New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Vintage Lockets, Glass Rings and Vintage Cabochons, Oh My!

It has been a long week.  And all day today in Seattle it has been grey and POURING down rain. Non stop.  But the good thing about a rainy day is that it is a great time to pull out the supplies and make something beautiful.  I've been cruising the Vintaj idea gallery and already I can feel the wheels turning.  So let me share a few of the new items at Bumbershoot Supplies this week and then I'll settle down at my work table and see what I come up with.

By the way, the best way to learn about new supplies is to sign up for our newsletter.  And this month, since we are celebrating the launch of our new website, newsletter subscribers are receiving free shipping all month long at the new Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies site - any size of purchase, any location world wide and as many times in April as they want!
No fooling!

We have 3 new vintage lockets at Bumbershoot Supplies this week, here is one of them...

There are also some really beautiful vintage glass cabochons, one of them above...

And some vintage plastic cabochons...

And I was very excited to locate these delicate translucent peridot spring green glass rings. Uncommon, unusual, wouldn't these make interesting earrings? Or frames for mixed media?

Are your wheels turning? There are many more new items at Bumbershoot Supplies and Designs and at Bumbershoot Supplies on Etsy.

Until next time, have a great weekend!

Vintage Design Inspiration Board #4 with Creativity Quote

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.

~Henry Ward Beecher

Inspiration Board #4 features:

vintage yellow glass lampwork flowers (Japan)

antique silk ribbon (Japan)

vintage mother of pearl button card (USA)

vintage occupied Germany millinery flower (USSR zone)

vintage crystal rhinestones (West Germany)

vintage glass ring (Czech)

vintage mother of pearl loose buttons (USA)

vintage Swarovski jade glass cabochons (Austria)

vintage Miriam Haskell beaded flowers (Japan)

vintage beaded letter A (French)

vintage nail head beads (Czech)

vintage tatted and hand sewn doily

antique silk embroidery floss

vintage linen tea towel

vintage wallpaper circles

mounted on 6x9 inch gallery wrapped canvas base

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. Vintage Rhinestone Jewels, Settings and More!

My records show that we have added 33 new items and restocked 3 at Bumbershoot Supplies since our Sept 15 newsletter.

We've been busy! 

While there are lots of lovely new additions in all of our shop sections, in this post I'll focus on our new settings for cabochons and rhinestones and some of the new vintage rhinestones we now have in stock.

We've begun stocking settings, both glue on and prong, for our vintage cabochons and vintage rhinestones.

We have added some new vintage settings and filigrees, and we are now offering new vintage-style settings, both pronged and glue in.

We have this frame style....

And this lace edged filigree style, both in 3 sizes, 18mm round, 18x13mm and 25x18mm. These come in this dark antiqued brass patina finish, a nice complement to the vintage cabochons and rhinestones and a great color for fall designs.  

We also now have pronged settings in 18x13mm size in both octagon and oval shapes. Looking for other sizes and finishes?  Stay tuned as we continue to expand our stock in this area. We are having several items specially plated and antiqued, and it is our goal to have antiqued finish settings to fit all of the vintage cabochons and vintage rhinestones that we offer. 

In addition to continuing to expand our settings, I have many new items sitting here in front of me, waiting for their turn to make it into Bumbershoot Supplies, including some vintage Japanese mercury glass beads, vintage French sequins, vintage jet mourning beads, some lovely shabby pearl chain, plus yet more rhinestones.  I'll keep loading over the coming week and provide another update next Friday.  We provide a more comprehensive update every 2 weeks in our newsletter, so that is also a really good choice for learning about new vintage items as they arrive at Bumbershoot Supplies.  Plus, we provide our newsletter subscribers with free shipping and other bonuses. You can see our past newsletters archived on our website and sign up there too.

Until next time, wishing you a happy and art-filled weekend! 



Featured Artist: Olivia Suero Velasco

It is my pleasure to share with you the work of Olivia Suero Velasco.  I learned of Olivia's work after she purchased vintage glass cabochons and vintage ivory roses from Bumbershoot Supplies, then sent me a link to her blog where she is posting and selling her creations.

Given my mixed media perspective, I find the mix of metal, glass and fiber really appealing.

Olivia is Spanish, and so is her shop blog, but don't let that stop you from heading over for a look.  Her presentation is creative and artistic - many of her designs are photographed on backgrounds of beautifully sketched female nudes, drawn by Olivia. 

Her photography is beautiful and her designs highlight the vintage glass cabochons, and they just glow.  Enjoy!

Mira la luna part 2

Here are the earrings that complete the Mira la luna set.
Light, floaty, like the moon....

Mira la luna

Mira la luna.


In Seattle every February, just when you think you can't take the grey/green/wet chill a second longer, a wonderful thing happens. The sun comes out. Always in February, it seems there are a few days that are pure treasures, when the sky is blue, the air is a bit milder, the buds that have been only potential become something more. If we are really lucky, this will happen during a full moon, and then the evening is just as spectacular as the day. The twilight slowly deepening and the moon rising, during the depths of our February winters, were the inspiration for the mira la luna jewelry I made from the vintage glass rings I love so much.


My husband gets the credit for naming these pieces. Mira la luna. So soft, so roundly romantic. Just makes you want to take a breath, relax, and do a bit of moon watching.

February moon cycles for Seattle Metro can be found here.

For a wonderful Seattle moon picture, go here.

glass rings

I love, love, love vintage glass rings. They represent glorious little bits of history and are wonderful to use in jewelry designs.

There already are some pieces in the shop made with the lovely green and blue rings shown below. My "mira la luna" jewelry is made using large and small pale blue rings, which came from Japan in the 1930's. My daughter Emma says that the luna bracelet makes her feel happy just to look at it.





My best information on the green glass is Czech in origin, 1960's in vintage. It's a very light, lime-y green and works really well when designing for spring. The other thing about glass rings is that while they look fragile, they are strong, and they are incredibly light, so they are a dream to wear. The tulip bracelet is available in my Etsy shop.





These cobalt blue (below) are very special and are my most recent purchase. They were made in the mid to late 1800's in Europe, likely Germany. These are the most exquisite creations, as I hope these photos show. You can see the hand of the artisan in each one through the bubbles and the roughness of the circle join, as well as the unevenness in size and width. Look for jewelry from these beads in the shop soon.