Expressions of Lady K Jewels

Working with Resin

2010-08-01T03:02:00.000-07:00

I love encasing items in resin to see what the end result will be. Here's a few pieces I made by sticking a finding to duct tape, adding a bit of 2 part resident to the openings, and then got creative with seed beads and no hole beads. The first piece started with this silver metal embossed circle.

I added a center rhinestone for a bit of sparkle

This is the circle after I added resin, no hole beads and let harden.

Lady K Jewels Corporate Offices and Creative Studio

2010-05-01T03:29:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I would share my creative space and what I fondly refer to as Lady K's corporate offices which actually span 2 rooms in my house. I love collecting old jewelry findings and yes I occasionally do design and create with the findings I collect.

Above is my work table which does get over flowing with work in progress as my muse does go in different directions many times. Now you can see why sometimes I must work on my lap??

Just a few of the many tools, glues and paints I use and I love my dremel station.

One of my favorite places to find cheap tools is Harbor Freight. I fortunately have a store in my town and I'm there as often as I am at bead shows!! I found this little swivel vice/anvil at HF and use it all the time with my metal work.

OK-So I have acquired quite a stash of stuff!!

Fondly known as "shipping and receiving" at Lady K Jewels-a digital scale I got for cheap at Harbor Freight and works wonders with counting beads and weighing orders!

New ID for Bracelets

2010-04-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

I acquired a box of ID bracelets (remember Speidel?) in one of my many close out jewelry lot purchases. I've been scratching my head for awhile thinking of SOMETHING to do with them. I painted one of my brass pieces and glued it to the ID part of the bracelet which made a great surface to decorate. I got busy gluing my lucite pieces and crystals and a great piece of German glass. Don't forget to outline your piece with a silver or gold Krylon leafing pen which gives the piece just a bit of extra elegant finish.

Lucite Pieces and Colored Wire

2010-04-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have a secret dream of wanting to become a wire worker with my jewelry one day. I've been playing with some of my brass pieces that have been hanging around my studio forever.

I tried experimenting with enamel spray paints on the brass, adding lucite, accenting with glass stones or orphan earrings and finishing with exquisite parawire. I made a few pendants:

Altered Jewelry with Colors of Lucite

2010-04-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

I've discovered the wonderful world of colored vintage lucite and I've listed a few varieties in my shops. I LOVE working with stuff!! I have a few of these peacock pendants-kinda cute in a kitschy sort of way.

I gathered my lucite pieces, E6000 glue and started my peacock transformation. After gluing the lucite pieces I gave this bird some class by accenting with wonderful vintage German glass stones and Swarovski flat back crystals. Would you agree this bird has new life?

Newtiques Takes Off!

2010-04-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Laurie's Newtiques designs are selling well over at Etsy-see how creative she is in working the pieces into stunning designs!

Newtiques from Cute Things 6

2010-04-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Laurie from Cute Things 6 has introduced a new line to her jewelry designs known as Newtiques. She uses some of my moonglow thermoset pieces in the designs for a wonderfully colorful and retro look.

Please visit Laurie's shops on Etsy: Cute Things 6
and Artfire: Cute Things 6

Alice in Mushroom Land?

2010-03-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

With the resurgence of Alice in Wonderland starring Johnny Depp, I thought my mushroom pendants would make a great Alice themed pendant I love encasing things in resin and the mushroom pendants have an outer lip perfect for pouring resin.

Here's a poured resin necklace I made with a pretty Victorian lady print and porcelain flowers added for a lovely double sided necklace.

Three Repurposed Bracelets

2010-03-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm having fun with repurposing recently acquired junk jewelry. These are 3 stretch bracelets that were missing stones and falling apart. I tore them apart, got rid of the old decaying stones and gave them new life. Its amazing how the new designs came out. Hope you like!

Repurposed Fire Opal Stretch Bracelet

2010-03-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

This stretch bracelet was missing stones and the elastic too was decaying.

I separated the pieces and knew I had the perfect Japanese vintage glass fire opals that would fit perfectly where the missing stones once sat. I soaked the pieces in acetone to loosen the old glue. Some of the stones were pretty stubborn but I got them out with the help of a dental pic. If you are on good terms with your dentist he/she might give you some of their old instruments which are great for glue in jewelry work.

I glued my fire opals with E-6000 and than accented with Zircon Swarovski flat backs. I ththen restrung the components with Precosia crystal beads connecting each piece.

Elegant Egg Bracelet

2010-03-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

This stretch bracelet started out in a state of disrepair, missing stones, and decaying elastic.

I separated all of the pieces which by then reminded me of eggs and the elegant designs of Faberge. I added gold tone findings to the front and accented with rhinestones and restrung all of the components for a bold but elegant piece.

Pretty in Pink

2010-03-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

I just got a box of good old jewelry junk and repurposed 3 bracelets with new life. The first one had pretty but plain enameling with beautiful spring colors of pink, purple, slate and yellow.

I also acquired a lot of old thermoset moonglow pieces in wonderful colors that I thought would work well with this bracelet building on the enamel base pieces. Coro and Trifari used thermoset a lot back in the 50's and 60's in their jewelry designs. I just love the rich colors and spread the pieces around the bracelet like a paint box and started building the design. I applied E-6000 glue with a craft stick. Use the glue sparingly because we don't want it to show in the design.

I finished off the design by accenting with beautiful fuscia flat back Swarovski crystals.

Garden Trellis Necklace

2009-05-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

I found a wonderful old casting that I repurposed into a new design. Here is how it looked before I started:

I painted the flowers with alcohol inks and then sprayed a sealer to hold the colors. I then got busy gluing lots of rhinestones and added more porcelain flowers. Pink and purple were my focus colors. I layered the trellis piece onto a filigree finding. I then created a multistrand necklace with rosary and base metal chain. Here's my new design:

Another Brimfield Treasure

2009-05-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the Hollycraft 1958 brooch and bracelet set I got at Brimfield. The epitome of 50's glam.

My Brimfield Creative Treasures

2009-05-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

There was not a lot of affordable vintage findings but I did find a few things I can work with. I purchased a lot of wonderful old Pakastani Kuchi pendants that I've started to repurpose (see the pendant on the right) by removing the original cloudy rhinestones and replacing with new stones. It takes a lot of soaking in acetone and scraping of old glue with a dental instrument but the end results are terrific.

I also found Art 1200 Dentelles in a few vibrant colors that will fit beautifully in my jewelry designs.

My Brimfield Treasures

2009-05-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

I found two lovely Heidi Daus necklaces for under $100. These will go nicely with my Heid Daus ring. Her pieces are so vintage looking and elegant.

Recycled Jewelry Artist

2009-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

I met a fabulous jewelry artist at Brimfield. Her name is Roberta Enhus from W. Boylston, MA and she goes by Black Rose Creations. Her jewelry was all made from recycled materials and she too likes to give life to old jewelry in new designs. This is a sample of her creative designs.

Brimfield Sites

2009-05-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

Home of the famous "Pilgrim Sandwich"

There were lots of girlie things and other unique items to see at Brimfield

Brimfield Bling

2009-05-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have been shamefully neglectful of my blog and decided to share my first ever experience at the Brimfield Antique Show. This is a huge event that comes to my area 3 times per year and attracts over 5,000 dealers and 250,000 visitors. I went with the idea of purchasing pretty vintage jewelry pieces and hoping to find vintage jewelry findings for my own creations. I found wonderful designer pieces and dealers were almost always willing to negotiate a price although many collectible pieces were out of my price range. The asking price for Larry Vrba piece was $600 and just to rich for my purse.

Jewelry Glam at the 2009 Oscars

2009-03-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Academy Awards were held on 2/22/09 bringing out the best of Hollywood glam!

New Artfire Store

2009-03-02T01:36:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted for awhile. I spend today creating a new Artfire store. I'm torn as to where to sell my vintage jewelry supplies. I've had a good year with Etsy and the exposure is great but the selling fees for Artfire are so good. Artfire seems to be growing. We'll see where it goes.

Bail Out Plan

2009-01-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have lots of pieces that don't have holes or bails that I like to make into pendants such as these gorgeous vintage lucite hearts. Lets add a bail so it can be worn. My favorite is using the double leaf findings (available in jewelry supplies at most craft stores). I wrap the finding around a pencil first so that it fits up and over the heart. I glue the finding in place with just a dab (slightly less than a smidge) of E6000 glue. Make sure no glue squeezes out from under the bail.

Clamp the bail onto the pendant with these cool clamps from the dollar store until the glue dries:

What if you don't have the leaf bails? Just make a spiral with a piece of 28 gage wire:

Book Review-Polymer Clay and Mixed Media

2009-01-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

My buddy Christi Friesen has a new book out and she has done it again! Christi shows us how to work art mediums like paper, paint, metal, glass, beads and fiber into our clay designs in terms everyone can understand and pictures that are easy to follow. She shows us how to make those adorable critters and plant life. I've got to make a clay phoenix or griffin soon! Can't wait to see Christi's Birds of a Feather book due out in April, 2009

Helpful Tip-Vaseline Loosens the Glues

2009-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

We are well into the new year and the bitter cold of winter. Hope you are all getting creative to beat the winter blues. Here's a helpful hint to keep your glue tubes easy to open. You know how the glue gets under the cap and you can never get the cap off again? Wipe a bit of Vaseline around the neck of the tube and you will always be able to unscrew the cap on your E6000 (or any other glue tube or bottle).

Wishing everyone a happy and blingful new year!

2009-01-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

Groovy 60's Findings

2008-12-26T03:15:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the 60's findings in my etsy shop : vintage jewelry findings

Glamour in the 60's

2008-12-26T03:07:00.000-08:00

Those who remember the 60's may recall their hippie days when thin was in a glam was out. My all time favorite girl group of the time was the Supremes. I LOVED their look with the big hair, feather boas and sequin evening gowns. As a musical group they had their ups and downs but they were the picture of glam.

My Weekend with Christi Friesen

2008-12-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

I was blessed to take a weekend class in southern New Hampshire with the devine Christi in September, 2008. Darleen Bellan of Darbella Designs: http://www.darbelladesigns.com/ was our gracious hostess. Loved her rhinestone skull in the bathroom, LOL!! Darleen is an amazing clay artist in her own right.

I was a little overwhelmed being the newbie surrounded by so many talented artists but learned a lot and a pleasant time was had by all. Here in mid winter I have fond memories of that warm fall weekend.

Here is my own design in the style of Friesen! I have all of her books and her newest publication "Polymer Clay and Mixed Media" on order. All of Christi's books can be ordered from her site: http://www.cforiginals.net/

Book Review: Vintage Redux-Brenda Schweder

2008-12-25T02:45:00.000-08:00

My reviews will be short. Lots of ideas for repurposing your old jewelry, step by step instructions and a gallery of artists work. Great pics and easy to follow instructions. Available on Amazon.com

Soaring Bird Necklace

2008-12-25T02:43:00.001-08:00

This is another necklace I made with my vintage soaring bird piece available in my etsy store.

Photography Tip

2008-12-25T02:41:00.001-08:00

I used small clips from the dollar store to hold the necklace on the form while I took the pics.

Helpful Tip-Need Jump Rings?

2008-12-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

I use a lot of jump rings in my designs. If you run out you don't have to go out and buy more. Just take a chain link necklace and separate each link using the back and forth method of separating each ring (not opening in/out right?). Oval jump rings seem to hold my pieces more securely on my charm necklaces.

Vintage Bakelite Dice Necklace

2008-12-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

The necklace started with a "Lucky 7" charm bracelet that had rhinestone lucky charms in keeping with the theme of the necklace. I added more chain to make the piece necklace length. I added more caged pearls for a more vintage look.

Charm necklaces are popular now and I wanted to share a necklace I made with vintage bakelite dice. According to Wiki: " Bakelite (pronounced /ˈbеɪkɨlaɪt/) is a material based on the thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin developed in 1907–1909 by Belgian Dr. Leo Baekeland. The retro appeal of old Bakelite products and labor intensive manufacturing has made them quite collectible in recent years." There are many methods for testing the validity of genuine bakelite and I am satisfied that my dice are genuine. The translucence is very pretty when the light shines through.

The dice do not have holes so I drilled a hole with a fine bit on my dremel. I drilled through the the side of the dice that had a center marking like the 1, 3 and 5 side. Hold the dremel and dice firmly while you drill or else your piece may fly across the room or get stuck on the drill. Ask me how I know. I then mounted the dice on an eye pin with decorative vintage findings.