Bead in the New Year with Allegory Gallery – Final Wrap Up

Tags

A Man Called Ove, Allegory Gallery, Andrew Thornton, Anne's Glass Jewels, Ava Motherwell, Bead & Button, BuliBeads, Dakota Stones, Fredrik Backman, Gaea, Ginkgo et Coquelicot, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Maggs Creations, William Jones

I made it through 31 days of prompts! Whoo-hoo! Allegory Gallery heard their customers say that they wanted to be more creative and take more time for self care in 2019. For many of us, creativity and self care overlap. So they came up with a calendar of daily prompts for January to help us all along. We could use it any way we chose. I chose to complete each prompt in order and post it on the day listed. That doesn’t mean I made one item a day; I definitely had to work ahead when I had time. But I’ve never felt the ease of making jewelry so clearly. It’s like these prompts helped me get out of my own way. On to the last five prompts!

Day 27 – Make a piece inspired by a book you’ve read

This necklace was inspired by A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Ove is a curmudgeon, always annoyed, hence this exasperated lampwork face bead by Maggs Creations. The mix of glass beads represents the chaos Ove feels in the changing world around him. I brought in the purple from the pendant with some amethyst. The beautiful copper claps is by Gaea.

Day 28 – Remake an old project into a new one

I still have a fair number of older pieces. If I haven’t taken them apart yet, it generally means I like the beads and maybe even the design, but it needs to be updated to fit my current style. I used two necklaces in this remake. 

I wanted it to be longer and a bit chunkier. I added the teal beads and pendant by Andrew Thornton. I love the teal with the chartreuse!

Day 29 – Use an Allegory Gallery wood pendant

This wood pendant is one Allegory Gallery made to honor Aretha Franklin. The lampwork lentil is by Anne’s Glass Jewels (given to me by Karin of Ginkgo et Coquelicot – thank you!) The yellow and orange smaller lampwork beads are from BuliBeads. I love this sort of mix of colorful beads. The smallest of the colorful beads are vintage German glass from Ava Motherwell. I was ridiculously happy to get those. I do love how this turned out.

Day 30 – Create a piece inspired by nature

When jewelry artists talk about what inspires them, nature is often mentioned. I love beads and jewelry inspired by nature, but I can’t say I’m particularly inspired by nature. My initial thought was to make something winter-inspired because it is very wintery here now, and I love white beads. But then I realized I didn’t have to actually make something inspired by the outdoors; I have plenty of nature-inspired beads. I have been hoarding this hibiscus flower bud pendant from Humblebeads for a while. I decided to keep it simple, inspired, in fact, by Heather Powers herself. Her inspired by nature designs are always wonderful. I added a couple spacers and a couple of her disc beads, some copper chain and a bird clasp. Done! This will be a great, light necklace on hot summer days.

Day 31 – Make a piece that’s big, bold and over the top!

I had splurged on this strand of rough labradorite slab beads from Dakota Stones a couple years ago at Bead & Button. I loved it and wanted to use it all together in a collar necklace – another project these prompts helped me complete. I added a small labradorite spacer between each slab so the collar would curve nicely, and added chain at the back so the length would be adjustable. I’m going to revisit this prompt. I want to make my first assemblage piece, but I knew I wouldn’t have time for that (or glue, but it’s on the way!)

As I keep saying, I’ve loved participating in this month-long challenge. Big thanks to Andrew Thornton and William Jones of Allegory Gallery for these fun and inspiring prompts. Follow them on Facebook, their blog, or instagram to learn about all the fun challenges they dream up!

Bead in the New Year with Allegory Gallery – Week 2 Wrap Up

Tags

#beadinthenewyear, Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Artisticaos, Cynthia Thornton, Enchanted Adornments, Erin Prais-Hintz, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Miss Fickle Media, Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits, Sasha Crow, Staci Louise Smith, Terri DelSignore, William Jones

I am having so much fun and just bursting with creativity thanks to Bead in the New Year with Allegory Gallery. There are also some positive unintended consequences. I’m getting more things done. I tend to be tired and unmotivated after work. I often come home and plop on the couch not doing anything particularly productive. With #beadinthenewyear, I have projects to work on! I bead while watching TV, I bead while FaceTiming with my sister. I carry the necklaces all around my shadowy house looking for some light to take a decent picture, and since I’m up, I do the dishes in the sink. I feel so productive!

Day 7 – Use your favorite gemstone in a new piece

When it comes to gemstones, I get the most swoony over ruby nuggets. I had a few left over from a strand that I’ve slowly been using in special pieces. When I saw this prompt, I planned to use them together at the front of a simple necklace – sort of like the raw diamonds in the Carrie Bradshaw character’s necklace in the last episode of the Sex and the City TV series. But as I designed, it got even better. I used a large tin capped pearl headpin by Sasha Crow that I’ve been hoarding. (Points to me for being brave.) I also love (as you know if you read this blog) chain by Miss Fickle Media, and I combined severas short sections for this necklace. Putting together a number of very special elements doesn’t always guarantee a special piece of jewelry but for me, in this case, it did. I love this. It would not exist if not for Allegory Gallery‘s challenge.

Day 8 – Use a stringing material that you don’t normally use

I use a variety of stringing materials, but nothing more often than waxed linen. So I decided that anything I use other than that counts. I think my second most used material is Soft Flex beading wire. I thought about looking at some different cording I have, but before that happened, I had a design with leather pretty much done with this gorgeous pendant and bead set by Terri DelSignore of Artisticaos. I often find that leather doesn’t lay like I want, the knots make beads lay weird, I don’t have the right size closure, etc. But this just seemed to come together. Maybe I start out prejudiced and it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. I used 1.5 mm leather with horn tubes and small wood spacers. I used knotting and more spacers to make an adjustable closure. It all lays well and doesn’t seem skimpy like leather sometimes can to me. I’m very pleased.

Day 9 – Produce a piece using gemstone chips

Some people don’t like to work with chip beads, but they can look incredibly rich for a small price since most of us can’t always buy strands of large, fancier cut gemstone beads. I don’t know what type of stone this is, but I really love how it looks with these three beautiful glass beads by Andrew Thornton. (Another thing I’ve been using judiciously; I still have some left!) I finished it with large link copper chain I had in just the right length and a copper clasp by Miss Fickle Media. I love the rustic look of this piece, like a treasure from an archeological dig.

Day 10 – Challenge yourself by using sari silk ribbon

When I got this faux tin mitten charm from Heather Powers of Humblebeads, she included matching sari silk. I had already been trying to figure a way to use them together when this prompt came up. I don’t like the way sari silk feels on the back of my neck, but when I try to use it in the front, it sometimes feels too light and floppy. I settled on a cute little bit tied on the top of this pendant made with the mitten and a clear bead that reminds me of ice and gives the necklace some weight. The strand is made of peanut beads and lovely manik manik glass in the perfect color.

Day 11 – Share the work of a jewelry artist you admire

There are many, many jewelry artists I admire. But I followed the prompt and chose one for this purpose: Erin Prais-Hintz. I encourage you to look around her blog. Here are links to a few favorites:

Lies They Told Me

The Challenge of Travel: Nepal

Challenge of Music

Day 12 – Make a project from a craft book. 

I made a project inspired by Cynthia Thornton‘s book Enchanted Adornments. I had a heart pendant with a similar look to the one in the project (mine by Andrew Thornton) and i used it along with a variety of chain and beads to make a pretty necklace. I’m happy; it came out more similar to the project n the book than I thought it would!

Day 13 – Get inspired by music! Make a piece based off a song.

I wanted a song that had some visuals for me, so I was kind of listening through my iTunes list and came upon Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. It’s about a broken-hearted guy healing from a relationship. I used a repaired heart pendant (in the kintsugi style) by Staci Louise Smith. There is a line in the song “you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold” so I decided to use mixed metal chain. There is also a line, “You said ‘I love you like the stars above'”, and I used chain at the front with stardust beads, as well as a star charm near the clasp. This turned out so pretty! Another necklace that wouldn’t have come together like this without the prompt.

If you would like to see what others are making, you can visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenges page.

 

Bead in the New Year with Allegory Gallery – Week 1 Wrap Up

Tags

#beadinthenewyear, Allegory Gallery, Allegory Gallery Design Challenges, Andrew Thornton, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Maire Dodd, Miss Fickle Media, SJ Designs Jewelry, William Jones

As I said in my last post, Allegory Gallery has put together a calendar of prompts for each day in January to help people be more creative and take time for themselves, something they saw many people post about as goals in 2019. I’m going to try to do a weekly recap of what I’m making. I don’t know that I’ll get much else made this month (although I do have the start of idea for the SJ Designs Jewelry Honey Do List challenge for this month.)

Day 1 – Make a pair of earrings

I am having a really fun time participating in the challenges. It’s eye-opening and inspiring. I’ve found that I actually do have more time to bead than I’ve been taking. I like to bead first thing in the morning, so I save it for weekends. But I’ve now make some really great things on workdays. I think I’m more relaxed doing more beading.

Day 2 – Create a new bracelet

I’m also realizing that when I have a simple idea, I should just go ahead and do it! I’ve had the idea to use this beautiful chain and clasp as a bracelet since I got it from Miss Fickle Media. I finally did it. Charm is by Maire Dodd.

Day 3 – Put together a necklace

I’m using the prompts to also finish projects that have been floating around in my head for a while. This is a more recent one, but I hadn’t done it yet. Mary Redman and Walter Gross gifted me with some beads, and these large speckled vintage plastic beads really struck me as wonderful. I had an idea right away. The prompt gave me the push to put it together.

Day 4 – Make a matching jewelry set

Think outside the box and be ok with good enough. I initially thought of a jewelry set as necklace, earrings and bracelet. I don’t do that, so I thought maybe I’d skip this day. Then I realized a set could mean something else. I hadn’t worked ahead so besides having little time after work, I also had no light for the picture. I went simple with my stretch stacking bracelets and took the best picture I could. Done is done, and I’ve got some cute, casual bracelets.

Day 5 – Use an art bead

I rarely start making without an idea. For this, I just sort of looked at art beads in easy reach to see if an idea came to me. When I saw this faux tin focal from Humblebeads, I got out my turquoise colored beads and these chrysocholla looked perfect. I kept trying to design something, and it just looked flat. I worked at it, adding and taking away, and finally came up with something that I think really works. I think sometimes I give up too soon or hang onto a design idea too long. The timeline of the challenge forced me to move along.

Day 6 – Fashion a design using Czech glass

I had been meaning to make this project, one of Heather Powers’ Bead Table Wednesday tutorials, since I got the faux tin toggle from her. I saw the toggle when I picked out the focal from the last project, and knew this project called for Czech glass. I’m so glad I got this done and am thrilled with how it turned out! I love the colors.

Andrew Thornton has addressed some people’s concerns about staying on track or being “behind”. He reminded us it’s supposed to be fun above all, you can participate as much or little as you like and post any project on any day. However, it you want to challenge yourself to finish all prompts, figure out some time management strategies. I am working ahead, but I’m pretty slow and can only finish one or two projects on my best day. But that’s ok. I’m having a lot of fun, and that’s the point!

Thanks to Andrew and William Jones of Allegory Gallery for this wonderful idea. If you would like to check out what folks are making based on these prompts, visit the Allegory Gallery Design Challenges Facebook page. Scroll through the feed or visit the album to see them all!

Simple and Cool

Tags

Anne Potter, Bead Table Wednesday, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Jewelry Stringing Magazine, Swoondimples, Travelogue Magazine

The hot temperatures in my area, my own aesthetic and the inspiration of a new (to me) jewelry magazine has resulted in today’s necklace. Right now it is 91 and only getting hotter. I am lucky to be able to be inside with air conditioning, but I like having jewelry that I could wear outside even in the heat and still stay cool.

In addition, I’ve recently learned about an electronic jewelry magazine by Anne Potter called Travelogue. She was a frequent contributor to the late, lamented Jewelry Stringing magazine. Travelogue offers great photos of travel-related inspiration and then projects based on that inspiration. The projects are very doable but can be customized to your own skill level. Not based on any specific piece but just the feeling of simplicity, I took some beads I really liked and made this effortless piece.

The owl focal is by swoondimples. His name is Stewart. I got it in 2016 when the Pantone color of the year was a duo – rose quartz and serenity blue. The pink Czech glass I got in a destash. I just really like pink. It was my favorite color as a little girl, and although sometimes I like to think that has changed, it really hasn’t. I believe that is why I was more intrigued with the Pantone color that year than some other people. I had something else in mind for those little pink beads, but this project asserted itself. I was actually going to use some other spacers in the front for an accent, including some more rustic metal to give the piece a little bit of a harder look. But I decided on these simple eye beads I’ve had since the beginning of my beading days. Since I’ve kept them this long, they deserved to be used.

This sweety tweety little necklace will be fun to wear with my sundresses this summer.

One other thing about this post: the picture. It’s very sunny here, and usually I would have to wait until dusk or perhaps early tomorrow morning to get a picture. This picture was made possible in real time right after I made this necklace by Heather Powers of Humblebeads. I love her beads and other artwork as well as the free projects she shares on her Bead Table Wednesday videos. A couple of weeks ago, she made one about taking better photos with your cell phone. Oh my goodness, she gave a few easy tips that really helped my photo game. It was fun to put them into action after watching the video this morning. Thanks, Heather!

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Vintage

Tags

Heather Powers, Humblebeads

I’ve been really enjoying vintage beads lately.  Also, I’m starting to be able to get back into making jewelry! So for this post, both of those things have come together in a necklace made of vintage and vintage style components. If you don’t know, I got a tendonitis in my thumb and wasn’t able to make jewelry for a couple of months. I am doing much better now, and started a necklace last weekend that I finished this weekend. I’m trying hard not to over-do it. 

The focal is a faux tin piece by Heather Powers of Humblebeads. She has a technique where she puts an image on steel and it doesn’t scratch or come off. The pieces have such a nice feel and really look like vintage tin.

In the actual vintage category, my mother had given me this vintage glass bead necklace. The worn patina of color with the white bead showing underneath is so lovely. I probably would have re-strung that necklace and worn as is with no additions, but it was too short for me. I think the beads work well with this piece, and I paired them with some vintage Preciosa rose shaped beads. My idea was to hang little beads from chain at the bottom. Once I decided on fringe chain, though, more beads seemed like too much. I didn’t want it to get too busy around the pretty focal. 

I’m really pleased with how it turned out. (Do I end every post that way?) Here’s a shot of MooKitty helping me with the photos for this post. Thanks for visiting, and you can look forward to more finished jewelry in my posts again.

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The Never-Ending Search for Storage

Tags

Bead Table Wednesday, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Nile Corp.

Recently I watched a video tour of Heather Powers’ studio where she creates her fabulous Humblebeads and shares wonderful free projects on her Bead Table Wednesday videos. I love seeing inside people’s studios. If you do too, watch the video.  Anyway, she was casually showing her enviable trove of art beads in these great sectioned wooden trays she had stacked on her table. I thought she had found a slew of them in an old farmhouse barn at an estate auction or something, when she said they were from Nile Corp! Oh. My. Goodness.

I immediately went and ordered a bunch. They are on sale and some sizes/colors are out of stock. I hope that doesn’t mean they are discontinuing them! But at least I got eight. I originally intended them for beads, but an ongoing storage need I have is also for jewelry.

I originally started out with this old wooden rake for some jewelry storage in my studio. Once it became full (it’s only not totally full now because when I wear a necklace, it gets put away elsewhere.) 

Then I ordered some super strong magnets and repurposed this calendar system for jewelry storage. Then I ordered more magnets and employed the side of my filing cabinet.

And more magnets that moved some of my jewelry into other parts of the house.

But I still have a mess on just about every surface, and a lot of it is jewelry.

This poor little cabinet always looks like this except for a day or two after I clean it. Mostly jewelry and jewelry-related items. Some random mail I’m pretending I’ll attend to “soon” and that blue thing a duster fits on that shows I at least intended to dust at one point. The wooden box with the building has jewelry in it, but it’s always covered with other jewelry, so I never wear whatever is in it. (It was covered with jewelry right before this picture, but I cleaned off the jewelry to try the experiment you will see in the next photo.

Here is one of the Nile Corp. trays with jewelry in it! If I put jewelry that fits fully into the cubbies in these, I can stack about three on each side of that little cabinet and keep it much cleaner.  

Chunkier jewelry can still hang. I’ll try this and see if it helps me keep a tidier area and a better way to find the items I’m looking for.

Whenever I do a storage post, I like to ask – what are your storage solutions? Share in the comments.  Pictures welcome!

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Patina Day

Tags

B'sue Boutiques, Bead & Button, Candie Cooper, Humblebeads, Vintaj

It was patina day for me and my mom. I bought some Vintaj patinas at Bead & Button.  My mom recently had an idea for changing a pin she had with patina. I recommended Vintaj so she got some patina as well. So we decided to have a patina day, and it was a ball.

I had seen one video by Heather Powers of Humblebeads about using Vintaj patina, and my mom and I watched another.  Thank you, Heather!! It was wonderful to get a little view into how the patinas worked. I was especially happy to see how fast they dried. Impatience drives a lot of my design style! So, on to the show.

I did not get a before picture of my mom’s pin, but it was all black and too dark for her. She had wanted red and bought garnet. It was more pinkish than red, but my mom made it work by layering it with white gold. She had planned to leave the middle black crystals but decided to use white gold on those as well. Definitely the right decision!

The first piece I worked on was a bracelet. I had some really heavy, textured vintage chain from B’Sue Boutiques. I thought I would patina it and then add a bead dangle. After I use the verdigris patina on it and the Vintaj reliefing block to take some of the color off the high spots, I loved it so much I didn’t want to add anything else. My mom had the perfect clasp to go with the heavy chain, so I used the verdigris patina on that too.  I love the outcome. Here is a picture with some of the original chain. 

This picture doesn’t show how the metal sparkles through the patina. It’s the best! My mom also used the verdigris on some brass in the form of ball chain for a multi-strand bracelet.  It turned out great as well.
I had also seen a post by Candie Cooper with a tutorial for a Mod Podge cuff bracelet. I had a much smaller channel bangle form, but I decided to make something similar. My bangle was just plain silver (forgot to get a picture) so I decided to randomly paint some patina on it to make it look like old metal on the parts that would show. I combined the colors earth and white gold. I didn’t rough up the metal much (the impatience, you know) so it’s streaky. But it works for my purposes. Earlier this week my dad got a package with some great, thick paper packaging. I decided to use that as the base in the channel.

I added several coats of Mod Podge. You can see what now looks like aged metal on the inside of the bangle.

Then I added some vintage rhinestone chain. Very cute!

I also used verdigris and white gold on some vintage flat brass chain that I have plans for later.  Here is a picture of some original and patina chain.

I also did just a few trials on a couple other brass pieces.

Here is the front and back of some random pieces.  On the top left I used garnet and then the front of that piece has white gold. On the right I used verdigris and reliefed it back on both the back and front.

Although it has nothing to do with patina, the other project on the docket today was to put a little more interest on a leather and metal bracelet my dad made. He took a thick piece of leather and paired it with a nice metal slider. It seemed a little plain, so I suggested some rivets. My dad was impressed that I had a leather punch and a rivet setting kit. (The kit is from my card making days!) That’s just what it needed. 

I leave you with a picture of my two finished bracelets together. If you haven’t tried Vintaj patinas yet, I recommend it.  My mom and I plan to get more colors and do more experiments.

 

 

 

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Bead & Button Fun #2

Tags

Diane Hawkey, Hand of the Hills, Holy & Pure Gemstone, Humblebeads, Joan Miller Porcelain, Patti Cahill

Welcome to part 2 of my Bead & Button show and tell.  I had intended to focus somewhat on gemstone strands, and one of the booths I had seen people post nice stuff from was Holy & Pure Gemstone. But as I’ve noticed at other shows, I find all those strands too overwhelming, especially when I have to calculate the discounted price in my head. But, I did get some wonderful, colorful beaded chain there. 

They had a ton of chain, very good value, priced a marked.  Next year I would spend more time getting chain and maybe try to be patient and get at least one strand of beads.  Knowing what to expect is half the battle.

I love, love, love Joan Miller Porcelain, so I got a couple things from her. 

Joan Miller was sharing a booth with Patti Cahill, and I fell in love with this bead. I believe this is my first Patti Cahill bead, so that’s good I bought something new.  I’ve noticed that I stick to what I already like.  Next year I would like to branch out more.

I am very happy with my Humblebeads purchases. I have wanted the monarch items for a while. I knew I would get some disc beads because they are my favorite. I love the black, blue and white ones. I saw those posted by someone on preview night and set my sights.  I am going to try this project by Heather Powers with the lentil bead.

I did get some metal spacers like I planned from Hand of the Hills. I liked how they displayed their strands. They were on colored velcro strips. Each color of velcro indicated a specific price. I loved just opening the velcro to get the strand, so easy!

Last but not least, I got some Diane Hawkey beads. I am a huge fan. I got some beads and a cabochon (that I’m going to ask my mom to bead around).

And I got some pendants.  I especially love that little bar that says “I exist as I am, that is enough.” 

I would like to go back next year. I feel like I would be able to focus on other things. At shows, I do tend to stick to what I already know and like. I did get a couple new things, and I didn’t get any African strands, which is something I usually focus on. I feel so satisfied with my purchases this year that I think I could branch out a little next year to maybe see who has other things like vintage beads or maybe some fun or fancy clasps or artists who are new to me.  After all, the artists I love now were new to me at one time.

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Tile Trials

Tags

Andrew Thornton, Artybecca, Cynthia Thornton, Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Joan Miller, Staci Louise Originals, Staci Smith, Trinket Foundry

I scored a variety of beautiful tile left over from remodeling jobs (not mine, alas) and was excited to try them as photo backgrounds.  Here’s how it went.

Here are two pieces on a whole sheet of small, square tile. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this because of the spaces. But looking at it, I think it could work sometimes.  I can’t seem to get a nice picture of this particular necklace. I also tried on another day on other backgrounds. The tin bead (with the horrible glare on it!) is from Trinket Foundry.

Here is the same tile closer with a beautiful necklace by Andrew Thornton and Cynthia Thornton. I think the background colors are perfect for this piece, and I love the texture of the tile in this close up, but I’m not wild about how the webbing shows. Also, I know I’d get all perfectionist on whether the lines look straight.

Here are some photos on decorative bathroom tiles.  I actually have three designs, but I’ve only used two here.  i was in a hurry because the light was fading. The lampwork bead below is also from Trinket Foundry.

I think the bracelet below looks better on the patterned tile than the necklace above.  The design shows through the glass pendant on the necklace too much. There are so many variables in a picture that affect the outcome, but I can see that these tiles will be good for many things.  (They look fab in the bathroom too!)

I really like how this elephant by Staci Smith looks on the patterned tile too. I think small, bold pieces might fare best on the patterned tile.

Here is a necklace with a bird by Heather Powers of Humblebeads on three different smaller tiles put together. I actually really like this picture which surprises me. I would have thought the transitions between each piece of tile would be off-putting. I don’t find that. I like that there is a dark, medium and light, and I could position my piece to take advantage of that.  It’s often a problem to have a dark pendant and light beads because one inevitably suffers in a solid background photo.

Here are two pieces on a small square of kitchen counter.  It’s so much prettier in the kitchen, but I think both pieces look relatively nice, although again the bold elephant pendant does better than the necklace. The problem with this pieces is that, unlike the other pieces, it is shiny. That will cause glare, as you can see in the picture with the necklace.

The banana pendant is by Artybecca. The banana dangles are by Joan Miller. The Zola Elements chain is from Lima Beads. The clasp is Nunn Design.

The tile I think fared the worst in photos was this plain white/grey. It’s kind of flat and dark, and again when I need it bigger and put multiple pieces together, I won’t like the line.

I’m not sure this tile is great with these two pieces, but I do believe it will be great with many, many things.  It is gorgeous stone tile, and I have one very big piece that will be good for larger/longer jewelry when the colors are right.  I also have another partial piece with different colors/textures.

I’m very happy to have all these tiles, and will enjoy trying them in the future to have more options for jewelry photos.  MooKitty is also very excited about all the packaging I carried the tile home in.

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Inspired by Reading Book Club: Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

Tags

Heather Powers, Humblebeads, Idea-Ology, Speidel, Tim Holtz

The idea behind Allegory Gallery‘s Inspired by Reading Book Club is to read that month’s book and make something inspired by it.  This month, the book is Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. I read this series years ago in college; it was fun to revisit it.  I liked it the second time around too.  The characters are real and generally sympathetic.  This book is told from the perspectives of various characters; my piece is based on the character Mary Ann Singleton. She’s a young woman from Ohio who goes to San Francisco on vacation and decides to stay.  She is looking for something else in life than the traditional path she was destined for in Cleveland.

I thought about the type of jewelry that was popular in the late 1970s when this book took place. There was a lot of minimalist gold and silver.  I remember the big names in stores I went to being Napier, Monet, and Trifari.  I remember wanting a Speidel ID bracelet with the passion of a 12 year old.  So those were the things rolling around in my head when I made this bracelet inspired by those things but made for today.

I used a Tim Holtz Idea-Ology word band as a bracelet bar.  The quote, “live the life you’ve imagined” is what Mary Ann was trying to do, as well as advice Mrs. Madrigal, landlady and sort of den mother to her tenants, might have imparted. I made the band part of the bracelet from gorgeous wobble beads by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  I included two charms.  The heart is a nod to the Speidel ID bracelet of my youth that this was inspired by, and the vintage mouse charm is a reference to Mary Ann’s friend (and fellow tenant) Michael “Mouse” Tolliver.

Thanks to William and Andrew of Allegory Gallery for these great book club challenges!  This was a really fun challenge that took me back to the jewelry of my childhood. Have a look at what other participants were inspired to make on the Inspired by Reading Book Club Facebook page.