Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Shakespeare at the Troll, Fremont

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts...

~William Shakespeare

Remember a few Mondays back, the car crushing troll that lives under the highway in Fremont,

Center of the Universe, Seattle?

It is home to one of Seattle's summer Shakespeare Festivals, "Shakespeare at the Troll", this year presenting "Shakespeare's Greatest Hits".

Here you see a little trouble (Macbeth)...

And a little murder (Titus Andronicus)....

And a little love (Taming of the Shrew)...

And lots more love (Romeo and Juliet)...

Four wonderfully talented actors, including our incandescent daughter Emma as Juliet, are sharing their talent every Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday shows at noon and 2 pm, Sunday show at noon until July 11. At the Troll, in Fremont. Come and enjoy!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. A Little Sparkle. Swarovski Crystal Jewel Earrings

Sometimes you just need a little sparkle. 

Do you know what I mean?

Today, it's a cool and rainy and quite grey day in Seattle.  A good day to make something sparkly.  

I have such a wonderful time making these earrings. The crystal by Swarovski glitters like nothing else, and even on the darkest, rainiest days in Seattle, I can feel my spirits lift as I work with these gorgeous vintage jewels.

At Bumbershoot Designs, you will find vintage rhinestone earrings in many colors and shapes. 

I am particularly attached to these smaller sized rhinestones, since they are so versatile and suitable for just about any occasion where you need...

...just a little sparkle.

Wishing you a fabulous, sparkling weekend!

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. New Vintage Glass: Cabochons, Rhinestones, Crystal

New at Bumbershoot Supplies this week, lots and lots of vintage glass.  There are certainly some truly lovely vintage plastics, and we do offer many at Bumbershoot.  But I must admit to a particular fondness for vintage glass.  It has something to do with the way it captures and holds the light, and the substantial feel in your hands, how it can look so fiery and feel so cool at the same time, how it is solid but can seem to have movement...  Yes, I love the old glass :)

There are several new vintage glass cabochons, two featured here are fleur de lis shaped, with topaz glass (top) and above, a color of glass called cuban, which is a mix of topaz, jonquil and siam red. 

Technically not glass, but crystal, are the stones in these vintage rhinestone bead balls.  These are 1950's by Swarovski from Austria, and so they have that trademark sparkle you would expect. We have them in gold metal (above)....

....silver metal...

...and these peridot stones prong set in a white enamelled metal.  These are really striking.

Finally, we are starting to expand our pointed back rhinestone offerings and we have two stunning additions to offer, new this week:

Both emerald green and both with lustrous finishes on the surface of the glass, these navette shaped rhinestones are a wonderful find.

I love to work with nature themes in my art, so I was delighted to find these gorgeous leaf rhinestones, and in pristine condition too! 

Come and visit Bumbershoot Supplies, see what else is new. Window shoppers welcome!

Featured Artist. Elise Ukestad of Lunettes on Etsy

If you have been following along, you know by now that our family is a mixed nationality household and I am Canadian. So, of course I was very excited to find some vintage glass maple leaf cabochons to offer at Bumbershoot Supplies.  They look just like Canadian (or Vermont) maple sugar candy.  And, I was even more excited to see what Elise Ukestad of Lunettes on Etsy was doing with them.  I just love these really, really sweet stud earrings!

Elise's earring designs really resonate with me because they place the focus on the vintage materials themselves, and help us to really see their beauty. 

It's wonderful to look around Elise's shop because her photography is really, really well done.  Her photos are just gorgeous and Elise stages the earrings and her other designs with a great deal of care and attention.  

I encourage you to visit Elise's shop, Lunettes. You will find beautiful designs, great photos and much inspiration.  Plus a very nice and friendly shop owner!

Vintage Grosgrain Ribbon Featured on Etsy Front Page

Vintage Grosgrain Ribbon from Bumbershoot Supplies was featured on the Front Page of Ety this morning as part of the lovely 'Mint Condition' treasury.  This beautiful vintage ribbon was made in the United States in the 1940's to 1950's by Grayblock. It is a beautiful emerald green, 1 1/2 inch wide. It is 57% rayon and 43% cotton, soft and pliable, a beautiful ribbon. 

For other vintage grosgrain ribbon, see the 'vintage sequins, trims' section of Bumbershoot Supplies.

Thank you to videecco for including this ribbon in this lovely treasury!

 

Vintage Mountain Water Earrings Featured on the Front Page of Etsy

Earrings from Bumbershoot Designs, featured on the Front Page of Etsy this morning, as part of a beautiful 'Mint Green Condition' treasury. These Mountain Water earrings are a study in contrasts. Round sparkly mint green contemporary Swarovski crystal bead balls are paired with vintage flattened oval tablet beads. In contrast to the sparkle of the Swarovski crystal, the tablet beads have a frosted matte finish. They are a beautiful transparent mint with a hint of grey and have subtle white glass streaks running through them, giving them a sense of movement and great visual texture. The tablet beads are enhanced with sterling silver spacer beads and the earrings are finished with silver plated leverbacks. These earrings measure just under 1 ¼ inches from the top of the beadball to the bottom of the oval bead.

Wondering about the name? These earrings capture that most unusual green color of Cascade Mountain rivers.

Many thanks to Yoshika at euphorianchic, for including my earrings in this beautiful treasury!

Studio Snapshot, Sky Blue Vintage Glass Beads

1950's vintage West German glass beads,

faceted, with narrow "windows" of clear glass to see into the bead

...like holding the sky in your hands...

Vintage Ads or Labels. Mixed Media Monday. The Best Christmas Ever.

This is my entry for this week's challenge at Mixed Media Monday, which is to use vintage ads or labels in a design.

I have a wonderful Victorian ad for a brass doll bed, "The Best Holiday Present for Little Girls".  I also have a Dover CD with this charming image.  The girls in both the ad and in the clip art were holding their babies just so... With some computer alterations, some collage, foiling and embellishing, this trading card came together.  It was the best Christmas ever...

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Pink Poppy

poppy, from our garden

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment.

~Georgia O'Keeffe

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. New Vintage Glass Beads, Cabochons and Yes More Roses

We have some very pretty new glass beads to offer at Bumbershoot Supplies this week, including these lovely vintage 1940's Czech lipstick red watch beads, already distressed and antiqued.  For a bracelet I designed with these beads, see my blog post "Time Flies" here. There will be several new vintage and antique Czech glass beads at Bumbershoot Supplies in the coming days.

And from Japan, some gorgeous "simulated pearls" in a champagne color with a rainbow iridescence on the glass. This special effect doesn't show up as well as I'd like in the photos, but these are really pretty beads, just like bubbles. I love the teardrop shape on an embedded wire since the point of the teardrop is so fine and precise.

Again, back to the lipstick red, we have some small vintage glass buckles, a very versatile size and shape for all kinds of jewelry and mixed media applications. I've put these ones in with the vintage beads, since they are of a smaller size, but there are other vintage glass buckles in the vintage sequins, trims section of Bumbershoot Supplies.

One of the new glass cabochons listed this week is truly spectacular. These vintage glass hearts are some of the loveliest glass cabochons that I have ever seen. The color of these is so soft and romantic, the surface ridges add depth and interest, and the glass is gorgeous.  These GLOW! These are very, very pretty vintage West German glass cabochons.  

And finally, more 1950's vintage plastic flower cabochons from Japan, in the vintage plastic cabochons section.  These ones are in a glossy coral plastic, perfect for this time of year and thinking ahead to fall designs. 

Finally, I'd like to be sure you know about the giveaway we're doing with our newsletter subscribers. We're giving away a $25 gift certificate to one of them! Everyone who has signed up for the Bumbershoot newsletter by midnight Pacific time on June 30 is eligible to win a $25 gift certificate to Bumbershoot Designs or Bumbershoot Supplies. See all the details here in this blog post, and if you are interested, you can sign up for our newsletter here.  Winner announced July 1, 2010.

Happy Birthday! A Free Gift Certificate for One Lucky Newsletter Subscriber

June is my birthday month and I'd like to celebrate by giving you a present!

I'm going to give a $25 gift certificate to one of my newsletter subscribers.  Everyone who has signed up for the Bumbershoot newsletter by midnight Pacific time on June 30 is eligible to win a $25 gift certificate to Bumbershoot Designs or Bumbershoot Supplies.  Or spend some of it at each shop.  No restrictions - use it for either shop, for any product, for your shipping fees if you want.  A $25 present from me to you!  All you have to do for a chance to win is sign up for our newsletter.  Sign up here!  Even if you don't win the gift certificate, you still win because signing up for the newsletter entitles you to one free ship from either Bumbershoot Supplies or Bumbershoot Designs, plus assorted freebees each month, special treats we offer to newsletter subscribers only.  If you would like to see some of our past newsletters, past issues are archived on our website, here.  To tempt you, June is all about pearls... Our next newsletter is scheduled for June 17. 

If you already receive our newsletter, there is nothing for you to do, you're automatically eligible. 

We will use a random number generator to pick one person and I will provide the name and initial of the winner in our July 1 newsletter and here on the blog on July 1. I can't wait!

Song. Three Muses. O Canada!

This is my piece for the challenge at Three Muses this week, which is "song".  The song I picked is the Canadian National Anthem, or Hymne National.  Two national languages, you know :) Scroll down for the words.  This is a 6x6 inch art quilt, once again using some of my hand dyed fabric, one of my maple leaf photographs transferred to fabric, stamped, stitched and foiled. 

I love the Canadian National Anthem. It is filled with incredible words and phrases like: glorious, free, true north, strong, home, love, glowing hearts. It is a powerful and moving piece.

I have lived in the United States for many years now.  It is truly a privilege to live here, and I deeply appreciate many things that living in the United States has brought to me.  It's interesting, one thing it has shown me about myself is this: you can take the girl out of Canada, but you can't take Canada out of the girl. I am so grateful to be Canadian.  Thank goodness for Canada.

And yes, I can sing the national anthem in both national languages :)

National Anthem

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Hymne National

Ô Canada!

Terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix!

Ton histoire est une épopée

Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Floral Tribute. Mixed Media Monday, Earth Laughs in Flowers

This is my piece for this week's theme at Mixed Media Monday, Floral Tributes.

My tribute is to our Earth, which during this time of year, as Ralph Waldo Emerson so famously said, is laughing in flowers.

This is a 6x6 inch mixed media art quilt. The base is some of my hand dyed fabric.  I have stamped and layered vintage buttons and vintage and contemporary trims on top of the base fabric.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Emma's Rose

Officially called "Sheer Bliss", but known at our house as Emma's Rose, in our garden

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows

Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.

~William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Metal Flowers, Flower Buttons, Pearls

I've listed several new items this week at Bumbershoot Supplies, here are some highlights.  New this week, these yellow enamel flowers with a tiny "stem" (above) are a new addition to our selection of vintage metal enamel flowers. You can see how I've used this type of flower in a jewelry design, my vintage envelope locket, here.  The flowers are so small and some can easily be hammered flat, so they are very useful for many mixed media applications.  I've also used them as embellishments for tags, see my blog post here. All of our vintage enamel flowers are found in the vintage findings, charms section of Bumbershoot Supplies. 

Just added this afternoon are 2 new vintage hand painted flower buttons from Japan.  These are the kind of supplies that make you sigh when you open the box.  Unbelievably gorgeous, these vintage buttons were made in Japan in the 1950's from plastic cabochons that were hand painted, and then a metal shank was sunk in the back.  We already carry petite rose buttons (above) and new today are these flower baskets.....

...and these pastel daisies. 

You will find both in the vintage buttons section of Bumbershoot Supplies.

Finally, back in stock in vintage beads are these popular and incredible, aged glass pearls from Japan. 

These are a really unusual shape, rather like a flower bud, and each one is unique because they were all made by hand.  These are already perfectly and naturally aged by time for those of you that like to work with an aged vintage look in your designs.

We have boxes of items still to open and list in Bumbershoot Supplies and I'm proceeding apace, so keep your eyes on Bumbershoot Supplies :) In the meantime, wishing you a great weekend!
Go make art!