Vintage Blue Studio

Where did the time go?

     

I'll tell you where it went; Beadfest Philly, a trip to Disney World, several trips to the antique store, Rings N Things trunk show.  I've been a busy bee and in the process I've neglected my poor blog.  But can you blame me?  Look at all the wonderful goodies I picked up yesterday at Rings N Things!

 

While most of the women  were piling mounds of large chunky earth-tone beads onto their trays I was carefully picking out small faceted pieces.  My original intention was to purchase nugget-shaped beads but they were few and far between so I fell back to my trusty faceted gem pieces.  I can always count on small shiny things to make me happy.  I even threw in some funky pearls for fun.

If you make jewelry then you probably know that the price of silver dropped briefly the other day.  I made certain to take advantage of this and bought ALOT of sterling and fine silver wire.  However, since the economy is not at it's finest I've been playing with copper because it's certainly less painful on my wallet if I make a mistake or just want to try new techniques.  Besides, copper has such a wonderful color and you can oxidize or enamel it!

 

These little findings are a result of my current dabbling with chasing tools, the dapping block, liver of sulfur and enamel.  While I can never get enough beads I have an even greater addiction to tools.  There is always another tool to purchase.  Thank goodness I can go to Sue's studio for all the tools that I can't fit in an apartment.  I cannot wait to buy a townhouse next year because that means more room for more tools! 

With all these new gems there will be plenty of new pieces in the shop soon.  I have several new pieces completed and I'm in the process of designing more.  I want to make certain I can do a full shop overhaul before I post the new pieces.  I'll be moving away from collage pendants and adding more metalwork, wire, enamel and even some re-purposed pieces using vintage and antique goodies.  My biggest challenge is take better photos which is why I'm off to go to the bookstore now.  I need to read up on improving my photography.

Catching up

Since I've neglected my blog once again I thought I would just show off a bunch of things until I have a change to photograph the new things I've been woking on.  So here we go...

Two and a half weeks ago Colin and I were shopping at Ashley Furniture when we ran across pet adoption day.  We looked at all the cats and kittens and then went back to shopping.  When we couldn't find a bed frame we went back to the cats.  Colin spotted a black kitten but she had longer hair which is no good for my allergies.  Then the little grey kitten sharing the cage rolled over and accepted a belly rub...I'm a sucker.  We signed the adoption papers and after some heavy duty apartment cleaning, we brought our little Dexter home.  Isn't he just evil..I mean cute?  I've already begun work on a Dexter-themed charm necklace.

Speaking of jewelry, I finally completed a brooch I'd been working on for a long time.  It's hard to focus when you want to try everything.  At the end of June I finished up work on my copper and brass brooch which was my first full project in my metalsmithing classes.  I'm really happy with how it came out especially because the house and walkway were such tiny difficult pieces due to their size.  My next project is a ring.  I'm still trying to think of concepts for it and have been using photos from my honeymoon as inspiration.  Perhaps these will strike inspiration for you...

On the way to the Emerald Pool at Zion National Park.

3.5 miles into the Virgin River at Zion.  We finally turned around here because it was getting late and I was hungry.  Next time we'll go further.

Flowers in my parents front yard in St. George, Utah.

Wedding Bells!

 

I have returned from my wedding and honeymoon in Vegas!  We had a wonderful time and the Paris hotel and Mon Ami Restaurant did wonderful jobs.  I'm so happy we decided to go with a fun Vegas wedding that included 30 of our closest friends and family. 

 

Colin and I exchanged our vows at 3:00 on July 5th.  We gave each other wonderful hand-crafted bands created by ShadeJewelry and Finestra.  That's how much we love hand-made things!!!

After a few days in Vegas we headed out to Utah.  We shopped, hiked, shopped some more, played golf (well he did), more hiking...  While in Springdale (outside of Zion National Park) I made certain to support many of the local artists (you can still smell my credit card burning).  Springdale is also home to several rock and mineral shops many of whom cut their own stones.  I spread my good cheer to them as well and came home with many wonderful cabochons including some local Utah stone.  Pictures to come! 

I took sooooooo many photos and hope that the landscape shots of Zion and Snow Canyon lead to some southwest inspiration in my future jewelry and collage work.  Utah had so many wonderful things to offer including; beautiful parks, friendly people, and a slow-down from my normal NY state of mind (much appreciated).

Unfortunately, now that I'm home I cant slow down as there is much needed unpacking and cleaning to do.  Also, I should go put out the fire in my wallet!

Riker Art Park: A Mini Tour

Last weekend I went to the open house at Riker Art Park.  This is where I spend most of my Thursday nights taking metalsmithing lessons. There are many artists at Riker and they all open their studios twice a year to give everyone a peek at their art form.  Although we were in the midst of a heatwave last weekend the place was booming.  The jazz musicians played and I bought a lot of gifts for my wedding party.  So here is a peek at the Riker Art Park Open House:

This is Sue Sachs.  She is my very talented instructor who is oh-so-patient with me on Thursday nights.  She creates wonderful jewelry and sculptural pieces with an organic feel to them.  If you happen to live in North Jersey and are interested in taking lessons contact me, because Sue is a wonderful teacher.

This is the soldering station inside Sue's student studio.  There is room for 5 students so you really get her full attention when you are there.  The first time I used the torch I was sooooo scared.  Now I can't wait to sit down and enamel or solder when I'm up there.

 

There is some wonderful pottery to be found at Riker Art Park but my favorite are the pieces made by Carla. Carla makes these amazing leaf dishes and mini vases. If you are looking for pottery lessons, this is the place to go.  I purchased several pieces from Carla as gifts for my wedding party.

Also up at Riker Art Park...

is a weaver.  How wonderful are those colors?  She shares a space with a mixed-media artist.  Unfortunately those photos came out blurry! 

Stone sculptors at work...

A recently completed piece.  How amazing is that?

Also up at Riker Art Park is a glass blower, painters, photographers and more!  There is another open house in the fall and I highly recommend coming and spending a few hours up there.  It's really a wonderful place!

Speaking of Riker, I'll be up there tomorrow working on some enameled pieces for the shop. As soon as I get some decent photography weather (cloudy day) I'll be posting.  Also, stay tuned for a tutorial on metal bangles + alcohol inks! 

Happy Summer! 

Riker Hill Art Park Open House

Happy Saturday!  This weekend is the open house at Riker Hill Art Park.  For anyone in the North Jersey area you should stop by!  All the artist's studio's will be open today (pottery, painting, metalsmithing, glass blowing, sculpture etc...) and there will also be live jazz music.  Live jazz is from 2-4 today.  Here's the address for anyone who would like to check it out:

284 Beaufort Ave
Livingston
located off of Eisenhower Parkway near Rt. 10.

I'll have one of my copper & brass pieces on display in Sue Sach's studio inside the student's showcase.  So if you are in the area this weekend come on by and check out all the great work! 

And the bead snob is...

Congratulations Beverly Herman!  You are the winner of the button/magnet set!  I'll be contacting you so that I can send these out after the holiday weekend.  I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend!  I've been super busy but I will have some new work to show off after the holiday.  I'm finishing up some collage earrings and I've been experimenting with fusing glass wine bottle pieces and etching cream!  Check back soon!  Now go enjoy your barbeque's!

A little more time...

Since I havent had much of a turnout for my giveaway I'm extending it up till saturday.  If no one else enters then I will just pick from the few folks who have entered.  Also, I'm working on some new pairs of collage earrings and I'll show them off as soon as I get nice photos (hopefully soon)!  Happy crafting!

You are such a snob...

A Bead Snob!  Ever go to a bead show and see some junky imports and just think about how you could never EVER use them?  Well, I've been making jewelry for a few years now and I realized that over time you start to learn what are good beads and what are bad beads.  Once you get to this point you are officially a "Bead Snob".  You walk into Michael's and scoff at their beading supplies, you walk right past certain vendors at bead shows and you just know what a good quality bead is.  This button is for all my fellow "Bead Snobs" out there. So in honor of you I'm giving away a "Bead Snob" button and a Vintage Blue Studio magnet. 

These are the rules:

1. You must leave a comment at the end of this post.

2. Your comment must have a link to your blog (I love discovering new blogs and I need a way to contact you if you win)

3. You must have made a post on your blog this month. 

4. You live in the US or Canada.

I will pick a winner next Sunday and then promptly ship the magnet/button set to them!   If you don't win, and you really want a Bead Snob button they are for sale on Zazzle.com.  There is a link on the left.

   

So in other news, I purchased some fantastic business cards from Overnightprints.com.  Unfortunately, Overnightprints.com has the worst customer service I have ever experienced and I will not be returning to them for further prints. Although the company sent me a letter of apology, it was too little too late.  Each time I called their customer service I received a different answer from one of their reps. It took calling my credit card company to open a claim to actually get them to ship my cards. So with that said, I cannot recommend Overnightprints.com even though the finished product was very nice.

The lovely Briana of Benny & Roo (bennyandroo.etsy.com) was kind enough to reformat her design so that I can purchase my next set elsewhere. I love the design and have received a lot of compliments on them.  I also purchased some Moo cards which I need to rephotograph so I can post them on flickr (in case anyone wants to do some trading...hint hint).  Both sets of cards have had a great reception from friends, family and total strangers.  I used a mix of enamel work and collage jewelry photos for the Moo cards. 

So I've realized that I have been slacking in the creative department lately and need to bust my bum and get some more pieces made.  The plan for today is to:

1. Create some sterling findings from scratch

2. Tumble them

3. Assemble at least one piece

4. Fuse some glass (I'm thinking about breaking some empty wine bottles and fusing them.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!)

5. Clean my living room and dining room table (totally unrelated but necessary)

And on that note, it seems I have a lot to accomplish so I better get started! 

What a lovely weekend

Wow!  It's only April and we had two days of weather in the 80's!  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.  I made it a point to do some crafting, take some photos and go outside.  Even though I had  Briana of Benny & Roo (http://www.bennyandroo.etsy.com) design my business cards (she did a fantastic job btw) I decided I would use some of my photos for Moo cards (http://www.moo.com).  As soon as both cards come I will post photos. If anyone is interested in swapping moo cards I'm all for it! 

So I went to New Hope, PA yesterday.  For anyone who has never been there it's a very cool artist community across the river from Lambertville, NJ.  There's lots of beautiful and unusual things for sale and so many wonderful places to eat.  I had some italian ices in my favorite ice cream joint (oops cheated on my diet).  I  also picked up two vintage necklaces.  One of them is purple givre glass beads and the other has these wonderful foil and frit glass beads.  I couldn't resist.  The foil glass beads are amazing in person.  I cannot wait to take this necklace apart (it's quite ugly) and reuse the gorgeous beads in several new pieces!

I'm also working on creating some enamel pieces for the shop.  I spent an hour today sanding copper circles that I cut out last week.  There's so much prep work that goes into enameling but it's worth it.  Every time I wear one of my pieces I get compliments.  I have to schedule some additional time in the studio so I can churn out some new work. 

Well I'm off to enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Rubber Ducky You're the One

I know, I know. I missed a Sunday or two.  Things have been very busy lately and I just didn't have the time to post like I wanted to.  But here I am and I brought my ducky with me to show everyone.  Rubber ducky was partly an accident.  He was supposed to be made out of copper so I could enamel him bright yellow...oops!  It's OK though, because I like him anyway.  The lesson here is to make sure you are cutting out the right metal before you start sawing!  I actually had started a necklace for him yesterday but about 30 minutes into the work, I decided I didn't like it so I tucked it away for use  later.

   

I've very excited because I'm going to finally get back into the studio to work on my applique piece and hopefully do some more enameling.  These two charms I've had for awhile and I couldn't decide if I wanted to use them separately.  When I stacked the small one on top to move them it just hit me that they were perfect together on a bail.  I really enjoy enameling and am looking forward to getting back into my enamel groove.  There will be enameled earrings and charms in the Etsy shop soon!

So for the last two weekends I've been hitting up bead shows.  I came home with quite the haul last week at Wire Fest in Philly.  Unfortunately I put away everything without taking a picture!  I did bring home lots of vintage cabochons to bezel set in the future.  I also finally splurged on a nice gemmy rhodochrosite cabochon!  I originally went with the intention to only buy things for the shop and for my wedding but ended up coming home with much more than that. Why does that always happen?

Today I hit up a smaller show and mostly stayed to my wedding-piece plan. I have several ideas for my wedding jewelry but cant make a decision. Pearls, crystals...so many choices! When I have some of the pieces finished I'll post them here and you can all help me decide who the winners are! 

Ok, back to designing!