Melanie

Melanie is cute and stylish and hip. And she's moving away.

I wanted to send her off with something useful and pretty that she wouldn't have to pack or wrap or box.

So I came up with this little makeup bag.   It went together really quickly, once I finally found the right fabric.  I sorted through lots swatches to find the right combination of cute and stylish and hip.  In the end I went with a couple home dec samples and a strip of golden silk, all picked up for next to nothing at the JoAnn closeout sale from whence my stash was born.

I know it's totally tacky to make a gift for someone and then brag about how little you spent.  But it's part of the thrill of creation for me, and at this point in my life I've given up hope of de-tackifying.  So, the zipper was 10 cents (They were begging us to take them at 10 for a dollar.  I'm kicking myself now for only buying 20.), and the sample squares were about $1.  So, I used about one square total (half for the inside lining, half for the outside), plus a smidge of silk, which I'm arbitrarily valuing at 20 cents. And there you have it: a pretty little purse for less than two bucks.

But wait!   There's more!  You can't just give away an empty purse. 

 

So I whipped up these dangly earrings.  As with the purse, selecting and planning took longer than executing.  It takes time to get it just right.    

And again, these were 100% stash-made.  The tear drop components and the ear wires are leftover from the supplies I bought in July to make jewelry for my sister's wedding.  The chain is cut from an old necklace from my salvage box, and the beads were hand-me-downs from my friend Amy.  Less than a buck spent there. 

Plus, I earned major stash reduction points.

Have I mentioned that I'm moving in 6 months?  And that my goal is to USE my stash, not MOVE it?  I'd better get to work!

Deborah

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Deborah  that she was quite persistent in getting me to make her these earrings.   This woman is a riot, and I love her for it! 

So, she happened to be nearby when I gave Rachel a birthday gift last May, and wanted to know when I'd have some done for her.  

"When's your birthday?"  I asked.

"It's in March, but that too long to wait," She said.

I intended to comply, but my crafty to-do list is long and capricious.  And I lose interest in anything that becomes an assignment, even when it's an assignment I volunteer for.  So despite frequent status checks from Deb ("Diana, where my earrings at?"), it took me until her birthday to get them to her.

It shouldn't have.  This set was quick and easy, made from supplies on hand, and perfectly suited to Deb's style.  I've seen her wear each pair several times since her birthday.  (Although she told me recently that she lost one of each pair.  Maybe by her next birthday I'll get around to replacing them!)

In my usual fashion, I didn't get a chance to take photos before I left home, so I ended up throwing the camera in my diaper bag to take destination shots (in the nursing mother's room at church.  Lovely carpet, isn't it?).  And, of course, the battery ran out after a single click, so this is all I have.  You can see the hooks of the second pair peeking over the back of the card.  As I recall, they're gold with an amber dangle.  Maybe heart shaped?  I don't remember.  (And that's why I take photos!  Ideally.  Maybe next time.)    

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.

Rachel

Angela

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.

The Amber Collection

My friend Amber had a birthday several weeks ago. She tried to keep it a secret, but I have my ways of collecting information. (That is, I overheard someone else telling her "happy birthday.") But even if I'd know about her birthday months ago, her gift would probably still be several weeks late, cause that's how I roll.

Anyway, I'm all about interchangeable jewels these days, so I wanted to make an amber-themed set of mix and match earrings and pendants. I think I pushed the bounds of Amber's style with the long green dangles, but I bet she'll wear them anyway just to humor me. She's great that way. (For example, I photographed these in Amber's own back yard while she was inside making me dinner.) I do like the bicone cluster set especially though, and I think that suits Amber's personality. Plus, I bought the beads for the baby bracelets for her sweet little girls a couple months ago, but didn't end up using them. It seems fitting that they end up in Amber's jewelry box somehow.

Rozannah

It's an earring wardrobe! Rozannah's new to the world of pierced earrings, so I thought she might appreciate a variety pack.

I only had ear wires in one size, so I had to do some creative bending to give the set more variety. Again, my wire work is not perfect, but good enough. But it's the dangles that are the most fun. I really had a good time coming up with baubles to dangle, and ran out of time before I ran out of ideas. Expect more interchangeable sets to come.

(Also, for some reason this photo looks out of focus when it's small, but is just fine full size. Why is that? I have no idea.)

Stephanie II

Another attempt at bending my own earwires. They're not perfect, but I think Steph likes them anyway. And I resisted the urge to slip in a note reminding her "it's the thought that counts." It's true, of course. It is the thought that counts. (The thought I was going for: You'll be missed.)

Once Coach wrote me a love essay. He quoted R.W. Emerson, who said: "Jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself... it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy me something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith’s."*

I'll admit I kind of like the irony of turning Emerson's statement on its head by giving jewels that are a portion of myself. But more than that, I like the underlying sentiment, that something from me is better than something from a store, even though that something from me is not ever perfect. It's fitting, really, because neither am I.





*From Essays and English Traits, XIII Gifts, quoted here.

Kashann

When I'm making gifts for friends, I always try to think of that woman's personal style and make something that fits. Sometimes, though, when I like a piece a lot, it's hard to tell if I've hit her style, or just my style. These blue dangles, for example. I love them. They remind me of the smooth glass pebbles my sisters and I used to pick up on the shores of Lake Erie. I remember being disappointed when I discovered the pebbles lost their shine when dry. We experimented with ways to keep them shiny, but mostly we ended up with jars of wet, stinky rocks, which were eventually discarded. But wet or dry, these stones don't lose their luster.

Anyway, I want to make a set for myself. But would that be cheating -- to give a one-of-a-kind made-just-for-you gift and then copy it? I can't decide.

It is always interesting to see what people prefer. I happened to give these to Kashann when she was at my house for a jewelry party last week. The brown disks (left over from Kristie's necklace) seemed to be a group favorite. Angela gushed over the clear glass. And I love the blue set (as previously mentioned). Individual taste seems surprising and predictable all at the same time. It's like, it's hard to say ahead of time "that's exactly her style" (although I try to do just that), but when she says herself "that's exactly my style" I can say, "you're absolutely right."

So anyway, I hope I've captured Kashann's style here. Or close enough anyway. I loved this project because it went together so quickly (yay earrings!), but still looks so pretty.

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.

Amy

Amy's got sort of a punky hippy style about her. She's also a high school teacher and a mom of four, so she doesn't have time to be all high-maintenance. My plan was to make her something teacherish, but every time I opened my bead box, this fish kept (figuratively) jumping out at me. I finally realized why; Amy is the quintessential fisher of men. She gathers souls for God.

I wanted the focal piece to look like a line of fish just pulled from the river, lures and bobbers and lines still attached. It's easily removable (for days when she doesn't feel like hefting a line full of dead fish), and the beaded necklace is substantial enough to stand on its own. I used a ribbon closure again, which I think works well here. (One trick I discovered with Kristie's necklace was knotting the ends of the ribbon and then closing crimp covers around the knots. That was much easier than threading beads onto the ribbon!)

The earrings are simple, but they really capture Amy's style. I think that's what I like most about them.

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.

Angela

I like the look of this set -- kind of a retro modern combination, with the bulky pink orbs spaced between clear glass. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I especially like the adjustable clasp, with the alternating sections of oval links and round split rings. It's really sturdy, but pretty and functional too.