Look What I Found. Vintage Beaded Trim, Turquoise Glass Leaves and Rhinestones

I just have to share a picture of this piece of vintage trim, recently acquired for my personal collection. It is turquoise glass leaves, individually wired to rhinestone chain and dates to occupied Germany (1945-1949).

Exquisite. 

Featured Artist. Beatriz Alegría of Le Boudoir Vintage

It is with pleasure I share with you the work of Bea Alegria of Le Boudoir Vintage blog and store. Bea is a journalist from Spain.  She is also an artist.

I enjoy featuring artists from outside of North America, and we love shipping supplies from Bumbershoot Supplies to countries all over the world.  Art is a connecting thread, a common language. Regardless of what I hear or think I understand about another place or country, I now know for sure that there are crafts people, artisans, artists everywhere, doing exactly the same thing as me, working to make art and have art as a presence in their lives. 

It doesn't matter what language is on the blog or the online store, I can still enjoy the story an artist's work tells.

In addition to being an artist and a journalist, Bea is also clearly a romantic.  Many of her designs explore the romance that is Paris.  If you visit her blog and her store, you will see exactly what I mean. 

But the larger overarching theme of her work is to reflect the concept of the vintage boudoir.  Here is what she says:

A boudoir is usually defined as a "little room exquisitely and elegantly decorated for the exclusive use of women, who would retire to this apartment when they desired to be alone or to share a bit of their time with people with whom they shared a certain intimacy".

Can someone tell me when women stopped having boudoirs?  Does anyone out there have a boudoir? What a FABULOUS concept! Even the word itself is fabulous! I want one! We must bring it back! 

I'm going to see if I can turn my studio into a boudoir...

This theme of intimacy with a vintage flair is reflected in how Bea presents her art in her blog and her online store, each piece a little vignette and digital collage.

I hope you will enjoy a trip to Le Boudoir Vintage blog and Le Boudoir Vintage store to see Bea's work. There is a contact page on Bea's store, don't hesitate to use it to ask any questions you may have.  Bea is a delightful person, and although located in Spain, her English is perfect, as I know from the many communications we've exchanged.  Enjoy your visit, and tell her Sharon from Bumbershoot Supplies sent you!

Vintage Design Inspiration Board #1 with Creativity Quote

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

~George Bernard Shaw

Inspiration Board #1 features:

vintage glass cabochons

vintage plastic cameo cabochons

antique Japanese silk floral ribbon

vintage Swiss millinery straw ribbon

vintage Japanese mother of pearl buttons

paper label from vintage button box

antique Czech millinery fabric flower

antique silk embroidery floss

vintage linen tea towel

mounted on 5x5 inch gallery wrapped canvas base

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, Autumn Leaves Discovery Park

autumn leaves, Discovery Park, Seattle

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

~Albert Camus

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. Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio on Etsy

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over at Stacey Yacula's store,

Stacey Yacula Studio on Etsy.

There you will find beautiful hand made limited edition ornaments featuring Stacey's original designs, some embellished with vintage beads from Bumbershoot Supplies. This one has a gorgeous ruby red glass drop.

The ornaments are double sided, with original illustrations on each side. It's like getting 2 ornaments! I have taken one soldering class myself, and I am in awe of Stacey's technical skill, it takes a lot of work and practice to get soldered edges that look like hers.

I am also in awe of her ability as an artist to move between dimensions.  These delightful snow people are sculpted out of paper clay in limited editions.

They may be just the right addition to your holiday mantle.

Stacey's charming and whimsical designs are also available on cards, gift tags and calendars, and as prints, for Christmas yes, but for other occasions too.

Such as this one celebrating Halloween...

And this one for birthdays....

And this one for "a magical day".

Stacey hand embellishes the cards with just a few embroidered stitches, a small touch that elevates her cards and adds to the intimate feel of her designs. 

Stacey is located in Canada near my hometown, but note that shipping on her cards is the same rate for both US and Canadian customers.

I hope you will consider a visit to Stacey Yacula Studio, and even more, I hope you have an opportunity to experience Stacey's positive and cheerful energy.  Head on over for a dose of holiday cheer, and for inspiration and happiness any time of the year.  If you do visit, feel free to say hi and tell Stacey that Sharon from Bumbershoot Supplies sent you :)

Featured Artist. Amy Griffith of ThirtySixTen on Etsy

I hope someone out there is paying attention :) because this ring is on my Christmas wish list...

I adore this ring by Amy Griffith of ThirtySixTen on Etsy. It is made of sterling silver, with a vintage mother of pearl button from Bumbershoot Supplies.  Multiple buttons are available, but this flower button is my favorite.  Hint, hint...

If the ring is not available, I've also put this necklace on my wish list too...

I love my vintage mother of pearl buttons :)

Hand worked sterling silver is so special because even if the design is the same, you can see the hand of the artist in each piece, so each and every piece is truly unique. That final touch, the sterling thread, really speaks to me.

In fact, there are any number of gorgeous items in Amy's shop that I could be very happy with. This ring features one of Bumbershoot Supplies' rose quartz vintage glass scarabs, it just glows.

And doesn't this necklace make you feel happy just to look at it?

Many of Amy's designs feature vintage components, but Amy also offers many charming designs featuring gorgeous, non vintage gemstones and ceramics as well as designs that are all sterling.  This sterling necklace is beautiful and feminine, I could see wearing it all the time. 

And these dainty earrings look beautiful on - Amy shows photos of these in the ear so you can judge their size.

It's not too soon to start talking with Amy about your holiday shopping. 

Rings are sized to fit, so it can take a week or two to complete your order. And then you will have a piece made just for you or someone special.

I encourage you to visit ThirtySixTen.  You may also like to have a look at Amy's blog.  I subscribe to the RSS feed to her blog, and I enjoy reading about her designs from the initial ideas to the final product.  If you do visit ThirtySixTen, you will friendly service, beautifully photographed, fabulous designs, and much inspiration.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, "this too is love" Art Journal Page

"this, too, is love" art journal page

Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

~William Shakespeare from Sonnet 116

New at Bumbershoot Supplies. 27 Gorgeous Additions, Vintage Metal, Glass Cabochons, Beads, Millinery

Here's an update on new items at Bumbershoot Supplies.

Since September 1, we have added 27 new and restocked 13 items!

We have been working to expand our offerings of vintage metal, so you'll see a lot of new metals at Bumbershoot Supplies. I've also reorganized the store categories once more, as we begin to stock settings to match our rhinestones and cabochons.

We'll stock as many vintage settings as we can find. In addition, we have also ordered settings for both pointed and flat back rhinestones and cabochons in an antiqued brass finish. We expect a selection to be available by the end of the month, along with some new and spectacular rhinestones. These high quality antiqued brass settings are made in the United States, antiqued for us, using no lead or nickel in either the settings or the antiquing process. Stay tuned! Now, onto a selection of our new items...

Here are some of the new settings we have available. I'm showing these with cabochons, actions shots, if you will :) The filigree is not really a setting, but I was inspired by our featured artist Jeanne van Etten, who has made some lovely necklaces using these cabochons and similar filigrees. The antiqued silver is an example of the new settings en route to us, the filigree and fancy bezel are vintage... We have some new and lovely vintage glass, including yet another vintage Japanese glass pearl, this one a twisted leaf with an embedded wire loop. I was really excited to find these amethyst sew ons, dating to 1939-1945, with the most wonderful original packaging from the "Czecho-Protectorate-Germany". You'll find a photo of the packaging included in the listing. The robin's egg blue cabochons are vintage Japanese, just gorgeous... As are these 3 new vintage Japanese glass cabochons, all from 1940's to 1950's Japan... These are a few new and romantic additions to our vintage metals... And finally, some additions to our millinery and trims. The fabric lily of the valley are available in 4 lovely colors, the gorgeous vintage beaded leaf appliques are from Japan, with original tags on the back, and the wing sequins are beautiful, big bits of vintage France...

I invite you to come on over to Bumbershoot Supplies and have a look at all these new vintage treasures. 

Until next time, wishing you a great weekend!