New from my Steampunk Workshop!

I have been making new creations left & right for Blue Dome Arts Festival this weekend & for Marry Me Indie (on June 1st)! I am especially excited about all of the upcycled & steampunked bow ties! My favorite is the striped keyhole bow tie–when the light hits the fabric it tints the fabric pink! A couple of these will be at Blue Dome this weekend and the others will be worn down the runway at Marry Me Indie!

Another new creation is this elegant yet simple Glass Cameo & Skeleton Key Necklace. The metal filigree is inlaid with tiny rhinestones which brings out the luster of the key & chain.  The luster almost reminds of midnight blue–that shimmer of twilight.

This next necklace is the total opposite–a little burst of golden sunlight & warmth to adorn your neck. Brass washers, gold key charms, pocketwatch screws, and vintage gold foil beads reflect the glorious sunshine.

Serendipitous day–speaking of sunshine, it cast this beautiful shadow of budding leaves against the wood grain that I used as a backdrop to photograph my jewelry. I love moments like this–lucky moments–when nature’s beauty compliments man made (or, in this case, woman made) beauty. I have a ton of pocketwatch necklaces for sale! And they’re all a little different.

      And last but not least, this simply steampunk necklace! So that’s a little sneak peek at what I’ve been up to! Lots more, so stop by Blue Dome this weekend (this Fri, Sat from 11am -10 pm; Sun 11am-5pm at the Make:Tulsa group Booth)! Hope I see some friendly faces!

Happy Mother’s Day! or, The Story of How My Mom Saved Christmas

Happy Mother’s Day everyone, but most importantly to you Mima! You are my best friend, my greatest collaborator, and my biggest source of inspiration. I love you so much. This post is dedicated to you, to Grammy, and of coarse to all the mammas out there teaching their daughters & sons to grow up believing that they can achieve, imagine & create anything.

Me & Mima in Paris on our flea market tour of gay Paree!

It may sound kind of silly or corny but moms to me are real-life superheroes. The feats they accomplish, the disasters they avoid, and the sacrifices they make in silence for their children leave me with a sense of awe and humility and an unshakable faith that people are good.

In the spirit of Mother’s Day I am going to tell you a story (one my mom never tells) and it involves 2 rings. When I was in elementary school and my family was living in North Carolina (in a little town called Supply), my dad was laid off from his job. It was close to Christmas and work was hard to find. We were poor and it looked like we weren’t going to be able to have a Christmas at all. We didn’t have the money for a tree or presents. My brother, Caleb, and I didn’t know this until 10 years later when my mom let it slip when we were talking about class rings and how significant and important they were. We asked my mom if she still had hers and that’s when we found out that she had hocked it along with her engagement ring so that she could buy a Christmas tree and some presents for the both of us. That’s the story of how my mom saved Christmas–and in truth, our childhood. Caleb and I grew up happy–we were never really poor because we had (and have) what we really needed–love. So hug your mom extra tight because you may not know just how much of a superhero she really is.

My mom’s the one in the middle–can you tell where I get my off-the-wall style from?

DIY Steampunk Medals

Make your own steampunk medal!

Materials & Tools Needed:

• Medal Ribbon (any length you desire)
• Bicycle Gear (from a cassette)
• Pocketwatch part (preferably one of the cover pieces which are more ornamental)
• Pin
• Safety pin
• EE3000 or 5000 glue
• Needle & Thread (if you prefer to hand sew) or Sewing Machine (which I’d suggest)
• Scissors

Steps:

1. Cut ribbon for the medal.
2. Place your bike gear in the middle of your ribbon.
3. Grab your pocketwatch part (the piece I used is the cover which you can detach by removing the hinge pin which attaches the cover to the rest of the watch).
4. Glue a pin to the back of your pocketwatch part with EE3000 or 5000 (or another kind of glue that fuses to metal).
5. Fold your ribbon (lining up the 2 ends evenly).
6. Fold over the top of your ribbon (toward the back side of your medal ribbon). Place your safety pin inside the fold.
7. Sew (by either hand stitching or machine sewing) along your fold. Be sure to stitch and back stitch if you are using a sewing machine.
8. Cut off the excess thread.
9. Pin your pocketwatch part to the front of your ribbon.

You’re finished! Wear with pride!

 

My Booth at Springfest

I set up at Springfest this year–thank you to everyone who came out–and got the chance to show off my new displays. (The DIYs of which you can find here, and here, and also here). I am incredibly proud of my booth display as I put a lot of thought behind it. So whenever someone gets excited about it too or oohs and ahs over it I feel a sense of accomplishment at having successfully transported them (even if only for a moment).

The light from the window created a soft Spring glow and it shone brilliantly on the metals of my table.

This inkwell, which I purchased from one of my favorite antique & junk shops in Tulsa–Delman’s on 15th street–is always a conversation starter. Shoe horns are among my favorite display objects because they are great for draping & showing off tiny, dainty, and intricate pieces.Among my display pieces are a number of tools–like my old drill, jeweler’s anvil, wrench, and blade sharpener. Many men (and tough tomboys & tinker-type ladies too) who might normally pass by a jewelry booth without giving it a second glance–stop by.

I have a lot of fun setting up my booth because I know that throughout the whole show I will meet tons of new people (as well as see  familiar, friendly faces) and stories will be exchanged sparked by the various objects in my booth.

For those of you who have your own crafty business and are looking for more information & inspiration on how to create booth displays & how to set up for a show–check out my friend Jill’s (of Favoring Brave) new website: CraftFairology! I’ll be guest posting one of these days I hope!

DIY Jewelry Display, Style No. 3

If you have a steampunk crafty business, or perhaps an old-timey aesthetic, your booth should convey the feeling of your products. This is something I feel that I do quite well and I am quite proud of. Many people stop by my booth just to look at the curiosities inside. This is the last in a series of 3 blog posts on how to recreate 3 of my newest displays for yourselves! Too see Style No. 1, click here & Style No. 2, click here. For Style No. 3, read on!

Style No. 3

What You’ll Need: 4 boxes (1 large and 3 small); 4 screws; drill & screwdriver; Murphy’s Oil; medium-large cup hooks, as many as preferred; awl; 3 c-clamps; photo; shoe horn; decorative hook (mine’s actually part of an old naval navigation piece); and decorative metal bracket

A Note on Where to Find Boxes: Flea Markets; Garage Sales; Antique Malls; and ReStores (which benefit Habitat for Humanity)–Look for sewing machine drawers & old produce crates especially. Avoid any boxes with mold, badly split sections of wood, or water damage. They will not be as structurally sound and may break with minor hammering.

Instructions:

1. Clean your boxes with soap and water (be careful not to soak your boxes). Shine them with a little bit of Murphy’s Oil. Let dry completely.
2. Place your sewing drawers (or small boxes), hook/navigation piece and metal bracket where you’d like them. Mark with pencil where you need to screw your metal bracket in place. Also, mark the corners of your sewing drawers so if you choose for it to be removable you can place it back in the same spot. (I would suggest making your drawer removable because when you transport these kinds of displays, they can shift and it is much easier to adjust a c-clamp than having to re-screw the box on location).
3. The Box that you want the hook/navigation piece on: Make starter holes where you’ve marked using your awl (for softer woods) or your drill (for harder/thicker woods). Then screw your hook/navigation piece in place. Set aside.
4. The Box that you want the decorative metal bracket in: Repeat step 3.
5. Clamp your sewing drawers in place using your c-clamps.
6. Make starter holes for your cup hooks and then screw your cup hooks in place to hang your jewelry off of.
7. Place your shoe horn in the bottom box (optional).
8. Place the photo in your bottom box (optional).
9. Hang your product proudly inside!

DIY Steampunk Jewelry Display, Style No. 2

If you have a steampunk crafty business, or perhaps an old-timey aesthetic, your booth should convey the feeling of your products. This is something I feel that I do quite well and I am quite proud of. Many people stop by my booth just to look at the curiosities inside. This is the second in a series of 3 blog posts on how to recreate 3 of my newest displays for yourselves! Too see Style No. 1, click here. For Style No. 2, read on!

Style No. 2

What You’ll Need: 2 boxes (1 large and 1 small); 2 screws; drill & screwdriver; Murphy’s Oil; medium-large cup hooks, as many as preferred; awl; c-clamp; and decorative metal bracket

A Note on Where to Find Boxes: Flea Markets; Garage Sales; Antique Malls; and ReStores (which benefit Habitat for Humanity)–Look for sewing machine drawers & old produce crates especially. Avoid any boxes with mold, badly split sections of wood, or water damage. They will not be as structurally sound and may break with minor hammering.

Instructions:

1. Clean your boxes with soap and water (be careful not to soak your boxes). Shine them with a little bit of Murphy’s Oil. Let dry completely.
2. Place your sewing drawer (or small box) and metal bracket where you’d like them. Mark with pencil where you need to screw your metal bracket in place. Also, mark the corner of your sewing drawer so if you choose for it to be removable you can place it back in the same spot. (I would suggest making your drawer removable because when you transport these kinds of displays, they can shift and it is much easier to adjust a c-clamp than having to re-screw the box on location).
3. Clamp your sewing drawer to your large box with your c-clamp.
4. Next,  make starter holes in your large box for your screws. If your box is oak or another hard wood use a drill rather than your awl. And vice versa for a more pliant or less sturdy wood.
5. Affix your metal bracket to your large box with your screws.
6. Last, make starter holes on your display where you’d like to place your cup hooks. Screw your cup hooks in.
7. Hang your jewelry with pride!

DIY Steampunk Drawer Displays, Style No. 1

If you have a steampunk crafty business, or perhaps an old-timey aesthetic, your booth should help convey the feeling of your products. This is something I feel that I do quite well and I am quite proud of. Many people stop by my booth just to look at the curiosities inside. In my next 3 blog posts, I will be sharing 3 of my newest displays with instructions & tips on how to recreate them for yourselves! Here’s no. 1.

Display No. 1:

What You’ll Need: 2 boxes (1 large and 1 small); 2 nails; hammer; Murphy’s Oil; 3 medium-large cup hooks, or more if preferred; 1 large spring; modge podge; paintbrush; scissors; awl; map tissue paper (or regular paper) cut to fit  the bottom of your box; twine; and a metal filigree globe (this can be substituted for anything else you’d like or can find that fits your box that you can hang jewelry from)

A Note on Where to Find Boxes: Flea Markets; Garage Sales; Antique Malls; and ReStores (which benefit Habitat for Humanity)–Look for sewing machine drawers & old produce crates especially. Avoid any boxes with mold, badly split sections of wood, or water damage. They will not be as structurally sound and may break with minor hammering.

Instructions:

1. Clean your boxes thoroughly with soap & water (though do not soak the box) and shine up with a little Murphy’s Oil. Let dry completely.
2. Affix your small box on the top of your large box with your 2 nails. Hammer the nails in the bottom of the  small box. Next, cut a piece of your map tissue paper to fit the bottom of your box. Apply a generous layer of modge podge to the bottom of the small box and then place the map tissue paper over it. Apply another layer of modge podge and let dry, approx. 15-20 mins. (Side note, map tissue paper, which you can find at Barnes & Noble BookStores in their gift wrap section,  looks more antique when modge podged into your box than regular map paper).
3. Next, cut a piece (or pieces if your large box is divided like mine) of map tissue papers to fit the bottom of your large box. Apply a generous layer of modge podge to the bottom of the box. Place the map tissue paper to the bottom of the box and then modge podge on top of it. Let dry, approx. 15-20 mins.
4. Next, place your spring where you want it to hang in your box. Mark 2 spots with your pencil (where your cup hooks will go). Using your awl, create 2 starter holes over your pencil marks.
5. Screw your cup hooks in place. Hang your spring from the cup hooks.
6. Place your metal filigree globe in the box. Figure out where you would like it to hang. Mark it with pencil and create a starter hole with your awl. Next, cut the length of twine you need. Attach the twine to your filigree globe.
7. Screw your cup hook in place. Hang your filigree globe.
8. (Optional) Screw in more cup hooks for additional places to hang your jewelry. Remember to first create starter holes before screwing in the cup hooks so that you do not split the wood.
9. Display your amazing product!