~turquoise-pearl-tassel necklace~

i love mixing elements that don't necessarily

go together, yet somehow they do. 

the eclectic taste of it....delicious.

turquoise. pearls. tassels. gold.

sounds like a lot...

(throw in some lace and velvet and it smells like a brothel).

the result turned out to be a 

simple, bohemian'ish vibe.

i made two of these yesterday.

birthday gifts for a couple of friends.

i think i need to make one for me too :)

~Welcome Back Me...and some earthy jewelry!~

Hello! 

Remember me?

It's been a loooong time, I know.

About 2 years ago I got this crazy idea to take 

up a job, thinking I could continue to

manage all the things 

I enjoy doing-vs-the responsibilities of things

I HAVE to do. Turns out, it takes

up a lot more of my time than I originally

thought it would and therefore my "flex time"

for crafts, DIY, jewelry and fashion

is pretty much non-existent.

And getting on the computer to blog if I do

get a spare minute.......forget about it!

I work from home (did I mention yet

that I love my job?) and I'm on the

computer so much for work that

it's about the last thing I want to be doing 

when I don't have to to.

All that being said, I miss nurturing my

creative side. I miss blogging. 

Instagram just doesn't cut it for me.

I have managed to bust out a couple

projects in the last few months...

this is one of them.

This was a "special order" from a good friend

of mine's husband. His Valentine's gift to her.
A bracelet and pair of earrings.

I love how it turned out...a very earthy vibe.

Hope you all have been well!

Come back soon...I won't be such a stranger!

~Valentines for kids and Wire Heart Bangle Bracelet~

 It's possible that my creativity level is at

an all time low right now. 

Total bummer because making our Valentines each year

is usually a highlight for me.

For my son's Valentines I completely relied

on Pinterest for a little copy cat action. 

After pinning a few and showing them to my 

little guy, this is the one he chose to make for 

his class: 

Isn't it adorable? There's a free download/printable

for this and you can find it (HERE) at

design.wash.rinse.repeat..

We intended to do this for the whole class

but unfortunately when my printer got low

on ink, we had to come up with another

Valentine's game plan. 

We did this:

I made the note myself but I found the

idea for this Valentine at "Paging Supermom"...(HERE).

If we hadn't already done the Yoda Valentines we

would have done this for all the boys instead.

So-half the boys are getting Yoda-the other

half are getting the paratroopers.

The girls are getting this:

I got this free printable (HERE) at

Living, Loving, Learning Naturally. 

For the girls we attached a heart shaped ring pop

because.....duh-A girl's gotta get her some

jewelry for Valentine's Day....and her birthday....

and Christmas....and anniversaries....

On that note....

this is what I made for his teacher:

 Simple little heart bangles in contrasting metals.

She can wear each one alone or stack them.

They were super easy and I like the simplicity

of them. Guess what I'll also be making 

myself for Valentines? 

Hope your Valentine's Day is filled 

with lots of love and happiness.

~Handmade Wire Swirl Rings~

 Sometimes my favorite creations happen when

I'm sitting with my supplies, pre-occupied with 

a phone conversation or something else and

I just start tinkering around. 

Like these: the rings I made for a few of my girlfriends

for Christmas gifts. 

It all started with this ring:

 I loved it so much I decided to go ahead 

and make a couple more. 

They literally took like 10 minutes to make.

They aren't the sturdiest or best quality and

they will for sure turn the finger green if 

they get wet. I don't want to buy high quality (expensive)

wire until I get my technique down better. 

I've made a few more since these and I get

a little better with each one. I'd love to learn 

how to spell out words or names with the wire. 

I go thru phases with my jewelry making. 

Right now I'm in a wire phase. I love all the

different ways it can be manipulated and transformed. 

Wait till you see the beautiful bracelets I

made with wire to go with these rings......

next time.

Hopefully within 2 months time but I wouldn't hold

your breath......just in case. 

Happy 2014 Heart-and-Sew'l Readers!

~easy studded earrings~

 I've been looking for pronged studs for a DIY 

project for a couple months. I'm not having 

any luck at my local craft/fabric stores and I 

think I'll have to break down and order them online.

In the search I did come across some cute 

studded shapes......in the scrap-booking department

at Michael's. The only problem is they are stickers.

Despite the fact that they're stickers, 

they are actually really sturdy.

They won't work with what I was hoping for

but they will work for a bunch of other fun projects.

Like this:

       I made these fun little stud earrings by

gluing an earring back to the back of it with

a dab of E-6000. 

It took 1 minute. They've become a 

fun little staple in my accessories collection. 

Now that I have these fun studs, I have a few projects

lined up that need a lil bit of be-dazzle!      

~my momma~

 It's no secret that I have a slight obsession

with jewelry. I like to think it comes from

my Momma. I have so many wonderful pieces

of handcrafted jewelry by my Mom and I think

today is the PERFECT time to share them with you.

My Mom has always had great jewelry. 

Most of it she buys but a lot of it she makes too.

The reason you don't see her wearing her

handcrafted jewelry much is because she's

always giving it away to us girls after she makes us.

With 3 daughters and 1 daughter-in-law, who all

happen to love jewelry, she's got plenty of

people who will gladly showcase her work.

Mom has always given hand-made gifts to us.

Since we were babies.

A Christmas just wouldn't feel like Christmas 

without a hand made gift from Mom.

When my Grandma (my Mom's Mom) was still

alive, it was the same.....so many wonderful

handmade gifts. Always special.   

She passed it on to my Mom.

Mom passed it on to us.

Naturally, as we've grown older, the gift content

has changed, but the love and thought put into

the gifts never changes. At this point,

us girls know each Christmas we will 

receive a beautiful piece of jewelry made by Mom.

It's something that we all look forward to.

Since I don't live in the same state as they

do anymore, I am usually the last to get mine,

often times AFTER Christmas when we go up there.

I always tell my sisters on Christmas morning as

we're talking on the phone about what we got,

"Don't tell me what Mom made us this year.

I want to be surprised!" 

It's not only Christmas. It's birthdays, Easter,

Mother's Day or for no special reason at all other

than just because she loves us.

Over the years she has been the one to put the

creative spark in me to make jewelry. 

I never attempted until she started to. 

Have a look at some of my favorites:

                 

       Turquoise and copper drop earrings.

A staple in my wardrobe. 

    

 Beautiful pearl and sterling silver bracelets.

We got the one without the charm two Christmas's

ago and the one with the charm last Christmas.

 Another staple in my wardrobe. 

Turquoise and silver bracelet.....

the big silver bead makes it a statement.  

She made this for Christmas 2010. 

 This turquoise bracelet with black fringe....

another favorite. Christmas 2011.

 Christmas 2006....perhaps the most special.

She made all of us girls a necklace like this.

The sterling silver pieces on it and pendant were from 

a necklace my Dad had given her, the last Christmas

before they divorced in 1990'ish.    

She kept it all those years because it meant

so much to her. She disassembled it piece by piece

and came up with this design for us.

It's one of my most treasured pieces.   

 

 This beautiful lariat. The picture

doesn't do it justice but the beads on it are

swarovski crystal and absolutely beautiful.

The beads are little tiny....it probably took

her so long to string this. 

A birthday gift for me about 9 years ago.

I had shown her one in a catalog I wanted

that was $75. Mom's ended up being prettier and

much better quality.....and so thoughtful.    

 This beautiful set of red bracelets.

In person the color is so rich that they

look like velvet beads. We got these for Christmas

the past two years. If you can't tell by the pictures,

Mom buys high quality beads and supplies.

They never look cheap because they aren't.     

 She made me these beautiful red and sterling silver

earrings for my birthday 2012. Another staple.

 I LOVE big earrings. I love long earrings.

I love to wear a statement earring and 

no other jewelry. These are one of those.

Some gorgeous dangly earrings.

These are some of my favorites she's

ever made me.  They hang past my chin

and I love them :)  

 Lucite earrings......wear these ALL THE TIME

when I can't figure out what to wear with an outfit.

 Fun statement rings made with buttons. 

I wear these a lot when I go out. The little 

clear one with the bling in the center is my favorite. 

This is the charm bracelet she made that goes with

the black and silver necklace. 

This isn't even all of it.

There's more.

So much more.

Although not all of it fits into the "expensive"

category, they definately make my 

"MOST VALUABLE" list.

Though I do so across many miles,

I celebrate my Mom this weekend.

All that she has been and all that she ever

will be to me. All that she's taught me and

all that's she's passed down to me.  

Not only the wonderful MOTHER that she

is but also the amazing, strong, independent,

creative, fun, compassionate and loving 

WOMAN she is....and for teaching me

in the best way possible.....

BY EXAMPLE.

I love you Mom.

Happy Mother's Day.