Category: Shiny Things

31 Days of Jewelry – Big Roundup

By:  TempestShiny Things

It’s been more than 31 days, I know. I still have beads. I gotta keep going until there are no more beads! To that end, this week I made a ton of jewelry and much of it is still available.

All the prices are in the description (hover or click to see). If you’d like to buy, say so in the comments1. Be sure to leave your real email address.

If someone else claims a thing before you do and you really want it, say so. The first person might drop out.

Now, on to the jewelry!

Necklaces

Chandelier necklace and earring set – $45 for the set
Did You Forget That Mermaids Have Teeth? – $45
Autumn Flowers – $40
P&P – $40
Borderlands – $40
Borderlands – $40
Ariadne’s Eyes – $40
Me wearing Ariadne’s Eyes
Blue Heaven – $30
Tiger’s Tear – $25

Earrings

Autumn Flowers earrings – $15 (add $3 for sterling silver earhooks)
Dark Side of the Moon – $33
Dark Side of the Moon – $33
The Forest of Forgetting – $22
The Forest of Forgetting – $22
Black Leaves – $20
Cornucopia – $15

Bracelets

Ring Around The Rosey – $10
Tipt With Autumn’s Pencil – $15
Grounded – $15
Grounded – $15
Mother’s Arms – $10
Moon Mala – $15

Prayer Beads

Ninty-Nine – $50
Ninty-Nine – $50
Moon Over Moonstone goddess rosary – $40
Moon Over Moonstone goddess rosary – $40
The Serpent and the Dragon prayer bead set – $30
Christian Rosary – $35
Ice and Fire prayer bead set – $25
Moon Mala – $15

I started out beading by making prayer bead sets and rosaries aimed at less mainstream spiritual paths. With several of these I have a note in there about how the beads were chosen for their properties and not their looks. Some of these beads are not of the highest quality in terms of being free of inclusions, perfectly round, etc. None of those things change the benefits of the stone, though, making them better suited to prayer beads than jewelry.

My suggestions on how to use the Pagan/Goddess Rosaries can be found on my Tumblr. And if you want ideas on how to pray with any of the others I am happy to offer them up.

Please share this post widely! As I get close to the end of my project I am eager to get these all out the door.

Footnotes

  1. FYI – if you’re a first time commenter yours may end up in moderation. Don’t worry if it does not show up at first. Dibs go to the first person according to the time stamp. [⇧]

31 Days of Jewelry – Reader’s Choice

By:  TempestShiny Things

I’ve gotten an amazingly positive response to all my jewelry making. Thank you! It’s reminding me why I did this regularly once upon a time. If I weren’t planning to go traveling for the next couple of years it might even inspire me to take it back up again.

So I’m sorry I’ve been silent for two weeks! Lots of deadlines at work. But I did make some jewelry and almost kept up with doing one piece a week. Until this past week, at least.  I guess I’ll just have to make a ton this coming week. And on that note, I’m going to need some help.

I still have a ton of beads that I need to work through but I’m not sure how I want to use them all. It’s part of the reason some of these have been sitting in a craft chest for years. Back then I used to do a thing called Reader’s Choice where I put up pictures of beads and a poll to see which ones I should use to make my next piece. I want to do something similar here.

Below is a collection of some of the beads I have available and what type they are.

Coral
Sodalite
Blue Crystal (maybe Swarovski)
Blue Agate (small)
Jade Teardrops
Amethyst Teeth
Ceramic Green and Brown
Ceramic Green and Cream
Green Glass
Malachite
Chinese Turquoise
Glass
Picture Jasper Roses
Picture Jasper

See some beads you like and want me to make a piece of jewelry using them? Make a request in the comments! I can’t promise I’ll be able to come up with something that suits you, but I will try. Want to increase your chances? Check out all the jewelry I’ve made so far–if there’s a piece you like but want it with different beads, I can probably do that. The price will be similar, too.

You can also request a piece of jewelry similar to something you’ve seen elsewhere. Again, can’t promise that I’ll be able to make that happen, but I will try.

Any questions? Ask!

31 Days of Jewelry – A Blast From The Past

By:  TempestShiny Things

When looking for something else I found a cache of jewelry I made long ago for myself that I never wear (I didn’t even miss them!). I’m having trouble letting go of some pieces, but others really do deserve a better home than the back of my closet. So here they are.

Click the images to see a larger version and full description. As always, comment on the post if you want to purchase.

EDIT: Someone just bought all of the earrings. Yes, all of them at once :)

Starburst – SOLD!
Amethyst Dangly – SOLD!
Grass and Mist – SOLD!
A Tiny Dragon – SOLD!
The Hidden Heart – SOLD!
The Shoe is SHOES’ Window #2 – SOLD!
eye-dangle – SOLD!
Twisted Tiger – SOLD!
Tiger’s Tear – $25
Tiger’s Tear – detail of the teardrop
Tiger’s Tear – detail of the chain.
Tiger’s Tear bracelet – SOLD!
Amethyst and Moonstone Bracelet – SOLD!

I may yet find more older jewelry. If I do, I’ll post here first!

31 Days of Jewelry – Week 2 Roundup

By:  TempestJewelry

I’ve been a busy jewelry making bee this week! Several of the items got snapped up right away, but there are a few still available and some new ones from this weekend. See something you like? Say something in the comments.

Available/new stuff first.

The Dangling Moon
The Dangling Moon earrings – $20

Moonstone and leaf chain danglies. If you want sterling silver earhooks it’ll cost $2 extra.

I have a lot of moonstone, so expect to see some variations on this theme. Sadly, I’m almost out of that leaf chain. I quite like it and keep finding new uses for it.

Madame X's Tears - earrings
Madame X’s Tears – earrings – SOLD!

The only stone I know for sure is the carnelian. The blue tears are a stone, I just can’t remember which. The black rectangle might be jet. The pendant I made to go with these went right away, leaving the poor earrings to exist on their own. I have copper earhooks to match but can swap in sterling silver if you need (again for $2 extra).

tipt with autumn's pencil
Tipt With Autumn’s Pencil bracelet – $20

Made this with jasper, agate, and a ceramic center piece strung on a stretchy string (no clasp, yay!). This particular one is sized to my wrist — about 7.5 – 8 inches — but I have enough of these beads to make at least two more. If you have a smaller wrist I can make a smaller version.

Tipt With Autumn's Data
Tipt With Autumn’s Data bracelet – $30
Tipt With Autumn's Data
4GB flash drive

Same basic design but with a couple of twists. First, I linked up the beads instead of stringing them. Also, the clasp on this one is a 4GB flash drive. Wear your backups! And yes, I have enough material to make a couple more of these. This one is about 8 inches around, but I can modify to fit smaller or larger wrists.

Turquoise Statement Necklace
Turquoise Statement Necklace — approx 20″ — SOLD!

This one is still available!

Complimentary Colors
Complimentary Colors – SOLD!

As is this one: amethyst, Chinese turquoise, silver chain, magnetic clasp.

If you’re interested in any of these, call dibs in the comments!

Here are the other pieces I made this week, which have already sold. If you want to see stuff as I make it each day, follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or Facebook.


Click on the pictures for descriptions and names. If you see something you like and want e to make something similar, ask. I may have the materials to do so. General comments on the jewelry also very welcome!

31 Days of Jewelry – Week 1 Roundup

By:  TempestShiny Things

Despite the lack of posts, I have been making jewelry every day. I just haven’t had the will to post about them one by one. So I made a strategic decision: for the rest of this project I will post pictures daily on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and G+ (links to my profiles there are on the sidebars) with the hashtag #31daysofjewelry. At the end of the week I’ll post pictures of everything here on the blog.

Each piece will have a price. If you see a piece you like, leave a comment or reply to say you want it. I’ll go by timestmp to determine who claimed it first, and then you’ll have 24 hours to confirm and arrange for payment. After that, next person on the list gets dibs.

I’ll call out any unsold pieces on the weekend roundup. Maybe they’ll even be a bit discounted!

With that business out of the way, onto the jewelry!

Turquoise Statement Necklace
Turquoise Statement Necklace — approx 20″

Used the last of my turquoise beads to make this statement necklace1. It’s got a copper clasp in the back.

Price: $20.

How Does Your Garden Grow
How Does Your Garden Grow? approx 23″

I made several versions of this necklace a few years ago. I discovered a bag of all the beads and realized I’d planned to make another at some point, so I got that done. I love the rose beads — and, as you’ll see, I still have quite a few. Trying to do them justice is the hard part.

Price: $20.

Blooming Rose
Blooming Rose

See? Lots of rose beads. I bought that leaf chain a long time ago and have tried valiantly to find the perfect use for it. When I finally hit on this I was extra pleased.

I’ll put the final hooks on before I ship them out. If you need sterling silver, let me know. I have some lovely shepherd’s hooks.

I also have enough roses to make at least one more pair of these, so if more than one person wants, I can accommodate.

Price: $10 ($12 with sterling silver hooks)

Green-Eyed Pendant
Green-Eyed Pendant

I actually don’t have a good name for this…

Thought a simple pendant would be nice. I’m going to put a nicer loop at the top before shipping it out. It works with the brown leather but will look just as nice on a silver chain. If you want a length of leather to go with, it’s an extra $1.

Price: $7

If you want any of these, just say so in the comments. First dibs gets it. I’ll email you (so leave a real email in the comment form). However, if you don’t respond to my email within 24 hours I’ll have to go on to the next person. So even if someone calls dibs first, if you want a chance to grab it go ahead and call second, third, etc. in comments.

Footnotes

  1. Not sure why giant and/or chunky necklaces are called “statement”. Don’t all necklaces make a statement? [⇧]

31 Days of Jewelry – Day 4 “Rose Garden”

By:  TempestShiny Things

A few years ago I made a set of earrings called “Inwood Hill” wherein I tried to capture the essence of one of my favorite places in Manhattan. I still had some of the materials left over from that project, so I thought I’d tackle something similar. This is the result:

Rose Garden
Rose Garden

I’m a fan of asymmetrical earrings and long danglies. The one on the left is a bit heavy because of all the beads. But it’s easily made into a pendant — just run a chain or a leather strip through the top loop. If you’re into asymmetry then I bet wearing one earring and a matching necklace would suit you fine.

Rose Garden is $20 + shipping. I have some leather that will work for turning it into a necklace, which I’ll throw in for $3.

31 Days of Jewelry – Day 3

By:  TempestShiny Things

Finally had a stroke of inspiration and reworked the design of the necklace with the turquoise and jet beads. It’s now a really long necklace that’s meant to wrap around two or three times depending on the wearer’s preference. Here’s the final design:

Turquoise Cross
click to embiggen

I haven’t finalized the wire yet. I still need to find the right way to attach the cross so the wire isn’t going though the center. Also haven’t decided if this necklace needs a clasp or if it’s better off without one. Suggestions in the comments are welcome.

I had some beads left over–just enough for a matching bracelet.

Turquoise Cross bracelet

This one I won’t finalize until I sell it. Want to size it correctly for the wrist of the wearer.

Price for the necklace… I haven’t decided. It’s been a long time since I sold anything. What’s a good price? The bracelet I’ll sell for $10. If interested, holla!

31 Days of Jewelry – Day 2

By:  TempestShiny Things

Fall Earrings #1

I’m still working on re-designing that other necklace, so I went with something simple for my second day. They’re earrings in fall colors. Don’t ask what the stones are. I once knew, really I did. That knowledge is lost to me.

The hooks I’ll put on the final will be sterling silver. Here’s a more detailed closeup.

Fall Earrings #1 detail

Selling for $6 + shipping. If interested, drop a line in the comments.

31 Days of Jewelry – Day 1

By:  TempestShiny Things

I’m moving out of my apartment at the end of the year (lease is up, management company sucks) and so I’m taking the opportunity to divest myself of most of my stuff. I’ve been selling off bits of technology all summer1, and now that it’s fall I’m ramping up my efforts. I have a ton of beads leftover from when I made jewelry semi-regularly.

my stash
My Stash!

I’m not taking all these beads with me, thus I need to make jewelry!

Every day for 31 days I’m going to make a new piece of jewelry and sell them here on the blog. Most of what I make will likely be small–bracelets, earrings–but I will make some necklaces, too. Whatever inspires me.

That said, my inspiration is a little rusty. I made my first piece today and while I guess it looks all right, it’s not what I think I envisioned when I bought the beads. here it is:

Turquoise and Jet Necklace draft

I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do with the cross at the center. This is just a draft–I’ll take it apart tomorrow and see how I feel about it.

Footnotes

  1. If you’re interested in the tech, just follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I post up stuff every week. [⇧]

The Interfictions Auctions Ends Today, Help us Raise $400 More Dollars

By:  TempestShiny Things
The Interfictions Auctions Ends Today, Help us Raise $400 More Dollars

In a few hours the last of the Interfictions auctions will come to an end. Bidding closes on two around noon eastern time and then thereafter until around 7PM eastern. The last seven pieces are so beautiful and wonderful and amazing that I insist you bid! I’ve set a personal goal: I’d like to raise $400 with these last auctions, but that can only happen if you go and enter a minimum bid.

Now I obviously know that budgets are tight and all, and I certainly don’t want you to bid more than you can afford. But I bet that you can afford one of those pieces at the current bid, so why not go try? You might be outbid, but that’s okay. You still took a chance! And don’t be afraid of outbidding others. If they want it, they’ll come back and claim it.

Here are my thoughts and favorite things about each of the pieces:

All Valentines are One Valentine — When I was taking pictures of this box my roommate came in and sat just starting at it for 30 minutes. It tends to capture people and engage them deeply. I particularly love the bits of story written on different parts of the mask. And, according to Shadesong, the text written on the blue part of the mask is actually fanfiction. Fanfiction, people! In mask form! The interplay between the parts of the mask, like slices of a person, with the colors and the text is so masterfully done  that I could just stare at it all day.

Gilded Cage — Cris completed this piece just a little while ago so we slid it in right at the end. She’d already photographed a bunch of the auction pieces yet still found time to do this. I’m so glad as I’m a huge fan of her necklaces (I own three!) and this is no exception. I’m also really, really glad that she chose Genevieve Valentine’s piece since that’s one of my favorites in IF2 (in the annex). The bees and the lock and the color of the beads so perfectly encapsulate the beauty and majesty and terror and pain the character experiences in the story. Plus, it’s just damn beautiful.

Berry Moon — I’m sad that we could never get pictures that truly do this skirt justice. It’s not only beautiful, but the material it’s made out of feels so damn GOOD. It’s a wrap skirt and can fit a variety of sizes because the final hole for the tie hasn’t been sewn in yet. The artist, Pam Noles, did that so whoever won could size it to their needs. She’ll even make the adjustment for you. If you’re a fan of wrap skirts, of purple, of beautiful clothes, or want to give someone a fabulous handmade and possibly unique gift, go bid now! I will throw a fit if it goes for less than $100.

Valentines — Yes, there were a lot of pieces based on this story, but this one is (I think) the only one that represents a collaboration between the artist and author. From the statement:

Shira Lipkin and I collaborated on this project, working together to record the story in as many different forms as possible: audio on cassette tape and CD, video on DVD, handwritten on parchment, computer printed on paper. I then shattered the disks, tore the paper, and cut the tape into small fragments and used one fragment from each medium in this piece…

People, do you realize how insanely cool that is? Pieces of story recorded, deconstructed, and made into wearable art. How is that not something you want to own?

A Chain of Memories — This charm necklace is yet another fantastic embodiment of Shadesong’s story and also includes bottles for storing messages. Plus, you can add your own charms to it over time, thus adding to the story, and wear it in several different ways. I love the idea that, by wearing this, you’re participating in the IF2 story and creating a new version of it simply by existing.

The Quiz — Handmade journals are always a hit with me. This one is small, too, so would easily fit in a pocket. Yes, I’m bidding on it. If I win, I’ve decided to write bizarre quiz questions inside it and get other people to write in answers. We’ll see what the end product looks like, but I bet it’ll be cool. Maybe I’ll auction that off next year. Just because I’m bidding and plan to do this cool thing doesn’t mean YOU cannot bid and do cool things with this piece. Make me work for it!

What He Said — This pendant says: “Maybe we can not belong together”. I want it just for that. Belonging is something I think all people crave, though in different degrees and in different ways. The IAF is about bringing together artists who don’t belong and giving them a sort of belonging while not trying to take away the good that can come from not belonging. If that makes sense. Art often arises from tensions, and being outside, being in-between, being liminal is a great source of tension. It also helps when you can be around people who get that and celebrate it. That’s what this pendant is: the IAF in jewelry form.

Click here to visit the auction site and bid. Seriously, I want to raise $400 today and you can all help. Last time I checked, current bids put us at $277 for the day. So just $123 to go!  Help us get there. Look at these with an eye toward something you’d like for yourself or for a friend or family member. Bid what you can and spread the word.