Rolled Fabric Flower Bib Necklace

Here's another flower bib necklace I made, using strips of fabric rolled into rosettes and glued onto a felt backing.  I already had all the materials for this one in my stash, it's so satisfying not having to buy anything!

I googled "rolled fabric rosettes tutorial" and found a variety of instructions.  Most tutorials produce rosettes that show the raw fabric edge, like this from mama monster:

Very cute too but I prefer them without frayed edges, so I was just extra careful when folding my fabric stripes to keep them tucked under.

I love how it turned out!

Another bathroom mirror/iPhone photo

If you'd like to make one, here's a tutorial from Tortoise and the Hare.  Enjoy!

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Lace Flower Bib Necklace

Since attending the Auckland Art and Craft Fair, I've been itching to get my craft on...  I spotted this guest post tutorial for a lace flower bib necklace by Little Miss Momma over on Tater Tots & Jello.

It's super cute and very easy.  The first couple of flowers I made didn't turn out well though.  My lace had a raw edge instead of a nice tidy binding like the kind she used in the tutorial, so I think that's why the "petals" kind of stuck straight up like a cup instead of a flower shape.  Also, the blue pearl beads I used looked small and kind of lost.  Then I tried pleating the lace as I glued it down, and it turned out much better! 

Bathroom mirror/iPhone photo

You know you must enjoy something when you burn the crap out of your fingers every ten minutes with hot glue, but keep doing it anyway...

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In Which Averil Spends More Money Than She Has

First off, let me say that I really appreciate the thoughtful comments on my last post. Thank you so much for taking the time to give me your feedback and opinions on websites and blog posts. You guys are wonderful!

Ok so today -- after Emily and I delivered and set up for two weddings,she suggested we peruse the vintage and secondhand clothing stores on Karangahape Road in the central city. All in the name of business, of course – I was supposed to be looking for vintage brooches to incorporate into the wedding jewelry line that I am contemplating starting.

Well, ahem… let’s just say I got a little distracted at The Paper Bag Princess (everything is $20 and under!) and spent most of the money I had just earned by working for Emily. Never mind that I had been complaining all morning about how I had to decide between buying dog food and groceries for myself (guess who won…) While we were out though I got an email from Etsy that I had sold two items, so that makes up for it. Hooray!

But look, the two pretty cream shirts I bought serve a double purpose --- as props in my new jewelry photos! It was quite fun taking these photos, I felt like a fashion magazine stylist.

The trench however, well, I just had to have that ($20!). It looks new and feels so, so soft. I am a total sucker for tactilely (is that a word??) pleasing clothing. You can’t really see it in the photo but it has kind of a bubble hem which is quite unique. And look at the belt! So pretty. Now I just have to wear it ALL THE TIME or Emily will make fun of me for buying it.

When I moved back to Auckland last month, I had to be pretty ruthless in deciding what I was going to bring from my clothing and shoe wardrobe (which was actually already pretty meagre as a result of moving between Auckland and L.A. 3 times previously in the past 5 years) in order to keep my baggage to a reasonable amount.  So I feel that these purchases are somewhat warranted, despite the state of my bank account (I know Emily will be laughing at me as I write this, that I am still trying to justify this several hours later...)

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend as much as I am!

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Alice in Wonderland Pendants - Sneak Peek!

I am so excited.  When I first started making these pendants, I bought supplies to make round ones and oval ones.  For some reason, every single oval one I attempted was riddled with blemishes and unusable, but the round ones were working out ok, so I figured it was because of the shape and gave up on it.  The ovals sat in my materials drawer and taunted me with their yuckiness.

Recently I switched from acrylic cabochons to glass and so I bought a pack of oval ones just to try again.  I pressed some Alice in Wonderland images yesterday afternoon, looked at them when I got home from work today, and oh happy day, they came out GREAT!  I used a longer chain length for these ones too.  I am so excited about them.

Above is a sneak peek of the pendants I'll be listing on Etsy... I even got brave and took photos of myself and actually left my face in the pictures (at least part of it), horrors.... I hate having my picture taken, I swear I am the most unphotogenic person on the planet.  Luckily a bit of soft-focus in Picasa took care of the worst ;)

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Spring and Summer Jewelry

With the weather warming up slowly in California, I present for you some of my jewelry with a spring and summer feel... (ok really, I just wanted an excuse to make another collage in Picasa, I made one for my Twitter background and it's so fun):

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In and Out of Love... Or, I am Sometimes Fickle (with jewelry materials).

Amethyst and peridot earrings, still for sale in my shop, 25% off!

I began making jewelry because I love jewelry, but had a hard time finding pieces that I wanted to wear and could also afford. So, I taught myself the skills required and began creating wire-wrapped jewelry with glass, semi-precious and precious gemstones. Creating this type of jewelry was rewarding in that I loved using dainty amethyst, peridot, and citrine briolettes to create brilliantly colored earrings and necklaces. On the downside, wire-wrapping is pretty labor-intensive and there was often a lot of cursing involved as yet another little gem or tiny gold jump ring slipped out of my pliers’ grasp and rolled under my couch.

Although I still love and am proud of the wire-wrapped jewelry I created, I started to feel drawn to a different style of jewelry. I have one necklace that I absolutely love, bought in New Zealand that I have never found anything similar to. It is a heavy copper double chain with purple-mauve beads of different shapes and a large bell-shaped charm. This one necklace really felt like “me”, so I set out to create jewelry in a similar vein. I have also started noticing a lot of brass and copper necklaces with charms that I adore, so I recently began incorporating more charms into my pieces.  I like to put charms together that could have meaning for someone. For example, I think this necklace would be a great gift for a good friend who is leaving -- the hot air balloon signifying the journey and the heart representing your love that is going with them:

Or perhaps you need a little luck in love, or you have been very lucky in love and you want to express your gratitude for it with this heart and horseshoe:

This style of pendant can have meaning too -- love is a scary thing, and perhaps you need a reminder to be have courage and be brave.  Or perhaps you already are, and that is a wonderful thing:

What messages would you wear around your neck (and on your sleeve)?

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Lavender Cupcakes , Mais Oui!

Lavender cupcakes

I have had a productive Thursday evening...

I have had it in my head for a little while that I would like to make lavender cupcakes.  I found some culinary lavender at Whole Foods, and finally tried it tonight using this recipe and a basic buttercream frosting.

I'm not sure what I think about the results.  They are very, well, lavender-y. We'll have to see what the verdict is at the office tomorrow.  I did double the recipe but perhaps I shouldn't have doubled the lavender.

I also received some more supplies in the mail when I got home from work tonight, so I made and listed two new necklaces on Etsy.  I'm on a French kick with the jewelry, as you may have noticed...

Paris Romance

French Bird Necklace

Now, to bed, so I can get up and run in the morning.  It's almost the weekend!

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