Baby baubles, baby bottles

I've got dozens of baby food jars piling up around here on account of a certain ravenous baby. I've been trying to think of crafty ways to recycle them, so this afternoon when I wanted to wrap up a baby bracelet, I decided to put one to use.

Cute, eh? Thanks to Kristie for the bracelet. I made it with her stuff at her house eating her creme brulee. It was awesome.

Next on the baby food jar agenda: this. Only shorter. Why don't you join us? I've got plenty of jars.

Rachel

Commissions

Before Christmas I made a bracelet and earring set for my friend Tiffany to give to her cousin. We wanted to get together so I could teach her how to make it herself, but the schedule just didn't work out. So this became my first commissioned project. It's shockingly similar to this set made for Dawn last year. But this time I got better pictures of it.

And then last month a friend who works with Shane ordered a little purse, also shockingly similar to purses previously featured here.

It is a bit thrilling to have people like my stuff enough to buy it, and while I've contemplated opening an Etsy shop or actually doing a craft fair, I think I like crafting best as play, not work. It's more fun to create something for the first time than to make it to order. And when I'm making gifts, I don't mind spending a lot of time on it figuring it out. That's just part of the gift and part of the fun. But it's not quite the same when I'm thinking of my time as money. So, yeah. No shop for me. I'm still happy (and flattered) to take an occasional order, but this isn't anything I'm ever going to make real money off of. And I'm fine with that.

But you know what would be awesome? Bartering. I make purses, you clean my house. That kind of thing. I don't expect any takers, cause my house is a disaster and everyone knows that. But still, it's fun to dream.

Dawn

A couple months ago my friend Dawn brought me a big box of stone heart charms that had turned up as freebies at her work. No one else was taking them home, and she knew I make jewelry so she delivered the whole stash to me.

I can't tell you how much fun we've had with these. Sam loves to count and sort them by color. I love to imagine the project possibilities. So far, I've only managed to use them in one project, this set of earrings for Stephanie. But when I learned that Dawn recently had a birthday, I knew the hearts had to make a prominent appearance.

I paired turquoise hearts with shell discs for a bracelet and earring set. My photos, unfortunately, did not turn out well this time (and the camera may be permanently broken, so that doesn't bode well for future photo shoots either), but in person the set is really quite pretty. I love the movement of the bracelet. The look and feel is just perfect for summer. And luckily, there's no shortage of supplies for these babies. So there might be a set just for me sometime soon.

Stephanie

This set arrived in two installments. I gave Stephanie the necklace and earrings as a thank you gift several months ago, and then added the bracelet for her birthday just recently. Although I made them separately, I do like how it all goes together.



I think if I were to make the necklace today, I'd put the tassels at the end of chain (like I did on the bracelet) instead of on beaded headpins. It'd have more free movement that way.

I bought the blue & brown rectangle beads at Big Lots for next to nothing. There was a big closeout on Blue Moon art glass apparently, and I'm glad I stocked up when I did. These beads in particular have been a favorite -- I think each time I've hauled out my stash for jewelry parties, someone has snatched these up to make something pretty. I have friends and family all over the country wearing these beads. I love that.

Abby

I did a couple new things with this set. The earrings are made from from 3 inch headpins. I slid the beads into place and then shaped it into an ear wire. I like the streamlined look a lot, but it was hard to get two matching ear wires, with just the same curves and angles. (A jig would solve that problem, but I'm cheap. Have I mentioned that?)

This clasp caught my eye several months ago, and I'd been looking for a way to use it for some time. I like the way the loop is beaded and incorporated into the rest of the bracelet. I haven't tried this before (or since), so I'm not sure how well it will hold up to wear. But Abby says so far so good.

These turquoise beads were another clearance deal from Fire Mountain Gems. I'd say materials probably cost me about $2.00 for the set. Everything went together pretty quickly, except for the clasp, which took some finagling. I probably spent 2 or 3 hours all together.

Britta & Brielle

This was my first mommy-daughter bracelet set. I like how it turned out, but I don't think I'll make a lot like this in the future. I used mostly crystal beads and sterling silver components, both of which are kind of pricey. For a baby gift, I'm more willing to spend extra money for high quality components to make a piece that really lasts. Unfortunately, these didn't seem to wear well. I gave these to Britta spring-ish 2008, before Brielle was born. She loaned them back to me to photograph several months later (Feb 2009). By then, the sterling parts had tarnished and the crystals were somewhat scratched. I cleaned it up for the photo, but the luster on the non-sterling components (the chain on Britta's bracelet) still looks better.

Britta also mentioned that the sharp edges on the crystal had scratched Brielle when she was a newborn, so she didn't wear it much till she got a little older.

I couldn't find a suitably dainty chain for the closure on Brielle's bracelet, so I linked several jump rings together. I won't be doing that again. That process took way too much time, and the result is not as strong as a length of commercial chain. But, at least if it does break, Britta knows where to go to get it fixed.