June's Birthstone: Pearl

Vintage Faux Pearls White Rounds Japan.

June's birthstone is the pearl.

We have a large selection of gorgeous mother of pearl and faux glass pearls at Bumbershoot Supplies and Bumbershoot Designs. 

 

Vintage Glass Beads Faux Pearls Pink Peach Textured.

Vintage Pearl Earrings Ivory Peridot Sterling Gemstone.

Vintage Beads Glass Pearls Ivory Cream Original Strand.

Pearls have been prized for their beauty and rarity since ancient times. Up until the 20th century they were extremely rare and more expensive than diamonds. Around the 1920s technological advances made it possible to culture pearls and create them artificially, making pearls more available to everyone. But pearls haven't lost their allure over the years.

 

Vintage Glass Bead Earrings Green Pearl Rings Sterling.

 

Vintage Bead Glass Pearls Silver Grey Baroque Haskell.

Vintage Glass Pearls White Bracelet Blank Majorica.

Pearls have been June's birthstone since 1912. Before that moonstone and agate held the title of birthstone for June. In 1952, alexandrite was also added as an additional birthstone for June. You will find several beautiful color changing vintage faux alexandrite items at Bumbershoot Supplies.  

 

Pink Vintage Pearl Moonstone Earrings Brass Filigree.

Vintage Glass Beads Drops Ivory Pearl Earring Finding.

Vintage Beads Faux Pearls Mint Green Round Japan.

Want to learn a little more about vintage glass pearls? We've created a blog post about working with them here! We've also talked about the history of glass pearls and the history of Spanish faux pearls. For some extra inspiration check out our post on the vintage Miriam Haskell pearl bracelet from our collection. 

 

Vintage Ivory Pearl Bead Love Knot Finding Japan.

Marie Antoinette Vintage Pearl Necklace Sterling Silver.

Vintage Pearl Bead Drop White Filigree Gold Bead Cap.

For some elegant inspiration this June, we invite you to browse our extensive vintage faux pearl collection at  Bumbershoot Supplies and Bumbershoot Designs.

 

 

Featured Artist Update: Sarah Elder of My So Called Junky Life in Jewelry Affaire, Again!

I'm so happy to see one of our past featured artists, Sarah Elder of My So Called Junky Life, featured again in the Spring 2011 Issue of Jewelry Affaire!  This is Sarah's second time published in Jewelry Affaire, I blogged about her first time in Jewelry Affaire here, and you can see the original featured artist post about her work here.

I'm a great admirer of Sarah's designs and I'm really glad to see her work being made available for so many people to enjoy. Congratulations, Sarah!

For more of Sarah's lovely designs, visit her jewelry shop at a new address: My So Called Junky Life Jewelry.

Sarah's supply shop remains at: My So Called Junky Life.

And if you visit her blog, you will find lovely designs there too: My So Called Junky Life.

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. 30 New Items Since July 15, and Counting!

Since our July 15 newsletter, in just one week, we have added 30 new products to Bumbershoot Supplies and restocked 3.  Yes it's true!  Come on over to the shop for a visit and check out all the new goodies.  Here's just a few highlights...

New in vintage glass cabochons are these very special leaves from West Germany.  These are the kind that make everyone oooohh and ahhh when they see them.  I was only able to obtain a small lot of these, and I just put them into Bumbershoot Supplies today after looking at them for several days, convincing myself I could share...

I love these vintage glass pearls, perfectly aged, in graceful leaf shapes.  These also were just added to Bumbershoot Supplies today....

We have located more vintage 1940's satin ribbon and as we come closer to fall, the lovely pumpkin orange shown at the very beginning of this post is a nice addition to our ribbons.  It is 1/4 inch wide, and we also were able to obtain some in a rosy taupe, deep navy, and this lovely baby pink....

These beautiful old vintage celluloid roses were another item that provoked lots of oooohs and aaahhhs, and are a romantic addition to our vintage plastic cabochons...

And this double heart rhinestone chain is now available in pastel (shown) and jewel tone rhinestones, as well as the pearl version that we already stock.  I like this chain since no soldering is required to integrate it into in your jewelry designs.

This is just a sample of our latest additions.  I welcome you over over to Bumbershoot Supplies to see the full selection of new items.  Looking forward, yesterday we received some more absolutely splendid vintage buttons, so expect those in Bumbershoot Supplies over the coming week.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Vintage Fiery Opal Stud Earrings

Sometimes less is more.

That's why I offer several stud earring designs at Bumbershoot Designs.

These newest vintage stud earrings feature vintage Czech glass cabochons that were made to mimic opals.  I love these cabs because the overall color, a golden pinkish hue, is really exciting and the flecks in the cabs vary, so every pair of earrings is essentially unique.  Some will have green flecks, some will not, some pairs will have a spot of blue...

They are petite wonders to me.  This is the first vintage glass stud earring design for Bumbershoot Designs, as I continue to work with vintage glass cabochons in various ways.  There are several other vintage stud earring designs at Bumbershoot Designs, many featuring vintage mother of pearl, a gorgeous natural material and one I love to work with... 

and these ones with real pearls from 1960's Japan, hand sewn into flowers. Most of my stud earrings use sterling silver posts, but on these, the posts are vintage too.

Here's hoping I will find some time for more designing this weekend!

I hope you enjoy your weekend too!

I Feel Pretty. Mixed Media Monday

This is my entry for this week's challenge at Mixed Media Monday, "I Feel Pretty".  I've been working on this button bracelet for some time, and the color palette seemed to fit the challenge, so I was inspired to finish it!  It features many vintage items, including glass pearls, buttons and beads, plus a touch of contemporary tiny peach moonstone beads interspersed thoughout.  A mix of eras (1940's to contemporary) and a mix of materials (glass, plastic, metal).

Lots and lots of pretty...

Update May 1, 2020: Now available at Bumbershoot Designs, you will find this bracelet here.

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Designs Featuring Vintage Freshwater Pearl Flowers

I recently discovered some vintage freshwater pearls that have been woven by hand into tiny flowers. I had to have them! I absolutely adore vintage glass pearls, and I work with them a lot. This was a wonderful opportunity to work with genuine vintage pearls. Today I share two new designs, just listed at Bumbershoot Designs featuring these lovely pearls.

This necklace features a brass clam shell pendant dating to the 1940's. It is rich and aged in appearance due to the gorgeous natural patina that has occurred on the brass over the last 60+ years. The chain on this necklace is long, 36 inches, so you can wrap it around your neck twice, for a layered look.

These pearl flowers also lend themselves to beautiful stud earrings, and I was excited to to find vintage posts to pair with the pearls.

The Pearl Shell Vintage Charm Necklace and the Pearl Flower Stud Earrings are available at Bumbershoot Designs, or just contact me.

Wishing you a great weekend!

Starring... Vintage Classic Pearls Necklace

One of my designs has made it onto a Seattle theatre stage! 

My vintage Perfect Classic Pearls are worn by Mandy Eldredge, playing Matilda Deering, in the UPAC Theatre Group Production of The Red Lamp.

Even more exciting is that our daughter Emma plays the role of Alice Deering in the same show!  You can see Emma, Mandy, 4 more wonderful actors... AND Perfect Classic Pearls performing today, Sat March 27 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, and tomorrow, Sunday March 28 at 2 pm.

Behind the Scenes. Before and After Vintage Collection Creation

Before...

A new series of all vintage collections.  Each package of inspiration complete with antique post card, vintage trims, beads, pearls, lace, buttons, baubles.  Each one one of a kind. Currently being listing at Bumbershoot Supplies now.  Here, and here, and here... For your art!

After... "We Dare You to Come Down"...

Our Valentine’s Day Jewelry Collection

Looking to add a little romance to your Valentine’s Day? Or any day for that matter! Here are our picks.

1. Rainer Raindrops in "Tea Rose", 2. Pearl Filigree, 3. Queen Anne (earrings), 4. Queen Anne (necklace), 5. Sheer Bliss, 6. Burgundy Rose, 7. Seattle Rain in Pink

For more selections, check out our designs shop.