Fashionably Friday, January 14, 2011

Happy Friday Readers!  As part of my new resolution I want to start doing features that repeat every week so that this blog will stay interesting for you as my readers, and also so that I have something to talk about that will force me to keep up with timely updating!!  As you know I have been bad about that before!!!  But I promise never again, especially thanks to these new weekly rotating "feature" posts.    Today's Fashionably Friday deals with upcoming Spring 2011 trends in the jewelry world.  As I sit here by my 'fire' (A.K.A. electric fireplace) watching snow out the window it is hard for me to imagine that warmer weather will soon be here, but it will.  And in this upcoming fashion season, break out your big intense jewelry because statement pieces are going to be back with a vengeance.  Colorful pieces, as well as ones that combine geometric patterns and or shapes are going to be major players, as well as pieces that are metallic.  In my opinion, the edgier or more unique the pieces, the better.  Bring on the bright  bold colors and unique shapes!  But if you are a reader of my blog and have seen the jewelry I have made, you probably already know that I love crazy colors and big bold pieces. :) 

Here are some bright, bold, and edgy jewelry pieces from the spring 2011 runways, personally, I'm loving Dior's line:

 

Emporio Armani

Christian Dior

 Malandrino

 

Dior

 

Dior

Photos courtesy of Google Images

An Unexpected Gift

On Sunday, while spending time with my friend Farah, she presented me with a gift that I was not expecting, and I love it!  She gave me a book on creating jewelry with all types of buttons.  It is very adorable, and the jewelry shown in the book is so unique and creative, and the photography is amazing!  The buttons used in the book range in type from Victorian, to ceramic, and metal, as well as sea shell or mother of pearl.  I wanted to show some pages from the book that I found particularly interesting and inspiring!  I can't wait to make some jewelry using buttons now!  The funny thing is that I never would have thought to use buttons in this way, but now I desperately want to!  My grandmother has vast collections of vintage, beautiful buttons.  She used to let me dump out her gigantic popcorn tin of them on the floor and sift through them as a child.  I was always amazed by the variety of colors and shapes and styles of buttons that were contained in that tin.  Reading this book took me back to those moments, and made me feel nostalgic.  I can't wait until the next time I can visit my grandmother now to see if I can have some of them to make into beautiful jewelry like the pieces shown in this book.

Wire Wrapped Wednesday

I decided lately that I have fallen in love with the look of wire wrapped pieces of jewelry.  I have not really made much wire-wrapped jewelry in the past, and I would absolutely love to get more experience in making it!  Some wire-wrapped jewelry can be so inspiring and beautiful, and have a look that is extremely unique.  So I decided the other day to create this ongoing feature (for as long as I decide to keep it up) called Wire Wrapped Wednesday where I will either showcase wire wrapped jewelry that inspires me, or wire wrapped pieces that I have created myself.  This week, I am showcasing a piece that I have attempted to create myself, that is to say, it's not perfect, but hey, like I said I don't really have experience with this, and want to get more, and what better way than to just start practicing??  Hopefully with the continued occurrence of this weekly feature, I can improve my wire-wrapping skills!  I would also in the near future like to get a jig to play with wire on.  In some of the random jewelry making items my aunt gave me, I obtained some bits and pieces that go with a jig, but I did not get the actual jig board, which is of course the most important part.  I will probably buy myself one once I get a job.....haha.  (I really need some income before I start buying random things).  Hopefully that will come soon.  But here is my piece, hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Thrifting Tuesday

On this hopefully re-occurring feature I would like to debut items that I have re-vamped or recreated entirely from thrift store finds.  I really became obsessed with the way New Dress a Day took an otherwise old, ripped, torn, or just plain ugly frock and re-created it into something that any fashionista would die to have in her closet.  I have done a lot of this re-creating myself in the past, with posts like my Thanksgiving Party Dress and my Leopard Print Top among others, but I wanted to make this something that re-occured every week.  I love doing it, and it definitely gives me something new and exciting to wear, which I can never seem to get enough of.  And the best part about it, besides the fact that one of these re-created outfits almost costs me nothing, is the fact that I made it myself and it is completely unique to me and my style.  No one else in the world has anything quite like it, which makes it really special, and really fun to wear!  And it is kind of fun getting to design something specifically for me, too, that I know will fit just right on me the way I want it to and look just like I imagine it looking....(well, sometimes....haha)  Anyway, the outfit that I have re-designed this week was a skirt that I purchased at the Salvation Army down the street from my house.  It was an old fashioned, vintage silk skirt, and cost about $3.  The skirt was originally very longgggg, but I thought it looked festive, and deserved to be holiday party attire.  It is high waisted, and I love the look of high waisted skirts with tops tucked in.  So I shortened the original length by tucking the skirt up inside of itself to form a poofy skirt look that was short and ready for a party!  I then wore it with a black sequin tank and black tights, with black high heeled boots to complete the look.    This outfit did "Double Duty" for me, allowing me to attend Drew's Mom's side of the family's Christmas dinner, but then afterward come straight home and host a Christmas/Birthday bash at our house for all of our friends.  The sequin top added just the right amount of sparkle!

Also, I wanted to share the bread loaves I baked today!

Marble Monday

Happy Monday readers!  I know, most people would not use "happy" and "Monday" in the same sentence, but I tend not to mind Mondays as much now that I am back in school again, I don't really mind going to class as much as I minded going to work....hahaha.  (although I do still need a job....I do have bills...)  Anyway, I created this great piece from marble beads I bought at Fire Mountain Gems during their dollar bead sale.  The coolest part about these beads in my opinion is that they are made from marble!  The beads themselves are pretty heavy, but I really like the look and feel of them.  The color of the marble in these particular beads will make them versatile to wear in almost any season, and with a variety of outfits.  I can't wait to wear my new necklace to school tomorrow!!

Vintage Inspiration

I created this necklace from pieces of Vintage jewelry that my aunt purchased from estate sales.  I love the bird motif on the pendant piece, and the vintage faceted glass bead is beautiful as well as surprisingly heavy!  The purple beads are more beads that I purchased from Fire Mountain Gems during their dollar sale last fall.  This is a casual necklace that would look great with jeans and a tunic top, or would be a cute necklace to wear out with a casual dress and tights.  The colors in the necklace are more neutral, and would look good with many other colors, making this necklace very versatile.

Jade Necklace

I was so excited when I was able to purchase beads from the Fire Mountain Gems one dollar bead sale a couple months ago....I got so many awesome beads for a dollar or less each!  And the great part was that all of the beads I bought were either real gemstones, marble, or a type of rock or stone bead, so it was a really great deal!  Today I used my Jade beads that I bought at the bead sale to create a statement necklace.  In my post from yesterday, I discussed that statement pieces are going to continue to be huge for Spring 2011, and the color of the jade beads I used in this piece will complement the bright spring colors.