New at Bumbershoot Designs. More Vintage Cameo Necklaces and a New Demi Parure

I have really been enjoying working with vintage resin cameos lately.  I really loved the long ivory cameo necklace I made a few weeks ago and have continued to add some beautiful vintage resin cameos to my collection and designs.

The narcissus above is a larger version of the vintage cameos I used in this bracelet...

...and these earrings.

These beautiful romantic blush pink and white cameos were perfectly complemented by some pink enamel metal flower bead caps that I made up into a layered flower and pearl charm.  I'm really excited by these bead caps since they were made for Coro, the famous vintage costume jewelry design house.  They are textured on the enameled side and reflective gold on the inside of the flower.

Perfect for flower charm earrings too, they make me think of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream "...and hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear...".

I was able to only find a few of the blush pink cameos, but there are a few of the same cameo in crystal matte still available at Bumbershoot Supplies, if you are interested.

Until next time, wishing you a great weekend!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Crystal, Cameo and Locket Necklaces

Watch for these 3 new designs at Bumbershoot Designs this weekend.  The cameo necklace above is made with a truly stunning vintage West German resin cameo, on a long chain that just slips over your head. Perhaps my new favorite...

This necklace features a vintage emerald Swarovksi crystal rhinestone on delicate gold filled chain, and was a request by a customer.  I've made another to add to Bumbershoot Designs, where you will already find a matching bracelet and earrings.

And finally, this locket necklace features a vintage reproduction perfume locket, heart shaped, in antiqued brass which I have adorned with a vintage Japanese tassel charm that I antiqued and embellished with a tiny Swarovski crystal.  I love how this tassel adds a bit of flirty movement to the locket. This is a long chain too, although lengths can be readily shortened, just ask.

Back to the studio, and wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. New Nature Themed Designs With Vintage Rhinestones, Lockets, Vintage Beads

Here's a look at some of the designs that have made their way into Bumbershoot Designs over the last week.

This vintage rhinestone necklace features 1950's West German cuba glass rhinestones, 2 tone with rose and topaz glass, just a lovely combination. Like roses and honey.

I found these wonderful vintage brass earring posts, a perfect complement to the flowers and leaves in the necklace.

We have had so much rain in Seattle this spring, I was inspired to make this raindrop necklace with vintage bombe style rhinestones from 1960's West Germany. These have high smooth domes and look just like the big drops of rain I have been watching outside my studio window every day for weeks.

Matching earrings for this necklace too, making a demi parure. Both the rhinestones and settings are available at Bumbershoot Supplies.

For this necklace I antiqued a petite brass locket from Bumbershoot Supplies, and adorned it with a vintage glass decal flower cabochon, also from Bumbershoot Supplies. The flower charm features a 1930's vintage glass pearl stamen within a shabby enameled metal flower.

And finally in celebration of the Spring that has finally arrived in Seattle, I have put together this ivory- sage-peridot-milky jade, shades of spring green vintage charm bracelet. Some of my favorite colors and floral themes, all in one place, with 2 different earring designs available to match.

Until next time, wishing you a happy and creative weekend!

Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies' New Website is Live!!!

BIG BIG news at Bumbershoot Designs and Bumbershoot Supplies this week!!!

You can now purchase our vintage supplies on our own website, http://www.bumbershootsupplies.com/!

I think it was in a newsletter last November that I said I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and that we would be providing our vintage supplies on our own website soon. Well, we finally made it. We went live on Tuesday, Mar 29, and everything is working very well.
We will continue to make our vintage supplies available at Bumbershoot Supplies on Etsy, of course. But I think there are numerous advantages to customers with the new website. Here are the top 10 benefits to you of our new website, in no particular order (with photos of some of the new products that have been added to Bumbershoot Supplies and Bumbershoot Designs this week):

1. You can purchase multiple lots of items without having to talk to me :)

2. Information about each item is organized to provide the age, country of origin, material, size, pieces per lot, so you can quickly see the pertinent statistics for each product.

3. There is a zoom feature so you can get really close to the products.

4. There is considerably more freedom in categorizing items, allowing us to place products into more than one category, if they reasonably fit in more than one category. I hope this will spark your creativity in terms of how to use our products and will help you more readily find the products you are interested in.

5. You can make a wish list.

6. There is a “new arrivals” section, where you can see all the products that have been added to the website in the previous 2 weeks. (Right now, everything is new since we just went live on Tuesday…)

7. The website collects together in one place all of our extra resources: the featured artist blog posts, the inspiration boards, the tutorials, our newsletter sign up and all of the past issues.

8. We can provide both designs and supplies in the same location, which I hope will provide inspiration in terms of how the supplies can be used. If you are interested in purchasing designs, maybe you will be tempted to try out a few of the supplies too. We will be adding my designs over the coming month or so.

9. We have more flexibility when it comes to coupon codes, which is good news for our newsletter subscribers.

10. We continue to be as easy to reach through this website as ever, you will be able to directly contact me using my email address.
I hope you will click on over to Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies and check it out! If you have any questions at any time, just let me know.

Until next time, wishing you a great weekend!

Sneak Peek 2. New Vintage Inspired Designs at Bumbershoot Designs

The muse cannot be stopped!

I do create all the time. If I don't, I start to feel like I can't breathe.

However, a few times a year, the muse really gets going and I'm still in the midst of that experience.

In this blog post, I shared a first Sneak Peek at some of the new designs I have been busy creating for Bumbershoot Designs. I've put 20 of the new designs into Bumbershoot Designs so far, and I have many more to add (the muse prefers to create, it is a negotiation to get the paperwork and listing done).

Here is Sneak Peek 2, watch for these new designs to appear in Bumbershoot Designs. Feel free to ask about anything if you are interested and don't see it listed...

I think of this necklace as a Rainier raindrop. It is a great layering necklace, made from a vintage teardrop and a vintage pearl headpin. Those are pearl headpins adorning the stave-shaped floral earrings above, too.

This necklace matches the earrings shown in the first photo. I've used pear shaped montana sapphire rhinestones, Czech from the 1950's and stripped the foil backing off them (see this tutorial for how to do that). Then I set them in antiqued brass, but I set them in upside down in order to show off the lovely faceting on the back of the stone. I'm using a rose clasp on this necklace for a bit of pretty at the nape of the neck.

I wish I could find more of these settings because they are so graceful and work very well with vintage cabochons. These earrings feature vintage glass cabochons that are the turquoise-y blue of robin's eggs. I love the organic appearance of the mottling and how it works with the antiqued brass. Spring is coming!

This vintage envelope locket has sat on my worktable for a very long time. The color was rather unusual, and could not be used as it was. Finally I found the time to patina it and here it is, transformed. I wish I had taken a before picture. This one opens for a little note, or mantra, or inspirational phrase, or wish to be tucked inside.

Silvery springtime moonlight bathing Paris. I wonder if I will ever return to Paris. I wonder if it is still the same magical city I remember. I have a dream of returning there with our daugher Emma. Fingers crossed...

Coming next, designs featuring sterling silver and vintage components. Stay tuned...

Until then, wishing you a wonderful weekend!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Sneak Peek at New Vintage Inspired Designs

My muse has been busy the last two weeks, with 32 (yes, I counted) new designs waiting their turn to be listed at Bumbershoot Designs. It has been hard to pull my muse away from the work table, but I was able to convince her to take a few photos on the weekend. If you would like to know more about any of these designs, just let me know and I will prioritize listing the design(s) you are interested in, so you can have more photos and full information.

I've started working in sets, like the costume jewelry designers of decades ago did. So many of the new designs you see here are available as "demi-parures", meaning there are 2 or 3 matching pieces. For example, the earrings shown at the very top and this necklace match, and are a demi-parure.

These earrings feature lovely vintage 1920's Czech nailhead beads with tiny vintage 24K gold charlotte beads and there is a matching necklace on a pretty sparkly antiqued brass chain.

These earrings also have a matching necklace and feature vintage blush pink pearls with really lovely antiqued brass bead caps and a tiny peach moonstone bead, not vintage but genuine :)

This vintage locket is adorned with a 1940's crystal button and black rhinestone of the same era. The chain is also vintage and I have restored and patina'd the chain and locket.

I also made a shorter pair of matching earrings, with just one stone, providing 2 options for this demi-parure.

Another set featuring some lovely coral - peachy vintage Czech beads and lovely Japanese glass pearls. The cabochon is also from 1950's Japan. These move in a charming and eye catching way.

This butterfly necklace also has matching earrings. I'm not sure this one is a completed design. I have some rosaline cabochons enroute that I think I might swap with the rhinestone, but I have to see when they get here. I want this to look light and airy, like butterflies are. This charm is 3 dimensional and I really like that, it adds movement to this simple design.

I love the black diamond stones, so I made this ring to match the black diamond earrings I already offer at Bumbershoot Designs.

I have been fascinated with the character and individuality of these vintage rhinestones ever since I purchased them to offer at Bumbershoot Supplies. I finally decided I could have a few to work with :) I am working on a bracelet to match these earrings.

Oh Marie, Marie... I offer pearl Marie Antoinette earrings at Bumbershoot Designs, this is a new version featuring the most spectacular 1940's crystal rhinestones you could every hope to see. I'd love to make a necklace to match this, but so far the right fleur de lis has not appeared...

These earrings are all sterling, antiqued and polished by me, and feature extraordinary rose colored crystal drops, 1930's Czech. How blessed am I to be able to work with such beauty!

I have been looking for some time for white mother of pearl to make more white cufflinks since my round vintage mother of pearl cabochons ran out. I am extremely pleased with this new lot of vintage mother of pearl, it is flawless, creamy, smooth, iridescent, and I love the oval shape too.

This locket is a long necklace, 26 inches, and is a tribute to all the birds and especially the swallows I see on my walks around Discovery Park in Seattle. This floral locket is adorned with a blue and white vintage West Geman flower button bead and another of those wonderful vintage Japanese glass pearls.

If you've made it to the end of this long post, thank you for viewing my designs! I hope you have found some ideas or inspiration with them. All of these designs and more will make their way into Bumbershoot Designs over the coming days. If you have any questions or would like more information, please let me know!

New at Bumbershoot Designs. Limited Edition Flower Bracelets

I love to make bracelets.

I'm especially happy that I was able to locate a few more flower beads to remake 2 of my favorite designs in time for the holidays.  Above is Lilac Pansies and below is Sky at Alki.  Both are available at Bumbershoot Designs.

Just one each of these bracelets, and then the beads are all gone...

I also have added this new, limited edition design, Fleur, to Bumbershoot Designs. It combines some of my favorites, vintage flowers and vintage glass pearls, with a detailed fleur de lis stamping that I have curved to fit the wrist, so light and comfortable to wear.

All of them reminders of spring as we approach the depths of winter
and the shortest day of the year.



New at Bumbershoot Designs. New Designs With Vintage Pearls and Vintage Rhinestones

I've been busy in both Bumbershoot Supplies and Bumbershoot Designs, ensuring the shops are stocked and ready for the holidays! At Bumbershoot Designs, I've been able to offer several new designs, with more to come over the weekend.

Above is Margo, with fabulous ivory glass pearls from 1950's Japan.

Below is Dragonfly Pearl, a necklace to match my Dragonfly Pearl earrings...



There are a couple more new earring designs, including these vintage crystal rhinestone earrings, with rhinestones from occupied Germany, 1945 to 1949...

And these brass and flower earrings, featuring vintage brass floral stencil dangles, with delicate pink flowers from 1950's Japan...

Everything you see here can be found at Bumbershoot Designs. 

Until next time, wishing you a great weekend!