Vintage Sparkle

I’m a big fan of vintage, especially when it comes to jewellery. Its my opinion that vintage and retro jewellery, whether costume or that made from precious metals, was made to a much higher standard then that of today.

I’ve been putting my love of all things vintage to good use. I’ve set up stalls at Battersea, pimlico, and other various locations within london and Kent and I’ve been selling everything from funky retro clothing to 1920’s rhinestone bracelets.

Whether its at craft festivals, vintage fairs or good old bootsales, I’ve discovered that I’m actually rather good at selling this stuff, which has to be down to my fine eye for vintage flare. When it comes to jewellery, I’m a natural! I’ve always been a bit of a magpie and this is of great benefit when your choosing pieces specifically to sell. I won’t lie, its required me to engage in a good bit of research… Yes, I now have a load of names of both jewellery designers and manufacturers who’s pieces are worth buying, stuck in the fore front of my mind but its great fun all the same.

Here’s some images of some of the pieces I’ve brought over the past few months.

The above is just some of what I’ve had on the stall. Brooches are probably my favourite thing to buy and sell! There really are some fantastic designs out there in need of discovering. It seems crazy how two brooches of the same age can vary so much in value purely due to its design, I’ve even had costume pieces valued to be worth more than silver pieces. But brooches and jewellery in general aren’t just something for the stall! I’ve also got a fabulous personal collection of my own. I love silver, especially old vintage silver! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of gold and own a nice collection of gold jewellery, but my silver collection is much greater. Below is a new early 1950s silver and marcasite necklace that I got this week along with another necklace and earrings I brought from eBay.

The following images were taken today. These are some of my newest pieces of vintage costume jewellery that I’ve acquired for the stall . This was all delivered today having been sent from France and I’m totally in love with the rainbow crystal necklace with Art Deco clasp that was purchased in Italy some 47 years ago. I’m also smitten with the single pearl necklace with Rhinestone clasp and stunning M&S Rhinestone necklace with matching bracelet… Stunning.

I’m currently in the process of creating a page specifically designed to showcase some of the latest items I’ve uncovered and plan on selling. Of course, everybody is free to check it out.

Thanks for reading… Clairelouise.x

How To Make Jewellery From Shrink Plastic

Shrink plastic is a very versatile medium. Its fun to work with for both children and adults alike and its available from most good craft stores and online.

Today I’m going to show you how to use shrink plastic to make these two lovely pendants…

The materials you will require are…

2 x frosted sheets of shrink plastic
Black permanent marker pen
Gold metallic gel pen
Gold metallic pencil
Silver metallic pencil
Length of black cord or leather
Thick silver memory wire (for choker)
10 4mm flat backed crystals (white)
2 x Charlotte crimp bead tips (silver)
1x jump ring
Flat silver charm (like a tag)
2 silver pendant attachments
1 necklace clasp
Small amount of silver tiger wire

Tools

Scissors
Mini hole punch
Access to a pre heated oven or heat tool
Flat nosed pilers
Wire cutters
Super glue

To make your round pendant use your permanent black marker pen and draw a circle that goes into a swirl on the rough (frosted side) of your shrink plastic.

Next decorate the edging of your swirl with a petal like pattern like I have.

Use the gold gel pen to colour in groups of the petal like decoration like so.

Decorate any other way you wish.

Now cut out the shape and use the mini hole punch to make a hole in your pendant (not to close to the edge).

If using an oven preheat this to the temperature stated on the manufacturers instructions on your shrink plastic. Follow the guidelines to shrink the plastic.

If using a heat tool, place your plastic, frosted side up, on a ceramic surface and hold it with a pencil tip as you apply the heat.

Within seconds the plastic should start to shrink. It will all fold up into a ball before finally opening back out to reveal its smaller self. This process takes seconds.

The plastic will now be 7x smaller and much more thicker than it was previously.

Once the plastic has cooled use super glue (a tooth pic or similar) to glue one crystal to the centre of your swirl and three more crystals like I have in the image below.

Now fit a pendant grip through the pendants hole and thread the black cord through the hoop.

Its now time to finish of your necklace using the jewellery findings!

Thread a charlotte crimp end to each end of your thread. Tie in a knot to secure and use flat nosed pilers to crimp the thread securely inside the body of the Charlotte.

Now, to one end of your thread add a jump ring to the Charlotte crimp end and to the other end attach a clasp.

Your first pendant is now complete.

Gold and silver pendant

Cut your shrink plastic into a thickish strip.

Use your gold and silver pencils to add swirls of both colours to the rough side of your plastic. Ensure your swirls overlap one another like so…

Once your design is complete again cut down your plastic remembering that it will be 7x smaller once shrunk. Your finished pendant will need to measure at least 2-2 1/2 centimetres in length.

At this stage you will also need to round off your edges to ensure there are no sharp corners.

Turn your plastic long ways up and use your mini hole punch to make a hole both at the top and bottom of your shape.

Now place in the oven shrinking your plastic as you did before (instructions above).

Once your plastic has shrunk and it is cool to touch use you super glue to glue on five of your crystals randomly in the centre of your swirls.

Attach a pendant grip to the top hole like so.

Now take your flat silver tag and glue on one more crystal to its centre.

Thread a small piece of silver tiger wire through the loop of your flat pendant and then through the hole at the bottom of your shrink plastic.

Twist using flat nosed pilers and cut of any excess with wire cutters.

Your flat silver tag should now dangle from the bottom of your plastic pendant.

Lastly mould the memory wire into a hoop and thread the pendant onto the wire. Secure the end by forming two loops using flat nosed pilers.

And your finished.

Alice loves wearing these home made creations and the shrink plastic has done well to impress us both.

Why not give those above a try or simply use your imagination to create your own style of shrink plastic jewellery.

Tutorial – Decopatch Friendship Heart Pendants

Over Easter I shared with you all some crafts inspired by Polystyrene eggs. While shopping in the town centre when enjoying a recent holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis, I popped into the ‘Works’ Where I uncovered these cute little polystyrene hearts.

Having recently used polystyrene miniature eggs to create Egg pendants with the children, it gave me an idea for a crafty project for these hearts.

The idea… Heart Friendship Pendants!

If you fancy a go at these yourself, they are relatively easy to make just a little fiddly if anything. Its the perfect craft to do with bigger kids. Alice who is 10 had lots of fun making hers.

Here’s what you’ll need to make two pendants like ours…

2 designs of decopatch paper (your choice of design and colours)

Decopatch Glue

Mod Podge Shimmer (gold)

Glue/Decopatch Brush

Tiger Wire/Craft Wire

fishing Wire

Tiny Gold Beads

Glass beads

Glass crystals (colours to complement Decopatch paper)

5 x 4mm flat backed crystals (colours to complement decopatch paper) I used white and blue.

Jewellery Findings (couple of crimping beads and crimp covers, 2x pendent attachment, jump hoops, 2x clasps & catches)

Tools…

Crimping tool
Brushes
Scissors
Nail (to pierce a hole through hearts)

Here’s how to put it all together to make your heart pendents

1) Use a sharp nail to pierce 2 small holes opposite one another, right at the top of your hearts in the centre, like so…

2) Cut papers into small manageable pieces. Decopatch your hearts using your paper pieces and decopatch glue. This is done by simply adding glue directly to the heart and over the top of the paper. Cover one side of pendants, allow to dry for 30-40 minutes before doing the other sides.

When it comes to covering the sections of the hearts where the two holes are located, do this using the nail to locate the holes and piercing the paper.

3) Once these are dry use a clean brush to apply a thin layer of Mod Podge gold shimmer. Apply to one side of the hearts, leave it to dry for 30 minutes before adding the shimmer to the opposite sides and again leaving to dry.

4) while the pendants are still wet, secure your 3 4mm flat back crystals in a row down the centre of one side of one of your pendants and the remaining crystals onto your remaining heart pendant in the same way. Now leave to dry.

5) Now take your two tiny gold beads and insert into the two holes with the holes facing up.

6) next take your pendant attachments and fit them to the hearts via the holes on the gold beads.

7) Next, take some fishing wire (enough to make desired necklace length) and thread it through each of your pendants hoops

8) Now thread on your glass beads and crystals like so. Five on each side looks nice. Do the same for your second necklace in a different style.

9) Make a knot on both ends of the wire while you prepare your findings.

10) Finally connect your crimps and covers, jump loops and catches. Sit back and admire your work.

We made 2 heart necklaces as Alice-Sara wanted to make these for herself and best friend as friendship necklaces.

The thing I love most about this project is the endless possibilities it brings. You can make a different heart for each day of the week just by changing the paper style or beads and crystals on your necklace.

What’s more, with the magic of Decopatch glue and Mod Podge your polystyrene heart is now stronger and much more solid, but still super light to wear.

Why not try it yourself, experimenting with different papers and beads as you go.

Hope I’ve inspired you to get creative with Decopatch papers… Enjoy.

Kids Craft – Easter Egg Pendants

With it being Easter I’ve got even more Easter inspiration to share with you all, with the addition of these cute little glittered egg pendants each on its own beaded necklace.

You will need…

Packet of mini polystrene eggs
Various shades of glitter
Section of necklace threads
Selection of beads (big and chunky for little hands)
Mod Podge Gloss
Tiger wire
Self adhesive gems
Tacky glue

Tools…
Wire clippers or scissors
Glue brush (4 mod podge)
Plastic bags or jars
Tooth pick

Step 1 Take your mini polystrene eggs (however many you wish to make) and one by one cover in a coat of tacky glue.

Step 2 Place your different coloured glitters into different sandwich bags, jars or other clean clear containers. Place each egg in a bag (one egg to one bag) tie and then Vicariously shake to completely cover the eggs in the glitter.

Step 3 Use a tooth pic to remove the eggs from their bags and leave them to dry for at least a few hours before covering each in a layer of mod podge gloss.

Step 4 After a further 30 minutes or so drying time, use a needle to pierce a hole at the top of your egg from one end to the other. Now thread the tiger wire through the egg and tread on a couple of beads, twist and make a hanging loop by twisting again.

Step 5 Now thread the egg through your necklace thread.

Step 6 Now, stick a self adhesive gem to the centre of your egg.

Step 7 Now thread some big metallic beads onto the thread and tie.

Step 8 Now wear and watch as others admire your bling!

The Possibilities are endless….

#Win Yourself A Necklace Made From Recycled Skateboards

Yes, that’s right I did just say that you could win yourselves a necklace made from recycled skateboards!

The person behind this funky idea is Nat and she own’s this unique brand called Thrashion. Nat takes a skateboard deck that has been ridden, treasured then thrashed and turns it into a totally funky unique one of a kind piece of jewellery.

Nat has been making Jewellery and Homewares from thrashed skateboards since 2007 and from what I can gather she’s a real one of a kind, As it seems that there is no other brand like her’s across the whole of Europe!

Nat’s designs feature the original graphics on the board, no paint is added whatsoever, just a clear coat of varnish to preserve the piece.

Thrashion obtains their skateboard decks from various sources, such as pro skaters, friends, skateparks, shops and various skate companies. Boards are donated in their original state and Thrashion do all they can to keep waste to a minimum while constantly coming up with new ideas and designs along the way.

Thrashion have received Donations from Pro skaters such as the likes of ‘Matt Pritchard’ in the past. He loves the brand so much that the man himself was even spotted wearing on of the brands dog tags in a interview posted on youtube…

I love how every piece is a one of a kind! There’s no chance you’re gonna bump into a friend and spot your necklace around their neck (that is unless they borrowed it and have failed to return it).

For me, this is not only a great environmentally friendly idea, that produces cool quirky fashion pieces, but also an art form in itself. Its my opinion that Nat is a very talented artist.

I remember back in the 80’s and early 90’s when my little brother used to ride up and down our street on his skateboard. He actually had a few over the years that I can remember! These always displayed some really funky colourful design that never failed to make him look totally cool and impress all his friends. To think that those skate boards could now potentially be made into his big sisters pendent does make me smile. The fact I was never allowed to go near it let alone touch it, because I quote “I don’t understand Skateboards” admittedly makes me chuckle! Why? Because I may not “Understand Skateboards” but I do understand Jewellery!

I’ve actually never seen anything quite like Thrashion before. Its a great idea that takes upcycling to whole another level. I have to hold my hand up and say “Yes, I do rather like it!”

Thrashion has a site full off unique and interesting statement pieces of jewellery! I’m loving the little heart pendents with the skull graphics. These have to be my favourite! With no two pieces the same, and new skateboards being donated all the time, its a must to check back on their website from time to time for new and exciting pieces. Plus, if they don’t have what your looking for the option of a custom made piece is always an option.

Orders come delivered packaged in cute little cupboard boxes, padded out with paper shreds. All packaging is again 100% recycled to keep the green element within the brand.

The necklace I have to give away here on the blog today has a real funky pendent that is mostly made up of the colours greens, yellows and reds. This doughnut style pendent Has a beautiful shine and is totally smooth finish. Despite its size, it rather lightweight, making it really easy to wear. The pendent measures approximately 6 cms in diameter with a 3 cms opening,
and is supplied on a long length of military issue ball chain which can be cut to size if required.

The prize is certain to make a huge fashion statement amongst friends, family and even work colleagues

So if you want to win this little piece of art that was crafted in a little garage down in cornwall, then just do the following…

Compulsory Action….

Give me one of your greenest tips. It could be a great little upcycle project to that’s kept the land fields free from overload, or maybe a small change you’ve started to engage in to do your but for the environment! Whatever it is just leave a comment along with a valid email address or twitter handle (so, I can contact you if your the lucky winner).

Additional Entries

Additional entries can be gain by doing any of the following. Please not an additional comment must be left for each.

Tweet: “I want to win a Trashion necklace with @Clairelouise82 and @_Thrashion” then comment with the URL to your tweet or additionally your twitter handle.

Like the mummy of many talents new Facebook page. Comment to let me know who you are

Pin this competition on pinterest and then comment with your pins URL

Subscribe to this blog by email (button in located in the sidebar) comment to let me know you have with the same email add.

Competition will close on the 25th April 2012 at 11:59pm. Open to those in the UK only.

T&C… Winners will be drawn at random from all valid entries submitted. Competition open to all those in the UK only. Winners must leave either an email address or twitter handle with their comments so that I can easily contact them in the event that they win. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the winning notification or another winner will be drawn in their place.

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

How Too Make A Clay Beaded Necklace

So I had some clay left over after the children had made their Piggies for the Natwest Competition.

This was air hardening/drying clay and with more than enough air tight containers full of modelling clay or play dough, I decided to use it up.

It was a real awkward amount, not enough to make anything to big, but more than enough not to want to waste. With this I decided to make some clay beads and a necklace for my daughter.

Here’s what I used…

Air Hardening/Drying Clay
Pearlised Acrylic Paints (Green/Yellow)
Acrylic Glaze
Black Bead Thread
Plastic Necklace Fastener

Tools…

Paint Brushes
Scissors
Clay Modelling Tool
News Paper or Table Cloth ( to cover surfaces)

How I Made The Beads

Despite only needing a small number of beads for the necklace I decided to make some extra so that the toddler could use them to help build his fine motor skills.

To make the beads I simply worked with very small amounts of clay at a time, rolling them into a ball, then using the sharp end of a modelling tool to make a hole through the middle of each bead (make sure the tool pushes right through the clay so the hole goes all the way through).

I then used the opposite end of the modelling tool to score lines, grooves and various patterns into each bead.

Feeling a tad adventures, I also made a few different shaped beads and charms.

The clay instructions are not to use water as its ‘Air drying’ However, I always find that this type of clay tends to crack more easily and does so fairly quickly. So, with this I often just wet my fingers a little and smooth over any cracks if I find this to be the case at all!

Once all my beads were complete, I left them on a sheet of newspaper and placed them in a dry area, leaving them over night to dry at room temperature.

Tip: You can tell when your beads are dry as the colour of the clay will turn from a stone grey colour, to white.

Decorating The Beads…

Once fully dried, I choose two paint colours (pearlised green and yellow) and put a small amount of each on a pallet (aka paper plate). I then used the end of a very thin paint brush and pushed it through the hole of the bead I was going to decorate. This allowed me to paint the entire bead without it being to fiddly and no area was missed.

I rotated the colours, painting one green the next yellow and so forth.

The paint is very quick to dry, but I left for a good hour then repeated the process.

I then left to dry for another 2 hours before painting them in the same way only this time with a clear acrylic gloss glaze.

After an hour the beads were ready to thread. I used black thread and secured with a plastic necklace fastener.

Having made my necklace and some beads for harley to practice his fine motor skills, I did however, find I had a bit more clay left over. So, with this I decided to make a pendent for the necklace and a pair of earrings to match. I also made a feather pendent too.

How I Made The Matching Pendent & Earrings…

Added materials needed…

Earring wires

I flatten the clay so it became very thin and delicate. I then used the modelling tool to cut out a large tear drop shape for the pendent and two for the earrings. Once I had my earring shapes I then flatten these a bit more as to make them almost paper thin. This is to unsure they are not to heavy to wear.

I then used my fingertips to help form a pattern, before using the sharp end of the modelling tool to complete my desired design. I did this for both the pendent and earrings (not worrying if they were the exact same in detail)!

I then used the sharp end of the tool to make holes in each piece.

Next I followed the same steps as I did for the beads. I painted in the same way only using both colours on each piece. I also covered all pieces in the same acrylic gloss glaze.

The last step was to add the ear wires to create a pair of earrings.

How I Made The Feather Pendent…

I flatten the remaining clay like that above and cut out one large leaf shape and another one about half its size.

I used the modelling tool to add the detail of the leaf before finally adding the holes for threading.

I then did all the same steps as I did for my beads, pendent and earrings. I used the same paints, gloss glaze and dried for the same amount of time. (Note the earrings and leaf pendent dried much faster as they were so thin!)

Alice loved all the pieces (apart from the earrings these are to large for her as she only wears studs, plus they are not real silver)!

The clay jewellery is perfect for dress up or even gifts. I’m now making clay bead bracelets for Christmas Cracker fillers. 🙂

Alice is keen to have a go herself so I’m going to make a batch of salt dough and see what she can come up with!