Making Things More Difficult Than They Have To Be?

Sometimes I laugh at myself because I make things more difficult than they have to be.  For instance, I am working on this pendant...

My pic isn't very good and she is a work in progress.  Instead of taking the easy way out, buying a setting for less than a dollar, I scour antique stores and thrift shops and try to find items I can use from vintage costume jewelry.  I also hunt for vintage rhinestones, charms, chains etc.  This piece had a cabochon in it.  I pulled out the cab, sanded off the old gold finish (yuck) from the pendant, and blackened the base metal.  I looked through my stash of rhinestones and found the perfect size to go around the outside to frame my beautiful Saint Marie.  I laugh and question myself, why do I go to all of this trouble???  Does anyone else do this?  Or is it just me?

Rhinestone Assemblage Bracelet

I only got one thing accomplished today and this was it!  A vintage rhinestone earring is repurposed into a bracelet.

I just didn't feel well today after spending the day yesterday moving furniture to my nephew's house.  Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and I can get a little more accomplished!

Rhinestone Assemblage Earrings

And my vintage rhinestone obsession continues with these gorgeous aqua dangles!

Something Old, Something New

I have been wanting to do something with this vintage rhinestone necklace piece that I've had for over a year now!  Can you say PROCRASTINATOR?!?  Lol, well, I finally sat down and did something with it.

I added vintage glass ab beads from a necklace that I picked up somewhere in my travels and a little bit of chain from a bracelet I found in an antique store.

This is now listed in my Etsy shop.  I think it would be great for a bride to be!!  What do you think of it?

French Linen and Old White Stenciled Dresser

She's finally done!  Whew!!  She's a little shabby, with areas worn down though the paint.  She's a little chic, with her Paris in the Springtime stenciling.  She's done in Annie Sloan French Linen and Old White and sealed with CeCe Caldwell Wax.  I ordered new drawer pulls for the bottom and they will complete her so she can be sold.

My camera sucks, by the way.  Maybe I'll get a new one for Christmas!!  Hint, hint!!

xoxo~Di

Vintage Rhinestone Shoe Clips ???

Does anyone know anything about vintage shoe clips?  I am a huge thrift shop junkie.  I spend my one day off hitting every thrift store in my area.  This summer I found a bunch of these clips at one of these local shops.  One pair had a tag from a nearby antique store.  The tag says "old shoe clips".   The backs of these matching clips are different.  In fact, they are different on most of the pairs that I found.  One has a bar and the other has 2 clips.

Does anyone have any idea if these really are shoe clips?  Or if the are something else?  I would appreciate any info anyone could give me on these.  Have a blessed day! ~Diane

Bird on a Branch Table

It's going to be 65 degrees in Michigan today!  Wow!  That's amazing!  It would be a great day to finish painting my cute little birdie table outside, but I have a family gathering today, so NO DICE!  That's okay.  I love my family and enjoy spending time with them.

Here's a sneak peek of my vintage Thomasville table...

I am using Annie Sloan French Linen and Old White and will be doing lots of distressing.  Aren't these two colors yummy?

Vintage Rosary Ring Necklace

I love making these necklaces from vintage rosary rings or finger rosaries!  I also make them with newer rosary rings to cut down on the price.  This one is my favorite though!  I bought the ring from a dealer in France and it is just beautiful!

Now available in my Etsy shop!  It's my last day of vacation, so I must go and enjoy even though the weather took a turn for the worst.  BRRRRRRRR!!

What I've Been Up To...Vacation Day 4

Well, I lied and didn't post every day.  I just needed a break from social networks, telephones, people, etc.  Tonight is the end of my 4th day of vacation.  I only have 6 days left!  My how time flies when you aren't working.  What have I been up to, you ask?  Well, let me tell ya!

I have been painting my interior doors black!  It's something that I have been wanting to do for about a year now and I have had the paint for a couple of months.  I went to Sherwin Williams and told the sweet little clerk girl what I wanted to do and she suggested I use their All Surface Enamel Acrylic Latex in Low Lustre Black, since I was painting over white doors.  I trusted her, after all, she works there!

I started painting last night and ugh!  The first coat, I thought I'd made a big mistake, or that she had!  It was shiny and weird looking!  I was scared!!  Already committed, I thought to myself, I will just do another coat and check it out in the morning.  By the second coat, it was growing on me.  It's still a little shinier than what I'd imagined in my head, but it looks really nice!  The paint is thick and goes on really nice.  This paint is STINKY though and I highly recommend that you work in a well ventilated area.  I opened all the windows and had fans going, so it wasn't too bad.

I tried to take the door off the hinges, but it's just me and well, yeah, that didn't work out so well, so I just painted it as it hung!  I am really pleased with how it turned out!  Did I already say that?

I also took my brass door handles or levers off and primed and painted them with Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze.  What a transformation!!

I don't know how they'll hold up, but it's just me and my pups here, and I really don't use the handles that much, except the closets and the bathroom, so we shall see!

I ordered some Rub n' Buff for the hinges, so they'll match up a bit better, since I can't get them off by myself.  I ordered Ebony and Spanish Copper.  The two used together look like oil rubbed bronze, at least that's the word in blog land!

I soldered a bunch of pendants and made a few necklaces to get ready for the holiday season and to finish up a couple of custom orders..

I was going to pour resin tonight, but I am just toooo tired, so I will fit it in tomorrow somewhere between grocery shopping and getting the carpets cleaned.  Woooo hoooooooo  What a vacation, huh?!?  What a wild woman you must think I am!!  Lol!!  I've had my wild fun, now I love putting my energy into productive things that make me wayyyy happier! :)

I also changed the hardware on my entry table to oil rubbed bronze and decoupaged vintage hymnal pages to the bottom of the drawer.

So, that's what I've been doing!   What have you been up to?

Salvator Mundi Holy Card Soldered Necklace

Just listed today...Salvator Mundi Holy Card Soldered Necklace

I added a vintage 4 way religious medal to the top and beaded the necklace with antique gold Swarovski pearls which, in case you have never had the pleasure of touching, are as soft as butter.  This necklace is dripping with frosting with rhinestone disco balls and rhinestone rondelles.  Hmmm, I am making myself hungry.  Time for a sweet treat!  Enjoy your day!

Back to Soldering

The heat wave that we've had for the whole month of July finally let up for a couple of days and I was able to get some soldering done.  My Etsy shop is really empty and needs some new items!  My babies are drying right now and I can't wait to get them beaded and listed!

I am really sad to see that my Joan of Arc Reliquary has seepage.  I don't quite know what I'm going to do about that as of yet since I did use a couple of vintage jewelry pieces on it.  Hmmmmm....

Religious Jewelry on Etsy!

New religious jewelry on Etsy!  Beautifully handmade bezels embellished with vintage rhinestones!  Yummy jewelry!  I am so excited to be creating again!!  I have missed it so much.  I can't do a no brainer job and am so relieved to have quit and start getting back to me.  I may not be rich, but at least I am happy!

Stamping Silver Plate Spoons

I love this!! I am now making bracelets from silver plate spoons, something I've been planning on doing for over a year, but got too involved in other projects.



First, I anneal the spoon and then pound the heck out of it with a hammer until it's flat!! (Tee Hee!! That part is so much fun!!!) Then I stamp it with metal stamps and mark and drill holes on each end. Then comes the tough part, bending the spoon! But, alas, all is not lost! I bought a bracelet bender on eBay last year, which makes this project 100x easier!! Add charms, jump rings and a clasp and Viola!!