Necklace

I have been holding on to a particular antique spoon for awhile now. It was the only one I found that had this pretty scalloped shape and had a reasonable price (who knew antique spoons could be so expensive?!?). I think they are called jelly spoons, but I could be wrong.

I decided to turn it into a pendant. The funny thing is that I actually really messed up on this, but my mistake made it much cuter in the end. I thought I had a "w" stamp in my hand when in fact I had a "L". I was so devastated because I thought I ruined it for sure. After looking at it closer I decided I could creatively turn my one L into a bunch of L's going in a circle forming a flower or spark type shape. I think it turned out cute and it saved me from pitching it into the garbage.

I stamped the words "it is well with my soul" onto the metal after I flattened it a bit. Have you ever read about the author of this hymn? You can read about him and the inspiration for this song here. It's hard to believe he wrote these words following the tragedy in his life. I am inspired...

Is all well with your soul????

For a Friend

About a month ago I bought 10 or so antique spoons at a local antique store. I knew I wanted to try and make a bracelet out of one, but I really had no plans for the rest. I made two bracelets and even though they turned out nice, in the end, they were sort of awful to make. Bending those babies into a flowing round shape was almost impossible. I know there are ways to make this easier, but I am not ready to buy the tools involved. I decided to try something a little different and I love the results.

My oldest friend Natalie asked for me to make her a bracelet and instead I used her piece as an experiment for a new necklace. I flattened out the head of the spoon, sawed off the head, filed the edge smooth, stamped phrase, and drilled the hole. Kind of a process but I really like how it turned out. I am going to make one for myself next and since I have a few spoons left I will probably put a few in my store for sale.

Here it is

PS. I am still working on my stamping skills. It's much easier to get it right when using the stamps on leather than metal. I kind of like that it's not straight and perfect though...has more character I like to think.

Pullips

I haven't really collected anything since I was probably 10. I had a real nice nerdy stamp collection back then. My step mom collected Madame Alexander dolls and when I was younger she would buy me them for my birthday and Christmas. Doll collecting was never my thing (I did love playing with Barbies though but it's not the same) and although I appreciated the gifts I never really loved the dolls like she did. I would bring them home and leave them in their boxes in storage. One time my mom decided to display them, but I never really cared about them much.

Fast forward many many years. I am a grown woman (29!) and all of a sudden have the desire to start collecting DOLLS of all things. A while back I heard about Blythe dolls.

(found this picture here)
I would come across photos in Flickr and even on Etsy. I thought they were so unusual looking. Huge heads and big eyes. They look a little off and also a little sad or mischievous. I sort of wanted one and I am not even sure why. I wasn't going to "play" with it. After doing a bit more research I found that there are other dolls with similar qualities and that is when I found Pullip dolls. I just had to have one! I found a website that sells them and I still was holding onto birthday money that I didn't know what to do with so I bought one. I kind of can't believe I bought a doll and also an expensive one. I pretty much never buy anything this expensive.She arrived in the mail today and she is so fun. SOOOO well made. Here are a few pictures.

Pullips have eyes that open and close and move side to side. There is a mechanism on the back of their head that allows you control them. You can also replace their eyes and hair to give them a different look.

It was hard to choose just one because they are all so cute and unique. This is what makes me think I might start collecting them. The company that makes these also makes a doll called Dal. It is slightly smaller with a different type of face.

(image came from here)
They even make miniature less expensive versions of these dolls called Little Pullip and Little Dal. Here is on of my favorite Little Dals.

(Picture from here)

Starting to collect something has got me wondering what other people collect. Do you collect anything???

Saturday

This has been a really nice week. I have worked on several custom orders, finished this necklace, and got a new haircut. Today we went hiking at Henry Horton State Park and we are about to go eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant.

The most lovely thing of all is that the sun is out and there are blooms on our trees. The air smells of fresh cut grass and wild onions. Spring is almost officially here!

Wild At Heart

This is a necklace I am working on. I hate the word "Bib" necklace but I suppose that is what you might call it since it's large. Still needs a sealant applied and some chain added.

Two Lion silhouettes with the words "wild at heart" stamped in between.

Have you seen the preview for the new movie with Reese Witherspoon? Where she works in a circus? That was what I was thinking about when making this. I wish I could have captured the dye colors better but my indoor lighting stinks at the moment. It's a lot more rich in person. More photos to come when it's finished and ready to be put in my store.

This necklace is not for the faint of heart but more for the wild at heart...wink wink..... :)

Bed Time?

I hate when it's late and you know you should go to bed, but instead you sit with a thousand whirling ideas in your head of things you want to do or make in my case. Ahh....I love creative ideas but I hate when they come when your mind should be winding down.

Doll Necklace

I made a few of these doll necklaces to give to my nieces as presents for Christmas. A sweet friend also asked for one for her daughter. She sent me a picture of her daughter so that I could make the doll look similar. Here is the doll I made for her.

 After my friend received it she posted pictures of it on Facebook and now a few of her friends want dolls for their daughters! I had two orders to work on this morning and I really enjoyed trying to get the dolls clothing to look like the clothing in the pictures. I also love painting the hair. Here is a picture of one of the dolls I painted this morning. I wish I could show you the little girl's photo so you could judge whether or not I did a good job of replicating her. Maybe I can ask if I can use the photo for my blog and show you all another time.

I won't be selling these dolls in my etsy shop but if you are interested in one let me know. They are 20 a piece and if you don't live close by I can mail it for an extra 2 dollars.

Have a happy Saturday!

New Necklaces!

Here are some new necklaces that I added to my store today. Check them out at www.faradaisyjean.com.