Have yourself a Razzle Dazzle Christmas.

That glorious dress pin is an Eisenburg Ice I picked up at a swap meet. The glitter of the stones caught my eye I saw it was signed on the back though hard to tell what it said only that it ended with "burg" and said "Sterling" I figured if anything I could turn around and sell it. After figuring out it said Eisenburg I went hunting online for information.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/costume-jewelry/eisenberg
A snippet: silver pieces made from 1943 to 1948 were called "Eisenberg Sterling"

They were created because the regular metal used was needed for the war so the company switched to sterling during that time. 

Well I'm obviously not selling it I'm wearing it.

A Trifari Christmas

 

It's nice sometimes looking at the original ads. This particular ad is from the 1950's. But even more fun is trying to find the actual items in Ebay. I found the top set in the ad. The necklace and earrings being sold by one person the bracelet and brooch sold by another person.

Fancy in the Box

I recently bought the following Coro set at a very low price on ebay. It's a give or take as sometimes you don't know if it will look as good in the pictures when you get it. I figured it was fancy but not so fancy I couldn't wear it to work. Well I did wear it and it looks great. I also like the fact that it came in it's original box.

Seeing Green!

So a friend threw a themed birthday party the 7 deadly sins so I found a black and green haired wig. Wore a green dress and went as Envy. I was tempted to just wear as much jewelry as feasibly possible. Not sure if I would be Gluttony or Greed heh. But if I was either I would definitely have the following into my collection.

Hobe 1960's set

Matisse Set

Playing with the iPhone again I took the a picture and made it black and white which I definitely prefer.

How much is too much?

So my Elle arrived and there this jewelry ad for Anzie jewely loving the colors and cut because it reminded me of vintage jewelry and curious I went to the site. Now mind you it is sterling silver and semi precious stones but my jaw dropped at the prices.

The necklace and earrings were over a thousand dollars a piece and the bracelet six thousand plus. Wow. Just wow. And that folks is one reason why I revert to Vintage costume. Here are a few samples I found that are to me just as lovely, a little more unique and costs most of the time under fifty dollars.

Florenza Set (Ebay currently $22.50)

Juliana Pin (Ebay Currently $34.77)

WEISS Bracelet (Ebay currently $67.99)

Unknown (Ebay currently $69.99)

Modern yet 80's

Sometimes the only thing available with what you wear is modern. And yet it could be considered vintage if one remembered the era. These earrings bought at Sears are modern but boy they sure remind me of the 80's.

Oh and sometimes when you play with your iPhone camera with shadows of blinds you get some great photo's.

A little bit of glint

Last week the weather started gloomy and with just a little bit of sprinkle. Which spurred me to wear these tiny crystal drop earrings I have I'm reminded of raindrops or ice drops when I wear them. Of course as of today several days later it's not hot in the 90's go figure.

Here two of me wearing the earrings because I couldn't figure out which one I like better.

Little Bit of White

If there one color lacking in my jewelry is white. On a whim I had bought a Monet set necklace and earrings. Which worked with what I was wearing. That was my first attempt of doing a Mad Men hairstyle. Some adjustments need to be made on the hair style. The earrings which are clip-ons were comfortable for once.

Lucky Me!

Here is the other necklace I wore on my vacation. It's modern jewelry and is Lucky Brand. Purchased at one of my favorite places to go Nordstroms Rack. It was of course the center black stone that looks like rock candy that caught my eye. And below is me wearing it though you can't see it very well. Yes even camping out in the desert you can glam it up.

The Last Project

The last project I did with enamel was using sterling silver and creating a design  using flux. Flux = creating a see through type of enamel instead of solid. What I had to to do was with say the solid light blue I take the blue enamel glass and swirl it in the water then lightly stir, as to not to stir too much off but just the white foggy glass powder. You do this until you think you have for lack of a better word clean and clear glass powder. Then you fire it. 

I love the design and I think water, earth, air. Yes I will wear this.

Scrabble and Vacation

Yes I'm back from the big vacation at Burning Man. Why do I go? Besides the fact my husband goes, to see friends I don't get to see often from out of state is one reason.

One friend who I only see a few times a year made me the scrabble necklace and did the face painting you see above.

I also go for the art and inspiration. Here a few images from I took. I must at some point take a photography class.

Circle me this!

Learning how to do cloisonne my first piece above.

Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French^[1]) to the metal object by soldering or adhering silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln.


It does remind me abstract art. 

(Painting by Alfred Gockel "Sun Fish")

Damascene - no it's not a swear word

So I wore Damascene which sounds and looks like a swear word but it isn't instead it jewelry from Spain that is enameled.

Hisntory lesson:

Damascene "Damasquinado de Oro or "Damasquino" is the art of decorating non-precious metals with gold. It has roots in the Middle Ages and originates from the oriental-style artisan work done in Damascus, Syria. The craft, perfected by the Arabs and brought with them to Spain, has remained virtually unchanged over the centuries.

Damascene items generally reflect two distinct traditional types of patterns; the Arabesque or geometric designs, and the Renaissance motifs, displaying variations of birds and flowers. These patterns are obtained by engraving deep, patterned cuts into steel and then placing a gold foil into the lines of the design. This foil is hammered until the gold (18/greenish and 24/yellow carat) penetrates into the cuts, forming the design. Each piece is treated with a bluing solution to obtain oxidation and a black background is created. The back of all Damascene pieces are finished with gold metal.

Toledo is the world's largest center of production of Damascene. The city of Toledo is one of the richest historically and culturally endowed cities in all of Spain.

The fish pin is from my Grandmother. The earrings are mine. 

Nature has it

This was my third project in my enameling class. Using the flux the gold sheen we were told to the first color to lay down would be a solid. then to use transparent after that. I used a light light green that almost looks white for solid then a brick red and then a blue.

 
And yes now how does this relate to jewelry it's my catch all next to the sofa when I get home from work and take things off.

Flowers in the wind and Chandliers

The above enameled piece  was my first pendant it you drew out the design and then made many trips to the kiln as you wet packed, wet packing is where you take the ground powder glass and slowly use a small paintbrush to shape what you want. I was trying to create a flower design with the petals blowing away in the wind.

Wore some pretty chandelier earrings yesterday. They are modern and Lucky Brand.

Busy Bee

My summer going full tilt, working like crazy at work, getting ready for my next big vacation, you could say I'm a very busy bee.

Another pin from my Grandmother vintage jewelry it's unmarked. I just received from my mother and it seemed quite appropriate for the moment.

Cute info on bee brooches:

Bees, on the other hand, carry the meaning of being industrious and a team player so individuals who love working with others, have an outgoing personality and border on being a workaholic more often sport bee brooches. Bees also represent fertility and productivity, and some individuals use bee brooches to help them keep a positive outlook and attract fertility and productivity into their lives.