jewelry – Page 6 – Karla's Cottage

Memory wire beading

By Karla Nathan / July 28, 2016

This is something new for me. This spring, I'd been enamoured with the leather cord wrap bracelets, you can see some here and here.

Then, I read about memory wire bracelets and thought I could get a similar look even quicker. And they are simple and quick. But still very beautiful. Well, I think anything made with these beads can't be anything but beautiful, right? Even poured into a jar or onto a plate, they are just plain gorgeous.

Here are the ones I made for myself, the memory wire bracelet looks nice worn with the leather wrap one. These two have aquamarine, pearls, aventurine, moonstone, laborite, and chalcedony. I seriously splurged on the aquamarine, and went all out with it on these two.

A family member requested a mermaid themed one, and I made this blue piece. But thought it needed pearls too, so I experimented with vintage pearl beads on a single wrap, hooked with a silver clasp that could stack with the blue bracelet.

As tempting as it was to immerse myself into weeks of bead heaven like I did last time, I managed to limit my obsession to a couple of days, because I have so much going on with the remodel project.

Sugarwings joined me for one of those days, she did some beading and spent the rest of the time working with sculpy clay.

Remember that I said I thought memory wire sounded easy to do? It is, she had no trouble whipping up a few herself, with a little help bending the ends and attaching the charms.

She even made a couple for her sisters.

While I had the supplies out, I couldn't resist making a few of the leather wrap style ones for the guys in the family.

For some of the memory wire bracelets, I used vintage buttons as charms on the ends.

This one has 2 laborite and amethyst bead dangles and is made up of all semi precious stones. Which can get very expensive, a lot of beads quickly go onto the wires and before I know it, my stash from the gem show is dwindling! I do love the look of this style, but it takes more beads and less time than the other type. I think the leather woven strands are more of a challenge, too. Going back and forth to make some of each was a nicely balanced way of working.

Sadly, I had to pack it all up, there are too many other projects waiting for my attention right now, and it is hard to justify making bracelet after bracelet to give away. Maybe once the dust settles on the remodel, I can get back to beading and make some to sell. Because, I certainly enjoy creating them, and I can only wear so many at a time… no matter how tempting it is to fill up both forearms and admire the pretty colors.

Well durn

cottage, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / April 12, 2016

Lately, I've had my share of screwups. This one kind of takes the cake, though.

Instead of working in the studio, on my folding tables, I've set up a jewelry making station in the dining room. Silly me.

The superglue leaked onto the table and as I pried it up, I also pried up the paint. In a big, long chunk.

Wow, didn't see that coming.

I'd been making these mica flaked sand vials (with the sand from Coronado beach) with Sugarwings. First of all, why would I have sand all over the dining room when I have a perfectly nice studio to trash?

And does superglue really belong on my dining room table? I guess I knew I was either repainting it or replacing it when we remodelled the kitchen again this spring. But I wasn't quite ready to redo it now.

And also, I seriously didn't need to be making dozens of wrap bracelets and all of this jewelry anyway. I have a Downton swap book to work on! And a kitchen to pack up for a remodel.

But, I have to say, I have enjoyed every minute of the time I lingered at the table playing with gems and beads. It has been a delightful escape from everyday life. Now, BACK TO WORK. Vacation is over, and I need to get busy.

Right after I repaint that table, I guess.

I'm Spring Cleaning in the Boutique, if you'd like to take advantage of my urge to purge the inventory, please use THIS link to access the shop. All items will be 50% off including the tutorials and existing sale prices.

More wrappin

jewelry

By Karla Nathan / April 1, 2016

My obsession with braided bracelets continues. This one was for my friend, Jen, who like kitschy, vintagey stuff as much as I do, and I thought these buttons were just meant to be made into a bracelet for her. They are interspersed with vintage crystal beads and mother of pearl.

Here is another that I've made for a friend, with all natural gemstones.

Planning the color themes is as much fun as weaving the beads. I usually pull out a handful of things I like to use as inspiration for the rest of the bracelet, but I don't actually lay it all out and plan it ahead. Instead I use the few inspiration beads as a jumping off point and mix and match from them as I go along.

Often, the piece that forms the design is the button clasp. Like this one. You just can't go wrong with a vintage rhinestone button, can you?

My latest obsession

jewelry

By Karla Nathan / March 25, 2016

Have you ever made a wrap bracelet? I know the trend has been around for a while. I hope I'm not so late joining in that no one is wearing them anymore… But now that I've found them, I've fallen in love and will probably wear the ones I've made way, way, way past the time of them being in style.

For one thing, they are comfy to wear, not to mention how easy they are to fasten. Bracelets often get put away in drawers for years if I can't hook them without assistance.

Inspiration hit at the Gem and Mineral show in Kansas City. I thought I'd try to make a few bracelets, after seeing the beautiful beads there.

The prices are pretty good there and the dealer was giving me another 20% off the sale price, so I might have gotten a teensy bit carried away…

Trouble is, I'd never attempted to string beads before, but that didn't stop me from spending $250 on semi precious beads to teach myself how to do it.

On second thought, I realized this might not have been my smartest move. These were harder to make than I had hoped they might be. They look pretty simple. But when I started in, it felt more like sewing than making jewelry and I'm not much of a sewer. Needles and thread have been my sworn enemies.

Mine started out a little wonky.

After more than a week of obsessing, and having beads spread out on my dining room table, I think I figured out a few tricks.

The most important thing I discovered was to use a heavier leather cord than the one I started with. The one pictured is ideal. My thinner one broke.

Also, a heavier silk, in 2 meters, not 4 is soooo much easier than the longer pieces. I had no idea which to use when I started, so I went with the one that felt like it was miles and miles of dratted tangles.

A pair of pliers came in handy for tightening the thread, yet I was still getting some beads that bulged away from the cords. I read that you can use a dot of beading glue on the strings to hold them in place. That helped too.

Mine are far from perfect, but the beads and colors themselves are so pretty, that helps hide my flaws.

One reason why I've so totally immersed myself in making these wraps is that I've been doing it in the kitchen instead of out in the studio. It has felt like a break from work, I've enjoyed having a home base right there in the house instead of heading next door. The piles of beads are always right there, tempting me to sit down and dabble with a new design.

Sugarwings had "forgotten" that she had homework until the last two days of spring break, and I sat and made bracelets for hours as she finished up her own work. She designed a bracelet for me to make for her to wear, although I don't really know if they are kid proof or not.

I made an onyx one for Ryan and he wore it to work at the warehouse last night. I told him not to be so trusting of my skills, that it might not hold up to loading trucks.

The possibilities are endless with the designs. Especially if you have gone overboard at the bead show.

Each time I finish one, I can't help thinking about who to make one for next and what colors I'll get to use.

This is one I've made for myself, it has vintage, glass buttons woven into the pattern.

Of course, it is my fave because it is the one I just finished. The latest one I make is always the one I love most, until I make another, that is.

For this one, I was able to make it longer, so that I could get three wraparounds instead of just two like the previous ones.

Most have already been given away, some I didn't even get photos of, I was so excited about them as I finished I couldn't wait to take them to their new owner. Of course, now I'm thinking I shouldn't have given away some wonky ones, I should've remade them.

Well, my pile of beads doesn't really even look like there is much of a dent it in yet. So, back to work.

Hat Whispering in Texas and scooping up jewels

antiques/junking, collections, family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2015

At our Texas/British bash, I was lucky enough to win this pretty piece from Cassandra! It was a door prize, and I won by having the closest birthday. Isn't it pretty?

All hand soldered. I love the flecks of silver in some of the pieces.

But that isn't my only special gift! There were treats galore, and our roomies had sweet things for each other too. Then, my sister and I saw two hand made from vintage pieces, matching necklaces. Like the artist had taken apart one necklace, added some bits, and redesigned it into two.

Well, we both liked them, but decided we didn't need them.

So, we continued shopping and poking around. But an hour or so later, I told Sissy that we'd remember those and regret not buying them, and I was going to get them as a gift for us both.

Til my credit card wouldn't work. No cards were accepted. And I didn't have a debit card for the ATM or a checkbook with me.

And I'd been shopping a while, and was low on cash for the rest of the trip. Here is a sampling of some of the hats I snagged in Texas. Yep, about THIRTY floral concoctions! I hat whispered my way across Kansas and Texas, snapping up millinery every where I went.

Which, wasn't cheap, even with the bargains that I was finding. My cash wouldn't support the necklaces. I felt bad because I'd wanted to give her a nice gift, she has always been extra generous with me.

Then, Sissy bought them both for us!

I did want to buy them, and hated that she had to do it, but wasn't it nice of her? I'll treasure my sister necklace and think of her wearing hers when I wear mine.

Kinda like those BFF heart necklaces cut in half.

But I did find something to get her the next day in Waxahachie! She saw this moon full of pink crystals, and said it was like one she had pinned on Pinterest and had been searching for. So, I felt a little better, about the necklace snafu. She was meant to have this moon pendant.

Canton was magnificent. I was enthralled by the variety, prices, and scope of the shopping. I could've used three days to see it all. I hit the dollar tables hard, and found a trove of treasures there, little bits of jewels, boxes to adorn, cute knick knacks. Plus, I was finding millinery in abundance everywhere I went on this trip.

One of my first purchases was this teeny, puppy creamer, for $1. I bought it for the grand fairies, so we could use it for our next tea party. Then, one of my last purchases was the matching sugar bowl, also a dollar, at the other end of the flea market.

Meant to be found for me to reunite it with its mate!

All of the shopping was top notch, great company, great junk, and just as much fun as you could possibly jam into an outing.

I miss Texas

And Whitworth Ranch Retreat.

Serendipi-TEA at The Whitmore Ranch Retreat classes

jewelry, sewing?, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 16, 2015

Classes at our Downton retreat in TX were just as fun as the rest of the weekend. Cassandra offered a velvet purse kit in pink or tan, I chose tan, and packed a lot of old lace to add to my creation. (including the salvage I'd trimmed off my kitchen curtains when they got torn while blowing around on a very windy day)

I was slightly dreading the production, because of- ick!- sewing- but once I got going, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Cassandra had the bag and liner pre-stitched, we embellished the bag, put them together, sewed on the clasp. It was sewing optional in a lot of areas, we could use glue on some parts. But, I dove in with needle and thread, and conquered my fears.

My skill level is not high, and I didn't change that. But, when I dropped a camera and phone into the finished bag, they didn't fall through, so I guess I did okay.

She had great supplies for us to use, but I had an idea about how I wanted it to look.

This is her example. Lovely as can be, isn't it?

And while I tried the embroidery and beading, I knew I'd never master it that fast, so I stuck with what I knew.

My first step was placing different lacy bits on the bag to see what I liked, and then it grew from there.

One trick I did pick up was making a ribbon rose. I want to make more of these!

And I did just a little bit of embroidery, using some vintage metallic thread, and I added a few crystal beads from a necklace I'd bought at Canton Flea Market.

You can see I didn't do much of that. I discovered that embroidery is hard enough, but throwing in old, metallic thread, was crazy. It kinks, twists, and it was trouble. Still, I was pretty dang proud that I actually stitched something.

We had 24 hour access to the craft room, so Guncle Randy and I took advantage of that. We hung out til late every night. I made not only Cassandra's bag and our other pretty project from Molly, but TWO snippet rolls and a little make and take from Waxahachie.

This is a teensy, plastic trophy, and we were given paints to tarnish it up.

Guncle Randy had been wanting to make a steam punk bird like the one in this picture, for quite a while. I made the base of it for him one night after I finished my purse, and he found a cool, old bit of some sort of twisty metal to turn into a base next time we are together.

And that isn't all I got done! We had a second project for the Downton theme. Molly's necklace is a lace collar. Here is her example. Lovely, huh? It was also a glue/stitching optional project.

I chose glue.

Both pieces were a nice challenge, not my typical style. I wanted to be able to make them look like I made them, but still be true to the theme, since the projects were so pretty and well thought out.

For this one, I darkened the cameo with markers and paint to age it a bit. And added some sequin trim from a shredding flapper dress, that Sissy shared with me.

Basically, the rest of the layout was the same as Molly's. She had hand dyed the lace for us, and it is the prettiest pink. I might foof mine up a bit more, like hers is, I liked the pink fluffy flowers she had added.

Here is a little bit of one of the snippet rolls I made. I'll have more pictures of it after our swap in June at Birdsong 5. The rest of it is a surprise for its intended owner.

A personal holiday tradition

holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / December 6, 2014

Typically, I'm not a red or a green person.

But for the whole month of December, I wear red and green stones for Christmas.

I've had this ring for – aack! a LOT of years! – since my twelfth birthday. It was a gift from my sister, Bobbie Sue.

And these emerald earrings were a gift from my pal, Shanna.

The peridots were my Great Aunt Caroline's. And the ruby was my Mom's. It's a sentimental time of year, so it is extra nice to have Christmas colored jewelry that reminds me of family.

Or fun days out with friends. The garnet and diamond ring in the back is from a flea market buddy trip. the very vintage rose gold one in front was from a garage sailing day with friends, and was only $4.

I think any of the pendants go wonderfully with the pearl necklace Sissy made for me from Great Grandma Nellie's pearls. (Notice that I cropped my wattle out of the photo?)

For the last few years, I've also worn this red velvet coat from Victoria Trading Co. during December, along with this pretty scarf that Jenn Hayslip gave to me for teaching at one of her events.

The coat could be considered a bit much. I either look like I am wandering about in my bath robe, or am Mrs. Claus escaped from the North Pole. I've heard Red Riding Hood too.

But when I put it on, I feel festive. It's warm, it's soft, and I don't think looking like Mrs. Claus is such a bad thing this time of year.

Do you have a personal tradition that makes you feel all Christmassy?

Some sparklies, some pretties, and some not so pretties

jewelry

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2014

After Birdsong, I went on a jewelry making kick, after being inspired by Lori and Andrea and the wonderful pieces they had brought for vendor night.

I had some pieces around that I kept thinking I was going to use for something, and was happy to finally get around to it.

The two that are blue glass with pearls look good worn together. I hope all that going on around my neck at once deters from my ever growing, saggy, wattle. I kind of go back and forth on how to deal with that issue. Wear a ton of jewels to distract? Or keep it simple to not draw attention?

See what I mean?

Oh man, I just showed a close up of my wattle!!!!!! Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me? I guess, I know that it is there, and can't be hidden or ignored. I am what I am and need to accept it. Unless I want to wear turtle neck sweaters year round. Heck, in a few years, I'll look at this photo and think these were the good ole days, back when my wattle and saggy skin were in the newbie stages of just learning how to sag. I'll probably think this is a great photo.

This is a necklace I made for the Hippy Chick, it is a happy rainbow of semi precious stones. My pal, Queen Regina, gave me some beautiful beads to work with a while back and I'm just now using them all up.

I always wear any necklace a while before selling or giving it away. They have to be proven comfy, and stay together well before they leave.

It had been a long, long time, since I'd been in a jewelry mood. This has been fun.

I've made a few as gifts too. This one is for a friend who loves buttons, my BFF, Beth.

This is an old brooch set with amathyst and mother of pearl. I hung ruby and garnets from it, along with a locket that will hold photos of my girls, and a charm that has my name and birthdate on it. I think it was from my grandma's charm bracelet. Or maybe my mom's?

Interested in the journal swap? Info here.

How to make a champagne cork cage chair

bird song art event, how-to projects, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2014

My good pal, Hope, was a Birdsong newbie this year, and a very welcome addition. She is fond of bubbly, but had never opened a champagne bottle before.

My youth was spent as a single mom who waited tables or bartended to raise my kids. I've opened a few champagne bottles in my time, so I gave her a lesson.

My tip is to cover the cork with a towel, and then wiggle it side to side. The cork slips out and the towel stops it from putting your eye or your light fixture out.

Hope is a skilled and avid journaler. She documents everything, so she took pictures of the lesson.

Since I knew she was sentimental, I saved the cork cage for her. And turned it into a chair.

I had a charm thingie that was part of a necklace I'd made in a class last year, but it was a bit large for me, so I took it off the chain, and wired it to the back of the cage, and the squirted in some glue and clamped it together over night.

Of course, I remade the necklace so I could wear it without the larger charm I stole from it.

I then glued old paper to the "seat" of the chair, and added a bit of ruffled crepe paper as a skirt, and topped that with tatting.

There is a hole at the top, that was once used to suspend it from the chain. I left it as is, in case Hope wants to hang the chair from her journal.

If you wanted to make one, you could use a brooch as the chair back, fabric or paper to cover the seat, and lace or ribbon for the skirt. I should drink more champagne, it would be fun to have a collection of these chairs!

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ps- I'm having a Summer Clearance sale in the Boutique. I've neglected that poor little shoppette too long, I need to clean up, clear out, and refresh it all. You are welcome to soak up some summertime savings and help me get a fresh start, by using this link and getting 50% off everything in the store:

http://www.karlascottage.com/?code=Summersale

(You must use that address to get the special price. Going to the regular address does NOT take you to the 50% discount)

Meanwhile back at Birdsong- yep, here comes MORE

bird song art event, Food and Drink, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2014

Yes, I know, I'm still blathering on about our party. It is a huge deal for me, and I love every minute of it. Plus,( just ask my family), it takes over my world for quite a while, so it is hard to let it go when it ends.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is the party night. We drink some wine, eat dinner, shop in the garage, and hang out. I try to keep it all pretty laid back, and fun for me too. So I cook ahead of time, making up huge pans of food in advance, to have frozen and waiting to go into the oven that night, and have the other vendors in charge of shopping.

This year was just a little more complicated when I started to set up the vendor space, because I forgot to use plastic on the walls when I hung a canvas up to paint a banner there this spring. (the wall was a tad bit, uhmm, colorful) I had to repaint before I could fix the garage up and turn it into a store.

I painted the wall a pretty sky blue (leftover from that banner), and wrote "peeps" in Xmas lights on it, then covered it all in a huge piece of lace. After carrying out typical garage junk, and bringing in some rugs, I set up tables with white cloths on them and we filled the room up with vintage goodness.

I'm afraid I didn't get any photos during the sale! These are from set up before the room is done.

But here is a picture of what I bought there. This is a necklace from Lori.

And here are the necklaces that Lori and Andrea gave to me. I've always adored cameos. And when Andrea told me to chose a necklace from her vendor table, I had to go for the one with the large bird that matched the bracelet kits she had.

I've been very inspired by both of them, and have been on a jewelry binge since they left. Here is a necklace I made from Andrea's kit.

She included some very nice pieces, and I had some beads that matched nicely, and was able to add a bit more chain and doo dads to make it longer.

Weeks before our weekend kicks off, I start baking and filling the freezer with treats. I try to be very prepped in advance, so I can have fun once the party starts.

Do you know how hard it is to live in a home that has a freezer full to the brim with treats???? Sometimes, when my husband would be out of town, and I'd still be up late in an empty home, watching TV or reading, I could hear the sound of those cookies calling my name from the freezer in the garage.

Cookies can be very loud after midnight. They never shut up, when they know you are home alone and it is late at night.

Believe it or not, there were still cookies left in the freezer when the guests arrived. I don't know how they survived, but some did.

These were made with alphabet stamps I found at TJ Max. I didn't notice till I was half done making them that I'd loaded "PEFPS" instead of "PEEPS" into the cookie cutters. I was able to transform that F into an E with a knife point for some cookies, but many were already baked, so got served as "pefps".

We ended up with way too much food. Besides the misspelled cookies, I made what Suzanne called a "bird bath full of apple deliciousness". I had kind of a huge bowl of it to serve. Part of the problem, was that there was a storm right before I went grocery shopping, and the power was out! I had to push an over loaded 500lb cart in the darkness and browse by the light of my cell phone flashlight ap.

I wasn't as careful of a shopper as I could have been. But I think it's better to have extra than not enough.

And boy did we have extra.

One thing that people seemed to like was the corn. I'd fixed chicken pasta, and needed a side dish. And I wanted something fresh, easy to make, and kind of Italian.

Here is what I did:

I cut the corn off of two dozen ears the day before, and stored it in ziplock bags in the fridge to save space. When you are feeding 35 plus people for multiple meals, fridge space is a big issue.

My son chopped a bag of carrots in the food processor while my sis sauteed 3 diced red peppers in olive oil. Then the carrots were sauteed. All of that went into a bag in the fridge too.

The next day, I emptied all the bags into a giant pot (I made way too much, thinking that 24 ears of corn for 35 people was okay, but I probably only needed half that much), added butter, sea salt, white pepper, and fresh thyme.

Then, I had anyone who walked through the kitchen taste it. We all kept thinking, more thyme, more thyme, more thyme, maybe more salt? By the time we all added thyme, it was pretty durn tasty.

And wasn't I lucky that making something up on the fly worked out? I'd never tried carrots with corn and thyme, but we all loved it. If it had sucked, I'd have been in trouble, since I had a vat of it and a bunch of hungry crafters!!