Shells and bones and stones

New supplies! I'm so excited! Aren't they dreamy?!

This time I will be bringing Dream little batches of (somewhat) matching items. So although I'm very late in bringing new jewelry to them, I think it will be worth the wait! :)

Inspiration

I haven't made much jewelry lately. Really, I've hardly made any jewelry at all in the past few months and when I have I haven't felt very inspired. I'm come to the realization that I've started making things with selling in mind and let that reason sort of take over from making things because I like them, because I've been inspired. The last number of items I made were because I was trying to get stock together for consignment, following a store owner's suggestions. And while her input is really valuable, I sort of felt like I was losing control over my pieces - like I wasn't following my heart anymore. I also started limiting my creations in terms of money - I resisted making things that would cost more for fear that they wouldn't sell, or wouldn't sell for a while. These are all good things to keep in mind (outside input, cost...) but they sort of dampened my spirit. I was down near one of my favourite supply stores the other day on an errand and even though I didn't really have the money to spend on supplies, and I didn't really need any supplies, I let myself go in. I ended up buying a number of things, including the three items pictured above. Things that made me go "oooooh, beautiful!" , that I was already dreaming about making into gorgeous, magical necklaces. And I realized I really missed that, and hadn't made things for those reasons in a really long time. So my advice to other makers is to make sure you make some things for the pleasure of it: the things you dream about or that make you dream. That geode slice definitly cost more that I'd usually spend on a pendant, but I finally caved because dammit, I LOVE geodes, I think they're unbelievably magical and beautiful and I always drool over jewelry made with them, so why shouldn't *I* make something with them? I'll really enjoy it, and even if they sit around for awhile before they sell, it's totally worth it. Yes, I'll still make some earrings and silk cord necklaces and other nifty things, but I've realized that those special silver charm necklaces are my ~thing~, and I need to make sure I let myself have fun making them more often. You've gotta be able to keep your passion going - otherwise what are you doing it for? I'm pretty sure none of us are doing it for "the money." (At the going consignment rate? HA!) Really, I think when you make things that you're really inspired to make, rather than "I ought to make this" or "this might sell well," it shows, and makes your work so much more special.

If you want more Etsy tips, Sarah did a great post recently with her top pointers.

Bright & Shiny Things

Here are more crystals from a vintage necklace I took apart and cleaned. Looking forward to making things with them!



Here are some gorgeous glossy round agate beads I picked up at the bead show a few weeks ago.



And here are two of the bracelets I've made with some of the semi-precious stone beads I picked up at the show as well. Love them! They're available in the shop.

Buttons and more buttons

I have just a bit of this n that to show you right now. This post is what my grandma would call a "doggy's breakfast" which basically means a mess and, well, anyhow, it is what it is, haha. The top photo is of some buttons I made with my friend Sam awhile ago. I sold a few at the Blim market. I've been considering throwing some random stuff (older jewelry designs that are still hanging around on sale, these buttons...) into my old Etsy shop but haven't decided yet. Some will make their way into packages as bonuses (if you make a purchase and have a button request let me know and I will try to fulfill your wishes :) ). Below is a very poor photo (sorry) of buttons from the Got Graft swag bag I won in December.



There was a bag full of random old buttons so I cleaned them all and sorted them, as you can see (they didn't even all make it into the photo!) and Ben made fun of my buttons sorted into like half of our cups/shot glasses. So maybe I'm a little crazy when it comes to sorting and organizing. I have no idea what I'll do with them all but two of them have made their way into those woven leather bracelets I've started making (one is pictured below). Here are a couple bracelets that will be in the shop soon:


(enameled metal fish bead, faceted glass and tiger ebony wood bead bracelet)


(woven leather bracelet with faceted glass beads, a sterling silver bead and upcycled button closure)

I've also listed a few new things in the Etsy shop so far this week, including these earrings:

(sterling silver earwires, metal filigree circles and pink dyed jade beads)

I also had a request today for 12 of a keychain I have listed in my shop. I am trying to make it happen but I don't think I'm going to be able to find more of the charms I used :( Bummer! But, it was at least nice to get the request. I'm looking at one more place tomorrow before I message her back.

Hope this wasn't too all over the place! I'll be back soon, hopefully with something more cohesive :)

Weekend part 2

Hello lovelies,
sorry this post is late. I have been dealing with some frustrating health issues lately and they've been kind of sucking my energy to do things. I am trying to get them sorted out but it's proving complicated, of course, so wish me luck!

Anyhow, I wanted to share a bit from my Sunday which was mostly lovely! Ben & I went to Make It, a really cool handmade market that happens twice a year. We planned on getting drinks to enjoy while walking around (we figured it's the only craft fair we know that serves alcohol so we should partake ;) ) and hoped to find a new wallet for Ben. Unfortunately we didn't find a wallet, but we did enjoy a beer each (and were congratulated on doing so by a number of sellers, haha), ate DELICIOUS pistachio macaroons from French Made Baking (seriously they were melt-in-your-mouth heavenly!!) and picked up a few small gifts for people. Then I picked up some supplies that I am really excited about! We headed over to Spool of Thread because I'd seen some fabric they have online that I "had to have" because it is gorgeous and is covered in adorable dogs (even though I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet). If you've never been, they are a sewing lounge: they have awesome fabrics and host sewing classes. They also have great neighbours including Collage Collage (love!! they host kid's craft birthday parties, among other things) and Ruby Dog's Art House (random awesome craft supplies, lots of vintage ephemera). I might have found a little something for Beca at Ruby's. Maybe. I also got some tiny keys which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT!!! They are going to make the best necklaces ever. They are real old keys, and the tiny ones that say "presto" are my new favourite thing. I bought all the ones I saw :O (I bought a lot of keys you guys. I better get makin'.)



The magnet is by Jennifer Conway (see and/or buy some here): it's for Ben's dad, probably for father's day? So cute! I thought the disk (I have more with other numbers) could be fun on a keychain with other beads/charms. We'll see how that goes. To see more of the fabric you can check out this photo from Spool of Thread's Flickr stream.

Ok. I think I am going to eat ice cream now. Maybe you should too.
xo.

Weekend part 1

This weekend was pretty busy too! We fit in lots of awesome. On Friday Ben gave me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, just cause.



I LOVE them. Sorry, those are the best photos I could get.

I took apart some donated jewelry which will be given new life in honeywild pieces (I take old jewelry apart and clean the beads so they can be used in new creations - more info under the tab up top, "recycle your jewels"). Here are some beads from the first few bracelets I killed ;)



Ben went to see the Whitecaps soccer game for his friend's birthday on Saturday and when I picked him up we decided to go out for dinner. I had a coupon for a restaurant called Eight 1/2 just off Main st at 151 East 8th Avenue. It sounded really cool - here is their blurb/mandate:

"eight ½ restaurant lounge is based on the principle that what goes in to our bodies should be simple, fresh and local. We pride ourselves on having a kitchen that has no need for a deep fryer or microwave, keeping our dishes and drinks healthy and fresh every time."

It was delicious! It's quite small and there was a large bachelor party there taking up a bunch of tables so we sat at the bar. We ordered the baked brie [filo wrapped brie, local buckwheat honey, sweet chili, candied apple slices] to start (sooo tasty) and then shared the mushroom risotto [a seasonal mix of fresh BC mushrooms, pine nuts, and baby spinach topped with white truffle oil and shaved Parmesan] which OH my my. So very delicious!! It was great and we'd definitely go back.

So that was the first half of the weekend. Sunday was super fun as well and I'll try to blog about it tomorrow :)

What shenanigans did you get up to this weekend?

Keys please!

I've had a lot of interest in the "Secret-Keeper" necklace that I donated to the silent auction that took place last night, so I thought I would show you guys the keys I currently have in my inventory to work with. They are all vintage or reclaimed. I took the photos with a measuring tape so you have an idea of size. Comment below if you are interested in one or have any other questions or comments!
*** Both keys on the bottom in the first photo are now reserved! I will be getting some new vintage keys soon, so if you are interested please comment or drop me a line! ***
xo.