Hey Sweeties, Happy Hump Day!!!
Today's the day of the big reveal...
the finished product of my 1st soldered necklace & even I must say,
I LOVEY IT!
It may actually be worth all the aggravation
of soldering! ;)
Don't you just love my little civil war girl's grumpy face?
She reminds me of Shirley Temple for some reason.
Something I DO enjoy doing, is hand-wiring together crystal beads.
When done with an annealed steel, they have the look
of a vintage rosary...Heavenly.
Now, being that I am the Queen of SPOONIN,
I had to add a vintage spoon to the mix.
I chose one that is very close to my heart,
a souvenir spoon from
Long Beach, Ca where I was born.
I also added a small vintage brooch as a chain connector.
I love that this piece is just as beautiful on the back, as on the front.
My antique ledger paper I got from The French Larkspur
is perfect with it's 1855 date showing.
I have to tell you though, it was very hard for my to cut something
that was so old. I only know that I will cherish each little piece
& put it only in my art projects that will be loved & treasured.
And how cool is it that on the back of my favorite spoon
the date is marked 1917. This truly is an heirloom necklace.
the date is marked 1917. This truly is an heirloom necklace.
So overall soldering is still a struggle for me, but I've found that
the end result can be worth every burnt finger &
swear word I had to go through to get here.
Now in contrast to soldering,
making these cute little vintage coin purses into necklaces is easy
making these cute little vintage coin purses into necklaces is easy
& so much fun. Since I adore tintypes, I just include them to
everything I make these days. They add that touch of the past
that really brings your piece to life!
I LOVE copper!
I love the patina it gets with time
I had a fabulous antique copper skeleton key that I used as a
chain connector for this necklace & I added a bit of
chain with an old Pepsi Cola coin dangling from it.
It worked perfectly as it is an old coin purse, right.
I even made a pair of matching earrings with a couple of metal
elements I got at Round Top from Sandy Schor. I swear,
his booth alone calls me back to Texas!
The set together...
too bad I didn't notice that the key was
backwards when I took the picture. :)
All in all, this past week has been full of creativity.
I've tried my hand at techniques that scare me,
I've learned about the concept of wabi sabi,
I've embraced the beauty of imperfection,
& I know as with all things,
I will only get better with practice.
Patience Grasshopper, patience.
XOXO
vintagesusie
10 comments:
OMG, I love everything you created! You captivate that vintage feel so well...all the pieces come together so well, as if they were made for each other. :)
I love what you made here!!! I cant get enough of the tiny purse!!! Stunning work my dear gifted friend!!!
Hugs,
wow, this is pinterest-worthy! thanks for sharing!
hugs,
peggy aplSEEDS
I'm so proud of ya, Susie! You really took on an intimidating project and made it beautiful. So hard to believe you're new to soldering- I am so impressed! And what a gorgeous necklace. I love the rhinestones and my favorite part? The sweet picture inside. Oh to know the name of the little girl in the photo. And the antique dated ledger paper is fantastic.
Your coin purse necklace is equally amazing...and yes, copper is fantastic to work with, isn't it?
You are really going after it aren't you my friend =) Yes...practice REALLY does make perfect. But, if you are like me perfectly not perfect is what I likey....xo
hi Susie--
I just discovered your funny comments on my blog...glad you came and visited! And yes, I've illustrated books before--after over 30 years in the biz, I've done about every kind of illustration, so holler if you need someone for your kid's book someday:-)
Your soldering looks pretty darn good, and you managed to get the jump-rings on, too! That drove me nuts when I first started out. Thanks for the compliments on my jewelry...I teach jewelry classes with a gal who is much more "wabi-sabi" (never knew that's what that meant!) than me, and my need for 'perfection'/obsessiveness just drives her nuts. Somewhere in the middle is probably the ideal.
Come back and visit any old time!
Maggie
www.themagrag.com
Locking pictures and messages in the pendant is an idea which I love...very nice creations which could be gifts if customized for people.
What Beautiful Creations, but I'm particularly drooling over the Old Coin Purse Necklace transformation!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
Love the necklaces Susie and the soldering looks hard, more power to you girl, you can do it. I'll stick with fabric and pic's though, safer for me. lol Hugs again! Marilou
I can truly appreciate your hard work. I just learned to solder 2 weeks ago. I must make time to practice or risk losing my new skill....it's truly a work on progress. Keep up the great work!
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