iStudio Post

I'm doing a guest

 contributor post

 over at iStudio today,

so go on over and take a peak..

but before you do

here's whats happening

in my neck of the woods.

MinneSNOWta

is in the

Middle

of a

good Old Fashioned

Snow Storm!

Blustery Winds,

Huge Snowdrifts,

Oooodles of Snow (13"+ thus far),

and Still it continues to fall.

Airports shut down...

Snowplows pulled off the roads,

a day to stay home.

Snow is pretty on the trees,

fences and landscape,

but I'm not a real fan

 of the snow and cold.

I much prefer the sun,

 and the white sand beaches.

Photos are from past weeks snowstorm, as I don't want to ruin my camera in the winds and snow to try to take current conditions.  Let's just say you can't see outside...

Photo editing with picnik.com and the combination of some of iStudio (Kim Klassen's) textures and layers she offers for free and also sells on her sites.  Just really have enjoyed learning to do this.  I hope to get better and continue to learn.  Picnik is a free photo editing site online.  Try it out!

~Inspiration~

Let's talk about inspiraiton...

what inspires

you?

~~~~~~~~~

Here's a peak at some current

inspiration in

my life.

 I love this repurposing of junk,

 by my friend, Sue Whitney

of Junk Market Style.

A movie reel,

turned wine caddy.

Another inspiration

by Sue is

this junked up

Holiday

tablescape...

 More yummy inspiration...

Sue's holiday wrapping ideas.

Go to her site

for more on that.

This inspiration...

 could be indoor Holiday decor,

or outdoor decor.

Galvanized buckets,

holding fresh greens,

words,

birch branches,

junk clock parts,

old conveyor piece

=

yummy displays...

Love this Sue vignette...

displayed

at

Otten Bros

Long Lake, MN

Fabulous truck

displayed at

 Otten Bros.

for the Holidays...

As a contributor on the Junk Market Style site,

each contributor has a blog archive,

which holds all of our

past posts we've ever shared.

The above link is the archive

of the ones

I've shared in case

any of you readers

are interested

and care

to take a peak.

The Rescue...

The Rescue Mission...

a fun day in the

life of a

jewelry

designer.

In October,

I met a new friend.

Somehow,

she seems like

someone I've always known.

 Joyce is beautiful

both

inside

and

out.

 We met up a couple of weeks ago...

in her haunt.

So that I could,
SEARCH, RESCUE and REUSE.

 We started here...

lots to see,

great things 

were found,

and great things

were rescued.

Wonderful old buildings

with natural patina

to

inspire...

 Case and cases of vintage items,

filled with once worn,

once loved,

and now somehow forgotten treasures.

Just waiting for someone like me...

that someone whom will take the time
to take the worn,

once loved,
now forgotten treasures

and

breathe new life into them.

My motto is to:

Search, Rescue and Reuse...

Lunch:

found us in the neighboring state,

at a lovely quaint,

coffee shop,

overlooking this gorgeous waterfall

and its beautiful surroundings.

(see picture at the top and bottom of this post)

As we made our way into yet another antique shop,

I marveled at the beauty

of this small town atmosphere.

This multi-dealer site once again,

with hours of searching,

and more rescuing,

provided this designer girl

with fun elements for her work
as a vintage
redesign
jewelry
designer...

Do you source out

your local

antique shops

for

your designs?

($22.00 each)

 Walls of

gorgeous

patinaed

hardware...

traces of old paint,

intricate details,

gorgeous metal hardware...

 ($12.00 each)

fabulous finds,

for

a

vintage redesign girl...

 While leaving this

quaint town,

so filled with beauty...

I came upon

this wonderful landmark,
and a photo opp
was born.

 Thank you Joyce,

for providing me

with a much needed day,

 filled with fun,

laughter,

work,

and play,

The heart to heart convos,

bonding us as

friends and soul sisters.

Take a peak at this link

which provides a view,
 of one of the design elements
(a single cowboy boot)

which I

bought on this jaunt,

and

made a redesigned necklace with it.

http://mimitoriasdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/cow-girl-necklace.html



The Cow Girl Necklace

Do you ever design something~

find it uninspiring~

than tweak it~

and than

 feel the love?

 The Cow Girl Necklace after the tweak...

notice the incredibly detailed vintage

tag and cowboy boot.

 The Cow Girl Necklace before the tweak...

the simple addition

of

something

as simple as

the palest of blue

silk

is what

it needed.

 details...

such as this token.

Bethlehem Steel Co.

Sparrow Pt.

BT #238

Full design before~

ok~

but not

great!

 After another tweak...

the addition

of

#37

tag.

detail... 

the added # tag.

The Cow Girl Necklace

SOLD
to a special lady.

So do tell...

do you

ever

tweak?



Jewelry for Sale Holiday 2010 (13-21)

#13

Key to Dreams Necklace

$49.00  SOLD

 Another Steam Punk style inspired necklace this Dream piece has a charcoal black shiny chunky chain measuring 20" with the focal and vintage rock crystal glass bead adding an additional 2 3/4" to it's total length.  The focal is 1 1/2" diameter and features a vintage pocket watch mechanism, Dream stamping, vintage mother of pearl flower, vintage rhinestone bling, vintage womens wrist watch grunge watch face dial, a single ruby gemstone set into mechanism, and a new fleur d leis and key element.  Accented with vintage brown ribbon and teal silk tied onto piece.

#14

Artistry Optical Lense Necklace

$49.00  SOLD

This Artistry piece is perfect for that artist wife, artist friend, or you the artist.  It is created with antiqued silver tone linked chain of a 17" length, where it then attaches to an antique silver tone hand that is wrapped with gold and silver tone wire and grasps ahold of a vintage optical lense (1 1/2" diameter) which has vintage definition punched out in the shape of a bird that reads "artistry".  A one-of-a-kind design.

 #16

Queen Optical Lense Necklace

$49.00  SOLD

This Queen piece is created with antiqued copper tone linked chain of a 20" length, where it then attaches to a vintage rock crystal glass bead/vintage rhinestone roundel and a faux palest pink glass pearl which then connects to the vintage optical lense (1 1/2" diameter) which has the word Queen punched out in the shape of a bird.   A one-of-a-kind design.

#17

Photograph Novelty Necklace

$42.00

The "Photograph Novelty" necklace is really a cool piece.  It is created with vintage silver fancy chain of 16" with a front toggle clasp.  It attaches to this wonderful 3" x 1" vintage glass prism which I've attached vintage advertising to the back of it, so that it shows through.  Total length is 20", as there is a 1" drop from the toggle to the prism.  A gorgeous piece in person...perfect for the Photography lover in your life.

#18

Gorgeous Bling Necklace

SOLD

This necklace has its given name, as it so perfectly describes it.  I personally love this piece and would keep it, but I do need to reign in my personal collections at times.  My loss is your gain!

It is a generous 18" of silver tone chunky chain combined with a portion of antiqued copper tone chain near the focal to break it up a bit and add some color.  The palest of pink silk ribbon is tied to the joining point of the chain to the focal, which is a generous 2 1/4" length x 1 1/4" width vintage paste rhinestone piece.  Again there is patinae and some stones missing from this piece which only adds to the authenticity of the vintage redesign style.

#19

Antiqued Gold Bling Necklace

SOLD

A chunky antiqued gold tone chain of 18" attaches to a vintage antiqued gold tone rhinestone cluster of flowers which measures 3 1/2" x 1", and a piece of palest blue silk ribbon accents the connecting point on this piece.

#20

No.  0422 Necklace

$69.00  SOLD

This necklace is a very cool piece.  It is 21" length of antiqued silver tone linked chain on one aide and part of the other side and than the rest of that side consists of a mix of 5 really cool elements of vintage and new.  The focal is a 2" vintage silver tone pocket watch case and a white enamel vintage pocket watch clock with a vintage paste rhinestone heart shaped button attached to the center of the watch face.

#21

Shades of Blue Necklace

$89.00  SOLD

The "Shades of Blue" necklace is filled with special elements and fun finds.  It has an overall length of 33 1/2" of length.  The 31" silver tone chain is a unique vintage style chain which I've used a portion of it for the chain along with the addition of a lot of vintage elements.  Some of these include mother of pearl vintage buttons, vintage key, vintage glass blue/gold button, lots of vintage glass and/or crystal beads, a gorgeous rhinestone set vintage street car element as well as a vintage AB rhinestone star shaped piece.  Many elements are hand wire-wrapped with my signature black wire.  This then connects to a vintage round pale blue rhinestone attachment measuring 1" diameter.   This vintage rhinestone blue bling connects the focal (1 1/2" diameter) which is a  vintage pocket watch mechanism that has these cool stripes on it.  I've attached a vintage mother of pearl daisy style flower into one of the round recesses, and also added a gorgeous vintage paste rhinestone and royal blue acorn piece along with a crown element.  The colors in this piece are beautiful shades of blues.

Thanks again for looking!

Gretchen