a lazy labor day weekend

To pass some time during my very lazy labor day weekend, I went to Barnes and Noble to peruse their craft section. I snapped a photo of these beautiful earrings in one of the books I looked through (I am awful... I didn't write down the name of the book so I can't give it proper credit!). I was excited about manipulating wire for the frame of these earrings and decided to swap out the sapphires for iolite.

the next frontier

I am very interested in learning how to work with PMC (precious metal clay). I have a few books on the subject and am excited about the prospect of learning a new technique. PMC consists of tiny particles of pure silver and gold in organic clay that can be worked and molded similar to modeling clay. When it is heated to the right temperature, the clay burns away leaving pure silver or gold constructions which can be soldered, filed, and polished similar to pieces made by more traditional metalsmithing means. There seems to be a lot of pros and cons to this method versus the traditional methods of manipulating sheet and wire metals but I am excited about the control this form of jewely making can lend to certain designs.

Villette Jewelry at Zuzu

I took a walk around my new neighborhood, Collingswood, NJ, this weekend and came across this amazing gallery, Zuzu. I had a wonderful chat with the owner, Allison, who is a fabulous metalsmith herself, and Villette Jewelry will be sold there later this month! Zuzu is a cute little shop where jewelry is hung like art on the walls. AND there is a full metalsmith studio in the back where Allison holds classes. This may just be a match made in heaven!

watching

I am in desperate need for some new watches.... both of mine recently died their final death. I wear a watch every day, in fact, my wrist feels naked without one, and I generally buy the same watch over and over again from the Fossil outlet (a chunky leather cuff watch in either brown or black). Although I will probably end up getting the same style again, I am starting to consider getting a wrap style watch too, just to shake things up. Here are 2 of my favorites.I love the color options for the face and the leather is worn in just perfectly. (from Sundance.)
I love how old world this looks and I love that you can personalize the name plate. (Revolt70 on etsy.)

silhouette dream

How amazing is this silhouette book art?! This piece by Mia Cabana is so heartbreakingly beautiful I literally gasped when I saw it on my regular read, design sponge. Wouldn't this make an outrageous background for a jewelry photo shoot?! I'm in love...

the start of something beautiful

I was in desperate need of an oxidized bracelet to go with all of my oxidized necklaces and earrings. This was inspired by numerous images I have collected including the bracelet I recently saw in New Orleans. By default, I am not a big bracelet maker. I wear the same silver bangles just about every day, but I love this piece so much I have convinced myself to focus a little more on making bracelets. I have been having a blast lately looking high and low for bracelet inspiration. If you have any suggestions of inspiring bracelets, pass them along!

salon style wall decor

I am having family stay with me this weekend for a family wedding and I am scrambling to get my new house ready. I still have a long way to go but, oddly enough, the biggest task I have yet to tackle is hanging all of my wall decor. For years now, I have been hanging my wall decor in a salon style. The picture above is similar to how my wall decor looked in my last apartment (all black and white photos, all black frames, clustered together in rectangular form, a lot of frames in mass) but I have been thinking of changing things up. Here are a few other salon examples I am loving...
I love the cluster of alternating colored frames. They all coordinate but there is still variance. (And I love that wall color!)

I love the mixture of shapes here, especially with the bust.

I love the variation in frame shapes but also the consistency of colors and the art within the frames. This would have to be well thought out but so impactful.

I love the minimal amount of frames and I LOVE the addition of the oval mirror. (I guess it also helps that I love the striped wallpaper as the background for these frames as well... and while we are at it, I also love that old trunk being used as a table!)

I have also been thinking of buying old frames to display some of my jewelry in my workspace. Guess I really need to make a trip out to scour some of my favorite antique stores for all the old frames I will need.