. We are out of milk, bread, and just about everything else. The pantry is so bare that my eighteen year old son even offered to go to the store tomorrow. So that's what it takes! No, I'm just kidding; he's a great kid.

Playing with My 1930's School Medals

For Christmas, my husband bought me a bunch of 1930's school medals. He knew I had been watching them on Ebay, so he bought them for me. Now that I have set up my monster drill press in my studio, I am ready to drill some and play with them.

I love the colors of this first pair of earrings - the blue of the pearls with the warm copper of the medal. 

Here's another view of this pair. The medals are for Effort and Tennis. I love that they had a medal for effort.

Here's another rather simple pair. This time I've included a champagne colored pearl.

And you can see that this pair includes a medal for Diving. The other medal shows a quill and a scroll. I'm not exactly sure what that represents: Penmanship, Essay Writing...who knows. I'd love to hear other ideas.

There is something about the warmth of old things that I am drawn to. I like that their shine has dulled; their age makes them feel warmer to me.  

Time for Some Victorian Earrings

So I decided that I needed to make some Victorian style earrings to go with the necklaces I have been making.I'm really pleased with this pair. It is made with all recycled components: pieces and beads from old necklaces, rosary bits, vintage pearls, and vintage brass buttons. I don't know why I love old buttons so much, but I do.

 

I particularly like the small buttons. I hammered them slightly to flatten them into a thinner shape and to flatten the metal shank. It was surprising to see how little the hammering altered the designs on the surface. Then I drilled them on my monster drill press (I love my drill press.) Don't you love the anchor!

 One last look before we move on to the next pair. And just because I love how this picture turned out. 

 I love this pair! They are quite simple yet elegant. I recycled some lovely vintage chain and these huge vintage pearls. I would love to find more of this chain because it's so unusual.

Have a great day!