DIY Jewellery Display

https://www.naturallife.com

Here on the Art Jewelry Elements blog, our team love to share their tutorials for creating beautiful jewellery. But what do you do with it while you’re not wearing it? It’s too pretty to be stuffed in a drawer or locked away in a box, so for my post today, I’m going to share a round up of my favourite DIY jewellery display ideas. All the pictures have a link below to the tutorial, so you can create some/all of these awesome designs for yourself.

http://blog.artision.com/diy-bracelet-display-cones/

First up, a bracelet display. This cone idea from the Artision blog would look equally fantastic on your dressing table, or can be used as a display at a craft fair. You can create a perfect match using plain or patterned paper to suit your room.

http://blah-to-tada.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/array-of-earrings.html

You can really let your creativity run wild with this great idea from blah-to-tada. Use bright colours and bold black lines to create a statement piece, or use subtle colours an pencil lines for something a little more subdued.

http://kbykm.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/2-jewlery-holder.html

This pretty bottle display can hold any item of jewellery and takes minutes to make. I love decorative bottles and this is the perfect way to display them along with your treasured items.

http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/customize-it-jewelry-blocks

These jewellery blocks are definitely going on my ‘things to do’ list. They are really simple, but brilliantly effective. The wood can be stained to match furniture, or painted to match your walls, either way, I think they’d look stunning draped with all of your favourite things!

http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/copper-pipe-jewelry-display-diy/

If you’d like something free standing then you might like these copper pipe display stands from the Home Depot Community blog. They look really quick and simple to make and I would imagine that the copper will colour with age giving them an ever changing patina.

http://designbydes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/diy-jewelry-display-made-with-wood-and.html

Design By Des shares a tutorial for these pretty free standing displays that can be customised with scrapbooking paper and paint. I think these would be also great in wallpaper to match your room. I think the cuff display is brilliant, but there is also a design for displaying necklaces.

http://palletfurniturediy.com/pallet-furniture/pallet-bookcase-tutorial/

If you have a ridiculous amount of jewellery to display, then go big with this handmade pallet bookcase with added hooks. I really love this one for the fact it has shelves as well, the whole thing would make a beautiful display of all of your treasured items and memories.

http://cleverlyinspired.com/2011/09/dangling-earring-organizer-for-2/

This clever earring display would make it easy to see and grab the perfect pair to match to your outfit and would only be a few pennies to make. If you have a million pairs of earrings, make it really long, or stack them one above the other.

http://cleverlyinspired.com/2011/09/dangling-earring-organizer-for-2/

And finally, for the young at heart, this cute animal hook display has a grown up feel, sprayed in a single colour. I would feel a bit mean sawing all those little creatures in half, but I think you’ll agree, the result is worth it for this fun and quirky display! (The instructions are in French, but there are good step by step photo's so you shouldn't have any trouble following along!)

So don’t hide your jewellery away, your creations are works of art and should be displayed for you to enjoy, even while you’re not wearing them!

Steal Like an Artist

photo courtesy of Austin Kleon

I totally wanted to write an in depth blog post full of deep insights and analyses of the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. But here's the thing. I would basically be repeating everything he already said. So basically I feel like all I should say is:

"Read this book!

Thanks for reading my amazing blog post,

Jen C"

Ok. That sort of feels kind of ridiculous. So let me expand my recommendation just a bit. I've read this book cover to cover twice. I've also picked it up several times to read bits and pieces of it.

Pro's:

-It's an easy read. There's not a big time commitment taking away from making stuff.

-There are entertaining illustrations

photo courtesy of Austin Kleon

-There are tips that maybe you've heard before. Or maybe not. However, the difference is the rearrangement of thoughts and ideas and previous tips into something that makes you want to scream "EUREKA!" in the middle of a crowded Barnes and Noble.

-Reading it more than once is highly likely. How many books do you own that you've read once and will probably never read again (that's pretty much all the books I own)? This is not one of those books.

-This book will make you take a long hard look at the issue of copying, and when and how it's appropriate.

-Relevant quotes from creatives.

-Practical advice beyond "live your dreams," which really isn't very practical at all.

photo courtesy of Austin Kleon

Con's:

-Does not contain the secret to making your first million in one month.

-Will not make you younger

-Um....That's it.

Here's the trailer he made for the book, in which he explains that the big idea for the book is that "you are a mashup" of what you let into your life, including the people, things, ideas, information, etc.



Thanks for reading my amazing blog post,

Jen C

Book Review :: "Inspiration in Glass" by Tanja Ostwald

"Inspiration in Glass" by Tanja Ostwald is a book I became familiar with on Facebook when one of the artists who were profiled posted a link to purchase this book.  Of course, I had to check it out right away and decided I had to have it!  You can purchase it on Amazon here.

In this book, Tanja asks a group of really talented glass bead makers about their inspiration and looks behind the scenes at their inspiration to help you find yours.

Each artisan created a new piece of glass art to symbolize their inspiration; that piece of glass art will be auctioned off at some point with proceeds being donated to a bead-related charity.

The artists included in the book are:

Akiko Isono

Annette Nilan

Astrid Riedel

Bronwen Heilman

Ginger E.L.A.

Holly Cooper

Jeri Warhaftig

Kate Fowle Meleney

Kim Fields

Kristen Frantzen Orr

Lucie Kovarova-Weir

Meike Nagel

Nicole Zumkeller & Eric Seydoux

Rocio Bearer

Sharon Peters

Stephanie Sersich

Yoskinori Kondo

The book is set up so that you learn about what inspired each artist to start making beads, some of their process, and advice they would give to other beadmakers.  While the book is not tutorial-oriented, the artists do provide a working dialogue to show you how the bead they are donating is made.  The book includes some awesome eye candy presented as an overview to the artists work.

At the end of the book, the section called Exercises to Practice provides a technique from each artist that will help you with specific aspects of glass beadmaking, for example, stringer control, puffy mandrel tips, making beads that match, and making shards.

The Artisans Spotlight section gives you some specific info related to each artist in spreadsheet format.  Hours spent at the torch, favorite music, and hobbies other than glass are just a few examples.

In conclusion, I think this is a great book for a lampworker who is not necessarily looking for a tutorial-rich book, but one that gives process-oriented lessons and inspirational information to find your own voice.  Since I admire many of these artists, I personally really enjoy reading about their inspirations and the advice they give.  There were several artists I was not familiar with and was happy to learn about them as well!  I hope this small review helps you!

**All photos used in this post were taken by me from my own personal copy of the book.**

**I was not given a copy of this book to review nor did I receive compensation in any kind for this review.**

Susan Kennedy

On My Clay Table

I'm FINALLY back in the studio making beads again.  I've been lacking bead mojo for awhile due to a variety of reasons.  It was nice to be back in the studio but I'm taking things slow.  The focus right now is to catch up on swaps I owe people, fulfillment of pieces for event donations and restocking the shop with some popular pieces.  Hopefully once these things are done, I can spend some time just playing and get some of my mojo back.  Let's have a little peek...

Porcelain

Here's the block of porcelain before I got to work.  I love the weird, earthy and musty smell it has.  

Porcelain slab

The first order of business was to roll out a slab of the porcelain.  I pulled a bunch of leaves outside for the autumn collection.  Because I use real leaves, I have a limited time in which to make this collection.  Once the cool weather rolls in and the leaves fall off the trees, I can't make more of these pieces.  They truly are seasonal work.

Porcelain leaves

I made a series of buttons for a friend who does leatherwork and the rest are pendants and charms destined for the shop and the Ceramic Art Bead Market. 

Leaf cabochons

There was also the business of making lots and lots of little leaf cabochons for Beki Haley's Beaders Dream Retreat.  I'm sponsoring the event, so each attendee will get a porcelain or stoneware leaf cabochon in their bag.  I am working on the stoneware pieces today while the little kiln runs a bisque-firing.

Porcelain beads

I'm also running dangerously low on beads so I rolled some up.  Most of these will be glazed to coordinate with the leaf pieces.  

Speckled stoneware

After I completed the porcelain work, I cracked open my speckled brown stoneware.  Mmmmm there was that nice earthy and musty smell again.

Rustic stoneware coins and beads

I made a bunch of rustic stoneware coins for the shop AND for next months Component of the Month (you won't want to miss that one).  I used the center cut-outs to roll some beads.  I also made a bunch of disc beads for a wedding order I'm trying to complete.  

As of right now, I'm still working in stoneware and I've got a bisque-load running in the garage.  Sea urchin cabochons and more little leaf cabochons are on the table today.  I'm really looking forward to completing this batch because I plan to move away from so much production work and start playing more.  I'd like to spend some time coming up with new designs and also working in art that isn't necessarily bead-related.  Change is good.  

So, what's on your work table?

Happy Beading!